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was found that this operation had almost dried a well sup-plying two houses. After rain, some of the water becomesthe colour of porter, but this does not suffice to condemn itin the minds of the villagers. They are apparently scien-tifically inclined, and they prefer basing their final judgmenton the result of a quantitative examination of the watersuch as chemists usually supply, to forming any estimateon such trivialities as obvious churchyard soakage andporter-like colour. We believe the Local Government Boardhave the question in hand, and it is possible that, in view ofsuch evidence of contamination as is forthcoming, theymay not be so particular as to the chemical constituents- of the filth that soaks into these wells.

AN ARTIFICIAL ATMOSPHERE FOR PHTHISIS.

DOUBTLESS a perfect atmosphere for cases of chest disease,and especially phthisis, must remain for a long period autopian idea. The subject of an artificial atmosphere wasraised recently at the Biological Society of Paris by M.d’Arsonval, who described several apparatus constructed byhim for permitting patients, and especially phthisical ones,to respire an artificial atmosphere, and he showed a means bywhich the inspired air should be uncontaminated by the fluidin the expired air. Dr. Brown-Séquard, in the discussionthereon, said it would be very important to settle this pointin the hygienic treatment of poitrinaires and others.He had tried to employ an atmosphere containing a ratherlarger percentage of oxygen than the normal of ordinary air;but he found that when the oxygen was in too great aquantity irritation resulted, causing considerable distress,even when the carbonic acid eliminated remained normal.

If, nevertheless, a mixture in determined proportions ofcarbonic acid and oxygen be made in an artificial atmosphere,these phenomena of intolerance were no longer produced. Itis known that carbonic acid, besides its anaesthetic property,exercises a cicatrising effect on wounds. It is possible tocomprehend how, in cases of tuberculosis, a diminution ofreflex sensibility, and consequently a lessening of cough,may be afforded, whilst at the same time the pulmonaryiesions may be favourably influenced, by carbonic acid.

PUERPERAL PEPTONURIA.

PEPTONURIA accompanies every normal accouchement,but it does not always present identical characters, andcertain causes may modify its intensity and its duration.According to M. Barone, it is but little marked on the firstday of the puerperium, but augments on the second and thethird, attaining its maximum on the fourth. From this

point it gradually decreases, undergoes a manifest aug-mentation towards the eighth or ninth day, and then againlessens until the twelfth, when it disappears. This peptonuriais explained as a collateral phenomenon of the involution ofthe uterus, and it is not necessary to suppose that a

purulent exudation is concerned in its causation. It hasbeen remarked that if the foetus is macerated, peptone Iis not found in the urine, or only in small quantity ; Ithe diminution is in direct relation with the time that

elapses between the death of the foetus and its expulsionfrom the womb. It appears, then, that involution may bemore rapid than when the child was born alive. Urine passedon the last days of gestation also contains peptones, whichmay also be found during parturition. Peptonuria has norelation with the kind of uterine contractions, nor with apainful or prolonged parturition. Uterine involution followsthe same course as the peptonuria; the two conditions varyconcomitantly; when the uterus has sunk to the level ofthe symphysis pubis peptone is no longer found in theurine. The specific gravity of the urine augments in directparallelism with the increase in the peptones. M. Barone

concludes that the peptones formed in the uterine parenchymabehave themselves in regard to the blood precisely as do thepeptones of digestion, and as do also the peptones artificiallyinjected into the blood. ____

THE ANTI-VACCINATIONISTS AND THE

LORD MAYOR.

THE Lord Mayor has begun well. Being asked to allowthe use of the Mansion House for a public meeting on thequestion of compulsory vaccination, his lordship sent thefollowing answer through his secretary :-

" The Mansion House, London, E.C., Nov. 12th, 1887." DEAR S1R,-I am directed by the Lord Mayor to say not

only that he must decline the request of your committee togrant the use of the Mansion House for their meeting, butthat he is most thoroughly opposed to their sentimentalantagonism to a recognised, wise, and humane law.

"I am, Sir, yours very truly, W. J. SOULSBY."

The trumpet of public men is apt in these days to give anuncertain sound on life and death questions. The morbiddesire to please is a public evil. The Lord Mayor might as wellbe asked to allow a meeting at the Mansion House to discussthe expediency of fire brigades. His decision is refreshing,and will enhance public respect for the Mansion House.

HONOURS IN BRUSSELS AND IN PRUSSIA.

AT the recent third examination for the degree of Doctorof Medicine in the University of Brussels 10 candidateswere successful, all but one of them obtaining more or less"distinction"; thus 2 obtained "the highest distinction,"3 "great distinction," and 4 "distinction." It is instructiveto compare this list, which is of the usual character forBrussels, with the statistics issued by the examining com-missions of the ten Prussian universities charged with

applying the test, not for medical degrees, but for the merelicence to practise. During the examination year 1886-1887691 candidates, many of them already Doctors of Medicine,were examined. Of these 505 passed, 270 obtaining themark "good," but only 20 the mark "very good." The

University of Berlin sent the largest number of candidates(232), that of Marburg the smallest (35). The PharmaceuticalCommission reports that 270 candidates were examined, ofwhom 218 passed. -

THE LANGUAGE 0 PRESCRIPTIONS.

I THERE is among medical practitioners an increasing dis-position to substitute for the series of classical termshitherto usual in prescribing, their simpler and more

accurate equivalents in the vernacular. The reform is onewhich has our approval. In making this admission, how-ever, it is necessary to define with some preciseness theextent of its application. For the purpose of the present argu-ment a prescription may be conveniently regarded as con-sisting of a professional and a popular part, the former beingconcerned with a statement of drugs and their quantities, thelatter with directions for their use. The first great requisitethat should belong to such directions is, we take it, clearness.Their meaning must be plain beyond all chance of mis-understanding on the part of inexperienced dispensers, aresult hardly to be expected if words, phrases, and abbrevia-tions are clothed in a garb of studiously quaint antiquity.The advantage conferred by a common scientific languageis in this connexion, as a rule, wholly inoperative, sincea translation of injunctions to the patient is not usuallyrequired, and, should it be needed in consequence of a

change in the medical attendance, is not difficult to obtain.Doctor, chemist, nurse, and patient are here on common groundthat has less to do with medicine than with attendance on