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endeavoured to find a practical solution have beenfaced with the difficulty of applying it withoutincurring grave inconveniences or economic damagesufficiently great to be prejudicial when dealingwith such an indispensable article of diet as milk.The problem has to be considered with regard tothe various sources of infecting organisms in milk,which may come from the animal furnishing it, themilker, utensils and receptacles, or by flies aftercollection. While it must be admitted that logicallypreventive measures should begin at the cow andat the stall, this is the very part that is mostdifficult of attainment. The only logical method,according to Professor Bertarelli, is to preclude allanimals that show a tuberculin reaction from

furnishing milk. This would raise the price of thecommodity to a considerable extent, and in orderto be effective should be followed either by theslaughter of these animals, or at least byputting an indelible mark on them, for if theywere moved to another locality there is greatprobability they would no longer give a positivereaction when tested with tuberculin. But toundertake systematic slaughter when from 20 to30 per cent. of animals were affected with tubercleis a procedure that would make any State hesitate.Nor could the indelible mark be imposed withoutindemnifying the owner, otherwise the milk tradewould diminish and the product thereby increasein price. For this reason many municipalitieshave abandoned all idea of applying hygienicmethods to the milk-supply at its origin, and con-sider the commodity when received from the

producer as material which is dirty and contami-nated but easily remediable. Therefore they exactthat the milk must be collected, filtered, pasteurised,cooled, and distributed in vessels to the consumer.Such milk, it is urged, should content the most exact-ing hygienist, and if it cost a fraction of a penny morewould be considered money well spent. With the

poor, who deal with small quantities, this increaseof price of perhaps a halfpenny a quart constitutesa grave objection, to say nothing of the difficulty inorganising the sale of milk under such conditions.There remains a minimum programme which maybe summed up as follows. Educative propaganda,enjoining on the producer the necessity of hygieniccollection and transport, and teaching the consumerhow to deal with the milk at home; municipalmodel dairy farms ; supervision of all milk broughtto the towns ; and compulsion with regard to keep-ing milk in refrigerators and selling it in closedvessels. But the fact remains that all precautionsadopted to secure a purified milk are frustrated bythe necessity of trading in small quantities.

THE BACTERIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS JAUNDICE.

OF the pathology of the condition described asinfectious jaundice, or Weil’s disease, little is knownand much controversy exists. At a recent meetingof the Societe Médicale des Hôpitaux of Paris M. P.Carnot and M. B. Weill-Halle described an outbreakat Bruyeres (Vosges). Their paper is important onaccount of the bacteriological investigation. Theoutbreak occurred in a family of six brothers andsisters. One of the children was first attacked andthe five others 12 to 15 days later. The infection

appeared to have been introduced by a governess,who was healthy but was possibly a carrier, asshe had been in contact a fortnight praviouslywith a child in another locality suffering from thedisease. An eighth case occurred after a fortnight’s

incubation in a class-mate of one of the childrenmentioned above. Thus there were four series ofcases separated by an incubation period of 12 to 15days. The symptoms were similar in all the cases.At first there were fever of 102’20 to 104° F.,somnolence, and prostration. Soon gastro-intestinalmanifestations-vomiting and symptoms of acuteenteritis with passage of mucus-followed. Threeor four days later more or less intense jaundicesupervened with dark urine and clay-colouredstools. The jaundice lasted four or five days andthen diminished and convalescence followed. Therewas obvious variation of symptoms in the differentcases. In some there was scarcely any fever. Intwo cases there were fever and intestinal symptomsonly, jaundice being absent. In five of the cases abacillus of the paratyphoid group was found in thestools. Cultures from the different cases were

reciprocally agglutinated by the serums of the

patients. On the other hand, the serums did notagglutinate the typhoid or the principal varietiesof the paratyphoid bacillus. The outbreak wasthus due to an icterogenic form of the paratyphoidbacillus differentiated both by its agglutinativecharacteristics and its specific action on the biliarypassages. About the same time a typical case ofcatarrhal jaundice was observed at Epinal in a

woman, aged 25 years, which had no etiologicalrelation with the preceding cases. No cases of con.tagion, either preceding or following, could be foundin connexion with it. From the stools a bacillus ofthe paratyphoid group very similar to the one foundin the preceding cases was isolated. It was agglu-tinated both by the serum of the patient and bythe serums of the preceding cases. On the otherhand, the patient’s serum did not agglutinate thebacillus found in the preceding cases.

OWING to circumstances connected with the war,the School Committee of Epsom College havereluctantly decided to dispense with the publiccelebration of Founder’s Day (July 24th) thisyear. The arrangements have therefore been

cancelled, and the distribution of prizes will be aprivate school function.

THE annual meeting of the Ontario MedicalCouncil was held in Toronto in the first week ofJuly. By unanimous voice the council decided tosign an agreement with the General MedicalCouncil providing for medical reciprocity. Theprovinces of Canada which will now have thisarrangement are Prince Edward Island, NovaScotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.

THE Board of Trade have decided to discontinuethe use of the wool test in the examination ofcandidates in the sight tests on and after Jan. lst,1916.

A CURIOUS CASE IN THE COUNTY COURT.-AtOkehampton (Devon) county court last week a firm ofpractitioners sued a husband and wife for ;&12 for pro-fessional services rendered to the wife, who had receivedinjuries in a motor-car collision. It was proved that L9 wasallowed her as the result of a county court action for medicalattendance caused by the accident. The husband asked thecourt to compel his wife to pay the medical account out ofthe damages allowed, and the wife contended that being amarried woman the husband was liable for payment. Judg-ment was given for the plaintiffs for .S9, the judge expressinga wish that the plaintiffs should endeavour to recover theamount from the wife’s separate estate.