627

OUTBREAK OF ENTERIC FEVER AT CHORLEY.

WE find that Dr. James M. Rigby, medical officer ofhealth for Chorley, reports the occurrence of an alarm-ing outbreak of enteric fever in that town. The diseaseat present appears to be limited to the neighbourhoodof Bolton-street, Dr. Rigby himself having attended

eighteen or nineteen cases in that district. It is statedthat the outbreak does not depend on any defect in thedrainage of the town, which the medical officer believes tobe perfect, but it is attributed to the fact that the sewereof the neighbouring town of Darwen are now undergoing aprocess of renovation and cleansing, and that, owing to theprevalence of north-easterly winds and dry weather, thedust charged with typhoid poison has been blown in th(direction of Chorley. We hope, however, Dr. Rigby wilnot rest satisfied with this hypothesis. Without wishingto cast any doubt on the statements made as to the satis

factory sanitary condition of Chorley, we think the facthat all the cases reported have occurred in one district othe town only, looks extremely suspicious. Had the dis

ease originated in the manner suggested, the cases wouldhave been pretty uniformly disseminated through t,htown. The localisation of the outbreak points either t,

some local defect in the drainage or water-supply, or tthe distribution of specifically contaminated milk in thaffected district. We urge the sanitary authority to maka full and complete inquiry into these points forthwith, foeven if the cause be discovered to be general something haevidently determined the outbreak to one particular localit3For the best means of dealing with the epidemic we refethe sanitary authority to the reports either of our own Sanitary Commissioners or to those of the Government niediceinspectors on those towns that have lately experiencesimilar viRitationR-

AMALGAMATION OF MEDICAL CHARITIES.

(Jus recent statement on the proposed amalgamation ofthe Victoria and Belgrave Hospitals for Children renderssuperfluous any further comments upon the desirability ofits speedy accomplishment. The difficulty of deciding uponthe best site for the proposed South-Western Hospital forChildren is all that now delays the settlement of the questionof amalgamation. We anticipate an early and final selectionof a site, as the refusal of the Metropolitan Board of Worksto sanction the construction of the hospital on their land,facing the new embankment at Chelsea, brings the matterwithin a narrow compass.The united committees have three courses open to

them-namely (1) to accept the site, at the north end ofBattersea-bridge, most liberally offered by the Duke of

Westminster; (2) to extend the present site of the VictoriaHospital; or (3) to find some fresh site, altogether awayfrom what has hitherto been the scene of their labours.

In considering the first course, the proximity of the siteto the new sewage pumping station, the basin of theGrosvenor canal, and the railway must be remembered. 11

minute inspection of the new pumping station, however,proves that the only nuisance it can possibly occasion will beundue vibration. The site offered by the Duke of Westminsterrecommends itself strongly as having an area of 2600 squareyards, with a south-westerly frontage of 140 feet, and af

being most readily accessible from every direction, whilssurrounded by a permanently uncovered expanse upon threesides.With regard to the second course, it is necessary to ob

serve that the present freehold of the Victoria Hospita(1300 square yards) is but half the size of that we have jusdiscussed; that for its airiness it will have to depend, on on

side, upon the twenty feet space which separates it from theinfirmary of the Royal Hospital, and on the opposite sideupon the new forty-foot street. It is probable that the di-rection in which the present site could be extended would betowards the Queen’s-road. Such an extension would have tobe carried as far as that road before proper ventilation and asite equal in area to that at Battersea-brid ge would be secured.This would render the site exceedingly valuable, but verycostly, to build upon, as it would have upwards of 350 feetof frontage. A further objection may be noticed-namely,that the latrines and dry dustbin of the Royal Hospital’sinfirmary abut on the site, but, owing to their excellentorder, perhaps this is not a serious drawback.We refrain from referring to the third course, further

than to state that we believe it to be undesirable, as therebya large a,nd thickly-populated neighbourhood would be de-prived of the great benefit of a most necessary form ofcharity. ,

’ As far as we are able to judge, the site offered by the’

Duke of Westminster is the best one at the disposal of the’ authorities.

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VIVISECTION AT FLORENCE.

THE statements that have been promulgated in con-

nexion with Professor Schiff, of Florence, and his allegedpractices, appear to us to demand some contradiction athis hands, if they are unfounded; failing which, they shouldbe made the subject of an impartial and official inquiry. It

scarcely seems credible that such an enormous number ofdogs can have been made the subjects of experimentation,and it certainly is very discreditable, if true. We hold thatif such experiments were only undertaken under a gravesense of responsibility, and with a definite object in view,their number would be very limited; and we cannot believein the existence of much sense of responsibility or humanityin anyone who could justify to himself the sacrifice ofthousands of unfortunate dogs in his laboratory. If the

legitimate pursuit of science demands such a sacrifice oflife and infliction of pain in one laboratory-which we donot in the least believe,-all we can say is, that the soonean attempt is made to define the line of demarcation betweenwhat is legitimate and what is not, the better. We hope,however, no less on the score of humanity than out of re-spect to Prof. Schiff and medical science, that he is in a

position- to give, and that he will give, a contradiction tothe statements put forward, and of which he must be

. aware .

DEATH FROM AN OVERDOSE OF CONIUM.

WE are in possession of part of the facts connected withthe death of Dr. Walker, which took place on the 13th ult.,in New York, and which, according to the verdict of thecoroner’s jury, resulted from an overdose of conium.

Although we are not yet in possession of the full facts, wethink it right to lay those which we have before our readers,bince heroic doses of this potent drug are just now in vogue.The jury found that the deceased 11 Died from the medicaluse of the fluid extract of conium "; first, of the extract ofthe leaves, 180 drops, administered in four doses of 40, 40,40, and 60 drops, without any apparent effect; and, secondly,after an interval of four hours, of about 150 minims of thefluid extract of the seed (prepared by a different firm), givenin three doses of 50 minims each, at intervals of abouthalf an hour, and that the deceased suddenly died in aboutone hour and a half after taking the last dose.The deceased suffered from a muscular tic of the face

for the relief of which the drug was given. The post-mortem showed that the organs were all healthy except aslight atheromatous change in some of the arteries. The