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intervals of traction the handles can be released and the lockloosened with relief of pressure on the cranium and withoutfear of displacement. The subsequent relocking is simpleand easy in all positions. Introduction is greatly facilitatedas each half of the forceps is evenly balanced when held inposition between the thumb and fingers at the lugs, whilethe handle projects upwards and backwards. When viewed

from before backwards the fenestrated portions of the bladesare shorter and the cranial curves greater than the illus-tration would indicate. I have much pleasure in acknow-ledging the great care and attention bestowed in the

fashioning of the instrument by Messrs. Archibald Youngand Son, Edinburgh.

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Kilmarnock, N.B. WILLIAM McALISTER, M.B. Glasg.

ASEPTIC VACCINE EJECTOR.

WE have received from the Association for the Supply ofPure Vaccine Lymph, 12, Pall Mall East, S.W., a convenientappliance to be interposed between a tube of lymph and thelips of the operator who is about to make use of it. The

principal feature of the ejector is a plug of cotton-woolcontained in a two-part glass tube about two and three-quarter inches long into one end of which the operator blows

and the breath, filtered by the cotton-wool, escapes by aslender glass nozzle connected with a soft indiarubber tubeabout six inches in length. The tube of lymph having beenopened in the usual way one end is inserted in this india-rubber tube, :the junction is pinched between the fingerand thumb, and the lymph is expelled by blowing into theejector. The price of the ejector is ls. led. in a case, freeby post.

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A PIPETTE FOR USE IN ESTIMATING UREA.

THIS pipette is a modification of the one belonging toSouthall’s apparatus for estimating urea, the rubber nipple atthe broad end of the original pipette being replaced by asyringe arrangement which, I have found, greatly facilitatesthe introduction of the urine into the long limb of the benttube. Air from the upper part of this pipette is never

expelled along with the urine, neither does any urine escapeinto the hypobromite solution before the nozzle of the

pipette is really in the long limb of the decomposition tube.The tube or body of the pipette is about seven and a halfinches long and of glass, the nozzle being slightly curved.The movement of the piston is limited by collars on its rod,so that when it is pushed in as far as it will go and thendrawn fully out it takes up exactly 1 c.c. The estima-’ I

tion of the urea in a sample of urine is performed asfollows. Fill the bent tube with solution of hypo-bromite of soda just short of overflowing, then gentlyincline the tube to fill the long limb, then hold thetube in the vertical position and pour in an additionalquantity of solution to fill the lower part of the bulb of theshort limb. Now take up 1 c.c. of urine in the pipette, passthe curved end of the pipette through the short limb andinto the open end of the long limb of the bent tube, andgradually expel the urine. Now draw the pipette out, let

the bent tube stand for about half an hour, and then read offthe volume of nitrogen gas. The nitrogen evolved by thechemical action of the urea on the hypobromite of soda

passes up the long limb and displaces the hypobromitesolution downwards. The long limb is marked with anEnglish scale representing grains of urea per ounce of urine,and also with a metric scale representing centigrammes andmilligrammes of urea per 1 c.c. of urine. The advantagesclaimed for this pipette are : (1) that it is accurate ; (2) thatit is easily worked; (3) that it takes little time ; and (4) thatit does not waste any hypobromite of soda. Messrs. J.Gardner and Son, Forrest-road, Edinburgh, are the makers.Edinburgh. C. C. MURISON, L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S. Edin.

FIRST REPORT OF THE ROYAL COM-MISSIONERS ON THE METROPOLITAN

WATER-SUPPLY.(Continued from p. 242.)

i THE Commissioners report that a consideration of theevidence which they have collected as to the amountof water which can be spared by the Chelsea, GrandJunction, Kent, Lambeth, and West Middlesex Companiesshows that the mere connexion of their mains with eachother and with those of the Southwark and Vauxhall, NewRiver, and East London Companies would not enable themto be of much assistance in case of emergency arising duringthe next summer. Such combination would only be effectiveif the Grand Junction, Lambeth, and West MiddlesexCompanies were to obtain additional statutory powers for theabstraction of water from the Thames and erect works forits treatment and improved arrangements for pumping.The New River Company have been able to supply

a large quantity of water to the East London Companyduring the late drought. On July 26th the New River

Company reduced the amount of water which they tookfrom the Lee at Ware and left it for the disposal ofthe East London Company. The water flowed down the riverchannel to Chingford and thence through the East Londonintake to the storage reservoirs at Walthamstow. The quan-tity delivered to the East London Company from July 26thto Oct. 31st, 1898, was 569,882,000 gallons. In order to make

up the deficiency the New River Company increased theirrate of pumping from the wells. The average amount ofwater supplied daily by the New River Company to the EastLondon Company during the period mentioned was 5,815,000gallons daily. The Commissioners point out that this methodof giving assistance to the East London Company is verysimple and effective and as the water is unfiltered no

additional tax is laid on the filtering plant of the NewRiver Company. Connexions have been made betweenthe 30 in. main of the Grand Junction Company in Oxford-street, opposite Poland-street, and the 24 in. main of theNew River Company at the junction of Rosebery-avenue andGray’s Inn-road, and the West Middlesex Company haveeffected a junction with the new main made to form the first-mentioned connexion. The Grand Junction and WestMiddlesex Companies are therefore now able to supply to theNew River Company 5,000,000 gallons daily. Such a supplycould not, however, be afforded in the summer because thosecompanies could not spare it. The Commissioners point outthat the large reserve supply possessed by the New RiverCompany and its wells places it in a more advantageousposition than that occupied by the companies previouslymentioned.The Southwark and Vauxhall Company has been able to

deliver a large quantity of water to the East LondonCompany during the drought. A connexion was made bycarrying a 20 in. main through the Tower Subway in con-tinuation of the 20 in. main of the Southwark and VauxhallCompany. On the Middlesex side a new main was connectedwith the system of the East London Company. The waterwas supplied from Nunhead reservoir and the pressure wassufficient to enable the Southwark and Vauxhall Company tosupply 6,000,000 gallons a day to the East London Company’sdistrict. This arrangement has been rendered possible by asupply of water through a 42 in. main from Hampton toNunhead and the mains possessed by the company still have acarrying capacity considerably in excess of the requirements oftheir customers. The Southwark and Vauxhall Company before