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blindness was congenital, in 93 2 it was acquired. Of these,C6’9 per cent. could be referred to primary disease of theeye, 12’7 per cent. to traumatic influences, and 13 per cent.to general diseases.

The Therapeutics of Urotropine.Dr. F. Suter of Basle reports on his experiences with

urotropine, which was originally recommended by Nicolaierfor vesical catarrh. It is an antiseptic compound producedby the action of formaldehyde on ammonia ; it is easilysoluble in water and ought to oe taken on an emptystomach, as the acid reaction of the stomach decomposes itrapidly, when part is absorbed and part excreted in theurine. It slowly decomposes in the bladder only in urineof acid reaction, not in neutral or alkaline. It decom-

poses perhaps more rapidly in the kidneys, as it acts

very promptly in cases of alkaline decomposition of thecontents of the bladder. Five or 10 milligrammes of

formaldehyde have the same action on three ounces ofurine as half a gramme of urotropine, and yet experimentsand clinical use prove its antiseptic action even in thesesmall doses. The action on different bacteria varies but alittle; bacilli coli communis and streptococci seem mostresistant. Dr. Suter made experiments with the followingmedicines administered at night whilst the urine passedfirst in the morning was examined : benzoic acid 10

grains, boric acid 15 grains, salol 15 grains and 45grains, and urotropine 15 grains. The development ofdecomposition was retarded by several days only by thestrong dose of salol and by urotropine. Its efficacy beingthus proved its high cost is to be regretted, for this limits itsexhibition. It is to be recommended in cases of surgicalinterference (even catheterism) ; in bacteriuria, especially-after enteric fever, where it occurs in from 20 to 30 per cent.of all cases ; and in cystitis, as an aid to local treatment,"which often is necessary. It is of little value in pyonephritis,gonorrhoea! cystitis, or tuberculosis of the kidney ; it is no

.panacea for all cases of cystitis, but acts best in ammoniadecomposition. It should also be used in disease of the

prostate gland with residuary urine and cases of stricturewith partial retention, where it is a decided improvementon salol. Doses of from 15 to 25 grains per diem can be givenfor weeks in succession. Such are Dr. Suter’s conclusions.

Attendance at Swiss Universities. -

The number of medical students is decidedly on theincrease without any obvious reason in the way of demand.The number of medical students for the winter term 1900-1901 amounts to 1375, thus distributed among the separateuniversities: Basle 145, Bern 388, Geneva 857, Lausanne 183,and Zürich 302. The number of women studying medicinein Switzerland has greatly increased, especially of foreignwomen. Of these the Russian female students are the mostnumerous, comprising 47 per cent. of the whole. Only 21are of Swiss nationality.

Ziirich, Feb. 13th. _________________

CANADA.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Death of the QueenWHEN the news arrived in Canada that the Queen was no

<more it came to the medical colleges in the midst of lectureswhich were immediately stopped. On the afternoon ofFeb 2nd a students’ parade took place in Montreal fromMcGill College to the Qaeen’s statue, headed by four studentsbearing on their shoulders a large cushion of natural carna-tions in the form of the Star of the Order of the Garterwhich was deposited at the feet of the statue. The entiremedical faculty accompanied them.

Blindness decreasing iv Ontario.The annual reports upon the Ontario Institutions for the

education of the Deat and Dumb at Belleville and ofthe Blind at Brantford have just been published. Theycover the year ending Sept. 30th, 1900. At the Insti-tution for the Deaf and Dumb the number of pupilsin attendance was 152 males and 130 females, a total of,282, which is about the average in recent years. Since theestablishment of this institution 30 years ago 1187 childrenhave been treated. At the Institution for the Blind therewere 113 pupils in attendance, 61 males and 52 females,which number was less than for the preceding year. Referring

to the causes which led to the decrease Principal Dymondattributed it to the eye infirmary attached to almost everyhospital in the province, thus affording a means of easy andinexpensive relief. He thinks that the eyesight of one-fourthof the young people under his charge might have been savedhad prompt precautions been taken in infancy and treat.ment by a skilled oculist been then secured at one of theseinfirmaries. Greater watchfulness on the part of the immigra-tion officials is also a contributing feature to the decrease.

New Scholarship at Queen’s Colleqe, Kingston.The medical faculty of Queen’s College have decided to

found a new scholarship in medicine in commemoration of Dr.Fife Fowler, dean of the faculty, who recently retired from theprofessorship of medicine and who for more than 46 yearshas been in active work in the service of the college. Thisscholarship will be known as the Dean Fowler bcholarship,and the sum of$10 000 will be immediately raised amongstthe graduates of Queen’s College throughout the United Stalesand Canada. The medical faculty have already amongst them-selves contributed a good sum. In addition to this thefaculty are further raising amongst themselves$10,000,’which will be expended in enlarging and extending themedical buildings of Queen’s College. To this sum no out-sider will be asked to contribute.

The late Dr. C. W. Purdy.Canada and Queen’s have recently lost a distinguished son

by the death of Dr. Charles W. Purdy, a well-knownauthority 08 uranalysis and urinary diagnosis. He was bornat Collins Bay, Frontenac County, Ontario, on June 18th,1846. His literary course was taken out at Victoria College,then situated at Coburg, and his medical degree was receivedfrom Queen’s in 1866. He practised in the county ofHastings for a year when he moved to Chicago. His almamater conferred upon him a Fellowship and the degree ofLL.D.

The Death-rate of Montreal for 1900.There were 7351 deaths in Montreal in the year 1900.

This was the largest number which has been recorded since1885, when 7825 deaths occurred; but since that year thecity has taken a big leap in population. In 1885 the death-rate per 1000 was 4691 and in 1900 it was 25-47. In otherrecent years the rate was as follows :-1894, 27’27; 1895,24-81; 1896, 21-92; 1897, 22-48; 1898, 20-66; and 1899,24-51.

The Victorian Order of Nurses.The executive council of the board of governors of the

Victorian Order of Nurses recently met in the city ofOttawa, Her Excellency the Countess of Minto and theCountess of Antrim being present. Miss McLeod, the super-intendent, presented her monthly report. In Montreal fourof the six nurses had been on duty during the month ofDecember and 43 patients bad been attended by them.They paid 570 visits and received$98 in fees. At presentthere are 38 nurses in the Victorian Order in Canada. Theyhave to serve six months on trial before being finallyaccepted and they receive$15 per month for that time.

The Medical Alliance of Ame7-iea.Something over a year ago an organisation with the above

title secured a charter from the Dominion Government, andat once proceeded to exploit the profession of medicine inMontreal and elsewhere. When the alliance was seekingpowers from the Canadian Parliament its methods and its

purposes received pretty severe criticism in the pages of theMontreal Medical Jou1’ftal, hut for some reason or other thiswas not followed up by any of the other medical journalsin Canada, so that when the agents of the alliance some fewweeks ago commenced operations in the city of Torontotheir name was quite new to the medical profession there.The objects of this alliance are to insure people againstmedical bills, to insure practitioners against bad accounts,and to insure financial profit to the company. Medical menand the laity are solicited to become members of the allianceat the rate of 15 cents a month, or a man with a family canbecome a member at the rate of 10 cents per month permember of family. At the end of 10 years the member ofthe alliance is handed back all the money he has paidinto it, and during all that time he has had his medicalattendance for nothing. The advantage to the physicianof becoming a member of this alliance, from the stand-point of the company, is that the company will pay hisbills and that he will have no more bad debts to collect.

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The alliance is receiving the cold shoulder from the medicalprofession in Toronto.

Royal Victoria Hospital, Mont’l’eal.The governors of the Royal Victoria Hospital held their

annual meeting in the last week of January. The super-intendent’s report showed that during the year 1900 there hadbeen 2619 patients admitted to the hospital. Of these 1469were free patients, 741 were public ward patients at 50 centsper day, and 409 were private patients. The death-rate forthe year had been 4-95 per cent, or if those dying within48 hours after admission be deducted, 3-83 per cent. Thetotal cost per day per patient was$1.47 as against$1.55in 1899. The income for the year was$129,570.34, whilethe ordinary expenditure amounted to$99,208.62, leaving abalance or$30,361 72 which will be applied towards the costof the new out-patient department. ,

Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.The report of this institution for the year ending Sept. 30th,

1900, shows that the hospital has cared for over 40,000 sickchildren of the province during the past 25 years and thatthe debt of$19,000 has almost entirely disappeared.The daily average of patients in the previous year was101 ; during the past year it has been 111. Duringthe past year 5776 patients have been treated. Ofthese 767 were in-patients, an increase of 97 over 1899, and5009 were out-patients, an increase of 734 over the previousyear. On Toronto island, overlooking Lake Ontario, iswhat might be called the summer residence of this institu-tion. It is known as the Lakeside Home for Little Childrenand is a well-equipped sanatorium with accommodation for150 children and 20 nurses.Toronto, Feb. 9th.

Obituary.MAX VON PETTENKOFER.

(FROM OUR BERLIN CORRESPONDENT.)PROFESSOR VON PETTENKOFER, the founder of scientific

hygiene, and one of the veterans of medical science in

Germany, died in Munich on Feb. 10th. The circumstancesof his decease were very tragic, for he committed suicidewhile in a state of mental depression induced by dread oflosing his reason. He had reached an advanced age, beingborn in 1818 at Lichtenheim in Bavaria. He completed thecurricula both of a chemical and also of a medical student atMunich, receiving the diploma of a chemist and the degreeof M.D. from that university. He was in course of time

appointed assistant chemist to the Royal Mint at Munichand while holding this position made a series of researchesboth in theoretical and practical chemistry. As early as1850 he turned his attention to hygienic questions, a subjectwhich attracted him on account of the amount of illnessexisting in Munich, which was formerly one of the mostunhealthy towns, not only of Germany, but of the wholecontinent. Enteric fever was prevalent there nearly the ’,whole year round and cholera, when appearing in Munich, ’was of the most malignant character. He made entericfever his special study and discovered that there was adefinite connexion between this disease and the subsoilwater. According to his theory enteric fever became pre-valent when the subsoil water was low. This theory hemaintained for a long time, till the new bacteriological erain hygiene, inaugurated by the researches of Professor Kochand his disciples, began ; although he was fully aware of Ithe great importance of bacteriology in hygienic questions

Ihe could never be convinced that pathogenic bacteria were Ithe only causes of epidemic diseases and that the object ofhygiene was to get rid of them. In the beginning of thebacteriological era the hygienists of Germany were reallydivided into two different parties, the Pettenkofer schooland the Koch school; in course of time a compromise tookplace between the " contagionists " and the "localists" " asit was recognised that the two theories were not con-

tradictory. It may be remembered that Professor vonPettenkofer in order to prove the innocuousness of bacteriawent so far as to swallow a culture of cholera bacilli. Hishealth did not suffer and it is now known under whatcircumstances this experiment may be safely performed andthat it is quite inconclusive as evidence that these bacteriaare harmless. At the time, however, it was believed to be

l a valuable argument against Professor Koch’s theory. Pro-fessor von Petteckofer took care that his researches shouldbear fruit in a practical sense by leading to hygienic improve-ments in Munich. By his advice sewers were constructedand the water-supply was regulated in so satisfactory amanner that Munich is at present one of the healthiest

. towns in Germany. ’the malignant form of enteric feverI

formerly so characteristic of Munich has disappeared andthe sporadic cases which occur are neither more numerousnor more severe than elsewhere. In addition to his workon enteric fever Professor von Pettenkofer made numerousresearches on ventilation and beating, on the chemical andphysical qualities of the soil, on food, and on respiration.His researches on the phenomena of respiration were

of fundamental importance. He worked at them in

conjunction with Professor Voit by the aid of a specialapparatus which was a gift from the late King of Bavariaand which enabled experiments to be made on the humansubject. He was the first who introduced exact scientificmethods into hygienic questions and who treated hygienefrom an experimental point of view. It was through himthat hygiene has been raised in public opinion to an equalitywith the older branches of medicine and that the Stateauthorities have given it practical recognition by appoint-ing professors of hygiene in every university of Germany.Although some of his views have been superseded by morerecent researches he will ever be regarded as the leader ofthe modern developments of hygiene. The announcementof his melancholy death has therefore caused great sorrow,and the newspapers are unanimous in expressing the opinionthat in him Germany has lost one of the greatest of her sons

BARON ALFRED RUGG, L.R.C.P.LoND., M.R.C.S.ENG,By the death of Mr. Baron Alfred Rugg on Feb. llth

Wood-green has sustained a serious loss. Of handsome and

distinguished presence Mr. Rugg was a well-known figure inthe district and enjoyed the esteem and confidence both ofhis professional colleagues and of the public.His medical education was received at University College.

In 1868 he took the diploma of M.R.C.S. Eng. and in1869 that of L.R.C.P. Lond., after which he acted as

medical officer at Bournemouth General Dispensary and atEarlswood Asylum. He joined the late Mr. Basil Ringroseas a partner in 1875, and since that date his life was spentin Wood-green, a place which has developed from a

picturesque village into a populous suburb of North London.Mr. Rugg was surgeon to the Oddfellows and Foresters andto the Great Northern Railway; he was on the staff of theWood-green Cottage Hospital and acted as medical refereeto several insurance societies. He died at the age of 53years from pleurisy and pneumonia after only a few days’illness and was buried at Paddington Cemetery.

DEATHS OF EMINENT FOREIGN MEDICAL MEN.-Thedeaths of the following eminent foreign medical men areannounced :-Dr. Ritter von Hochberger. who was the doyenof Carlsbad physicians, having attained the age of 92 years.He was, however, able only two years ago to take an activepart in a medical congress.-Dr Johann Natterer, a Vienna.medical practitioner, whose scientific work in the domain ofexperimental physics-e.g., the liquefaction of gases-wasof a quite uncommon order for a man engaged in activemedical practice. He was 80 years of age.-Dr. VictorPashutin, Professor of Pathology in the St. PetersburgMilitary Medical Academy. His researcbes on the physio-logy of the nervous system and on medical chemistry,together with his text-book on general pathology, markedhim as a worthy representative of Russian medical science.He was 55 years of age.

HEALTH OF TORQUAY.-Mr. P. Q. Karkeek, themedical officer of health of Torquay, in his’annual reportfor 1900 states that the birth-rate was 15-5 per 1000 andthe death-rate was 13-6 per 1000. There were 9 deaths fromcancer. During the year 40 cases bad been admitted to thesanatorium for infectious diseases. Mr. Karkeek reportsthat places where ice-creams were manufactured had beeninspected and improvements made, and he adds that, speakinggenerally, the manufacture of penny ices is not carried onunder satisfactory conditions.