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made in hospital; (3) the proportion of the total Iamount of 90 per cent. alcohol represented bythe above uses for (a) in-patients and (b) out- .

patients, and the average amount of duty-paidalcohol 90 per cent. represented by the above used i

(a) per in-patient, (b) per out-patient; and (4) the 1

receipts for the years 1914, 1915, and 1916 respect- itively from other than charitable contributions. 7

AURICULAR FLUTTER DISCOVERED BYRADIOSCOPY.

IN the Journal of the American Medical Associa-tion of March 17th Dr. G. W. Holmes and Dr. P. D.White have described a case in which auricularflutter was discovered in what appears to be anovel manner-by radioscopy. A painter and paper-hanger, aged 62 years, was referred to the Massa-chusetts General Hospital for diagnosis. He hadbeen well until four months previously, whenattacks of pain in the region of the umbilicus began.They were most frequent in the early morning,awaking him about 2 o’clock and compelling himto rise and pace the floor. Gradually the painhad become more persistent and was present muchof the time. Hot applications gave some relief.There was no nausea or vomiting. No relation couldbe discovered between the time or kind of the mealsand the pain. Yet the patient complained ofindigestion, was afraid to eat much, and hadlost 30 lb. in the four months. He was slightlyconstipated. There was no dyspnoea or preacordialpain. On examination he was pale and underweight. All the teeth were artificial and the tonguewas coated. Percussion showed slight enlargementof the heart. The action was regular and rapid(115 to the minute). The sounds were faint andclear. Radioscopy after a bismuth meal did notshow any abnormality of the gastro-intestinal tract.The right and left borders of the heart were thenclearly outlined, when the left was seen to be pul-sating regularly at the rate of 115 to the minuteand the right at twice that rate. Auricular flutterwas diagnosed, and the diagnosis confirmed by theelectrocardiograph, which showed auricular flutterwith a 2: 1 a.-v. block. Right vagal pressure in-creased instantly the grade of the block, bringingout clearly the separate auricular deflections.The case suggests a possibly fruitful form of

investigation in an obscure group of cases.

MEDICAL MUSEUMS.

LARGE and important questions came up for dis-cussion at the recent annual meeting, held in NewYork, of the American Section of the InternationalAssociation of Medical Museums. This sectionrepresents the leading medical museums andlaboratories of the United States and Canada, andis presided over by Dr. 0. Klotz, of Pittsburgh, Pa.,Dr. Maude E. Abbott, of McGill University, beingsecretary-treasurer. The session opened with thedespatch of a telegram to Washington placingthe services of its workers and resources inits special field of research at the disposalof the National Committee in the present emer-gency. The establishment of a central - bureaufor the permanent preservation of the results ofscientific research, especially histological material,to be used for purposes of study by scientificworkers throughout the country, was broughtforward by Dr. M. C. Winternitz, of Baltimore,and a committee appointed to organise such abureau. A discussion took place on the clashing

of the time of meeting in New York of the foursocieties of kindred nature-viz., the AmericanAssociation of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, theAmerican Section of the Medical Museums Associa-tion, the Cancer Society, and the American Associa-tion of Immunologists. It was resolved that somesort of federation should be attempted, so as to

present subjects of common interest to combinedaudiences. A number of papers were read on museumand laboratory technique, museum teaching, theproper presentation of the results of medicalresearch, and kindred matters. The InternationalAssociation, of which the American Section is but apart, includes in its membership most of the museumcurators in this country. Most successful meetingsof this Association were held in London duringthe International Medical Congress of 1913. TheMuseums Association has done much to improvethe technique employed in preserving and mount-ing of specimens. This matter has a considerableimportance at the present time, for it is necessaryfor the progress of military surgery that a completerecord should be made of the wounds and diseasessuffered by our soldiers.

THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR RELIEF INBELGIUM.

THE United States Government has assumedresponsibility for the work of the Commission forRelief in Belgium, and it has been decided that

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the National Committee for Relief in Belgium willsuspend its appeals for subscriptions to the Britishpublic. Donations received after June lst willbe held to provide for emergencies now unforeseenin connexion with relief in Belgium. This course ofaction is in accordance with the suggestion made byMr. H. C. Hoover, chairman of the Relief Commission,who is now in Washington, and has the approval ofHis Majesty’s Government and the Belgian Minister.During the existence of the National Committee,whose second annual meeting will be held at theMansion House on June 15th, over ;E2,400,000 havebeen subscribed through its medium for the reliefof Belgium. As will be seen from the letter of Dr.H. A. Des Voeux in another column, the work ofthe Belgian Doctors’ and Pharmacists’ Relief Fundcontinues without interruption.

TALC IN TABLETS.

Mr. Albert E. Parkes, F.I.C., has been examiningmedicinal tablets and finds that many of themcontain quantities of talc sufficient, he suggests,to cause gastro-intestinal disturbance. Mr. Parkesstates that in the process of manufacture ofcompressed tablets it is generally necessary tomix with the powdered drug after granulation aso-called lubricant to ensure the mass flowingfreely from the hopper to the dies and also toprevent the finished tablets from sticking to thedies and to each other. Various agents have beenused for this purpose, one of which is talc, or Frenchchalk, in the use of which it is generally advisedto limit the amount to 1 or 2 per cent. Many ofthe cheaper varieties of tablets on the market were,however, found to contain talc in amounts far exceed-ing this. Mr. Parkes’s attention was first called tothe composition of soda-mint tablets, a sample ofwhich had caused unpleasant symptoms. Theywere found on analysis to contain 5’5 per cent. ofinsoluble matter which proved to be talc.Fourteen different samples of these tablets were then pur-

chased from shops in various localities, and on examination