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NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Co Correspondents.J. W.-In the Quarterly Report of the Registrar-General for Scotland just

issued, embracing the three months ending the 30th of June last, the fol-lowing very important observation is made, which cannot be too extensivelycirculated amongst the profession, so as to induce additional investigationand discussion. That document says:—"On consulting the old mortalitybills of Scotland, it was noticed that, wherever measles in the epidemic formsucceeded epidemic small-pox, its virulence, as evidenced by the numbersfalling victims to it, appeared to have been much greater than when it fol-lowed scarlatina or hooping-cough. This has been again strikingly mani-fested in the town of Dundee; and the fact is worthy of attention, as it mayprove that, by protecting our children from small-pox by means of vaccina-tion, we are at the same time diminishing their chances of dying undermeasles." In further illustration of this interesting question, it de-

serves being likewise mentioned, that the Local Registrar of the seconddivision of Dundee reports :—" About seventy per cent. of the children whodied from measles had not been vaccinated, which seemingly justifies theopinion that there is a similarity between these diseases, and perhaps furtherinquiry might be attended with beneficial results." These remarks wellmerit the notice of every medical practitioner, because, if experience shallindubitably show that vaccination, besides its many great benefits, materiallydiminishes the fatality of other eruptive diseases, especially measles, howmuch more important it then becomes to promote the extension of thatprophylactic throughout all classes. When vaccinophobists next ventureupon uttering their absurd rhapsodical tirades against vaccination, whetherin Parliament or elsewhere, they should maturely consider the facts nowquoted, and no longer make themselves ridiculous respecting a subjectthey really do not understand.

A Patient.—There is good sea-bathing at Dieppe.B. B.-In the Students’ Number.

Enquirer.—There have been no true cases of Asiatic cholera in the metropolisthis vear.

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CIDER AS A B E M E D T FOR CHOLERA.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR.—Should you consider the following deserving a space in your journal,I shall feel obliged by its insertion :-

In the month of August, 1854, Mr. Herapath, of Bristol, favoured me withreplies to some private questions asked of him by me, amongst which was thefollowing:-"I should say (wrote Mr. Herapath in reference to cholera) that the mixed

acids would be preferable to sulphuric alone, as that only neutralizes, butnitric will destroy in addition, and in those cases where I have examined thecontents of the stomach they were alkaline with ammonia, which nitric acidwould have the greatest action on."As I had not obtained permission of Mr. Herapath to give publicity to the

above, it does not appear in my paper read before the Epidemiologieal Societyin January last, as published in the " Transactions" of the Society in theJournal of-Public Health for April of this year, although it was embodied inmy paper read. A few days since Mr. Herapath gave me permission to makeuse of the foregoing in any way I might think proper. To Mr. Herapath isdue, I believe, the merit of bringing before the profession, through THELANCET for August 2nd, 1851, the combination of the acids, sulphuric andnitric, as remedial of cholera, and in his communication he alludes to cider asresembling the Austrian remedy for cholera. The Austrian remedy, accordingto Mr. Herapath’s analysis, contained sulphuric and nitric acids, sugar, andwater, in certain proportions.Why sulphuric and nitric acids in small proportions, and sometimes sul-

phuric alone, may be occasionally found in some kinds of cider can be accountedfor; but for the present 1 will not state why I do not believe they exist in theordinary cider drank in cider districts. It has been stated by some that ciderowes its acidity to acetic acid with malic, and by others that lactic acid pre-dominates.

Dr. Turnbull, in his work just published, "A Practical Treatise on theDisorders of the Stomach, with Fermentation, &c.," treats the subject thus,page 151 :-

"All fermented liquors are liable to contain acetic acid, generated by acetousfermentation, and in malt liquors it is the only acid met with. In other kinds,however, it is not the chief acid; fox in wine the acidity arises from tartaricacid; and in cider and perry, and in the beer made from milk, and from millet,lactic is the acid to which these liquors owe their acidity. As lactic acid hasdigestive power, we can theiefore understand how it is that cider and perryshould be wholesome drinks, which in many persons assist digestion."

I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,Berners-street, August, 1856. J. H. TUCKER.

Mr. A. E. Richards.-The gentleman alluded to has long since retired fromthe profession, in consequence of ill health.

Mr. Dixon.-No charge is made.3fr. C. C. Dey, (Calcutta.)—Our correspondent’s letter has been received, butnot the book.

Amicus is thanked for the information. A Lunatic asylum would be the mostsuitable place.

Mr. William Benham.—As yet, we believe, the list of subjects has not beenpublished.

A QUERY.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—In. a ease of ascites of four or five months’ standing, that of a female,about sixty years of age, and who has had three children, after twice tapping,obstinate vomiting has supervened, and continued seven weeks; the vomitedmatters appear to be fluid, containing bile having a muddy, cotfee-groundappearance. Can any of your readers suggest a remedy ? i’here is no diseaseof the stomach, nor does there appear to be any of the liver.

Newmarket, August, 1856. 1 am, Sir, yours obediently,

F. P.Newmarket, August, 1853. F. P.

Mr. William Prowse.—Snuff is very frequently adulterated with preparationsof lead-namely, red oxide of lead and chromate of lead, and well authen.ticated cases of lead poisoning have been traced to the use of snuff containinglead. Some of these cases will be found recorded in the Report of theAnalytical Sanitary Commission on Snuff, and in Dr. Hassall’s work, entitled" Food and its Adulterations." We should be very glad to receive a fullhistory of the case in question.

THE M.B. EXAMINA.TION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Although disposed to make great allowances for the dissatisfactionexpressed by " A Rejected Candidate," in your last number, I cannot but joinissue with him as to the questions proposed by Dr. Rees, and I say, in limine,that if he could not answer those questions he ought never to have presentedhimself for examination. As to the first, surely it is comprehensive enough,and ought to be answered, and well answered too, by any candidate ; and asregards the second, I regard it as eminently practical, as one well calculatedto enable a student to show the extent of his " knowledge in the immense fieldof Materia Medica and Pharmacy." Again, if I mistake not, our disappointedfriend had ample opportunity of showing what he knew in the vivâ voce partof the examination, my recollection of which is that it was quite enough of

itself to test the knowledge of any man. I say then, emphatically, that if" A Rejected Candidate" could not give a fair answer to those two questions,he must have paid very little attention to the subject; and I can confidentlystate, from some little experience, that to answer those well would fully occupythe three hours allotted to them. There are so many examples illustratingthe second question, that every one who pretends to know Materia Medica andPharmacy ought to be able to quote so as to, at all events, give a fair answerto the question. Dr. Rees was certainly unfortunate in selecting the only twoquestions, satisfactory answers to which " A Rejected Candidate" could notgive. I am, Sir, yours obediently,

August, 1856. M.B. LOND.

Medicus.—Under this signature a correspondent has forwarded us the follow-ing:—"At a lecture delivered some time since on the Skin, in the course of the

discussion some one wanted to know the microscopical characters of corns, asa friend, who had had a number extracted, thought they looked like small

pieces of horny tissue, which the chiropodist had prepared beforehand, anddeposited from between his finders after each tweak of professed extraction.In this way the number of corns (!) and consequent fees, might be varied at thewill of the chiropodist according to the position and appearance ot the patient,and whether the cash seemed tight’ or not, By the exposure and ridiculeof such impositions, many of the public would be put on their guard againstthese extortionists, and would save themselves dozens of fees for the allegedextraction of dozens of corns from a single callosity."M.D., (Dublin.)-It would be waste of space to notice the rubbish in thecolumns of THE LANCET.

MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS AND BOARDS op GUARDIANS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—The following facts will, I think, tend to show how necessary MedicalReform is, and especially that the power of guardians over medical practi-tioners should be entirely removed. It falls to my lot to examine frequentlya number of inmates for admittance to an institution, and in distin-guishing contagious diseases. I was not long since informed by one ofthese ofricials that small-pox was not, he believed, contagious atall; and to-day 1 am informed that I am not to consider " scabies"contagious; and it was even proposed that I should write out a list ofthose diseases I considered infectious, and that the guardians should eraseany they considered were not. If this is not insulting, derogatory, and harrow-ing to the feelings of any person endowed with common sense, I do not knowwhat is. If this is how we are to be served after an expensive and liberaleducation, after five years’ pupilage, three years’ hospital study, and years ofprivate practice, the sooner we all stand on our defence the better. It isthoroughly making tools of us.

I will not say more, but I hope what I have said may tend to stimulate allunion surgeons to a firm determination to be no longer oppressed and cowedby these officials. I could relate numerous other insults derived from thesernotleri gentlemen, (for there arc, no doubt, some men of sense and feelingamongst them,) but these will suffice to show my object.

I am, Sir, yours truly,August, 1858. Al.R.C.S.L. & L.S.A.

COMMUNICATIONS, LETTERS, &c., have been received from-Dr. Marshall Hall;Dr. Tyler Smith ; Dr. Knox; Mr. John Birkett; Mr. Dixon; Dr. W. P.Brookes; Mr. J. Hawkes; Dr. John Rose, (Portsmouth;) Mr. W. Prowse;Dr. Webb; Mr. H. J. Cockburn; Mr. C. H. Marston; Mr. C. Lovegrove;Mr. W. S. Cox, (Birmingham;) Mr. Huntington, (with enclosure;) Mr. W.Benham; Mr. Dey, (Calcutta;) Mr. Eastwood; Dr. Lankester; Dr. Morris,(Normanby, with enclosure;) Dr. Shand, (Kirkcudbright, with enclosure;)Mr. H. W. Langdon, (Chard, with enclosure;) ;) Mr. R. Taylor, (Chorley, withenclosure;) Mr. Oxley, (Masbro’;) Mr. E. Thornhill, (Walsail, with enclo-sure;) Mr. Crosbie, (Weymouth;) Mr. Rowe, (Solihull, with enclosure;)Dr. Hollis, (Yarmouth, with enclosure;) Mr. Chick, (Manchester, with en-closure ;) Mr. Brownridge, (Hull;) Dr. Downes, (Southsea;) Mr. J. Parrott,(Aylesbury;) Mr. Bowen, (Shrewsbury, with enclosure;) Mr. W. White,(Devon Hospital, with enclosure;) Mr. W. Stabb, (Torquay, with enclosure;)Dr.Dyce, (Aberdeen;) Mr. C. Bateman, (Leicester, with enclosure;) Mr.Baker, (Cardiff, with enclosure;) Dr. Crabb, (Poole, with enclosure;) Dr.Bower, (Stafford;) Mr. Martin, (Abingdon;) Mr. J. Nichols, (Tring, withenclosure;) Mr. J. Potter, (High Broughton, Manchester;) DIr. Wootton,(Harrold, with enclosure;) Mr. Price, (Medical School, Leeds;) Mr. C. H.Fisher, (Bun gay Mr. Dowding, (Fermoy;) Mr. A. E. Richards; Tiledicu,9,(Dumfries, with enclosure;) .1l.D., M.R.C.S. Eng.; F. P., (Newmarket;)M.B. Lond. ; One who wishes to be Paid for what he does; J. W.; B. B.A Patient; Amicus; Enquirer ; M.D., (Dublin;) &e. &e.

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