208 THE ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENT OF CRIMINALS.

condition of the houses in which they temporarily reside.If the opinion of the sanitary committee is to override thatof the medical officer of health on a matter such as thedetection of tubercle, or proper proceedings are not to followthe exposure of diseased meat for sale, then the sooner thissanitary committee is replaced by another of higher aims thebetter for the health of the inhabitants of Brighton. Wetake it, however, that the remedy is in the hands of theratepayers themselves. Meanwhile we trust the rest of the

committee, and, indeed, the town council as a whole, willnot resign, but will, by their presence, aid in effecting areformation.

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THE ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENT OFCRIMINALS.

WE are glad to learn that Dr. John G. Garson, who for along period assisted Sir William Flower as Conservator ofthe Anatomical Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons ofEngland, has been appointed by the Home Secretary the firstsuperintendent of the Bertillon method for the measurementof criminals, the introduction of which into this country wasdecided upon as the result of a report made to the HomeOffice by a very competent Committee early this year. Theduties attached to the post of scientific adviser to and

superintendent of the new Anthropometric Office will includethe instruction of the prison warders in the details of

practical anthropometry. Although at first sight it wouldseem to be an easy task to take accurate measurements ofcertain skull diameters and bone lengths with properly con-trived mechanical assistance, as a matter of fact-and thiswas proved by the evidence taken before the Committeethe possible sources of error are numerous ; and we pointedout when the report of those proceedings was published, andwith special reference to Professor Arthur Thomson’s inter- Iesting remarks, that for the effective use of "Bertillonage"much practice and skill in anthropometry would bedemanded from the warders. They could not be in betterhands to this end than in those of Dr. Garson.

INFANT MORTALITY IN LONDON—1893.

ONE of the most unsatisfactory features of English mor-tality statistics, taken as evidence of sanitary condition, isthe comparatively slow rate of decrease of infant mortality.The death-rate at all ages in England and Wales in the tenyears 1881-90 was 15 per cent. below the rate in the ten

years 1861-70-that is, before the passing of the Public I

Health Acts of 1872 and 1875. The decrease in the death-rate of infants under one year of age in the same perioddid not, however, exceed 8 per cent., although it is

in the first year of life that the excess of mortalitydue to distinctly preventable causes is largest. If we

look at the London figures we find that while the mean

rate of mortality at all ages declined 16 per cent. in the

twenty years above referred to, the decline in the rate of

mortality among infants did not exceed 6 per cent. It is

also disappointing to find that in the first three years of the

current decennium, 1891-93, the mean rate of infant

mortality considerably exceeded the mean rate in the

ten years 1881-90, both in England and Wales and inLondon. This result was in great measure due to the factthat in recent summers, but especially in 1893, the

mean temperature was considerably above the average.The proportion of deaths under one year of age in

London to registered births was last year equal to

164 per 1000, and exceeded the rate in any yearsince 1874, when it was the same. The rate of infant

mortality last year ranged in the five groups of registra-tion districts from 158 per 1000 in the north, to 175 in theeast, and 181 in the central group of districts. In the 41

metropolitan sanitary areas, however, the range of rates of

infant mortality was far wider ; the rate did not exceed 102per 1000 in Hampstead and 128 in Lewisham, while it rangedupwards to 202 in Clerkenwell, 205 in Limehouse, 206 in St.George Southwark, 209 in St. George-in-the-East, 214 in

Holborn, and 219 in Strand sanitary area. Although infantmortality may be more directly governed by maternal careand attention than by what is generally understood as sanitarycondition, it is well to bear in mind that as a general ruleinfant mortality-that is, the rate of mortality under oneyear of age-bears a constant relation to the death-rate atall ages, which few now venture to disregard as evidence ofsanitary condition. There are, however, some strangeanomalies in the Metropolitan rates of infant mortality whichcall for investigation. It is not by any means clear why inWest London, where the death-rate from all causes is so dis-tinctly below that in the rest of. London, the rate of infantmortality should materially exceed that which prevails in thenorth and south groups of districts ; or why the death-rate ofinfants in Fulham should considerably exceed the mean ratein the whole of London. We commend the subject of infant

mortality in London and its wide variations to the notice ofthe medical officer of the London County Council.

THE USE OF THE WORD "VETERINARY."

THE Times reports that at the North London Police-

court, Frederick Browning, a farrier, of Howard-street,South Hornsey, was charged with acting as a veterinarysurgeon without the necessary qualification, under Section 17of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, which sets forth that noperson who was not a member of the college, or who wasnot registered as a practitioner, or holder of the veterinarycertificate of the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotlandat the time of passing the Act, should be allowed to practiseas a veterinary surgeon. The defendant did not call himselfa veterinary surgeon, but he put on his sign "VeterinaryForge." Relying on the judgment of Justices Hawkinsand Williams, Mr. G. Fletcher argued that this was a

pretence of special veterinary knowledge. Mr. C. V. Young,in the face of that judgment, made no attempt to defend.The defendant was let off with a fine of 20s. (though liable toone of 20), and 23s. costs. It is said that there are twentyother farriers who employ some such title as "VeterinaryForge." There are materials here for consideration by theexecutive committee of the General Medical Council in

reporting on the proposed amendment of the Medical Act.The fortieth clause must be so amended as to cover anywords that mislead the public, though falling short of anactual false title. It cannot be permitted that Acts framedwith the object of protecting the public from deceptionshould be more explicit in the case of horses than in that ofman.

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THE METROPOLITAN ASYLUMS BOARD ANDCONTAGION.

IT is an axiom in sanitation that no means should be left

unemployed which are even likely to prevent the spread ofinfectious disease. The principle involved, as we showed ina recent article,l enjoyed an established reputation longbefore the birth of the present generation. It is when wecome to practice that difficulties appear, and with themarises a strong inclination to compromise matters with con-venience. Those of us who, coming much into contact withthe routine usages of household life, are the more open tothis form of temptation may learn something from the

wholesome, if rather excessive, orthodoxy exhibited in a

recent resolution passed by the Metropolitan AsylumsBoard. This decision is intended to exclude any workmen

other than permanent hospital servants from such occasional

1 THE LANCET, July 7th, 1894.