111REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.-NEW INVENTIONS.

disorders of the liver in the causation of many of theseconditions is evidenced by the fact that more than half thevolume is devoted to the consideration of the disorders and

displacements of this organ. In this clever and charm-

ingly written book the reader will find a masterly if some-what diffuse description of the physical examination of theabdomen in its minutest details. The chapter dealing withpalpation of the intestine and the recognition of functionalatonic narrowing of the large intestine (entérosténose) is

particularly interesting and suggestive. The signs and

symptomatology of the disorders and displacements of thestomach and of dislocations of the kidneys are fully treated,and among numerous clinical records of illustrative cases

will be found a valuable epitome of all the recorded cases ofaoating liver (hepatoptose) as well as a series of 80 cases inwhich ptosis of the liver was associated with moveable

kidney. We must refer the reader to the original for thedeductions which Dr. Glenard draws from the rich store ofclinical observations which he has so carefully collected andanalysed.

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Anatomie Clinique des Centres Nerveux. (The ClinicalAnatomy of the Nervous Centres.) Par M. le Dr.GEASSBT. Paris : J. B. Bailliere et Fils. 1900. Pp. 96.A KNOWLEDGE of the anatomy of the nervous system is

of the first importance to the proper understanding ofnervous disease, hence this small work by Dr. GRASSET, whois himself a well-known neurologist, should prove to beof considerable value. In Part I. the neuron, togetherwith the systems which it forms and its connexions, arefully considered and the whole subsequent treatment of thesubject is based on the neuron conception. In the descriptionof the superior and inferior psychical centres this doctrineis even applied to the processes underlying the most strictlypsychical phenomena. A short account is also included here ’,of the development of the nervous system, as well as someremarks on the subject of myelinisation, or the developmentof the medullary sheath. In Part II. the motor and sensorycerebro-medullary paths, both direct and indirect, are

described. The remaining sections are allotted to thecentral nervous apparatus for vision, hearing, taste, andspeech, and for the circulation, secretions, respiration, anddigestion. This small book will be found to contain muchuseful information which will facilitate the study of nervousdisease.

LIBRARY TABLE.

Laboratory Note-book for Chemical Students. By VIVIANB. LEWES and J. S. S. BRAME. London : A. Constableand Co. 1900. Pp. 170. Price 4s.-Chemical workof any kind is of very little use to the student unless it is

accompanied by intelligent and systematic note-taking. Ifthis is true of the theoretical portion of chemistry it is

doubly so in the case of experimental work, and Messrs.Lewes and Brame are to be congratulated in their attempt tosupply a suitable book for the purpose. In their preface theauthors state that their Note-book has been compiled withoutreference to any particular syllabus or examination and thatit is intended to cover such practical work as a studentshould be familiar with if he is to have a good groundworkin the subject of practical chemistry. Although not writtenin any sense for a special examination there is no doubt thatit will be found extremely useful to candidates for the Pre-liminary Science Examination London, and, indeed, for anyother examinations where the preparation of certain gases andsalts together with a little elementary volumetric analysis area sine quâ non. The pages are interleaved throughout forthe students’ own notes. A section of a more advancedcharacter at the end of the book deals with the preliminaryexamination of water, oils, and explosives, written more

especially for the benefit of naval, engineering, and miningstudents.

Gynæcological Nursing. By G. A. HAWKINS-AMBLER,F.R.C.S. Edin. London : The Scientific Press, Limited.

1900. Small crown 8vo. Pp. 93. Price 1s.—This

little book contains a very practical and good account

of the special details of gynaecological nursing. The

duties of the nurse are given clearly and succinctly andcannot fail to be of service to those who are engaged in

such special work. We are surprised to see, however,in the midst of so much that is good a description of themethod of passing the catheter by touch, a custom whichwe thought was fast becoming obsolete. The observationsof the author upon the personal hygiene and the specialqualifications required from nurses engaged in gynæcologicalnursing are especially apt and to the point.

The Bubonie Plague. A Popular Lecture by ProfessorANDERSON STUART.-Dr. Anderson Stuart has republishedin pamphlet form a lecture recently delivered by him inSydney. It is a clear and brief account of the plague, goingas far into the etiology and pathology as the popular natureof the lecture allows, and explaining with a remarkableabsence of technical phraseology the work of Yersin, .Haff-kine, and others. We hope that the lecture has obtainedthe wide circulation that it deserves, for undoubtedly it is

good that people should know the measure of the risk thatthey run by the non-observance of medical regulations.

New Inventions.THE "EVER READY" ELECTRIC LIGHT.

THIS is a handy little lamp, made in various sizes fromthree and a half to five and a half voltage and worked by adry cell. Contact is made by pressing a ring down upon aspring. The whole is inclosed in a neat case and the cellis stated to have a life sufficient to give from 6000 to 8000lights before requiring renewal. This of course is a hope-lessly vague statement, for the life of the cell will entirely

depend upon the length’ time for which the lamp is keptburning. The appliance, however, will be found convenient.It is made by Mr. E. R. Dale, 89, Fisherton-street, Salisbury.Mr. Dale, we see, calls himself a medical electrician as wellas an electric light contractor. If this means only that hemakes electrical medical apparatus-and we presume thatMr. Dale is not a medical man-he should state the fact indifferent words.

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THE CAMBRIDGE SENTINEL PATENT DOMESTICMILK STERILISER.

THIS is an ingenious invention for ensuring that milk whenbeing sterilised by heat shall not be boiled-in other words,when the temperature reaches 185° F. the process of heatingis stopped. The steriliser is made in two forms. In the onethe heating is done by means of a gas stove in which uponthe temperature reaching 185° the gas is automatically cutoff. The other form which is for use with an ordinary firecannot, of course, cut off the heat-supply, but when thedesired point is reached a bell rings and so calls attention tothe fact that a temperature of 1850 has been reached. The

apparatus is extremely simple and there are no complicatedparts to get out of order. The apparatus can be obtainedfrom the Sentinel Co., Limited, Cambridge. The saucepan ismade of enamelled iron and the prices vary from 17s. 6d.for a six-pint pan with stove to 6s, 6d, for a one pint panwithout stove for use on a fire.

B 4

112 OUTBREAK OF ENTERIC FEVER AMONG TROOPS IN SOUTH AFRIOA.

THE LANCET.

LONDON: SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1900.

IN order to get a clear notion of the situation which hasbeen brought about by Mr. BURDETT. COUTTS’S letter in theTimes of June 27th last it is necessary to enter upon a brief

description and recapitulation of what has since taken place.The main facts are, in our opinion, sufficiently clear. There

was a serious outbreak of enteric fever among the troops inthe Orange River Colony during the month of April, andwe are content to accept in the meantime, and until it

has been disproved, Mr. BURDETT-COUTTS’S statement in

regard to what he saw at Bloemfontein on April 28th and

subsequently. Bloemfontein, it will be remembered, was

occupied by our troops on March 13th. They arrived therein a physically exhausted condition after a series of forcedmarches and after having altogether distanced their

supplies. They became dependent upon a thin and pre-carious line of transport. An outbreak of enteric fever

occurred and the medical service, overwhelmed by the

amount and explosive nature of the epidemic, for a time

had not the means of coping with it. This gave rise

to the overcrowding and the lamentable suffering and

occurrences described by Mr. BURDETT-COUTTS. We mayset aside all the testimony of correspondents and others

descriptive of their experience at other times and placesas irrelevant and therefore worthless. The only questionsare whether the emergency could, in the first instance,have been prevented, and secondly, whether, havingarisen, everything was afterwards done as promptly as

practicable to meet it. With regard to the second

question Mr. BURDETT-COUTTS plainly implied that in his

opinion such was not the case, and he has urged that ifone day’s trains on the railway had been utilised for

getting up hospital stores the whole position of the sick

and wounded would have been saved. This is a matter

that has to be thoroughly gone into.In the debate in the House of Commons on June 29th

which followed upon the publication of Mr. BURDETT-

COUTTS’S letter Mr. WYNDHAM gave a very able and lucid

statement in explanation of affairs in South Africa. He

spoke in defence of the Government and those concernedas far as the information in his possession enabled him todo so. Mr. BALFOUR, in a speech which was not devoidof asperity, held that the charges raised by Mr. BURDETT-JOUTTS involved a question of transport. After Lord

ROBERTS had made his remarkable march to Bloemfontein,said Mr. BALFOUR, he had to depend upon a very pre-carious transport, and the preventability or inevitability ofthe enteric fever among the troops turned upon how LordROBERTS or his subordinates used this transport. Here we

may remark that, as far as we can see, there is really no

occasion for any persons to shelter themselves behind thewell-known popularity of Lord ROBERTS. It is a questionof fact about which the commission going to South Africawill have to inquire. If the army medical authorities failed

to represent the pressing urgency of the case they must ofcourse take the consequences ; whereas if the militaryauthorities assumed the responsibility of overruling themand of using the transport in such a way as to be of

no service to the medical service no blame can obviouslyin that case be attached to the medical service. It is

only fair to say that there seems to be no question thatthe troops were in a miserable plight on their arrival at

Bloemfontein-they and their horses were half-starved.

Soldiers cannot fight unless they are properly fed and

supplied with ammunition, and unless the military machineis in an effective state the safety of the whole force, sickand well, may be jeopardised. It is clear that in an

emergency of this kind the medical equipment would

have to rank after and not with the food-supply of

an army.Next came the appointment of a commission with the

following reference : "To report on the arrangements forthe care and treatment of the sick and wounded duringthe South African campaign." It should be added that

Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER asked, "Does the reference includethe power of inquiry into the organisation of the ArmyMedical Department " and was told in reply that the

question was not referred to the commission but that no

doubt the finding would have a bearing on it. The names

of three commissioners were originally proposed-viz., LordJustice ROMER; Dr. W. S. CHURCH, the President of the

Royal College of Physicians of London; and Dr. D. J.

CUNNINGHAM, Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, TrinityCollege, Dublin. No objection was raised on the score

of their ability. The selection of a lawyer of the greateminence and business qualifications of Lord Justice

ROMER, accustomed to and able to instruct those asso-

ciated with him in the laws of evidence and in the

testing and sifting of it, was felt to be very

appropriate, while the official positions of the two

medical men spoke for their reputations. But the

feeling of the House was strongly against having the com-mission so small, and many Members held it to be a

serious mistake on the part of the Government to have, allowed a preponderance of medical men on it. Mr.

BALFOUR attempted to support his original proposition, butt had to yield the point in deference to the opinion of the

House and the commission of three was increased to five.

There can be no possible objection to the increase of the

i lay element on the commission, although we cannot see whymembers of the medical profession should not bring) absolutely honest and impartial minds, together with

common sense and experience of life, to the task. We. have no desire to see any undue preponderance of the

1 medical element on the commission. But we are not

, satisfied with its constitution and, such being the case,

- we are bound to state our reasons.

f In the first place, there is such a thing as sacrificing1 efficiency to a fastidious sense of impartiality. There is no

e representative of the Army Medical Service on the com-

mission who could, by his technical knowledge and