1233,] MEDICAL HISTORY.-RAW MATERIALS OF ETHER AND CHLOROFORM.

desirable that the local rice dealer should be compelled byJaw to have always on hand and available for sale to the

natives a sufficient stock of this variety of rice which is freefrom danger. Unhappily Filipinos, like many other native

races, have got accustomed to and prefer the white over-

milled rice which causes the beri-beri, so that it becomes verynecessary, as urged by Dr. Andrews, that a campaign should’be begun forthwith to educate the people, and especiallyjpregnant women, in the essentials of a proper dietary, and’how they may easily avoid the development of beri-beri in- themselves as well as in their offspring. In our issue of

Oct. 12th (p. 1005) Dr. H. Fraser and Dr. A. T. Stanton

remark that education must be a slow process, but that itis a moot point whether this plan might not be the most>successful.

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MEDICAL HISTORY.

WE learn with pleasure that a Society for the Study of:Medical History has been established in London after many_years of hesitation and delay. It starts under very favour-

able auspices as a section of the Royal Society of Medicine.’The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 20th, at.5 P.1Bf. Similar societies have long been in existence in theUnited States, Germany, and France with the happiestresults. It is intended to give a liberal interpretation to theterm medical history," and it is hoped that exhibits frommembers in all parts of the country will be a feature of themeetings. An educational side will be developed by lecturesgiven by recognised authorities on the subject open to all

practitioners and medical students. Those who wish to jointhe new section, which already contains 128 members,should communicate with the honorary secretaries at thesociety’s house, 1, Wimpole-street, W.

THE RAW MATERIALS OF ETHER ANDCHLOROFORM.

IN the new edition of Sir Frederic Hewitt’s text-

book on "Anaesthetics and their Administration," whichwas reviewed in our last issue (p. 1154), some interesting’statistics have been included concerning the predilections ofLondon anmsthetists as to the method of manufacture of the<ether and chloroform which they use. Ether can be made

from methylated spirit or from (dutiable) rectified spirit ;chloroform also can be made from both these spirits, andfrom acetone too. The cost of the finished products variesenormously according to the method of manufacture. Thus

,in the list of a well-known firm of makers, acetone chloro-form is quoted at 2s. 8d. per lb. ; methylated chloroform at2s. 10d.;rectified spirit chloroform at 6s. 10d. Ether in the

same list costs ls. 10d. per lb. when made from methylatedspirit, and 8s. 5d. when made from rectified spirit. The

cause of this wide divergence is the very heavy duty leviedupon rectified spirit. Efforts have been made to induce

Chancellors of the Exchequer to remit this duty, but so far invain. It is, therefore, of considerable practical importanceto know whether there is any difference-and if so, what-in the safety, efficiency, and general physiological action.,of the drugs made in these different ways. Sir FredericHewitt and Dr. Henry Robinson, his collaborator in

.editing the new edition, both hold that clinically there isno such difference, provided the specimens are properlyprepared and purified. In this opinion they are supported,by a considerable proportion of practising an&aelig;sthetists ;but there are also a good many who take other views.

To test the general feeling, Dr. Robinson, it appears, sometime ago circularised all the anaesthetists holding hospital.appointments in London on a certain date, with resultswhich are summarised in Sir Frederic Hewitt’s book. As

regards ether, 14 anaesthetists (out of 53 who replied tothe circular) use rectified spirit ether ; 28 use methylatedether; and 11 use both. With respect to chloroformthe answers are more complex, and to quote all theshades of opinion would be tedious ; but in privatepractice, as opposed to hospital work, 29 of the 53use rectified spirit chloroform only. There is thus a

fairly even division of expert opinion on the question.As long as the authority of Sir Frederic Hewitt is

supported by so considerable a section of his fellow-

specialists it is unlikely that any Chancellor of the

Exchequer will consent to forego the revenue from rectifiedspirit used in the manufacture of ether and chloroform.

Moreover, the Royal Society of Medicine not long agorecommended that acetone and methylated chloroformsshould be made official in the next edition of the British

Pharmacopoeia ; and Sir T. E. Thorpe asserts that no

analyst can detect the source from which a purifiedspecimen of chloroform has been prepared. The commercial

aspect of this controverted question is the least importantside of it ; but it cannot be entirely overlooked, and therecent discovery of a new process for manufacturing acetone,whereby the price of this raw material will be greatlyreduced, must increase the existing disparity in prices. The

general practitioner has to study price-lists more closelythan the specialist; and he will probably in future buy lessthan in the past of ether and chloroform which have beenheavily taxed by the Revenue.

THE GARDEN CITIES AND TOWN PLANNINGASSOCIATION.

THE value of the services rendered to public health, notonly by the directly hygienic aspects of the movement foithe better town planning, but by its &aelig;sthetic aspects also-for aesthetics, as contributory to a wholesome and joyousstate of mind, have a distinct hygienic influence-is so great,and is now becoming so widely recognised by all thoughtfulmembers of the community, that it would be a thousand

pities should the movement be in any way curtailed. Since,as Professor G. H. Reilly pointed out at the Town PlanningConference of 1910, we must henceforth look to organiseddemocracy for all public uplifting, it is essential that

the democracy as a whole, and not merely a few

specialists, shall be brought to grasp fully the import-ance of this work, and shall be wisely instructed as

to how they can take their part in its accomplishment.The Garden Cities and Town Planning Association hasshouldered all the responsibility of this propaganda since itsbeginning. It has given help and advice wherever asked for;and further, it has gone out into the highways and bywaysseeking to arouse a wider interest in the subject that it

might distribute its valuable help more freely and to bettereffect. Naturally all this calls for expenditure of money,and an appeal by the association (whose offices are now at3, Gray’s Inn-place, W.O.) for a guaranteed subscription forthe next five years of at least &pound;1000 has appeared lately inmany papers. Every medical man especially should beinterested in this appeal, not only as a man of culture andeducation to whom the pursuit of the beautiful cannot fail tocommend itself, but also as a professional hygienistwhose chief aim is the prevention of sickness and the

propagation of mental, moral, and bodily health. Thedecentralisation of industry, the provision of ampleair space, and especially of ample sunlight for everydweller in the towns, the purifying influence of vegeta-tion, and the joyous mental effects of beauty, which in

themselves make for health-the importance of all these

things is known to none better than to the members of the