242 A YEAR’S WORK IN THE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY.

renal inadequacy. The blood contained 0 ’ 58, fluid takenfrom the legs 0’’75, and fluid taken from the chest O. 74 percent. of sodium chloride. The latter figures are excessive.The amount of chloride in the blood remains fairly constant.When chloride is taken in excess of the excretory powers ofthe kidneys it accumulates in the tissues and cedema results.When chloride is withheld from the diet the converse occurs:chloride passes into the blood and oedema disappears. Of

course, other factors are concerned in the production ofdropsy. Yet frequently, even in dropsy resulting from gravecardiac and renal disease, Dr. Boyd has seen cedema dis-appear on withdrawing salt from the diet when all other

means failed. ___

THE RECOVERY OF RESIDUES FROM BRINEAND THEIR UTILISATION IN THEROUTINE TREATMENT AT SPAS.

IN an interesting communication which we have receivedfrom Mr. F. Bale of Droitwich he points out that at

Droitwich and other places in this country where the

manufacture of common salt is carried on there have beenthrown away for centuries or practically made little use ofsome of the best constituents of the brine. The ordinaryscale which is produced in the evaporating pans togetherwith the mother liquor which contains mineral constituentsmore soluble than common salt, such as magnesium chlorideand sodium sulphate, can be utilised, he states, for the pro-duction of excellent mineral waters for drinking and otherpurposes, thus adding an important detail to the equipmentof the health spa. The mother liquor may contain, accordingto the degree of concentration, as much as 25 per cent.of the sulphates of calcium, magnesium, and sodium. If

this mother liquor is diluted with water and "salt scale" isadded a mineral water is obtained, effervescing, he says, withoxygen. The disengagement of oxygen is singular andapparently proceeds from the dissolution of the hydratedsulphate of calcium which is the chief constituent of the11 salt scale," although no chemical explanation of this pro-duction of oxygen gas is forthcoming. The evolution of gasis steady and goes on slowly for days, ultimately saturatingthe water. We presume that Mr. Bale has satisfied himselfthat this gas is oxygen as its development is a little difficultto account for. He regards the mineral water so obtainedfrom these concentrated constituents of the brine as

approximating in composition to the waters of manycelebrated spas, while he attaches an added value to it owingto the surplus of oxygen gas with which it is charged. It

follows, he thinks, that the districts of this country whichpossess brine baths may now also possess that which theyrequire as a necessary adjunct to balneotherapy-a medicinalwater for drinking. Moreover, a water evolving pureoxygen gas is not likely to contain organic impurities andconceivably oxygenated water may supply a therapeuticneed.

___

THE WILL OF MR. ALFRED BEIT.

THE late Mr. Alfred Beit in his will dated April 18th, 1905,records that he was a naturalised British subject living inEngland. The provisions of the will show that the testatorwas a man of broad ideas and one who had the welfare ofhis fellow men actively at heart. Nor are the bequests tieddown by conditions which in after years might become

onerous or impossible of execution. For instance, he leaveshis estate of Borstler Jager, near Hamburg, to be held inperpetuity for ever for the benefit of the people of Hamburgand Gros Borstel, intact and unbuilt upon, but should theauthorities of the city find this impracticable they may,after 20 years from the date of the testator’s death,realise the whole or part of the property and mayapply the proceeds to charitable, educational, or public I

purposes for the benefit of the State of Hamburg,Among other bequests specially interesting to the medicalprofession are a sum of .&20.000 to the Central Institute of

Medical Sciences Fund, London University, 20,000 to KingEdward’s Hospital Fund, and .e.20,OOO to Guy’s Hospital. A

remarkable bequest which may have a far-reaching influenceupon the health of present and future generations in Africais one of .61,200,003 for methods of transmission, such asrailways, telegraphs, and telephones in connexion with theCape-to-Cairo Railway. It is only necessary to read the

record of African travel to see how the formation of a rail-

way will do away with the appalling loss of life which

occurred among past travellers, whether among themselvesor the carriers of baggage. It is true that the opening, orat least the construction, of a railway through hitherto un-opened territory is often accompanied by the spread of suchdiseases as malaria or yellow fever, but these can be guardedagainst. But once the railway is opened trade communica-tion is rendered rapid and easy. Altogether the will is a.

striking example of how the possessors of great wealth maybe benefactors of their species.

A YEAR’S WORK IN THE GOVERNMENTLABORATORY.

THE report of the principal chemist (Dr. T. E. Thorpe)upon the work of the Government Laboratory for the yearended March 31st, 1906, was published last week. In theCustoms branch of the laboratory the total number of

analyses and examinations made during the year was 52,140as compared with 49,751 in the preceding year, being anincrease of 2389. In the Excise branch of the laboratory thenumber of analyses and examinations made was 106,799. In

the preceding year the number was 88,757, so that an

increase of over 18,000 occurred, which was due mainly tathe large number of samples of offal tobacco submitted toexamination in accordance with the regulations underwhich such tobacco is presented for drawback. The

number of samples of food and drugs referred to theGovernment Laboratory under the Sale of Food and DrugsAct was 101, against 109 last year. In the case of 100

samples so examined the conclusion of the Government

analysts differed from those of the public analyst in

ten instances (i.e., 10 per cent.). In the previous years theconclusions differed to the extent of 9’5 5 per cent. and in1904 to the extent of 14’4 per cent. Pablic analysts arethus to be congratulated on the generally high standardof their work and Dr. Thorpe ha; contributed to thisresult by adopting uniform methods of analysis and

making them known. The result is all the more satisfactorywhen the small number of referred samples is comparedwith the many thousands usually examined in the publicservice which are not so referred. It is interesting to notethat the Government chemist agreed with the opinion givenby an analyst in one case to the effect that a sample ofbrandy had been mixed with spirit which was not brandy.In the Customs department there was a considerable increasein the number of samples of enumerated spirits examined,due chiefly to spirits being entered as " brandy," the correct.ness of this description being questioned by the landingofficers. In a number of cases the spirits did not correspondwith the genuine brandy of commerce and were accordinglycharged at the higher rate as unenumerated spirits. It is

gratifying to see that at last the Excise authorities arc

turning their attention to the discrimination of spirits int’ze way indicated and we may be pardoned for claiming thatwe are the authors of this reform by our exposure of theadulteration of brandy with foreign spirit. The practice offilling chocolates with a strongly alcoholic liqueur appearsto have been abandoned, as out of 44 samples examined aconsiderable number was practically free from spirit. As