268 THE NOBLE OFFER OF THE MAHARAJAH OF GWALIOR.

the kidneys, such as parenchymatous nephritis, as no

albumin or casts could be detected in the majority of cases.Pfaff of Harvard had recently demonstrated that defibrinatedblood influenced the function of the kidneys in a similarmanner to that produced by sunstroke. This would suggestthat extreme heat produced changes in the blood similar tothat produced by defibrination, or probably even rendered theblood less coagulable than normally. The latter fact wasobserved by some pathologists in cases of sunstroke and wouldbe a corroboration of the autotoxic theory. Dr. George M.Parker, who was a resident physician in hospital at the timeof the epidemic of sunstroke in 1896, said that the mortalitywas 66 per cent., death occurring in from 12 to 36 hoursafter the onset of the attack. The symptoms were thoseof an acute general poisoning. Comparatively few cases ofsunstroke occurred until the hot weather had lasted forseveral days. Dr. Charles A. Whiting, referring to the sameepidemic, emphasised the statement that the cases were rareduring the first two or three days of the hot spell and thenbegan to multiply rapidly.

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THE RELATIVE VITIATION OF THE AIR OF

ROOMS’ PRODUCED BY VARIOUS HEATINGAND LIGHTING APPLIANCES.

" WHE a coal fire is in use for heating and the electriclight for lighting an inhabited room the air is purer than byany of the other plans tried for heating and lighting." Such

is, perhaps, the most important conclusion arrived at in aninteresting investigation on this subject by Mr. Francis

Jones, F.R.S. Edin., F.C.S. The results are published in abrochure which has recently reached us. This conclusion

may have been anticipated when the conditions describedare considered. But Mr. Jones’s investigation has led to otherobservations which are not less in point of interest as bearingupon the question of the healthy condition of domestic apart-ments. He finds, for instance, that the air of a room, howeverheated and lighted, is purest at the floor, less pure three feetabove, and most impure at the ceiling, and that when a gasfire is in use for heating and the electric light for lightingthe amount of carbon dioxide in the room rises rapidly in thefirst two or three hours and then remains uniform for three

or four hours afterwards. When a coal fire is in use and an

ordinary gas-jet is burning the air of the room is purer thanwhen a gas-fire is in use and an ordinary gas-jet burning.The use of a gas cooking-stove with a flue connected with ’Ithe chimney greatly raises the amount of carbon dioxide inthe air of the room. The humidity of the air of theroom is much diminished by the use of gas-fires. Wedo not find any reference to the work of THE LANCET

upon this subject, but if Mr. Jones will refer to

the report of THE LANCET Special Analytical SanitaryCommission published in THE LANCET of Nov. 25th,1893 (pp. 1326-1336), dealing with gaseous fuel, gas-

heating, and gas-cooking appliances, and also to the

report of the same commission on the Incandescent Systemof G 13 Lighting, published in THE LANCET of Jan. 5th,1895 (pp. 51-55), he will see that some of the conclusionsthere arrived at are in harmony with his own, and he willfind also other results of equal interest in connexion withthis subject. Mr. Jones, however, has made a useful

departure by employing permanganate of potassium for theestimation of impurities over and above carbonic acid, whichhas no effect upon permanganate. Oddly enough, althoughthe permanganate tests determine different impurities fromthose ot the carbon dioxide tests there is a remarkable

agreement between the two sets of experiments. Thus

when the carbon dioxide is low the permanganate is onlyslightly affected; when it is high the permanganate is

greatly altered. The question remains as to what theconcomitant impurity ig. The results are so parallel as to

suggest a product of combustion produced uniformly withthe carbonic acid. May this not be due to the sulphur everpresent, though in small quantity, in coal gas? It shouldbe remarked that weak solutions of permanganate of potas.sium undergo deterioration in a pure atmosphere, and thisraises a doubt as to whether the method is reliable. Still,the results certainly show a remarkable uniformity. Weshould like to suggest to Mr. Jones that in continuing hisinteresting experiments he should try the effect of oil ]amp,The results would be of interest since oil burns into littleelse than carbonic acid and water and the question of sulphurwould not obtain. The permanganate method adopted byMr. Jones was that of exposing a solution of permanganateof potassium in a shallow porcelain tray and afterwardsestimating by a well-known method the reduction effectedin the strength of the permanganate.

THE NOBLE OFFER OF THE MAHARAJAHOF GWALIOR.

IN the House of Commons on the night of July 23rdvarious questions were asked as to what provision had beenmade for the care of British wounded in China. Lord

George Hamilton in answering said that the Governmentof India have provided a hospital ship and were preparingto convert three transports into hospital ships. The

American hospital ship Maine had also been placed at

the disposition of Her Majesty’s Government, and he

begged to express the gratitude of the country to those whohad provided and furnished this ship. He was able to informthe House that his Highness the Maharajah of Gwalior hadoffered to equip fully a hospital ship for China at the

expense of 20 lakhs of rupees. This princely offer was made bythe Maharajah on behalf of himself, his mother, and his wife,in testimony of their loyalty to the Queen-Empress. This

statement was naturally received with loud cheers. At the

present exchange 20 lakhs of rupees represents, we suppose,something between 120,000 and .B130,000, a gift which is

indeed worthy the tradition of Oriental munificence. The

century is closing amid stress and trouble of every kind, butnever perhaps before have the various items composing theBritish Empire been so united in their loyalty to the

Sovereign. If feudalism has passed away there yet remainsthe old feeling of faith owed to the head of the body politic,and from the lowliest trooper who is serving his Sovereignto the great native Princes of India there is but the one

idea of faithful service. ___

MEDICAL EXCURSION TO FRENCH MINERALWATER RESORTS.

OUR Paris correspondent has already announced the

forthcoming excursion and we now give some further

details. The next Voyage d’Etudes aux Eaux MinéraleR

Francaises will last from Sept. 2nd to 15th and will be

taken up with visits to localities in the south-west of

France, including Luchon, Capvern, Bagneres de Bigorre,Argeles, Bareges, Saint Sauveur, Cauterets, Pau, Eaux

Bonnes, Eaux Chaudes, Saint Christau, Salies de Bearn,Biarritz, Cambo, Sanatorium d’Hendaye, Dax, and Arcachon.For the similar excursion held in 1899 the locality selectedwas Central France and Auvergne. The party will consistexclusively of medical men and medical students, who may beof any nationality. The scientific part of the programme hasbeen entrusted to Dr. Landouzy, Professor of Therapeuticsin the Paris Faculty, who has arranged for the holding ofdiscussions in different places on the therapeutic applicationsof mineral water. Luchon will be the starting-point of theexpedition, and all the French railways will carry foreignmedical men at half the ordinary rates both to Luchon fromthe place at which they enter France, and also on theirhomeward journey from Arcachon to the frontier station