394

circumstances that the council should not press for costs.Manser declared that he had sent the plans for the con-nexions on May 20th, but a letter from him containing thewords, "Herewith I enclose plan," and dated June 26th wasput in, and he confessed he " had made a mistake and mustabide by it." The jury found for the plaintiff, with damagesof .&140 for the widow and Z40 for each of the children-300 in all.

_ __

ACCIDENTS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES.

IF we may judge from a decision recently given in anAmerican Court of Law it behoves insurance companies todefine very clearly to their own official intelligence and tothe minds of their policy-holders the scope of the termaccident. In the case in question death had followed blood-poisoning which originated in an abrasion due to wearing atight shoe. A question of responsibility arising was decidedby the local bench in favour of the representatives ofthe deceased, the cause of his death being treated as apure accident for which he was not accountable. Such aresult must surprise others besides our transatlantic con-

temporary. Whatever meaning the word accident mayconvey to the minds of insured persons or their friendsit cannot surely in good English, or even in " American," beso stretched as to indicate more than a given injury and itsnatural consequences. A tight boot does not come withinthe number of arrangements necessary or usual in ordinarylife. On the contrary, it is a fault in itself, and shouldtherefore tend rather to disqualify claims founded on its use.This, however, is possibly in some instances accidental.The legal significance of an abrasion caused by it may bein like manner somewhat doubtful. But blood-poisoninghas no natural connexion with such an abrasion, and thereseems to be no reasonable doubt that the fatal disease which

followed in the case above related was an evidence of

neglect in the after-care of the wound.

A FAVUS-LIKE ERUPTION OF THE ORAL MUCOUSMEMBRANE CAUSED BY THE ASPERGILLUS

NIGER.

THE aspergillus niger is well known to aural surgeons asthe cause of a somewhat rare disease of the externalmeatus. A case, recorded by Winfield,2 in which the fungusestablished itself in the mouth, is quite unique. The patient,a healthy woman, aged twenty-seven years, noticed a" small ulcer " on the roof of the mouth in the middle line,half-way between the incisors and soft palate. It producedno discomfort except when pressed on by hard food. It

gradually increased in size and satellites also formed. Whenfirst seen there was an oedematous and lumpy patch ex-tending from the incisors to within a quarter of an inch ofthe soft palate to the left of the middle line. There werealso two round, cup-shaped elevations on the soft palate,symmetrically placed on either side of the middle line,and one of irregular outline behind the left incisorand canine teeth. The patches were more or lesscovered with a dirty yellow deposit, firmly attachedto the swollen tissue underneath. Removal produced slighthmmorrhage. The colour of a recent deposit suggested thesulphur-coloured scutula of favus, but that of older date wasmore of a greyish-brown. The clinical picture was unlikeanything seen before. Favus and tuberculosis suggestedthemselves. The microscope showed with a low power afungus which differed from the achorion. The myceliumwas composed of delicate fibres, which showed no tendencyto fission, and which bore hyphse. Scattered over the fieldwere a number of fruit receptacles and a few loose spores.Agar tubes were inoculated. At the end of twelve hours

1 Insurance Times of New York, December, 1893.2 Journal of Cutaneous and Genito-Urinary Diseases, January, 1897.

they showed on the surface small white dots. These rapidlygrew until the whole surface was covered with a yellowish-white mould, which in about thirty-six hours changed togreyish-brown. A mild caustic, composed of equal parts ofresorcin, antipyrin, and creosote, was applied to the mouth.This checked the growth as long as the weather remainedcold. But on the approach of spring it began to grow againand invaded the gums. A 25 per cent. peroxide of hydrogensolution was then tried. Improvement was at once noticed,and the patient recovered in seven weeks.

COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY.

PHOTOGRAPHY in natural colours appears at last to havebeen achieved, and if thi s be so an advance equal in im-portance to that brought about by the x rays has beenmade. The process is at present a secret one, and willdoubtless remain so until the necessary steps are taken

to protect the rights of the inventor. From a purelyscientific point of view it is regrettable that such a coursehas been decided upon, but in these utilitarian days thereare few, we imagine, who would be justified in finding faultwith the inventor on this account. The process, which hasbeen demonstrated in the laboratory of King’s Collegein the presence of such authorities as Professor Millar

Thomson, Mr. Herbert Jackson, Captain Abney, and SirHenry Trueman Wood, consists in taking a negative in theordinary way on a gelatin plate which has been treatedwith a solution of certain salts the nature of which is asecret. The negative is developed in the ordinary way anddiffers in appearance but little from an ordinary negative.The positive produced from this looks like an ordinary trans.parency with no sign of colour. It is then immersed afterthe manner of intensifying an ordinary negative by mercurysolution, in three coloured solutions, blue, green, and red,when the tones appear to possess a selective action, selectingjust that colour and tint which characterise the parts of theoriginal subject. The results, it is stated, are exceedinglybeautiful and artistic and surpass the achievements ofhand work. This announcement will, we are sure, be receivedwith the greatest interest by our readers, since the newmethod should lend most valuable assistance to the faithful

portrayal of the many conditions of the human subject whichoccur in medical and surgical practice.

THE RETIREMENT OF DR. CHEPMELL.

WE are sorry to learn that an old member of our foreignstaff, Dr. Dobree Chepmell, has been compelled by failingeyesight to retire from practice in London and to pass thewinter in Bournemouth. Dr. Chepmell received his earlymedical education at King’s College when that schoolflourished under the auspices of Todd, Budd, Fergusson,Partridge, Bowman, and Simon. In 1850 he obtained a

travelling appointment, residing for eight or nine years withthe late Lord Holland in France and Italy, and made himselffamiliar with the languages of both countries. Towards theend of the fifties he married and settled in Paris, becoming" Our Own Correspondent." This post he occupied until theduties of a large and increasing practice left t no time for

literary work. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussianwar Dr. Chepmell, with most of the English residentsin Paris, migrated to London and commenced workas a consulting physician enjoying the confidence and

friendship of many of the distinguished exiles and speciallyof the Empress Eugenie. During last autumn, whilst on hisholiday in Guernsey, his native place, an attack of acuteglaucoma in the right eye made its enucleation necessaryin order to save the other. The operation was quite suc-cessful, and the result has been an improvement in thevision of the remaining eye. We sympathise most fullywith Dr. Chepmell and deplore the cause of his enforced

395

retirement, but at the same time are inclined to think thatin such an I innings" as twenty years of a full-swingpractice in Paris and twenty-five in London there are somegrounds for congratulation.

THE LONDON AND COUNTIES MEDICAL PRO-TECTION SOCIETY, LIMITED.

THE annual meeting of this society will be held on Tues-day, Feb. 16th, at 12, New-court, Carey-street, Lincoln’s

Inn-fields, at 4 P.M. It is with satisfaction we note in theannual report to be submitted on that occasion by thecouncil that the past year has been a prosperous one forthe society, which now enters on its fifth year with ex-cellent prospects, and that the growth of the society innumbers has of late increased at a rapid pace. Upwardsof eighty cases have been dealt with in the past year.The income of the society has amounted to L647 8s. 6d.,whilst the expenditure has been Z392 6s. lld., thus leavinga surplus for the year of E255 ls. 7d. This last amount,together with the balance of 126 18s. 9d. carried over from1895, gives the total amount of cash standing to the creditof the society’s general account and reserve fund accounton Dec. 31st, 1896. All debts incurred by the societyduring the year having been paid by Dec. 21st the newyear was commenced without liabilities of any kind. A

reserve fund has now been formed with Sir William Broad-bent and Mr. Pickering Pick as trustees. Dr. Heron isthe treasurer of the society and Dr. Hugh Woods andMr. A. G. R. Foulerton the general and financial secretariesrespectively.

INJURIOUS FUR COLLARETTES.

SEVERAL cases have occurred lately in which a rash uponthe neck seems to have been produced by the wearing ofsable collarettes, and quite recently we published two suchcases in THE LANCET of Dec. 12th, 1896. We have met withanother case which has afforded us the opportunity of sub-mitting to examination a fur that had apparently caused aneruption and another which had been worn (without anyobjectionable results ensuing) by the same individual. Itis worthy of note that the sables in question appeared to beof Canadian origin. The acute dermatitis following upon thewearing of a sable collarette has been very generallyattributed to the presence of arsenic or some other irritantwhich it is suggested may have been used in the skin of theanimal as a preservative. We, therefore, very carefullytested a sable skin which had produced an eruption, butwe failed to find any trace of arsenic, mercury, or otherchemical irritant. We are more inclined to think, there-fore, that the irritation was due to a mechanical cause.

It is well known that in many sensitive skins a rash issometimes produced by mere contact with substancesthat have brittle and minute points. Glass-wool and

asbestos, for example, cannot always be handled with

impunity, a rash on the hand extending to the arm fre-quently following contact with these materials, althoughin themselves they may be quite soft and even suitablefor the stuffing of seats and cushions. On examiningthe hairs of the fur of an old animal, the collarettemade from which had apparently produced an eruption,they were found to consist of somewhat thick and rigid rodswith sharp points at the tip, whereas the hairs of the fur ofa younger animal, the collarette made from which proved tobe free from objection, were found to be of a much finercharacter throughout and of a uniform thickness from thetip to the root. The hair of the older fur proved to bemore rigid and less yielding than the hair of the youngerfur, and therefore is more likely to prick the skin,e,pecially as although the body of the hair is thicker Ithe tip is a 6 ie point. A simple experiment sufficed

to afford distinct evidence of the validity of this

view. It was found that when a fur that had beenknown to produce irritation was gently pressed upon a slabof soft grease the hairs penetrated into the fat, while thehairs of a younger fur did not penetrate it, but were bentround in a curve. It would therefore seem that in choosinga fur the one derived from a comparatively young animalshould be preferred, and persons with sensitive skins or

exhibiting an idiosyncrasy would do well to avoid the fur ofan old animal and obtain some guarantee of the age of theskin purchased, although by making this selection the morehandsome furs would probably have to be rejected.

THE PREVENTION OF OPHTHALMIANEONATORUM.

THE Jlaryland Medical Journal states that lastNovember Dr. John S. Fulton, secretary of the State Boardof Health, prosecuted Mrs. Liersman, a registered midwife,for violation of the law enacted by the Maryland Legis-lature in 1894, " To Prevent Blindness in Infants." Thiswas the first trial under the statute in question. The accused

acknowledged having received from the Health Office ofBaltimore a copy of the law and also a circular letter

giving directions concerning the care of infants’ eyes. Afine of 25 dollars and costs was imposed. The law is asfollows: "An Act to prevent Blindness in Infants.Section l.-Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-land : That if at any time within two weeks after the birthof any infant one or both of its eyes, or eyelids, are red-dened, inflamed, swollen, or discharging pus, the midwife,nurse, or person other than a legally qualified physician incharge of such infant shall refrain from the application ofany remedy for the same, and shall immediately report suchcondition to the health commissioner, or to some legallyqualified physician in the city, county, or town wherein theinfant is cared for. Section 2.-And be it enacted: That

any person or persons violating the provisions of this Actshall, on conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed onehundred dollars, or by imprisonment in gaol not to exceed sixmonths, or by both fine and imprisonment. Section 3.-Andbe it enacted : That this Act shall take effect from the dateof its passage. Approved April 6th, 1894."

MEDICINE AND THE LAW IN FRANCE.

THAT the decisions of our law-courts do not invariablygive satisfaction will no doubt be freely admitted by ourreaders, and if we may take the following case as an

example they do not manage these matters much better inFrance. An individual named G-- was charged before thecorrectional tribunal at Marseilles on two separate counts :firstly, the illegal exercise of the medical art with usurpationof title ; and, secondly, fraud. It was proved that the manG-, who originally had been a petty tradesman, was notonly a liberated convict (ticket-of-leave man), but also com-pletely illiterate. He nevertheless established a CurativeInstitute at Marseilles and by dint of strenuous advertise-ment succeeded in attracting a large amount of custom. Nodiseases were too recondite or incurable to be out of reachof his remedies. His principal medicament was a pineextract which was warranted to do many wonderful

things, but he also disseminated a variety of other nostrumsin the attractive form of bon-bons, syrups, pearls, and

liqueurs. Evidently G--, in spite of his antecedents, wasan accomplished quack, for he " captured the confidence" ofnumerous wealthy patients, before whom he posed as a legallyqualified practitioner. According to the immemorial practiceof all charlatans he maintained an imposing array of

gorgeously-attired servants, and he likewise dazzled theheedless with a display of spurious medals and diplomas, whichhe declared were the rewards that had been bestowed upon