1006 THE SMALL-POX OBJECT 114ESSON AT GLOUCESTER.

whose address is 57, Basinghall - street, deserves en-

couragement. The Association is doing good work bydirecting the attention of the various surveyors and otherhighway officials throughout England and Wales to the

system of road-making and repairing advocated by the

Association, which appears to be much appreciated not onlyby the public in general and by cyclists in particular,but by the various authorities who have charge of ourhighways and who in many instances have adopted its

principles and circulated its instructions amongst their men.Although the services of the committee of the Associationand those of its secretary are given voluntarily the expensesattaching to the distribution of a large quantity of literatureare necessarily great, and the support of the public is

needed. _

THE SMALL - POX OBJECT LESSON ATGLOUCESTER.

APPEALING for donations in aid of the small-pox strickencommunity at Gloucester the Very Reverend H. D. Spence,the Dean of that city, in a letter to the Times, concludeswith the following remarks: "If the serious object-lessonwhich Gloucester now presents be laid to heart by those citiesof England who are content to rest upon the dilatory pro-ceedings of the Commission on Vaccination appointed someseven years ago, and in consequence are neglecting the

one precaution, vaccination, which it has been proved byoverwhelming evidence can alone save our people from thehorrors of this fatal malady, the sufferers for whom we pleadso earnestly will not have suffered in vain." These are

words of wisdom, and we hope that the cities referred to willno longer delay the enforcement of the one prophylacticwhich can prevent epidemics of the deadly scourge.

A CENSUS FOR EGYPT.

ALTHOUGH it is quite true that the reform record in

Egypt is, as Lord Cromer puts it, one of ’’ steady andunostentatious progress," there are, nevertheless, some

matters to which we venture to think a sufficiency ofattention has not as yet been directed. In the first placeit is absolutely necessary that an accurate census of the

people should forthwith be established. This very elementarystep towards civilisation should have been taken longsince ; but, on the principle of better late than never, wetrust that no more time will now be lost. The sanitarydepartment makes laudable efforts to furnish vital statistics,but for lack of a reliable basis to work on the results

are shorn of half their value. There is not a civilised Statein the world in which the rulers do not regard a correctcensus as a matter of the utmost importance, and it littlebecomes Englishmen to allow the country they are reformingto be behindhand in this respect. In Egypt the cost of acensus would not be great, for a good deal of the machineryis already in existence, and the Sheikhs and Omdehs aresaid to be thoroughly alive to the beneficent intentions

towards them of their English controllers. Now that thefinances of Egypt are so marvellously prosperous it is surelynot unreasonable to ask, in the interests of hygiene anddemography, that steps should be immediately taken to

establish a trustworthy census throughout the country.

VAGRANTS.T HE part played in the dissemination of infectious disease

by persons of the vagrant class and particularly just nowthe interest centred in the West of England and SouthWales by reason of an extending small-pox outburst renderthe issue of the latest Parliamentary return of the numbersof vagrants relieved in England and Wales more than

usually important. As compared with the 1irst day of. 1891 the vagrants relieved in the several unions on Jan. lst,

1895, showed an increase of from 4960 to 8810. These

numbers were made up of 4204 adult males, 553 adultfemales, and 164 children under sixteen years of agein 1891 ; and of 7631, 879, and 297 respectively in

1895. Speaking of proportions, the adult females have

not largely increased their numbers, but the dis-

parity between them and the males in actual amount

remains enormous and has continued to be increasinglygreat. In London the aggregate of 754 vagrants relieved in1891 has grown to 1211, and in the groups of counties com-prised in the South Midland, West Midland, North Midland,and Welsh divisions the totals have more than dnubled

themselves in the four years. Taking as an example thecounty of Gloucester, where small-pox now rages, we find that.on the first day of each successive half-year since January,1893, the vagrants relieved have been 69, 134, 134, 56, and on,Jan. lst, 1895, as many as 146. This increase, however, hasno relation to the vagrants treated in the city workhouse,which on the latter date were only 3 in number. Increases inYorkshire and the counties still further north have been

relatively small. -

INTERESTING GIFT TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

MR. E. WHEELER, a druggist of Clifton, has recently pre-sented to the British Museum an accurate and scientific

register of the actual form and colouring of 2500 of the3000 specimens of fungi which occur in the British Isles.The work is the labour of many years and consists of twelvevolumes of water colour drawings. In acknowledging th1Ðhandsome gift Professor Flower says : "The trustees desireme to assure you of their high appreciation of the extremeaccuracy and beauty with which you have delineated thecharacter of the originals, and to return you their cordialthanks for so munificent a donation to the national collecticnof natural history."

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THE RECENT OUTBREAK OF ILLNESS ATTWYFORD SCHOOL.

DR. FREDERICK W. ANDBBWES, in his report on the recent,

epidemic of sore-throat at Twyford School, gives it as has

opinion that the outbreak depended solely on the introductionof diphtheritic poison from outside the school, and that itsspread was not affected in any way by lack of proper sanita-tion. His investigations show that the ventilation, water-

supply, and milk-supply were and are most satisfactory.The drainage in a few minor instances might be improved.

THE next annual meeting of the Medico-PsychologicalAssociation of Great Britain and Ireland will be held in

London, at the rooms of the association, 11, Chandos-street,Cavendish-square, W., in the latter part of July. Notice ofthe dates and other particulars will be issued in due course,and the council confidently hope that a large gathering ofmembers will be present to show their interest in the workof the association, to read papers, and to take part in thediscussions.

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THE Huxley Memorial Committee will strike a medal.among other purposes, for award by the Royal College ofScience, London. The committee desire designs for this,and particulars will be furnished by the honorary secretaryof the Huxley Memorial Committee, Professor G. B. Howes,Royal College of Science, South Kensington, S.W.

THE next meeting of the Odontological Society of GreatBritain will be held on Monday evening next, at eight o’clock,when papers will be read by Mr. A. Marmaduke Sheild, Mr.Storer Bennett, and Mr. Charles Tomes, F.R.S.

MR. CHAPLIN, President of the Local Government Board,