MISCELLANY. 



507 



cently-published work on " Corals and Coral 

 Islands " is given a catalogue of about 

 forty islands in the Pacific which have been 

 more or less elevated since the formation of 

 their reefs. Of these, several are lagoon 

 islands. 



Penrhyn's Island has an extensive lagoon 

 and a total elevation of 50 feet above the 

 sea. 



Tongatabu and Hapaii are elevated atolls 

 of coral ; both have lagoons ; the one on Ha- 

 paii is now a salt lake 1^ mile long. 



Of the elevated islands as given by Prof. 

 Dana, the amount of elevation is from one 

 or two feet to 600 feet in two instances. 



The island of Mengaia is girted by a 

 coral-reef 300 feet high. 



Others have 25 feet, 60 feet, 90 feet, and 

 300 feet of elevation. 



These reefs were formed as reefs are now 

 being formed, near the surface of the ocean, 

 and their great thickness is accounted for by 

 long but slow subsidence of the land. But 

 it is equally certain that important eleva- 

 tions must have followed in the instances 

 given of elevated atolls and reefs. It is not 

 contended that the elevation is as general 

 as the subsidence was. Nevertheless, in- 

 stances of elevation occur in various parts 

 of the Pacific, but the amount is not uniform 

 even with islands not very distant from each 

 other. The fact appears to be, that in some 

 cases single islands, in others groups of 

 islands, as the Gilbert Group and part of 

 the Tonga Islands, have risen after an in- 

 definite period of subsidence, and this seems 

 so well established as to be scarcely open 

 for discussion. 



Chloral-Hydrate iii Hydrophobia. The 



Lancet for April 20th contains an interesting 

 account of a case of hydrophobia, where the 

 disease was controlled, and terminated in 

 recovery, under the use of hydrate of chloral. 

 The patient was an active business-man, 

 about forty years old, who bad been' bitten 

 on the hand by his own dog some four or 

 five months previous to the attack. The 

 wound was cauterized at the time, and little 

 more thought of it, until about a fortnight 

 Defore the disease developed. 



The patient states that he first felt a 

 pricking sensation about that part of the 

 hand which had been bitten, followed in 



two or three days by swelling, and a pain 

 striking up the whole arm, which afterward 

 became numb. He thought it was rheu- 

 matism. These symptoms increased, and 

 he began to decline in health. His appetite 

 failed ; he had chills and heats, with an occa- 

 sional headache ; felt confused, anxious, and 

 irritable; was easily startled and alarmed. 

 When walking along the streets he would 

 suddenly stop or turn round, and did not 

 know the reason why. If a bird flew 

 out of a hedge, or any unusual noise oc- 

 curred, he felt agitated. When at chapel 

 the Sunday previous to his being laid up, he 

 experienced a sudden impulse to spring 

 forward and jump over the frorlt of the 

 pew, and he restrained himself from the 

 attempt by laying hold of the seat with 

 both hands. The attack was characterized 

 by the usual hydrophobic symptoms, great 

 difficulty of breathing and of swallowing, 

 distress at the pit of the stomach, convul- 

 sions, frightful struggling and howling, wild 

 expression of countenance, frothy discharge 

 from the mouth, and on one occasion a 

 strong propensity to bite. The paroxysms 

 succeeded each other at intervals of about 

 ten minutes, and perceptibly grew worse as 

 they continued. Shortly after being called 

 in, the attending physician, who relates the 

 case, began the administration of chloral- 

 hydrate in twenty-grain doses. After the 

 third dose, the violence of the symptoms 

 began to moderate ; the fourth dose was fol- 

 lowed by still greater improvement, and the 

 fifth dose put the sufferer to sleep. This 

 soporific effect was kept up by giving the 

 same dose of the chloral at longer inter- 

 vals. For the next twenty -four hours noth- 

 ing of any consequence occurred, with the 

 exception of slight twitchings of the face 

 and jerkings of the arms and legs during 

 sleep. These were allayed at any time 

 by an extra dose of the chloral. Beef-tea, 

 mutton-broth, common tea, or water-gruel, 

 was given him occasionally, which he swal- 

 lowed without much objection when fairly 

 roused up. During the next three days the 

 somnolency was kept up by the medicine, 

 with only a few twitchings showing them- 

 selves. On the morning of the fifth day he 

 awoke out of a gentle slumber, and said to 

 his wife, " I feel as if I should like to bite 

 somebody." This was the last symptom 



