204 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



hospital of St. Louis. They state that that very common and 

 dreadful disease, which was formerly considered as incurable, and, 

 by a rigorous rule, subjected its sufferers to exclusion from the hos- 

 pitals, may now be cured ; that it is not merely cases in their first 

 stage, but those that were exceedingly advanced (scrofulous con- 

 sumptions), that were cured. Where the glands, organs, articula- 

 tions, and bones had suffered greatly, still a month sufficed to cure 

 the patients. M. Lugol has operated only in the worst cases ; such 

 as, having no hope, came to the establishments to die. * M. Lugol 

 does not claim the discovery of the utility of iodine in scrofula, but, 

 by the great number of cures which he has effected by his zeal and 

 perseverance, and by the light he has thrown upon the internal and 

 external application of iodine, in various states of preparation, M. 

 Lugol has advanced medical science an important step.' The Aca- 

 demy approved the report*. 



In 17 months, 109 scrofulous patients had been treated with 

 iodine only. At the end of 1828, 39 were still under the physicians' 

 hands, 30 had left the hospital much improved : with 4 the appli- 

 cation had been useless ; 36 were perfectly cured t. 



6. ON THE USE OF THE SECALE CORNUTUM. 



The following general results, obtained by Dr. Villeneuve in 720 

 cases, are quoted by Dr. Armour in a paper upon this subject: 

 i. In 600 the success was complete in cases of labour, properly so 

 called, i. e. for the expulsion of the fetus alone, living or dead, at 

 the term or otherwise, the pregnancy being simple or of twins, ii. 

 Five cases of success of expulsion of the placenta, iii. Five cases of 

 success in flooding after delivery, iv. Sixteen cases of incomplete 

 success, which consisted of cases in which the ergot excited the ex- 

 pulsive powers for a certain time only, the delivery not being termi- 

 nated naturally till several hours after the employment of the 

 medicine, or of cases in which, after having advanced the labour to 

 a certain degree, the application of instruments became possible, 

 and was made. v. Eighty-two cases of complete failure, in which 

 the ergot had no sensible effect, producing no return of uterine 

 action, whatever doses were given, vi. Twelve disagreeable or fatal 

 results, either for the mother or child, attributed by different authors 

 to the immediate action, or to the secondary effects of the ergot. 

 This proportion of seven and a half of success to one of failure, is 

 seldom furnished by other therapeutical agents employed to combat 

 any morbid state J. 



7. ON THE HoLOTURES AND PARTICULARLY OF THE HOLOTHURIA 



PHYSALIS. (Linn.) 

 This species of molluscae, vulgarly galere in French, and in Eng- 



* Revue Ency. xlix. 239. f Recueil Industrielle, xv, 229, 



Med, Phys, Journal, 1831, 462, 



