416 Proceedings of the British Association. 



Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine. 



The Section met this morning at eleven o'clock, when the Chair- 

 man, Dr Abercrombie, after noticing the death of Dr Joseph Clarke 

 of Dublin, which had occurred since his arrival in Edinburgh to 

 attend the meeting of the Association, read a communication which 

 Dr Clarke had left behind with his friend Dr Jackson, State Phy- 

 sician for Ireland, and himself, containing an Abstract of a Registry 

 kept in the Lying-in-Hospital of Great Britain Street, Dublin, 

 from the year 1758 to the end of 1833, and which illustrates in a 

 very striking manner the importance of thorough ventilation in 

 such establishments, and the great diminution of mortality among 

 the children since this object has been attended to. 



From that communication it appeared, that during the 73 years 

 mentioned, relief has been afforded to upwards of 129,000 poor 

 women ; that in 1781, every sixth child died within nine days af- 

 ter birth, of convulsive disease, and that after means of thorough 

 ventilation had been adopted, the mortality of infants, in five suc- 

 ceeding years, was reduced to nearly 1 in 20. 



Dr William Thomson read a paper on the infiltration of the 

 lungs with black matter,- and on black expectoration, particularly 

 as occurring in coal-miners, iron-moulders, and other workmen ex- 

 posed by their employment to the inhalation of carbonaceous gases 

 and powders ; and he requested the co-operation of those medical 

 gentlemen, who may have opportunities of observing the diseases 

 of these classes of workmen in different parts of the country, in in- 

 vestigating the causes and nature of these morbid appearances. 



Dr Thomson referred to a case of this kind, which had fallen 

 under the observation of his father and himself in the year 1825, in 

 a collier residing at Tranent ; to a case described by the late Dr 

 James Gregory, in the 109th number of the Edinburgh Medical 

 and Surgical Journal ; to two cases described by Dr William Mar- 

 shall of Cambuslang, near Glasgow, in the number of the Lan- 

 cet for 17th May 1834; and to various cases and observations 

 contained in two communications in the number of the Edinburgh 

 Medical and Surgical Journal now in the press, the one by Mr 

 Graham, lecturer on chemistry in Anderson's Institution, and the 

 other by Dr G. Hamilton of Falkirk, as well as in a number of hi- 

 therto unpublished communications received by his father and him- 

 self from professional gentlemen in different parts of the country. 

 The author exhibited also a number of preparations and drawings 



