SPOTTSYLVANIA 



SPRAT 



659 





the London Mathematical Society Proceedings, and 

 his admirable lectures on the Polarisation of Light, 

 reprinted in the ' Nature' series ( 1874), are known 

 to all students. Spottiswoode was treasurer of the 

 British Association (1861-74), of the Royal In- 

 stitution (1865-73), and of the Royal Society 

 (1871-78); president of Section A (1865), and 

 of the British Association itself (1878), of the 

 London Mathematical Society (1870-72), and of 

 the Royal Society from 1879 till his death, which 

 took place at London, June 27, 1883. Further 

 honours were the degrees of I, !..!>. from Cam- 

 bridge, Dublin, and Edinburgh, and D.C.L. from 

 Oxford. For a brief memoir and a list of his writ- 

 ings, see Nature for April 26, 1883. 



Spottsylvania Courthouse, a small vil- 

 lage of Virginia, 55 miles N. by W. of Richmond, 

 the scene of one of the most desperate and sanguin- 

 ary battles of the civil war. On 10th May 1864, 

 during the Wilderness campaign, Grant attacked 

 Lee in his earthworks, and was repulsed with 

 dreadful slaughter ; yet on the next day he wrote 

 to the secretary of war, ' I propose to fight it out 

 on this line, if it takes all summer,' and on the 

 12th repeated the assault, when Hancock's corps 

 carried and held the ' bloody angle ' (see HANCOCK). 

 The next morning Lee, unable to bear his share of 

 the heavy losses, withdrew within an inner line 

 of entrenchments, and on the 20th Grant, having 

 failed to dislodge him, moved round his flank 

 towards Richmond. 



Sprain, or STRAIN, is a term employed in 

 Surgerv to designate a violent stretching of tendin- 

 ous or ligamentous parts with or without rupture 

 of some of their fibres. Sprains are very frequent 

 in all the joints of the upper limbs, especially in 

 the wrist and the articulations of the thumb. In 

 the lower extremity the ankle is the joint by far 

 the most frequently affected ; and this is accounted 

 for anatomically by the small size of the articular 

 surfaces, the great weight the astragalus (the bone 

 presenting the lower articular surface) has to sup- 

 port, and the unyielding nature of the lateral liga- 

 ments. In slight sprains of this joint the ligaments 

 are only stretched or slightly lacerated, but in more 

 severe cases they may be completely torn through. 

 Sprains of the ankle are sometimes mistaken for 

 fractures, and vice versd ; and the two injuries may 

 co-exist. The pain and swelling sometimes make 

 an accurate diagnosis difficult, especially if the 

 patient is not seen for some time after the acci- 

 dent ; and if any doubt exists the case should be 

 treated as for the more severe injury, since it is 

 better that the treatment should be prolonged 

 than that the patient should be maimed ; and 

 fortunately that which i- the proper treatment 

 of a fracture will also suit a sprain well, at least 

 till the swelling subsides, and the doubt can be 

 resolved. Sprains of the knee are not uncommon, 

 and are characterised by great swelling from 

 effusion of fluid within the joint. Sprains of 

 the buck are not unfrequent accidents, and are 

 the most serious of any, but in most cases it may 

 lie anticipated that after confinement in bed or 

 on a sofa for two or three weeks, and with proper 

 treatment, the patient will be able to walk, although 

 he may feel stiffness and pain for several weeks 

 longer. 



The best treatment of a sprain depends chiefly 

 upon the time that has elapsed since the injury. 

 It the patient is seen before swelling has occurred 

 the application of cold by means of ice-bags or 

 running water, especially if a thin india-rubber 

 bandage is previously applied, does much to con- 

 trol the swelling and the pain. At a later stage, 

 if the pain be severe, warm applications (hot water, 

 hot fomentations, or poultices) are generally very 



soothing ; or lead and opium lotion may be em- 

 ployed. Where the swelling is very great leeches 

 are sometimes most useful. When the pain is not 

 very intense the joint may be enveloped in a large 

 quantity of cotton-wool, and gently but very firmly 

 bandaged. It is important not to keep the injured 

 joint too long at rest. As soon as the pain has 

 subsided massage and gentle movements should 

 be commenced ; the patient should not be allowed 

 to use the limb himself till these can be quite 

 freely borne. In sprains of the back rest is the 

 main requisite ; but sometimes active antiphlo- 

 gistic treatment is required ; and a supporting 

 jacket of gutta-percha or plaster of Paris may have 

 to be worn for some time. 



Amongst horses sprains or strains are very 

 common, owing to the severe exertions required of 

 them, often whilst they are young, and unprepared 

 for such work. Various muscles, ligaments, and 

 tendons are liable to strain, but none more fre- 

 quently than the large tendons passing down the 

 back of the legs. In slight cases cold water con- 

 tinuously applied for several hours gives relief; 

 but in all serious cases diligent fomentation with 

 water about the temperature of 100 is preferable ; 

 or the injured part may be swathed in a thick 

 woollen rug, kept constantly moist and warm by 

 frequent wetting with the hot water. Perfect rest 

 is essential, and in order to ensure the relaxation 

 of the large tendons of the horse's limbs he may in 

 bad cases be kept slun< for several days. Blisters, 

 hot oils, firing, and all such irritants are on no 

 account to be used until the inflammation abates 

 and the part becomes cool and' free from tender- 

 ness. Such remedies are then useful for causing 

 the reabsorption of swelling, and perhaps also for 

 invigorating the weakened part. 



Sprat (Clupea sprattus), a fish of the family 

 Clupeidae, very abundant on many parts of the 

 British coast, and elsewhere in the northern parts 

 of the Atlantic. It is smaller than the herring, 

 being only about five inches in length when full 

 grown, but much resembles it. It is, however, 

 easily distinguished by the serrated belly, and by 

 the position of the fins, the ventral fins beginning 

 immediately beneath the tirst ray of the dorsal fin, 

 and not beneath the middle of it, as in the herring 



Sprat and Herring : 

 1, sprat ; 2, herring ; 3, belly of sprat ; 4, belly of herring. 



and pilchard. Another easily observed distinction 

 is the want of axillary scales to the ventral fins, 

 which both the herring and pilchard have. The 

 dentition is also different, and on this account 

 Valenciennes constituted for the sprat and a 

 number of other species the new genus Harengnla, 

 characterised by having teeth on the jaws, tongue, 

 palatines, and pterygoids, but no teeth on the 

 vomer. The herring has teeth on the vomer. The 

 sprat has only forty-seven to forty-nine vertebree, 

 whilst the herring has fifty-six to fifty-eight. The 

 mode of reproduction of the sprat has only recently 



