6-14 



NA TURE 



[April 28, 1898 



of the new science and to the physical improvement of man." 

 It is illustrated by very fair radiographs of fractures and dis- 

 locations, and a somewhat striking "skiagram" of a loaded 

 Lebel rifle. 



We have received the second part of the Annales d' Electro- 

 hiologie, d' Alectrothh-apie et d^ Electrodiagnosiic. This new bi- 

 monthly journal deals with the applications of electricity to 

 medical purposes, including the uses of Rontgen rays. In ad- 

 dition to original papers, a full bibliography of current literature 

 is given. M. Felix Alcan, of Paris, is the publisher. 



^^\'^\'^G'vci\\it Rendiconti del R. Istihito Lombardo, xxxi., 

 Signor Luigi de Marchi criticises the views advanced by 

 Arrhenius on the causes of the variations of climate considered 

 specially with reference to the influence of carbonic acid on the 

 temperature of the ground (see Philosophical Magazine, i8y6, 

 p. 237). He considers that Arrhenius is in error (i) in treating 

 as negligible the variations in the solar radiation produced by 

 even considerable increases in the carbonic acid and watery 

 vapour of the atmosphere ; (2) in attributing a definite physical 

 meaning to the coefficient which represents the coefficient of 

 emission of a fictitious stratum whose radiation is equivalent to 

 that of the atmosphere ; and (3) in assuming that the same co- 

 efficient also represents the coefficient of absorption of the stratum 

 in question for terrestrial radiations. 



The Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto seems to 

 be in an ever flourishing condition, judging from the Travis- 

 actions which appear from time to time. The latest volume, for 

 the year 1897, which includes the eighth annual report, displays 

 the Society's activity by the numerous and varied papers which 

 were communicated during the past twelve months. Among 

 these papers may be mentioned an historical sketch of the 

 Greenwich Nautical Ahnanac, periodicity of magnetic elements, 

 the November meteors of 1832 and 1833, the variable star Algol, 

 &c. Mr. G. E. Lumsden made a short communication on the 

 best method of making the work of the Society valuable, and 

 his suggestions are such that any other society might learn a 

 good lesson by following them. We hope to see this scheme 

 carried out successfully, as its lines, corresponding to those of the 

 subdivision of labour of the British Astronomical Association 

 on this side of the Atlantic, are undoubtedly sound. 



Several interesting reminiscences of the Edinburgh Medical 

 School in the 'fifties and 'sixties are given in an article in 

 Chambers'' s Journal for April. The teachers in the University at 

 that time— Syme, Simpson, Goodsir, Christison, Hughes- 

 Bennett, Playfair, Douglas Maclagan, Laycock, Turner, 

 AUmann, Balfour, Henderson and the rest — all take prominent 

 places in the history of the science and practice of medicine. 

 Referring to Sir James Simpson and the use of chloroform, the 

 writer remarks that deaths under this anaesthetic were almost 

 unknown in his days. He says : " We hardly ever used a 

 stethoscope to examine the heart, or felt the pulse, and the 

 patients did not die. . . . Both Simpson and Syme taught that 

 chloroform should be inhaled from being sprinkled on a towel, 

 the two golden rules being to see that the vapour was properly 

 diluted by the surrounding air, and to watch the breathing, 

 holding the towel some inches from the face. It may be a co- 

 incidence merely ; but if so it is remarkably strange that, while 

 the chloroform has not changed, while the constitutions of the 

 patients have not changed, where the use of an inhaler is the 

 rule, there are frequent deaths from chloroform ; whilst in Scot- 

 land and Ireland, where the use of an inhaler is the exception, 

 deaths are proportionately rare." 



Some interesting investigations on the behaviour of micro- 

 organisms in the presence of compressed gases have been 

 published by G. Malfitano in the Bollettino delta Sociela medico- 



NO. 1487, VOL. 57] 



chirurgica di Pavia. The more importance attaches to these 

 researches, inasmuch as compressed carbonic acid gas has been 

 lately regarded by some authorities as endowed with trustworthy 

 antiseptic or sterilising properties. Malfitano's investigations do 

 not, however, support this view. A large number of experi- 

 ments were made with pure cultures of various bacteria in a dry 

 condition, exposed for periods of time varying from 20 to 64 

 hours to a maximum pressure of 55 atmospheres. Whilst some 

 bacteria were destroyed, amongst which we note B. coli com- 

 munis, B. anthracis, saccharomyccs cerevisice, the hyphomycetes, 

 and B. subtilis, invariably withstood this influence. In other 

 experiments we find again a large number of bacterial varieties 

 exposed to pressures varying from 60-25 atmospheres, with the 

 result that whilst typhoid and cholera bacilli, the B. prodigiosus, 

 staphylococcus pyogenes aureus, and citreus and other well- 

 known varieties succumbed more or less rapidly, B. stibtilis, 

 B. ntesentericus, Tyrothrix, and B. cedematis invariably 

 survived. It should be mentioned that no permanent biological 

 modification in the bacteria employed was observed to result 

 from exposure to compressed carbonic acid gas. Judging by 

 experiments carried out to ascertain the relative effect of length 

 of exposure to, and degree of pressure of this gas upon 

 bacteria, it would appear that the latter factor was of more 

 importance than the former. Endeavours were made to, if 

 possible, increase the bactericidal potency of the gas, by 

 submitting bacteria to the inter/ upted action of the gas. For 

 this purpose subtilis bacilli, containing their well-known hardy 

 spore forms, were employed. These bacilli were exposed 

 for 20 hours to the gas at intervals of 24 hours, this being 

 repeated four times, but no diff'erent result followed. It will be 

 remembered that alternately freezing and thawing bacteria tends 

 to increase the sensitiveness of, at any rate, some bacteria to 

 extreme cold. The author tried, finally, the effect of liquefied 

 carbonic acid gas upon the vitality of the spores of B. subtilis ; 

 but from this test, also, they emerged triumphant, suffering no 

 damage at all. 



The current number oi \\\e Journal of the Sanitary Institute 

 contains papers on a variety of subjects ; amongst them we 

 notice one on poisoning by canned foods, by Dr. F. Brown. 

 The writer has collected all the reports which have appeared in 

 medical journals since the year 1879 of cases of poisoning from 

 tinned foods. As regards fish and meat thus preserved, the 

 poisonous eff'ect is probably due to the presence of ptomaines, 

 and the only way of preventing this dangerous deterioration is 

 to take all possible precautions that the materials used are of the 

 very best quality, and that the canning process is carried on 

 under the strictest hygienic conditions. Canned fruits do not 

 appear to have been responsible for any fatal cases of poison- 

 ing, but salts of tin and zinc are frequently present in such 

 materials. In some instances, especially in cans containing 

 pears and apricots, lead in quantities sufficient to give rise to lead- 

 poisoning was found, whilst in other canned fruits the apricots 

 had acquired a metallic taste from the amount of metal present. 

 As all canned foods are better for being used soon after canning, 

 a good plan would be to state on each tin the date of its 

 canning, so that the public may have some guide as to the 

 quality of the article they are purchasing. — A paper on the 

 contamination of water supplies by encampments of hop-pickers, 

 gipsies, &c., is contributed by Miss Chreiman. Although some 

 allowance must be made for the unfortunately exaggerated style 

 of the writer, there can be no doubt that she has done good 

 service in once more bringing before the general public the 

 highly unsatisfactory conditions under which hop-picking is now 

 carried on. Possibly the Maidstone typhoid epidemic of last 

 autumn may succeed in rousing local authorities to take effective 

 measures to provide for, and officially organise, this periodic 

 invasion of country districts. Surely, for example, the sleeping 



