Vol. XXV. No. 5.] 
POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS. 
77 
acute, chronic, or so-called nervous, hence, I be- 
lieve that before twenty years pass it will be re- 
lied on iu all critical cases. J. F. 
riiOVIUENCE, R. I. 
fOriginal in PopuLAK Science News.] 
A CONVENIENT FILTER. 
BY WILLIS CUSIMIXGS, M. D. 
I SEND a description of a portable water filter 
which I have found convenient for a variety of 
uses. For filtering ordinary hydrant water it is 
immersed in a vessel containing the water, and 
enough suction made on the tube to make a siphon 
action, and, by allowing the vessel to remain un- 
der the hydrant, an unlimited supply can be ob- 
taiued, though of course in not a large stream. 
I'or carrying in the pocket or satchel it is very 
handy, as it can be used by dropping it in a spring 
or other water, and by suction a fair drinking 
stream can be obtained. Railroad water is noto- 
riijusly bad, and as a cleanser this seems to be 
perfect. Its simplicity is its chief advantage. 
A rather wide mouthed bottle containing an ounce 
or two is the best. A piece of glass tubing suffi- 
ciently long to reach the bottom and extend to 
ilie top or above about one half an inch. A piece 
nl black rubber tubing such as is used on nursing 
liottles is drawn over the end at the mouth of the 
bottle. Absorbent cotton is then tightly packed 
around the glass tube which rests on the bottom 
of the bottle. Pack the bottle to the top. If de- 
sired, when about half full, a layer of charcoal 
can be put in and the cotton packing continued. 
A small package of cotton will last a long while 
for repacking as only the top layers of cotton 
need be removed and replaced by new for a con- 
siderable period. About two feet of rubber tubing 
is all that is necessary. 'I'he variations that can 
lie made are obvious. A much larger one contain- 
ing cotton, gravel, and charcoal has been in use 
successfully for several months. It is first of all 
clean, for we can see when it becomes foul; its 
portability is unquestioned, and its ease of renew- 
ing is quite ajjparent. 
[Specially Compiled lor Populak Science News.] 
MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL 
PROGRESS. 
BY MAUKIOE V. CLAKKE, M. D. 
Absinth as an Intoxicant.— As commonly 
met with, absinth only, contains about thirty 
minims of essence of absinth to the litre, the re- 
mainder consisting of alcohol together from 10 to 
100 drops e.ach of the essences of anise seed and 
star anise seed, corriander, fennel, peppermint, 
angelica, hyssop, and melisse; and the color is 
given by parsley or nettles. 
-MM. Cadiac and Meumer recently undertook to 
investigate the action of the various components 
of absinth, in order to ascertain to which of them 
its peculiarly intoxication effects were due. They 
found that hyssop induces epileptiform attacks in 
ten grain doses, while fennel induces visual troub- 
' les and languor. Poisonous doses of corriander 
give rise to sudden an;esthesia and muscular con- 
vulsions. Melisse determines a passing stimula- 
i tion, followed by lassitude and tleepiness. Both 
varieties of anise seed possess powerfully stimu- 
lating properties, with consecutive visual troubles, 
I muscular incoordination, dullness of sensation, 
with abrogation of the will, and heavy sleep. 
Although not, strictly speaking, poisonous, 
anise seed is a violent excitant of the nerve cen- 
; tres, even in the relatively small quantities con- 
I tained in the usual allowance of the liquor. If the 
j dose be increased, epileptiform attacks are in- 
duced. A litre of ordinary absinth only contains 
about thirty drops of the essence — a dose which, 
if taken all at once, only gives rise to powerful 
mental stimulation, increasing the appetite and fa- 
cilitating digestion. Moreover, it leaves behind it 
neither depression nor somnolence. The sum to- 
tal of the effects of the blend is a sensation of 
comfort and physical and mental activity, followed 
by lassitude and indisposition to exertion, and in 
large doses to epileptiform attacks. The authors 
are disposed to treat the major part of the injurious 
effects to the collateral essences, and seriously re- 
commend manufacturers to discard the use of sev- 
eral of these, and of anise seed in particular. 
The Treatment of Whooping-cough by 
Vaccination. — Dr. Cachazo noted in a case of 
whooping-cough under his care that almost imme- 
diately after vaccination there was a striking re- 
lief in the whooping-cough, and this observa- 
tion led him to test the action of the vaccine 
virus in five extremely severe ca.ses of whoop- 
ing-cough, and his results are published in the 
Wiener Medicinische Blatter, October 16, 1890. 
Of these five cases four were of such extreme 
severity as to threaten life. The convulsive at- 
tacks were almost continuous, and were accom- 
panied by threatening suffocation from vomiting 
and bleeding from the mouth and nose. Dr. 
Cachazo vaccinated each of these, and, as soon 
as the febrile symtoms of the vaccination com- 
menced, the situation was entirely altered. Tlie 
coughing almost entirely ceased, and was then 
simply of a catarrhal character, and disapeared 
entirely after eight or ten days. During the ex- 
istence of the vaccine disease the patients were 
treated with inhalations of one per cent, carbolic 
acid solution, a procedure which, he thinlvs, is 
warranted; on account of tlie observation of 
Theile, that the microbes in this diseiise do not ex- 
ist deep in the mucous membrane, but are super- 
ficially located iu the mucus, so that the antisep- 
tic readily reaches them and causes their death. 
As regard the mode of action of the vaccine mi- 
crobe, the author has very little definite to sug- 
gest, lie calls attention to the two possibilities 
that either the febrile symptoms iu vaccination 
are due to the distribution through the body of 
the vaccine microbes, or that the action of these 
microbes terminates in the development of certain 
products which themselves produce the character- 
istic effects of vaccination. But as to how the 
whooping-cough is afiected he has nothing to sug- 
gest. — Ther. Gazette. 
New Mode of Exhibiting Sulphonal. — Just 
before retiring the sulphoiuil powder should be 
well stirred in a glass two-thirds full of boiling 
water (about six fluid ounces) until entirely dis- 
solved. The water must be boUing, and to insure 
that it is at the boiling poiut when brought in con- 
tact with the sulphonal, it had better be heated on 
the spot. It can be boiled in a tin cup over the 
gas or over a spirit-lamp. After the sulphonal 
has entered into solution, which will occur in a 
moment or two if it be well stirred, cold water 
may be very cautiously added to reduce the liquid 
to a drinkable temperature, which, if the patient is 
accustomed to taking hot fluids, will be one not 
sullicient to cause the slightest precipitation of 
the drug; or the hot solution of sulphonal may 
be permitted to cool to this temperature, the cool- 
ing process being facilitated by the continued 
stirring. To Insure success the sulphonal must be 
taken wholly dissolved, and the hotter the solution 
is drunk the better. It is surprising to one ac- 
customed to prescribing this hypnotic in suspen- 
sion several hours before bedtime, to allow for 
what has I)een called the period of therapeutic incu- 
bation, to note the prompt and satisfactory result 
of this simple manoeuvre. The hot solution dilates 
the gastric vessels and stimulates them to rapid 
absorption, so that diffusion t.akes place from the 
stomach probably before slight or any precipita- 
tion of the drug occurs ; entirely unlike the result 
that follows when the sulphonal is ingested in a 
state of simple suspension. In the latter case gas- 
tric absorption can scarcely occur, and liours are 
perhaps consumed before the whole .amount taken 
enters the blood. The period of therapeutic incu- 
bation is practically done away with. Sleep re- 
sults in most cases in a very few moments, and 
seems to be more profound and dreamless than 
that from a larger dose taken in the ordinary way, 
and the annoying condition of drowsiness usually 
present on the subsequent day is scarcely felt if 
the dose be properly graduated. The hot solution, 
which has a slightly unpleasant taste from the 
dissolved sulphonal, may be rendered decidedly 
palatable by the addition of a tablespoonf ul of some 
such liqueur as creme de menthe ("green mint,") 
which, apart from its efficiency in this direction, 
will probably tend to promote still more rapid ab- 
sorption of the drug. To obtain an immediate 
and altogether satisfactory result from this 
method it is desirable that the stomach be empty, 
or at least comparatively free from food so that 
precipitation be not favored and absorption de- 
layed by the entanglement of particles of sulpho- 
nal and undigested food, but as it is unnecessary 
to take the dose until the retiring hour there will 
usually be no difficulty from this. — Med. News. 
Reunion of Cut-off Tongue.— Dr. N. C. Da- 
vis, of Good ITiuuder, Minnesota, was summoned 
to see a boy seven years of age who had been 
kicked by a horse on the right cheek, breaking off 
the first bicuspid tooth. The tongue was cut en- 
tirely oft" at the junction of the tip with the base, 
or the posterior portion of the frenum lingua;, 
with the exception of a few fibers of the tongue 
and mucus membrane on the right side. \Vhen 
Dr. Davis ari-ived the end of the tongue was pro- 
truding from the mouth. The hemorrhage was 
controlled by a dilute solution of persulphate of 
iron. Dr. Davis drew the base of the tongue for- 
ward with a tenaculum. Then the apex was 
l)rought into apposition with the base, and secured 
by five silk ligatures above ou the dorsum and 
seven below. The boy stood the operation well, 
and the hemorrage was trivial. The balance of 
the treatment consisted in syringing out the mouth 
twice daily with a solution of boracic acid and 
putting patient upon a liquid diet. The tongue 
healed nicely, with the exception of a small por- 
tion on the left side, which was nearly replaced 
l)y granulation. The doctor discharged the pa- 
tient in about three weeks, with the tongue full 
length and articulation good. — Northwestern Med- 
ical Journal. 
FoiiEiGN Body in the Okbit for Forty-six 
Years. — A man aged 52 years applied for treat- 
ment of an ulcer of the cornea. This was due to 
exposure from retraction of upper lid by cicatrix 
to roof of orbit in the center of which was a sinus. 
At the outer margin of the orbit was the scar of a 
wound made by falling on a knife blade when six 
years of age. The only trouble experienced since 
was a purulent discharge. Explorations revealed 
the corroded remains of the blade nine-sixteenths 
inch long, seven-sixteenths inch broad at one end, 
and five-sixteenths inch at the other, lying partly 
in the orbit and partly in the frontal sinus. A 
