142 
POPULAE SCIEN"CE I^EWS. 
[September, 1891. 
"Most assuredly I do believe that body and mind 
are influenced by the kind of food habitually de- 
pended upon. I am persuaded that a too exclu- 
sively porcine diet gives a bristly character to the 
beard and hair, which is borrowed from the ani- 
mal whose tissues these stiff-bearded compatriots 
of ours have too largely assimilated. I can never 
stray among the village people of our windy 
capes, without now and then coming upon a hu- 
man being who looks as if^he had been split, 
salted, and dried, like the fish which has built up 
his arid organism. If the body is modified by the 
food which nourishes it, the mind and character 
very certainly will be modified by it also. We 
know enough of their close connection to be sure 
of that, without statistical observations to prove 
it." 
The Treatment of Burns. — In the Friedrich- 
shain Hospital, in Berlin, the following is the 
method of treatment of burns employed by Dr. 
Bardeleben : 
The burned surface is first carefully washed 
with a two or three per cent, solution of carbolic 
acid or a three per mille solution of salicylic acid. 
The blisters are then opened, and the entire sur- 
face covered with subnitrate of bismuth finely 
powdered, and over this a layer of cotton wool. 
This dressing is to be renewed as soon as it be- 
comes at all moistened by discharges from the 
wound. If the burn is very extensive, an oint- 
ment of bismuth is substituted for the dry powder. 
Dr. Bardeleben asserts that with this dressing 
cicatrization is much more rapid and suffering 
much more quickly relieved than is the case with 
any other form of treatment. He states that, in 
spite of the large quantity of bismuth which he 
has employed, he has never seen any symptoms 
of poisoning follow its use.— Therapeutic Gazette. 
Vaccination. — According to the Medical 2iec- 
ord, in Germany vaccination is compulsory, in 
France it is not. In Germany the total mortality 
in tjie entire country from small-pox was 168. In 
Paris alone during the same year it was 382. In 
Alsace the annual mortality per 100,000 from 
small-pox has fallen, since the annexation of the 
province to Germany, from 2.14 to 0.22. The citi- 
zens of Zurich voted to do away with compulsory 
vaccination in 1883. TTie number of deaths from 
small-pox in 1882 was 3 ; in 1883, 8 ; in 1885, 52 ; 
and in 1886, 85. 
Hysterical Yawning.— Charcot was the first 
to describe hysterical yawning. This difficulty 
appears in two forms : There may be continuous, 
frequent yawning, only interrupted by sleep, last- 
ing for weeks and months, and that, too, without 
interference in the least with the state of the gen- 
eral health. In these cases the inspirations are 
not any deeper than one meets with in normal 
breathing, while in physiological yawning the in- 
spirations are very deep indeed. Hysterical yawn- 
ing is sometimes accompanied or interrupted by 
fits of coughing. Another form of the difficulty 
is observed at intervals only. It is accompanied 
by the globus hystericus as an aura. When at- 
tacks of this kind come on, the gaping is almost 
continuous, and may last for an hour or so; or a 
second attack may supervene immediately after 
the cessation of the first one. In some cases the 
yawning closes with convulsions. Fere describes 
a form of yawning occurring in epileptics, and 
which appears between the convulsive seizures. 
It differs fi-om the hysterical affection only in the 
absence of all rhythm. — Nouvelle Iconogr, de la 
Salpetritre. 
Acromegaly Following Severe Fright.— 
A case of this curious condition is reported by Pel 
( The Bevieio of Insanity and Nervous Disease) . A 
girl, aged twenty-four, in blooming health, re- 
ceived a very severe fright. The next day she 
complained of headache, and pains and uncom- 
fortable feelings in various parts of the body. 
There was asthenopia, eyes being intact, and great 
mental depression. No nervous ancestry Soon 
after the fright, her friends noticed that her head 
was becoming larger, and she found that she 
could not get gloves or stockings large enough. 
The lower jaw projected considerably, the mento- 
occipital diameter being ten inches, the corre- 
sponding circumference being twenty -eight 
inches. The nose was large and flattened, as 
well as both lips. The hands and feet, as well 
as the lower sections of the fore-arms and legs, 
were enormously, though symmetrically, en- 
larged. Length of hands, eight and one-fifth 
inches ; of middle finger, four and two- fifths 
inches ; of index, four inches. Length from 
acromion to tip of fingers, thirty-two inches. 
Both patallge, the crests of the ilia, both clavi- 
cles, and the spine were enlarged, the thor.ax 
being normal. This is the first ease reported in 
which a definite etiological factor has been deter- 
mined. 
Living LarvjE in the Ear. — An American 
farmer had a fly crawl into the right ear. lie re- 
moved the fly dead with a spear of grass, and had 
no further trouble for two succeeding days. Then 
the ear commenced to bleed with intense pain, 
lasting until he sought advice two days subse- 
quently. On syringing and just before, fifteen 
living larva) were removed. The meatus was much 
reddened, swollen, aud bleeding, but the drum 
was intact. A pledget of cotton soaked in boro- 
glyceride was sufficient treatment. The larvae 
lived for twelve hours after removal. Many sur- 
geons have found it a difficult task to remove 
them from this position, forceps alone succeeding 
in some instances. — Arch. Otol. 
MEDICAL MISCELLANY. 
Man's Superiority to the Animals. — It takes 
four men to give an elephant castor oil, the dose 
being § cxxviii. We have known it to take 
three women and two men to give a small boy 
castor oil, dose only 3 j- 
The Qualifications of a Physician in 
Oluen Times. — A statute of Henry VII. ordains 
that the practice of the healing art shall be lim 
ited to those persons, that be profound, sad, and 
discreet, grandly learned, and deeply studied in 
physic. 
When Strychnine was Discovered in 1818 
by the two chemists, Pelletier and Caventon, it 
was called vauqueline after the eminent chemist ; 
but he, having witnessed the terrible sufferings of 
animals upon which it was tried, begged the dis- 
coverers not to associate his name with it. 
Koch Believes in his Lymph. — In a debate in 
the Upper House of the Prussian Diet, on .June 
18th, the Minister of Public VV^orks, Ecclesiastical 
and Medical Affairs, replying to questions con- 
cerning the efficacy of Professor Koch's tuber- 
culin, maintained that it had scientific value, and 
that its therapeutic value would be greatly en- 
hanced as soon as Professor Kocli had obtained a 
pure cultivation of the principal substance. This 
result, the professor had informed him, would be 
achieved in a few weeks, and the composition of 
the "lymph" would then be submitted to the ex- 
amination of the scientific world. 
The Popular Science News 
AND 
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Physical and Natural Science, and 
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SETH C. BASSETT, - Manager. 
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pcabli§heps' ©olumn. 
"Put money in tliy purse" by buying Esterbbook's 
Pens. Any stationer can supply them. 
HOBSFORD's Aoii) Phosphate is a most excellent prepa- 
ration for the administration of phosphorus, and has been 
successfully used In the practice of many eminent physi- 
cians. 
No matter how cold the coming winter may be, no better 
ice will be made on the ponds and rivers than that produced 
by the Ice Machines of David Boyle, of Cliicago. The 
ice is clear, hard, of unexceptionable purity, and costs no 
more than the natural product. 
The leads in Dixon's American Graphite "Artists' " 
Pencils are extra line and perfectly graded. The hard 
grades are peculiarly adapted for architects, artists, 
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grades are unequalled for art work. 
The firm of J. & H. Berge, New York, makes a specialty 
of electrical apparatus for physicians' use, and also carries 
a full line of chemical and physical apparatus. This is one 
of the oldest and most reliable houses in the country, and 
its advertisement has appeared in the columns of the SCI- 
ENCE News for nearly fifteen consecutive years. 
From personal experience with the IIawkete Camera 
we are prepared to recommend it as a convenient, reliable, 
and easily managed instrument, for the use of photographic 
amateurs. The lens is of superior quality, and the latest 
model includes several improvements over previous ones. 
Its very moderate price Is not the least of Its many advan- 
tages. 
Philadelphia, May 8, 1891. 
I have for some months past used the Green Olive oil 
Soap of Zante, imported by Mr. G. H. Holden, and have 
found it one of the most agreeable articles of its kind. It 
Is very bland and unlrritating, but has marked cleansing 
power; so that for all toilet purposes, and especially for 
children or for persons with tender skins, it has great 
value. JOHN II. PACKABD, M. D. 
