May 3, 1894] 



NA TURE 



19 



and at the Norwegian hatchery the rate has been even higher. 

 At these establishments, however, the ova of the cod have alone 

 been dealt with, and they are somewhat more delicate than 

 those of the plaice. Nevertheless, check observations with 

 S0O,(XX3 cod egijs at Dunbar show a death-rate under 4 percent. 

 The density of the water has remained practically constant at 

 a little over 1027 ; the temperature, which at the beginning 

 of March was 4''5 C, has gradually risen to 6'"3 C, and the 

 hatching process is becoming accelerated. 



So far as can be judged at this period, it is probable that the 

 "turn-out'' of young plaice during the present season will 

 exceed 30,000,000 — a much larger number than has been turned 

 out in the first year at any other sea-fish hatchery. In Norway 

 the first year's issue was 5,095,000 cod (it is now over 

 200,000,000), and at the Newfoundland establishment it was 

 17,000,000 cod. This is the first occasion in which plaice, 

 or indeed any flat-fish, have been hatched on a large scale. 

 It was anticipated that there might be difficulties in getting 

 the fishes to spawn under the somewhat unnatural con- 

 ditions ; but none occurred. It is expected that, in the course 

 of the summer, when the spawning period of the plaice is over, 

 that somewhat valuable fish, the common sole — which is rare 

 in Scottish waters — will be dealt with, as well as the lemon 

 sole, and possibly the turbot. All these fish are becoming 

 scarcer and dearer. 



The present plant at the Dunbar hatchery — viz., the spawning 

 pond, filtering apparatus, boiler, pumps, &c. — is adapted for 

 a hatching house about three times as large as the present one. 

 When the latter is extended, and the hatching apparatus 

 increased, there will be no difficulty in turning out many 

 hundreds of millions of the fry of the food-fishes every year. The 

 actual hatching — and in many cases the rearing — of almost all 

 the food fishes, has been accomplished for scientific purposes 

 by Prof. Mcintosh at the neighbouring laboratory at St. 

 Andrews, and the experience thus gained will be of the greatest 

 utility in carrying on the work from the commercial point of 

 view. It is anticipated that large rearing ponds will be added, 

 tu enable the young flat-fish to be kept until they assume the 

 habits of the adult, and thus greatly increase the usefulness 

 of the establishment to the fishery industry. 



T. Wemyss Fulton. 



THE FORTHCOMING CONGRESS OF 

 HYGIENE AND DEMOGRAPHY. 



"pROM a circular just received, we learn that satisfactory pro- 

 ■*■ gress has been made with the arrangements for the eighth 

 International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, to be 

 held at Budapest, from September i to 9. The work of the 

 Congress will be carried out in two divisions, relating respec- 

 tively to hygiene and demography. Hygiene comprises nine- 

 teen, and demography seven, sections. In .Section I. of the 

 former division (the etiology of infectious diseases, or bac- 

 teriology), notices of thirty papers had been received up to 

 March 31 ; in .Section II. (the prophylaxis of epidemics), thirty- 

 six papers are at present announced; in Section III. (the 

 hygiene of the Tropics), twelve papers ; in Section IV. (the 

 hygiene of trades and agriculture); twenty-nine papers; in 

 Section V. (the hygiene of children), twenty-eight papers ; in 

 Section VI. (the hygiene of schools), thirtv-nine papers. Thirty- 

 six papers have been notified in Section VII. (articles of food) ; 

 thirty-eight in Section VIII. (the hygiene of towns) ; eleven in 

 Section l.\'. (the hygiene of public buildings) ; nine in Section 

 X. (the hygiene of dwellings) ; seventeen in Section XI. (the 

 hygiene of communications, that is, of railroads and navigation), 

 and twenty-four in Sectiim .\II. (military hygiene). Fourteen 

 papers are promised on the saving of life (Section XIII.), thirty - 

 three on State hygiene (Section XIV.), six on the hygiene of 

 sport (Section XV.), twenty on the hygiene of baths (.Section 

 XVI.), thirty-eight on veterinary matters (Section XVII.), 

 seventeen on pharmacology (Section XVII 1.), and eleven on 

 general sanitarian affairs (Section XIX.). 



The demographic sections of the Congress are (l) historical 

 demography ; (2) general demography and anthropometry ; 

 (3) the technicalities of demography ; (4) the demography of the 

 agricultural classes; (5) the industrial workmen from a demo- 

 graphic point of view ; (6) the demography of towns ; (7) the 

 statistics of bodily and mental defects. Papers for each of these 

 sections have been received or promised. Up to the end of 



NO. 1.279, VOL. 50] 



March the total number of papers announced was 535, of which 

 437 belong to th; hygiene division, and gS to demography. 

 There seems every probability that the Congress will be a 

 worthy success or to former ones as regards the scientific value of 

 the work, and its international character is vouched for by the 

 , fact that nearly 250 official delegates have been nominated. 



In accordance with a resolution i)assed at the Congress of 



I Hygiene and Demography held in London in 1891, an inter- 



I national committee has been formed to prepare for discussion 



questions relating to the cause and prevention of diphtheria. 



j This committee contains the representatives of fifteen difTerent 



I nationalities, as follows : — .\ustria. Prof. Wiederhofer ; Bavaria, 



Prof. Henry Ronde ; Belgium, Dr. E. Tordeus ; England, Dr. 



Edward Seaton ; France, Dr. F. Roux ; Germany, Prof. 



Frederic Loffler ; Hungary, Dr. Cornelius Chyzer ; Italy, Prof. 



Luigi Pagliani ; Norway, Prof. Axel Johanessen ; Roumania, 



Prof. Maldarescu ; Russia, Prof. Nicolas Filator ; Spain, Prof. 



Francisco Criado y Aquilar ; Sweden, Prof. E. Almquist ; 



Switzerland, Prof. Haganbach-Burkhardt ; United States of 



America, Prof. S. Billings. 



An exhibition will be held in connection with the Congress, 

 but only of objects which serve to elucidate and exemplify 

 questions brought up for discussion, and those which mark real 

 progress in sanitary matters and public health. This is done in 

 order to prevent the exhibition from becominga vehicle for trade 

 advertisement. No awards will be made, but objects of special 

 importance will be named in the minutes of the closing meeting. 

 No charge will be made for space, and objects sent in are duty 

 free. Intending exhibitors must give notice before May 15 to 

 the General Secretary, Prof. Dr. Coloman Muller, St. Kochus 

 Hospital, Budapest, who will supply the proper application 

 forms. 



Membership of the Congress can be obtained by transmitting 

 the amount of ^i (for ladies the sum is lOr.) to Prof. Muller. 

 This fee entitles the sender to admission to all the meetings, 

 excursions, and various sociil gatherings arranged, to a copy of 

 the Proceedings of the Congress, and to railway journeys at 

 reduced rates. 



The Corporation of Budapest will hold a reception in the 

 halls of the Town-Redonte, and a garden party in the grounds 

 of the National Museum. All the learned societies and bodies 

 interested in the work of the Congress have also made arrange- 

 ments for receptions. At the Royal Opera House, the National 

 Theatre, and the People's Theatre, special representations will 

 be given in honour of the meeting ; in fact, there is every reason 

 for believing that members will come away with a favourable 

 impression of Hungarian hospitality. As to the more serious 

 side of the meeting, the list of papers down to be read shows 

 that there will be no dearth of subjects for discussion. A 

 number of important questions will therefore be ventilated, and 

 even if many of them fail to elicit a definite opinion, a clearing 

 of ideas is bound to result from their discussion. 



SEWER GAS AND TYPHOID FEVER. 



TT is now more than thirty years ago since two eminent phy- 

 ^ sicians discussed, with some heat, in the columns of the 

 medical papers and elsewhere their theories on the origin and 

 distribution of typhoid fever. While Dr. Murchison and his 

 party regarded the exhalations from drains as the specific cause 

 of typhoid. Dr. Budd an i his supporters argued that the gases 

 from putrid liquids were only capable of producing this disease 

 in the presence of some particular contagion. The di^-cussion 

 was taken up on the continent, and the sewer-gas theory was 

 vigorously fought over, but towards 1S80 the whole subject was 

 revived, and its supporters were laier confronted with the results 

 of bacteriological investigations on sewer-air, which showed that 

 there were not more organisms present in drains than in the out- 

 side air, and that under normal conditions, currents of air were 

 unable 10 detach disease microbes, should they be present, from 

 the effete materials present in the sewer. 



Meanwhile English hygienic authorities, without waiting for 

 the scientists to make up their minds on this crucial question, 

 preferred to act, at any rate, on the assumption, supported as it 

 was by much experience and many f.icts, that the exhalations 

 from drains were undesirable and dangerous in our houses and 

 surroundings, and should be rigorously excluded. The ad- 

 vance in sanitation, and its splendid results during the past 

 ten years or so, is a sufficient testimony to the wisdom of the 



