August 31, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



205 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



FARM COLONIES FOR TUBERCULOUS 

 SOLDIERS 



It is stated in the British Medical Journal 

 that during the past year the National Asso- 

 ciation for the Prevention of Consumption has 

 m-ged the formation of farm or garden 

 colonies where discharged tuberculous soldiers, 

 while regaining their health, may be trained in 

 open-air occupations At the annual meeting 

 of the association on July 16, Professor Sims 

 "Woodhead sketched his own idea of a model 

 farm colony. It should consist of a large 

 enough tract of land to allow variety in the 

 forms of cultivation introduced. The aim was 

 not only to provide the patient with suitable 

 and congenial work, but also to give him an 

 occupation which should serve him as a means 

 of livelihood, and a part of the farm colony, 

 therefore, should be laid out on a generous 

 allotment system. The colony should serve as 

 an educational center and show how much 

 could be done to improve the conditions of 

 farm workers and the hygiene of farm build- 

 ings. To that end every farm colony should 

 be a microcosm in which the maintenance of 

 health and the prevention of infection should 

 be absolutely secured. He thought also that 

 accommodation should be provided for ad- 

 vanced cases. As far as possible, the patients 

 should do the whole work of the colony them- 

 selves, and even the overseers should be tuber- 

 culous patients who were coming to the end 

 of their term. The patient should help to con- 

 tribute to the cost by his own labor. The state 

 must provide the land, and it might also con- 

 tribute towards preparation of the land and 

 erection of the general buildings. But the 

 special buildings, particularly the hospital 

 buildings, should be jointly provided by local 

 taxation, Treasury loan, and voluntary sub- 

 scription. As the patient got stronger a cer- 

 tain portion of his earnings should be set aside 

 as a bonus for him when he made a new start 

 in life. In the subsequent discussion Sir E. 

 W. Philip suggested that there was some risk 

 of opening the door of the farm colony too 

 wide. If the colony was to be a dumping 

 ground for all grades of tuberculosis, its pur- 



pose would be defeated. There must be a clear 

 separation between early and presumably 

 curable cases and dying cases; for the latter, 

 of course, humane provision must be made, but 

 not that of a farm colony. The class of cases 

 to be taken were those which lasted a much 

 longer time than the sanatorium could aiford 

 to keep them. Sir William Osier said that the 

 essence of success in the treatment of the con- 

 sumptive soldier was that he must remain a 

 soldier — that is, he must be under control. 

 Discipline was a very necessary factor in the 

 life of a farm colony. Sir A. Griifith-Bos- 

 cawen, M.P., parliamentary secretary to the 

 Ministry of Pensions, said that his department 

 had been faced with the difficulty that medical 

 boards had generally assumed that when a man 

 was discharged for tuberculosis the condition 

 was not attributable to military service, and 

 the result was that until lately the man had 

 been turned adrift without pension or other 

 provision. In France in such cases the benefit 

 of the doubt was given to the man. The con- 

 ditions of the service might at least have 

 brought out the disease earlier than it would 

 otherwise have manifested itself. The policy 

 now was to assume in all cases that the disease 

 was the result of military service imless the 

 contrary was clearly proved. 



RESEARCH WORK OF THE RED CROSS IN 

 FRANCE 



Announcement has been made by the Red 

 Cross that its War Council has appropriated 

 $100,000 for medical research work in France. 

 This action follows a report from Major 

 Murphy, Red Cross Commissioner to Europe, 

 who cabled the following from Paris to the 

 National Headquarters at "Washington: 



An extraordinary opportunity presents itself 

 here for medical research work. We have, serving 

 with various American units, some of the ablest 

 doctors and surgeons in the United States. Many 

 of these men are already conducting courses of 

 investigation which, if carried to successful con- 

 clusions, will result in the discovery of treatments 

 and methods of operation which will be of great 

 use not only in this war, but, possibly, for years 

 afterwards. To carry on their work they need 

 certain special laboratory equipment, suitable 



