728 SUMMAEY OE CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



shade, so multitudinous as in the main to be unnoted by the writer, 

 and impossible of perception by any imitator. Hence, in cases of 

 forged or imitated writing, the forger labours under two insuperable 

 difficulties, viz. the incorporation of all the habitual characteristics 

 of the writing he would simulate, and the avoidance of all his own 

 unconscious writing habit, to do which in any extended writing we 

 believe to be utterly impossible. 



" How far this inevitable failure may be discovered and demon- 

 strated depends upon the skill of the forger, and the acuteness of the 

 expert." 



Examination of Sputa.* — In suspected cases of phthisis where it 

 is very desirable to know the progress made by the disease, great aid 

 may be procured by an examination of the sputa of the patient. It 

 is now a recognized fact that phthisis has been diagnosed, and is 

 diagnosed in this way, weeks and months before other signs are mani- 

 fested. 



As expectorated ingredients in the sputa, one finds remains of food, 

 starch-granules, epithelium, air-bubbles, mucus-cells, pus-cells, blood- 

 corpuscles, large granular cells, and, perhaps, pigment-cells. If now 

 besides these are found fragments of lung tissue, as yellow elastic 

 fibres, it shows that there must be a disintegration of the pulmonary 

 tissue, a condition which must denote serious trouble. If these fibres 

 are not found it does not by any means prove that serious trouble may 

 not exist, but their presence is very significant. 



If the patient is in the habit of using tobacco, it should be denied 

 during the collection of the sputa, as the fibres of the leaf might 

 mislead and cause a wrong diagnosis. If the amount of sputa is 

 small, then all raised during the twenty-four hours should be saved. 

 If large, that first raised in the morning should be preferred. Any 

 little greyish masses should be chosen and placed at once under the 

 Microscope. Acetic acid will clear up the mucus, &c, and render 

 more distinct the yellow fibres if they are present. If this examina- 

 tion reveals nothing, the following method should be adopted : 



Make a solution of sodic hydrate, 20 grains to the ounce of water. 

 Mix the sputa with an equal bulk of this solution and boil. Then 

 add to this mixture four or five times its bulk of cold water. If 

 possible, pour into a conical-shaped glass and set aside. Soon the 

 yellow fibres, if present, will fall to the bottom ; from where they can 

 be drawn up with a pipette and examined. Several slides should be 

 examined at a single sitting, and the examination should be repeated 

 every few days until the presence or absence of these fibres is satis- 

 factorily demonstrated. 



Trichina-Examinations. — The microscopical examination of pork 

 for Trichince is, as is well known, obligatory in many parts of the 

 Continent. In Germany in particular such an inspection is en- 

 couraged pecuniarily and punishment awarded in case of negligence. 



* Cincinnati Med. News, x. (1881) pp. 550-1. 



