August 7, 1891.] 



SCIENCE. 



79 



injury to both of the standards was the loss of the left-hand gold 

 stud, but whether this was caused by the action of the flames or 

 otherwise is not known. "When the Palace of Westminster was 

 rebuilt the bars were deposited in the Journal OfHce, and from 

 that time until recently they seem to have been wholly lost sight 

 of. Some time ago it happened to be stated in the lobby that one 

 of the duties of the speaker was to inspect once in every twenty 

 years the standards immured in the sUl of the lower waiting hall. 

 Inquiries at the standards department of the Board of Trade elic- 

 ited the fact that, so far from any statutory requirement being 

 imposed upon the speaker in the direction indicated, Section 35 

 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1878, which provides for the 

 care and restoration of the parliamentary copies of the imperial 

 standards, specially exempts the walled-up cojjy from periodical 

 inspection and comparison. It was found, however, that in 1871 

 Speaker Denison took cognizance of the standards; and this fact 

 was brought to the speaker's notice. While inquiries were being 

 made as to Speaker Denison's inspection, an ofHcial in the Journal 

 Oflfice mentioned that when the contents of that ofBce were re- 

 cently being transfen-ed to the new wing he had observed among 

 the lumber some old weights and measures. These proved to be 

 the missing standards. They were examined by Mr. Chaney, the 

 superintendent of weights and measures. 



The most important of the standards thus rescued from oblivion 

 are the yard measui-es constructed by Bird in 1758 and 1760. The 

 former was copied from a bar in the possession of the Royal So- 

 ciety, which was itself a copy of a standard preserved in the 

 Tower; and the second was constructed under the directions of a 

 committee of, the House of Commons from the 1758 standard. 

 " Each of these two standard yards consisted of a solid brass bar 

 1.05 inches square in section and 39.73 inches long. Near each 

 end of the upper surface gold pins or studs 0. 1 of an inch in di- 

 ameter were inserted, and points or dots were marked upon the 

 gold to determine the length of the yard." The other standards 

 in the custody of the Journal Office are two brass rods answering 

 the description of the old exchequer yard, and four weights sup- 

 posed to be certain of the " copies, model, patterns, and multiples " 

 ordered by the House on May 31, 1760, "to be locked up by the 

 clerk and kept iiy him." The most important weight — the stan- 

 dard troy pound — is not among those now brought to light. 



INHALATIONS IN THE TREATMENT OP PHTHISIS.' 



The history of inhalations in the treatment of phthisis is not an 

 encouraging one. They have been widely employed and hailed as 

 the most rational and effective mode of assailing the disease at its 

 seat. But the results of this method of medication have not been 

 commensui-ate with the expectations excited by it, and we imagine 

 that of late it has been gradually falling into disfavor and disuse. 

 Several potent objections have been urged against the method. 

 Fii-st, it has been denied that the various antiseptic and germicide 

 agents applied by inhalation succeed even in reaching the seat of 

 the disease — viz., the submucus tissue of the bronchial mucus 

 membrane — but are arrested often in the pharynx, oftener still 

 in the larynx. Then it has been shown that, even assuming that 

 the medicated atmosphere produced by one of the ordinary in- 

 halers really reaches the seat of the disease, its impregnation with 

 carbolic acid, creosote, thymol, or other such agent, is so exceed- 

 ingly feeble as to leave no solid ground for anticipating serious 

 benefit from its use. Further, many authorities urge with much 

 force that if the phthisical patient be taught to rely upon inhala- 

 tions the inevitable result will be a life of indoor invalidism and 

 constant tinkering with his inhalers, a mode of existence sure to 

 effect an amount of mischief more than sufficient to counterbalance 

 the problematical advantages of inhalation. 



There is much weight in the above objections, and until they 

 can be satisfactorily met, the place of inhalations in the thera- 

 peutics of phthisis can not be an importont one. Professor Ger- 

 main-See, in a recent paper presented to the French Academy of 

 Medicine, has sought to overcome the first of the objections to 

 which we have made allusion, viz., the failure of the medicated 

 atmosphere to reach the actual seat of the disease. Ee recalls the 



1 From the London Lancet. 



researches made at various times into the action of creosote upon 

 tuberculosis. This drug has had a remarkable and somewhat 

 checkered career. Discovered in 1833 by Reichenbach, its true 

 composition was first made known in 1853 by Gorup-Besanez, who 

 showed that it consisted mainly of two substances, Gaiacol and 

 creosol. It was in 1877 that Bouchard and Gimbert conceived 

 the idea of its possible utility in phthisis, and made trial of it both 

 per primam viam and hypodermioally. Later, Fraenzel and 

 Sommerbrodt in Germany made extensive trial of creosote, and 

 reported benefit from its use. 



Guttmann, in his researches in the year 1889, found that the 

 saturation of the system with creosote arrested the development 

 of the bacilli, and suggested that the best means of bringing the 

 system thoroughly under the influence of the drug would be to 

 submit the patient to an atmosphere saturated with creosote under 

 pressure. This is also the method recommended by Professor 

 Germain-See. He describes it as follows: "The patient is shut 

 up in a metal chamber, hermetically closed, and compressed air, 

 passed through creosote and eucalyptol, is made to enter slowly. 

 The air in passing through these liquids is saturated, and arrives 

 charged with a large quantity of these medicaments. The press- 

 ure must be slowly increased, and should not exceed a half atmos- 

 phere. The speed of delivery of the air saturated with the medi- 

 cated vapors is fi-om fifteen to twenty cubic metres per hour for a 

 space of five cubic metres of capacity. The length of time the 

 l^atient remains in the chamber is usually two hours, sometimes 

 three or more, and no inconvenience ensues as the result of this 

 procedure. The inhalations are made daily or more frequently." 



Pi'ofessor Germain-S6e has tried this method in twelve cases, of 

 which one was a case of apical bronchitis, a second was a case of 

 foetid bronchitis, and the remaining ten were genuine cases of 

 tubercular phthisis, all of which, with one exception, had arrived 

 at the stage of softening. The results obtained appear to be sur- 

 prising, a marked amelioration being in most cases observable, 

 not only in the amount and character of the expectoration, but in 

 the general constitutional condition, and in some cases, though 

 not in all, a corresponding improvement in the physical signs. 

 Contrary to what might seem probable, hsemoptysis was not only 

 not excited, hut seemed controlled by this mode of treatment, and 

 the appetite and digestion were improved rather than otherwise. 

 Hectic fever was also diminished. Naturally, the least improve- 

 ment was manifested in the physical signs, but Professor Ger- 

 main See is inclined to hope that by this new method the disease, 

 if not cured, may at least be arrested, and further progress pre- 

 vented. Benefit was obtained in some cases in a fortnight, in 

 others the treatment was kept up for three months. Very great 

 benefit was obtained in some cases of scrofulous enlargement of 

 the cervical glands. 



At the present time it is hardly necessary to emphasize the ne- 

 cessity for extreime caution in admitting the claims of any new 

 alleged remedy for tuberculosis, and the evidence before us in the 

 present case, although interesting, falls immeasurably short of dem- 

 onstration. Further trials will no doubt be made, and the results 

 will be awaited with attention. One benefit, somewhat negative 

 in character, may even now be derived from Professor Germain- 

 See's researches, viz., the realization of the utter futility of the 

 methods of inhalation so long adopted, and the uselessness of the 

 inhalers now commonly employed. If inhalation is ever to be- 

 come a valuable agent in therapeutics, it will probably be by the 

 adoption of some plan analogous to that sketched above, and, ac- 

 cording to our present knowledge, the most hopeful medicament 

 with which to experiment would seem to be creosote. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*#* Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The writer's name 

 is in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



On request in advance, one hundred copies of the number containing his 

 com,m.unication will be furnished free to any correspondent. 



The editor will be glad to publish any queries consonant with the character 

 of the journal. 



Beech Trees and Lightning. 



The question was raised in Science a short time ago as to whether 

 beech trees were ever struck by lightning. During a severe thun- 

 der-storm which passed over here this afternoon a beech tree 



