86 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IX., No. 308 



cleared up many obscure points in the causation 

 of this disease, have not as yet shown us how to 

 materially reduce the number of victims who are 

 annually claimed by it. That more than five 

 thousand persons annually die in a single city 

 from one disease is a sad commentary on sanitary 

 science, and yet the best of minds are at work to 

 solve the problem of the measures which must be 

 adopted to diminish its ravages. That three 

 thousand and more individuals, mostly children, 

 died from diarrhoeal diseases, does not surprise 

 one who is familiar with the intense lieat of our 

 midsummer ; and in great measure this is largely 

 beyond control. It is true, something may be 

 done to reduce this mortality by visiting the poor 

 sick and prescribing for them, and by giving them 

 opportunities to breathe the fresh air of the 

 country and the sea ; but, when all has been done 

 that can be, diarrhoeal diseases will still carry off 

 the little ones by the hundreds and thousands, if 

 the temperature and the humidity are favorable 

 for their development. Diphtheria, which was 

 unknown in New York until the year 1852, caused 

 1,737 deaths in 1886, and has, ever since its ap- 

 pearance, figured prominently in the mortality 

 returns, its origin unknown, and its treatment not 

 understood even by the best of physicians, — a 

 disease dreaded by the laity and the profession 

 alike in all parts of the world where it has ob- 

 tained a home. It should, however, be constantly 

 borne in mind, that although this class of disease 

 cannot be eradicated, still, if aU restraint were re- 

 moved, their mortality would probably increase 

 tenfold. In view of this, the department of health, 

 whose function it is to keep watch of the locali- 

 ties in which these diseases do most abound, should 

 receive the heaity co-operation of every member of 

 the community, and be furnished by the authori- 

 ties with ample means to carry on its beneficial 

 work. 



"PARIS LETTER. 



At yesterday's meeting of the Academy of medi- 

 cine, Professor Grancher read a paper on the case 

 of the man Reveillac, who died of hydrophobia af- 

 ter preventive inoculation, in which he corrected 

 some erroneous statements made by Professor Pe- 

 ter at a previous meeting [see p. 96]. It appears 

 that Reveillac submitted to only nineteen opera- 

 tions instead of thirty-six, as had been stated, and 

 the treatment was much milder than in more seri- 

 ous cases. Moreover, the first information received 

 at the Pasteur laboratory, of the unfortunate man's 

 death, was from M. Peters paper at the academy. 



According to Professor Beclard, dean of the 

 medical school, there are at present 108 women 



studying medicine in Paris. Of these, 83 are Rus- 

 sian, while only 7 are natives of France. The to- 

 tal number of female students would be much 

 larger were it not for the necessarily stringent 

 rules as to admission. Two women are among 

 the present competitors for posts as assistants in 

 the hospitals, of whom one. Miss Klumke, will 

 doubtless succeed, much to the discomfiture of her 

 male competitors. She is one of Vulpian's stu- 

 dents, and has already published many interesting 

 memoirs on neurological subjects. 



Telephonic communication between Paris and 

 Brussels will shortly be established ; recent experi- 

 ments between those cities, with wires of bronze 

 instead of iron, having given excellent results. 

 The distance is 330 kilometres, and the same wires 

 will be used for both telegraphic and telephonic 

 purposes, as it has been demonstrated that one 

 wire can be used successfully for the simultane- 

 eous transmission of both kinds of despatches. 



At a recent meeting of the Biological society, 

 M. Laborde, director of the physiological labora- 

 tory of the medical school, read a paper on the 

 use of water in fasting experiments. It is known 

 that Succi and Merlatti drank water freely during 

 their long fasts, and the public was divided in 

 opinion as to the effects of the water. M. La- 

 borde has ascertained by experimental tests that 

 water is of great value in sustaining life during 

 prolonged fasts. Two dogs, in good health, of the 

 same age and breed, each weighing 15i kilo- 

 grams, were selected, one of which was entirely 

 deprived of both food and drink, the other being 

 given only a litre of water daily. Dog No. 1, that 

 deprived of both food and water, died on the 

 twentieth day, after having lost 7^ kilograms in 

 weight. The other dog was well and lively on the 

 fortieth day, though it had lost nearly 8 kilograms. 

 It would undoubtedly have been able to live still 

 longer on its water diet ; but after its 40-day fast 

 it was treated to a good meal, when, without ap- 

 parent ill effects, it disposed of 1,200 grams of 

 soup and 1 kilogram of meat. The dog is now 

 doing well. 



Two or three new books deserve notice. One 

 is a translation, by Dr. H. de Varigny, of Preyer's 

 ' Die Seele des Kindes,' a very interesting work, 

 dealing with its subject in an entirely new and 

 thoroughly scientific manner, Mr. Preyer is by 

 training a physiologist, and has made a great 

 many interesting physiological observations con- 

 cerning children. It may be remarked that a 

 French translation of another book of his, ' The 

 physiology of the embryo, ' to which the first-men- 

 tioned work is in many respects a sequel, will 

 soon be brought out by the same publisher, F. 

 Alcan. Preyer's books are very valuable, and it 



