At a meeting of the Royal Society, on 6th April, an interesting discussion on 
poisoning by tinned foods was initiated by Professor E. Ii. Rennie, who admitted 
that it was a very difficult matter to decide whether the^. results were due to the 
presence of tin in the fish or to decomposition of the latter. He considered it 
very probable that the same causes which bring about the decomposition of the 
fish are those which cause the tin plate to be attacked, and the tin compounds 
find their way into the food. In any case, whether the tin be the cause of the 
poisoning or not, its presence in considerable quantities in the food could be no 
good sign. Whenever this is the case, he added, the bright surface of the tin in 
the interior of the vessel will be found to be black, and to have the signs of 
corrosion. Dr. Whittell favoured the opinion that the symptoms in the recent 
Tanunda cases were caused by tin in the fish, and not by decomposition. The 
symptoms recorded pointed to the presence of an irritant metallic poison in the 
stomach, followed by extreme prostration ; in fact, they were much more severe 
than animal poison generally produced. Just as some forms of iron produced no 
poisonous effect when introduced in the human body, there might be some forms 
of tin which are innocuous, while other chemical compounds of tin might in very 
small doses produce irritation. But even if it were proved that the poisoning is 
owing to decomposition in the article of alimentation, he feared that would 
not relieve us from our difficulty, because the manufacturers would scarcely take 
the trouble to ascertain that in every case the fish was free from decomposition 
before being put up . 
A very interesting “gossip” meeting of the Field Naturalist section of the 
Royal Society was held on 20th April, Dr. Cleland, the recently appointed lecturer 
on materia medica in the University, occupying the chair. Dr. Cleland showed 
some sea-urchins and mussels from Aldinga. Professor Tate brought a new South 
Australian shell, Venus gallinula. Mr. R. H. Pulleine exhibited some insects 
from the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and some shells from 
Encounter Bay, including a new Pomatiopsis. Mr. A. Molineux brought a tree- 
cricket, the antennas of which were about three times as long as its body. Mr. 
Gr. Collis, jun., showed a branch with flowers and fruit of Momordica balsamina, 
a plant indigenous to South Africa and the East Indies. Mr. S. Dixon brought 
for distribution some gem sand from a diamond mine in New South Wales. Mr. 
J. G. O. Tepper showed a core of the Kangaroo Island grasstree (Xanthorrhsea 
Tatei), and a large collection of dried plants from various parts of the world 
The same gentleman also showed a representative collection of the orders of 
South Australian insects, and gave an interesting address on the subject of his 
exhibit. The address gave rise to some discussion, and it was decided to bring 
before the Royal Society the desirableness of securing for the Museum an 
exhibit illustrative of the economic entomology of this colony. 
At the annual meeting of the subscribers of the Narracoorte Hospital, held 
on 4th May, the satisfactory report was made that of 169 patients admitted 
during the year only eight had died. 
Twelve of the 15 pupils of the St. John Ambulance association who passed 
the preliminary examination on 1st inst. came up for examination on 4th inst., 
and all succeeded in satisfying the surgeon-examiner. 
The wearing of unventilated hats, says a medical journal, is one of the 
greatest sources of failure of nutrition of the hair. The beard never falls out 
because it gets plenty of sunlight and air. These are what the hair of the 
scalp needs also. The scalp should be examined regularly, and if unhealthy, 
dry, and scurvy, the proper applications should be made to it. 
