1884.] 
The Health Exhibition. 
581 
origin of parasites and inserts of all kinds, which are in- 
stantly repelled by its atmosphere, in which inseCt-life cannot 
exist.” 
“ Weiher’s InseCt Powder,” which may perhaps be the 
powder of Pyrethrum roseicm or carneum, is thus described ; — 
“ This excellent preparation is the only one which imme- 
diately destroys all obnoxious inserts, such as moths, fleas, 
bugs, cockroaches, ants, &c., and at the same time being 
perfectly harmless to all domestic animals. 
Lastly, we shall mention a new “ Embalming Powder.” 
We do not, indeed, approve of the practice of embalming 
the dead, which is far less rational than cremation. But a 
preparation which “ at once arrests decomposition of the 
dead ” would be a great boon in disseCting-rooms, and to 
experts who have to undertake toxicological cases. 
We think that, if only a part of the claims made on 
behalf of these preparations can be experimentally substan- 
tiated, M. Weiher deserves high honours and great emolu- 
ments as surely as the inventors of new explosives, flying- 
machines, &c., merit a short shrift and a high gallows. 
The exhibit of the Society of Public Analysts is exceed- 
ingly instructive. They display a number of the vile mate- 
rials used in sophisticating butter, coffee, and other articles 
of diet. In defiance of united grocerdom they truthfully 
proclaim chicory to be an adulterant. 
The comparison between the sanitary and the unsanitary 
houses, placed side by side, is indeed instructive. In the 
latter we see a fair type of the class of “ residences, replete 
with every modern convenience,” which are let at from £50 
to £75 yearly, and which bribed surveyors, every five years, 
value at a higher figure, so as to raise the rates and taxes 
and encourage the owner to raise the rent likewise. There 
is the sewer carried right under the floor of the building, in 
the form of doubtfully-conneCted drain-pipes ; there are 
water-closets, in the centre of the house, without air and 
light; there is the soil-pipe delivering gases into the cistern, 
and the absence of any systematic arrangements for ventila- 
tion and for removing the products of the combustion of gas. 
But where are the improvements to begin ? The “ sanitary ” 
house would probably cost more to build than its unsanitary 
neighbour. Hence the rent will be higher. A vast number 
of people will thus be driven to run the risk of sickness, 
which they may escape, rather than encounter higher rents 
and increased local taxation, which are inevitable evils. The 
first step towards “ sanitary ” houses must be the elimina- 
tion of the middlemen who have thrust themselves in between 
