114 
Gleanings  from  the  Medical  Journals. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. 
t    February,  1898 
Influence  of  Alcoholism  in  the  Father  upon  the  Life  of  the 
Child. — Anthony  (Centrabl.  fur  Gyncekol.,  October  16,  1897)  men- 
tions a  case  of  a  healthy  woman  who  was  married  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years  to  a  notorious  drunkard,  and  who  had  by  him,  in 
her  nine  years  of  married  life,  five  miserable  little  children,  of  whom 
four  died  within  the  first  ten  days  after  birth.  The  fifth  one,  by 
great  care,  was  raised  to  the  fourth  year,  when  it  also  died.  After 
this  the  woman  was  separated  from  her  husband.  She  then  mar- 
ried a  healthy  man,  and  had  by  him  two  children,  the  elder  of 
whom  grew  to  be  four  years  old,  and  the  younger,  at  the  time  of 
writing,  was  fourteen  days  old.  Both  were  in  perfect  health.  This 
great  contrast  between  the  children  of  different  fathers  plainly 
shows,  inasmuch  as  syphilis  was  not  present,  that  the  alcoholism  of 
the  father  of  the  first  children  destroyed  their  vitality. 
Healthfulness  of  Cycling. — After  a  prolonged  consideration  of 
the  subject,  the  Paris  Medical  Society  has  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  cycling  is  excellent  exercise  for  healthy  people,  is  very  bene- 
ficial for  those  suffering  from  neivous  disorders,  but  is  undesirable 
for  delicate  people,  who  are  liable  to  suffer  from  over-fatigue. — 
[Medical  News,  December  4,  1897.) 
IclitJiyol  in  the  Treatment  of  Smallpox.— Cassenko  (Therapeutic 
Gazette,  November,  1897)  recommends  ichthyol  as  a  local  applica- 
tion in  variola.  'Ihe  remedy  was  used  as  an  ointment,  made  as 
follows  : 
The  lanolin  may  be  replaced  by  chloroform,  olive  oil,  glycerin,  or 
the  like,  according  to  the  individual  case.  The  ointment  was 
rubbed  in  three  times  a  day  as  soon  as  the  papules  became  visible. 
As  a  result,  there  was  little  or  no  tenderness  at  the  seats  of  erup- 
tion, the  temperature  never  rose  high,  and  the  desquamation  was 
almost  completed  in  three  or  four  days  from  the  maturation  of  the 
eruption  (half  the  usual  duration). 
Ichthyol,  10  parts. 
Fat,  60  " 
I/anoliii,     20  " 
