ness.

This condition constitutes one form of what has been termed concentric hypertrophy very incorrectly, for it is simply that the cavities are small from the diminution in the amount of blood which they receive, and the walls contract in proportion. Of this condition, the second heart shown to the Society formed a characteristic example. It appears, however, that the heart does not, in these cases, emaciate to an equal degree with other parts of the body,--the tendency to diminished nutrition being modified by the increased exertion which the organ has to undergo to maintain the circulation. In the first case, there was also strumous pyelitis of the right kidney, with entire obliteration of the corresponding ureter as far as the bladder, and complete destruction of the corresponding renal capsule. The base of the bladder was thickened and ulcerated, and there was an abscess in the left lobe of the prostate, which had opened into the neck of the bladder. The left kidney, ureter, and supra-renal capsule were healthy. The patient had been of a dingy colour during life.

Dr. LEARED showed a specimen from a case of obstruction of the bowels :

LOOP OF INTESTINE STRANGULATED IN A SLIT IN THE MESENTERY.

A boy, 14 years of age, in apparent good health, sud. denly complained of pain in his abdomen, lay down and writhed in agony. He died in twenty-four hours. At the autopsy it was found that a loop of intestine had passed through a slit in the mesentery. There were no signs of peritonitis. In reply to Mr. Gay, Dr. Leared said that the edges of the slit were rounded. It had been one of the boy's duties to exercise a large dog. The dog had once thrown him down, and then dragged him on the ground.

Dr. BRISTOWE showed a specimen of

RUPTURE OF THE ASCENDING ARCH OF THE AORTA.

A young man, who had been considered healthy, one Saturday afternoon, after carrying a ladder, had what appeared to be a slight degree of faintness. He went home, and then had pain in his back, which was treated for lumbago. On Wednesday he now and then had pain in the chest, and the pain in the back was worse. He also had dyspnoea, and died two or three hours after this aggravation of the symptoms. The ascending arch of the aorta was found dilated and thin, but not diseased. There was a rent in it an inch and a-quarter long, and a smaller one, half an inch. There was blood in the cellular tissues around the aorta. The pericardium was full of blood. No doubt the first symptoms corresponded with the effusion of blood into the coats of the vessel, and those just before death with effusion in the pericardium.

Mr. HOLMES exhibited a specimen of

PARTS AFTER EXCISION OF THE HIP-JOINT.

The patient, when 4 years old, was admitted into the Children's Hospital for disease of the hip-joint of two and a-half years' duration. Mr. Holmes excised the joint, and child recovered completely. In six months the parts were soundly healed. The child afterwards returned to the Hospital, and died of double pneumonia, probably from cold. The bones were connected by fibrous bands, and Mr. Holmes thought, if the child had lived, a false joint would have been formed.

Mr. NUNN remarked on the change in the shape of the

acetabulum.

Mr. HOLMES said that this was probably due to gouging at the time of the operation.

Mr. MAUNDER thought that the specimen ought to encourage Surgeons to operate more frequently in such cases.

Mr. HOLMES said that he could not agree with Mr. Maunder, as, of six cases in which he had operated or had watched carefully, this was the only one in which the slightest benefit had been derived.

Mr. GASKOIN showed a specimen of

RUPTURE OF THE AORTA, WITH EFFUSION OF BLOOD INTO THE PERICARDIUM.

A woman, 65 years of age, was found dead in bed. At the autopsy, the pericardium was found to be full of blood. The aorta was found to be atheromatous, and there was a small vertical rent in its coats, just above the aortic valves. From this opening the blood had escaped into the pericardium. The loose cellular tissue about the roots of the great vessels was infiltrated with blood. There was disease of the aortic valve.

Dr. Peacock was appointed to furnish a report on this specimen, and on Dr. Bristowe's.

Mr. MAUNDER exhibited a portion of the anterior abdominal wall containing the

INCISION WHICH HAD BEEN MADE FOR THE REMOVAL OF AN OVARIAN TUMOUR.

It was shown-First, in order to record the fact, that the patient, 25 years of age, had died of acute peritonitis on the fifth day; and secondly, that in order to secure perfect coaptation of the edges of the incised peritoneum it was not absolutely necessary to include that membrane in the suture; in this specimen the sutures were still in situ, were quite superficial to the serous membrane, and yet the original peritoneal wound presented a linear cicatrix, excepting at the point at which the pedicle intervened. This case appeared to be in all respects favourable for operation, but having terminated fatally, Mr. Maunder deemed it more desirable to record that circumstance rather than the success of the operation, supposing the facts to have been reversed.

Mr. SPENCER WELLS said that when ovarian tumours were not closely connected with the uterus-in other words, when the peduncle was long-they often moved from one side of the abdomen to the other, as the patient moved from side to side. Of course there would be corresponding movements of intestines, and necessarily variations in the situation of dulness and resonance on percussion. When a loop of intestine adhered between an ovarian cyst and the abdominal wall, the extent of resonance would vary with the contents of the gut. In some large ovarian tumours the movements are so free that the pedicle has been found twisted round upon itself, and in more than one turn. He (Mr. Wells) had seen one case in which death resulted from gangrene of a cyst, its supply of blood having been cut off by such a twisting of its pedicle, and of the vessels contained in the pedicle.

Mr. MAUNDER said that in the case he had mentioned the tumour was very large, and adherent to the anterior abdominal wall.

Mr. SPENCER WELLS exhibited

FOUR OVARIAN TUMOURS REMOVED BY OVARIOTOMY.

The first was removed last January, from a patient upon whom ovariotomy had been performed, in the previous May, by another surgeon. Mr. Wells did not enter into the details of the case, as he was about to bring it before the MedicoChirurgical Society. The second tumour was removed, on the 19th of January, from a married woman, 32 years of age. The largest cyst had contained seventy-two pints of fluid, and the pressure had caused complete prolapse of the uterus with bladder and rectum. Extensive adhesions had to be separated, but the patient recovered well, and left the hospital on the day of the meeting. The third tumour was removed from a single lady, 25 years of age, on the 3rd of February. It had consisted of a large cyst holding twentyfive pints of fluid, and of masses of adenoma. Sections of the latter were shown, and portions of the wall of the large cyst, to show how small cysts are developed between the layers of larger ones. The patient died, two days after the operation, of exhaustion. The fourth tumour was removed from a married woman, in her 57th year, on the 9th of February. The largest cyst contained sixty-nine pints of fluid. There were large groups of secondary cysts, and ex-tensive adhesions, but the patient was convalescent. This case made fifty-five in which Mr. Wells had performed ovariotomy, with a result of thirty-seven recoveries to eighteen deaths-and one case, in which he had done it for the second time, the result being fatal. If this case were classed by itself, there were only two deaths in his last twenty cases to eighteen recoveries. Mr. SPENCER WELLS presented a

FIBROUS TUMOUR OF

THE UTERUS REMOVED BY GASTRO-
HYSTEROTOMY

on January 12 from a single lady, 35 years of age. It weighed
seventeen pounds after one or two pints of serous fluid
had drained off from imperfect cysts or cavities observed in
the interstices of the fibrous layers of which the tumour was
composed. The uterus from which it had been removed was
also shown. The connexion between the tumour and the
uterine parietes was not very intimate, so that after dividing
the parietes it was detached without much difficulty. In
some places a very thin stratum of uterine tissue and the
It had
peritoneum were the sole coverings of the tumour.
formed in the right half of the body and fundus of the uterus,

Α

and had been accompanied by hypertrophy of the uterine tissue on the left side of the body, with atrophy of the cervix. Mr. Wells said that he brought this case forward, not as an example, but as a warning. He thought it would only be under most unusual circumstances that he would again remove an interstitial fibrous tumour of the uterus. peritoneal outgrowth, or an ingrowth towards the uterine cavity and vagina, offered far more probability of successful removal than an interstitial tumour. In undertaking the operation he knew perfectly well that the risk must be great. He and Dr. Stewart had explained to the patient that the risk was an "unknown risk;" but she had begged to run any risk in hope of a cure. The tumour had been noticed for several years, and its growth had been accompanied by profuse menorrhagia; but it had only attained a very large size during the last four years. Since then her life had been repeatedly in danger from profuse hæmorrhage, and she had become quite unable to earn her living as a governess. A very accurate diagnosis had been made, and the patient was advised to try and obtain admission to the Hospital for Incurables; but she was most anxious to avoid such an end, and careful consultations were held as to the possibility of removing the tumour, and the best means of doing so. The impracticability, or very great danger, of removal by the vagina being evident, it was thought that removal by a sort of Cæsarian section offered the best hope of a good result. Accordingly, Mr. Wells laid open the abdomen, as in ovariotomy, and pressed the uterus and tumour outwards. He then cut through the uterine wall, and detached the tumour by his hand from its connexion. The uterus at once contracted. There was very free bleeding at first, but it soon stopped. Two ligatures only were used, and the opening in the uterine wall was closed by the uninterrupted suture. abdominal wound was closed in the usual manner. patient never rallied, and died four hours after operation, death being attributable partly to loss of blood, partly to shock, and partly to the effects of chloroform. There was no bleeding after the close of the operation, and no blood was found in the uterine sac, or peritoneal cavity, after death.

The The

In reply to Dr. GIBB and other speakers, Mr. WELLS repeated that peritoneal outgrowths, more or less pedunculated, had been successfully removed by the abdominal incision-as by Dr. Grimsdale and Mr. Fletcher, of Liverpool -and that ingrowths towards the uterine cavity and vagina were sometimes detached spontaneously, and had been often removed successfully after division of the mucous membrane, but that interstitial fibrous tumours of the uterus, like that now before the Society, were under much less favourable conditions for the Surgeon.

Mr. GAY exhibited a specimen of

CONGENITAL TUMOUR, REMOVED FROM THE SOLE OF THE FOOT OF A CHILD.

Mr. Gay first saw the child when he was seven months old. The tumour was elastic, and appeared to be unconnected with the deep tissues. He removed the tumour, with part of the tarsus and the metatarsus. The meshes of the tissue of the tumour were filled up with large fat cells, containing also crystals of margaric acid. The patient recovered.

Dr. Harley was requested to examine the tumour, and to report thereon to the Society.

Mr. HOLMES showed a specimen of

CONGENITAL TUMOUR, REMOVED FROM THE OCCIPITAL REGION. It was removed by the écraseur. The child recovered, and there was no contraction of the neck, although the wound was a large one.

The PRESIDENT said that he once removed a small fibrous tumour from an infant two hours old. It projected from the upper jaw into the mouth, so that the child could not suck. Mr. SHILLITOE exhibited a

CONCRETION PASSED FROM THE BLADDER OF A WOMAN.

She had consulted him for symptoms like those of stone in the bladder; but on examining her, dilating the urethra, and passing the finger into the bladder, he could not find any stone. The substance passed consisted of phosphates coated over a thin metallic substance.

The PRESIDENT doubted whether it had been passed from the bladder.

Dr. LEARED believed it was a deposit from a kettle. Mr. SHILLITOE thought that Dr. Leared's explanation was the correct one. This patient also consulted him for swelling of the end of one of the fingers, for which she could give no

ANDERSON, WILLIAM, M.D., has been appointed Resident Physician and
Medical Tutor to the Birmingham General Hospital.
FALCONER, HUGH, M.D., has been elected Foreign Secretary of the Geo-
logical Society.

JONES, J., M.R.C.S. Eng., has been appointed House-Surgeon and Secretary to the Isle of Wight Royal Infirmary.

KNAGGS, SAMUEL, M.R.C.S. Eng., has been elected Surgeon to the Huddersfield Infirmary.

NEWETT, ROBERT H., L.R.C.S. Ed., has been elected Resident Surgeon to the Belfast Union Workhouse.

NEWTON, H. W. PRIESTMAN, has been appointed House-Surgeon and Dispenser to the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Hospital.

OLLARD, JOHN F., M.R.C.S. Eng., has been appointed one of the Honorary Medical Officers to the Isle of Wight Royal Infirmary.

PEACOCK, ALBERT L., L.S.A. Lond., has been elected Assistant HouseSurgeon to the Sheffield Public Hospital and Dispensary.

PINNIGER, BROOME, M.R.C.S. Eng, has been appointed one of the Honorary Medical Officers to the Isle of Wight Royal Infirmary.

POPE, J. ROBINSON, M.R.C.S. Eng., has been elected Surgeon to the East Sussex, Hastings, and St. Leonard's Infirmary.

PRIESTLEY, WILLIAM O., M.D., has been elected Professor of Midwifery at King's College.

RHODES, GEORGE W., M.R.C.S. Eng., has been elected Surgeon to the Huddersfield Infirmary.

SANDERSON, JOHN B., M.D., has been appointed Assistant-Physician to Middlesex Hospital.

SHEPHEARD, PHILIP CANDLER, M.R.C.S. Eng, has been appointed Assistant Medical Officer to the Three Counties Asylum, Stotfold, Baldock. WITHAM, J., has been appointed House-Surgeon to the Male Lock Hospital, Dean-street, Soho.

DEATHS.

BOYCE, WILLIAM, at Edinburgh, on March 1.

DALLAS, J. I., M.D., at Hamilton, Upper Canada, on January 24, aged 46. HAYWOOD, R., M.R.C.S. Eng., of Locust-cottage, Landport, Portsea, late Surgeon R. N., lately.

HOPKINS, WILLIAM, M. D., at Boulogne-sur-Mer, on March 6, aged 86. HOUGHTON, FREDERICK W., M.R.C.S. Eng., at North End, Portsmouth, on February 25, aged 27.

MCMATH, ALEXANDER, M.D., Q.U.I., at Benin, West Coast of Africa, on December 2, aged 33.

MEDCALF, GEORGE, M. R.C.S. Eng., at Richmond-road, Dalston, on February 26, aged 33.

MITCHELL, JOHN, L.F.P.S. Glasg., at Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, on February 14, aged 46.

NEWTON, THOMAS, M.R.C.S. Eng., at Knayton, Thirsk, Yorkshire, on February 22, aged 60.

O'BRIEN, CHARLES G., L.F.P.S. Glasg., at Lymm, Cheshire, on February 24, aged 70.

SIMPSON, THOMAS, M.D. Edin., at Minster-yard, York, on February 28, aged 75.

WILLIAMS, THOMAS, M.R.C.S. Eng., at Temple-row, Birmingham, on February 26, aged 53.

ACADEMIE DE MEDECINE.-The recent election into the section of Hygiene and Legal Medicine has terminated in favour of M. Lélut, who obtained 43 votes, 66 electors being present

NON-INFLAMMABLE FABRICS.-MM. Westermann and Oppenheim, at the last meeting of the Académie des Sciences, laid on the table several specimens of articles of clothing rendered uninflammable. They state that they communicated their researches to a society as far back as 1859; but that they do not attach any importance to this priority, as they were only following in the footsteps of Gay-Lussac. As the result of their experiments, they find that three salts unite the requisite conditions,-cheapness, facility in their employment, and harmlessness to the tissue itself or the colours which cover it. These are the sulphate and posphate of ammonia, and the neutral tungstate of soda. The last is preferable to the others when the articles have to be frequently washed. It is mixed in water in the proportion of 20 per cent., and the solution is used as in starching.

BIRDS AS DESTROYERS OF INSECTS.-A distinguished naturalist, M. Florent Prévost, conceived the idea that it would be a matter of great interest to collect, at different periods of the year, the stomach of every description of bird he was enabled to procure, and to examine and preserve its contents. This collection, commenced thirty-five years since, has now reached a considerable size. The stomachs, opened and dried, together with their contents, are fixed on cardboard, upon which are inscribed, besides the name of the species of the bird, the indication of the locality and the date of its death, together with the names of the animals or plants which have been recognised as forming part of the contents of its stomach. It results from these researches that birds are in general far more useful than hurtful to the agriculturist, and that the mischief done at certain periods by the granivorous species is largely compensated by the consumption of insects they effect at other periods.

THE POPULATION OF GREECE. RACE v. FAITH."Nationality cannot exist on the sole basis of a common creed. Even the scattered Jews, in many leading features the first-cousins of the so-called Greeks, combine race with religion, and we fix nationalities by the test of race, not of faith. But in Greece we find the bullet-headed Albanian without an occiput; the flat-face and heavy-limbed Selavonian; the sharp-eyed and hooked-nose Sciot, betraying the orientalism of his origin; the comparatively fair and handsome Islander, whose features remind us of Genoa and Venice; the dark and sombre Cephalonian from Acarnania; the piratical Marieot; the Italianised Zantiot,-all utterly different in physical conformation, speaking brokenly a broken language, or idioms of it so varied as to be scarcely intelligible to each other, and the early habits and education of whom have been widely different. This heterogeneous mass, collected under one common banner, and held together by no stronger tie than that to them very loose one of superstition to which the Oriental Church has become practically degraded by the channels through which its stream has flowed-this spontaneous concourse of atoms presumes to dub itself a nation. In such a nation there can be no feeling of patriotism, even according to its lowest definition, no community of feeling or interest, no unity of action. It is a continuous struggle of man against man, for every man is of a different race and of different associations. Centuries must pass before such elements will be, if ever they can be, amalgamated. However unwillingly, we must abandon all hopes of a nation without nationality, and which has no claim to our regard but that of being the recent occupiers of a once classic soil."-Standard.

NOTES, QUERIES, AND REPLIES.

Me that questioneth much shall learn much.-Bacon.

A. B. C.-1. It is not usual for Medical men to take fees of each other. 2. We doubt whether such a claim could be legally resisted. We are informed that Mr. Propert has made no further communication to Mr. Adams or his friends in explanation of his alleged encouragement of the Russells. The heaviest charge against Mr. Adams was that of indiscretion-of allowing himself to be imposed upon in a manner derogatory to a man of sense, accustomed to the world, and having the dignity of a Profession to support. We regret that Mr. Prepert should lay himself open to a similar charge.

We have received the two first numbers of "L'International," a cheap
family French newspaper, published in London, and devoted to free
trade and liberal ideas of the Imperial cast. We wish it all success.
The following lines will be recognised as proceeding from the pen of one
of the most popular and accomplished Physicians of the day :-
"THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES WITH THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA
OF DENMARK.

"After the darkest night comes glorious morning,
When sunbreak bursts from out the golden sky,
With every beauty the fresh Earth adorning,
The glittering sea, and glowing clouds on high.
A night of sorrow on our land has rested,
But now the coming day is seen to dawn;
The heart is not of its regrets divested,

Although a veil o'er its regrets be drawn.
"The morning opens cloudless and all glorious;
The shadows of the night fast fade away;
Love, Hope, and Joy o'er every ill victorious,
The nation holds high jubilee this day.
With love and loyalty each heart o'erflowing,
All hail the Nuptials of the Royal Pair;
Deepest devotion to our Sovereign showing,
While Denmark's Daughter weds with England's Heir.
"Hail, Alexandra, first of Denmark's daughters,

Hail, lovely Princess, now Great Britain's pride;
Welcome a Danish fleet in British waters,

That brings to England's shore our Prince's Bride.
Joy to thee, youthful Prince! May truest glory
Around thy Royal brow be ever seen,
Until thy name shine forth in future story
Worthy of thy Great Sire and our Good Queen.
"A Jubilee of Nations! Each rejoices

As with exultant shouts we rend the air,
Or join in reverential tone our voices,

To ask for blessings on that youthful Pair.
Each joy of Earth be granted without ceasing,
Each gift that Heaven on mortals can bestow,
Until, their happiness each day increasing,
No more is left to wish for here below.
"May England's Star, still glorious and ascendant,
In Freedom's frontlet ever foremost shine,
Showing to all who would be independent
How Law with Liberty man must combine.
A nation, as one brotherhood, united,

Who guard a Regal Right even as their own;
A Land where Wrong is still by Justice righted,-
A People bound by Freedom to the Throne.

"Torquay, March 10, 1863."

THE MEETING IN THE CASE OF RUSSELL . ADAMS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

"R. T. E.

SIR,-I shall feel obliged by your allowing me to correct an error in your report of the meeting respecting the case of Russell v. Adams in your impression of Saturday last.

At the close of the offensive observations of Dr. Rogers, you state that "the speaker was called to order by the chairman." Such was not the case. It was because he did not do so, and that the offensive observations were tacitly acquiesced in by this meeting, that I felt called on to make the remarks I did. That the chairman did not call Dr. Rogers to order is proved by the fact, that in interrupting me he said, that if the allusions "had been made with a personal application he would have called the speaker to order."

I feel bound to state that after the close of the meeting I received the hearty congratulations of nearly three-fourths of those present. In justice to me I hope you will give insertion to this note. 30, Upper Montagu-street, W., March 4.

THE CASE OF HUGH RANKIN.

I am, &c. WILLIAM O'CONNOR.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

SIR,-Seeing a brief notice in your valuable paper of the 7th inst. respecting the case of Hugh Rankin, of this place, who was convicted at the last assizos at Newcastle for a criminal assault on Mary Brister, a child, 11 years of age, in which you desire to know to what examination the stains on the filthy garment produced in court had been subjected, I am induced to forward this communication to you.

I was employed to examine the prisoner, and of course had no opportunity of examining the child's linen, but the Medical witness for the prosecution distinctly stated that he was unable to say whether the stains were produced by gonorrhoea or from a disease to which female children were liable from natural causes. When I examined the accused, about ten days after the alleged assault was said to have been committed, instead of finding him suffering from gonorrhoea (under which he was said to be labouring), I merely observed a slight moisture at the mouth of the urethra, and a little redness around its lips. This led me to suspect that he was afflicted with stricture, and on requesting him to urinate, saw at once, from the forked character of the stream of water, that he had an obstruction in the passage.

As the prisoner had been some years in India with his regiment, I was led to believe that the stricture might have been of several years' standing, and that it was exceedingly doubtful whether he could have communicated disease to the child, whose evidence was given in such a bold, immodest manner, that I cannot but regret that the accused was condemned on testimony apparently so little deserving of credit.

As it is a matter of the greatest importance, will you kindly give your opinion, whether you consider a man in the situation of Hugh Rankin capable of communicating gonorrhoea; for if the testimony of a precocious child is taken as evidence of guilt, no man will be safe. I am, &c. Alnwick, March 10. THOS. BRADLEY.

THE PURTON SPA WATER IN PSORIASIS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

SIR,-I have just had my attention directed to a letter in the Medical Times and Gazette of the 24th of January last, from the pen of Dr. Moriarty, giving the history and t:eatment of a case of psoriasis inveterata, in which the following passage occurs:-"From long observation I have come to the conclusion that the only medicines deserving of a trial in this disease, as well as lepra, are Fowler's solution and quinine."

Having lately had a case of psoriasis inveterata, or lepra vulgaris (which I prefer to call it), under my care here, which I have successfully treated by the Purton sulphated and bromo-iodated saline water, it may be interesting to Dr. Moriarty and many of your readers if I briefly relate the history of the case, which I prefer to do in the words of the patient himself, who is a gentlemen of high position and scientific attainments:I am fifty-eight years of age, and have always enjoyed pretty good health. I have never suffered from dyspepsia. It is twenty years ago that I first observed some red, scaly spots on my arms, and some months after this they appeared on my legs and thighs, and subsequently on my back, particularly my shoulder-blades and buttocks. The scalp of my head then became involved. It has gone on spreading, but more particularly during the last twelve months, and now the greater part of my person is affected with this scaly eruption. From the commencement of the disease till I came to Purton I have had the best of Medical advice, in France as well as England, without deriving benefit. I have taken sarsaparilla, then on to dulcamara, arsenic, with vegetable tonics, arseniate of potash and soda, iodide of potassium, chloride of mercury, oxysulphuret of antimony, etc. He was advised by H. W. Rumsey, Esq., of Cheltenham, F.R.C.S., to go to Purton and try the mineral water, which he commenced to do in June last, and by the middle of the month of December the disease had entirely disappeared; and I am pleased to say that he remains well at the present time. He has just written a pamphlet, entitled, "Six Months at Purton Spa, etc.," published by Hamilton, Adams and Co., London. I am, &c.

Purton, Swindon, Wilts.

SAMUEL C. SADLER, F.R.C.S. THE TREATMENT OF SKIN DISEASES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

SIR,-Knowing the extensive circulation of your valuable journal, I take this opportunity of placing before the members of the Profession, through its columns, certain facts, in order that those whose province it may be to treat cutaneous diseases may have an opportunity of testing the correctness of the statements, and reporting accordingly.

Case 1.-Psoriasis Palmaris, of Five Years' Duration, Cured by Vaccination, November, 1861.-A. B., aged 25 years, robust conformation of body; temperate habits; not the subject of scrofula; has had psoriasis palmaris for a period of five years, subject to occasional improvement of the disease under various methods of treatment, but never entirely free from the disease, which presented the annulated character,-red, dry, cracked, and exfoliating, and extending from the wrists to the fingers. During a sojourn in the Southern states, the action of various alteratives, such as iodide of potassium, bichloride of mercury, iodide of iron, as well as the triple solu. tion of mercury, iron, and arsenic had been well tested. As a dernier ressort, I resolved upon vaccination, in order to observe the alterative effect of the vaccine virus upon his system, not without previous consideration, but with a firm conviction that, under certain circumstanees, vaccine introduced into the system is one of the most powerful blood-purifiers we possess. The operation was successfully performed, the pustule passing through the various stages from incubation to its separation. Having carefully observed its progress, I found that, as it advanced from the third to the seventeenth day, the disease on the hands and fingers gradually receded, and, on the twentieth day from the date of vaccination, the parts recovered their natural appearance and continued so. Was successfully vaccinated when a child.

Case 2.-Tinea Nummularis seated on the right fore-arm; boy, aged 13 years, of florid complexion, vigorous habits of body, and healthy parentage. This disease existed over two months, and covered a space about two square inches near the front aspect of wrist-joint. Vaccinated on the opposite arm; operation successful. About the seventeenth day the disease disappeared, no other treatment having been adopted. Was previously vaccinated when one year old.

Case 3.-J. S., aged 25 years, a somewhat stout man, with fair skin, temperate habits, and non-scrofulous aspect. States that three months ago he had an indurated chancre, and eight weeks afterwards observed an eruption on the face, and more or less over the entire body. December 15, 1862, came under my charge, when the case was well marked "tubercula syphilitica," round, small, and of a copper colour, and possessing more or less density and elevation. Vaccinated on the arm successfully, and on the fourteenth day afterwards the tubercles over the whole body flattened down, and at the end of four weeks only a slight discoloration of the skin, at several points where the eruptions were worst, could be observed. From this date he went on gradually improving in general health under the influence of tonics.

Case 4.-Psoriasis Lepræformis.-S. G., aged 24 years, married, and the mother of four healthy children. July, 1862, first observed what was termed a "rash" on the elbow-joints, subsequently on the knee-joints, from which points, within a period of three months, it extended more or less over the entire body, even to the roots of the hair. November 10, 1862, I was first consulted, and placed her under the action of the usual alteratives for three weeks without any marked improvement. January 2, 1863, vaccinated successfully over a clear part of the skin on left arm. As the pustule passed through the successive stages, the eruption gradually disappeared, and the skin recovered its previously healthy aspect, about four weeks having clapsed from the date of vaccination to the disappearance of the disease in toto.

Various other cases illustrative of the effect which vaccine produces upon the system, as an alterative, might be cited. However, on the present occasion I consider the above cases sufficient evidence that the simple process of vaccination should not be confined alone to its protective influence against small-pox, but also extended to the treatment of many cutaneous diseases, not of parasitic origin, but arising from irritant poison, generated in the organism or in that vital fluid, the blood. Over such existing impurities, vaccination, beyond a doubt, possesses a powerful influence. Such facts prove nothing unfavourable to the claims of vaccination as a protective agent against small-pox; they prove only that which each day's experience tends to corroborate, namely, "that man has still much to learn."

Trusting that this point may merit the attention of the leading dermatologists, to whom we Canadians look forward for an expression of opinion such as can alone be formed from an enlarged experience, I am, &c.

JAMES A. GRANT, M.D.,

Graduate of McGill College, Montreal; Attending Physician General Protestant Hospital, Ottawa City; Physician to the County of Carleton Prison; Corresponding Member of the Botanical Society of Canada.

Ottawa City, Capital of Canada, February 20.