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STREET NOISES.
1322
Temple that the medical profession is unanimous at any rate, is worst on Sundays. There can be no need to thinking that the existing consumption of alcohol is yell ; the sellers of many evening papers never do so, and fraught with danger to health in subtle ways which do not presumably make a living as well as those who howl like appear in the Registrar-General’s returns and which are savages. It is not too much to ask from the Governmentfostered both by our bloated public-house system and by if the County Council, the police, and the vestries are all powerless--that something should be done. Why cannot grocers’ licences. Mr. Jacoby’s Bill be passed ? ;assure
Dr.
in
----
STARVATION AT HOME AND ABROAD. A PARLIAMENTARY paper has just been issued dealing with the deaths which occurred from starvation in the - county of London for 1895. They number seventy-one in all, being an increase over the number in 1894 of thirty-two. In twenty-eight cases out of the seventy-one no application ,of any sort for relief seems to have been made, and in others admission to the infirmary or workhouse was offered and refused. This is a sad commentary on the working of the Poor-law. It is always the most respectable and deserving of the poor who prefer to suffer and die in solitude. It is, of course, impossible to bring back the old system of charitable doles so common in mediaeval times ; but surely something might be done to remove the stigma of shame which the poor attach to anything connected with parish relief. From India come reports of sore famine, so bad, indeed, that a case of cannibalism was recently reported which recalls the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, a coolie and his wife having eaten their child. Relief works have been started, and the authorities appear to have good hopes that the distress will be tided over. ___
STREET NOISES. LAST April a gentleman named Shields gave an organ grinder into custody because he refused-as organ-grinder generally do-to cease playing outside his residence. Mi Plowden, the magistrate, refused to convict because Mr Shields had not given the organ-grinder a reason. Las week an appeal from this decision came on in the Court o Queen’s Bench, and their lordships dismissed the appeal being reported as saying "it was impossible for an organ grinder to know whether he ought to cease playing i: not informed of the reason for such a demand being made upon him." We had thought it a legal canor It is perfectly absurd thal never to give your reasons. the handle of a piano-orgar turn chooses to man who any We believe the only legal can annoy people at his leisure. .reasons are (1) sickness, and (2) interference with business. There ought to be a third added-i.e., that the "musician" is not wanted. While considering this subject we may mention that the Brighton stipendiary magistrate has fined a street musician, one of a troupe, Pl and costs for refusing to move on after having been requested to do so, first by the prosecutor’s servant and then by the prosecutor himself. We hear nothing of any reasons, and these two decisions appear to us to be in opposition. A definite statement as to what the law really is would be welcome, and if at present reasons must be given our legislators had better follow the example of Mr. Gilbert’s Lord Chancellor and insert a "not." A correspondent of the Times draws attention to a fact which we commented on some little time ago 1-viz., the powerlessness, according to themselves, of the various authorities in London to check the nuisance of the perpetual yelling of newspaper and other hawkers. The police say they can do nothing unless a hawker is given into custody ; the vestries refer complainants to the police; and the County Council say they can do nothing ; because they have not control of the police bien entendu. As to this latter question we fancy that if the Council were to pass a by-law-and we believe they are thinking of so doing-the police would carry it out. The noises caused by the yelling of newspaper sellers is simply unbearable, and in the residential districts,
he
were
1
THE
LANCET, Aug. 15th, 1896.
AN ACTION
FOR FEES.
IN the Salford Court of Record on Oct. 7th Dr. Sinclair Manchester sued Mr. J. M. Porter for £66s. in respect of treatment of his wife in 1895. Mrs. Porter consulted Dr. Sinclair for some ailment, and he advised preparatory treatment for a short time before the necessary operative procedure. Mrs. Porter therefore went into Dr. Stanley’s private home, was seen once by Dr. Sinclair, and then underwent preparatory treatment by his assistant, Dr. At the end of a week Mrs. Porter again saw Lea. Dr. Sinclair, complained of his absence, and insisted on going home. She paid £33s. for expenses at the home, and no operation was performed. Mr. W. 0. Hodges, counsel for the defendant, argued that he was not liable, as Dr. Sinclair had promised to attend Mrs. Porter but instead of so doing had handed her over to his assistant. Mr. Langdon, counsel for Dr. Sinclair, argued that he had only promised to do the operation and not necessarily to carry out the preparatory treatment. The jury found for the defendant. The case, we think, shows that an arrangement ought to be made beforehand as to what is and what is not expected of the medical man. Preparatory treatment often means a bath, and, according to Mr. Hodges’s ingenious and successful plea, the medical man would be expected to give this himself. Doubtless in this case the preparation was more essentially medical, but we think the verdict sets a dangerous precedent.
of
GIN-SENG: THE
PANACEA OF EASTERN ASIA.
DR. CHASTANG has called
gin-seng the
panacea of extreme
Asia, and adds that as a universal remedy it is esteemed far above powdered tiger teeth, the scrapings of young deer horns, or even broth made from dcg’s flesh. The famous
nostrum consists
of the root of panax gin-seng, belonging natural order Araliacea, a plant indigenous to China and Japan, but chiefly occurring in Corea and Manchuria. When full grown it stands from a foot to a foot and a half high, each stem supporting a single palmate leaf. The flower is purple-coloured and in summer is replaced by brilliant red berries. The roots are gathered at the commencement of winter, and after maceration in cold water for three days are placed in covered vessels which are suspended over fires until the contents become hard, resinous, and translucid. The drug then appears in the form of brittle rods, often forked or many-tailed, about the thickness of the little finger and from two to four inches in length. The taste is sweetish and glutinous, recalling, in spite of slight bitterness, that of liquorice. The wild plant is the most highly valued, but it is extremely rare, being worth more than its weight in gold. According to the Chinese Times, ten large sticks of ginseng and eight of medium size, weighing collectively nine and one-fifth ounces, fetched, including duty, the large sum of 1707 taels (about £340). Gin-seng culture in Corea is exclusively in the hands of a few state farmers and is most carefully supervised. The fields are surrounded by lofty barriers, whilst in each a watchman, perched on a platform, keeps guard night and day. The seeds are set in ridges bordered with slates and about foot high, the tender shoots being protected from sun or storm by sheds of thatch or coarse cloth. to the
Temple that the medical profession is unanimous at any rate, is worst on Sundays. There can be no need to thinking that the existing consumption of alcohol is yell ; the sellers of many evening papers never do so, and fraught with danger to health in subtle ways which do not presumably make a living as well as those who howl like appear in the Registrar-General’s returns and which are savages. It is not too much to ask from the Governmentfostered both by our bloated public-house system and by if the County Council, the police, and the vestries are all powerless--that something should be done. Why cannot grocers’ licences. Mr. Jacoby’s Bill be passed ? ;assure
Dr.
in
----
STARVATION AT HOME AND ABROAD. A PARLIAMENTARY paper has just been issued dealing with the deaths which occurred from starvation in the - county of London for 1895. They number seventy-one in all, being an increase over the number in 1894 of thirty-two. In twenty-eight cases out of the seventy-one no application ,of any sort for relief seems to have been made, and in others admission to the infirmary or workhouse was offered and refused. This is a sad commentary on the working of the Poor-law. It is always the most respectable and deserving of the poor who prefer to suffer and die in solitude. It is, of course, impossible to bring back the old system of charitable doles so common in mediaeval times ; but surely something might be done to remove the stigma of shame which the poor attach to anything connected with parish relief. From India come reports of sore famine, so bad, indeed, that a case of cannibalism was recently reported which recalls the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, a coolie and his wife having eaten their child. Relief works have been started, and the authorities appear to have good hopes that the distress will be tided over. ___
STREET NOISES. LAST April a gentleman named Shields gave an organ grinder into custody because he refused-as organ-grinder generally do-to cease playing outside his residence. Mi Plowden, the magistrate, refused to convict because Mr Shields had not given the organ-grinder a reason. Las week an appeal from this decision came on in the Court o Queen’s Bench, and their lordships dismissed the appeal being reported as saying "it was impossible for an organ grinder to know whether he ought to cease playing i: not informed of the reason for such a demand being made upon him." We had thought it a legal canor It is perfectly absurd thal never to give your reasons. the handle of a piano-orgar turn chooses to man who any We believe the only legal can annoy people at his leisure. .reasons are (1) sickness, and (2) interference with business. There ought to be a third added-i.e., that the "musician" is not wanted. While considering this subject we may mention that the Brighton stipendiary magistrate has fined a street musician, one of a troupe, Pl and costs for refusing to move on after having been requested to do so, first by the prosecutor’s servant and then by the prosecutor himself. We hear nothing of any reasons, and these two decisions appear to us to be in opposition. A definite statement as to what the law really is would be welcome, and if at present reasons must be given our legislators had better follow the example of Mr. Gilbert’s Lord Chancellor and insert a "not." A correspondent of the Times draws attention to a fact which we commented on some little time ago 1-viz., the powerlessness, according to themselves, of the various authorities in London to check the nuisance of the perpetual yelling of newspaper and other hawkers. The police say they can do nothing unless a hawker is given into custody ; the vestries refer complainants to the police; and the County Council say they can do nothing ; because they have not control of the police bien entendu. As to this latter question we fancy that if the Council were to pass a by-law-and we believe they are thinking of so doing-the police would carry it out. The noises caused by the yelling of newspaper sellers is simply unbearable, and in the residential districts,
he
were
1
THE
LANCET, Aug. 15th, 1896.
AN ACTION
FOR FEES.
IN the Salford Court of Record on Oct. 7th Dr. Sinclair Manchester sued Mr. J. M. Porter for £66s. in respect of treatment of his wife in 1895. Mrs. Porter consulted Dr. Sinclair for some ailment, and he advised preparatory treatment for a short time before the necessary operative procedure. Mrs. Porter therefore went into Dr. Stanley’s private home, was seen once by Dr. Sinclair, and then underwent preparatory treatment by his assistant, Dr. At the end of a week Mrs. Porter again saw Lea. Dr. Sinclair, complained of his absence, and insisted on going home. She paid £33s. for expenses at the home, and no operation was performed. Mr. W. 0. Hodges, counsel for the defendant, argued that he was not liable, as Dr. Sinclair had promised to attend Mrs. Porter but instead of so doing had handed her over to his assistant. Mr. Langdon, counsel for Dr. Sinclair, argued that he had only promised to do the operation and not necessarily to carry out the preparatory treatment. The jury found for the defendant. The case, we think, shows that an arrangement ought to be made beforehand as to what is and what is not expected of the medical man. Preparatory treatment often means a bath, and, according to Mr. Hodges’s ingenious and successful plea, the medical man would be expected to give this himself. Doubtless in this case the preparation was more essentially medical, but we think the verdict sets a dangerous precedent.
of
GIN-SENG: THE
PANACEA OF EASTERN ASIA.
DR. CHASTANG has called
gin-seng the
panacea of extreme
Asia, and adds that as a universal remedy it is esteemed far above powdered tiger teeth, the scrapings of young deer horns, or even broth made from dcg’s flesh. The famous
nostrum consists
of the root of panax gin-seng, belonging natural order Araliacea, a plant indigenous to China and Japan, but chiefly occurring in Corea and Manchuria. When full grown it stands from a foot to a foot and a half high, each stem supporting a single palmate leaf. The flower is purple-coloured and in summer is replaced by brilliant red berries. The roots are gathered at the commencement of winter, and after maceration in cold water for three days are placed in covered vessels which are suspended over fires until the contents become hard, resinous, and translucid. The drug then appears in the form of brittle rods, often forked or many-tailed, about the thickness of the little finger and from two to four inches in length. The taste is sweetish and glutinous, recalling, in spite of slight bitterness, that of liquorice. The wild plant is the most highly valued, but it is extremely rare, being worth more than its weight in gold. According to the Chinese Times, ten large sticks of ginseng and eight of medium size, weighing collectively nine and one-fifth ounces, fetched, including duty, the large sum of 1707 taels (about £340). Gin-seng culture in Corea is exclusively in the hands of a few state farmers and is most carefully supervised. The fields are surrounded by lofty barriers, whilst in each a watchman, perched on a platform, keeps guard night and day. The seeds are set in ridges bordered with slates and about foot high, the tender shoots being protected from sun or storm by sheds of thatch or coarse cloth. to the