APOTHECARIES AND SURGEONS.

410 first discovery announced in the newspapers, especially the the Morning Chronicle, but I am happy say, that Mr. Brit-

perspiration. It appears that the spontaneous vomiting of incipient cholera does not disgorge that which is needful to be thrown off, and that an irritant calls into action such auxiliary powers, exceeding in effect all that can be possibly induced spontaneously, howsoever protracted the efforts. The steady employment of opiates keeps the disorder the most part under control, (say ten drops of the every hour,) to which, in collapse, may be added one spoonful of brandy.with each dose. Thus have I been enabled ’ to maintain a reputation, of which I am in no way ashamed; and to set at defiance every other remedy boasting of superiority. The same constitutes a line of practice to be adopted in my own house, and I believe sincerely, its -timely adoption in every other house, with free ventilation, would secure a success hitherto unknown. If one more sentiment I might be allowed to add, let me urge that it be publicly placarded— Open your windows a little both by day and by night; the word ventilation is not generally known in its practical application. The atmosphere is not generally regarded the great diluent of every noxious element, although the germs of the disorder were possibly to float therein. Whither shalt thou flee to breathe an element more pure ?2 I am. Sir. vour obedient servant. WILLIAM HENDRY, M.R.C.S., &C. and

for tincture table-

was

to

paper, in the Medical Gazette, from its fairness, has done much to cancel the injustice which was thus inflicted by other upon myself and the other members of the sub-committee. T am. Sir. vour obedient servant. J. G. SWAYNE.

tan’s parties

THE

PROPHYLACTIC AGAINST CHOLERA IN INDIA. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—Should you deem the accompanying extract from my Annual Report for 1848 to the Medical Board at Madras worthy of a place in your journal,you will oblige me by inserting it. I purposely avoid making any addition to the remarks then made, and should not have forwarded them for publication, but from having recently (a few weeks since) read some extracts from Dr. Billing’s book on cholera, in which the ’, same views are taken as to the cause of the disease.-I am, F. GODFREY, Superintending Surgeon.

"Epidemic Cholera.—With regard to this subject, I may briefly remark that for some years past, I have, during the prevalence of the disease, been in the habit of recommending the use of quinine (three or five grains) daily, as a prophylactic ; and have never known a person, whilst thus under its influence, attacked by the disease. My experience, I may observe, has been too limited to form conclusive evidences as to its preventive influence, but offer the result of my observa-

tions with deference for the consideration of the Medical Board. On the breaking out of the disease in a regiment, the plan might be put to the test, with some degree of fairness, by having one or two companies subjected to the treatment, and noting, not only the proportion attacked, but also the proportion of recoveries under such circumstances. At all events, a trial would not be followed by any injurious effects to the persons

experimented "

on.

led to this

practice from considering the poison of cholera as being analogous, if not having an affinity to, the miasmata productive of fevers, and am inclined to believe, that even if the disease occurred to individuals whilst u-,der the influence of quinine, it would be in a mitigated form. " With regard to the treatment of epidemic cholera itself, I have nothing here to remark-the drugs recommended have been so dissimilar, and the fatal results so nearly uniform." I

was

THE DISCOVERY OF CELLS IN CHOLERA EVACUATIONS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—In a notice in the last number of THE LANCET, respecting the discovery of certain cells in the evacuations of cholera, I observed some strictures upon my colleague, Mr. Brittan, for anticipating his fellow-labourers in the publication of that discovery. In fairness to him, I ought to state, that he published with the concurrence both of Dr. W. Budd and myself. It would have been, perhaps, better, had the first discovery been brought forward in the shape of a report from us to the society of which we formed a sub-committee ; but circumstances occurred which rendered Mr. Brittan anxious for immediate publication, and we therefore conceded to him the priority in this respect, as we considered that he was the most entitled to it, on account of his subsequent discovery of cells in the atmosphere. I have had much reason to

complain of the manner in which

MEDICAL ASSISTANT. To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—About a fortnight ago, a gentlemanly person called at my house in the evening, and introduced himself tome as a medical assistant, then engaged to a general practitioner in the country, and bound to go to his situation in a few-days. He asked for pecuniary accommodation to a small extent, to enable him to pay the expenses of the journey, and get his clothes from his lodgings, where he was in debt. Without troubling you with all the particulars of his account of himself, which induced me to give credit to his statement, I advanced him what he thought he wanted, and requested him to call again, which he did. In the meanwhile I took care to make such inquiries as satisfied me that his difficulties were of a kind which are inseparable from the vicissitudes of the life of a medical assistant, and proceeded from no faults of his own. The morning he was to join the gentleman who had engaged him, his agent in town received a letter, declining his services altogether, in consequence of information received from some one he had called on in the midst of his distress, before he came to me, erroneously representing his application as a form of begging, common amongst a set of impostors who infest the medical public. It is unnecessary to enter into the hardship of this new misfortune. His character was good; his distress real. The method he adopted to get assistance might be impolitic, but yet, surely, excusable; he had already passed two nights in the open streets. There is an institution established for the express purpose of securing for governesses of good character a cheap home when out of a situation. It provides in every way for their protection against the temptations which too often press heavily upon want. The system works admirably; and my object in writing this is, to inquire whether a similar place of refuge could not be provided for the medical assistant. For the present I leave the question to your well-known advocacy in favour of any plan likely to benefitthe condition of a hard-working, useful,-nay, as the profession stands at present,-indispensable body of our fellow-creatures. The members of the profession at large are not likely to find anything better worth their attention for some time to come, and the publication of this communication in your widely-eirculating periodical, will, I trust, lead to the adoption of some plan similar to that of the Governesses’ Institution. It is far from creditable to us of the nineteenth century that even the meanest member of our profession should find himself, blameless as he may be, a desolate wanderer in the open streets, his means of livelihood utterly exhausted for the time, and gone for ever the moment he confides his misfortunes to those whom he has spent his last days in serving; and in evidence that this is no more than the truth, I adduce the subject of this letter. I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, HENRY SAVAGE.

’

APOTHECARIES AND SURGEONS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—At the present time there are more than 1500 members of the College of Surgeons, who may be fairly classed under the head of general -practitioners, though not possessing

any licence from the Apothecaries’ Company; more than sixty of whom are surgeons to some of the various Unions. Now it is quite evident that all these 1500 individuals, many of them of long standing in the profession, are liable to be convicted at the County Courts for illegally practising; such is the law. A M.R.C.S. may prescribe in any case, (in fact, the great majority of the pure London surgeons exist principally by attending families,) yet if he dispenses his prescriptions (an act which any man without the slightest qualification whatever can always do by putting Chemist and Druggist over a shopdoor) he is liable to a prosecution ! It would be useless to enlarge upon the absurdity of this law. If the surgeon has no right to dispense medicine, he certainly has no right to

prescribe.

But there are a great many surgeons who would be willing to become licentiates of the Apothecaries’ Company, if they could be admitted to an examination, which, as the law now

411

stands, they cannot, Take my own case, for instance: I was, more than twenty-five years ago, articled to a pure surgeon for six years, with the intention of practising -surgery alone; but, from circumstances, I became a general practitioner. NowI would willingly submit myself to a fair practical examination from the Apothecaries’ Company, but of course, not having been apprenticed-to any member of their Society, it weuld be useless to offer myself. No doubt, there are many other members of the College similarly situated. Let the Apothecaries’ Company, therefore, imitate the College of

Physicians, and

throw open their doors, under certain reguof a certain standing, who are willing to enter them. Hundreds, no doubt, would avail themselves of the opportunity; not that it would be attaching any additional honours to their names, for who, at the present day, takes pride in calling himself an apothecary in being compelled, at all times and all hours, to make up the prescriptions that any member of the College of Physicians may choose to direct to him? In conclusion, I cannot help observing, that if,a member of the College of Surgeons has no right to dispense medicines, surely the mere apothecary has no right to practise surgery, or to style himself a surgeon; and if the one is to be prosecuted, it does not appear like equal justice that the other should pass unscathed. The College of Surgeons has received enormous sums from its members, and, in return, all its exertions have as yet been confined to degrading the majority for the purpose of exalting the few. It is now, however, imperatively called upon to interfere on the behalf of those members situated as I have described; and surely it has sufficient influence to obtain the assent of the Apothecaries’ Company to the proposed arrangement, though it would be much better that the College of Surgeons took upon itself the power of granting full licence to practise all branches of the profession-of course, under proper examinations. The general practitioner almost invariably designates himself surgeon, and by that title always gives his evidence in all courts of law; why not, therefore, do away with the objectionable term apothecary altogether, letting the profession be known only as surgeons and physicians ? I am, Sir, your velY obedient servant, A PRACTITIONER OF MANY YEARS’ STANDING.

lations, to all M
COD-LIVER OIL. To the Editor qfTHE LANCET.

SIR,—I send you, at your request, the report of an analysis which has been made of Messrs. Langtons’ cod-liver oil. I may suggest that the chief points in favour of this oil are, first, its ascertained freedom from adulteration; secondly, its containing in due proportion all the known constituents of cod-liver oil in general; and thirdly, its being, beyond comparison, the most agreeable both in taste and odour, or rather, the only one that is agreeable at all. To find this last recommendation in that class of oil (the pale) which contains the greatest quantity of iodine, would incline us at once to give it preference for trial in rheumatism, phthisis, and scrofula ; for though the amount of iodine even in the pale oil is but small, yet the peculiar combination in which it exists as part of an animal product may well be thought capable of giving it an efficacy beyond what its mere quantity would indicate, as occurs in the case of chalybeate and other mineral waters, which havea power over disease altogether disproportioned and superior to the amount of their medical constituents. And with the confession of even so intelligent an observer as De Jongh, that the substances (as gaduine) peculiar to cod-liver oil are in all likelihood medicinally inert, there seems fair ground for assuming that the iodine most abundant in the pale oil plays an important part in the now frequent cases of cure, more especially as iodine in its mineral forms has a well-proved influence over those very diseases which most readily yield to the oleum aselli. The liberality and spirit of the Messrs. Langton, in sending extractor of the oil, so as to over to Newfoundland a first-rate insure its being obtained in the best manner, and from the fresh liver-and in their procuring a minute analysis of the article by such chemists as Mr. Aikin and Dr. Taylor, form an additional claim on their behalf to the support of the profession. I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, F. A. B. BONNEY. (COPY.) We

hereby certify that

we

cod-liver oil, transmitted to Langton Brothers and Scott.

have examined a specimen of for this purpose by Messrs.

us

The oil is of a pale yellow colour, with a slight but not offensive fishy odour, and is free from any disagreeable taste. It is very fluid, and in consistency and general appearance resembles good Florence oil. Its specific gravity at 6r Pahr. is 0.924. At, the temperature of 14° Fahr. the steariiie is deposited, and the liquid oleine when poured off; the stearine becomes gelatinous at 10° Fahr: It contains no free acid, and is perfectly neutral to re-agents. In ether it is wholly soluble, not leaving behind any deposit or sediment. Alcohol of 0.815 dissolves it in small quantity. This alcoholic solution is quite colourless, and does not produce any blue colour on starched paper immersed in it, thus proving that no iodine had been added to the oil. Sulphuric acid produces in the oil a rich violet-pink colour, indicating the presence of cholic acid, and therefore of biliary matter. A portion of the oil was saponified by a solution of pure soda, and the soap thus prepared was charred in a close vessel. This residue, when boiled in water, gave a colourless solution, which was found by appropriate tests to contain iodine. The quantity of iodine per cent., according to the nearest calculation which could be made, amounted to .027 or part by weight. This corresponds to the proportion assigned by other analysts. From these and other results we believe that the sample sent to us is a genuine and unsophisticated specimen of codliver oil. We are likewise of opinion, from its purity, and the absence of any unpleasant odour or flavour, that it is preferable for medicinal use to those samples of cod-liver oil which have hitherto come under our notice. ARTHUR AIKIN, (Signed) ALFRED SWAYNE TAYLOR, M.D., F.R.S., Professors of Chemistry in Guy’s Hospital. Chemical Laboratory, Guy’s Hospital, Sept. 25, 1849. THE LATE ASTON KEY, ESQ., F.R.S. To the Fditor of THE LANCET. SIR,—The sorrow evinced by the death of Mr. Aston Key is sufficient evidence to show in what light this eminent surgeon was regarded both by the profession and the public; and makes it too clear that a great loss has been sustained, anci that his worth was duly estimated. Having seen much of Mr. Key for a few years past, I think it would not be uninteresting to your readers if, in addition to the account of his public career, which you gave in a former number, I were to offer a few remarks on his character, which might bring to light any peculiar qualities with which his mind was endowed, and enable us to discover what gave him that power, which placed him in such an honourable eminence, and that strength to retain it, until death, cloaked under a dire pestilence, came and struck him down. If a stranger for the first time had met Mr. Key, and observed his figure, tall, upright, and commanding, he would have at once declared that he was looking upon no ordinary man, but upon one accustomed to rule-upon one from whom he must involuntary shrink back and feel himself inferior. Nor would this first impression,from external appearances alone, have deceived him; for let him but mark the first utterances of his lips, and it would be incontestably proved that he was one who habitually carried with him an air of superiority, a which tinctured all his words and actions, right to and which, in fact, as distinguished from others, formed the main feature of his character. However friendly you might become, he ever made you feel your inferiority; and even if, from his elevated sphere, ho perchance descended to a more convivial mood, he was always ready to assert his superiority, and to retrace his steps to that height from which he had for a moment stepped. Thus was there always an unfathomable gulf between him and his admirers. The question naturally suggests itself—how was this superiority acquired ? How much of it was to be attributed to a natural force of character ? How much to a conscious knowledge of merit, and how much to that praise lavished on him by his brethren, and acquired by time ? We shall find that the truth is evolved from the consideration of all these sources. There can be no doubt that knowledge is power; but it does not necessarily follow that its possessor always has this superior influence so marked in him that it can be traced in all his footsteps, and cause him to be recognised by every one as if by intuition. As regards the subject of these remarks, we may truly say Mr. Key’s knowledge of his profession was in the fullest that sense profound. He had not studied surgical disease in a large hospital in vain. Nothing worthy to be acquired could have escaped his quick and penetrating mind. Add to

command,