M. BERTHELOT.

THE ROYAL DENTAL HOSPITAL OF LONDON.

and a foetid otorrhcea was observed together with deafness in the left ear. He replaced one word for another, as in the use of adjectives," in speaking (paraphasia), but could read aloud without mistakes, understood written and spoken words, and wrote correctly from dictation. When shown an object, and asked to name it, he found it impossible, although he showed clearly that he knew the object and its uses. A large number of objects were tried with the same results. ’’Whenever he miscalled the object he knew his mistake at once, and after several attempts to give the correct name gave up in despair." When his name was mentioned he recognised it at once, but a few moments afterwards he failed when asked his name. He appeared to understand all written and spoken words. The urine was normal. The

these

1517

experiments-alcohol-was generated. It follows that, were the only compounds from

water and carbon dioxide

which the elements of this alcohol were derived. Little-that men scientific of all the civilised nations. then, wonder, assembled at the Sorbonne to do honour to this great exponent of nature’s methods and mysteries. Amongst, those present were the President of the French Republic(M. Loubet), M. Moissan, M. Fouque, Dr. Fischer (of thePrussian Royal Academy), Professor Ramsay (representing the Royal Society), Professor Lieben of Vienna, and a numberof others representing the learned societies or universities. the whole world.

of

__

DOLLS AND INFECTION. tenderness over the left supra-auricular region was now IT has been stated that the stuffing used in dolls has; intense and the diagnosis was made of a lesion involving given decided evidence of a very objectionable origin, dis-the left temporal lobe below the angular gyrus. On carded articles of apparel such as cut-up neckties and trephining at a spot one inch below the angular gyrus the scarves having been used for the purpose. Of course, if this. brain bulged but appeared to be normal. A second trephine be true, dolls so stuffed could easily be sources of infection. hole was made over the lateral lobe of the cerebellum with The matter is of some importance although we are not. negative results. The patient died shortly afterwards and the certain how far the statement is justified, but we have; necropsy showed the presence of mastoiditis with necrosed personally more than once experienced something in thebone and foul-smelling pus in the mastoid cells. The brain nature of a shock on inquiring into the anatomy of the: was normal in appearance except in the posterior part of the favourite, because indestructible, "gollywog," for certainly inferior temporal gyrus, where an abscess cavity was found the pieces of cloth which comprised its inside did not look of about the size of a walnut, with thick, foul, viscid pus. altogether free from reproach. However, there is no reason. The brain tissue around its margin for three-fourths of an why dolls should not be stuffed with unobjectionableinch was somewhat softened. The site of the lesion materials. We should like to go further and to suggest that; corresponded very precisely with that recorded by Professor the stuffing should consist of a material treated with a harmMills in the case of a patient with similar symptoms. less antiseptic. Excellent stuffing for the purpose would beeucalyptus sawdust or antiseptic peat-wool, which is not M. BERTHELOT. expensive and, which far from being injurious would proTHE great chemist M. Berthelot has just completed his bably exercise a beneficial effect. The instinctive fondness.. 50 years of service as a scientific teacher-an occasion which of children for kissing their "dollies " is well known, and it cannot be disputed that such kissing is at all times non-was celebrated at the Sorbonne in Paris this week. No chemist perhaps has so well and truly helped to lay the foundations of hygienic and it would be better if measures of disinfectionchemistry as has M. Berthelot, and that the congratulations could be employed whenever the practice is indulged in.. he received came from all civilised nations is no matter for The highly-scented handkerchief can be a pleasant means of surprise. His career has been a remarkable one. He be- accomplishing this purpose, and there is no reason why a doll. could not be treated similarly with a pleasant antiseptic. came a professor at the early age of 24 years, and a brilliant The in. general idea that an antiseptic must be investigator within a few years of this appointment, gaining is as the with of case carbolic character, acid, is, course,, at the root into the laws which enormous

disagreeable

insight

lay

of chemical architecture. Perhaps his most epoch-making discovery was his demonstration of the true nature of glycerine as an alcoholic body capable of interacting with three molecules of such acids as acetic and palmitic, although his contributions to thermal chemistry were models of ingenuity, resource, and orginal conception. Later he attacked the question of synthesis and until the publication of his Chimie Organique fondee sur la Synthese" no systematic research had been attempted in the direction of building up compounds of carbon comparable with natural organic compounds by the union of the elements of which they are composed. We must remember, however, Wohler’s synthesis of urea in 1828 and Kolbe’s synthesis of acetic acid in 1845. But the methods subsequently employed by M. Berthelot were more simple and direct. He started, for example, with the elements themselves. He took carbon and hydrogen which produced acetylene ; adding more hydrogen he got ethylene, and from this he obtained alcohol and a series of organic salts. Again, he set himself the task of proving that compounds identical in every respect with the products of animal and vegetable life may be formed from dead mineral matter. Thus in a series of experiments he employed the carbon obtained in the form of carbon dioxide from barium carbonate. It was then made to pass successively through the forms of carbonic oxide, formic acid, barium formate, ethylene, ethylene bromide, ethylene again, and finally into ethyl-sulphuric acid and its crystalli,,ed barium salt, from which the ultimate object of

erroneous. ____

THE ROYAL DENTAL HOSPITAL OF LONDON. IT is to be hoped that the excellent work which is carriecif from year to year by the (now Royal) Dental Hospital* of London will meet with that substantial encouragement which it deserves. According to the statement madeH. Woodruff who presided on the occasion Mr. W. by of the annual dinner of the staff and present and past stu-dents of the hospital which was held at the Hotel Metropolethan 69,000 operations had been on Nov. 23rd no less conducted within the walls of the hospital during the. past 12 months and the work in the new hospital continued to increase at an enormous rate. The institution, is undoubtedly doing yeoman service in relieving thepoor and necessitous, for, as Dr. J. W. Washbourn pointed. out in proposing the toast of ’’The Hospital and School,"’ during the past year over 40,000 teeth had been extracted, upwards of 16,000 had been filled, and 350a people had been provided with artificial teeth. Dr. Washbourn referred also to the great progress which had been made in dental surgery since the hospital was foundeda progress to which the students of that hospital had in’ no small measure contributed. It was satisfactory to know that at last they had gained entrance into a building which was better fitted for the philanthropic and educational needs. of the institution. Since occupying the present new and commodious building the school committee had recorded on