NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE : REPORT OF THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE.

270 in such a way as to make it intelligible to the student. contributions is accompanied by some observations an Another clause in the will was to the effect that all his suggestions relating to the chemistry of the British by the director of the laboratories. papers relating to his profession as a physician should be destroyed unread. This clause, while showing the deep reverence for his profession and for the duties which it THE LANCET RELIEF FUND. imposed upon him which Sir Henry Acland felt, may be OWING to the absence from town of some of the almonersthought to be excessive in its observance of the Hippocratic and the temporary indisposition of Sir Henry Pitman, the oath. Some will hold that such clinical records might the annual meeting of THE LANCET Relief Fund auditor, have been that accumulated evidence surely preserved, was not held as customary upon the first Monday of thee gathered together by a keen observer might be handed Bat the present month. The meeting will now take place on Monday, down for the benefit of future generations. clause shows the proper as well as honourable feeling Feb. llth. The report and balance-sheet will be published which was characteristic of him who wrote it. No informa- in the following issue of THE LANCET. tion which he had received in confidence could be imparted LEAD-POISONING to another, however discreet. He alone could edit his clinical records, and this he did not do. It is not everyone IT is interesting to learn from the leading representatives. who sees how strictly private such notes must be and how of the china manufacturers in this country that they are imperative it is that discretion should be used by those quite willing to adopt fritted glazes in the manufacture of designing to publish any part of them. Not very long ago we china ware. At the same time it is to be expected that the had to comment adversely upon the incident of the sale of a trade generally are averse to the elimination of lead number of hospital case-books after the death of a medical altogether for the purpose. We have already pointed out man who had held the post of physician to the Hospital for that the adoption of fritted glazes would be just as satisWomen, Soho-square.1 Such a gross breach of trust and of factory a solution of the lead-poisoning problem as the decorum could never have occurred if anyone had been on adoption of glazes containing no lead at all. We still, the managing staff of the hospital in question with Acland’s however, keep to the belief that as experience is nice sense of the duty of secrecy owed by the medical man gained leadless glaze will be found to be a perfectly to his patients. satisfactory substitute. It must be remembered that the application of leadless glazes is quite in its infant The opinion of experienced masters of such an PHARMACEUTICAL NOTES FROM THE WELLCOME stage. and beautiful industry as the manufacture of china old CHEMICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES. must be respected. They alone know the practical diffi-FROM time to time reports are issued from the Wellcome culties presented by such a drastic change as the excluChemical Laboratories giving the results of the investigations sion of lead altogether for the purpose of glazing ware. into pharmaceutical questions undertaken at the instruction Nevertheless, we know that the industry has given rise to of the directors. Amongst recent publications of this kind grievous injury to health to those engaged in it, and from we notice a contribution to the pharmacognosy of official this point of view the subject must be approached seriously, strophanthus seed. As is well known, this drug possesses even if it mean the condemnation of the use of lead in an interesting history. The plant was discovered in 1861 pottery manufacture. We believe that the compulsoryemby Sir John Kirk, whose attention was drawn to it by its ployment of " frits " is a remedy which will appeal both to poisonous properties, the plant being the basis of the Kombe the practical potter and to his employe. The adoption of poison. According to recent inquiry it would appear leadless glaze would be quite safe to the latter, though it unthat every histological character upon which the identifidoubtedly would seriously affect the interests of the former. cation of the different varieties of Kombe seeds has hitherto been based is found almost without exception to NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE : REPORT exist in seeds obtained from one and the same pod. OF THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE. Previous histological conclusions, therefore, must be abanTHE report of the Library Committee of the New York doned, as they were in favour of the identification of different varieties based upon distinctions no longer held Academy of Medicine states that on Nov. 30th, 1900, the to exist. Another interesting communication from the same number of volumes in the library was 89,000, including laboratories relates to the composition of berberine phosphate. 36,105 duplicates. The books added during the year, not In thePure berberine phosphate was obtained by acting upon including duplicates, numbered 3649 volumes. and books 871 832 journals were berberine acetone with an excess of phosphoric acid and circulating department issued to readers have 194 readers. 11,520 registered re-crystallising the product. The salt thus obtained was of during the year in the reading-room, and probably many a bright yellow colour and showed a composition in accordothers have used the library but have not registered. The ance with the formula C20H17 NO4(H3PO4)7 with varying amounts of water of crystallisation. The same salt may library is growing rapidly, the additions annually for be obtained by acting upon berberine sulphate with the last four years being at least 3500 volumes a year. acid calcium phosphate. The preparation of mercurous In 1898, when the library of the New York Hospital was iodide forms a subject of another note. The results show given to the Academy, 7000 volumes were added without 991 journals in many languages that mercurous iodide prepared by precipitation is quite including duplicates. on file and are added bound volumes to the shelves 1135 uniform in composition and is sufficiently stable when 1900. the during As known is Including is well mercurous iodide duplicates the natural growth properly protected. amounts to about and at this rate there 5000 volumes, with the iodine, commonly prepared by triturating mercury More space final product invariably containing free mercury ; and thus is only space left for five years more. it is important to decide whether such a preparation, con- for the library is urgently needed and it will be difficult taining more or less free mercury, is preferable to the pure to find this space in the present building. At present salt for medicinal use. The facts now available, however, there are 13.430 feet of shelving available, of which less than 3000 feet are unoccupied, and 600 feet of are in favour of the pure yellow iodide being generally adopted. This interesting and instructive series of shelving are needed annually for the natural growth The labour of taking charge of this in new books. 1 THE large collection of books will require an increase in the LANCET, April 8th, 1899, p. 976.

I Pharmacopoeia

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271 librarian’s staff this coming year. More money is urgently perhaps, in accordance with civic nature that Worthing needed, both for the purchase of books and for the running should give preference to the infectious sick of its own 11 expenses. Truly of making many books there is no end." district. In all these directions, as, indeed, in many others, The cry for more room is universal throughout the libraries there would seem to be advantage in the extension of the of the world, and the output of books increases day by day. borough in such fashion as to focus the control of infectious Especially is this the case with medical literature, and diseases, the water-supply, the sewerage, and the household the United States are more prolific in this direction drainage, while in the matter of the investigation of outthan any country. The subdivision of subject-matter breaks of disease, whether water-borne or not, the concentrahas made the old text-book of medicine give place tion of the notifications into one office cannot fail to be We expect that these facts will have some to elaborate " systems," published in 10 volumes or so, of value. influence with the Local Government Board in their or else we have fully and carefully written monographs upon one disease. The mere literature of the youngest determination. ‘

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daughter of medical science-namely, bacteriology-almost requires a library of its own, and as for periodical literature, medical journals and magazines are showered abroad like the leaves in autumn. In many of these there is doubtless a great deal of chaff to very little wheat and as no library is capable of indefinite extension some process of exclusion will before long become inevitable.

THE

EXTENSION

OF

THE

WORTHING.

BOROUGH

OF

MR. SAM

LEWIS’S BEQUESTS TO CHARITY.

WE are happy to learn that general and medical charities will benefit largely under the will of the late Mr. Sam Lewis. The Prince of Wales’s Hospital Fund for London will eventually receive a quarter of a million from the estate of’ the deceased money-lender, and many of the principal metropolitan hospitals have also a separate interest in the future disposition of his enormous wealth. Mr. Sam Lewis He was a usurer who conducted was a remarkable man. his business with such scrupulous honesty that he gained the real regard of his clients. Money-lending must always be a nasty trade, for it thrives on the failings of the weaker section of society and cannot allow scope A money-lender for much kindness of heart. who, was moved to disregard business precautions out of sympathy with his clients’ stories would in a few hours have no money to lend. Mr. Sam Lewis did his best to show that usury can be run on fair lines. He took large risks and exacted large profits, and the value of his estate shows that he neglected no means to ensure these profits accruing to him. But he received only what he compounded to receive. And in his disposition of his property he has displayed the generosity which he was obliged to suppress in his purely business relations.

THE growth of our urban, and the depopulation of our rural, districts is one of the greatest problems of modern life, and the exceptions to this rule are often more apparent than real. As a matter of fact, however, in the proximity of our large towns the rural districts in no sense suffer from depopulation, and vigorous efforts are sometimes required to prevent the population from being distributed in a manner inconsistent with healthy urban conditions. There must to be some limitation the obviously aggregation of population which can be properly administered from one centre by one administrative body, and perhaps in certain cities in the world such limitations have already been reached. But, conversely, there are obviously great disadvantages, more particularly from a public healthstandpoint, in the several parts of what is structurally a town administered single being by multiple authorities. This phase appears to have been already reached in WorthARSENIC IN BEER. ing, a considerable portion of which town is situated outside THE Manchester and Salford Trades and Labour Council the borough proper, and in the rural parishes of West at a -meeting last week passed the following resolution :Tarring and Broadwater. Originally the villages bearing " That, in view of the serious consequences which have these names were separated from the town of Worthing by resulted from the sale of unwholesome and poisonous beer, a stretch of open country, but the increased population has this council is of opinion that it is absolutely essential, in resulted in covering the area with habitations, and Worthing the interests of the public, that the Government should at is now seeking powers to embrace both parishes within its the earliest possible moment promote such measures in limits. The general merits or demerits of the proposal will Parliament as will ensure that only pure and wholesome beer shall in future be sold to the public throughout the country. doubtless soon be fought out by means of a public local This council is further of opinion that as the health and lives inquiry, but from our point of view, that of the public of the public are involved in this question it is the duty of health, there are sundry reasons which must be held the Government to proceed with legislation at once upon the waiting for any report of any Royal Comstrongly to support the consolidation scheme. The rural subject, without as there is already ample evidence that very many district council administering the affairs of what may be mission, people have of late been injured and a number killed through termed the towns of West Tarring and Broadwater are drinking poisoned beer, and the protection of the public hardly likely to pay as much attention to these two parishes demands immediate legislation without the delay which of the-rural district as their importance demands. Indeed, attends the proceedings of a Royal Commission." rumour has it that at times meetings of the rural district This is exactly the view which we expressed in a leading council are so poorly attended that a quorum is not forth- article last week and we heartily congratulate the Manchester coming. Moreover, the fact that the offices of surveyor and and Salford Trades and Labour Council on their admirable inspector of nuisances are occupied by one and the same and sensible resolution. We have already pointed out that individual is sufficient to indicate that no very adequate the use of malt substitutes is more a matter of expediency supervision can be maintained over the erection of new than economy. Indeed, as is pointed out in a letter in the buildings and the sanitary condition of old buildings, and Times of Jan. 22nd by Sir Walter Greene, who has tad a we should not be surprised to hear that the roads and large experience of practical brewing, it would appear and are not to urban standard that invert sugar may cost nearly Is. per quarter more quite up footpaths that the lighting is bad. Houses, too, which are than barley malt. Whatever the economic considerawithin a few feet of the sewers are said not to have been tions may be, the introduction of arsenic into beer connected with the sewers owing to the absence of proper must be effectually stopped. The inquiry at Manchester administrative action. As regards the control of infectious was concluded this week and the verdict is a comThe jury diseases the people of the rural parishes seem to be prehensive censure on all those concerned. dependent upon the goodwill of Worthing; and it is, agreed that death had been caused by arsenical poisoning,