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THE CORRELATION OF EGGS AND NESTS.
165 the operation conducted along the anterior cranial fossa. In these 12 cases, there were four deaths,
elaborate nest-builders, the denser brown green eggs are somewhat more usually two immediate and two at dates 8 and 18 months associated with simple nests, and lighter brown or after operation. Dr. Verga compares these results darker green with those of more elaborate construcwith those of v. Eiselberg, Hochenegg, and Hirsh, tion. Larger blotches tend to be found in simple, who operated by the transphenoidal method of finer mottling in elaborate nests, and the eggs in Schloffer, in whose cases a large recovery of vision mere holes are rounder than those in complex took place, a fact which, if it took place, is not nests. The most interesting problem consideredmentioned in Horsley’s cases. The book, which is unfortunately not completely solved-is that of eggs specially praiseworthy in its large outlook, will be of different colour in the same nest. In about useful to all interested in this branch of surgical 8 per cent. of the clutches brown and green eggs pathology; it contains an extensive bibliography were found together, and three hypotheses are conof over 400 names, showing an extensive range of sidered. 1. That the terns consist of two " gentes," one of which lays brown, the other green eggs, and collation. that the mixture arises from the existence of " cuckoo-terns," which lay in other hens’ nests. THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER MORTALITY. The rarity of four-egg clutches, which must be Louis 1. Dublinhas analysed the cancer mor expected to occur if a cuckoo-tern lays in a nest tality experience of the Metropolitan Life Insur already containing three eggs, makes this suggesance Company of New York during the six year tion unlikely. 2. Since the proportion of green eggs 1911-16. He concludes that cancer is more frequeni increases with the size of the clutch, it seemed in the industrial class than in those of highei possible that a hen lays brown eggs more frequently economic status. This is contrary to the generally at first, and green eggs later, but the statistics do held opinion that luxurious living conduces to not support this hypothesis. 3. The remaining cancer, but is in harmony with the close association suggestion, regarded as perhaps most probable, is " of cancer with chronic irritation of various kinds. that there are two gentes," one of which lays His figures show no evidence of an increase in cancer chiefly brown and the other chiefly green eggs, death-rates over the six-year period studied. It is but that each may occasionally lay an egg of the worth noting, however, that the cancer mortality in other colour. The paper is illustrated with an the United States is 30 per cent. less than that in admirable series of photographs of the terns on England and Wales (70 per 100,000 as compared their nests. with 100-110 per 100,000), and it is hard to believe that such a wide difference can be entirely real as LATENT MALARIA. between two populations of common origin living THE clinical symptoms of latent malaria, such as under very similar conditions. The original must of the red be consulted for the details of organ, sex, age, and splenomegaly, mononucleosis, basophilia of the leucocytes, &c., are often cells, pigmentation colour incidence. The paper is interesting as an and it is necessary to use provocative indication of the tendency in modern statistical wanting, measures to ensure the passage of the parasite investigations of cancer to aim at more and more into the blood stream or a typical febrile homogeneous groups by repeated subdivision of attack, with the object produce of instituting vigorous the data, so as to eliminate, or allow for, the many treatment and eliminating carriers. With this uncontrollable factors which influence the incidence intent many measures have been devised by various of the disease. observers, and two papers in a recent. issue of Il Policlinico (Practical Section, Nov. 30th, 1919) THE CORRELATION OF EGGS AND NESTS. are of interest as bearing on this important subject, IT is not always that Biometrika contains papers which has come into prominence owing to the large which are both interesting and comprehensible to number of demobilised and discharged soldiers now those untrained in statistical mathematics, but the in this country who have suffered from malaria "cooperative study " in the issue of November last, while on active service. Dr. A. Dazzi experimented on 20 patients with injections of adrenalin, in 12 of on the Nest and Eggs of the Common Tern, is an whom In the authors had a repeated examination of the blood failed to previous paper exception. made a preliminary study, on material collected in discover parasites, while in the other 8 only occa1913, chiefly with a view to determining the extent sional forms in various phases of development were of the similarity in measurement and in colour found. His investigations show that the adminisbetween eggs of the same clutch. This is repeated tration of a milligramme of adrenalin was harmless for observations made in 1914, and the curious to the patients and did not cause a typical febrile result is reached that both in measurements and attack, but was always followed by the evidence of in colour and mottling there was conspicuously the plasmodium in the blood stream. The presence greater resemblance between the eggs of one clutch of the parasite was transitory, and began about 20 in 1914 than in 1913. More interesting, perhaps, minutes after the injection, reaching its acme in After 24 hours the parasite was to the field naturalist is the attempt to discover about one hour. whether there is any correlation between the type no longer demonstrable. In cases in which the of egg and the form of nest. The eggs are either parasite was already present in scanty numbers green or brown in ground-colour, and vary con- the action of adrenalin caused a striking increase, siderably in extent of mottling, and the nests may while it also occasioned a marked diminution in be classified :into: (a) " simple "-i.e., with no the size of the spleen, except in cases of advanced This shrinking began a material collected, and either no hole or merely a sclerosis of the organ. " and lasted several minutes the few after and a of injection depression ; (b) complex." consisting hole with nest material accumulated around it. hours, the action of the drug being apparently to The conclusion arrived at is that although induce contraction of the muscular tissue of all neither brown nor green egg layers are the the splenic vessels, causing a kind of squeezing of the whole organ, by means of which the parasites 1 Journal of Cancer Research, 1919, iv., 235. lodged in its substance were expelled into the more
and
lighter
____
____
____
i
elaborate nest-builders, the denser brown green eggs are somewhat more usually two immediate and two at dates 8 and 18 months associated with simple nests, and lighter brown or after operation. Dr. Verga compares these results darker green with those of more elaborate construcwith those of v. Eiselberg, Hochenegg, and Hirsh, tion. Larger blotches tend to be found in simple, who operated by the transphenoidal method of finer mottling in elaborate nests, and the eggs in Schloffer, in whose cases a large recovery of vision mere holes are rounder than those in complex took place, a fact which, if it took place, is not nests. The most interesting problem consideredmentioned in Horsley’s cases. The book, which is unfortunately not completely solved-is that of eggs specially praiseworthy in its large outlook, will be of different colour in the same nest. In about useful to all interested in this branch of surgical 8 per cent. of the clutches brown and green eggs pathology; it contains an extensive bibliography were found together, and three hypotheses are conof over 400 names, showing an extensive range of sidered. 1. That the terns consist of two " gentes," one of which lays brown, the other green eggs, and collation. that the mixture arises from the existence of " cuckoo-terns," which lay in other hens’ nests. THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER MORTALITY. The rarity of four-egg clutches, which must be Louis 1. Dublinhas analysed the cancer mor expected to occur if a cuckoo-tern lays in a nest tality experience of the Metropolitan Life Insur already containing three eggs, makes this suggesance Company of New York during the six year tion unlikely. 2. Since the proportion of green eggs 1911-16. He concludes that cancer is more frequeni increases with the size of the clutch, it seemed in the industrial class than in those of highei possible that a hen lays brown eggs more frequently economic status. This is contrary to the generally at first, and green eggs later, but the statistics do held opinion that luxurious living conduces to not support this hypothesis. 3. The remaining cancer, but is in harmony with the close association suggestion, regarded as perhaps most probable, is " of cancer with chronic irritation of various kinds. that there are two gentes," one of which lays His figures show no evidence of an increase in cancer chiefly brown and the other chiefly green eggs, death-rates over the six-year period studied. It is but that each may occasionally lay an egg of the worth noting, however, that the cancer mortality in other colour. The paper is illustrated with an the United States is 30 per cent. less than that in admirable series of photographs of the terns on England and Wales (70 per 100,000 as compared their nests. with 100-110 per 100,000), and it is hard to believe that such a wide difference can be entirely real as LATENT MALARIA. between two populations of common origin living THE clinical symptoms of latent malaria, such as under very similar conditions. The original must of the red be consulted for the details of organ, sex, age, and splenomegaly, mononucleosis, basophilia of the leucocytes, &c., are often cells, pigmentation colour incidence. The paper is interesting as an and it is necessary to use provocative indication of the tendency in modern statistical wanting, measures to ensure the passage of the parasite investigations of cancer to aim at more and more into the blood stream or a typical febrile homogeneous groups by repeated subdivision of attack, with the object produce of instituting vigorous the data, so as to eliminate, or allow for, the many treatment and eliminating carriers. With this uncontrollable factors which influence the incidence intent many measures have been devised by various of the disease. observers, and two papers in a recent. issue of Il Policlinico (Practical Section, Nov. 30th, 1919) THE CORRELATION OF EGGS AND NESTS. are of interest as bearing on this important subject, IT is not always that Biometrika contains papers which has come into prominence owing to the large which are both interesting and comprehensible to number of demobilised and discharged soldiers now those untrained in statistical mathematics, but the in this country who have suffered from malaria "cooperative study " in the issue of November last, while on active service. Dr. A. Dazzi experimented on 20 patients with injections of adrenalin, in 12 of on the Nest and Eggs of the Common Tern, is an whom In the authors had a repeated examination of the blood failed to previous paper exception. made a preliminary study, on material collected in discover parasites, while in the other 8 only occa1913, chiefly with a view to determining the extent sional forms in various phases of development were of the similarity in measurement and in colour found. His investigations show that the adminisbetween eggs of the same clutch. This is repeated tration of a milligramme of adrenalin was harmless for observations made in 1914, and the curious to the patients and did not cause a typical febrile result is reached that both in measurements and attack, but was always followed by the evidence of in colour and mottling there was conspicuously the plasmodium in the blood stream. The presence greater resemblance between the eggs of one clutch of the parasite was transitory, and began about 20 in 1914 than in 1913. More interesting, perhaps, minutes after the injection, reaching its acme in After 24 hours the parasite was to the field naturalist is the attempt to discover about one hour. whether there is any correlation between the type no longer demonstrable. In cases in which the of egg and the form of nest. The eggs are either parasite was already present in scanty numbers green or brown in ground-colour, and vary con- the action of adrenalin caused a striking increase, siderably in extent of mottling, and the nests may while it also occasioned a marked diminution in be classified :into: (a) " simple "-i.e., with no the size of the spleen, except in cases of advanced This shrinking began a material collected, and either no hole or merely a sclerosis of the organ. " and lasted several minutes the few after and a of injection depression ; (b) complex." consisting hole with nest material accumulated around it. hours, the action of the drug being apparently to The conclusion arrived at is that although induce contraction of the muscular tissue of all neither brown nor green egg layers are the the splenic vessels, causing a kind of squeezing of the whole organ, by means of which the parasites 1 Journal of Cancer Research, 1919, iv., 235. lodged in its substance were expelled into the more
and
lighter
____
____
____
i