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THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.
1735 .effective and salutary only in the degree in which - certain ethnographic and historical conditions are realised .and allowed for by the Legislature.Italians,’ says Sir Willoughby Wade,are of an impressionable and ardent temperament, qualities which are not without their redeeming side. But corTuptio optimi pessima, and all of us have the defects of our qualities. It is due, in part at ’least, to this temperament that "vendetta"is so deeply ,rooted in Italy’-a’vendetta’ of a kind for which the knife is peculiarly adapted. Baron Garofalo, professor of - criminal statistics in the University of Naples, attributes the prevalence of vendetta to an ineradicable distrust of the impartiality of the law-a distrust all too closely connected with the miserable remuneration allowed by the State to the heads of tribunals-and to the consequent suspicion of venality and the temptation to’take the law into The same authority, in a memorone’s own hand.’ able paper, illustrated the helplessness of‘education’ to antagonise thisvendetta ’-in which he has the support of Sir Willoughby Wade, who points out that education in Italy, though leaving much to be desired, has, on the whole, reduced the numbers of the analfabeti (absolutely unlettered), while stabbing cases, fatal or non-fatal, are .officially declared to be on the increase. The abolition of capital punishment, universal throughout Italy for 30 years, ,is now being reluctantly admitted to have coincided with an augmentation of fatti di sanglle (cutting and wounding with fatal result) and it is even recommended in certain quarters that, as an initial remedy at least, flogging, which stamped -out the garrotter in the British Isles, might be tried in Italy towards minimising such fatti. The whole subject bristles with difficulties, insomuch that a commission to consider it and devise measures ad hoc seems to be the first step indicated for the remedy of a state of things which is becoming, in the words of an Italian, a ’European scandal.’ Such a commission should be composed of experts in which medicine as well as law and ,practical legislation should be represented, dealing as it must with details in which the expert in anatomy, surgery, ,psychology, criminal psychiatry,jurisprudence, criminology, and even the steel industry, can alone be heard with advantage. .Signor Ronchetti, honourably associated with the reform of the penal code, might earn further distinction by organising such a commission,’which,’ concludes Sir Willoughby ’Wade, ’Ihave great confidence will one day be set on foot.’ Quod felix fallst1lmql18 sit."
and the trabeculse eventually fuse with the notochord to form a floor for the of the Three pairs of sense capsulesbrain. support and olfactory, optic, auditory-next appear and as the sides of the basilar plate grow upwards to invest the brain these capsules enter into intimate relation with the primitive brain In addition to the above structures a number of carticase. laginous rods, formed in the walls of the pharynx between the gill slits, must also be considered as part of the skull. The anterior pairs of these rods, though primarily connected with the respiratory function, become modified to assist in the prehension and comminution of food and so form jaws. In the selachians all these elements are practically distinct but ascending the vertebrate scale it is found that they enter into closer relation with each other until in the higher animals all are intimately blended. In the elasmobranoh fishes the skull consists only of cartilage the perichondrium of which may be hardened by superficial ossification taking place therein. In recent forms there are no true bones. True bones first make their appearance in the cartilaginous ganoids where is seen superficial ossification on, or just beneath, the surface. In sturgeons, polypterus, and so on, these bones do not enter into close relation with the cartilaginous skull. Dermoid ossification appears to affect the underlying tissues and to stimulate a corresponding ossification in the perichondrium, the differently derived bones more Dr. Ridewood1 has recently or less fusing together. out that there is no essential difference in the pointed two methods and that dermal ossification, whether due to coalescence of denticles or to hardening about sensory Even in those cases was the primitive form. where the bone is pure cartilage bone the ossification of the cartilage owes its origin phylogenetically to a predisposing dermal ossification which no longer appears in ontogeny. So, in the teleostei, there are both ectosteal and endosteal ossification. In the physostomi the ectostoses are still separable from the chondrocranium with its endostoses, but in the remaining orders the investing bones become very closely united. Mr. Carter then shows that from this point upwards in the phylum, through dipnoi, urodela, anura, reptilia, and mammalia, there is a gradual replacement of the primitive cartilaginous cranium by the secondary osseous cranium and that the same applies to the jaws and branchial arches ; that the cessation of branchial respiration led to a reduction of the visceral skeleton and that the disused parts were largely utilised in the elaboration of the organ of hearing. In conclusion stress is laid on the great importance of a thorough application of the lessons gained from THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSPENSION OF the comparative consideration of the morphology of the jaws THE JAWS. in the treatment of various abnormal conditions which nowIN an interesting paper communicated to the Transactions adays the dentist is so often called upon to rectify ; for the of the Odontological Society (Vol. XXXVII., No. 5) Mr. J. T. effect of heredity extending back to remote ancestors (how Carter gives the results of his investigations into the developremote the most ardent evolutionist can scarcely realise) is ment and suspension of the jaws. Mr. Carter’s research has probably far more potent in the causation of variations than been mainly in connexion with fish and reptiles and shows is the influence of factors which have only been at work for much careful and thoughtful work. At the commencement a few generations. of his paper he points out that all anatomical investigation to be of value must be based on the evidence of comparative THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN. anatomy. Adult skulls of members of each family must be UNDER the Employment of Children Act, 1903, the London ’examined and compared but unless this method is associated Council has drawn up a set of by-laws which have County with an embryological examination of certain species the been submitted to the Home Secretary for confirmation as investigator .is liable to be misled by analogies due to con- required by the Act. These by-laws, which are intended to Also he should never consider that vergence of types. safeguard the moral and physical well-being of children, can similarity of gross structure implies community of originbe obtained from the clerk to the council and they deserve until the embryology of the creatures under consideration the serious consideration of all who appreciate the important has been carefully worked out. With the assistance of a large which the matter has upon future generations. number of slides and specimens it is shown that the first bearing Some objections having been raised to them the Home elements of a skull to appear are a pair of curved Bat the parachordals-which abut on each side of the anterior endSecretary has issued a notice announcing his decision - of the notochord. Anteriorly to the parachordals another 1that a public inquiry shall be held into the proposed 1 pair of cartilaginous rods appear-the trabeculas cranii. Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1904.
The parachordals
the anterior end of
canals,
rods-
1736
regulations and Mr. Chester Jones, a barrister, has been appointed to hold the inquiry at the County Hall, Spring Gardens, London, S.W., on Monday next, June 26th, at 11 A.M. On the whole the by-laws seem to us wise and temperate, though there is perhaps some ground of objection to the first, which states that a child under the age of 11 years shall not be the subject of any employment. This may mean some hardship to the very poor, but although the tiny runners of errands may not be asked to do anything beyond their powers children ought not to be looked The by-laws relating to street upon as bread-winners. employment by persons under the age of 16 years should go a long way towards bettering the condition of kerbmerchants and of preventing these young people from being exposed to many of those evils which street trading
away. This effect of constantly the rubber ring would, of course, stopper turning be the same on other materials free from antimony, as, for example, grey rubber, cork, wood, and so on. The question remains whether if these pieces of detached antimonial rubber were swallowed they would set up an irritating action in the direction indicated. Chemically speaking, it is difficult to dissolve the sulphide of antimony out of red rubber. Prolonged treatment in hot strong alkali or acid will, of course, effect solution and will take out some sulphur, but physiological reagents are neither hot nor concentrated. And even if the red rubber were disintegrated the amount of antimony would be small, since it does not exceed, according to our analysis, 10 per cent. of the metal and the wearing away of the ring in the aerated water bottle is necessarily implies. spread over a long time. Still, the use of a mineral compound containing an undoubtedly poisonous metal is always RED RUBBER. undesirable, even in small quantities, when articles of food letter in IN a THE LANCET of June 10th, and drink are concerned and the conviction that no harm is published to ensue in such cases can only be carried home by p. 1610, Mr. F. A. Pond drew attention to the fact likely doing away altogether with the suspicious component. of an that sulphide antimony is important constituent of and he in his red rubber produced certain evidence which THE "FAKING"OF HIGH TEMPERATURES. opinion lent colour to the view that there was possibly a connexion between the use of red rubber rings in the OF the value of the thermometer in clinical medicine there stoppers of mineral water bottles and appendicitis and other can be no question. Before the utilisation of the thermointestinal disorders. It is not the first time that an indictmeter in practice some idea could be formed of the temperament against red rubber has been made and the fact that it ture of the patient by palpation but to be able to estimate contained sulphide of antimony was discussed at a meeting the degree of increase of temperature was an of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in 18761 in exactly enormous step and, moreover, in some conditions, as in the connexion with tracheotomy-tubes. As far back as 1879 some cold stage of malaria, the sensation communicated to the correspondence appeared in the pages of THE LANCET2 hand of the physician is a very fallacious guide to the " On Effervescing Drinks and their Effects," in which temperature of the patient. The great trust, however, one writer asserted that acetate of lead was used in the which is placed in the indications of the clinical thermometer preparation of indiarubber bands for mineral-water bottles is not always justified, for patients have found that it is and he was of the opinion that some children had been no means difficult in one way or another to induce unwell from drinking lemonade from these bottles. In a by a thermometer to indicate a far higher temperature than letter by another writer the use of acetate of lead was denied that of the body. The motives for these deceits are and in an editorial note to this letter it was stated that various. Sometimes it is to obtain treatment as an "we, too, have made several analyses of them-i.e., vulof a hospital ; sometimes it is merely to excite canised rubber bands-and in no case have we found even in-patient notice or sympathy, while in other cases the sole motive is a trace of lead to be present." The vulcanisation of rubber to contribute to the amusement of the patient himself. The with sulphide of antimony is carried out on a large scale, and excitement caused in a ward by the occurrence of a temperaevery piece of red rubber which we have examined-including ture of 106° F. or even higher is not likely to be forgotten by rubber bands, washers, tubing, and rings-proved to contain at the time, and many patients will this substance. According to our analysis the average amount any patient present wish to emulate this achievement. The means by which a was 16’ 83 per cent. of penta-sulphide of antimony, which is thermometer is induced to indicate a pyrexial temperature equivalent to about 10 per cent. of metallic antimony and are numerous. The simplest is the utilisation of hot food. 1 ’ 94 per cent. of sulphur in addition to that combined with A cup of tea will send the mercury upwards in a rapid and the antimony. We could find no zinc nor could a trace of and even hot potatoes or pudding will be arsenic be detected in the sulphide. As to the possibility surprising manner, A poultice, too, or a fomentation will efficacious. of mineral waters exerting any appreciable solvent action on equally a hot water bottle has also serve the purpose, and the sulphide of antimony we think this is improbable as, This is the easiest method and been requisitioned. excepting by the aid of hot strong acids or strong alkali, will itself to the veriest tyro. The next mode sulphide of antimony is with difficulty soluble. However, that suggest be mentioned utilises the effects of friction. If may in order to clear up this point a number of experiments a clinical thermometer be grasped firmly near its lower were made in which soda-water (containing sodium end and the bulb rubbed smartly on any texture--flannel bicarbonate), potash water (containing potassium bicar- is the most suitable material-the mercury will soon rise bonate), lemonade (containing citric acid or tartaric acid the bulb become too hot to be pleasant. indeed, may and sugar), and beer were left in contact with rubber rings, and, This method puts a good deal of strain on the constriccontaining 16’83 per cent. of penta-sulphide of antimony. tion just above the bulb and the thermometer is likely to The test was somewhat severe as the liquids were shakenL give way there. In some instruments the mercury can be vigorously and frequently in contact with a large surface 01 thrown . up the scale by an energetic jerk but this should red rubber and they were left for four days. On testing never deceive an observant physician, for there will be the liquid for antimony not a trace could be found, a very obvious break between the constriction and the Nor was any soluble antimony found in a number of speci. lower part of the mercurial column. The desire for mer-s of mineral waters contained in bottles provided witb thermometers which act rapidly has necessitated the prored rubber rings. In some instances, however, small speck, duction of instruments the bulbs of which have very of rubber were found in the liquid and the rings showec thin walls. In these thermometers it is possible by 1 THE LANCET, Dec. 2nd (p. 785) and 30th (p. 943), 1876. pressure carefully adjusted to compress the bulb to very 2 THE LANCET, August 9th (p. 225) and 30th (p. 337), 1879, and a minute extent, causing a small portion of the mercury to 1895. 20th (p. 419), Sept.
decided
signs
the
-
,
.
; .
of
wearing on
and the trabeculse eventually fuse with the notochord to form a floor for the of the Three pairs of sense capsulesbrain. support and olfactory, optic, auditory-next appear and as the sides of the basilar plate grow upwards to invest the brain these capsules enter into intimate relation with the primitive brain In addition to the above structures a number of carticase. laginous rods, formed in the walls of the pharynx between the gill slits, must also be considered as part of the skull. The anterior pairs of these rods, though primarily connected with the respiratory function, become modified to assist in the prehension and comminution of food and so form jaws. In the selachians all these elements are practically distinct but ascending the vertebrate scale it is found that they enter into closer relation with each other until in the higher animals all are intimately blended. In the elasmobranoh fishes the skull consists only of cartilage the perichondrium of which may be hardened by superficial ossification taking place therein. In recent forms there are no true bones. True bones first make their appearance in the cartilaginous ganoids where is seen superficial ossification on, or just beneath, the surface. In sturgeons, polypterus, and so on, these bones do not enter into close relation with the cartilaginous skull. Dermoid ossification appears to affect the underlying tissues and to stimulate a corresponding ossification in the perichondrium, the differently derived bones more Dr. Ridewood1 has recently or less fusing together. out that there is no essential difference in the pointed two methods and that dermal ossification, whether due to coalescence of denticles or to hardening about sensory Even in those cases was the primitive form. where the bone is pure cartilage bone the ossification of the cartilage owes its origin phylogenetically to a predisposing dermal ossification which no longer appears in ontogeny. So, in the teleostei, there are both ectosteal and endosteal ossification. In the physostomi the ectostoses are still separable from the chondrocranium with its endostoses, but in the remaining orders the investing bones become very closely united. Mr. Carter then shows that from this point upwards in the phylum, through dipnoi, urodela, anura, reptilia, and mammalia, there is a gradual replacement of the primitive cartilaginous cranium by the secondary osseous cranium and that the same applies to the jaws and branchial arches ; that the cessation of branchial respiration led to a reduction of the visceral skeleton and that the disused parts were largely utilised in the elaboration of the organ of hearing. In conclusion stress is laid on the great importance of a thorough application of the lessons gained from THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSPENSION OF the comparative consideration of the morphology of the jaws THE JAWS. in the treatment of various abnormal conditions which nowIN an interesting paper communicated to the Transactions adays the dentist is so often called upon to rectify ; for the of the Odontological Society (Vol. XXXVII., No. 5) Mr. J. T. effect of heredity extending back to remote ancestors (how Carter gives the results of his investigations into the developremote the most ardent evolutionist can scarcely realise) is ment and suspension of the jaws. Mr. Carter’s research has probably far more potent in the causation of variations than been mainly in connexion with fish and reptiles and shows is the influence of factors which have only been at work for much careful and thoughtful work. At the commencement a few generations. of his paper he points out that all anatomical investigation to be of value must be based on the evidence of comparative THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN. anatomy. Adult skulls of members of each family must be UNDER the Employment of Children Act, 1903, the London ’examined and compared but unless this method is associated Council has drawn up a set of by-laws which have County with an embryological examination of certain species the been submitted to the Home Secretary for confirmation as investigator .is liable to be misled by analogies due to con- required by the Act. These by-laws, which are intended to Also he should never consider that vergence of types. safeguard the moral and physical well-being of children, can similarity of gross structure implies community of originbe obtained from the clerk to the council and they deserve until the embryology of the creatures under consideration the serious consideration of all who appreciate the important has been carefully worked out. With the assistance of a large which the matter has upon future generations. number of slides and specimens it is shown that the first bearing Some objections having been raised to them the Home elements of a skull to appear are a pair of curved Bat the parachordals-which abut on each side of the anterior endSecretary has issued a notice announcing his decision - of the notochord. Anteriorly to the parachordals another 1that a public inquiry shall be held into the proposed 1 pair of cartilaginous rods appear-the trabeculas cranii. Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1904.
The parachordals
the anterior end of
canals,
rods-
1736
regulations and Mr. Chester Jones, a barrister, has been appointed to hold the inquiry at the County Hall, Spring Gardens, London, S.W., on Monday next, June 26th, at 11 A.M. On the whole the by-laws seem to us wise and temperate, though there is perhaps some ground of objection to the first, which states that a child under the age of 11 years shall not be the subject of any employment. This may mean some hardship to the very poor, but although the tiny runners of errands may not be asked to do anything beyond their powers children ought not to be looked The by-laws relating to street upon as bread-winners. employment by persons under the age of 16 years should go a long way towards bettering the condition of kerbmerchants and of preventing these young people from being exposed to many of those evils which street trading
away. This effect of constantly the rubber ring would, of course, stopper turning be the same on other materials free from antimony, as, for example, grey rubber, cork, wood, and so on. The question remains whether if these pieces of detached antimonial rubber were swallowed they would set up an irritating action in the direction indicated. Chemically speaking, it is difficult to dissolve the sulphide of antimony out of red rubber. Prolonged treatment in hot strong alkali or acid will, of course, effect solution and will take out some sulphur, but physiological reagents are neither hot nor concentrated. And even if the red rubber were disintegrated the amount of antimony would be small, since it does not exceed, according to our analysis, 10 per cent. of the metal and the wearing away of the ring in the aerated water bottle is necessarily implies. spread over a long time. Still, the use of a mineral compound containing an undoubtedly poisonous metal is always RED RUBBER. undesirable, even in small quantities, when articles of food letter in IN a THE LANCET of June 10th, and drink are concerned and the conviction that no harm is published to ensue in such cases can only be carried home by p. 1610, Mr. F. A. Pond drew attention to the fact likely doing away altogether with the suspicious component. of an that sulphide antimony is important constituent of and he in his red rubber produced certain evidence which THE "FAKING"OF HIGH TEMPERATURES. opinion lent colour to the view that there was possibly a connexion between the use of red rubber rings in the OF the value of the thermometer in clinical medicine there stoppers of mineral water bottles and appendicitis and other can be no question. Before the utilisation of the thermointestinal disorders. It is not the first time that an indictmeter in practice some idea could be formed of the temperament against red rubber has been made and the fact that it ture of the patient by palpation but to be able to estimate contained sulphide of antimony was discussed at a meeting the degree of increase of temperature was an of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in 18761 in exactly enormous step and, moreover, in some conditions, as in the connexion with tracheotomy-tubes. As far back as 1879 some cold stage of malaria, the sensation communicated to the correspondence appeared in the pages of THE LANCET2 hand of the physician is a very fallacious guide to the " On Effervescing Drinks and their Effects," in which temperature of the patient. The great trust, however, one writer asserted that acetate of lead was used in the which is placed in the indications of the clinical thermometer preparation of indiarubber bands for mineral-water bottles is not always justified, for patients have found that it is and he was of the opinion that some children had been no means difficult in one way or another to induce unwell from drinking lemonade from these bottles. In a by a thermometer to indicate a far higher temperature than letter by another writer the use of acetate of lead was denied that of the body. The motives for these deceits are and in an editorial note to this letter it was stated that various. Sometimes it is to obtain treatment as an "we, too, have made several analyses of them-i.e., vulof a hospital ; sometimes it is merely to excite canised rubber bands-and in no case have we found even in-patient notice or sympathy, while in other cases the sole motive is a trace of lead to be present." The vulcanisation of rubber to contribute to the amusement of the patient himself. The with sulphide of antimony is carried out on a large scale, and excitement caused in a ward by the occurrence of a temperaevery piece of red rubber which we have examined-including ture of 106° F. or even higher is not likely to be forgotten by rubber bands, washers, tubing, and rings-proved to contain at the time, and many patients will this substance. According to our analysis the average amount any patient present wish to emulate this achievement. The means by which a was 16’ 83 per cent. of penta-sulphide of antimony, which is thermometer is induced to indicate a pyrexial temperature equivalent to about 10 per cent. of metallic antimony and are numerous. The simplest is the utilisation of hot food. 1 ’ 94 per cent. of sulphur in addition to that combined with A cup of tea will send the mercury upwards in a rapid and the antimony. We could find no zinc nor could a trace of and even hot potatoes or pudding will be arsenic be detected in the sulphide. As to the possibility surprising manner, A poultice, too, or a fomentation will efficacious. of mineral waters exerting any appreciable solvent action on equally a hot water bottle has also serve the purpose, and the sulphide of antimony we think this is improbable as, This is the easiest method and been requisitioned. excepting by the aid of hot strong acids or strong alkali, will itself to the veriest tyro. The next mode sulphide of antimony is with difficulty soluble. However, that suggest be mentioned utilises the effects of friction. If may in order to clear up this point a number of experiments a clinical thermometer be grasped firmly near its lower were made in which soda-water (containing sodium end and the bulb rubbed smartly on any texture--flannel bicarbonate), potash water (containing potassium bicar- is the most suitable material-the mercury will soon rise bonate), lemonade (containing citric acid or tartaric acid the bulb become too hot to be pleasant. indeed, may and sugar), and beer were left in contact with rubber rings, and, This method puts a good deal of strain on the constriccontaining 16’83 per cent. of penta-sulphide of antimony. tion just above the bulb and the thermometer is likely to The test was somewhat severe as the liquids were shakenL give way there. In some instruments the mercury can be vigorously and frequently in contact with a large surface 01 thrown . up the scale by an energetic jerk but this should red rubber and they were left for four days. On testing never deceive an observant physician, for there will be the liquid for antimony not a trace could be found, a very obvious break between the constriction and the Nor was any soluble antimony found in a number of speci. lower part of the mercurial column. The desire for mer-s of mineral waters contained in bottles provided witb thermometers which act rapidly has necessitated the prored rubber rings. In some instances, however, small speck, duction of instruments the bulbs of which have very of rubber were found in the liquid and the rings showec thin walls. In these thermometers it is possible by 1 THE LANCET, Dec. 2nd (p. 785) and 30th (p. 943), 1876. pressure carefully adjusted to compress the bulb to very 2 THE LANCET, August 9th (p. 225) and 30th (p. 337), 1879, and a minute extent, causing a small portion of the mercury to 1895. 20th (p. 419), Sept.
decided
signs
the
-
,
.
; .
of
wearing on