THE PERILS OF ADVERTISEMENT.

307 fever occurred in the farms from which the was supplied, and it would seem, from the absence of any specific reference to the matter, that all the cows supplying the milk were free from any diseased condition. In the creamery itself, however, there was a case of enteric fever, and, although this case was not notified until Aug. 28th-i.e., four weeks after the first case-the patient seems to have been ill for a considerable time before Aug. 28th, and an inquiry into his symptoms led Professor Sedgwick to the conclusion that his illness might not improbably have been the cause, rather than one of the consequences, of the outbreak. If this be so, it would seem that’ this man must have been in an infective condition somewhere about the middle of July ; in further support of this view is the important fact that the man was the driver of the skimmed-milk waggon, and that he was intimately associated with the manipulation of the skimmed milk. In this outbreak, as also in the one related by Dr. Welply, to which we have already referred, there This is a very was no evidence incriminating the butter. interesting point, and it has an important bearing on the question of foreign butter and the conditions under which it is manufactured. Perchance the acidity of the butter may be hostile to the vitality of the typhoid fever bacillus. As Professor Sedgwick observes, we have yet to obtain satisfactory evidence of the conveyance of typhoid fever by this medium ; it is, however, well to bear in mind the possibility of its conveyance.by butter in all outbreaks of milk-borne typhoid fever.

typhoid

"wholemilk

-

"POISONING BY GAS IN SEWERS." SUCH was the title of an excellent paper by Dr.

John

Scott Haldane which appeared in THE LANCET last Saturday, Jan. 25th. "Three deaths from inhaling sewer gas"was the heading of a paragraph which appeared in the daily papers on the following Tuesday, the 28th. Who is responsible for allowing men to jump into what proved to be death-traps at East Ham (which was the subject of Dr. Haldane’s report) and as just reported at Widnes ?7 Surely, as we hope, the men appointed to undertake this operation are warned and instructed not on any account to descend until they have ascertained whether the air in the sewer is or is not dangerous. And to decide this is a simple matter. The absence of the supporter of life-viz., oxygen-is indicated by the not very difficult experiment of lowering a candle into the sewer, or, better still, a safety lamp, since the gases in the sewer are often inflammable. The proportion of combustible gas may be ascertained by observing the extent of the luminous effect produced upon the colourless flame of Professor Clowes’ hydrogen lamp, which will indicate as little as 0’5 per cent. of coal gas, and the presence of poisonous sulphuretted hydrogen is readily shown by moist lead paper. A man should not be deemed qualified to undertake the examination of sewers until he gives evidence that he can perform these simple tests. Nor in any case should a man be allowed to descend a sewer opening without a rope round his body. In regard to the sulphuretted hydrogen test we would suggest the use of a slab of plaster-of-Paris soaked in lead solution in the place of lead paper. It is extremely delicate, and is more easily and conveniently applied to the testing of man-holes, deep wells, &c., than paper. The slab dries readily, and has merely to be moistened before use. On account of its greater weight it can be lowered without touching the walls of a sewer-opening, and any stain produced by sulpuretted hydrogen gas is not obscured by contact with dirt. We strongly urge that a copy of plainly printed directions on the above lines should be placed in the hands of sewermen, and the authorities who

employ them should make it their business to

see

that these

directions are understood and will be carried out. Experience is teaching that the operations in a sewer should be conducted with just the same precautions as are imperative for the safe working of a coal mine. In the name of common humanity"why is not this lesson taken to heart2

THE PERILS OF ADVERTISEMENT. DR. KRAUSE, privat-docent in the Medical University of Berlin, has tendered his resignation under the following

circumstances. It seems that soap is well-nigh as lavishly advertised in Germany as it is with us, and an enterprising firm of manufacturers succeeded in inducing Dr. Krause to allow his name to appear at the foot of a testimonial. The attention of the Faculty having been called to this indiscretion, Dr. Krause was called upon to furnish explanations. He declined to do so, or even to express regret, and when the Faculty, justly indignant, inflicted upon him the severest reprimand at its disposal he threw up his appointment. -

MILITARY MANŒUVRES ON MANURED FIELDS.

Mayor of Reims, has drawn up a report typhoid fever from which two regiments of dragoons quartered in his town recently suffered. Dr. Henrot is a prominent member of the Society de Medecine Publique et d’Hygiene Professionnelle and a persona grata at all the International Congresses of Hygiene. The RtVU8 d’ Hygiène, which is the organ of this influential French society of sanitary reformers, gives a summary of Dr. Henrot’s report, and it contains a valuable suggestion. The dragoons were quartered in fairly healthy barracks. One of the barracks was quite a new building, and to all appearance the sanitary conditions were excellent. The water-supply was also good, though it was discovered that of 180 wineshops in the soldiers’ quarter thirty of the wine-sellers or publicans made use of well water instead of the town supply. But if these wells had been contaminated the civil population and the soldiers of the 132nd Infantry of the Line, who frequented the same wine shops, would also have suffered. Dr. Henrot explains that the contents of the tinettes, or portable metallic pails, and of the cesspits of the town are emptied directly and in a crude state on to cultivated land. This human manure is immediately absorbed and covered over by raking or ploughing. But last year, in consequence of the exceptionally dry weather, the earth could not be raked ; there was no moisture, and, in the absence DR. H. HENROT, the epidemic of

on

of rain, the manure was desiccated on the surface of the hard soil. During the course of the manoeuvre the two regiments of dragoons passed over some of these lands. The hoofs of their 1600 horses soon trampled the manure into a fine powder, which, blowing up as dust, was breathed and swallowed by the troopers. That this dust was different from ordinary dust was rendered evident by reason of the very unpleasant odour which was noticed at the time. The Since manoeuvres took place from Sept. 6th to Sept. 12th. Jan. lst, 1895, the health of the troops had been excellent. On Sept. 20th the typhoid fever commenced. Among the 1600 dragoons who manoeuvred on the field manured with human excrement there were 112 cases of typhoid fever resulting in twelve deaths. The civil population and the other troops quartered at Reims were not affected. It is also a noteworthy fact that during this epidemic pulmonary complica. tions were also very frequent among the dragoons; and this strengthens the supposition that the poisonous nature of the dust swallowed was the cause of the mischief. Dr. Henrot is communicating with the military authorities so that precautions may be taken in the future, and soldiers be not allowed to manoeuvre in dry seasons on land which has been manured with human excrement. In the