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THE PROPOSED PUTNEY HOSPITAL.
1542
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work, and will not be allowed to engage in any other occupa- caused by its administration. The liquid preparations of tion unless by the consent of the committee. He will in the apiol, on the other hand, are indicated in this condition first instance hold office for five years at a salary of <&600 per annum, to commence from the date of arrival in Australia, but if he is appointed from Europe E100 will be allowed for travelling expenses. The committee desires, if possible, that the director, who will be required to provide a medical certificate certifying to his physical fitness, should take up his appointment on Nov. lst next.
the weakness and depression following their employThe other use to which apiol may be put is the promotion of the menstrual flow by vaso-dilation. This purpose is achieved by all the preparations of apiol, but not by myristicene. It may be remembered by readers of THE LANCET that, in our inquiry on abortifacients, apiol was found in certain of the pills and potions examined in our laboratory that were recommended for 11 removing
owing to
ment.
"
THE PROPOSED PUTNEY HOSPITAL. -
ON June 3rd a conjoint meeting of the Chelsea, Richmond, and Wandsworth divisions of the British Medical Association, and of all local practitioners who are not members of any one of the three divisions, is to be held at the Putney Constitutional Club. The object of the meeting is to consider a report of the South-West London Medical Committee, together with a scheme for the constitution and conduct of the proposed Putney Hospital, as also for the nomination and election of representatives of the local medical profession on to the council for the government of the hospital and on to any committee formed to prepare a constitution. It has already been agreed that the hospital should be only a small general hospital on cottage hospital lines and that there should be no out-patient department. The proposals to be considered at the forthcoming meeting contain amongst others provisions for a consulting staff, for a visiting staff who shall hold office for four years, and that every registered medical practitioner in the neighbourhood should have the opportunity of attending his own patients in the hospital if they so desire. The voting at the meeting of those medical men who are members of the three divisions of the British Medical Association and of the other medical men present who are not members will be taken separately.
irregularities."
-
A COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO DR. TATHAM. IT has been thought that the occasion of the retirement of Dr. J. F. W. Tatham from the position of Superintendent of Statistics in the General Register Office affords a fitting opportunity to his friends to show their appreciation of his services to public health by entertaining him at a dinner which it has been arranged should be held at the Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, on Thursday, June 17th, at 8 P.M. Sir Shirley Murphy has consented to preside, and a number of those who are associated with public health work have already intimated that it is their intention to be present. Dr. W. H. Hamer and Mr. Herbert Jones are acting as secretaries to the dinner committee, and the former will be glad to receive, at 55, Dartmouth-park-hill, N.W., the names of any of Dr. Tatham’s friends who have not already communicated with him. The price of the dinner tickets is one guinea, inclusive of wine.
PLAGUE-INFECTED RATS AND UTILITARIAN
"VIVISECTION."
ZVE have placed the term vivisection in inverted commas because in our view it is not properly applicable to the inoculation experiments which form the bulk of operations that are covered by the word"vivisection," and to which our remarks at the present moment will more particularly apply. THE PHARMACOLOGY OF APIOL. The current annual report of Dr. Herbert Williams, the Ix a recent number of the Bulletin des sciences Pharma- imedical officer of health of the Port of London, tells us that i August of last year attention was drawn by the nuisance cologirlues M. L. Lutz and M. G. Oudin have described the in ccaused of and characters the by their decomposition to some dead rats on one of pharmacological pharmaceutical 1 show that the the toxicity various preparations of apiol. They quays of the West India Dock, and as no poison had t h e is proportional to the volatility of the product. Omitting therecently been laid down and there was no apparent cause for to amongst these rodents, one of them less decomgreen and yellow varieties from consideration as being toomortality than the others was submitted to Dr. Klein for indefinite in composition, they give the toxic dose per kilo- posed ] gramme of body weight in guinea-pigs as follows : crystallised cexamination. As a result, bacteria closely resembling the apiol, 0’55 gramme ; and distilled apiol, 0 - 9 cubic centi- 1bacillus of plague were detected and some of the 1 metre. juice was injected into a small guinea-pig and Myristicene obtained from nutmegs, which differslung A few days afterwards the guinea-pig from crystallised apiol only in possessing one methoxyl iinto a mouse. ( bubo in the groin, which on puncture yielded a was found to fatal to in results less, developed group give guinea-pigs doses of 2 cubic centimetres. These results tend to show 1bi-polar stained bacilli, which in size and shape resembled that crystallised apiol is probably not the only active con- the plague bacilli-a circumstance which led Dr. Klein 1 1 stituent of liquid apiol, in which it is present to the to pronounce that the illness was very suspicious of Some of the fluid from this bubo was injected into extent of not more than 6 per cent., otherwise the plague." 1 toxic dose of liquid apiol would be about 8’33 cubic aanother guinea-pig and agar plates and tubes were inoculated The phenomena preceding death are not 1therewith. The second guinea-pig shortly became so ill that centimetres. i was killed, and the necrotic tissue surrounding the bubo identical in all cases. Animals, into which a fatal dose it 1 of crystallised apiol has been injected, usually die after awas found crowded with typical bacilli pestis, while the E convulsive and tetanous contractions,spleen was pervaded by minute necrotic nodules. The agar long period of spasms < while in the case of distilled apiol and the green and yellow cultures developed colonies of the specific micro-organisms varieties death follows weakness, collapse, and coma. It is (of plague, and Dr. Klein had no hesitation in stating that t second guinea-pig was affected with plague of sub-acute evident, therefore, that the different commercial apiols this t and different on type, and therefore that the original guinea-pig had died pharmacological properties, possess very f from that disease. In the meantime a search had been made it is that a standard should be estabthis account desirable all the basements and warehouses on the invaded quay, a to i in lished for so powerful substance. Apiol would appear and 67 live and 208 dead rats were found. The dock comin It be used as an have two main uses therapeutics. may undertook a further search of the basements and wareof treatment contractions ofpany 1 painful antispasmodic in the the uterus. For this purpose crystallised apiol is probably Ihouses, and among the rats found several which appeared unsuitable owing to the tremor, agitation, and convulsions tto have died from plague, wbilf! 50 per cent. of those -
.
work, and will not be allowed to engage in any other occupa- caused by its administration. The liquid preparations of tion unless by the consent of the committee. He will in the apiol, on the other hand, are indicated in this condition first instance hold office for five years at a salary of <&600 per annum, to commence from the date of arrival in Australia, but if he is appointed from Europe E100 will be allowed for travelling expenses. The committee desires, if possible, that the director, who will be required to provide a medical certificate certifying to his physical fitness, should take up his appointment on Nov. lst next.
the weakness and depression following their employThe other use to which apiol may be put is the promotion of the menstrual flow by vaso-dilation. This purpose is achieved by all the preparations of apiol, but not by myristicene. It may be remembered by readers of THE LANCET that, in our inquiry on abortifacients, apiol was found in certain of the pills and potions examined in our laboratory that were recommended for 11 removing
owing to
ment.
"
THE PROPOSED PUTNEY HOSPITAL. -
ON June 3rd a conjoint meeting of the Chelsea, Richmond, and Wandsworth divisions of the British Medical Association, and of all local practitioners who are not members of any one of the three divisions, is to be held at the Putney Constitutional Club. The object of the meeting is to consider a report of the South-West London Medical Committee, together with a scheme for the constitution and conduct of the proposed Putney Hospital, as also for the nomination and election of representatives of the local medical profession on to the council for the government of the hospital and on to any committee formed to prepare a constitution. It has already been agreed that the hospital should be only a small general hospital on cottage hospital lines and that there should be no out-patient department. The proposals to be considered at the forthcoming meeting contain amongst others provisions for a consulting staff, for a visiting staff who shall hold office for four years, and that every registered medical practitioner in the neighbourhood should have the opportunity of attending his own patients in the hospital if they so desire. The voting at the meeting of those medical men who are members of the three divisions of the British Medical Association and of the other medical men present who are not members will be taken separately.
irregularities."
-
A COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO DR. TATHAM. IT has been thought that the occasion of the retirement of Dr. J. F. W. Tatham from the position of Superintendent of Statistics in the General Register Office affords a fitting opportunity to his friends to show their appreciation of his services to public health by entertaining him at a dinner which it has been arranged should be held at the Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, on Thursday, June 17th, at 8 P.M. Sir Shirley Murphy has consented to preside, and a number of those who are associated with public health work have already intimated that it is their intention to be present. Dr. W. H. Hamer and Mr. Herbert Jones are acting as secretaries to the dinner committee, and the former will be glad to receive, at 55, Dartmouth-park-hill, N.W., the names of any of Dr. Tatham’s friends who have not already communicated with him. The price of the dinner tickets is one guinea, inclusive of wine.
PLAGUE-INFECTED RATS AND UTILITARIAN
"VIVISECTION."
ZVE have placed the term vivisection in inverted commas because in our view it is not properly applicable to the inoculation experiments which form the bulk of operations that are covered by the word"vivisection," and to which our remarks at the present moment will more particularly apply. THE PHARMACOLOGY OF APIOL. The current annual report of Dr. Herbert Williams, the Ix a recent number of the Bulletin des sciences Pharma- imedical officer of health of the Port of London, tells us that i August of last year attention was drawn by the nuisance cologirlues M. L. Lutz and M. G. Oudin have described the in ccaused of and characters the by their decomposition to some dead rats on one of pharmacological pharmaceutical 1 show that the the toxicity various preparations of apiol. They quays of the West India Dock, and as no poison had t h e is proportional to the volatility of the product. Omitting therecently been laid down and there was no apparent cause for to amongst these rodents, one of them less decomgreen and yellow varieties from consideration as being toomortality than the others was submitted to Dr. Klein for indefinite in composition, they give the toxic dose per kilo- posed ] gramme of body weight in guinea-pigs as follows : crystallised cexamination. As a result, bacteria closely resembling the apiol, 0’55 gramme ; and distilled apiol, 0 - 9 cubic centi- 1bacillus of plague were detected and some of the 1 metre. juice was injected into a small guinea-pig and Myristicene obtained from nutmegs, which differslung A few days afterwards the guinea-pig from crystallised apiol only in possessing one methoxyl iinto a mouse. ( bubo in the groin, which on puncture yielded a was found to fatal to in results less, developed group give guinea-pigs doses of 2 cubic centimetres. These results tend to show 1bi-polar stained bacilli, which in size and shape resembled that crystallised apiol is probably not the only active con- the plague bacilli-a circumstance which led Dr. Klein 1 1 stituent of liquid apiol, in which it is present to the to pronounce that the illness was very suspicious of Some of the fluid from this bubo was injected into extent of not more than 6 per cent., otherwise the plague." 1 toxic dose of liquid apiol would be about 8’33 cubic aanother guinea-pig and agar plates and tubes were inoculated The phenomena preceding death are not 1therewith. The second guinea-pig shortly became so ill that centimetres. i was killed, and the necrotic tissue surrounding the bubo identical in all cases. Animals, into which a fatal dose it 1 of crystallised apiol has been injected, usually die after awas found crowded with typical bacilli pestis, while the E convulsive and tetanous contractions,spleen was pervaded by minute necrotic nodules. The agar long period of spasms < while in the case of distilled apiol and the green and yellow cultures developed colonies of the specific micro-organisms varieties death follows weakness, collapse, and coma. It is (of plague, and Dr. Klein had no hesitation in stating that t second guinea-pig was affected with plague of sub-acute evident, therefore, that the different commercial apiols this t and different on type, and therefore that the original guinea-pig had died pharmacological properties, possess very f from that disease. In the meantime a search had been made it is that a standard should be estabthis account desirable all the basements and warehouses on the invaded quay, a to i in lished for so powerful substance. Apiol would appear and 67 live and 208 dead rats were found. The dock comin It be used as an have two main uses therapeutics. may undertook a further search of the basements and wareof treatment contractions ofpany 1 painful antispasmodic in the the uterus. For this purpose crystallised apiol is probably Ihouses, and among the rats found several which appeared unsuitable owing to the tremor, agitation, and convulsions tto have died from plague, wbilf! 50 per cent. of those -