1415THE EPIDEMIC OF TYPHOID FEVER AT BELFAST.

"THE PREHENSILE POWER OF THEHANDS OF THE HUMAN INFANT."

To the Editors of THBI LANOET.

St—Mr. Freeman calls attention in THE LANCET

of Nov. 20th (p. 1348) to the absence of sexual<MM’eotiation in the young human embryo and adds:<I The early embryological sexual attributes to which I havedrawn attention most probably point to a hermaphroditicancestry." I fear I cannot agree with him for the simplereason that the embryo even at that stage is far too highlydeveloped for it to be probable that its prototype in thephylogeny was hermaphroditic. It would be as reasonableto suppose because the human infant cannot easily digestanything but milk that therefore it has descended fromancestors who lived exclusively on that diet. This by theway; but the sentence I have quoted betrays on Mr. Free-man’s part so far-reaching a belief in evolution that it isdifficult to understand why he has recourse to the "special-creation " hypothesis to explain the presence of the prehensilereflex in the infant hand. Granting the truth of the theoryof evolution, it affords a sufficient explanation of the fleetingresemblance which the embryo presents in certain particularsto lower forms of life, and to seek additional explanation ofthat which is already sufficiently explained is suicidal froma logical point of view.

I am, Sirs, faithfully yours,Southsea, Nov. 21st, 1897. G. ARCHDALL REID.G. ARCHDALL REID.

"A TESTIMONIAL TO DR. JOHN T.ARLIDGE."

To the Editors of THE LANOET.

SlES.&mdash;You will much oblige by inserting in THE LANCETthe following further list of subscribers to the testimonial toDr. J. T. Arlidge.-I am, Sirs, yours faithfully.

CHARLES F. MOORE.10, Upper Merrion-street, Dublin, Nov. 23rd, 1897.

THE BUYING POWERS OF TEN POUNDS.1’0 thus -Editors of THE LANOET.

SiRs,-I beg leave to bring to your notice some remarksthat appeared in the TVillesden Ck’J"onicle apropos of the

tendency lately displayed by public bodies to get theirmedical advice for nothing. The late chairman of theWillesden School Board recently invited medical men toattend at the schools and examine the children gratis, and Iregret to say that some men have actually accepted theoffer. The board of guardians have recently requested theirmedical officer in future not to perform any more operationsfor which they are under contract to pay him according tothe Local Government Board schedule, but to send all casesto St. Mary’s Hospital as they contribute &pound; 10 per annum tothat institution, for which sum Mr. Ryan has undertaken tomeet the surgical requirements of a parish of close upon100,000 inhabitants. As most of the guardians are retailtraders it is not surprising to find that they are under theimpression that they are simply paving the market price ofthe services rendered at St.. Mary’s Hospital. In fact, one ofthem expressed the opinion that they would not be doing theirduty to the ratepayers if they paid anything for what theycould easily obtain for nothing. I think this is very signifi-cant and it is not necessary for me to point the moral. Theremedy for this state of things is in the hands of the pro-fession itself. When is it going to wake up and seek its own.a1vation? I am, Sirs, yours faithfully,Willesden, Nov. 23rd, 1897. STRUGGLING PRACTITIONER.

* * We print our correspondent’s letter but we doubt ifhis information as to any undertaking on the part of thehospital named is correct.-ED. L

THE EPIDEMIC OF TYPHOID FEVERAT BELFAST.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.)

THE Belfast epidemic presents itself to the observer undertwo different and distinct aspects. On the one band thereis a sharp, rapidly developed epidemic extending onlyover a portion of the suburban district of Ligoniel. Thenthere is on the other hand a more slowly developed, butmore persistent, prevalence of typhoid fever in the townof Belfast itself. As opposed to the experience of Ligonieltyphoid fever in Belfast is not restricted to one particulardistrict or to one particular water-supply but exists in all partsof the town. To judge from the facts at present availablewe seem to be in the presence of a water-borne epidemicoccurring side by side with another epidemic whichdoes not appear to be due to the water-supply. YourBelfast correspondent has already described how Dr. Biggarhas traced the Ligoniel epidemic to a contaminated spring.This district has recently been added to the city and it wasonly on Oct. 23rd that the Belfast Water Commissionerobtained jurisdiction over the Ligoniel water-supply.Dr. Biggar is the medical superintendent officer of health ofthe Belfast board of guardians ; and this board of guardiansis the rural sanitary anthority for the districts lying outsidethe boundaries of the borough of Belfast. On Oct. 20th,Dr. Biggar was informed that there bad been about fortycases of typhoid fever occurring during the previousfive days in the upper end of the village of Ligoniel.These persons derived their milk-supply from ten differentsources but their water-supply came from one and the samespring. On the other hand the inhabitants of the lowerpart of the village, though living if anything under worsesanitary conditions, had a different water-supply and theywere not suffering from typhoid fever. The whole district hasa population of about 5000, but it is only about half of thispopulation that received the incriminated water and therehave been more than a hundred cases of typhoid feveramong them. How the water was contaminated has alreadybeen described. It is not necessary to go over the detailsagain. I may add, however, that the reservoir which is

supposed to have been polluted measures some fourteenby six feet and is about six feet deep. The littlestream which pases by a cottage where there hasbeen a case of typhoid fever delivers at this pointabout 600 to 700 gallons of water daily. A great partof this water sank into the field just above the reservoirand disappeared. The subsoil is of limestone. There may befissures and the water from this brook may have freelymixed with the water of the spring that supplies thereservoir. As the typhoid dejections were thrown out on thegarden of the cottage close at hand it is not difficult to seehow the contamination may have occurred. In any case,Dr. Lorrain Smith, of Queen’s College Pathological Labo-ratory, has examined this water and reports that he found itwas contaminated and he has been able to isolate the typhoidbacillus.The first measure was to construct a dam across the

stream so that the water flowed down the other side of thehill and could no longer reach the field where it was sup-posed to have mixed with the water of the spring. But thiscould not be continued as it affected the riparittn rights onthe stream which had thus been diverted from its usualcourse. Iron pipes were therefore laid down to convey thewater past the field and below the reservoir. This done itwas possible to restore the water to its usual channel. At thesame time this water-supply was cut off during the space oftwenty-four hours. The water that came into the reservoirfrom the spring was pumped out as fast as it entered, and thereservoir was carefully cleaned out. There is no longer anymeans by which the water which now comes into thisreservoir can mix with the water from the brook, for thebrook water flows past in the iron pipes that have just beenprovided for that purpose. As a result presumably of thesemeasures the epidemic seems to be decreasing.On the other band it is not so easy to account for the

numerous cases of typhoid fever which have occurred in thetown of Belfast. The water-supply is certainly not abovesuspicion ; but it is, in any case, as safe as, indeed saferthan, that of London. Dr. Percy F. Frankland, in