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from the side which lies against Poupart’s ligament. This

pad is kept in place by a rubber-covered steel spring. Whenthe growth of muscular tissue does not seem sufficientlyrapid somewhat vigorous massage of the inguinal regionmay be performed. The best results are obtained in patientswith an inclination for athletics. Dr. Seaver, after a periodsufficiently long to test the permanent value of the treat-ment, has found it successful in 75 per cent. of patientsunder the age of 25 years. Though as a general rulethe treatment appears to be applicable only to those whohave not reached physical maturity, occasionally it issuccessful in older patients. For example, a man, aged38 years, had worn a truss for 12 years to support a hernia.The truss acted satisfactorily but the hernia descendedwhen it was removed. Dr. Seaver recommended operationbut the patient would try exercises though he was toldthat they were useless. The hernia never descended afterthe treatment was begun and a year later the ring wasof normal size. But the use of the truss was still advised.

Subsequently it was worn only in the afternoon and stilllater it was worn only during vigorous exercise of whichhe was very fond. Finally, it was entirely discontinuedand although he indulged in heavy gymnastics the herniadid not recur.

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HYGIENE AND TEMPERANCE AS SCHOOLSUBJECTS.

IT is proposed in a petition signed by a majority of medicalpractitioners in the United Kingdom that instruction in

elementary hygiene, with special reference to the effects of

alcohol, should be included among the compulsory subjectsof school education. It is pointed out that such instructionis already provided for in the optional code. Attention isalso directed to the fact that it forms part of the regularcourse in army schools. Of Canada as a whole, of Victoria,and of Natal the same is true. In South Australia tem-

perance teaching is systematically carried out. In the UnitedStates of America the principles of health and the necessityof temperance are taught, if possible, with even more markedinsistence. There can thus be no doubt that the terms of

the petition are in accord with the views and the practice ofthe English-speaking world. Its wording is moderate andjudicious and its object, as we have noticed, has alreadyobtained the countenance of the Education Board. Of

necessity any project of the kind can only be of limited

utility while its promotion is left to the mere choice of

individuals. On the other hand, the importance of the

subject is generally admitted. Health and sobriety areobviously among our most indispensable national assets.

The present relation of education to them can only be justi-fied on the ground that our knowledge of them is instinctiveor that it comes to us as a result of our social conditions.But this is not the case. We are therefore left with thealternative that such instruction as is needful for the rightunderstanding of health and temperance must be systematic-ally given. In the public interest we trust that it will beso given.

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AN UNUSUAL FORM OF LEAD PARALYSIS.

Dr. P. Merklen and Dr. H. Guiard have published in theA’I’ohives de Neurologie for April an account of a conditionresulting from lead poisoning not recorded hitherto andbelieved by them to be rare. The case was one of lead

paralysis of very limited localisation, the causation of whichwas clear, though differential diagnosis was a matter of

difficulty. Under prolonged treatment the cure of the

patient was complete. The case was one of saturnine

paralysis affecting only a small and limited group ofmuscles of one hand, its rarity being likely to embarrassthe diagnosis. Tanquerel des Planches in his classical thesis

of 1834 on lead encephalopathy records a case of isolated

paralysis of the fingers and ball of the thumb resulting fromlead poisoning, together with a similar involvement of theextensor muscle of the great toe. The case recorded byDr. Merklen and Dr. Guiard was that of a man aged 35 years,with a good family history except that his mother died at theage of 57 years from rheumatism. There was no personalhistory of syphilis or of other infectious disease. OnJune 20th, 1902, the patient suffered from neuralgic painsin the right ilio-lumbar region which disappeared after alittle while. Afterwards he had a feeling of "swelling" "of the last two fingers of the right hand and of the cor-responding portion of the palm. This parsesthesia was accom-panied by a general bodily feeling of coldness. Physicalexamination showed loss of sensibility to touch and

pain in the affected area, while the thenar eminence wasseen to be atrophied slightly. The first interosseous spacealso showed a marked flattening (atrophy) of the muscles,which was barely perceptible in the other spaces. He nowfound it difficult to pick up a coin from the floor. The

atrophy and paralysis gradually increased locally. Mean-while the troubles of sensibility disappeared and only theatrophy remained to disquiet the patient. The grip of theright hand as shown by the dynamometer was one-tenth ofthe power of that of the left hand. The movements of thethumb were limited and weak. Sensibility to touch andpain was found to be dulled along the radial nerve, espe-cially in its palmar distribution, but sensibility to hot andcold sensations was well preserved. The muscles of theforearm reacted normally to electricity (faradic and

galvanic) but the reactions were diminished in themuscles of the hand. There was, however, no reactionof degeneration. Excluding notions of myelopathy andmyopathy a peripheral neuritis was diagnosed. On careful

inquiry it was found to be due to lead poisoning, as the

patient had to handle lead compounds in textile fabrics inthe manufacture of which he was engaged. A slight " blueline " was discovered on the gums. He was put under treat-ment with alkaline iodides, massage, and local applicationsof electricity. In five weeks considerable improvement hadresulted; in seven weeks more there were marked evidencesof recovery and the atrophy was visibly passing away ;eventually power returned to the right hand, the grip ofwhich was equal to more than half of that of the left hand.

WEIGHTS AND CORRELATIONS OF THEVISCERA.

THE study of the biometric constants of the human bodyis almost confined to a somewhat limited group of workers

who, in addition to an acquaintance with anatomy andpathology, possess a taste for statistics, the analysis of multi-tudinous data, and arithmetical computation. In a recentlyissued number of Biometrikal 1 Mr. M. Greenwood, jun.,has published a useful contribution to an importantbranch of the subject, the full title of his paper being"A First Study of the Weight, Variability, and Correla-tion of the Human Viscera, with Special Reference tothe Healthy and Diseased Heart." His data were

obtained from the pathological records of the London

Hospital and are distributed for purposes of classifica-tion and comparison in 16 tables, most of which are

of dimensions exceeding half a page of THE LANCET.He considers the subject under four aspects-namely (1)the average sizes, variabilities, and correlations of the

heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys in the general population,diseased and normal, to be found within a London generalhospital ; (2) the same quantities or ratios for healthy or

1 A Journal for the Statistical Study of Biological Problems. Vol.iii., Part 1. London: C. J. Clay and Sons (Ave Maria-lane) and H. K.Lewis (Gower-street). Pp. 112. Price 10s.