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pressure and was not cumulative in effect. lIe didnot believe the hypodermic injection of digitalin didany good. Digalen intravenously was efficacious.When vomiting occurred with digitalis he usedNativelle’s digitalin.

SHEFFIELD MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.

A MEETING of the Pathological Section of thisSociety was held in Sheffield University on Feb. 9th,Dr. GODFREY CARTER, the President, in the chair,when Dr. A. G. &IB80N read a paper on

The Pathology of Epilepsy.He urged that an attempt should be made in every caseof epilepsy to discover a definite cause, and that if suchan attempt were sufficiently painstaking a largenumber of so-called idiopathic cases would be foundassignable to some organic disease. Among suchorganic causes of epilepsy Dr. Gibson drew attentionto circulatory changes and instanced the seizures thatoccur in the course of Stokes-Adams disease. Hepointed to the interesting connexion between epilepti-form convulsions and the infectious fevers, and laidstress on the importance of syphilis as an aetiologicalfactor in the production of the disease. He said thatamongst the causes of epilepsy are found such definiteentities as parasite disease-e.g., cysticercosis ofthe brain. The term "

idiopathic " should not beused when dealing with epilepsy until every possiblesource of recognisable aetiology had been excluded andhe thought that the simple administration of bromidesin the treatment of this disease until these avenues hadbeen explored, was to be deplored.

In the discussion which followed Prof. A. J. HALL,Dr. A. E. BARNES, Mr. E. F. FINCH, and others tookpart.

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ROYAL MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETYOF GLASGOW.

Rickets in India.A MEETING of this Society was held on Feb. 3rd,

when Dr. HARRY S. I-I-LTTCIITSON gave the followingaccount of his investigations in the town of Nasik,Bombay Presidency. Here there are two distinctclasses of the population : Class 1, chieny Brahmins,well-to-do Hindus, and well-to-do Mohammedans ;and Class 2, lower caste and poorer Hindus, poorMohammedans, and social outcasts. The generalconditions in both are the same, but they differ inthat Class 1 maintains purdah, or the close seclusionof women and children during part of their lives.This class has a good and rich dietary, whereas Class 2has no purdah, and eats a poorer dietary. All childrenare breast-fed for at least a year ; in Class 1 this issupplemented with cow’s milk at the age of 7 or 8months, and in Class 2 with rice, and seldom with milk. The mothers of Class 1 eat a dietary contain-ing more vitamin-A than those of Class 2, and there-fore it would appear that the children in Class 1 getmore vitamin-A than those in Class 2. The incidenceof rickets was found to be much more common in theBrahmins and well-to-do Hindus in Class 1 ; less sobut still marked among Mohammedans, partly inClass 1 and partly in Class 2 ; slight in other Hindus,all in Class 2. Of 1073 children of purdah mothersthere were 268 cases of early rickets active or healed(24-9 per cent.), and of 2305 children of non-purdahmothers 113 cases (4-8 per cent.). Seventeen casesof late rickets were seen. All occurred in females ;16 cases were Brahmins, well-to-do Hindus, andMohammedans : only one case was in a lower-castewoman, although many more of these were seen. Inpractically all the cases milk and ghee were consumeddaily, and frequently a cow was kept. The mean ageof incidence was 15-6 years, the majority beingbetween 12 and 13 years.

Dr. Hutchison discussed his results with regard tothe setiology of rickets, and concluded that in his cases

the presence of quantities of vitamin-A seemed to beunavailing in preventing the onset of rickets in theclasses referred to, whereas in the poorer classes with-out such quantities the plentiful supplies of fresh airand sunlight very largely prevented its incidence.Cases of active rickets treated by fresh air and sun-shine improved rapidly.Rickets-the Part Played by Unhygienic Social Condi-

tions in Predisposing to the Disease.Prof. NoEL PATON made a communication on

this subject, the substance of which was as,

follows :-Two factors predispose to the onsetof rickets-- unhygienic surroundings and defectivefeeding. Recently an attempt has been made toprove that it is caused by the absence of a hypo-thetical anti-rachitic factor, probably identical withthe fat-soluble A substance. The author of this con-tention has now abandoned this view, and has revertedto the long-accepted theory that various errors ofdiet predispose to rickets. The evidence of theinfluence of social conditions has received scant atten-tion from those who maintain the causal relation ofthe dietary factor to this disease. Rickets is commonamong the poorer classes of our Northern towns,where they are housed in high tenements, defective inlight and ventilation. The condition of the housedepends largely upon the health and habits of themother, as does the extent to which the youngchildren are taken out. A table was shown provingthat in Glasgow, at least, the incidence of rickets ismore directly associated with the condition of thehome, with maternal care, and with overcrowdingthan it is with dietary. Between families with ricketychildren and those without the differences in the foodare small. It has been argued that the absence ofrickets among the people of Lewis, who live in theso-called black houses, strongly supports the viewthat insanitary conditions of housing have nothing todo with a predisposition to the disease. An investiga-tion of the housing, mode of life, and of the diet of18 typical families in the island has been made, andthe results show : (1) that the average air-space andventilation of the black houses is better than that ofthe rachitic families in Glasgow, and (2) that thechildren are taken out when quite young, andthat after they can walk they are constantly out ofdoors. The development and nutrition of the childrenshow an average well above that of the rest of theBritish Isles, teething is early, and generally theinfants walk at an early age. Only one case ofdoubtful rickets among 81 children was observed. Thediets were ample, and the chief articles of diet werefish, milk, oatmeal, and potatoes. The condition ofthese people, not only as regards diet, but also asregards housing and mode of life, are such as toincrease their resistance to the onset of rickets.Prof. Paton stated that his studies of rickets haveled him to the conclusion that the unhygienic condi-tions of life and defective diet are no more thecauses of rickets than they are of tuberculosisor typhus. They merely predispose to thesediseases. Whether rickets will be proved to bean infective process remains to be seen. Itsassociation with slum life, its frequent incidence inseveral members of a family, and the record of anoutbreak among foxhound puppies, checked in thecase of some by removal to new kennels, suggestthis possibility.

TUBERCULOSIS SOCIETY.-A general meeting ofthis society will be held at the Margaret-street Hospital,Margaret-street, London, W. 1, on Monday, Feb. 27th, at7.30 P.M. Dr. F. Hernaman-Johnson will demonstrate X rayapparatus, discuss technique and difficulties, and will showplates.

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MENTAL AFTER CARE ASSOCIATION.-The annualmeeting will be held to-day, Friday, Feb. 24th, at 3 r.M., atthe Apothecaries’ Hall, Water-lane, Blackfriars, London,E.C., Dr. W. F. H. Burgess presiding. Sir Claud Schuster,Sir John Goodwin, Mr. C. Marriott, Mr. L. L. Faudel-

Phillips, and Dr. C. H. Bond will speak.