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and the museum collection become mutually complementaryto each other the value of each is enormously increased.The ordinary lectures to the members were well attended.Most of the recognised teachers of hygiene brought their

classes to the Museum for practical instruction.The library, we are told, has been enriched during the

past year by 450 books and pamphlets, and the card catalogueis completed, so that the work of reference is easily carriedon. Those of our readers who issue annual reports onsanitary subjects would do well to remember the import-ance of sending such reports to this central library devotedto sanitation, which is yearly becoming of more and moreimportance.The lectures for the ensuing year are to be given, not as

heretofore in the evening, but at five in the afternoon-anhour which it is hoped may prove convenient to themajority of members and their friends. The first lectureis arranged for Thursday next, Jan. 27th. The lectureris Mr. Ogle Tarbotton, M.Inst.C.E., and the subject is″ Engineering and Architecture in relation to SanitaryScience." Captain Douglas Galton, F.R.S., will occupy thechair.

ADULTERATION OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACT.

A SPECIAL general meeting was held on Jan. 12th at theLecture-room of the Sheffield Pharmaceutical and Chemical

Society, Norfolk-row. The meeting was called "to considerthe recent ruling at Sheffield Town Hall under the adultera-tion of Food and Drugs Act."’ The chair was occupied bythe President, Mr. Newsholme, and there was a large attend-ance, the room being almost filled.The Chairman proposed the first resolution, which was as

follows: "That this meeting, specially convened, viewswith alarm the recent decision of the Sheffield stipendiarymagiscrate that a preparation containing any opium andany alcohol whatever may be legally sold as tincture ofopium’; and this meeting is of opinion that if this be upheldas legal, and is acted upon, it is likely to interfere dangerouslywith uniformity and with the public safety. It wouldfurther affirm that the only tincture of opium acknowledgedgenerally by the trade is that of the British Pharma-copœia.’’The resolution was carried unanimously, as was also the

following :-’ Moved by Mr. Ward, F.C.S.: " That this meeting expressesalso its astonishment at the judgment recently given withrespect to paregoric, that any preparation of a soothingnature may be sold under that name. It holds that the factof two or more dissimilar prepartions having the same nameis so dangerous to public health that it is desirable thePharmacopoeia Committee should adopt, as a, synonym ofthe compound tincture of camphor of the Pharmacopoeia,that which is commonly known as paregoric, paregoricelixir, and elixir paregoric."Moved by Mr. Preston: "That this meeting desires to

point out its determination strictly to conform to theBritish Pharmacopœia as binding upon it, in accordancewith the Order in Her Majesty’s Privy Council made respect-ing thereto."

This resolution was carried almost unanimously, and avote of thanks to the Chairman concluded the meeting.

ST. ANDREWS GRADUATES’ ASSOCIATION.

ON Friday afternoon last, Mr. Balfour, Secretary for

Scotland, and his colleague, the Lord Advocate, received adeputation of the St. Andrews Graduates’ Association at

Dover House, Whitehall. The memorial, signed by 789graduates of the University, urged that an endowment befound for two additional professors-viz, a Professor ofAnatomy and a Professor of Botany, so that the Universitymay be enabled to give two anni medici. to medical studentsattending the University. After completing their two years’course of preliminary and theoretical study, they could gofor practical and clinical work to any of the great hospitalsof the United Kingdom most convenient to them; theycould then return to the University and submit themselvesto examination, and thus obtain graduation and a licence to

practise their profession. Dr. B. W. Richardson, Presidentof the Association, Sir J. Crichton Browne, Surgeon-GeneralGordon, and Dr. Hicks, F.R.S., spoke in support of thememorial. Mr. Balfour and the Lord Advocate, in reply tothe deputation, assured them that the ancient University ofSt. Andrews was secure of the good-will of Her Majesty’sGovernment, and that the memorial itself and the argumentsin support of it would receive due attention. They also inti-mated to the deputation that evidence upon the matter setforth in the memorial would be received by the Commissionabout to be appointed to inquire into the constitution andendowments ot the Scottish Universities, and the deputationagreed to furnish this evidence to the Commission. A cordialvote of thanks to Mr. Balfour and to the Lord Advocate fortheir courtesy and attention was then proposed and carriedunanimously.

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VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN twenty-eight of the largest English towns 5856 birthsand 4263 deaths were registered during the week endingJan. 15th. The annual death-rate in these towns, which hadincreased in the preceding four weeks from 20’7, to 26’5 per1000, declined again last week to 24’1. During the thirteenweeks of last quarter the death-rate in these towns

averaged 20’3 per 1000, and was 2.1 below the mean rate in thecorresponding periods of the ten years 1876-85. The lowestrates in these towns last week were 17’4 in Portsmouth,19’3 in Bradford, 19 3 in Sunderland, and 19’8 in Oldham.The rates in the other towns ranged upwards to 30’4 inCardiff, 30.8 in Blackburn, 31’0 in Manchester, and 316 inWolverhampton. The deaths referred to the principalzymotic diseases in the twenty-eight towns, which hadbeen 537 and 475 in the preceding two weeks, were lastweek 485; they included 195 from measles, 95 fromwhooping-cough, 82 from scarlet fever, 48 from "fever"(principally enteric), 34 from diarrhcea, 31 from diph-theria, and not one from small-pox. These zymoticdiseases caused the lowest death-rates last week inBrighton, Portsmouth, Nottingham, and Bolton; andthe highest rates in Leeds, Sunderland, and Hudders-field. The greatest mortality from measles occurred inLiverpool, Wolverhampton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Halifax,Leicester, and Leeds; from whooping-cough in Bristol,Plymouth, Preston, Sunderland, and Huddersfield; fromscarlet fever in Norwich, Bristol, Manchester, Blackburn,Sheffield, and Sunderland ; and from fever" in Birkenheadand Plymouth. The 31 deaths from diphtheria in the twenty-eight towns included 18 in London and 5 in Birmingham.Small-pox caused no death in London and its outer ring,or in any of the twenty-seven large provincial towns. Only2 cases of small-pox were under treatment on Saturday lastin the metropolitan hospitals receiving cases of this disease.The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory organs inLondon. which had increased in the preceding four weeksfrom 416 to 731, declined again last week to 591, but ex-ceeded the corrected average by 89. The causes of 107, or2’5 per cent., of the deaths in the twenty-eight towns lastweek were not certified either by a registered medical prac-titioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death were dulycertified in Cardiff, Birkenhead, Derby, and Plymouth. Thelargest proportions of uncertified deaths were registered inSheffield, Halifax, and Huddersfield.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 25-1 and 29’9 per 1000 in the precedingtwo weeks, declined again to 26-1 in the week endingJan. 15th ; this rate exceeded, however, by 2’0 the mean rateduring the same week in the twenty-eight large Englishtowns. The rates in the Scotch towns last week ranged from16-4 and 18 0 in Greenock and Leith, to 30.9 in Glasgow and33 3 in Paisley. The 652 deaths in the eight towns last weekshowed a decline of 94 from the number in the previous week,and included 26 which were referred to whooping-cough, 13to scarlet fever, 10 to measles, 10 to diarrhoea, 7 to "fever"(typhus, enteric, or simple), 5 to diphtheria, and one to small-pox ; in all 72 deaths resulted from these principal zymoticdiseases, against 63, 73, and 94 in the preceding threeweeks. These 72 deaths were equal to an annual rate of