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glycerine; it also explains the slight antiseptic valueof solutions of silver nitrate and mercuric chloridein absolute alcohol. Professor Maillard mentions, in

passing, that the antiseptic power of aqueous solutionof phenol is increased by the addition of sodium chloride.A study of electrolytic dissociation is helpful in avoidingincompatibles. The extent of dissociation of an electrolytemay be diminished by the addition of other electrolytes andof non-electrolytes, especially viscous and colloid bodies.Uric acid affords an interesting instance of the general rulethat the lowering of ionisation is most noteworthy in feebleelectrolytes. It is only slightly dissociated in solution andits salts are scarcely more so. If a solution of sodium

chloride-i.e., an abundance of sodium ions-be added to asolution of sodium acid urate, its dissociation is diminishedand molecules of the urate are re-formed and precipitated.The addition of sodium carbonate or bicarbonate also lowersthe solubility of the urate. Hence the unexpected con-clusion is reached that when sodium bicarbonate is admini-stered to a gouty patient the uric concretions are not dis-solved, but that, on the contrary, there is a tendency forurates to be precipitated. The salts of lithium, piperazine,and various other remedies for gout have a similar effect.It would thus appear that the explanation of the efficacy ofan alkaline treatment in uric acid diathesis lies elsewhere ’,than in the solution of the uric concretions.

THE ETHICS OF FASTING.

IN some measure the fasting enjoined by the Churchduring the season of Lent may be defended, at all events ina large number of cases, on physiological as well as on moralgrounds. Mere discipline, of course, invariably acts healthilyon both body and mind at whatever season of the year it maybe practised and no particular religious creed need be

followed as the sine lua non of a course of self-denial.The custom of the Church is a very old one and thoughmodern life has rendered the carrying out of fasting on strictlines untenable, yet most intelligent people are prepared toconfess an admiration for, and a sympathy with, the generalprinciples of a scheme which has for its object the dis-cipline and well-being of the body and the mind. That beingso, the strength of purpose is more likely to receive helpwhen a specific season for carrying out the disciplinaryexercise is selected than if the time were chosen in

a haphazard way. Lent may therefore be regarded as aconvenient season when the individual addicted to variousobvious luxuries and excesses can effectually brace his moralstrength to forego those things which he knows perfectlywell he can do very well, if not better, without. From theChurch’s point of view there is, of course, a widerand deeper significance attached to what she regardsas a holy season, but it is only in our province to

consider the subject in its bearing upon the welfareof the body. The season gives the creature of more

or less selfish or bad habits an excellent opportunityof relinquishing those habits for at any rate a certain periodand he may, and probably will, receive a salutary and morallesson which may induce him to lead a better and physio-logically happier life. He may be poisoning himself, for

example, by over-indulgence in tobacco, alcohol, or even

food, and he may find that, as a result of his determinationto give up these excesses for a season, his mental and

bodily activities are improved, his health is altogetherbetter, and so he is constrained to go on with the

"godly, righteous, and sober life." It would be difficult,if not impossible, to defend by physiological arguments theexcessive fasting of the old ascetics, but fasting from luxuryand excess is a procedure absolutely in harmony with avigorous, healthy, and moral condition. The conduct indi-

cated, therefore, in the Lenten fast of the Church is

calculated to lead the erring into the paths of physiologicalrighteousness. Self-denial is, however, a poor thing if itdoes not benefit others besides ourselves.

THE LADIES’ HOME AT CANNES.

THIS institution was established 24 years ago with the

object of affording rest and change of scene to British andAmerican ladies of small means who are in enfeebled healthor suffering from the effects of overwork and prolongedstrain. Patients who are in actual ill-health or invalids

requiring constant nursing are not admissible, but thosetroubled with minor ailments and who can take exercise are

eligible. No mental cases are admitted or any of an

unfavourable tuberculous character. The home is situatedabove the town of Cannes in the healthiest surroundings.Each inmate has a private room and there are a commonsitting-room and dining room, also a private chapel. The

sanitary conditions are of the best. The medical supervisionis conducted by two British physicians of Cannes each forthree months during the season which extends from Nov. 1stto the end of April, and they give their services gratuitously.There are an experienced lady superintendent and a trainednurse on the staff. Accommodation for 34 ladies is provided.The home does not appear to be as well known or appreciatedas it ought to be. It is entirely maintained by subscriptionsand donations of the British and American residents andvisitors to Cannes. It should only be necessary to make theexistence and purposes of this useful home better known

to the medical profession in this country to insure an

increase in its revenue. There must be not only manyfitting candidates ready to secure its advantages but also

many persons willing to help in so good a work. The benefitsof the home are well recognised by all who are connectedwith it, providing, as it does, a well-ordered residence in theworst months of our climate in one of the brightest andmost favoured spots of the Riviera. The selected inmates

pay their own fares out and home and £1 per week formaintenance and there is no limit to their stay duringthe season. Application should be made to Miss Hankey(H6tel des Anglais, Cannes, during the winter, and ThePalace, Much Hadham, Herts, in the summer), who willfurnish all particulars.

YELLOW FEVER IN CUBA AND ITS MEANS OFPROPAGATION.

Dr. A. M. Fernandez Ybarra of New York has on severaloccasions both spoken and written against the acceptedtheory that mosquitoes are solely or mainly responsible forthe propagation of yellow fever. He has written to us

recently on the subject, taking as his text the numerouscases of yellow fever which occurred in Cuba in 1905 and1906. It appears from statistics quoted by him that the

disease was fairly prevalent in certain districts of Cuba duringthose years, and that a grand total of 89 cases of yellowfever, with 37 deaths (a death-rate of 41’ 57 per cent.),have occurred in the island since the promulgation of thetheory that the female stegomyia fasciata was the sole

agent in the propagation of yellow fever. He further

points out that these cases arose in the western

part of the island, where it is stated that measures forthe extermination of the stegomyia fasciata have beencarried on continuously since Feb. 15th, 1901, while theeastern part of the island in which the deadly epidemic thatoccurred during the Spanish-American war took place andwhere, according to Dr. Ybarra, no vigorous action hasbeen directed against mosquitoes since that time, has beenentirely free from the disease. He gives clinical details ofnine cases of yellow fever, the history of which is, in his

opinion, incompatible with the mosquito theory of trans-

mission. He states that in all these cases except one