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drowsiness and contraction of the pupils which he observedwere due to the opium in his son’s medicine. On the follow-ing morning Mr. F. H. Fawcett was called in. Accordingto his evidence he found the patient comatose, with

pin-point pupils, a temperature of 960 F., and stertorous

breathing. He found traces of albumin in the urine butdid not consider that there were indications of the

kidneys being affected sufficiently to account for the statein which the man then was or to account for his deathwhich took place that night. Dr. G. C. Low, pathologist atthe West London Hospital, who had held a post-mortemexamination by order of the coroner, gave evidence that hehad found no disease except that the heart was flabby withthin walls; the lungs had spots of tubercle, and the sub-stance of the kidneys was slightly fatty but there wasno Bright’s disease. He was of opinion that the diar-rhoea was not of a typhoid but of a tuberculous nature,and that there was no disease to account for the deathwhich, he had no doubt, was due to opium poisoning.After a prolonged inquiry the jury found a verdict of"Opium poisoning due to misadventure," adding a rider bywhich they requested the coroner " to caution severely thedruggist against prescribing medicine indiscriminately andespecially for giving poison without caution." The druggisthad given evidence after being informed by the coroner thatin the circumstances he need not do so. He took up theposition that he did not transgress the law in handing to thewoman a medicine for diarrhoea when she asked for one butthat he would have done wrong if he had examined thepatient or had joined in a consultation with regard to him,and he considered that what he had done did not amount tomaking a diagnosis. With regard to the question of sellinga poison without so describing it on the label, he relied onthe exemption in the Pharmacy Act, 1868, Section 17.applying to poisons forming part of " ingredients dispensedby a person registered" under the Act. It was then

pointed out to him that even if this applicationof the term " dispensing

" were correct, the exemp-

tion only applied when medicine was dispensed underconditions which included the entry of the ingredientsin a book with the name of the person to whom it was sold,and he admitted that he had made no such entry. For thisomission he had no explanation except that it was an error.Discussion took place with regard to the terms of the

Apothecaries Act and the Pharmacy Act so far as theymight apply to conduct such as that admitted by Mr.Thomson, and it was shown that they were not susceptible ofeasy interpretation. The coroner, in summing up to the jury,laid stress upon the gravity of the position in which Mr.Thomson had placed himself by what he had done. Hewas not, however, of the opinion that his conductamounted to criminal negligence such as would involve thecharge of manslaughter, but rather to recklessness to be metby such censure as the jury afterwards found to be due. Itwill be enough to add that in the interests of the public, ofthe medical profession, and of the druggists the position ofthe last named should be more strictly defined, and thattheir responsibility in attempting to treat disease should bemade so clear that any approach to doing so would beavoided by them.

LYNN THOMAS AND SKYRME FUND.

THE following subscriptions should have been included inthe first :list of contributions to this fund which was pub-lished in THE LANCET last week :-

Subscribers of One Guinea.C. R. Graham, Wigan.G. J. W. Pinching, Gravesend.W. E. Thomas, Bridgend.H. Egerton Williams, Newport, Mon.

A Fcond list of subscriptions has now been sent to us byMr. Villiam Sheen and includes support which he has re-ceived between March 21st and 28th :-

Subscribers of Five Gz6igteas.Plymouth Medical Society, per J. Eliot Square.Woolwich, Plumste3Ld, and Charlton Medical Union, per E Atkins,

Subscribers of Two Gwineas.Sir John Broadbent, Bart., London. Grantham Medical Society, perT. M. Butler.GuiIdford. J. W. Hancock Steil.Philip Frank, London. J. Crawford Renton. Glasgow.W. W. Leigh, Treharris, Glam. T. J. Wa!ker, Cambridge.

SzcbscrcDers of Tivo Ponnds.South Essex Division, British Medical Association, per W. CardyBluck.

W. Domett Stone, London.Subscribers of One Guinea.

W. F. Addey, Croydon. E. Muirhead Little, London.II. A. Iiallauce, Norwich. T. R. Llewellyn, Penygraig,Arthur Bevan London. Glam.G. Buekston Browne, London. F. Manser, Tunbridge Wells.W. S. Carroll, Pontypridd. John Marnoch, Aberdeen.W. A Collins, Bexley. Andrew McFarland, Aylesbury.W. Cotton, Bristol. L M. McIntosh, Blackpool.C. J. Cullingworth, London. Norman Porritt, Huddersfield.C. A Ensor, Tisbury, Wilts. J. G. Rowell, Huddersfield. -

Frederick Eve London. R. P. Rowlands, London.L. G. Glover, London. S. H. Sharpe, Goring-on-Geo. Govan, Cockermouth. Thames.J. A. Hall, Hudderafield. G. 0. Sprawson, Blackpool.P. S. Hichens, Northampton. Edward Turner, London.A. H. W. Hunt, Wolverhampton. Dawson Williams, London.F. H Jacob, Nottingham. John H. Wood, Hereford.Hugh Lett, London. R J. Worger and J. Pratt, Rad-H. R. Campbell Litchfield, stock, Bath.Twickenham. I

Subscribers of One P01tnd.G. Leonard Brown, Pau, France. N. H. Harris, Surgeon, R.N.

Subscribers of Half a Guinea.C. S. Bowker, Pontnewydd, Mon A. G. Osborn, Dover.John Brown, Bacup. W. P. Purvis, Southampton.C. W. Cathcart, Edinburgh. M. K. Robinson, Dover.J. Charles, Stanley, Durham. A. Scot-Skirving, Edinburgh.A. J. Couzens, London. A. C. Wood, Nuneaton.E. Hooper May, London. M. A. Wood, Ledbury.F. J. Nicholls, Eltham, Kent.

Subscribers of Five Shillings.B. Jex Blake, Hereford. I H. Lea’, Winsford, Cheshire.

Erratzezrz -The name of J. B. Footner, Tunbridge Wells, was wronglyincluded among those of subscribers of one guinea last week. It shouldhave been inserted in the two-guinea section of subscriptions.

Looking Back.FROM

THE LANCET, SATURDAY, April 3rd, 1830.

ACTION OF ASPARAGUS ON THE CIRCULATION.-Digitalisand prussic acid possess the property of weakening theaction of the heart, but the employment of these medicinesis frequently prevented by the gastric irritation they pro-duce. M. Broussais proposes, as a substitute for theseremedies, asparagus, which is perfectly inoffensive to thestomach, and acts as a sedative upon the heart. If a patient,who is suffering from hypertrophy and excessive action of theheart, eat asparagus, M. Broussais assures us he will findrelief; and if the remedy be discontinued, the habitual

symptoms will return. Syrup of the green ends of asparagus,like the plant itself, has the power of diminishing the actionof the heart, without annoying the stomach. A man, havinghypertrophy of the heart, perceived a very decided allevia-tion of his sufferiogs while he was in the habit of eatingasparagus, and he consequently prepared a syrup of theplant for use when it was out of season. A physician whomM. Broussais does not name, but to whom he is indebted forthis discovery, collected many cases in support of this state-ment ; and the Professor of Val-de Grae declares that it isconfirmed by the result of his own experience.-Ann. de la- MM..PAs.

______________

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8583 births and 5405deaths were registered during the week ending March 28th.The mean annual rate of mortality in these towns, which hadbeen equal to 17-6, 17 - 2, and 16’9 9 per 1000 in the threepreceding weeks, rose again to 17’ 4 in the week undernotice. During the 13 weeks of the past quarter theannual death-rate in thee towns avdraged 18 ° 0 per1000 ; the mean rate in London during the same perioddid not exceel 17’6. The lowest annual death-rates inthe 76 towns last week were 95 in E’!’st Ham, 9’6

1 It may be interesting in conjunction with the above to recall anannotation entitled " Is Asparagus Wholesome?" which appeared inTHE LANCET of May 19th, 1906, p. 1405.

1030

in Hornsey, 10’3 in Tottenham, and 10’8 in Leyton ;the rates in the other towns ranged upwards to 24’ 3in Devonport and in Rbondda, 24’7 in Middlesbrough,25’ 0 in Merthyr Tydfil, and 25’ 6 in Oldham. The rateof mortality in London last week did not exceed 17’ 2per 1000. The 5405 deaths in the 76 towns last weekshowed an increase of 148 upon the number returned in the

previous week, and included 486 which were referred to theprincipal epidemic diseases, against 400 and 410 in thetwo preceding weeks ; of these, 203 resulted from whooping-cough, 141 from measles, 52 from diphtheria, 38 fromdiarrhoea, 36 from scarlet fever, and 16 from " fever "

(principally enteric), but not one from small-pox. Thedeaths from these epidemic diseases in the 76 towns wereequal to an annual rate of l’ 6 6 per 1000, against1’3 in each of the three preceding weeks; the ratefrom the same diseases in London was equal to 17.No death from any of these epidemic diseases was

registered last week in Tottenham, York, Ipswich,King’s Norton, or in three other smaller towns ; theannual death-rates from these diseases ranged upwards,however, to 4’0 in Sunderland, 4’3 in Croydon, 5’ inSalford, and 6’1 in Merthyr Tydfil. The fatal cases ofwhooping-cough in the 76 towns, which had been 134 and152 in the two previous weeks, further rose to 203 in theweek under notice ; the highest death-rates from thisdisease last week in these towns were 2’ 0 in Sheffield andin Rhondda, 2 5 in Aston Manor, 3’ 3 in Sunderland, and3’ 4 in Merthyr Tydfil. The 141 deaths from measles alsoshowed a considerable increase upon recent weekly numbers,and caused death-rates equal to 2’ 0 in Burnley, 2 4 inSalford, 2 - 6 in Croydon, 2 - 7 in Preston, and 2-9 inStockton-on-Tees. The deaths referred to diphtheriadeclined again, however, to 52 from 58 and 62 in the twopreceding weeks; this disease, however, caused death-rates of1-1 in Hornsey and 1-4 in Merthyr Tydfil. The 38 deathsattributed to diarrhoea corresponded with the number in theprevious week. The 36 fatal cases of scarlet fever showed anincrease of six upon those in the previous week, and in-cluded 15 in London, four in Liverpool, three in Man-chester and Salford, and two in Newport (Mon). The 16deaths referred to "fever" corresponded with the lownumber in the previous week ; two were returned in London,in Nottingham, and in Salford. The number of scarlet feverpatients under treatment in the Metropolitan Asylums andLondon Fever Hospitals, which had steadily declined inthe 16 preceding weeks from 5581 to 3356, had further fallento 3229 on March 28th ; 355 new cases were admitted tothese hospitals during the week under notice, against 312and 378 in the two preceding weeks. A case of small-pox(the first for many months) was admitted to the Metro-

politan Asylums Hospitals during last week. The deaths inLondon referred to pneumonia and other diseases of the

respiratory organs, which had been 317 and 320 in the twoprevious weeks, further rose to 340 during the week undernotice, and exceeded by 18 the corrected average number inthe corresponding week of the five years 1903-07. The deathsdirectly referred to influenza in London, which had declinedfrom 141 to 68 in the four preceding weeks, rose again to71 in the week under notice. The causes of only 34, or

0’6 per cent., of the deaths registered in the 76 towns lastweek were not certified either by a registered medical prac-titioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death wereagain duly certified last week in Leeds, Bristol, Bradford,Newcastle-on-Tyne, and also in 54 other smaller towns ; fiveuncertified causes of deaths were, however, registered lastweek in Birmingham, four in Leicester, and three each inLiverpool, Sheffield, and South Shields.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in eight of the principalScotch towns, which had been equal to 20’ 3 and 18 ° 5 per1000 in the two preceding weeks, rose again to 19’4 in theweek ending March 28th, and exceeded by 2’ 0 the mean rateduring the same week in the 76 large English towns. Amongthe eight Scotch towns the death-rates last week rangedfrom 12’6 and 13 ° 8 in Aberdeen and Greenock, to 21 ’ 7 inGlasgow and 26’ 9 in Dundee. The 683 deaths in these eighttowns showed an increase of 31 upon the number returned inthe previous week, and included 114 which were referredto the principal epidemic diseases, against 97 and84 in the two preceding weeks; of these, 58 resultedfrom measles, 22 from whooping-cough, 21 from diar-rhrea, seven from " fever," three from diphtheria,

two from scarlet fever, and one from small-pox. These114 deaths were equal to an annual rate of 3 2 per 1000which was just double the mean rate last week from thesame diseases in the 76 English towns. The fatal cases ofmeasles in the eight Scotch towns, which had been 47, 46, and37 in the three preceding weeks, rose again last week to58, and included 45 in Glasgow, six in Aberdeen, and fourin Edinburgh. The 22 deaths from whooping-cougb,however, were fewer by two than the number in theprevious week ; 13 occurred in Glasgow, four in Edinburgh,and two in Greenock. Of the 21 deaths attributed to-diarrhoea, an increase of eight upon the number in ther

previous week, 12 were returned in Glasgow, and threein Dundee. The seven deaths referred to " fever,"of which six were certified as cerebro-spinal menin-gitis and one as enteric, exceeded the low number inthe previous week by four, and included four in Glasgow.Two of the three deaths from diphtheria last week were-returned in Dundee, and the fatal case of small-pox wasregistered in Leith. The deaths referred to diseases of therespiratory organs in these eight towns, which had been142 and 158 in the two preceding weeks, declined to 133in the week under notice, but exceeded by nine the numberreturned in the corresponding week of last year. Thecauses of 19, or 2’ 8 per cent., of the deaths in these eight,towns last week were not certified ; in the 76 Englishtowns the proportion of uncertified causes of death in thesame week did not exceed 0 - 6 per cent.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The annual rate of mortality in Dublin, which hadbeen equal to 24’8 and 23’9 per 1000 in the two pre-ceding weeks, rose again to 27’4 in the week endingMarch 28th. During the 13 weeks of last quarter thedeath-rate in the city averaged 25’ 5 per 1000, the meanrates during the same period being only 17’6 in Londonand 18-3 in Edinburgh. The 207 deaths of Dublin resi-dents registered in the week under notice showed anincrease of 26 upon the number returned in the previousweek, and included but four which were referred to theprincipal epidemic diseases, corresponding with the lownumber returned in each of the two preceding weeks; thesefour deaths included three from whooping-cough andone from diarrhoea, whereas no death resulted frommeasles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, "fever," or small-pox.These four deaths from epidemic diseases were equal to anannual rate of but 0,’ 5 per 1000, the death-rate last weekfrom these principal epidemic diseases being equal to l’ 7in London and to I - 5 in Edinburgh. The fatal cases ofwhooping-cough in Dublin last week exceeded the numbersin recent weeks. The 207 deaths from all causes in thecity last week included 29 of infants under one year of ageand 68 of persons aged upwards of 60 years ; the deaths of £elderly persons showed a further increase upon recentweekly numbers. Three inquest cases and two deaths.from violence were registered, and 77, or 37’2 per cent.,of the deaths occurred in public institutions. The causesof ten, or 4’8 per cent., of the deaths registered duringthe week under notice were not certified ; in London allbut two of the 1581 causes of death were duly certified,and in Edinburgh the proportion of uncertified deathswas equal to 5 6 per cent.

THE SERVICES.

ROYAL NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE.THE following appointments are notified -Fleet Surgeons t

E. C. Cridland to the 1lTinotar on commissioning ; and J. D.Hughes to the Egmont and for Malta Dockyard. StaffSurgeons : H. H. Gill to the lerro’/’, additional; W. H. 0.Garde to the Emerald; and J. A. L. Campbell to theDonegal. Surgeons: A. R. Davidson to the action; andT. F. O’Keeffe to the Minotaur on commissioning.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.

Captain A. F. Carlyon has been appointed for duty in theLondon District. Captain F. J. Turner has been transferredto Jubbulpore for duty.

IMPERIAL YEOMANRY.Lincolnshire: Surgeon-Major Thomas H. Openshaw

C.M.G., to be Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel (dated Feb. 22nd1908.