1837

chains. Cultures from all the patients showed a low degree f

of virulence towards animals, but endocarditis and peri- i

carditis were obtained whether the organisms were adminis- (

tered subcutaneously or by intraperitoneal or intravenous

injection. The three cases in which a streptococcus was 1

reported were not examined as fully as the others, and Dr. iRosenow believes that had this been done they also would have been proved to be pneumococci. Dr. Billings suggests that in all cases where streptococcal forms are isolated from the blood these further investigations should be made, since ithey may possibly establish that the pneumococcus is the 1

most frequent infective agent in endocarditis. With regardto the source of infection in his cases, Dr. Billings found ithat in one the condition followed pneumonia, in twotonsillitis had preceded it, and in two others alveolar abscesshad occurred. In one case influenza was a possible factorin the genesis of the infection. An old heart lesion waspresent in seven of the cases, six of whom had suffered fromrheumatic fever; the remaining one had had chorea. The

valves involved in the 14 cases were as follows : aortic valvealone in 1; mitral alone in 6 ; pulmonary semilunars alonein 1 ; both aortic and mitral in 5 ; and mitral and tricuspidtogether in 1. With regard to treatment by vaccines, Dr.

Billings found that inoculations of patients with largedoses of their own dead pneumococci was always harmfuland that small doses were devoid of benefit and even

probably harmful. -

THE PROPOSAL TO APPOINT A NEW MEDICALOFFICER TO THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL.

As we announced last week, a subcommittee of the educa-tion committee of the London County Council has reported infavour of recommending the Council to appoint an additionalassistant medical officer in the public health department, onaccount of the great amount of extra work entailed on that

department by the systematic medical examination and

treatment of school children. The subcommittee’s reportstated that when Dr. James Kerr was appointed as schoolmedical officer by the London School Board his duties wereto supervise the medical work generally, conduct corre-spondence, examine male candidates for employment, visitschools where outbreaks of infectious disease occurred, conduct

inquiries, and give advice. It was possible to carry out theseduties in 1902, but there had been a rapid expansion since, andit was now quite impossible for Dr. Kerr to exercise effectivesupervision without further assistance. The staff requiringsuperintendence numbered in 1902-medical, 3 ; nursing, 1 ;clerical, 4 ; in 1909 the corresponding figures were 68, 54, and28. Even these figures did not adequately represent the actualincrease in the scope of the work. Various schemes had

been developed since 1902 and were now in full workingorder, and in all departments the amount of detail wasfar greater. The Council now undertook the cleansing

. (heads, bodies, and clothes) of the children and examinedtheir vision ; it had established a laboratory for the bacterio-logical control of diphtheria ; it exercised control of ring-worm diagnosis ; undertook inquiries into measles and scarletfever, conditions of special senses, blindness, deafness,and aphasia; the medical examination of all scholarshipcandidates and the inspection of students in trainingcolleges, pupil teachers, and the scholars of secondary andtrade schools. The medical officer had to supervise allthis work and many other matters too numerous to mention,and it was now almost impossible for him to master manyrecent developments, his whole time being occupied by thework already undertaken. The work of the care committees, thefeeding of school children, questions of physical exercises, andthe teaching of hygiene all required more thorough organisa-tion, but the medical officer could not undertake it without

further assistance. The subcommittee thought the super-intendence of the outside medical staff was almost one

officer’s work, and that the medical men and nurses shouldbe seen at work not only in the statutory medical inspectionbut also in their duties in connexion with cleansing, specialschools, and many other things. The relation in which themedical side of the Council’s work had been broughtrecently with the sanitary work of the borough councils hadnecessitated a great amount of personal visiting and con-ferences with the medical officers of health of the various

boroughs. The only full-time assistant medical officer wasappointed in 1903, prior to the passing of the Education(Administrative Provisions) and Children Acts. The con-

sideration of the report was postponed by the education

committee, and even if it should reach the Council duringthe present session the past policy of that body does notgive us much hope that the appointment will be made.There is no doubt that a strong case has been made out forit, but the creation of a new salary beginning at .6500 a yearand rising to £700 will probably give prolonged pause beforeaction.

__

THE DEATH OF DR. LUDWIG MOND, F.R.S.

THE death of Dr. Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., on Dec. llth

last, removes a giant amongst the industrial chemists of thecountry. His chemical researches have met with enormous

practical applications, none of which, however, can be

compared for commercial importance with his discovery,which was the outcome of both his chemical and

engineering knowledge, of the use of ammonia andcarbonic acid gas in the conversion of common salt

into carbonate of soda. He also observed the formation

of those curious metallo-gases known as carbonyls, of whichiron and nickel carbonyl are the most familiar examples.They are gaseous compounds of the metals with carbonic

oxide, and the principle is now carried into effect in recover-ing nickel from its ore and for the purposes of purification.Dr. Ludwig Mond worked hard to encourage research,especially amongst young chemists with limited means attheir disposal. He founded the Davy-Faraday Laboratory ofthe Royal Institution and having fitted it with all the appli-ances necessary for modern chemical research gave it an

ample endowment. The investment has proved a fruitfulone for chemical science, for some excellent and valuable

original work has been done in the Davy-Faraday Laboratory.Dr. Ludwig Mond’s name will go down to posterity as thatof a man who did much to show the power and importanceof research and who gave abundantly by various ways andmeans the opportunity to others of seeking out new facts.Can a man of science seek a better verdict ?

RESEARCH DEFENCE SOCIETY.

THE meeting held at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, on

Dec. 13th, under the auspices of the Research Defence

Society, was well attended, and the formation of the Brightonand Sussex branch was confirmed. The Earl of Cromer, asPresident of the society, presided, and he was supported bya thoroughly representative gathering of the medical profes-sion in Brighton and Hove and other parts of Sussex. Lord

Cromer, in opening the proceedings, alluded to the greatloss the nation in general, and more especially thoseinterested in medical research, had sustained by the deathof Lord Selby, chairman of the Commission appointed afew years ago to inquire into the question of vivisection.Mr. Abel Ram, who was also a member of the Commis-

sion, had succeeded Lord Selby as chairman, and LordCromer remarked that he had been in communication with

that gentleman, who had promised to do his utmost to secure

1838

the issue ;of the report early in the new year. ’Lord Cromerwent on to say that humanity was on the side of those whodevoted their time, their money, their unselfish labours, andsometimes their health to preserving and prolonging humanlife. Everybody who chose to go into the subject could

satisfy himself beyond any manner of doubt as to the

splendid results which had been achieved by bacterio-

logical research. The most eminent men in the medical

professionwere practically agreed on the point, and, more-over, they were agreed on the fact that this know-

ledge would never have been reached had it not been for

experiments on animals. He showed that in the pro-

ceedings of scientific research pain was very rarelyinflicted, and that when it was inflicted it was amplyjustified by the results which had been obtained in preservinghuman life and in diminishing human suffering. Sir Arthur

Conan Doyle, as president of the newly-formed branch,pointed out that of 88,000 experiments on animals conductedlast year 85,000 were merely inoculations or injections, andhe held that their opponents, who encouraged the abattoirand discouraged the laboratory, were in a most absurd and

illogical position. -

THE LATE SIR ALFRED JONES, K.C.M.G.

By the death of Sir Alfred Jones not English medicine onlyhas lost a notable benefactor, for the world has been the

gainer from the results achieved already by the LiverpoolSchool of Tropical Medicine, of which he was chairman andvirtually the founder, so large a share did he take in its

endowment. He was one of the most striking personalitiesin British commerce, and had the qualities of enterprise andimagination which well entitled him to the name of merchantprince. In no manner was this better shown than in his

practical interest in the advance of tropical medicine

and in the equipment of expeditions to investigate its

problems in partibus. Whereas the early merchant adven-turers of England went forth prepared to win their

fortunes by fire and sword, Sir Alfred Jones prepared the wayfor his modern argosies by subsidising men of science to

investigate the causes of the diseases that play havoc withhuman life in tropical countries and the means by whichthey may be prevented, having the foresight to realise that

by such means alone will the ruling nations be able to drawtheir full commercial tribute from the most fertile regionsof the earth, whilst at the same time life will be made moresecure for the subject races. In another application of scienceto trade Sir Alfred Jones showed his sagacity. By construct-ing special holds in his ships and making arrangements forthe careful regulation of their temperature (which wascharted four-hourly during the voyage) he proved that it was possible to transport bananas in excellent condition and inenormous quantities from the Canaries and the West Indiesto this country, whereby not only his firm were the gainers but also the many poor people to whom a wholesome andpalatable fruit was made available at a low price. We have

said enough to show that commerce and medicine unite in real regret for the unexpected death of Sir Alfred Jones, a 1regret felt nowhere more sincerely than in his own city of Liverpool. -

A FURTHER NOTE ON ENTERICIN.

WE have received a further communication from Mr. John I :Maberly of Woodstock, Cape Colony, on the subject of ’

entericin, about which an annotation was published in THE LANCET of Nov. 6th. He states that the plant Monsonia biflora, from which he has obtained this substance, belongs to the natural order Geraniaceæ, and that it grows scattered over the high veldts of South Africa. An allied

species, the Monsonia ovata, grows along the coast belt, . (

especially of the eastern side. He was unable to separateany alkaloid or glucoside, and in his endeavours to separatethe active principles of the plant he obtained two sets of

bodies-first, bodies of "indefinite chemical composition," towhich he applied the name of "entericin," and a

second group with astringent properties, to which heattributes the constipating effect produced by the tincturein some cases. In summing up his conclusions he

states that the tincture has a distinct curative actionon the ulcerative processes in the intestine at any

stage of enteric fever and that when given after about theseventeenth or eighteenth day it has the power of cuttingshort the fever as well. He believes that the mixture ofsubstances to which he has applied the name of entericin,produces similar actions to those of the tincture, but probablywith a smaller constipating effect. He does not think thateither the tincture or entericin produces any effect in cuttingshort the course of the fever when administered between theseventh and seventeenth days of the disease, although he isof opinion that if they be given before the development ofWidal’s reaction they may do so. Between the seventh andseventeenth days they may in some cases produce abdominalpain, and blood in the motions, and Mr. Maberly there-fore does not recommend the continuous administration ofthe drug within that period. He admits that the evidencehe has is not sufficient to permit of any definite conclusions

as to whether the tincture or any of its separate constituentsis the more efficacious. It would seem possible that inMonsonia biflora we possess an agent which is worthy of moreextended investigation and trial, both from the pharmaceuticaland therapeutic aspects.

-

A SURVEY OF THE PRESENT POSITION OFCANCER RESEARCH.

AT a well-attended conversazione held at the Polyclinicon the evening of Dec. 10th the chief feature was a brief butextremely interesting demonstration by Dr. E. F. Bashfordon some aspects of the investigations of the Imperial CancerResearch, illustrated by lantern slides chiefly representingmice affected with experimental cancer of various organs.Having illustrated the similarities of the disease in un-

civilised races of mankind and in animals, Dr. Bashfordexhibited slides showing the completeness with which thelesions of cancer could be reproduced experimentally.While the conveyance of cancer from one animal to another

by implanting a few living cancer cells might appear atfirst to demonstrate the reason for the great frequency ofthe disease, he held that facts proved that cancer

was very rarely if ever so transmitted naturally. Subjectsof cancer, whether naturally arising or artificially induced,were not sources of danger to other animals. The

phenomena of resistance to the inoculation of cancer were

explained. A sarcoma of a cat or mouse inoculated into

rats would not grow in them, nor did such vaccinations" "

.

protect the rats against subsequent inoculation of a ratsarcoma. Protection, on the other hand, could be inducedby the ’’ vaccination " of tumours as well as of the normaltissues of the same species, and even by the vaccination" "

of an individual’s own tissues. Animals could cure them-selves of their tumours. Under given circumstances even100 per cent. of the inoculated animals did so, and then

they were protected against later inoculation of the sametumour. Experiment had demonstrated that a naturalcure for cancer did exist, and had already placedin the hands of investigators weapons for ferreting out

the nature of its mechanism. Although Dr. Bashford saidhe would only guarantee at present to protect any animalagainst inoculation, the evidence that the continued growthof inoculated tumours had been modified, and even brought