tissues of the nose is slight; the odor disappeared in a few days; the child so far has made a rapid recovery. A Warning. J. E. M. Castration of Criminals. The following is the conclusion of an enthusiastic socialist who proposes castration as a means of limiting crime. The effect of this kind of punishment would be four-fold: 1. No offspring with an inherited tendency to commit crime. 2. An added terror to the punishment inflicted for breaking the laws. 3. A gradual improvement, in time, of the "The Times and Register tells of a young physician who was called to see a man who had swallowed the metal plate to which were attached his third set of teeth. The doctor saw here a chance of bringing at least one of the cardinal branches of medicine into play-morals of the public at large. that of chemistry. Sulphuric acid will eat up 4. An improvement in the disposition of metal. He accordingly ordered a tablespoon- the persons operated upon.-Eclectic Medical ful of this acid to be given for the purpose of Journal. dissolving the plate. An unsympathetic jury Should this be applied to confirmed crimdecided that about seven years spent in com-inals, the enthusiasm would be practical. As parative seclusion would probably increase the law in Kansas now is, it matters not how this young man's knowledge of applied chem- heinous the crime nor how degraded the crimistry, and might, also, materially advance him inal, he is sure of a good home and special as a therapeutist. The case just mentioned, care when he is found out in his crime. though true, is an extreme one, yet it illus- Wherever capital punishment is enforced, the trates the fact that a man presumably of or- criminal, as a rule, goes direct to his reward— dinary intelligence, may have his mind so Heaven? J. E. M. fixed on one notion, that he completely forgets the collaterals. "In no other profession, probably, is it of so much importance to look at a question from every point of view, as it is in the medical profession. The medical man handles that which may give life or death, and as the more potent drugs are double edged tools, par excellence, it behooves him, while intently cutting in one direction with the chosen edge, to be careful that the other, which is just as sharp, does not incise some vital structure." THE Medical Society of the Missouri Valley meets in St. Joseph, Mo., March 20, 1890. Kansas is in the Missouri Valley, and our attention has been called to the prominent position she occupied at the last meeting of this society at Sioux City, by her absence-reminding us of what a minister said about us in a one-sided church fight, "that we ought to be churched for our masterly inactivity." Let this inactivity not be our principal characteristic at St. Joseph in March. IODIDE OF POTASSIUM is having a run as a heart stimulant. Report of a Case of Malarial Keratitis. Mrs. D, aged 46, American, married, called on me November 8, 1889, for treatment. She was suffering with keratitis of two weeks' duration. The upper and inner quadrant of the cornea showed a circumscribed interstitial keratitis, while the outer and lower quadrant was studded with phlyctenulæ. There was a small ulcer on the inner segment and general chemosis. There was photophobia and lachrymation; the pupil responded to light slowly; the vision was blurred, and there was some supraorbital neuralgia. She was anæmic, but said she enjoyed her usual health. Her appetite was good, and she was able to do her housework, although the eye pained her at times and she could not see well with it. As a tonic she was given R. Quiniæ Sulphatis. Ferri Citratis, M. Ft. Capsulæ, Sig. eye, aa3ss. No. xx. One after meals. As a lotion for the M. Sig. Two drops in the eye every four hours, after bathing the eye for from 10 to 15 minutes with as hot water as could be endured. First having dilated the pupil while she was in the office, a small quantity of the mild chloride of mercury (C.P.) was dusted on the cornea. It also impressed an oft-repeated lesson on my mind, and that is to always consider a patient sick who has a sore eye, until it is proved to the contrary by a careful examination. J. E. M. Republican Valley Medical Society. The annual meeting of the Republican Valley Medical Society will be held in the office of Dr. Letourneau, Concordia, Kansas, Thursday, April 3, 1890, at 11 o'clock, a. m. " PROGRAMME. Annual Address of President. Pneumonia," "Hemorrhoids," I.. R. White, Scandia, Kan. A. Letourneau, Concordia, Kan. .J. A. Jeannotte, Clyde, Kan. For the first two days the eye improved, but on the third day it was worse. The calomel was omitted, believing that it irritated the eye too much. But the eye grew worse; vision was reduced to counting fingers; the keratitis was becoming profound; the epithelial layer necrosed extensively; the supra- "Report of Cases in Practice," . . C. S. Bigelow, Ames, Kan. orbital pain increased, as did also the chemosis and intra-ocular tension. On the evening of the sixth day she broke down completely, saying the pain in her eye would craze her. I thought probably that the atropine was irritating the conjunctiva, and concluded to try duboisine, and give antipyrin for the neuralgia; but before prescribing these concluded to examine her constitutional condition, when, to my surprise, her temperature was 103° and her pulse 108, and for the first time learned that there was periodicity in the eye symp toms. Believing the trouble was malarial the eye treatment was stopped, except the use of a It is expected that Dr. Grant Cullimore, of J. H. BRIERLEY, President, W. F. SAWHILL, Sec., Concordia, Kans. secretary. The program is on page 363 of the February number of the Journal. THE N. E. K. M. Society, which will be mild cocaine ointment (gr. I to I of vaseline), held in Holton March 4, promises to be a and she was given twelve grains of quinine good meeting. The session opens at 10 a. m. instanter, and six grains every two hours un-Joseph Haigh is president, and L. Reynolds til twenty-four grains were taken. She had a fairly good night's rest but was much weaker next day. Six grains of quinine were taken every four hours until the third day, before there was marked cinchonism. Three sixgrain doses were given for two days, then twice a day for three days' more, when its use was discontinued. The eye improved from the time the quinine begun to affect the system, and got well by its continued use. We have had other cases of malarial affection of the eye; at least we have so diagnosed, and treated them with favorable results, but this one in particular is mentioned from its deceiving us so completely. One mistake made in this case was in treating the eye locally, forgetting that it was a part of the body, and that often a local symp tom is only an expression of a constitutional disturbance. DR. LUCAS' paper, on page 344, should read cosmoline with 5 per cent. instead of 50 per cent. of carbolic acid. Second line from bottom of page 342 should read whose flesh instead of where flesh. ONE of the best local applications for swelled testicle is a poultice composed of one part of tobacco to four of linseed meal. The meal furnishes heat and moisture, while the tobacco usually relieves the pain in a short time. This same poultice is very soothing when applied over the pubes in cystitis. Dr. D. C. JONES was called to Junction City professionally during February. Dr. C. H. GUIBOR, our genial rhinologist and laryngologist, has had a serious sickness caused by gallstones. THE presence of the catamenial flow, is regarded by some as a positive contraindication to the use of antipyrin. A DEATH under chloroform used as an anæsthetic is reported during an operation in the Cincinnati hospital. THE KANSAS MEDICAL JOURNAL gets three marks in its January number in the Philadelphia Times and Register. BORACIC ACID cannot be used ad libitum it appears; several cases of poisoning, it is said, have resulted from its use in surgery. DR. WALL, Dr. Hogeboom's son-in-law, has located at 521 Kansas avenue, and will confine his practice to ophthalmology and otology. DR. D. R. PELTON of Wahoo, Neb., has removed to Topeka, and located his office at 730 Kansas avenue. His residence is 1283 Lane street. Dr. A. H. Boyd of Idana, Kansas, was a capital visitor in February. He is one of the promising young physicians of the Sunflower State. DRS. JONES and Hibben of this city have formed a partnership and have their office over Stevenson & Peckham's dry good store, No. 717 Kansas avenue. DR. M. H. CAZIER has returned from New York, where he has been attending the policlinic. He will continue the practice of medicine in his adopted State. DR W. H. THOMSON of New York, regards the coal tar series of antipyretics as depressent and has ceased prescribing them in the hyperpyrexia of typhoid fever. THE Emperor of Germany is again having trouble with his ear, chronic suppurative otitis media. If he would attend some pauper clinic in America he would be cured.. If he is able to pay his way and will come to Topeka we will treat him for a fee. Why such temporizing. WE are pleased to note the increasing interest in the City Medical Society. Short, pointed papers, with reports of cases and pathologi cal specimens make the meeting interesting and profitable. DR. WETMORE, Park Davis' traveling man, (one of twelve,) is missionating in Topeka and the State of Kansas now, and like the firm's goods is received by all kindly and profitably, as he and they deserve. DR. L. Y. GRUBB, of Topeka has been wintering in San Diego, and reports a decided improvement in his general health. He is pleased with the coast climate but will return to Topeka in the late spring. THE McDowell alluded to in the JOURNAL last month as the pioneer in ovariotomy was not the St. Louis McDowell, as we remarked. The pioneer McDowell in ovariotomy was Ephraim McDowell of Kentucky. THE Surgeon in chief of the Rock Island railroad says: "the surgeon of that road at Topeka, Dr. Reid Alexander, is giving entire satisfaction." The above is unsolicited and without charge. DR. CANNON of Smith Center, was a capital visitor last month. He congratulated the JOURNAL, and as a proof of his sincerity deposited two stove-lid dollars towards its subsistence, promising to give some mental food in the near future. HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS Due.Drs. Munn, McGuire and Williamson, city health board, deserve credit for their thorough work in preventing the spread of contagious diseases, notwithstanding the lack of co-operation of the city fathers. DR. THOMPSON, of Kansas City, said that Dr. Fulton of that place recently removed a cystic tumor containing 30 gallons of fluid from a lady-but finally admitted that it might have been 9 gallons-(sequel we think,)—Dr. T. had been in Kansas 9 hours on pure water. DR. W. S. STEWART in Jour. Am. Med. Asso., says before applying the forceps be sure of the existence of the following conditions: Ist, that the membranes are ruptured. 2nd, that there is complete dilatation of the os and retraction of the cervix. 3rd, knowledge of the position of the presenting parts. 4th, empti ness of the bladder and bowel. ANTIPYRIN IN LABOR.-Ed. in the London Medical Recorder-Strong testimony to the value of antipyrin in mitigating the pains of labor is borne by Prof. Paolo Negri, director of the Obstetrical Clinique at Venice. He says that his experience, based on a very large number of cases, enables him to affirm positively, 1st, that antipyrin used during parturition has never in his hands produced any ill effect whatever. 2nd, that in the majority of cases it was of great use, so much so that in his clinic antipyrin has now for several months past replaced every other drug ordinarily employed to relieve the pain of uterine contraction during labor. “A CASE OF POISONING FROM ANTIPYRIN. -Panschinger reports (Centbl fur Gyn,) a case of poisoning by antipyrin in which a new symptom was observed viz: profuse diarrhoea which set in a few hours after the last dose taken. In all five grains were taken, one every hour. Aside from the diarrhoea the principal symptom was the usual collapse. The patient recovered in ten days. The medicine was obtained from an apothecary without a prescription." We venture the above was a mistaken diagnosis. It sounds more like the druggist had given a dose of shittim wood. Can't crowd such symptoms down a western doctor for antipyrin poisoning-Eds. would be pleased to have reports from sanitarians other than health officers also. ORDERS have been given the Prussian army surgeons to measure the chests of recruits every four weeks. All are to be regarded as narrow chested, the circumference of whose chests is less than half the length of their bodies. Narrow chested men whose chests are not widened by drill are to be regarded as predisposed to tuberculosis, and to be discharged as soon as possible lest they infect healthy soldiers. The last case of murder under the "Christian Science Treatment" has aroused so much indignation in Massachusetts, that stringent legislation will be brought to bear to extirpate what is, without question, one of the most pernicious frauds and delusions that a community has ever been cursed with.-Buffalo Com. Ad. THE ides of March will witness, we hope, the return to Topeka of the, to be Drs. Bradley and Magee. The former Dr. Munn's and the latter Dr. Minney's student. Dr. Bradley will go into general practice with Dr. Munn, and Dr. Magee will confine his practice to the eye and ear with Dr. Minney. DR. HORACE P. PORTER, Surgeon general of the G. A. R., has removed to Foster, Mo. We congratulate the profession in Missouri on this addition to their ranks, and the people of Foster in particular. The doctor is still at the Our loss is Misfront as he was in war times. souri's gain. A PERMANENT emulsion of cod liver oil is FORCEPS AND THE AFTER-COMING HEAD. made by taking equal parts of lime water and -Wm. Goodell, M. D., in Med. Era.-The the oil. Add a small quantity of wintergreen forceps is the only proper aid in the expulsion to flavor, or oil of almond. It will agree in of the after-coming head. The fingers in the many instances with a delicate stomach that will not tolerate the pure oil. fœtal mouth are useless, and there is danger of breaking the jaw. The body of the child DEATH UNDER ETHER.-At Bellevue hosshould always be held away so that the for-pital a death under ether used as an anæstheceps can be applied to the sides of the head, the handles being on the anterior aspect of the child's body. tic, recently took place during an operation for abscess in the neck. At the autopsy the kidneys were found to be diseased through cystic degeneration.-American Prac. and News. J. W. REDDEN, M. D., Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Health, is collecting reports from the health officers of the various coun- To stop the secretion of milk, dissolve oneties throughout the State. He hopes to have half ounce of camphor in twelve ounces of the report published by the last of March. He turpentine, and apply to the breasts. ance. Our New York Letter. BY M. H. CAZIER, M. D. death from ether when the patient was the subject of renal disease, and urged that in all cases the surgeon should decide according to individual characteristics and symptoms which anæsthetic was to be used as being less dangerous in a given case, admitting that while ether is more troublesome and more tedious it is less dangerous, except in cases of renal disease, and then it must give place to chlo roform. cuts at once. need be feared. NEW YORK, February 5, 1890. Concerning the bacillus tuberculosis, the polyclinic professors are somewhat at variOne urges that it is a valuable aid in diagnosis, and that every physician should be prepared to use the microscope, and to detect this, the great destroyer, early in the disease. Prof. Wyeth, in the use of cocaine anæsHe urges that the process of preparing the thesia, injects four per cent. solution between plates, staining, &c., are very simple, so sim- epidermis and true skin, two to four minims ple that abroad the janitors of the buildings every half-inch along the line of incision and in which the work is conducted, become proIf seat of operation is an exficient in the art. How much easier, there-tremity, a firm ligature is applied above, susfore, for educated physicians to become expending circulation, thus holding the cocaine at perts in the matter. Another in the same de- desired points. He does not hesitate to inject partment urges that the bacillus tuberculosis 20 minims of 4 per cent. solution if necessary, is of no practical value in diagnosis, urging and under proper precautions no ill effects that of the three varieties of phthisis but one is tubercular, and consequently but one variety has the germ, and that it is not found in sputa until softening begins; and, consequently, if found, is but confirmatory of a diagnosis, which the true physician must have made in advance, and if not found is only negative evidence, because catarrhal or fibroid phthisis do not have the bacillus; and further, he urges that the work of preparing plates and working through the process to discover the germ, is an exceedingly delicate and difficult procedure; and that no man in general practice can afford to take the time to do the work. So you see we get the law laid down, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a great deal. "You pay your money, &c." IN the Journal of the American Medical Association, W. E. Carlleberry speaks of the method of feeding in cases of intubation of the larynx by position, head downwards on an inclined plain, inclined dorsal decubitus at an angle of about 20°, is suitable in most cases. A little fluid will gravitate into the naso pharynx whence it may be expelled by causing the child to swallow three or four times before the erect The author reports position is resumed. great improvement in results since he has resorted to this method of feeding, and the elimination of one source of danger after intubation, viz: the entrance of food material into the lungs. It is claimed that the sense of taste in crim inals is manifestly weak, relatively to that of ordinary individuals. Female criminals have the sense of taste still more obtuse than men of the same category. The author concludes from the remarks that this diminution in the sense of taste in criminals depends on a defect in the cerebral cortex. Concerning the matter of anaesthetics, the professors of New York are not exactly agreed. Ether is very much in favor, and has been used by the majority to the entire exclusion of chloroform. One prominent surgeon lately declared in the Academy of Medicine, that any one using chloroform as an anesthetic at the present day was a criminal. To which Prof. Gerster replied, that with the Professors of the continent of Europe and the great ma- ANTIPYRIN has been used for incontinence jority of the United States as his companions of urine where belladonna and bromides had in crime, he felt very comfortable. He called failed. Twenty grains given two hours apart especial attention to a number of cases of before bed hour is the minimum dose. |