the State Medical Society was full as thorough and rigid as it was before the Professors of the Medical College. In fact, I was cognizant of an instance when the State Censors rejected a student, who on appeal to the Medical College, passed and graduated. The law at present, allowing any one to practice medicine in this State, is wrong, and should be amended or repealed. There is no protection for the public against gross imposition. Strangers, sojourneying in our state, from other States, where the law provides against such imposition, requiring a guarantee of his qualifications before he is allowed to practice, are not aware of the liberty the State of New York gives to such a fraud, until it is too late to remedy the evil. On the 1st of March, 1823, I commenced the practice of medicine and surgery in partnership with my brother, the late Barent P. Staats in this city. At that time, the only hospital there was in this city was the alms-house, where all subjects in destitution were cared for, and at that time the Erie canal was in course of construction, and it, too, contributed largely in supplying that institution with patients, This necessarily furnished a large field for the practice of medicine and surgery, and as my brother, who held the appointment of County Physician (there were no City Physicians at that time), so that all came under the charge and care of the County Physician, and as I was the junior partner, I had to take charge of the medical and surgical department of that institution, which gave me a good opportunity to attend to an extensive practice. In fact, I soon became familiar with almost every disease, and soon became self-reliant; for in cases of emergency there could be no delay, and the only course was to take the responsibility and discharge my duty, which 1 faithfully endeavored to. Our medical profession ther consisted of the following gentlemen, viz.: Elias Willard, William Bay, Jonathan Eights, Charles D. Townsend, Platt Williams, Joel A. Wing, Peter Wendell, James McNaughton, Barent P. Staats, John James, Alden March, Peter Van Olinda, S. Treat, and some younger, who I do not now remember; gentlemen who gave their time and services to the profession, and were ornaments to it; who were governed in their judgments by experience in practice, and were not carried away by romance or sophistry in theory. It is true that great advancement has been made in our profession during the last fifty years, but it is also true that if a more rigid scrutiny had been observed by our profession and the press to weed out many errors which now are allowed to occupy a place they do not deserve, by the indorsement of our societies, without a thorough investigation of their merits, the professional standard would have attained a more enviable position than it even now does. I did not become a member of this Society until the law of the State, in 1828, made it incumbant upon all practitioners to join the Society, for the reason that occasionally then, as since, some personal feelings would be carried into the Society meetings, which would produce discord in the Society, and unpleasant feelings among its members would be the result; and, as I am no advocate for such a course, I preferred to remain an outsider rather than partake in any of those discords; consequently, my advancement to the honors of the Society have not been so rapid as many others my juniors; still, I have received all the honors I desire, and it has been through the courtesy of the Society, without ever making myself a candidate for any office in the Society. I have had the degree of M. D. conferred upon me by the State Medical Society. I have been elected a delegate from this to the State Medical Society. I was elected unanimously President of this Society, and at the expiration of my term, four years as a delegate from this Society. I was elected a permanent member of the State Medical Society, and now last, though not least, I am complimented by having my fiftieth anniversary of medical practice celebrated by this Society. Gentlemen, I have had opportunity to witness the different theories of pathology from the first solids, second fluids, and third and last, now the celis, as the exciting cause of all abnormal difficulties. I think there is more advantage gained for the patient to have a correct diagnosis made by his physician, and suitable therapeutic remedies administered, than to wait a post mortem development to decide the pathology of his disease. Dr. B. B. FREDENBURGH, also reponded, as follows: Mr. President-It affords me much pleasure to meet you here this evening. Poor health should have excused my presence, but having more friends than I was aware of I could not decline so many invitations. You have conferred this honor upon me which I fully appreciate, and for which I tender you my thanks. The most of you I have not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with, not having met with the society recently. The senior portion who I have met here have passed away and entered upon their rest, which forcibly reminds us that we too are mortal. I congratulate you on the success of the society, and hope that it may continue to prosper, and that you may each live to be the recipients of this honor, and so live, that when that inevitable hour arrives, you may look back upon duty well performed, upon temptations to achieve success by questionable means, firmly resisted, and Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach the grave At the close of the entertainment provided for the occasion, Dr. Staats offered the following sentiment, "The Young Men of the Profession," and called upon Dr. QUACKENBUSH to respond who, after making a few introductory remarks, recited an original poem of some length, which was received with applause. Other toasts and responses were then made and at ten o'clock the assemblage dispersed. -:0: Correspondence. Fractures of the Cervix Femoris. MR. EDITOR:-Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal. A Correspondence in the Boston Medical Journal, Sept. 18th, 1873, signed "Rusticus," reminds me of corroborating facts which may be worth noting, The writer referred to, in speaking on the subject of splints for fractures says: "I remember that my old master used to tell us that Sir Astley Cooper said that if he should have a fracture of the cervix femoris, he would have his leg put on a pillow, in the most comfortable position possible, and after the lapse of a few weeks, would get up and go about, as well as he could with a crutch." During a practice of about thirty years, I have treated in this manner substantially six cases of this fracture, and all of them successfully, so that, with a shortening of from 2 to 4 inches, the patients were able to walk very comfortably: The difference in length being made up by a cork sole or some similar contrivance. At the solicitation of friends, or counciling Surgeons, I have treated two cases with cord, pulley and weight, and, so far as my experience goes, old people bear such restraining appliances badly, causing an unfavorable reaction upon the repairative process. Indeed all things being equal, I much prefer the treatment, especially for old people, recommended by Sir Astley Cooper and some others. Of course, nothing new is presented in this very brief communication except that greater confidence in this plan of treatment may be imparted by the naked statement of facts as above made. The restraints of adhesive plasters, with cord, pulley and weights, are much less than with the older treatment by means of splints, and hence much more tolerable. Moreover the arrangement of pulley and weights approximates that of the simpler treatment with pillows, &c., nevertheless, the smallest restraints may fret the patient, and militate against success, and if we learn from our own experience and the testimony of others, that good results are apt to follow the trusting of the fracture to time and nature, we shall be more prompt in resorting to such a course. In concluding, I may relate one interesting case and rather remarkable in the fact that eight years after recovering from a fracture on one side, and using very comfortably, a cork sole 34 inches thick, and walking a mile to churh, she fell over a carpet and fractured the other femur in the same place. She recovered with the same simple treatment, and now both legs are of the same length and she walks as well as before. This lady is now 76 years of age; the last fracture was two years ago. Yours Truly, CRESCENT, N. Y., October 24, 1873. SAM'L PETERS, M. D. MISCELLANEOUS. A New Hypodermic Syringe. BY EPHRAIM CUTTER, M. D., WOBURN, MASS. Although hypodermie medication has not superseded the gastric, still, for its efficiency, promptness, and energy, it ranks as one of the great advances in modern medicine. It is apprehended that with the mass of the profession it is employed mainly when medication by the stomach fails, and in urgent cases only. Be this as it may, in my own experience I have found that whenever I desired and most needed my hypodermic syringe, it was generally left at home, because the bulk of the box containing it (small as it is) was still found to be cumbersome. This being the case, the writer has sought to contrive a form of syringe which should be so compact as to be carried in the pocket-case of medicines, and occupy the space usually allotted to a phial. The accompanying figures represent in full size the result of this endeavor. One cut shows the outline of the full-sized instrument, closed. Dotted lines represent the internal arrangement. The other figure illustrates the same with syringe filled, piston drawn out and needle attached. The third figure is a representation of the cap that covers the needle to protect it from harm. The points in which this syringe differs from the ordinary ones are: SHEPARD-DUGLEV.N.V (a.) Closure of the distal end of the cylinder. This makes the syringe a cul-de-sac. The circulation of the air is quite different from that in the cylinder of the ordinary syringe. Instead of the air drying the leather of the piston on both sides, it only dries on one side-thus reducing the chances of drying fifty per cent. Practically this syringe has kept in good order for months continually, when the ordinary syringe would be loose and dry. The drop of moistare confined in the cul-de-sac behind the piston has no connection with the air except through the piston; hence it evaporates slowly. Another reason for closing the distal end of the syringe was to keep out dirt and foreign substances. (b.) Making the piston and its head hollow throughout, and having a male screw and milled head on the proximal end. By these means a communication is effected with the cavity of the syringe. (c.) Having the needle attached to the proximal end of the piston. This latter arrangement is the feature which is novel and |