dues, were opposed by Drs. Sherman, Foss and others, and were voted down. Adverse action was also taken upon the project to found a scholarship in Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. W. P. Roberts exhibited a full line of cupping instruments, and explained their successful use in a wide range of cases treated by him. Dr. W. H. White showed rheostat with the most recent improvements for controlling the electric current. A committee upon the President's address, consisting of Drs. Whittier, Tobey and Allen recommended the adoption of its suggestions, viz.: The executive committee shall appoint a bureau for each meeting, which shall have entire charge of the discussions. The subjects shall be a single disease or class of diseases, being restricted to those contemplated in the organization of this Society. Dr. W. H. White presented a paper upon the "Electrical Treatment of Uterine Disease," including observations recently made in person at the electrical cliniques of Paris and Vienna. The best results are obtained from cells and batteries of the largest size. Vetter's dry Leclanché batteries were recommended as among the best of that type. Use great caution at the first treatment to not cause alarm or pain to the patient. Do not employ at first trial a current of more than ten milliamperes. Repetition permits an increase, fatigue compels a decrease, of electrical dosage. "Cystotomy," by Dr. J. W. Hayward, presented the report of an interesting and difficult case of vesical calculus relieved by the median perineal operation. He advised in all cases of doubtful diagnosis, a thorough examination under ether. In a discussion participated in by Drs. Boothby, Roberts, Lougee, Morse and others, great stress was laid upon the difficulty of diagnosis. The paper of Dr. W. B. Perkins upon "The Relation of Gynæcology to Insanity " expressed the opinion that too little attention was paid to the general condition of the insane. No physician should be eligible to the position of superintendent of an insane hospital, who had not been in general practice ten years, having a reasonable amount of experience in operative gynæcology. Dr. F. C. Richardson in his paper on "Phantom Tumor" alluded to the paucity of literature on the subject. These curious swellings are found most frequently in nervous or hysterical patients. Complete anæsthesia was necessary for a satisfactory diagnosis. Dr. Boothby questioned the existence of such tumors, thinking the characterization a misnomer. Dr. Hayward mentioned a case in which the eminent surgeon Dr. Kimball, of Lowell, was called in consultation. The several physi cians present, after deliberation, agreed in the diagnosis of abdominal tumor. Every preparation was made for laparotomy, when to the surprise of all, the tumor completely disappeared under etherization. Dr. Southwick referred to the difficulty of differentiating foetal movements from the irregular contractions of abdominal muscles, notably the rectus. Dr. F. W. Elliott read a paper upon "The Use of Electrolysis in the Removal of Superfluous Hairs and Other Facial Blemishes," describing the operation at length and citing a series of successful cases. Dr. Powers emphasized the importance of always employing the negative electrode in operations upon the face. Dr. A. H. Powers made some remarks upon "Tendon and Nerve Suturing." An excellent collation was served by "mine good host" Goodwin, plates being laid for fifty. Adjournment at 9.30, after a session largely attended and of unusual interest. L. A. PHILLIPS, M.D., Secretary. HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY Of westeRN MASSACHUSETTS. The regular quarterly meeting of the Society was held at Cooley's Hotel, Springfield, Dec. 16, 1891. Meeting was called to order at II A.M. by the President, Dr. J. P. Rand, of Worces The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved, after which the regular business was transacted. The Bureau of Surgery and Zymotic Diseases reported the following papers: "The Local Treatment of Wounds," J. H. Carmichael, M.D.; "Anæsthesia," Horace Packard, M.D.; "Surgical Cases," G. F. A. Spencer, M.D. On account of the enforced absence of the chairman, Dr. Spencer, the scientific session was presided over by President Rand. Dr. Carmichael read the first paper, upon dressing wounds. The doctor used the usual dressings with the addition of a preparation consisting of boracic acid, one drachm, glycerine and calendula, each one ounce, sterilized water, one pint. This solution may be used for fresh wounds, bruises, as a dressing for burns, or as a wash in cleansing abscesses. When it is used in wounds he seldom sees suppuration as it prevents the entrance of bacteria. Drs. E. P. Colby and Horace Packard, of Boston, were present by invitation, and were now invited to take part in the discussion. Dr. Packard thought that absolute cleanliness was of more importance than the kind of dressing. Not only should the wound itself be kept clean, but everything about the wound; hands, dressings, instruments and ligatures. Dr. Colby spoke of the trouble he had formerly had in treating wounds of the scalp. He almost invariably used a wet dressing, usually a solution of calendula, and suppuration was a very common result. Erysipelas even was not rare. He now uses dry dressings, shaves and cleanses the scalp thoroughly, uses sutures at pleasure and rarely gets any pus. Dr. Dr. Packard was asked what was the proper treatment for wounds of the hand in woolen-mill operatives. The hand and forearm were usually covered with machine oil and wool and great difficulty was experienced in preventing suppuration. Packard said the patient must first be etherized. It would be impossible to thoroughly cleanse a wound without anæsthesia, as patients would not submit to the severe scrubbing necessary. The ordinary ligatures, sutures and dressings were then to be used, the secret of asepsis being thorough cleaning. The discussion then drifted to the relative value of different germicides. Dr. Colby thought it was sometimes difficult to get pure carbolic acid. The ordinary acid found in the shops contains cresylic acid which is not soluble. Calvert's No. 1, is the best and with it a perfect 5% solution can be made. Dr. Colby here made some very interesting remarks upon the preparation of silk-worm-gut. It is broken and strung out by the hands, and then fastened at the ends by pins and allowed to dry and harden in the sun. In drying it becomes very rough. It is then given to girls who run it through the teeth. until it becomes perfectly smooth. These girls are usually from the lowest classes and extremely filthy. During the process of smoothing, the lips become sore and bleed, thus making great possibilities of future contagion. After dinner Dr. Packard gave a very interesting lecture upon his new method of anesthesia. The old method has been for a long time very unsatisfactory, and the discovery of Dr. Packard promises to revolutionize the administration of ether. Briefly for the full account will soon be published the anæsthesia is produced by inhaling air after it has passed through a column of ether. Its two special advantages are the rapidity. of its action and the small amount of ether required. Complete surgical anesthesia has been produced with three drachms of ether, and an operation of over an hour's length by three and a half ounces. P. R. WATTS, M.D., Secretary. REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. :0: A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF WOMEN. By This substantial and in every sense weighty volume offers to the profession the united wisdom, so to say, of the old time and the new. All that made Thomas' "Diseases of Women" a classic and a household word among medical students, a quarter of a century or so ago, is retained in this, its sixth edition; and to it is added, by the new collaborator, many modern instances and modern theories. When the opinion of the original author chances to differ from that of his editor on a given point, both views are given, with appended initials to show for which view each writer is responsible; and the liberty of choice thus given is stimulating to the reader's thought and study. Dr. Mundé has added several entirely new chapters; as, for instance, on Electricity, Hermaphrodism, Diseases of the Urethra and Bladder, and Diseases of the Female Breast. The sections on the etiology of diseases of women are exceedingly full and uncommonly plain-spoken, and the wearers of the corset are dealt with in no measured terms. So graphic and uncompromising are the author's pictures of what evils follow fashionable dress, that one is lost in wonder, considering the universality of the sin, so many apparently escape its consequences. In all the difficulties treated of, the student is offered a wide choice of resources. The author's attitude is the most frankly scientific one imaginable; at moments, startlingly so; as in the concise statement that at his own request, he was allowed to be present during sexual intercourse between a hermaphrodite and his wife; and again—a fact stated without apparent consciousness that it could, in the reader, inspire other emotions than scientific interest, -the remark that in two cases of sterility submitted for treatment, “ we dilated the uterus, curetted for endometritis, and caused an intra-uterine stem to be worn for a number of months, under the impression that the canal was too narrow and too bent for conception; and we subsequently discovered that the husbands of our patients were entirely impotent." (!!) The book is a thoroughly up-to-date treatise, full, intelligent, and admirably written. The text is supplemented by the great number of 347 illustrations. The binding is durable and attractive. A TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY. LL.D., F.R.S. lian & Co. By M. Foster, M.A., M.D., Sixth edition. Part IV. London: Macmil The present volume concludes the issue of this finely gottenup edition of a popular and authoritative text-book, with the exception of the appendix, which is promised, as a separate and additional book, at an early date. The volume under consideration deals with Sight, Hearing, Taste and Smell, Special Muscular Mechanisms, Reproduction and Death. The work is in édition de luxe, with broad margins and print which is restful to tired eyes. There is no attempt at condensation, every subject being dealt with in full and minute detail. The chapters on Tactile Perceptions and on Color Sensations are especially fascinating reading. Foster has been so long in the front rank of authorities in his chosen field, that no new word can or need be said in praise of his accuracy, the catholicity of his knowledge, and his admirable English style. The work in its present form will enrich and dignify the library of any physician. INTERNATIONAL CLINICS. October, 1891. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. 372 pp. -- The quarterly issue of clinical lectures by well-known medical instructors and specialists has proved so popular a venture, that the substantially bound volumes of Lippincott's admirable series are now pleasantly expected, and sure of their welcome. The present book contains forty-two articles, by such well-known authorities as to cite but a few- Drs. Weir Mitchell, Henry G. Piffard, Francis Minot, J. A. Wyeth, J. M. De Costa, H. C. Wood, and others. They report and generalize upon a wide variety of cases. The paper on "Permanent Headaches," by Dr. Weir Mitchell, is of great interest, and the candor of the great neurologist is something to note and imitate, when he says, "the most enduring of this class of headaches remain for me to-day as complete puzzles as they were twenty years ago"; and again, "there is always an unknown quantity in our therapeutic equation." A suggestive hint is dropped by Dr. Mitchell, to the effect that even when eye-strain is the cause of chronic headaches, correcting the difficulty may not always result in cure of the headache; since "the mischief may have lasted long enough to leave in the brain-tissues some lasting result of the too protracted strain." Another interesting hint is that on hysterical headaches, curable by suggestion. Among other notably valuable papers are those on "The Examination of the Sputum for Tubercle Bacilli," by Dr. Percy Kidd, pathologist to the London Hospital, and "Adult Chorea," by F. X. |