PART II.

REVIEWS AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAI~ NOTICES.

R E C E N T W O R K S O N CL L~TA TOL 0 G Y.

1. The Ocean as a Health Resort : a Practical Ilandbook of the Sea, for the Use of Tourists and IJFealth-Seekers. By WILLIA~ S. WILSON, L.R.C.P., Lend., &c. Second Edition. London: J. & A. Churchill. 1881. Pp. 351.

2. ]u lr for Tropical Invalids in [ndla, at [-Tome, and Abroad. By W. J. MOORE, Dep.-Surg.-Gcn. tt . IVL Forces, Bombay. London : J. & A. Churchill. 1881. t)p. 195.

3. Monaco: the Beaut.g-Spot of the Riciera. By THO~[AS I[. PICKERINC,, M.K.Q.C.P.I., &c. London: The Fleet Printing Works. Dublin : William M'Gee. 1882. :Pp. 158.

4. The Climate of the Undercliff, Isle of Wight. By J. L. WHITEHEAD, M.D. London : J . & A. Churchill. 1881. 8vo. Pp. 46.

1. TUE fact that a second edition of Mr. Wilson's " Handbook of the Sea " has been called for within a year since the first edition appeared is a practical warrant of the commendation bestowed on it in this Journal last :November twelvemonths. We then spoke fully of the value and usefulness of the work, and we have since had personal testimony to the same effect from a gentleman to whom we recommended the book, and who has taken the voyage to Australia for the benefit of his health. Both as to its scientific value grid practical usefulness this second edition is an advance on the first. The specific action of the ocean climate upon the health is more fully considered, and statistics are furnished show- ing the influence of such a climate in the prevention and cure of pulmonary complaints. A chapter is also added givit~g an account of :New Zealand. and its climate. This colony, although one of the best in the world .~for those in good health, is not generally so well suited as regards its climate as that of Australia for invalids who are suffering from chest delicacy, Physicians who may prescribe a sea voyage for any of their patients, or who may

206 Reviews and Bibliog~'aphical Notices.

be consulted oa the advisability of such ~ voyage being ~m<lm'= taken, will obtain an ammmt of detailed information in this Handbook which will be of the greatest mutual benefit.

2. The main idea of Mr. Moore's work is to give " such cursory acconnts of tile sanitaria at home and abroad as will, if not always enat)ling the reader to determine on a suitable position, yet indicate that locality concerning which more information is desirable." These localities are considered under four h e a d s : - - I . Ilealth Resorts in India; II. Tropical Marlnc Sanitaria; I IL Health Resorts Abroad; and IV. Health Resorts at Home. Mr. l~oore is well known in India as the ~mthor of several standard works on tropical diseases and on ~he preservagou of he~li.h among Anglo- Indians. His writings are concise and eminently sensible; and from his long service in India and his wide experience of the conntry, he is justly entitled to speak with authority. The hill- stations in India are divided, sanitarily, by Mr. Moore into extra- tropical climates--viz., the tlimalayas arid intra-tropieal mountain climates. The principal requirement in India is, he says, to escape heat; therefore the value of Indian hill-ranges is limited to those conditions in which simply a cooler atmosphere may be expected to be beneficial. When there is specific disease, as of the liver, or bowels, or spleen, contracted in the tropics, a more radical change is necessary than a tropical monutaln climate. Mr. Moore incl- denta]ly asserts, contrary to the opinion of some writers, that the :Indian climate, solely from the exposure to prolonged heat which it entails, is inimical to th e European constitution. Having described in alphabetical order, in Chapter I , the Indian Hill-stations, their geological formation, climate, amusements, mode of access, suita- bility or otherwise for varioua conditions, &c., he dismisses in a few words, in Chapter II., tropical marine sanitaria as being unsuitable as health resorts. The importance of a tropical invalid and his physician taking carefully into consideration the particular climate suited to each individual case, and not being misled into the tee common belief that a change "home " to the cold climate of Great ]~r~ta~n ~s all that is necessary, is w~ll insisted on. Mr. Moore recognises six types of tropical invalids, and points out the different health resorts, in his opinion, suitable to each of these classes, the object to be kept in view in the treatment of each being different. This is a portion of the work which physicians in this kingdom who may have tropical invalids under their care will

Receltt Works on Climatology. 207

find it advantageous to consult; for although the descriptions which are given of each of the numerous health resorts at home and abroad arc necessarily condensed, they afford just the kind of information a physician having charge of such patients would require. As regards Ireland, it is stated that " probably Queens- town and Kingstown are the only places where a tropical invalid should stay," and a fair description is given of the former resort.

~ " How (~len~arlff, not to mention other suitable health resorts in this country, could have been omitted from such an otherwise full list of sanitaria is a matter of surprise and regret.

3. Monaco is a locality more generally looked upon by the stay- at-home public as a kind of moral plague-spot in the Riviera rather than its beauty-spot ; yet no one can have visited it ill the season without having been struck by the charm of its situation and the wealth of its climatic advantages, i t is only, however, within a very few years that the latter have been properly recognised, and this to a great extent has coincided with tile growth of this favoured spot, especially in the district of La Condainine, owing to the increasing number of health and pleasure seekers that now pass aa " ideal" winter there. Dr. Pickering, who writes, as we know, from a lengthened personal experience and study of winter health resorts, gives tile pahn to Monaco over all other stations of the Riviera. " The air," he says, " is drier, more fresh, and exhilarat- ing than at any other health resort on the Riviera, at tile same time it is as warm and equable as the eastern bay of Mentone." The principality is also completely surrounded on tile land side by mountains, and is therefore free from those frequent gusts of wind which are so objectionable in tile neighbouring maritime towns. In all cases of consumption in which the disease is attended with symptoms of nervous excitability or irritation, Monaco and the Riviera climate generally is contra-indicated, and the sedative balsamic climate of Arcachon is to be preferred. But the great majority of cases of this disease, according to Dr. Piekering, do well at Monte Carlo, and we quite agree with him that the various amusements and surroundings of tim place, and which Dr. t)icker~ ing so pleasantly and well describes--always apart from those of the tapis vert itself---have much to do in promoting the well-being of the patient by diverting his thought frbm himself, and thus encouraging him to throw off that depression which invalids always in each other's society so often suffer from. We would strongly

208 Reviews and Biblioyraphical Notices.

recommend the pcrusal of Dr. Pickering's little work to all interested in or visiting the Riviera--as, quite apart from its medical value, it contains a large amount of most interesting and well-written historical and local information.

4. The object of Dr. Whitehead's paper, which was written originally to be read in the Public Health Section of the British Medical Association, at the Ryde meeting in August last, is to publish a number of important statistics, compiled from meteorolo- gical observations taken by the late Dr. Martin, of Ventnor, and his brother, Mr. Martin, M.R.C.S. We learn from Dr. White- bead's remarks, introductory to a series of thirty-four elaborate tables, that the meteorological observations extend over an unbroken space of forty years- -namely , from 1840 to 1879 inclusive. They were commenced by the late Dr. Martin soon after his arrival at Ventuor, and his attention was the more especially directed to such observations, as he was at that time engaged, on behalf of his friend the late Sir James Clark, in calculating and arrauglng for him the tables which were subse- quently published in his well-known work upon Climate.

The Undercliff of the Isle of Wight extends from Bonchurch to Blackgang, a distance of between six and seven miles, with an average breadth of a third of a mile. I t has been formed by the subsidence of the land, at some remote period, from the Uppercliff, which rises between 400 and 500 feet above the level of the sea, and backs it, for the most part, as with a wall. In its descent the laud has fallen into natural terraces, ,which face the sea and front nearly due south. The consequence,of such an an'angelnent, with its insular position, has doubtless a marked influeuce with regard to its climate, obtaining for it a mildness during the winter, as also coolness during the summer, which it otherwise would not possess, the.slanting and terraced comtition of tile land enabling the sun's rays to fall more directly on the surface than they otherwise could do during the winter; while the shade of the upper cliffs affords protection from the dwelling rays of a summer's afternoon, and with the aid of a sea breeze shutting out the hot north summer winds renders theatmosphere comparatively cool and pleasant during the warmest periods of the year, the result being a mild climate during the winter and equally cool climate during the summer. In proof of the foregoing observations i~ is only necessary to point to the great equability of its temperature, as evidenced by the meteorolo-

Bc~RDoN-S2L'~DERSON--Practical Exercises in Pltyslology. 209

gical observations carried over the very long period before alluded to. Sudden transitions from great heat to cold and extensive range of temperature may be said to be unknown. The soil of the Undercliff is dry, being for the most part composed of chalk with the upper green sandstone intermingled at wtrious points with the gault, but the whole mass is much disrupted and broken up. The result is, that tile surface soon dries after rain. The Undercliff is full of springs of the purest water, and the water supply afforded to the town of Ventnor and its immediate neighbourhood by the water company has every advantage of not only a pure but also a superabundant source. The prevailing winds are westerly, and, taking tile period of forty years, the northerly and easterly winds as compared with southerly and westerly are 3,934 to 8,584.

As regards the sanitary condition of the town of Ventnor, Dr. Whitehead informs us that in 1880 the main drainage was thoroughly examined, defects were permanently remedied, and, where necessary, a new sewer was laid down; a house-to-house inspection by the medical officer and inspector of nuisances was carried out, and a record kept of each house, compulsory action being taken to compel as far as possible proper communication with the main sewers. Certificates as to the satisfactory condition of each house were offered by the board on the payment of a small ~'ee. The water suiTly as obtained from the company was also entered into, proper connexions were made, and a constant instead of an intermittent supply was insisted on. Existing wells were like- wise also examined, and tile water obtained from them was forwarded for analysis to the public analyst, and where suspicious tile wells were closed. The result of the action so taken was soon evident from the absence of those evils usually attributed to the influence of sewer gas, and the town, as far as sanitary arrangements are con- ccrned, may be safely said to be placed on a most satisfactory footing.

A recent visit to the Undercliff led us to take a special interest in Dr. Whitchead's interesting little work, and we earnestly recommend it to all physicians who wish to give their l)atieuts the benefit of a residence in a sea climate probably unsurpassed in the treatment of puhnonary diseases.

I~ractical F, xercises in Physiolog.y. By J. BU~DON-SA~'D~I~SO~, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. London: It. K. Lewis. 1882. Pp. 75.

Tins small volume is intended to serve as a guide to the practical courses which are given in the physiological department of University

P

210 Reviews and Bibliographical Notices.

College. I t is divided into four parts, of which the first consists of exercises on the properties of muscle and nerve, the second contains a number of miscellaneous demonstrations, while the third and fourth are devoted mainly to physiological chcmlstry.

The first part begins with the apparatus necessary for make- and-break shocks and muscle-nerve preparations. Then follow the phenomena of contraction curves, and experiments relating to electrotonus. The nervous mechanism of the frog's heart, the reflex functions of the cord, sensation and perception, and the electromotive phenomena of muscle are the concluding sub- sections of this part, and the whole of the second. All the experiments can be performed in the pithed frog, with the excep- tion of those showing arterial pressure, the influence of the vagus in respiration, and of the sympathetic on the vascular system. These, of course, require an~esthetised animals. The chemistry is mainly that of digestion arranged in a scries of exercises of progressive complexity. Inter alia, we may refer to, among other useful paragraphs, Griitzner's method of comparing the digestive powers of solutions. I t would be a very useful test to apply to the peptic and pancreatic preparations of rival pharmaceutists. Griitzner's method depends upon the fact that when fibrin stained with carmine is subjected to the action of a digestive ferment, as the fibrin is dissolved the carmine is liberated, and colours the fluid, the amount so set free being estimated by an artificial scale consisting of ten solutions of carmine of different strengths, equal quantities of the stained fibrin being mixed with equal volumes of the digestive liquid to be compared.

No book on laboratory work by Dr. Burdon-Sanderson could fail to obtain popularity, but we are inclined to think that if the directions and explanations had been more full than they are in the present volume, it would have been more widely useful. Of course, since it is intended for the use of University College students, who have the advantage of the author's personal super- vision, a few concise hints on each line of investigation would probably suffice. But as a guide book to a student working un- aided, the details given are, in many cases, too concentrated or too meagre. Very few, for instance, could construct, from the description given of it, the "simple and useful myograph," for making which directions are given on page 11. Nor is tim chemistry of blood as fully illustrated as it might have been. To some extent the book fails between two stools--to readers who are

COLEMXN--Manual of Dental Surgery and Pathology. 211

already acquainted with the subject the directions are superfluous; to those who are not they are too abbreviated for ready compre- hension. If this drawback were remedied, as it could easily be in the next edition, we should have in Dr. Burdon-Sanderson's work an excellent students' handbook to the elementary methods of physiological research.

Manual of Dental Surgery and Patlwlog!/. By ALFRED COLEMA.W, L.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. ; Examiner and Licentiate in Dental Surgery, &c. London: Smith, Elder, & Co. 1881. Pp. 335. 25'2 illus- trations.

IT has fallen to the lot of few of us to have enjoyed for a period of twenty-five years tile opportunities of recording and collecting facts of importance in the practice and study of dental surgery-- the branch of medical study to which Mr. Coleman has devoted himself. Itow far these opportunities have been used for the advantage and instruction of others less favourably circumstanced than the author, and for the progress of this important branch of surgery, which has steadily grown and prospered--uninfluenced and unaided by our medical schools and professors--into the digmity of a learned profession, regulated and privileged by an Act of Parliament, the volume before us speaks eloquently.

A few years ago the leading works on the subject of Dentistry were comprised within very modest limits, and Mr. Coleman has attempted to make the present volume a text-book on dental surgery. The work is written in an easy, conversational style, and contains many little facts and niceties of practice not easily colIected without prolonged experience in daily practice, so that it will be of use to the dental student and beginner, if it fails to satisfy the wants of the busy practitioner.

The volume treats of " First dentition ;" "Irregularities of the permanent teeth," a subject in which we expected to find some useful principles enunciated ou which to base the treatment of a very common deformity, which is often misunderstood by ordinary practitioners; "Injuries to the teeth ;" "Dental caries," a chapter in which gTeat stress is laid upon the "Chemico-vital " theory of disease ; " the Treatment of dental caries ;" "Difficulties met with in filling teeth ;" " Periodontitis," a chapter full of information and good sense; ":Necrosis;" "Exostosis," &c.--most of the subjects being very simply and clearly explained.

212 Reviews and Bibliographical Notices.

Exception may be taken to some of the methods recommended for extraction, as far as the position of the operator is concerned, leaving him euI~osed to the sudden violence of an excitable or restless patient, without any corresponding advantage of control over the parts to be operated upon ; and we regret to see the use of the elevator untrammelled by any recommendatory caution for the operator to use his wrist rather than his arm or shoulder in applying the necessary force to dislodge a root from its socket, and, by steadying the elbow against the side of the operator's chest, to run less risk of slipping, and wounding the tongue or cheeks.

The important subject of neuralgia is barely touched upon, and very little information is afforded for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment, and we confess to a feeling of disappointment that some stress has not been laid upon such characteristic symptoms as are usually relied upon in forming a diagnosis.

We also fail to notice any recommendations with reference to the best treatment of the softer qualities of teeth, particularly in children, such as hard been recently brought forward by Dr. lISllander facts which must have been more or less familiar to a practitioner of Mr. Coleman's experience.

The author lays much stress on the value of the illustrations, some 250 in number, most of which have been borrowed from a dental manufacturer's catalogue, and are not, in our opinion, as useful as they might be. Amongst the special ones such examples as ~Nos. 8, 10, 18, 19, and 38 have been rudely and carelessly engraved by an artist who evidently had no t the least idea of what he was expected to illustrate, and we ~:enture to say few readers familiar with the appearance of the oral mucous mem- brane would consider it adequately represented in :No. 10, in which the sockets of the upper incisor teeth appear to be at least two inches long.

Da,gers to IIealth. :By W. PRIDGIN TEALE, M.A. ; Surgeon to the General Infirmary at Leeds. Third Edition. :London: J. & A. Churchill. 1881. 8vo. Pp. 170.

M~t. TEALE'S "Pictorial Guide to Domestic Sanitary Defects" has evidently supplied a much-felt want, and aided materially in arousing public opinion'to a sense of the dangers which lurk in the basement stories, drains, and waste:plpes of many of ore' dwclling- houses.

Gu?/s Itospital Reports. 213

The first edition appeared in 1878, and was very favourably noticed in the number of this Journal for April, 1879 (page 312). We lmve now merely to endorse the opinion we then expressed as to the merits of the book. The plates have increased from 55 to 70 in number owing to the voluntary supply of so great a quantity of new material by Mr. Tealc's friends and professional brethren, that he has come to regard himself as " a sort of centre to which information about drainage defects has gravitated."

The "Sanitary Maxims," prefixed to the pictorial part of the book, deserve to be printed in letters of gold. We arc glad to see that copies of the "Maxims" may be obtained of the ":National Health Society," Berners-street, London, at the very moderate cost of two shillings per 100.

Consumption : a re-investigation of its Causes. Showing it to arise chiefly from an excessive action of atmo,~pheric ox~/gen. By C. W. DE LACY EvAxs. London: Bailti6re, Tindall, & Cox, 20, King William-street, Strand. 1881. Pp. 78.

THE author disclaims the merit of originating the idea contained herein, stating that he is indebted for it to one "Para l lax" (founder of the modern Zetetic philosophy), to whom the work is inscribed. Of " Parallax" and his school of philosophy we arc lamentably, and it may be culpably, ignorant, but it is satisfactory to know, page '27, that he, "Parallax," s a y s : - - " W e have ascer- tained beyond all doubt that consumption is the direct result of a decomposition or combustion of the tissues by the undue action of atmosp]~eric oxygen." We think the hook will be preserved only by those who collect the literature of wild theories on consumption.

Guy's Itospital Reports. Third Series. Vol. X X V . 1881. 8vo. Pp. 531.

Tins medical classic maintains its high reputation as to contents, plates, and woodcuts. Art. V., on "Reflex Action in Diagnosis," by P. tIarrocks, M.D., will be studied by those interested in many of the most obscure diseases of the spinal cord. The diseases are specified in which the tendo-muscular phenomena are absent or exaggerated. "The Fatal Termination of Diabetes, with especial re%renee to ~he Death by Coma," is discussed by Frcderlek Taylor, M.D. I t appears that the various attempts which have

214 Reviews and BibliograpMcal Notices.

been made to explain its occurrence by reference to alterations in the chemical or physical properties of the blood have not ye t had any uniform results. For ty - th ree cases are detailed which terminated in this manner, and from them it appears tha t coma is developed at allnost all periods of the disease, and under the most different forms of t reatment . There is an elaborate essay by F. A. Maholned, M.D., on " Chronic Bright 's Disease without albuminuria." This is a thesis for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine of the Univers i ty of Cambridge, read J u n e 16th, 1881. One of the most interesting articles in the volume is tha t by Francis Galton, F.R.S. , and Dr. F. A. M a h o m e d - - " An Inqui ry into the Physiognomy of Phthisis by the method of ' Composite Por t r a i tu re . ' " A consideration of large numbers of photographs shows that the average of phthisical f's have more delicate features, au apparent ly l lgh ter lower jaw, and an al together narrower face than the average of other diseases.

A R S E ~ I C IN THE T R E A T ) l E N T OF LYMPHOMA.

A WOXAN of sixty-five had difficulty in swallowing and breathing, and suffered from general feebleness, deafness, &c. IIer condition was cachectic. Examination revealed a tumour in the posterior pharynx filling up the nasal and pharyngeal cavities; the submaxillary and axillary glands were also swollen and hard. These growths were made to disappear, and the woman was regarded as cured in five months. This remarkable result was accomplished by the combined internal and parenchymatous administration of Fowler's solution. The arsenic was given in large doses, mixed with acetated tincture of iron, from 8 up to 25 drops three times a day. In this way 28 an-amines were consumed in the course of tile treatment. The injections consisted of equal parts of Fowler's solution and distilled water, of which there was injected from one to three-tenths of the capacity of a Pravaz syringe (about three to 9 minims). There was but little reaction of the general organism, but a marked acceleration of the pulse. Locally the tumours increased consi- derably in size with the first injections, but after the second week rapidly declined (Berl. kiin. Wochen., 1880, No. 52). Czerny has em- ployed the method of Billroth, above described, in the cure of glandular lymphomata. In six months he obtained a complete cure of a case in which the patient had taken 746 drops, and had received 76 injections of 10 drops each.--Wien reed. lu 1881, No. 2, and Medical Progress, Jan. 7.