"The exertions of the French surgeons were but little seconded by the people, who were most interested in their success. It is almost incredible, that a people, styling themselves polished and civilized, should evince such apathy, not only where the lives of their children, but their pecuniary interests in their slaves, were concerned. In a report of the 20th of August, 1811, to the superintending surgeon, I mention this indifference of the people, even after the smallpox contagion had been introduced. Instead of punctually assembling the subjects for inoculation, at a convenient time and place for the surgeon, he has often the task of searching the habitations himself, and of coming at various times to catch the opportunity of finding them unemployed. The inoculation once performed, they pay no attention to the necessity of frequent inspection during the progress of the disease; they content themselves with thinking, when they think at all, that if the pustule has been genuine, it will leave a mark upon the arm; a most fallacious mode of judging, since other kinds of matter inoculated may do the same, independent of the frequency of marks made by tattooing.

"The practice appears to have been so slovenly, that were a thousand cases to occur of small-pox after alleged vaccination, my faith in its efficacy would not be shaken.'

"Yet, under all these disadvantageous circumstances, the astonishing contrast already stated, between the progress of the contagion of small-pox in 1792 and 1811, at the Isle of France, must carry conviction to the most sceptical mind."

The efficacy of the dry crust, as suggested and practised by Mr. Bryce, receives the full sanction of Mr. Scot; and the evidence he produces goes very far to establish the practice.

"Mr. Bryce's directions for the employment of the dry crust to propagate the vaccine infection, I applied to practice, perhaps more extensively than most other practitioners. Having found it nearly or fully as successful as the recent virus, I resorted to it, on account of its great conveniency. I shall record one instance sufficiently conclusive on this head. During the existence of small-pox at the Isle of France, in September 1811, some slave-ships were seized at Port Louis, by one of our frigates. The slaves were landed, to the number of 359, and put into one large building; 39 of them had evidently had the small-pox. As no time was to be lost in a case of such urgent danger, I immediately inoculated 320 of them, with the matter of crust dissolved in water, there not being sufficient recent virus to be had for this purpose. I had previously taken measures to have always at hand a large supply of these crusts, to send to distant quarters, or to meet any emergency. Of these 320 inoculations, 174 took effect, and only 53 of the 146 failures took the disease on a second inoculation, which was still performed principally, though not entirely with the matter of crust. The other failures were tried again and again with recent virus; 84 resisted every attempt, and 9 were sent to hospital, of whom I cannot at this time give any account."

Much

Much is due to Mr. Scot for the exertions he has made to extend the blessings of Jenner's discovery to the Mauritius.

II. Case of Periodical Day-Blindness. By JOHN ISBELL, Surgeon.

This case of periodical blindness is concluded to be syphi litic, for it was cured by mercurial ointment rubbed on the thighs. The peculiarities of it are described in the following passage.

" Mr. complained of pains in his limbs, with occasional loss of voluntary motion and sensation in the left arm and leg; the pains being most severe during the night, and felt more particularly in the central parts of the bones. The joints were also affected, but in a much less degree. Daily, between the hours of eleven and two, a total loss of sight came on, preceded by a severe pain of the forehead, but seated principally over the orbits. The attack was generally of half or a quarter of an hour's duration, sometimes returning three or four times within the said hours. He was, besides, now and then deprived of speech, but which seldom continued more than a minute or two. His hearing always remained perfect. His body was much emaciated, which had been gradually increasing for the last three years."

III. On Oil of Turpentine, &c. in Epilepsy. By EDWARD PERCIVAL, M.D.

In three cases of this intractable disease, in the Hospital for Incurables near Dublin, the oil of turpentine was employed in pretty considerable quantity, with the effect of mitigating the epileptic paroxysm, but without curing the disease. Though the turpentine failed as to an absolute cure, it certainly manifested considerable powers in epilepsy: it was given without producing any distressing symptoms on the stomach and bowels; on the contrary, it proved gratefully cordial, strengthening the powers of digestion, and gently promoting intestinal and renal action. Dr. Percival observes, that its only apparently specific action was on the uterine system, it being to appearance a certain emmenagogue. The shortest of the three cases we shall cite as further explanatory of the action of a new remedy, at least, of its novel application.

Margaret Harrison, æt. 25, of middle stature, and plethoric habit, became subject to epilepsy eight years ago, from a sudden alarm. The paroxysms of her disorder occurred chiefly at night, when she had usually two or three mild fits, each enduring about a quarter of an hour. She was admitted to the Hospital for Incurables in the summer of 1812. During the four preceding years she had experienced no menstrual discharge. Her general health and strength

have appeared good, her appetite rather voracious, but her intellect has been obtused, approaching to fatuity.

"July 15, 1812.-I directed for her pills of myrrh, steel, and aloes, which, in the course of a few days, induced a return of the catanienia. Her understanding consequently improved, her conduct became more regular and amenable, yet her epileptic fits recurred without any mitigation. She commenced the terebinthinate mixture on the 4th of November, in the proportion of three drachms of ol. terebinth. to a pint of mint-water, which had an immediate effect in abating the frequency and duration of her fits. She became more lively, and for the first time replied to a query of mine, by saying that the medicine had done her great service.

"Until the 4th of December her fits of epilepsy had nearly disappeared, when, without any manifest cause, they began to recur in a mitigated and less frequent degree than formerly. I directed for her a mixture, with one ounce of oil of turpentine in a pint of mintwater, of which she took two table spoonfuls every fourth hour, with Immediate and decided benefit. On the 29th of the same month it was reported to me that she had relapsed to her former epileptic habits; though her fits were somewhat less frequent, and certainly more gentle than before the use of the terebinthinate mixture.

"On the 31st of January, 1813, I directed a decoction of two drachms of the dried leaves of foxglove to be administered in divided doses, with as little interval as possible. The effect of this medicine was extreme nausea, vomiting, and subsequently purging, which continued for the space of eight or ten hours. The fits of epilepsy, however, began shortly to recur as before, with less violence than previous to the use of turpentine, but apparently unmitigated by the administration of digitalis. Her fatuity continued without interval or abatement.

دو

IV. Case of Injury to the Fatus, without the Mother being affected. By WILLIAM ENGLISH, Surgeon.

The facts in this occurrence we will present to our readers, and leave them to judge for themselves.

"A lady in my neighbourhood, a month before being delivered of her second child, was standing upon a pair of steps, reaching something off the top of a chest of drawers, when she slipped, and fell backwards. In her fall, her back, about the middle of the sacrum, came in contact with the key of the room door, which was in the lock, and broke the key in two. She lay for some time insensible, but, when she recovered, was surprised to find that she had power to get up, and fright seemed to be the only suffering she had to complain of from so very serious an accident, excepting a slight soreness and stiffness of the whole back and neck, which continued until, and for a few days after, the child was born.

"There was nothing untoward happened during labour, which was of the class called lingering; but the child being large, may account for that circumstance. Soon after birth, a considerable cavity was observed in the child's back, situated about the middle of the

sacrum.

sacrum.

There had evidently been an extensive abscess; which was barely cicatrized at the bottom, and the skin and cellular substance was thickened and puckered all round the outer edge. For five or six days after the infant was born, there was a slight oozing of thin gummy matter from the sore, caused, I believe, by the friction of the clothes, but it soon healed firmly, and the child continues well. I had some fears that this case would end in spina bifida; however, the injury happily extended no further."

V. On the good Effects of Cold Applications to Ulcers. By P. JOHNSON, Surgeon.

Mr. Johnson relates one case only, but speaks of his suc cess as very general. This case being short, we shall give in his own words.

"On having joined my ship, about five weeks since, I found one of her company with five deep and high-edged ulcers, situated be tween two and seven inches above the patella, which affected him for many months; some of them healing, while others were suppurating. My predecessor had used every means that he could devise for their cure, with very little good effect. The man had no constitutional appearances of scrofula, though these ulcers most strongly appeared to partake of that disease. The discharge was ill-conditioned; the ulcers communicated often with each other, as easily ascertained on pressure, or by the probe. Having seen no written document of my predecessor's treatment, I immediately began with poultices of oatmeal, moistened with salt water, to be changed whenever they became dry, with a little lint underneath. From the 21st of January, I used the salt water, by applying a cloth and bandage continually kept wet, the water being every hour changed for more drawn up along-side, up to this day (Feb. 18th), a period of twentynine days, when the ulcers are healed, and the man capable of doing his duty. I have made use of no dressing between the cloth and sores. The cloths were rinsed three or four times a-day, consequently very clean."

Very few surgeons are unacquainted with Baynton's admirable method of curing ulcerated legs, though there are some, even in London, who either do not know, or do not feel its value. The constant application of cold water in his method, we have often thought to be serviceable, principally by carrying off the accumulated caloric, and keeping the limb in an under temperature. We should be glad to have this ascertained, and to know what is to be attributed to pressure, what to the absorption of an aqueous fluid, what to keeping the ulcer clean, and what to the abstraction of heat?

VI. On the external Application of Belladonna to the Eye, for the purpose of dilating the Pupil. By T. PAGET, Surgeon.

Mr. Paget, in this short paper, establishes his right to the

first use of belladonna, in this country, for the purpose of dilating the pupil of the eye.

VII. Observations on a Species of Vaginal Hernia occurring in Labour; read at a Meeting of the Medical Society of Liverpool. By T. CHRISTIAN, Surgeon.

This paper describes a case which sometimes occurs in the practice of midwifery, and becomes important or hazardous only by being misunderstood. The bladder gets disturbed from its natural scite, and descends before the membranes in labour into the pelvis, obstructing the progress of the fætus. The obvious remedy is emptying the bladder by the catheter.

VIII. The Effects of cold Water given internally, or applied externally, in four Cases of Abdominal Inflammation. By T. SMITH, Surgeon, &c.

We have long considered the depletion of heat, in all cases where temperature is much raised, to be one of the most efficacious remedies, especially in all cases of inflammation. Since this principle was urged in our Half-yearly Reports of the Progress of Medical Science, we have observed cold to have been applied with great boldness, and in some cases where heretofore the employment of heat had been thought to be beneficial.

The four cases here related are strongly in point. The Sd of these being short, and one of those in which the application of cold has been considered as peculiarly dangerous, we shall cite, as a specimen of Mr. Smith's practice.

August 20th, 1812, I was called to the wife of Hugh Ross, carpenter, Dunaughton. She had been delivered of a child on the 15th, and on the 17th was seized with cold shivering, and pain in the belly and head, the lochia and secretion of milk being greatly diminished. I found her in the following condition :-respiration quick, oppressed, and suspiratory; pulse 150, extremely feeble, and at times intermitting. She complained of pain in her belly and forehead; her abdomen much tumefied, hot, and so tender that she could hardly bear it to be touched. Her attendants said that she was at times delirious, and that she had a second shivering of cold a short time before I arrived. She vomits frequently, and the fluid vomited is very acid; tongue dry and brown. She does not complain of thirst, but drinks with avidity when it is offered her. Hands and feet cold; lochia suppressed; mammæ flaccid. She is said to have had one or two loose stools to-day of a frothy appearance. The chalk mixture was given her, and cloths wet with cold water were desired to be applied over the whole abdomen.

"21st-I saw her early this day. The cold cloths have been applied frequently, with much relief to the feelings of the patient. She

has