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tively great or even a preponderating influence. It wasknown and taught with success in Spain during the six-teenth century. It was used by Wallis and advocated byDalgarno a century later in England. Under Braidwoodand Watson it afterwards achieved some of its most brilliantsuccesses. Nay, it continued to flourish side by side withthe convenient but far less efficient manual method intro-duced by De 1’Epee and Sicard, and adopted from theirschool by teachers in Great Britain and America. While,therefore, we must chiefly thank Samuel Heinecke and hisfollowers for fostering in its original form the precious germof imitative speech properly so-called, we must also rememberthat what he brings us is not in truth novel, but is a onceneglected part of the educational patrimony of almost everyEuropean country. If a long list of recorded successes

which reaches us from ages now becoming remote, and theproofs of striking success attained in our own day afford themeans of judging, we may safely conclude that both teachersand taught will agree to retain in chief esteem a methodwhich has accomplished so much. Between the clear and

intelligent utterance which it ensures and the uncouthvocal ventures of the sign-taught mute there is indeed norational comparison. -

LONDON FOG: ITS CAUSE, EFFECTS, ANDTREATMENT.

EVERY dweller within or near the metropolitan areamust sympathise with Dr. Alfred Carpenter in his laudableendeavour to explain the causes and consequences of Londonfog, and to suggest an effectual remedy. After due inquiry,founded on careful physical and chemical observations, heconcludes that the essential character of this inconvenient

phenomenon has nothing to do with river vapour, but isalmost wholly due to chimney smoke. The very colour of thefamiliar shroud, its opacity, density, and diurnal prevalence,ts incidence in the absence of a low barometric register, andts fickle conformity to every change of wind, all point, hetells us, to but one conclusion. His observations, more-over, are supported by microscopic evidence. Particles ofunconsumed carbon and globules of oily hydrocarbon areeasily detected on slides exposed for a time to the murkyatmosphere. Chemistry contributes its quota of evidenceby revealing not only a marked deficiency of oxygen, butan excess of carbonic and of sulphurous acids. It seems,therefore, pretty clear that the true nature of the cityspectre has not in this case been mistaken. As regardsconsequences to health, Dr. Carpenter ascribes to the pro-perties above mentioned a somewhat prominent share in theproduction of chest disorders and a resulting increase in mor-tality statistics. By way of compensation, however, thoughnot in excuse of the evil, we are reminded that another sourceof mischief-namely, sewer air-is in great measure shornof its hurtful influence by meeting in fog-air with a fairlypotent purifier. Two blacks, however, do not make awhite, and the disinfection of drain impurities, attainable,as it is, by other methods, will hardly justify our neglect toabolish if possible the lung-irritating action of air over-

charged with carbon. This brings us to the question of aremedy. In dealing with this matter, Dr. Carpenter’sfertility of resource is not wanting. He proposes the

imposition of a heavy tax on all fireplaces which do notconsume their own smoke; the compulsory employmentwhere coal continues to be burnt of a comparatively smoke-less fuel, which, moreover, is to be subject to a specialduty ; and finally, the use of gas of low illuminating power,and at the cost of 2s. to 2s. 3d. per 1000 feet for cookingand heating purposes. There is no doubt that these

proposals, if carried out, would go far towards removingfrom us the worst elements of the too familiar fog. It is,bowever, extremely improbable that the public mind, if

consulted, would agree to any such sweeping enactments asthose suggested. As matters now stand, the use of gas-stoves, admirably designed alike as to cleanliness, freedomfrom odour, and heating power, is daily increasing. Thetaxation of household grates and of coal, as advised, wefear, would still be premature. There is better hope ofsuccess from the introduction of its remedial counterpart-a system of improved smoke-consuming fireplaces,-thoughwe can see no reason why steps should not be taken toenforce the very reasonable provisions of the Smoke Abate-ment Act in the case of manufactories.

TREATMENT OF HÆMORRHOIDS BY ACTUALCAUTERY.

DR. TRZEBICKY communicates to the Przeglad Lekarskisome statistics he has compiled with reference to the treat-ment of haemorrhoids by means of Langenbeck’s cauterisingoperation. Of 120 patients on whom this was performed,113 were men and 7 women; nearly all were between the

ages of thirty and fifty, and none were below twenty. The

complications consisted of one case of slight haemorrhageand one of pyrexia, lasting eighteen days; one patient died

the day following the operation from paralysis of the heart.In all the other cases the recovery was perfectly normal anduninterrupted. In two cases there was a return of the hæmor-rhoids after the lapse of three or four years. One patientdeveloped a tuberculous fistula after twelve months, andone died in six months from disease of the stomach.

Regarding sixteen no information could be obtained, but100 were found to be in good health a considerable periodafter the operation. Inquiries directed to the etiology ofthe affection elicited that of the whole number only twenty-one patients had followed a more or less sedentary occupa-tion, the rest being engaged in active pursuits; thereforeDr. Trzebicky is not disposed to attribute the same degreeof importance to sitting as a cause of haemorrhoids as isusual in lectures and text-books.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH IN 1889.

THE Registrar-General’s fifty-first annual report recentlyissued, dealing in detail with the vital statistics of 1888,called attention to the fact that the death-rate in that yearwas so low as 17’8 per 1000, being " far the lowest death-rate as yet recorded, the next lowest being 18’8, the raterecorded in the immediately preceding year, 1887." It isnow reported in the Registrar-General’s quarterly returnrelating to the last three months of 1889, just issued, thatthe death-rate last year was 17’9 per 1000, and thus ex-ceeded by but a slight fraction the unprecedentedly lowrate in 1888. It is pointed out that the death-rate in eachof the past nine years 1881-89 was lower than the rate recordedin any year prior to 1881 ; and that the mean annual death-rate in those nine years was 18 ’9 per 1000, being no less than2 5 below the mean rate in the preceding ten years 1871-80,which was considerably lower than the mean rate in

any preceding decennium. This remarkable decline inthe death-rate during the past nine years implies, as theRegistrar-General points out, that 600,000 more personswere alive in England and Wales at the end of last yearthan there would have been if the rate of mortality inthe nine years 1881-89 had equalled that which prevailed inthe ten years 1871-80. At first sight it would appear thatthis reduction in the death-rate must have caused an excep-tionally large addition to the population since the date ofthe last census. It is, however, a fact that the decline inthe birth-rate since 1881 has been still greater than that inthe death-rate, and that the rate of excess of births overdeaths in the nine years has been slightly lower than it wasin the ten years 1871-80. If we turn to the mortality from