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though he steadily became weaker. He was rather dull and

stupid and on the 17th became delirious. On May 10ththe quantity of urine in the 24 hours was 57 ounces ;in the next nine days it fell to 15 ounces and regularly con-tained a trace of albumin. Death occurred on the 20th.

During the illness the blood was examined daily and showedpolymorphonuclear leucocytosis which during the febrile

period amounted to 13,000 and on the day before death to35,000. Careful and regular physical examination failed todetermine the cause of the pyrexia. The cardiac area appa-rently returned to normal and though the heart sounds wereill-defined no murmurs were heard. The temperature, irre-gular rigors, and polymorphonuclear leucocytosis suggestedsuppuration but no evidence of any abscess could be

found. The patient had never been abroad and carefulexamination of the blood for the malarial parasitewas negative. Though the absence of a murmur didnot exclude endocarditis, yet combined with the absence ofsymptoms of an embolic focus it was strongly against sucha diagnosis. The pulmonary signs appeared to be of hypo-static origin. Thus the question was between idiopathicsepticsemia and septicaemia secondary to some unknown

cause. The course of the temperature and the rigors seemedto point to some focus of suppuration. The only localisingsymptoms were the diarrhoea and the blood in the stools.The possibility of absorption from an ulcerated intestine

through the portal system was therefore kept in view. But

there was no hepatic enlargement, tenderness over the

liver, or jaundice, though a trace of bile had once

been found in the urine. At the necropsy six ounces

of clear serum were found in the pericardium. Themuscle of the heart was pale and soft. There was

slignt atheroma of the aorta and coronary arteries. The

lungs were markedly cedematous and adherent to the chestwall from fibrinous pleurisy with a slight tendency to pusformation. The spleen was large, congested, and friable.The liver showed cloudy swelling. At the lower end of the

sigmoid flexure or upper end of the rectum was an annularulcer which, had led to perforation and abscess in front of thebowel. The abscess contained a rounded body of whitishcolour and stony hardness about half an inch in diameter andlargely composed of calcareous matter. The comparativeinsignificance of the lesion which was the source of infectionis noteworthy. It did not appear that the small quantity ofpus associated with the fibrinous pleurisy could have causedthe symptoms of septicaemia.

THE INFLUENCE OF A MEAT DIET ON THEKIDNEYS.

SoME observations of the effects of a meat diet on the

kidneys in rats are recorded by Dr. D. Chalmers Watsonin the International Monatsehrift fiir Anatomie zcnd

Pkysiologie, Band XXIV., p. 197. The results are much the

same as those which we recorded in THE LANCET of Oct. 12thof this year. The diets employed were five in number

-viz., rice boiled in water, oatmeal porridge made withskim milk and water, uncooked horse-flesh, uncooked ox-flesh, and a control diet of bread soaked in skim milk.The determination of the chemical composition and heatvalues of these foods and the observations on the nitro.

genous excretion of the animals were made by Dr. AndrewHunter, and the histological investigations by Dr. G. Lyon.The general conclusions arrived at are that the prolongedadministration of a flesh diet (horse-flesh and ox-flesh) torats is followed by hypertrophy of the kidneys, and that thishypertrophy is more pronounced in the second generation ofmeat-fed subjects. In regard to the histological changes,Dr. Lyon found in the great majority of the animals fed ona diet of horse-flesh changes in the epithelial structuresimilar to those seen in recognised toxic conditions, in some

cases of such a degree as to constitute a catarrhal nephritis,the earliest changes being found in the ascending limb ofHenle’s loop which appears to be the most vulnerable of

the secreting tubules. Similar changes of a less pronouncedtype were present in a small proportion of the rats fed uponox-fiesh, and even in those which appear normal when

examined by ordinary staining methods the application ofMuir’s hmmatoxylin-eosin stain revealed an alteration in thesecretory granules of the renal epithelium. Neither in thefirst nor second generation of flesh-fed animals were anycirrhotic changes observed. The observations on nitrogenmetabolism show that the flesh diet throws a special strainon the functional activity of the kidneys so far as regardsnitrogen excretion. The hypertrophy of the kidneys foundin these experiments is of considerable interest; the histo-logical changes are more difficult to interpret, more especiallyas they appear to be of toxic nature; moreover, no explana-tion is forthcoming of the greater effect in producing themof horse-flesh over ox-flesh.

THE AVERSION OF THE THREATENED RAILWAYSTRIKE.

THE happy aversion of the threatened railway strike by theintervention of the President of the Board of Trade hasresulted in a universal feeling of relief of tension. It is notwithin our province to discuss the economic results of a

prolonged truce between the companies and their employeesto the nation, but medical men have as much reason

as most people to be thankful for the issue. Railway stockhas for many years been looked upon as a standard invest-ment for the savings of the professional classes who arecontent with a moderate and safe return for their capital,and there are doubtless many members of our profession towhom a marked depreciation in these securities would havebeen a most serious matter to face. It is to be hoped that therestored confidence in the railways resulting from the recentarrangement will place our readers speedily out of the reachof anxiety on this count. We have already pointed out theserious dangers which must accrue to the health of the nationfrom the shortage of fresh food-supply which would inevitablyfollow on a widespread railway strike and we fully share therelief of the nation that that danger and many other almostintolerable inconveniences have been spared us, at any ratefor a substantial period of time. Lastly, and this is themost important consideration of all, the amount of sicknessthat would have been caused among the employees had theduel been fought to the death must have been very great.

ELECTROLYTIC DISINFECTANT.

AN interesting statement in regard to the cost of producingelectrolytic disinfectant at the Poplar installation has beenpresented to the public health and housing committee of thatborough. The electrolysing plant, after 20 months’ running,is reported to be still in good working order, turning out185 gallons of fluid in eight hours at an average strength of4 ’ 5 grammes of chlorine per litre. It has not been found

necessary to renew any of the zinc electrodes which, judgingfrom their present condition, promise to be useful for a furtherperiod of 20 months or longer. Already a considerable savinghas been effected, which it is anticipated will be greater inregard to the cost of disinfectants to the borough since nowthat the system is in working order the expenditure for

wages, bottles, corks, and cartage will be less. The estimatedcost of carbolic disinfectants for 20 months is <E16o4 18s. 2d.,while the cost of electrolytic fluid for the same period hasbeen <E8820s. 11<Z., showing a saving for disinfectants usedin the borough of L772 17s. 3d. This estimate does not takeinto account any saving which may have been brought aboutthrough supplying the works department with 12,301 gallonsof electrolysed fluid for watering roads and flashing gullies,