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IX.-PEEBLES.

Peebles, described as "

the leading Scottishhaalth resort," has qualities of environment which,coupled with the facilities for a hydropathic course,deserve to be more widely known. It is beauti-fully situated on the River Tweed, amidst a

delightful panorama of hill, valley, and wood. It isa peaceful, restful place where "rest cures" dogenuinely occur. All the accessories which formpart and parcel of modern treatment by baths areto be found here on lines comparable with theinstallations of a spa abroad. A particular featureis made of the mud pack or "fango" " for the reliefof such painful affections as gout, rheumatism, andsciatica. The Nauheim and Bourbon-Lancymethods of treatment of heart affections are

available. The historic St. Ronan’s wells not farfrom the " hydro" entitle Peebles to the descriptionof a watering place, the waters being brought tothe hotel for special bathing purposes. They aresaline and sulphated.

X., XI., XII.-THREE WELSH SPAS.

There is a wealth of natural mineral waters inWales, and three spas have commanded medical;support.Llandrindod is among the best known inland

watering places, and the town has developedrapidly in recent years as a well-recognised balneo-logical station. Here are common salt and sulphursprings, the latter resembling the waters of Harro-gate in containing sulphuretted hydrogen gas.The saline waters are employed chiefly in catarrhaldyspepsia and hepatic disorders, while the sulphurwaters serve as an adjunct in the treatment of

gouty and rheumatic states.At Llangammarch, about 13 miles south of

Llandrindod, is a spring containing common salt,calcium chloride, and barium chloride. Thera-

peutically the water is said to be similar inaction to that of Kreuznach, and chemically itis, we believe, the only example of a naturalmineral water containing so much barium salt.It is used in the treatment of chronic heart dis-orders, functional distress, in Graves’s disease,and in - rheumatic conditions. The action ofbarium chloride has been compared with that of

digitalis. The water is employed both internally.and externally. Its composition seems well adaptedfor preparing a Nauheim bath. The country roundis very beautiful, the Eppynt Mountains shelteringthe village from the north-east. Treatment is

provided for at the principal hotels, which haverecently been greatly developed on lines consistentwith the requirements of a large clientele of

patients and visitors.Llanwrtyd, some five miles south of Llangam-

march, is known chiefly on account of its strong.sulphur wells, and the cases treated here are com-monly skin disorders, rheumatism, and gout. Thereis excellent accommodation, and the bathing instal-lations provide for most lines of treatment.

THE BRINE BATHS AT STAFFORD.

Dr. F. Milnes Blumer, medical officer of health ofStafford, has pointed out to us that at Stafford thereis a brine of a potency equal to that at Droitwichwhich is utilised in the complete suite of baths openedby the corporation in 1892. Chemical analysis ofthe brine shows a similar composition in regard tosaline strength. Of course, there are brine wellsin other parts of the country, and all are more or

less saturated solutions of common salt. In thisseries of articles we were dealing more particu-larly with those places generally recognised as

health resorts or spas. We are glad to note, how-ever, in bringing this series of articles to a close,that at Stafford the brine wells are used forremedial purposes.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN November last the county borough of Plymouth wasextended to include Devonport, thus reducing the numberof towns with populations exceeding 50,000 persons at thelast Census to 96. In these 96 towns 9434 births and 6736deaths were registered during the week ended Saturday,Jan. 9th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 16’1, 14-0, and 21-3 per 1000 in the threepreceding weeks, fell in the week under notice to 19’4per 1000 of their aggregate population, estimated at

18,134,239 persons in the middle of 1914. During the 13weeks of last quarter the mean annual death-rate in thesetowns averaged 14-9, against a corresponding rate of 15’3 per1000 in London. The annual death-rate last week rangedfrom 7’3 in Acton, 10’0 in Croydon, 11-6 in Barnsley, 11-7 inNewport (Mon.), and 12-0 in Ilford, to 26-9 in Northampton,27-1 in Hastings, 28-0 in York, 28-2 in Preston, and 47-9 inGillingham.The 6736 deaths from all causes were 659 fewer than the

number in the previous week, and included 487 which werereferred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 411and 575 in the two preceding weeks. Of these 487 deaths,183 resulted from measles, 93 from whooping-cough, 84from infantile diarrhoeal diseases, 77 from diphtheria, 35from scarlet fever, and 15 from enteric fever, but notone from small-pox. The mean annual death-rate fromthese diseases was equal to 1-4, against 1-7 per 1000in the previous week. The deaths attributed to measles,’which had been 210, 175, and 269 in the three pre-ceding weeks, fell to 183 last week, and caused thehighest annual death-rates of 1’7 in Bolton and inGateshead, 2-1 in St. Helens, 2-3 in Wigan and inNewcastle-on-Tyne, 2-5 in Merthyr Tydfil, 2-7 in Grimsby,4-4 in Plymouth, and 4-8 in Preston. The deaths referredto whooping-cough, which had steadily increased from 35to 80 in the seven preceding weeks, further rose to 93 lastweek ; the highest death-rates from this cause were 1’1 inNewcastle-on-Tyne, 1-3 in Rhondda, 1-4 in Bristol andin Warrington, 1-6 in Willesden, 1-7 in Tynemouth, and1-9 in Gillingham. The fatal cases of diarrhoea and enteritis(among infants under 2 years), which had been 81, 70, and86 in the three preceding weeks, slightly fell to 84 last week,and included 18 in London, 7 in Birmingham, and 5each in Manchester, Oldham, and Sunderland. The deathsattributed to diphtheria, which had been 70, 66, and 89in the three preceding weeks, fell to 77 last week, ofwhich 19 were registered in London, 5 in Liverpool, 4 inBirmingham, and 3 each in Southampton, Birkenhead,Preston, and Sheffield. The deaths referred to scarlet fever,which had been 34, 30, and 31 in the three preceding weeks,rose to 35 last week; 6 deaths belonged to London, 4 toSheffield, 3 to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and 2 each to Birminghamand Preston..The fatal cases of enteric fever, which hadbeen 14, 12, and 20 in the three preceding weeks, fell to15 last week, of which 5 occurred in London and 2 in Bolton.The number of scarlet fever patients under treat-

ment in the Metropolitan Asylums Hospitals and theLondon Fever Hospital, which had declined from 5035to 4503 in the six preceding weeks, had further fallento 4152 on Saturday last; 320 new cases were admittedduring the week, against 451, 348, and 436 in thethree preceding weeks. These hospitals also containedon Saturday last 1649 cases of diphtheria, 66 of measles, 60 ofenteric fever, and 36 of whooping-cough, but not one ofsmall-pox. The 1738 deaths from all causes in London were311 fewer than the number in the previous week, and corre-sponded to an annual death-rate of 20-1 per 1000. Thedeaths referred to diseases of the respiratory system, whichhad been 313, 270, and 562 in the three preceding weeks,fell to 497 in the week under notice, and were 14 below thenumber recorded in the corresponding week of last year.Of the 6736 deaths from all causes in the 96 towns, 265

resulted from different forms of violence and 568 were thesubject of coroners’ inquests, while 1757 occurred in publicinstitutions. The causes of 66, or 1-0 per cent. of the totaldeaths, were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner after inquest. All the causesof death were duly certified in Manchester, Leeds, Bristol,West Ham, Bradford, Hull, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in 66

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other smaller towns. Of the 66 uncertified causes of death,16 were registered in Birmingham, 13 in Liverpool, 5 eachin South Shields and Gateshead, 3 each in Southend-on-Seaand Sheffield, and 2 each in Stoke-on-Trent, Bootle, Roch-dale, and Tynemouth. -

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

In the 16 largest Scotch towns with an aggregate popula-tion estimated at 2,344,400 persons at the middle of this year,1395 births and 1100 deaths were registered during the weekended Saturday, Jan. 9th. The annual rate of mortality inthese towns, which had increased from 17’7 to 20’5 per 1000in the four preceding weeks, further rose to 24’5 per 1000in the week under notice. During the 13 weeks of lastquarter the mean annual death-rate in these towns averaged16’8, against a corresponding rate of 14-9 per 1000in the large English towns. The annual death-rate lastweek ranged from 12-5 in Motherwell, 14-0 in Ayr, and14-7 in Perth, to 26’3 in Glasgow, 28-2 in Aberdeen, and 30-0in Dundee.The 1100 deaths from all causes were 201 in excess of the

number in the previous week, and included 117 which werereferred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 77 and 98in the two preceding weeks. Of these 117 deaths, 55 resultedfrom whooping-cough, 21 from diphtheria, 17 from infantilediarrhoeal diseases, 13 from scarlet fever, 7 from measles, and4 from enteric fever, but not one from small-pox. The meanannual death-rate from these diseases was equal to 2-6,against 1-4 per 1000 in the large English towns. The deathsattributed to whooping-cough, which had been 35, 28,and 44 in the three preceding weeks, further rose to 55 lastweek, of which 38 occurred in Glasgow, 8 in Dundee, 4 inGreenock, and 2 in Clydebank. The deaths referred to diph-theria, which had been 9, 16, and 14 in the threepreceding weeks, rose to 21, and included 7 each inGlasgow and Edinburgh, and 5 in Aberdeen. The fatal

cases of diarrhoea and enteritis (among infants under 2 years),which had been 15, 12, and 11 in the three preceding weeks,rose to 17 last week; 5 deaths each were recorded inGlasgow and Dundee and 3 in Edinburgh. The deathsattributed to scarlet fever, which had been 17, 15, and 17 inthe three preceding weeks, fell to 13 last week, and included9 in Glasgow. The 7 deaths referred to measles were 4 inexcess of the weekly average during last quarter, and comprised 6 in Dundee and 1 in Aberdeen. Of the 4 fatal cases ofenteric fever 2 belonged to Glasgow and 1 each to Edinburghand Paisley.The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory system,

which had increased from 154 to 210 in the four precedingweeks, further rose to 265 in the week under notice; 32deaths resulted from different forms of violence, against 36and 42 in the two preceding weeks.

HEALTH OF IRISH TOWNS.

In the 27 town districts of Ireland with an aggregatepopulation estimated at 1,212,380 persons at the middle ofthis year, 649 births and 615 deaths were registered duringthe week ended Saturday, Jan. 9th. The annual rate ofmortality in these towns, which had been 21-8, 17-0, and27’8 per 1000 in the three preceding weeks, fell to 26-5 per1000 in the week under notice. During the 13 weeks oflast quarter tne mean annual death-rate in these townsaveraged 18’8, against corresponding rates of 14-9 and 16’8per 1000 in the English and Scotch towns respectively. Theannual death-rate last week was equal to 36-5 in Dublin(against 20-1 in London and 26-3 in Glasgow), 21-0 in Belfast,23-1 in Cork, 13-9 in Londonderry, 33-8 in Limerick, and22-8 in Waterford, while in the 21 smaller towns the meandeath-rate was 20-5 per 1000.The 615 deaths from all causes were 28 fewer than the

number in the previous week, and included 38 which werereferred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 32 and 42in the two preceding weeks. Of these 38 deaths, 11 resultedfrom whooping-cough, 11 from infantile diarrhœal diseases,6 from measles, 5 from diphtheria, 3 from enteric fever,and 2 from scarlet fever, but not one from small-pox. The mean annual death-rate from these diseaseswas equal to 1-6, against 1-4 and 2-6 per 1000 in theEnglish and Scotch towns respectivelv. The deathsattributed to whooping-cough, which had been 5, 5, and 7in the three preceding weeks, further rose to 11 last week,and comprised 7 in Dublin, 3 in Belfast, and 1 in Cork.The deaths of infants (under 2 years) referred to diar-rhcea and enteritis, which had been 15, 9, and 10 in the threepreceding weeks, were 11 last week, of which 7 were regis-tered in Dublin, and 2 each in Belfast and Cork. The 6deaths from measles were slightly below the average inrecent weeks, and were all recorded in Belfast. Of the5 deaths attributed to diphtheria, 2 occurred in Dublin, 2 inKilkenny, and 1 in Londonderrv. Of the 3 deaths fromenteric fever, 2 were registered in Dublin and 1 in Ballymena.The fatal cases of scarlet fever belonged to Dublin andBangor. In addition to the above deaths, a fatal case oftyphus was recorded in Dublin.

The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory system,which had been 105, 96, and 162 in the three precedingweeks, fell to 139 in the week under notice. Of the 615.deaths from all causes, 182, or 30 per cent., occurred inpublic institutions, and 6 resulted from different forms ofviolence. The causes of 30, or 4’9 per cent., of the totaldeaths were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner after inquest ; in the Englishtowns the proportion of uncertified causes did not exceed 1.0per cent.

THE SERVICES.

ROYAL NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE.THE undermentioned has been entered as Surgeon for-

temporary service in His Majesty’s Fleet :-Robert SharpLawson.The undermentioned have been granted commissions as.

Surgeons for temporary service in His Majesty’s Fleet, andhave been appointed to the Pembroke, additional, for ChathamHospital :-James Edward McCausland and Frank ReginaldFeatherstone.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.Fred D. Bird to be temporary Lieutenant-Colonel (dated

Dec. 3rd, 1914).To be temporary Captains :-Dated Dec. 16th, 1914 :

Robert Sewers Berry. Dated Dec. 21st, 1914 : Edwin ArthurPeters and Arthur Robert Owst. Dated Dec. 23rd, 1914:John Davies.Temporary Captain Frederick F. Bond resigns his com-

mission (dated Jan. 9th).To be temporary Lieutenants :-Dated Dec. 5th, 1914 :

Alfred Cecil Edwards. Dated Dec. 7th, 1914: BertramMayhew Bone, William James Gifford Gayton, andHans Fleming. Dated Dec. 8th, 1914: James AlexanderHendry, John Daniel Harmer, Carl Joseph BarrettBuchheim, Frank Anthony Cooke, Arthur John OrmsbyWigmore, and James Aubrey Ireland. Dated Dec. 10th,1914: Victor Vesselovsky and Wilfrid Henry WallerAttlee. Dated Dec. llth, 1914: David Hutcheon Paul.Dated Dec. 14th, 1914: Martin Hallam and Stephen Nockolds.Dated Dec. 15th, 1914: George Barrowclough Horrocks andHerbert Park Shackleton. Dated Dec. 16th, 1914: DavidHenry Griffiths, David William Jones, Gwilym LlewelynPierce, William Frederick Gibson, John Allan, John HenryHerbert Pearson, and George Edward Genge-Andrews.Dated Dec. 18th, 1914: George Ramsey Phillips, FrankHendry Rae, Philip Hugh Rawson, George Richardson, andWilliam George Thompson. Dated Dec. 19th, 1914: HaroldCane Godding and William Richard Spencer Watkins. DatedDec. 20th, 1914: Alexander Emil Albert Burkhard. DatedDec. 21st, 1914: William Miller, Thomas John Burton"Robert Percy McDonnell, Harry Godfrey Massy-Miles,Arthur George Grant Plumley, Kenneth Dobing Bean,,Philip John Ambrose Seccombe, William Stewart Dickie,Joseph Graham, Edward William Lawrence, Harry SpencerHall, George Pirie, Geoffrey Bower Richardson, KennethGoodall Hearne, Percival Butler, and Alexander CampbelliWhite Knox. Dated Dec. 22nd, 1914: Donald Olson Riddel.and Arthur William Stark Christie.Lieutenant Edward M. Woodman relinquishes his tem--

porary commission.Temporary Lieutenant Alfred G. Stewart and Temporary

Lieutenant Philip L. Davies relinquish their commissions(dated Jan. 10th).

SUPPLEMENTARY TO REGULAR UNITS OR CORPS.

Royal Army Medical Corps.Lieutenant Robert McCheyne Linnell to be Captain.The undermentioned Lieutenants are confirmed in their ,

rank :-Douglas G. Evans, Charles C. Iles, Frank Griffith,.John P. Mitchell, Ronald G. J. McEntire, Edward C.Linton,.Ennis R. Chambers, John L. Perceval, Alexander Glen,William Barclay, Altred L. Robertson, Oswald C. S. Tandy,John L. Kilbride, Clement Lovell, Daniel Dougal, FrankG. Lescher, William Johnson, John H. Pendered, Francis.Balkwill, Edmund B. Jones, James Vallance, Joseph A. L.Wilson, Ernest Talbot, George R. Bruce, Geoffrey Marshall,.William Dunlop, Henry K. V. Soltau, George Dalziel, AlfredJ. Clark, William G. Shakespeare, Peter W. Ransom, Joseph1. Lawson, John E. Allan, William McCombie, James Y.Moore, Gerald P. Kidd, Trevor B. Heaton, Harry E. B.White, Kenneth K. Drury, and George M. Roberts.

TERRITORIAL FORCE.

Army Medical Services.Captain William McC. Wanklyn, Sanitary Service, is

appointed Deputy Assistant Director of Medical Services,North Midland Division.

Feomanry.Citv of London (Rough Riders) : Surgeon-Captain Robert

M. McQueen is seconded.