bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
4. Russian Retrospect
Authors: Jones Robert , Petersburg St. , Moscow  , Novgorod Nijni , Warsaw
Published: August 2008

A long looked-for trip to Russia became at last possible, and during my visit I made an inspection of nine lunatic asylums, both public and private, which may be taken as fair examples of other institutions for the treatment of the insane in that country. Each province in Russia has one or more asylums, within or near its chief town, and each province is responsible for the maintenance and government of its own asylums; the general management of the latter depends, therefore, upon the interest maintained in them and the discipline enforced by the governing committee. The difficulty which a foreigner, unacquainted with the language, has in appreciating the details of management is naturally very great, and, I fear, if it had not been for the notoriety of Russians as linguists, fully justified in my experience, the information I obtained would doubtless be unreliable. I found that many of the Russian medical superintendents were travellers, and that England had been visited, that the asylums of Bethlem, Colney Hatch, and Hanwell had been also visited. They all (in the nine asylums inspected) spoke French fluently; two ventured to speak English, but they expressed themselves more correctly in writing. All seemed aware of the difficulties of English pronunciation, and were aware of the treachery that existed in applying general principles to our complex language. Although I was favoured with photographs and plans, statistical, structural, and medical reports of these asylums in the Russian language, I fear that I have not profited much in the following account by their possession; what I have to say being mainly from notes made during my visits.
Cycling for the Insane
Authors: Ewart C. Theodore
Published: August 2008

There is no example of two agents so closely united as Mind and Body without some mutual interference taking place, and an increased knowledge of the workings of our bodies has vastly increased the knowledge of our mental actions, and will continue to do so more and more as we continue our researches. To confine ourselves to the study of the nervous substance would be to misrepresent the union, and the knowledge of that substance, however complete, would not suffice to solve the problem.
On the Weight of the Brain in the Insane, with reference to the Hemispheres, Lobes, Brain-Stem, and Cerebellum
Authors: Mercier A.
Published: August 2008

These results are tabulated after weighing 400 brains as follows:—
A Case of Delusional Insanity
Authors: Keay
Published: August 2008

The following notes of a case of delusional insanity, in which recovery took place after nine years, may be of interest to the members of the Medico-Psychological Association:—
The Proposed Hospitals for the Treatment of the Insane
Authors: Allbutt T. Clifford
Published: August 2008

My hearers will remember that in 1889 the London County Council, appalled by the multitudes of insane persons committed to its charge, formed a strong and compact Committee to inquire into the means of dealing with this damnosa hóreditas. The Chairman of this Committee was a medical man who possesses in exceptional measure the qualities needed for such a post. A general inquiry into the means of treating insanity being, I presume, regarded as too large a commission, it was decided to concentrate the inquiry upon a proposal to build in London a hospital with a visiting staff for the study and treatment of insanity.
The Influence of Surroundings on the Production of Insanity
Authors: Savage Geo. H.
Published: August 2008

The object of this paper is two-fold. First, it is a protest against the widely-spread notion that nearly all insanity is due to direct neurotic heredity; secondly, I wish to point out my belief that as much insanity depends upon surrounding conditions, so the general treatment by conditions rather than by drugs is the more reasonable and more efficacious.
After-Care of Male Patients Discharged from Asylums
Authors: Rayner H.
Published: August 2008

The after-care of the male insane, to which I venture to draw your attention, with a view to discussion, is so closely allied to the objects of this Association that I trust its consideration may be not only of interest, but even of some practical usefulness. Although at present lying beyond the limits of our sphere of action, the time may arrive when our resources shall have so far developed that the annexation of this adjacent province may be both practicable and desirable.
Cancer in its Relations to Insanity
Authors: Snow Herbert
Published: August 2008

The influence of mental distress in generating cancer of the breasts and uterus of women has long been notorious. The testimony of Dr. Walshe (“On Cancer,” 1846, p. 155), and of Sir James Paget (“Surgical Pathology,” 3rd edition, p. 800) is sufficiently emphatic; and in my own writings I have had occasion to lay great stress upon the significance of such conditions as antecedents to malignant disease of almost every pathological variety. Among Cancer Hospital in-patients, of both sexes, symptoms of mental unsoundness are far from infrequent. It occurred to me, therefore, that an inquiry as to the actual prevalence of cancerous maladies among the insane might prove of some value, especially as such developments are becoming so increasingly frequent among us, and as anything bearing upon their peculiarities of selection or of distribution cannot well be devoid of interest to the pathological inquirer. I accordingly instituted on my own account a miniature “collective investigation,” the net results of which I now venture to lay before you, with the expression of my great indebtedness to those medical gentlemen practising in this particular field who have so kindly assisted me by courteous, and often very full, replies to my questions.
The Diathesis of General Paralysis
Authors: Wilson G. R.
Published: August 2008

Ten years ago Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson said that the description of a fresh diathesis was almost as easy as the discovery of a new nerve centre or the revelation of a new bacterium. Yet no new diathesis, so far as I know, has since then become generally recognized in our special branch of medicine. To-day the neurotic diathesis stands as god-mother to a large family of diseases, and little has been done to differentiate their ætiology, or to trace their genealogy. On the contrary there seems to be a tendency to exaggerate the importance of environment in the ætiology of many of the diseases of the nervous system, and to ignore the hereditary factor. Especially is this the case with general paralysis. Excepting the writings of a few, a course of reading on the ætiology of general paralysis would incline one to believe that there is no evil under the sun—from syphilis to the cessation of lactation—that may not sufficiently account for the onset of that disease. It seems almost as if the observers had first tried to find an acknowledged raison d'être, and, failing in that, had adduced as “cause” anything in the recent history of the patient at all out of the common, or which had ranked as important in the estimation of his friends.
Genius and Insanity
Authors: MacDonald Arthur
Published: August 2008

In the study of genius and insanity we shall endeavour to follow the empirical rather than the polemical method. This will require the statement of many facts, gathered from different sources, but principally from the instructive works, “L'Homme de Génie,” by Cesare Lombroso, and “Psychologie Morbide,” by Moreau (de Tours).
Retrospective Glance at the Early History of the Retreat, York; its Objects and Influence
Authors: Tuke D. Hack
Published: August 2008

In celebrating the Centenary of the York Retreat, the first question which arises in everybody's mind is, why was it established, and why at one time rather than at another? Further, it is natural to inquire what were its objects, and what influence has it exerted?
Influenza and Neurosis
Authors: Savage Geo. H.
Published: August 2008

Griesinger says: “The onset of psychosis after influenza follows in all cases after the disappearance of bodily symptoms, and when the increased temperature has passed off. The character of the psychosis varies from slight to profound depression, hallucination, typical maniacal disorder, and the like.”
Insanity and Divorce
Authors: Renton A. Wood
Published: August 2008

In view of the interest which the subject is at present arousing, a critical analysis of the historical development of the law of insanity in its relation to divorce may be neither inopportune nor uninstructive.
Presidential Address delivered at the Fifty-first Annual Meeting of the Medico-Psychological Association, Held at the Retreat, York, July 21st, 1892
Authors: Baker Robert
Published: August 2008

Gentlemen,—I have three important duties to perform this afternoon. The first is once again to offer you a most hearty welcome to the City of York and to the Retreat. The second duty is an equally pleasurable one, namely, to thank you, from the depths of my inner consciousness, for your courteous thoughtfulness in spontaneously offering to revisit York this year, in celebration of the Retreat Centenary, and for your great goodness in conferring on me, just before my retirement from office, the high honour of the Presidentship of our Association. The third duty, however, is more difficult; indeed, the thought of it has been ever present with me during the past year. The more I have thought of the best subject for a presidential address, and the more previous presidential addresses I have re-read and studied, the more difficult and onerous my task has seemed to me.
Cases of Hereditary Chorea (Huntington's Disease)
Authors: Menzies W. F.
Published: August 2008

A list of works on hereditary, or Huntington's chorea, which will be appended to this paper, shows that this disease is by no means so rare as has been supposed. At the same time it appears either endemic to, or at least prevalent in, certain parts of many countries, where its entity is well recognized by the laity, its cardinal signs discussed, and its universally unfavourable termination so proverbial, that members of families in which it is known to exist find great difficulty in securing partners in marriage—whereby the disease tends to a spontaneous cure. It is beyond doubt that this particular form of chorea has for a long time been differentiated from others by medical practitioners in its particular habitats, although even yet, in spite of the many able expositions of its peculiarities, considerable confusion seems to prevail in general medical literature. An old woman, nearly 80 years of age, told me, when I was collecting information, that when she was a girl her “old family doctor said no one ever got over it.” This statement carries us back a hundred years at least.
The Effect upon Mental Disorder of Localized Inflammatory Conditions
Authors: Goodall Edwin
Published: August 2008

Is the beneficial effect often produced in a case of recent and acute insanity by local inflammation (cellulitis) mainly due to the local disturbance or to a general, systemic disturbance? This question appears to me to have more than a mere theoretical interest, for the following reason:—If the effect noted be due mainly to the local inflammation we may go on applying blisters and equivalent chemical irritants on a sufficiently large scale to the skins of patients; but if the result is to be ascribed solely or largely to the accompanying general disturbance, it will be advisable to consider whether such cannot be evoked with greater certainty and thoroughness than is possible with the means now employed. I much doubt whether local inflammation, the result of chemical irritation, can be compared, from the point of view of influence upon existing mental disorder, with cellulitis∗ of unknown origin, such as occurs in the insane. Upon this point it would be instructive to hear the opinions of experienced observers. No one probably will deny that a more profound general disturbance is associated with idiopathic cellulitis than with inflammation due to chemical irritation. If, then, cellulitis is capable of producing the more striking mental alteration, it seems legitimate to ascribe this to the more profound systemic disturbance referred to. The qualitative difference in the nature of the irritants in the two cases possibly entails some difference in the modes of local reaction; even if this be so one would still, I think, be justified in adhering to the conclusion reached, i.e., that the greater mental effect produced by cellulitis is due to the greater systemic disturbance.
Some Remarks on the New Farm of the Omagh Asylum
Authors: West George Francis
Published: August 2008

The amount of land originally belonging to the Omagh Asylum amounted to fifty-two acres. This land surrounds the asylum, and is bounded partly by a wall and partly by a river.
2. Pathological Retrospect.
Authors: Goodall Edwin
Published: August 2008

The following notes may, perhaps, be of service to those engaged in pathological work, including the preparation of museum specimens, in asylums:—
A Chronicle of Infant Development and Characteristics
Authors: Simpson Walter G.
Published: August 2008

The following notes have been time to time in the hope of contributing materials which will serve to elucidate the important subject of the gradual unfolding of mental capacity in childhood.
2. Retrospect of Criminal Anthropology.
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

The “Year Book” of the Elmira Reformatory for 1892 is an admirably produced volume; it contains, also, a very large number of process illustrations from photographs, as well as 100 woodcut portraits of inmates with accompanying histories. Like last year's “Year Book,” it is the product of the intelligence, skill, and industry of inmates engaged on the institutional journal, “The Summary.”
A Chronicle of Infant Development and Characteristics
Authors: Simpson Wr. G.
Published: August 2008

July 15th.—The following differences between James and Odo were noted in the first few months of the latter's existence:—James's eyes from the first were noticeably wide open, and seemed to look. They seemed much larger than Odo's. Now they are soft and languid. James was somewhat delicate during infancy, but grew out of it; stomach easily deranged. Softness of eyes in some measure due to very long lashes; but I find comparative brightness or languor of eyes a sure guide to his state of health. Odo's eyes have steadily grown in apparent size, because (the converse from James) the older he has grown the wider he has opened them. They are now wide, round, and bright (blue). James has very large pupils; Odo not. Odo apparently healthy, can partially raise himself up; has cut thirteenth tooth; has a placid temperament; does not cry much, i.e., will lie awake for long periods, which James never would do; sleeps all night for most part, which James seldom did. In short, thus early the one shows an excitable, the other a placid temper. Odo objects to being taken by a stranger, although he very soon gets over his misgivings. At this age James showed no distrust of strangers. Odo has a distinct manner to the three persons he knows best—nurse, mother, and father. He coos and smiles to mother when she comes to take him. He only smiles to father. Smiles more but talks less than James did at same age. By talking I mean saying “coo,” “ug-gug, and the expression called “crowing” Cries at once on being scolded. James did not understand a scold at same age. Odo always tries to seize father's moustache when taken by him. In the case of women it is the hair he goes for in preference to anything. Odo makes use of smiles at five months old, and used them unconsciously at four months, which James (see notes on him) did not do till his seventh month. On the other hand, Odo uses his hands only to grasp things, or at most to put them to his mouth. At the same age James always put them to his mouth and could play with them, that is, pull them about.
An Improved Reaction-Time Instrument
Authors: Lewis Bevan
Published: August 2008

I thought it might prove of some interest to demonstrate at the psychological section the instrument I have hitherto used at the West Riding Asylum for the purpose of registering the reaction time to a sight and sound signal. The instrument in its original form, as made by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, may be familiar to you, but lately I have so far modified it and extended its utility that I think it will be well to indicate the changes introduced in detail. The original, with minor alterations, has been described so fully in Dr. Hack Tuke's new “Dictionary of Psychological Medicine” that I shall only briefly refer here to the general scheme of its construction, referring those who seek more minute particulars to this article.
The Practice of Surgery, in connection with the treatment of Lunacy.
Authors: Tyerman D. F.
Published: August 2008

Every practical alienist will admit the great importance of the application to his specialty of the principles of Surgery, inasmuch as those corporeal defects and casualties, which are often connected with, and are prone to result from disturbance of the mind, the “noble guest of the flesh,” must have forced themselves upon his attention in a multitude of his cases.
Is American Insanity Increasing? a Study
Authors: Sanborn F. B.
Published: August 2008

I read, at the time of its publication in 1886, and again in 1890, after a visit to Dr. Tuke in London, his first paper on the “Alleged increase of insanity,” and I await with much expectation the full text of his recent paper on the same topic. The conclusion that I draw from the statistics there presented (in 1886) is not exactly the same that my friend Dr. Tuke draws. I distrust very much the records of first attacks; so far as my observation goes—extended now over a period of 30 years, and many thousand cases of insanity whose certificates I have separately examined—there is nothing in the proverbially doubtful statistics of the insane more dubious than those affecting to give the date of a “first attack.” Even for purposes of comparison, year by year, they have scarcely more value than a mixture of pounds sterling, years of our Lord, bushels of wheat, and a few other numbers jumbled together in an account, so totally varying are the judgments and the exactness of the certifiers who set down the alleged “first attack.” Until these variances can in some way be reduced by the better observation of the asylum physician, I, for one, am inclined to leave the tabulation of “first attacks” where good sense has long left the asylum tables of “causes of insanity.” One may possibly be as good as the other, but neither can throw any clear light on the real facts of insanity.
On Affections of the Musical Faculty in Cerebral Diseases
Authors: Ireland William W.
Published: August 2008

A modern philosopher has revived the theory that music has been evolved out of speech; but even adopting the leading views of the evolutionists, this theory seems little in accordance with their own methods. The harmony of sound appears very low in the animated kingdom, whereas the faculty of speech is the last and highest endowment. Some insects and spiders have the power of producing sounds. This is generally effected by the aid of beautifully-constructed stridulating organs. “The sounds thus produced,” Darwin tells us, “consist in all cases of the same note repeated rhythmically, and this is sometimes pleasing even to the ear of man. Their chief, and in some cases exclusive use, appears to be either to call or to charm the opposite sex.”
Music and the Musical Faculty in Insanity
Authors: Legge Richard
Published: August 2008

The subject of Music and the Musical Faculty in connection with insanity is one which has several interesting aspects, and one which, in some directions, offers for observation a field which has hitherto been little worked. I propose to bring together in this paper some of the facts which have fallen under my notice, and to offer a few comments upon them.
The Future Supply and Status of the Nursing Staff in Asylums
Authors: Menzies W. F.
Published: August 2008

Probably most medical officers of asylums have experienced during the last few years an increasing difficulty in obtaining reliable nurses.
On Brain Pressure and Trephining
Authors: Shaw T. Claye
Published: August 2008

It is now several years since I first proposed the operation of trephining the skull in general paralysis of the insane, at about the same time that Dr. Batty Tuke independently operated for the same disease. Others have also performed similar operations, but the results have not been publicly recorded or collected. Sufficient time has not elapsed, nor have the cases been sufficiently numerous to determine the future of the operation, whether it is of sufficient service to justify its frequent employment or whether it must be dismissed to the limbo of useless remedies. I have published cases where considerable temporary improvement has resulted, where life has been prolonged, and distressing symptoms alleviated, and I propose to give to the Association the short details of a hitherto unpublished case where no candid critic could, I think, deny the improvement that I claim for him. This much may be said for the operation—that it seems harmless when carefully performed, no fatal result having, as far as I am aware, ever resulted. The apprehended after-results, as regards local tenderness, liability to injury at the trephined spot, bulging of the contents of the cranium, are phantoms which have no basis of fact. I fear, indeed, that we have not been bold enough in our measures. Mr. Harrison Cripps, who performed the earlier operations for me, recommends the removal of a much greater extent of bone, of a piece indeed about three inches square, and he would do it on both sides of the skull. Of the after results of removing so large a piece of bone I should have no more fear than I have of the present comparatively small area; the great objection I have to the removal of so much bone is the long time required for the operation. Another point is with reference to the time chosen for the operation. I think it should be done earlier, it seems hopeless to do it in the later stages, after there is much thickening of the membranes and destruction of tissue—as far, at least, as any hope of cure is expected, anything, indeed, beyond relief.
On Cerebral Pressure
Authors: Macpherson John
Published: August 2008

The term cerebral pressure requires more exact definition, and ought, I think, to be entirely superseded by a more generic, comprehensive, and intelligible name. It should not be taken in the limited sense of only including fluid pressure, but should be extended so as to embrace a large variety of clinical and pathological conditions.
The Need of Special Accommodation for the Degenerate
Authors: Morel Jules
Published: August 2008

The subject which I have the honour to bring before this learned Association concerns persons whose mental condition is unsatisfactory, either by arrest of brain development before birth or in early childhood, or as a result of altered intelligence following injury or acute disease in infancy, in adolescence, or even in adult life.
Lunacy Legislation for Ireland
Authors: Eustace John
Published: August 2008

My attention has been drawn to the question of fresh Lunacy Legislation for Ireland, by the report of a Committee which was appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1891 to enquire into the lunacy administration of this country.∗
Lunacy Administration in Berlin and in Scotland, with Special Reference to the Care of the Insane in Private Dwellings
Authors: Sibbald John
Published: August 2008

It was first demonstrated on a large scale, by what was observed in the “Insane Colony” at Gheel, in Belgium, which, some fifty years ago, began to attract the attention of those engaged in lunacy administration, that a large number of the insane may be suitably provided for in private dwellings. It is now more or less widely recognized that in many cases they can be provided for in this way better than in asylums; and as regards the insane poor that they can often be thus provided for in a way not only conducive to their own welfare, but also at less cost to the public. This fact has received its most complete and systematic recognition in the lunacy administration of Scotland. Practical effect has been given to this recognition in various ways both on the continent of Europe and in America. One of the most recent and important steps in this direction has been taken by the authorities of the great city of Berlin, and it is proposed to give an account of what has been done by the Berlin authorities in the following paper.
On the Degenerative Lesions of the Arterial System in the Insane, with Remarks upon the nature of Granular Ependyma
Authors: Beadles Cecil F.
Published: August 2008

The degenerative changes in the tissues of lunatics are more or less well known, at any rate the grosser or naked-eye lesions that are to be expected, but even amongst these there are some points that, I venture to think, may receive further attention. Of histological changes we can say more positively that much light may yet be thrown on their nature. As to their cause—the cause of the degeneration of nerve cells, for instance—we are lamentably ignorant.
A Review of the Influence of Reflex and Toxic Agencies in the Causation of Insanity and Epilepsy
Authors: Bullen F. St. John
Published: August 2008

The object of this paper is to present in concise form recent views upon the influence of Reflex Stimulation and Toxic Agencies upon Insanity and Epilepsy. For the most part these will be dealt with together, although the influence of reflex irritation will of necessity be chiefly confined to epilepsy. With regard to both insanity and epilepsy, cases will occur in which it is impossible to decide whether a reflex or toxic condition originates the mischief. It must not be supposed that these views are novel, except in their development. Both Abercrombie and Henry Monro long ago discussed these theories. The latter acute observer, in his “Remarks on Insanity” (1851), dwells at length on both toxic and auto-toxic origins of insanity, and his views even at the present day may be considered with interest and advantage. Since this time there has been a continual increase of experimental and clinical evidence lending support to the theories advanced. It is the purpose of this paper to state dispassionately the accumulated observations upon this subject. Some apparent contradictions arise at the outset; amongst these are—

(1) Any given disorder may survive the removal of its supposed cause.

(2) Given in two different cases the operation of precisely similar morbid conditions, the same results are certainly not invariably met with.
Tuberculous Disease and its Treatment in Irish Asylums
Authors: Finegan
Published: August 2008

Within recent years we have experienced a marked advance in our knowledge of tuberculous disease. We are now in a position to consider its varied phases from a scientific standpoint and to recognize its influence in the course of other maladies the pathology of which may be less obvious. Its relation to mental disease has engaged the physician's special attention for many years, and even prior to the organization of psychological medicine the intimate association which is now acknowledged to exist between tuberculosis and insanity was well known to contemporary writers. It has, however, been reserved to recent authors to classify the symptoms and signs which may guide us with tolerable accuracy to diagnose a case of phthisical insanity by the character of the mental disease coming under our observation.
Atrophy and Sclerosis of the Cerebellum
Authors: Bond C. Hubert
Published: August 2008

Notwithstanding all the elaborate researches that already have been conducted upon the cerebellum, much controversy yet exists as to its physiology, and a complete account of its functional relations, with the rest of the central nervous system, cannot yet be given. Rapid strides have been lately made, and many doubtful points elucidated by direct experiment upon lower animals, but the deductions drawn from them cannot be regarded as absolutely applicable to man until they have been confirmed by pathological observations on the human brain. With this in view, the case about to be related has been thought worthy of publication.
A Further Contribution on the Relationship between Chronic Renal Disease and General Paralysis of the Insane
Authors: Bristowe Hubert C.
Published: August 2008

In a paper I had the honour of reading before you last December I called attention to the high percentage of patients who died of general paralysis of the insane showing post-mortem signs of disease of the kidney. The task I then set myself was to find out, if possible, what was the pathological relation between the two. The arteries seemed to me to be the only connecting link. I then proceeded to point out that a diseased condition of the cerebral arteries occurred in those dying with granular kidneys, very similar to, if not identical with, what is found in those dying of general paralysis of the insane. And, finally, I called attention to three possible explanations of this apparent relationship.
Presidential Address delivered at the Fifty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Medico-Psychological Association, held in London, 25th and 26th July, 1895
Authors: Nicolson David
Published: August 2008

Gentlemen,—My first duty is to convey to you my grateful appreciation of the honour you have done me in placing me in this chair. I am not unmindful of the great names which, in the course of more than half-a-century, have gone to make up an honourable tradition in the history and work of our Association. That tradition has assuredly lost none of its dignity whilst in the keeping of Dr. Conolly Norman, our retiring President, who has just now placed in my hand the “hammer” of office.
The Pathology of Milkiness, Thickening, and Opacity of the Pia-arachnoid in the Insane
Authors: Robertson W. F.
Published: August 2008

There is at the present time great need of more complete and definite knowledge as to the pathology of the very marked structural changes that so commonly affect the pia-arachnoid in the insane. The subject is one of much importance to all of us as medical psychologists, for not only is the condition in question one of the most conspicuous lesions associated with mental disease, but it implicates a structure of primary importance in the economy of the central nervous system. It is by way of vessels that course through this membrane that nutriment is conveyed to the brain cortex, and the waste products resulting from metabolism in the cerebral tissues are mainly conveyed away in the fluid that circulates in its lymph spaces. Therefore it is evident that these morbid changes may very seriously interfere with the functions both of nutrition and excretion in the brain.
On Thyroid Feeding, based upon the study of a second series of Sixty Cases
Authors: Bruce Lewis C.
Published: August 2008

In the “Journal of Mental Science,” January, 1895, I published the results of thyroid feeding in thirty cases of insanity. Since then we have treated at least sixty cases at the Royal Edinburgh Asylum.
Some Remarks on the Forcible Feeding of Insane Patients
Authors: Turnbull A. R.
Published: August 2008

In dealing with insane patients the question of forcible feeding comes up for consideration very frequently. It embraces various points of great interest and importance, on each of which much could be said; but in the present paper I wish to confine myself to some short remarks under the following heads:—(1) The Methods of Forcible Feeding; (2) Feeding by the Œsophageal Tube; (8) The Kind of Food used: and (4) A Reference to some Illustrative Cases.
To the Editors of “The Journal of Mental Science.”
Authors: Mercier Chas.
Published: August 2008

Sirs,—A recent number of “Truth” quoted an opinion as having been given verbally to the Editor by a specialist in insanity who had written a book on Asylum Management.
Insanity of Conduct
Authors: Savage Geo. H. , Mercier C.
Published: August 2008

Dr. Savage.

Gentlemen,—I feel that some apology is due in bringing before you a series of rather trivial cases of mental disorder, in which there is nothing very new, and whose interest really lies in their being placed together for special consideration. Experience teaches me that one may often learn more from the slighter deviation from health than from the more serious perversions. In the former one may watch the details much more readily than one can in the latter.
A Medico-Legal Case
Authors: Fox Bonville B.
Published: August 2008

I venture to take up your time with a brief recital of this case for two chief reasons: (1) That its diagnosis was not too clear from a purely medical point of view, and (2) that grave legal consequences depended upon the acceptance or rejection of that diagnosis as correct. At the outset I confess that my view was decisively rejected. We all of us learn more from our mistakes than our successes, and I will try to tell the story as concisely as I can, and ask you to decide whether I was right or wrong, or how far the patient was responsible.
Types of Traumatic Insanity
Authors: Cowen Thomas Philip
Published: August 2008

Several cases of insanity following injuries to the head have been admitted to the County Asylum, Prestwich, of late, Although we do not assert that there is a special form of insanity arising from “trauma,” yet there are certain types of mental derangement produced either directly or remotely by injuries. The five cases which are described below are of special interest and are good examples of certain of these types. None of them proved fatal, but the diagnosis is so clear in each of them that the pathological processes involved may be accurately described.
Craniectomy, with the After-History of Two Cases
Authors: Telford-Smith T.
Published: August 2008

(With Plates).

When Lannelongue published † his accounts of his first cases of craniectomy for microcephalus, the hope was raised that microcephalic idiocy would prove a curable form of mental deficiency, and would come to be classed among the ordinary surgical diseases of children, as being mainly a bony deformity to be remedied by the use of the knife and the saw; and though Lannelongue himself did not follow Virchow's teaching and regard premature ossification of the cranial sutures as the primary cause of microcephalus, but attributed it to its actual cause, namely, arrested development of the brain, still he considered that there was undue compression and consequent dwarfing due to bony pressure, and that craniectomy would relieve this and lead to increase of brain growth.
Voluntary Boarders in English Asylums
Authors: Smith R. Percy
Published: August 2008

The object of this paper is to state briefly what appears to the writer to be the law as to voluntary boarders in asylums (under which term is included all English institutions for the reception of persons of unsound mind), to narrate the practice observed in such cases at Bethlem Hospital, and to gain information from those members of the Association who are engaged in the treatment of mental disease as to their practice.
Lunacy Laws in Colorado
Authors: Hobhouse E.
Published: August 2008

A short account of the proceedings in a case of lunacy in the State of Colorado may not be without interest and value to the readers of this Journal, as there has been some agitation in England for the establishment of a similar form of procedure. As each State makes its own laws in the matter, they vary in every State of the American Union. In Colorado the procedure for committing a lunatic consists, briefly, in trial by jury before a judge or what we should call in England a stipendiary magistrate, and precisely resembles the proceedings of a criminal trial in England.
Notes on the Treatment of Epileptic Insanity
Authors: Walsh Surgeon-Captain J. H. Tull
Published: August 2008

During the early months of 18911 made some rough notes on the treatment of insane patients suffering from epilepsy under my care in the Dallanda Asylum for natives of India, and it has occurred to me that the cases might be of interest in themselves, without discussion or apology for deficiencies. My notes were transcribed from the asylum records. During the years given in the tables showing relation of body weight to the number of fits per month, the cases were under my own observation. As regards any general conclusions I am convinced that in a large number of cases of insane epileptics we do not reap the same benefit from treatment by bromides, as is seen in the same number of epileptics who are not insane. At the same time the steady use of these drugs often leads to improvement in reference to the violence of the fits and the accompanying excitement, though the actual number of fits may not be in any way affected. Of the bromides, I prefer the bromide of potassium. The ammonium salt is also very useful, but I do not think that bromide of sodium is of much value. Borax has not given any satisfaction, and I have not yet tried the nitrate of silver treatment. The question of staining is not one of much importance; nitrate of silver will not materially alter the colour of a native of India. With regard to the use of sulphonal and morphia, I have found them most useful in diminishing the grave excitement often occurring before and after the epileptic attacks. The mixture given in full in the notes of Case II. is elsewhere spoken of as the “Bromide Mixture.” The Table relative to each case shows, I think, that apart from excitement or intercurrent disease, the body weight is not affected by the number of fits in each month, and shows no alteration or particular improvement during the months in which no fits occurred. This Table also leads me to believe that the bromides may be taken in large doses for long periods without affecting the body weight. Symptoms of “bromidism” are but very rarely observed among the patients under treatment in the Dallanda Asylum.
A Case of Developmental Degenerative Insanity, with Sexual Inversion, Melancholia following Removal of Testicles, Attempted Murder and Suicide
Authors: Talbot E. S. , Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

On the 28th March, 1894, at noon, in the open street in Chicago, Guy T. Olmstead fired a revolver at a letter-carrier named William L. Clifford. He came up from behind and deliberately fired four shots, the first entering Clifford's loins, the other three penetrating the back of his head, so that the man fell and was supposed to be fatally wounded. Olmstead made little attempt to escape, as a crowd rushed up with the usual cry of “Lynch him!” but waved his revolver exclaiming, “I'll never be taken alive,” and when a police officer disarmed him, “Don't take my gun; let me finish what I have to do.” This was evidently an allusion, as will be seen later on, to an intention to destroy himself. He eagerly entered the police-van, however, to escape the threatening mob.
The Progress of Psychiatry in 1895
Authors: Semelaigne René
Published: August 2008

The disastrous progress of alcoholism has roused public attention in France, as elsewhere. A special law has passed the Chambre des Deputés, but has not yet been before the Sénat. This law ordains that the State shall exercise a monopoly of the rectification of alcohol; the maintenance of the privileges of distillers of brandy under the limit of 20 litres of absolute alcohol (40 litres of ean de vie of 50°); an increased taxation on the manufacture of spirituous liquors; the declaration of the manufacture of all essences or concentrated extracts used by the trade; the prohibition of all essences declared dangerous by the Academy of Medicine; a reduction of the tax on wine, cider, beer, etc.
Torquato Tasso and his Biographers
Authors: Ireland W. W.
Published: August 2008

When one compares the few details left as about the life of Shakspere with the wealth of materials for writing the biography of Tasso we might suppose that there would be little doubt about the main facts in the life of the great Italian poet. Nevertheless some of the most important passages in his life have been the subject of controversy for the last 300 years. These questions especially regarded the treatment Tasso met with from the ducal family of Este, and unless we understand these relations correctly, we may totally misconceive the character of the poet and all the later events of his life. It seems strange that such questions have remained so long undecided; but biographers and critics are often much better acquainted with books and texts and languages than with human nature. A fine illustration of this is furnished by the Life of Tasso † by the Rev. Mr. Milman. Here we may refer the reader to a paper in this Journal of January, 1877. The author, whose initials are A. C. M., though his study of the life of Tasso had apparently gone no further than a perusal of Milman's book, was able to show many of the errors into which the biographer had fallen. In truth Mr. Milman, although he took up the traditional view that Tasso was the victim of vindictive persecution by the Machiavelian Duke of Ferrara, yet was too candid to repress a number of facts which, in the eyes of an able psychologist, showed that his whole treatment of the life of Tasso was founded upon a complete misconception or ignorance of the ordinary symptoms of mental derangement.
Dangerous Lunatics Charged with Crime: Note on Operation of 15th Section of 25 and 26 Vict., cap. 54 (Lunacy Statutes, Scotland).†
Authors: Carswell John
Published: August 2008

The case of W. C., a boarded-out lunatic, who recently made a murderous attack upon the wife and child of his guardian, has brought under public notice and discussion several matters connected with lunacy administration in Scotland. It would, obviously, be improper to discuss questions here which are still under the responsible consideration of the General Board of Lunacy. Therefore I do not intend to refer to such questions, and may venture to express the hope that the subsequent discussion will be confined to the one point raised, viz., the mode of procedure adopted by the criminal authorities.
Note on Female Nursing in an Asylum Male Sick-room
Authors: Turnbull A. R.
Published: August 2008

My object in this paper is to give a brief note of a trial which has recently been made in the Fife Asylum, in the way of introducing female nursing in the male sick-room. Nursing is peculiarly woman's province; and it has, I believe, often been felt that it would be a great advantage if female care could be more freely utilised in the management of male insane patients, or at least of those of them who are suffering from special bodily disease in addition to the mental symptoms. The main objections to the step have hitherto been: (1) that some of the habits and peculiarities of the male insane may make it unfit or undesirable to have them under female care; and (2) that in many asylums the structural arrangement makes it difficult or impossible to bring the male sick-room under systematic supervision by the female staff. Lately it was necessary to build a large addition to the Fife Asylum; and advantage was taken of this opportunity to get rid of the second objection mentioned. The new building is a hospital block, and is intended to receive recent admissions, cases requiring special observation on account of their mental state, and cases of bodily illness. Each side (male and female) is divided into three sections: 1st, sickroom proper (for cases of bodily illness); 2nd, special observation ward (intended for new cases, and cases needing continuous supervision on account of suicidal or other dangerous tendency); and 3rd, general observation ward. There are the usual dining-hall, kitchen, and administrative rooms in the centre of the building. The male and female sick-rooms are placed next to the administrative portion, one on each side; and as the doors here are unlocked during the day, with free communication by the corridor, the male sick-room is easily reached from the female side, and is administered by the matron, the head nurse (who has charge of both sick-rooms), and two junior nurses. Each sick-room communicates with a special observation dormitory, beyond which again is the special observation day-room. This dormitory is empty during the day, but receives at night the cases which require continuous supervision on account of suicidal tendency, and which come to it direct from the special observation day-room. On the male side the door between the sick-room and the observation dormitory is kept locked during the day; and there is thus no direct communication between the sick-room and those parts of the male side which are under the charge of attendants, except by the general corridor. When the Medical Officer makes the evening visit, this door is unlocked, and the sick-room and observation dormitory are thrown into one and come under the charge of a male attendant, who is on duty during the whole night, while the nurses return to the female side of the building. This plan was followed because our numbers are too small to require separate attendance in the two rooms; and in this way the sick-room is under female care during the day, but is supervised at night by the male staff.∗
Criminal Anthropology
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

The nineteenth Year-Book (1894) of the New York State Reformatory reflects, even at the first glance, the period of trouble from which the Reformatory has only lately emerged. It is a very plain and unpretentious document, without even a single illustration. Although the charges which have been brought against the Superintendent, Mr. Brockway, do not affect the special characteristics of the institution, i.e., the indeterminate sentence and the system of physical and psychic treatment now familiar to readers of this Journal, they tended to throw discredit upon the Reformatory, and moreover random and ignorant statements of the case appeared from time to time in England, even in influential medical journals. As the matter has cow been fully investigated and finally settled, it may be worth while briefly to set forth the results.
Winner of the Gaskell Prize
Authors: Dawson William Richard
Published: August 2008

The following were the written questions:—

1.—Give in detail the pathological changes found microscopically in the Cerebral Convolutions and Meninges in General Paralysis of the Insane. 2.—What are the mental symptoms which occur in Myxódema? How do you explain them? What is the cerebral pathology of this disease? 3.—Define “Judgment.” What is the difference between Judgment and Reasoning P What is the relation to Judgment of (a) Hesitation and (b) Doubt? 4.—To what morbid changes are the cells of the fifth layer of the Cortex liable, and in what form of insanity are these cells specially affected? 5.—Is there a distinct form of insanity which may properly be termed homicidal mania? If so, describe its characters and show how it differs from other forms of insanity accompanied by homicidal propensities. 6.—To what extent may the advent of puberty be regarded as a cause of insanity? What do you consider to be the mode of its operation?
The Detection of Insanity in Prisons
Authors: Pitcairn J. J.
Published: August 2008

It is frequently levied as a reproach to prison surgeons that they fail to realise how slender and impalpable is the border-line between crime and insanity, and that the proper inmates of an asylum are too frequently treated with the penal discipline of a prison.
Note on the use of Sulphate of Duboisin
Authors: Skeen J. H.
Published: August 2008

Sulphate of duboisin is a powerful sedative and hypnotic. I have used the drug for some time and administered it both hypodermically and by the mouth, generally in doses varying from grains to, though as much as grains has been given at one time. The hypodermic method is the surer and safer, and is followed by fewer bad effects.