New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-25
MEDICAL md SINITIRf NOTES.

DECREASE OF EXTREME OLD AGE.-It appears,
according Il statement made by sir James Crichton
Brown that the decline III the death rate In Great
Britain since 1850 has been l1.j per cent at all ages
under nfy Ave. and only 80 at all ages above ffiy-hve,
lille between the years sixty FIVE and seventy five
there has actually Increase In the death rate
The cause OF this In later death rates he at
tributes cancer heart Diseases nervous diseases and
Of the hidncys-dls.ases which are nIainy of the
dcecneralivc class, ana Que 10 INC wear ana tear OF
modern Nfc, this being shown 10y the fact that the
ana loss In the country than In the city. DR.. brown
confidently Tat lnc nnrnliiics associated With
Old age gradually taking possession VI the system
years earlier in they were wont 10 10 III iorier
gene aOns deaths, too due simply 10 old age arc non
reported between forty i've and nifty five years OF age
and In large numbers between hnynvc and siAty.
and there hts also been reduction la the age al which
airophy and dcbity-anothcr name for second child
l.ancss-Lill those who have passed m 'ulc NE
TREATMENT OF PNEUMONIA IN rRANCE.-The
attention OF the profession has for time past been
directed 10 the statements put forth concerning the
treatment OF pneumonia by dsi,alis. rcsortcd 10 By
eminent French and German practitioners, such ms
lcfrrsco Till Traubc Wuudrrlch aud others Pctrcsco
That he gives preference to this above MI other
methods Of treatment cutting short the disease In from
twenty four to forty eight hours by this drug alone
he pulse and fever OF the patient falling almost
NAL In 80 cases thus treated by him the mortality
has been but nlilr more that per cent. The results
secured by Tiki, OF Vienna have been even more re-
markahlc the result, being puhlShcd by lin OF sixty
carefully studied eases. all treated 10y large doses
large number All OF The foreign Investigators agree
that The doses OF dsitals should DE larger than those
generally employed percScos dose Is sixty TO ninety
grains "A day. In infusion. for three four day
conccuilvcy, and With these large doses he has
never noticed any bad effects.
PURITY OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. -
The matter of open covered reservoirs is regarded
somewhat differently In England and France Errisl.
engineers having in mimi the conditions obtaining In
England. appear to consider protection against SCOT
and dust the most important point. though they
by no means ignore the Importance OF protection
against heat and light on TIE other hand. French
engineers appear to regard protection again, solar IN
hucnccS the most important-this Of course natur
ally following from the fact that french cities
mach less smoky than English cities. Tic atmospheric
France. though there are localities In this countr,
which SMOKY rs any In England. and the need
Of covered reservoirs Is as urgent.
RISK FROM TIE STOMACH PUMA scandi-
navian medical Journal contains an account by DR..
Key Abcrg OF a case In which the stomach OF patient
seemed to lave been rupturcd from The use Of stom-
ach pump. The patient was man who had taken
fifteen grains OF opium with tho object OF committing
suicide and who had been brought to hospital until
three hours had elapsed Under these circumstances.
the stomach washed somewhat hastily several
times each time II being remarked that only portion
OF the water that ~iad been injected returned. The
patient died three hours after admission. AZ the ne
v, u
stomach had sustained several longitudinal rlpturrs,
which, however, confined TO the mucous coat.
Experiments made on dead bodies show that inicc.
ton OF three or four quarts OF water Into he stomach
under pressure Of about ten inches OF produces
similar injuries which ultimately bcc"m" compete rup
lures through the whole OF the coats OF the organ.
CONT ,GIOU sNEsS OF PilTIIIsIs.-rhc discussion
which ins been gong on for time pas, rs the
contagious character OF pnAss has been cmpha-
sized the negative side by the fact HAT at IT,,
famous Brompton Hospital the records OF tl'rtysix
years show not single authenticated originating
within II, walls among some two hundred and eighty
ply sclans residents and nurses Equally remark
able the statistics OF the Fricdrchshaln Hospital
In Berlin, which show that ont OF nine hundred and
eighty nine phy slcans and nurses only ten became
tubcrouar OF whom three showed evidences OF the dis
before entering the hospital. Again. DIR. reAner
states blnt ut Goibcrsdurf. where his institution Is
situated, during the Inst twenty years than
thousand phtht,ical patients resided ir the hospital
who walked TIE streets Of the town and cOmmlngicd
With lis Inhabitants. aud WHO therefore apparently
crowd the air with iurbercle bacllli. yet the mortality
Is 30 per cent less among the Gorhcr>dor pppun-
ton than II WIS before the establishment OF the
hospital DIR. .clnydcr. OF switzerland. also gives
record II eight hundred and forty fOnr cases OF
phlhlsis among married people. In four hundr, and
forty five OF which the husband only was phthiSical.
aud IN three hundred and sixty-scvrn the wife only,
while In fhlry-two both husband ana Wife
Affected. showing thu In eight hundred AMI twelve
Instances there was Dot the least proof OF cOntnglon
RENDERING HORSE CIESTNtl1S EDIBLE
German Investigators recommend the OF ammonia
at 10 per cent II suitable agent for removing tnnn.h
and poisonous alknoldS. horse chcstnus and 10
no previously commnutcd. and rs mpns contain
starch II should BE- added to the purified product IN
Tho shape OF ground ncorns. 1t seems however. TINT
the attempts ut utilizing horse Enthusiastically
the removal Of sapotoxnsars not very satisfactory.