The sixty-second annual meeting was held at Bristol, July 31st to August 3rd, 1894.

Barnwood House.—The retirement of Dr. and Mrs. Needham naturally forms the subject of remark in many parts of this Report, and cordial congratulations are offered to Dr. N. on his appointment to the Lunacy Commission. The recent history and progress of the institution have been so identified with Dr. Needham's name that his resigning its management might seem to threaten a blow to its success; but the worst compliment that could be paid to him would be to assume that he has built up and left the system on such a narrow and personal foundation; and we feel sure that Dr. Soutar will be found to be a competent follower in Dr. Needham's footsteps.

Dr. Nicholas Ostermayer, of Budapest, published in the “Allgemeine Zeitschrift” (xlvii. Band, p. 278) some experiments on the sedative and hypnotic properties of atropin and duboisin. Like atropin and hyoscyamin it belongs to the class of drugs which dilate the pupil, mydriatica. It comes from the sap of the duboisia myoporoides, a bush or small tree growing in Australia. The natives are aware of its stupefying properties, and put it in ponds to intoxicate the eels and make them rise to the surface. Gerrard discovered the alkaloid in 1878. Duquesnel showed how to crystallise it in 1880. It is a brownish substance, sparingly soluble in water, but readily dissolved in alcohol, ether, or chloroform. It has a close resemblance to hyoscyamin. Ostermayer found that 1 milligramme of duboisin given in two separate doses to a man in two hours induced drowsiness, delirium starting in the limbs, hallucinations of vision, and increased rapidity of the pulse and respirations.

This is a method to which considerable importance has been and is attached in Germany. Nissl's original description appeared in 1885, and in this magenta is recommended as the staining agent. In 1890 he described a modification which has superseded the older process. In this country but little seems to be known of the method, of which the following is a brief description:—Have ready (1) a 0·5 % aq. sol. methylene blue (methylenblau patent B, from C. Buchner and Sohn, Fabrik pharmaceut. chem. Producte, Munich); (2) a mixture of anilin oil 20, alcohol 96 % 200 parts (this must not be too old); (3) origanum oil; (4) benzine; (5) a balsam made by dissolving colophonium in benzine, and of the consistence of ordinary chloroform-balsam. Portions of tissue as fresh as possible, in size 1-2 ccm., are placed for fixation and hardening in alcohol 96-98 %, for 24 hours. Remove, fix on cork by gum (caused to set by placing the whole in methylated spirit), and cut sections by the sliding microtome into spirit. The sections are placed, from pure alcohol or distilled water, in the methylene-blue solution, and this is heated until bubbles form—“until the crackle of bursting bubbles is heard.” After cooling, transfer the sections to the anilin-alcohol, and agitate them about until no more clouds of colour are given off. An appreciable differentiation takes place. Transfer a section to a slide, dry it well with filter-paper by pressure, apply a few drops of origanum oil (which is quickly allowed to run off), dry again with filter-paper. Run some benzine over the section to drive off the remains of the origanum, and place a drop of the colophonium solution on the section. The slide is now drawn through the flame of a spirit-lamp and the benzine set alight. When it has all been burnt off adjust the cover-slip. Warm the under surface of the slide, pressing down the cover gently; the colophonium is rendered fluid. Allow to cool.

Our readers will be aware from the Medical Journals that Dr. Wiglesworth has had a narrow escape from a fatal assault by a male patient in the Rainhill Asylum. It must be some comfort to him to know how widespread has been the sympathy expressed with him in his very serious condition. The satisfaction felt in the favourable course which his illness has happily run is in proportion to the anxiety experienced.

At the session of the International Medico-Legal Congress at Chicago last autumn some twenty papers bearing on various aspects of criminal anthropology were brought forward. They were nearly all by Americans, and for the most part have not yet been published. It is announced that they will appear in subsequent issues of the “Medico-Legal Journal.” Dr. G. H. Hill dealt with the disposal of the criminal insane; ex-Judge H. M. Somerville with their improved condition in relation to the law; Dr. W. B. Fletcher with the establishment of houses of detention for the alleged insane prior to commitment; Dr. F. C. Hoyt dealt with sexual perversion from the medico-legal standpoint; Dr. F. E. Daniels read a paper advocating the castration of habitual criminals and sexual perverts, a proposal not accepted by subsequent speakers, who advocated hypnotic treatment or isolation; Dr. N. O. B. Wingate dealt with journalistic “suggestion” as a factor in the production of crime, arguing that those persons who sow the seeds of contagion of mental diseases should be treated in the same way as in the case of physical contagion; Mr. G. T. Davidson, a New York lawyer, read a paper on the criminal aspect of suicide, protesting against a recent law in the State of New York which has made attempted suicide a felony, punishable by fine and imprisonment, and pointing out that confinement (unless accompanied by skilful medical treatment) can only intensify the moral misery and physical disturbance of would-be suicides; Dr. E. S. Talbot dealt with race degeneracy as exhibited in abnormalities of the jaws and teeth; Dr. Harriet Alexander read a paper on anthropometric researches among prostitutes; Dr. F. Lydston on anthropometric researches in the criminal class, and also on crimes among negroes; and Dr. J. G. Kiernan read a paper on simulation and conspiracy as tests of sanity, and another on psychiatry and criminal anthropology. A general account of the proceedings is given in the “Medico-Legal Journal” for last September (only recently issued), and some of the papers are reprinted in fall.

Dr. Vorster (“Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie,” L. Band, 3 and 4 Heft.) details his experiments on the quantity of hæmoglobin and the specific gravity of the blood of the insane. He refers to the previous experiments of Macphail, Smyth, and Winkler, with which his own results are in general agreement. He observes it has been found in ordinary medicine that the appearance of the patient affords no criterion as to the amount of hæmoglobin in the blood. Schmalz found that there was a parallel relation between the quantity of haemoglobin and the specific gravity of the blood, though not between the specific gravity and the number of the blood corpuscles. Dr. Vorster's experiments were made upon 128 patients, 104 of whom were males and 24 females. He considers the normal specific gravity of the blood to range from 1,055 to 1,062 for males, and from 1,051 to 1,058 for females. Anything under 90 per cent, of the hæmoglobin in males or 85 per cent, in females he holds to be pathological. Vorster's method of research allowed him to experiment on a small quantity of blood.