an urban authority shall obtain from their | surveyor an estimate in writing, as well of the probable expense of executing the work in a substantial manner as of the annual expense of repairing the same; also a report as to the most advantageous mode of contracting, that is to say, whether by contracting only for the execution of the work, or for executing and also maintaining the same in repair during a term of years or otherwise :

"4. Before any contract of the value or amount of one hundred pounds or upwards is entered into by an urban authority, ten days' public notice at the least shall be given, expressing the nature and purpose thereof and inviting tenders for the execution of the same; and such authority shall require and take sufficient security for the due performance of the same:

"5. Every contract entered into by an urban authority in conformity with the provisions of this section, and duly executed by the other parties thereto, shall be binding on the authority by whom the same is executed, and their successors, and on all other parties thereto, and their executors, administrators, successors, or assigns, to all intents and purposes: Provided that an urban authority may compound with any contractor or other person in respect of any penalty incurred by reason of the non-performance of any contract entered into as aforesaid, whether such penalty is mentioned in any such contract, or in any bond or otherwise, for such sums of money or other recompense as to such authority may seem proper."-(P. H., s. 175.)

Convalescents Convalescents from scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, and measles, &c., are often more liable to spread disease than those actually ill. The reason is that (1.) the skin is desquamating, or other organs are throwing off the poison in large quantities. (2.) Instead of being confined to a sick-chamber, they may be walking about, and may even go into crowded assemblies, and there one case may give a fearful disease, like typhus, to numbers. (3.) Even when the convalescent is not contagious himself, he may wear the clothes that have been infected by him, or those from which he originally caught the disease.

There is no adequate provision against convalescents from infectious diseases exposing themselves. They might, perhaps, be proceeded against under P. H., s. 126, if they wore clothing which had been exposed to infection. See EXPOSURE, INFECTION, &c.

Conveyances-Conveyances for the purpose of transporting persons suffering under

contagious or infectious diseases may be provided by any sanitary authority, and it is lawful for the latter to pay the expense of conveying any such person to an hospital or place for the reception of the sick or other place of destination.—(P. H., s. 123.)

Any one entering a public conveyance suffering from a contagious disease without previously notifying to the owner or driver that he was so suffering, shall on conviction be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5, and shall also be ordered by such justice to pay such owner and driver all the losses and expenses they may suffer in carrying out the provisions of the Public Health Act, 1875, which provides that the owner or driver of a public conveyance must immediately disinfect the vehicle after it has conveyed a person so affected. Penalty for neglect, £5 or less.(P. H., s. 126, 127.)

No owner or driver of any public conveyance shall be required to convey a person suffering from a contagious disease until they shall have been first paid a sum sufficient to cover all such expenses.—(P. H., s. 127.)

Urban sanitary authorities have the power of licensing conveyances which ply for hire, and of regulating such matters by bylaws.(P. H., s. 171.) See HACKNEY CARRIAGES, BYLAWS.

Cooking-Much depends on the method in which our food is prepared, not only as to its digestibility, but also as to the amount eaten, well and properly cooked meat tempting the appetite, while the stomach turns against food which is revolting to the sight and badly prepared. All nations have discovered the advantages attendant upon cooking, and it is only amongst savages who have no fuel (e.g., the Esquimaux and Samoides) that flesh is eaten in a raw state. Besides improving the flavour of meat, rendering it more easy of mastication, and pleasing to the sight, cooking possesses other advantages; it kills any parasites which may exist in the tissues of the meat, and it secures a certain temperature, and by this means conveys warmth to the system.

Cooking has the effect of solidifying the fibrine, gelatinising the tendinous, fibrous, and connective tissues, and of coagulating the albumen and colouring-matter. Thus the whole substance becomes more tender and less coherent, and hence more digestible. Meat cooked before the rigor mortis has set in is more easy of digestion than if cooked after that state has passed off. Bruising also before cooking has the effect of loosening the texture of the meat and rendering it more tender.

The principal modes of cooking commonly employed in this country are boiling, roasting, broiling, baking, frying, stewing. It is highly essential that meat should not be overdone, for Dr. Beaumont has satisfactorily shown that meat when overdone is rendered more and more indigestible in proportion to the prolonged action of heat. In boiling meat, the piece should be large, and it should be plunged suddenly into the water when it is in a state of brisk ebullition. The boiling should be kept up for some few minutes. When the meat is treated in this manner, the albuminous matter upon the surface is coagulated, and leads to the formation of a more or less unpermeable layer, through which the juices of the meat cannot escape. The boiling should not be continued, but a temperature of between 160° and 170° F. maintained until the cooking process is completed will be quite sufficient. Meat cooked in this way presents a far finer appearance than either that which has been subjected to a greater heat than 170, or that which at first has been placed in water below the boiling-point; for in the former case the meat will be found to be shrunken, hard, and indigestible, and in the latter the meat will present a raw and undressed appearance, consequent upon the albuminous and colouring matters not being properly coagulated. If the object be to extract the nutritive qualities of the meat, an exactly opposite course should be pursued. The meat should be chopped in small pieces, and be allowed to remain soaking in cold water for some little time, and the temperature gradually raised. For broths boiling is not necessary, but for soups, when we desire to fully extract the gelatine, prolonged boiling is requisite.

Boiling is the most economical method of preparing meat, and it also renders it most digestible; but the flavours developed are not so savoury as those obtained from roasted meat.

Some descriptions of meat are altogether unsuited for boiling purposes, such as the flesh of young animals, which contain a large proportion of gelatine and albumen, substances which freely dissolve in water, and will therefore to a great extent boil away.

American pork loses 50 per cent. of its weight in boiling, whereas the pork of Denmark, Holstein, England, and Ireland only loses from 25 to 30 per cent.

The average loss in weight sustained by mutton and beef during the process is, according to Dr. Pereira, only about 17 per

cent.

In roasting meat, as in boiling, the heat should be strongest at first, and may then be much reduced. Liebig recommends that in all cooking operations of meat the heat should be limited to 170° F.; but it is doubtful whether that heat is strong enough to kill the parasites which infest meat, and therefore Letheby advises that the temperature should be as nearly as possible that of boiling water. Roasted meats are not generally so digestible as meats which have been boiled; and many stomachs which can tolerate poultry, meat, fish, and puddings boiled, find that roasted meat, &c., and baked puddings, cause great discomfort. This may be explained by the fact that during the process of roasting much of the superficial fat, from prolonged exposure to heat, undergoes decomposition, attended with the production of fatty acids, and an acid volatile product known as acroleine, which may seriously disturb sensitive stomachs.

These remarks apply also to broiling, frying, and baking, and more especially to the latter, for the operation being carried on in a confined space, the volatile fatty acids generated are prevented from escaping, and thus permeate the cooked articles.

Stewing and Hashing.-By either of these processes the meat is placed in a highly favourable state for digestion. Much of the nutritive matter passes into the surrounding liquid, which is consumed with the solid material. The best way to stew meat is to place it in a vessel over the top of which a cloth is tied. The vessel is then immersed in water con

tained in a saucepan. The water in this saucepan is made to gently simmer or slightly boil, and in this manner the meat is stewed in its own vapour, and forms a most suitable food for the convalescent invalid. Captain Warren's cooking-pot depends on this principle.

A contrivance, called the "Norwegian nest," sold by Messrs. Silver & Co., may be worth describing here. It consists of a box constructed like a refrigerator, the only difference being that it keeps the heat in instead of out. It is padded inside with a non-conducting material, with a space in the centre for receiving the vessel in which the process

kept at the boiling-point for a few minutes, and then placed in the box and shut in by the closure of the lid, the process of cooking goes on away from the fire, no matter in what situation the box may be placed. On the score of economy this box recommends itself to every household.

On account of its economy, the Norwegian pot was introduced into the French navy in 1869, and the results have been very satisfactory.-(Annales d'Hygiène, 1874.)

In boiling fish, it is well to remember that fish boiled in hard water is much firmer than if it be prepared in soft water; hence fish boiled in sea-water, or water to which salt has been added, is finer flavoured and much firmer than it would have been had it been cooked in ordinary water. Speaking generally, although there are some very important exceptions, fish are always better fried.

water, and reddening litmus paper. It acts as an emetic, as a stimulant and astringent, and externally as an escharotic. The fatal dose of this salt is variable; as much as 5 drachms have been taken without proving fatal. Smaller doses are often more fatal than larger ones, owing to the emetic action induced by the latter.

Detection of Copper.-Whether copper be searched for, in cases of poisoning, in the contents of the stomach or in foods, the same process is applicable. If searched for in an organic liquid, it will be better to evaporate to dryness, add nitric acid, and boil to destroy organic matter, dilute and filter. A clean knife-blade or a needle inserted in the liquid will give evidence of copper, if present.

Another excellent way, applicable to any organic solid, is to burn down to an ash in a platinum dish, treat the ash with a little dilute acid, and then insert a slip of zine; if copper be present, it is deposited on the

Copper Metallic copper is found in various parts of the globe, but its most abundant source is that of various copper ores. It is principally obtained from the pyrites of Cornwall, Devonshire, and Cuba, and from the carbonates of copper imported from Australia.

It has a specific gravity of 8.86 to 8.894. It is combustible and readily oxidised. It communicates a green tinge to flame. Acid, alkaline, saline, and fatty bodies, when placed in contact with it in air, promote its union with oxygen, and by dissolving a portion of the newly formed oxide acquire poisonous properties.

Characteristics of the Salts of Copper.Copper dissolves in dilute nitric acid. The solution possesses the following properties: In colour it is blue or greenish-blue. With potash or soda it yields a blue precipitate (hydrate of copper); a small quantity of ammonia produces with it a similar bluishwhite precipitate, but an excess redissolves it, forming a deep blue liquid; ferrocyanide of potassium occasions in it a reddish-brown precipitate (ferrocyanide of copper); sulphuretted hydrogen and the hydrosulphides throw down a black precipitate (sulphide of copper); and lastly, a polished iron plate plunged into the liquid becomes coated with metallic copper (Cu2NO3+ Fe=Cu+ Fe2NO3).

One of the most important salts which copper forms is sulphate of copper. It is met with in the form of oblique rhombic azureblue crystals, with a styptic metallic taste, slightly efflorescing in dry air, soluble in

be confirmed by other tests; thus prussiate of potash added to a solution of copper gives a chocolate precipitate, ammonia a blue colour, &c.

Adulterations.-Sulphate of iron and sulphate of zinc are sometimes fraudulently added. The iron is detected by ammonia not redissolving the oxide; zinc, by first precipitating the copper with sulphuretted hydrogen, then, on the addition of ammonia, some of the above gas being in solution, a whitish sulphuret of zinc is thrown down.

Copper-founders, and others working in this metal, are very subject to affections of the chest.

When copper vessels are used for culinary or pharmaceutical purposes, great care should be exercised in their employment. Copper vessels should never be employed for any fluids that are the least acidulous, or that may have to remain long in them. Acid syrups, vegetable juices, aqueous extracts, soups, stews, &c., prepared in copper sauce-pans or boilers receive a metallic contamination proportional to the length of time they are exposed to the action of the metal; and it is important to remember that when copper vessels are allowed to get wet or dirty, or more especially greasy, a poisonous green rust forms upon the surface somewhat similar to verdigris. If articles are prepared in them in this state, serious consequences may ensue. Cases of poisoning from this cause are fre quently met with, therefore it is necessary to be very careful that copper vessels should be thoroughly cleaned out immediately previous to their being used.

Such copper vessels are occasionally lined by a thin film of tin; but this necessarily,

Subnitrate of bismuth is used as a preparation for imparting clearness to the complexion (blanc de perle).

Carbonate of lead is often used to adulterate this substance, and enters largely into the composition of two substances known as blanc de Kréms and blanc de vinaigre.

Lead is also frequently present in preparations used to stain the hair black; and in one or two instances poisoning has occurred, for example

Mr. John C. Hunter relates the case of a gentleman in Glasgow who had used a "hairrestorer" to dye his grey locks, and soon exhibited symptoms of lead-poisoning. The strength of the wash appears to have been 2.75 grains of lead to the fluid ounce, the lead existing in the form of acetate.-(Pharmaceutical Journal, February 27, 1875.)

Dr. Taylor also states, that he has met with an instance in which paralysis of the muscles on one side of the neck arose from the imprudent use of a hair-dye containing litharge. (TAYLOR'S Principles of Medical Jurisprudence, vol. i. p. 299.)

Nitrate of silver as a dye is also much used, and mercury finds its place in various washes and ointments largely dispensed by chemists for the purpose of destroying parasites, &c.

Cottages-See HABITATIONS.

Cotton-The cotton of which textile fabrics are made consists of hairs covering the seeds of certain plants belonging to the natural order Malvacea, or the Mallow family. The commercial cotton is derived from four distinct species-Gossypium arboreum, an Indian species; Gossypium Barbadense, the Barbadoes cotton plant; Gossypium herbaceum, the common cotton plant of India; Gossypium Peruvianum or acuminatum, a species supposed to be indigenous to America. It is a diaphanous substance, which forms fibres about an inch in diameter, ribbon-like, and flattened in shape. The fibres are twisted at intervals, and the borders are a little thickened. The interior canal is very frequently obliterated, or if it is not, it may contain some extractive matters.

of

Fresh cotton fibre is a cylindrical hair with thin walls, which collapses and twists as it becomes dry. Iodine stains it brown; iodine and sulphuric acid (in very small quantities) give a blue or violet blue; nitric acid unrolls the twists, but does not destroy them.

Cotton wears well; it is very non-absorbent, does not shrink in washing, and conducts heat less rapidly than linen, but much more rapidly than wool. Smoothness, evenness of texture, and equality of spinning are the chief points to be attended to in choosing cotton fabrics.

Cotton alone is used in cotton shirting and calico. In merino and other fabrics, it is used with wool in the proportion of 20 to 50 per cent. of wool, the threads being twisted together to form the yarn. See CLOTHING.

Court Leet-See LEET, COURT OF.

Courts The hygienic condition of our courts of law in past times was defective in the extreme, and led to serious results. For example, the Black Assizes at the Old Bailey, Taunton, Launceston, Exeter, &c., were directly due to contagion from the pri soners, and this contagion would probably not have been so fatal if the courts had been built larger and not so crowded. At the present date many of our courts are the same as those of the Black Assizes. Their great fault is their small size, which permits overcrowding to a great and insufferable extent. Besides, it is not ordinary overcrowding, but a collection of people very frequently from the lovest and most unhealthy parts of our towns. The sanitary officials of every place should carefully examine the drains, water-closets, ventilation, &c., of every courthouse, and notices should be posted warning people recovering from any infectious disease from entering into the court. See BLACK ASSIZES, VENTILATION, DISINFECTION.

Cream is that portion of the milk which rises to the surface on standing. It is really milk rich in fat.

The following table shows the composition of six samples of genuine cream analysed by Mr. Wanklyn :

Cream is rich in butter, a quart of good cream generally yielding from 13 oz. to 15 oz. of commercial butter. In good seasons, when the cows are fed on rich pasture-land, a quart of cream will often yield about 16 oz. of butter; and if they are fed on oilcake, as much as from 22 oz. to 24 oz. are obtained. The socalled clotted cream of Devonshire is thus prepared. The milk is allowed to stand for a day to allow the cream to rise; it is then strongly heated, but not allowed to boil; the heat coagulates some of the caseine, and the cream is involved in the coagulum.

The analysis of cream is conducted on exactly the same principle as that of milk; but it must be weighed, not measured, and smaller quantities may be evaporated to dryness in order to estimate the water, if the ratio of the water to the solids, not fat, is such that