ignorance of the proper use of the thermometer, which, as physicists are aware, registers the temperature of liquids or gases when its bulb has been for some time surrounded by the liquids or gases, but does not register the temperatures of badly conducting fibres in its vicinity, and in contact with it only at points. Accordingly the authorities have placed bedding in a hot-air chamber, through which a current of air was passing, and inserted thermometers into holes in the bedding, and having done this they have observed the temperature of the thermometers, and drawn the preposterous conclusion that they had observed the temperature of the bedding itself. As will be obvious, so long as the current of air is passing, and evaporation from the surface of the fibres is carrying off the heat, the temperature of the fibres will necessarily be kept down. When infected clothes are baked, it may be expected that the contagion is for a time rendered inactive, by reason of the partial drying to which it is subjected; but, on the other hand, there is the highest probability that it is conserved, instead of being destroyed, and that scarlet fever and small-pox will be disseminated by the baked clothing. J. ALFRED WANKLYN. 'PATENT SANITATION, POTTS'S SYSTEM.' (To the Editor of the SANITARY RECORD.) SIR,-In his reply, at page 257, Mr. Potts uses the words, Mr. Buchan's prejudicial and erroneous statements.' Now, if there is anything which I specially aim at in writing to any public paper it is accuracy, consequently I challenge Mr. Potts to state definitely any particular statement of mine which was erroneous.' It is not my fault if the mention of certain facts is 'prejudicial.' Mr. Potts clearly asserted that he was the first to take the bold step of ventilating soil-pipes by means of an air inlet at the bottom. I gave various names and dates showing that he was mistaken-the thing having been done by others years before the date of his patent. In reply to the objection I made against the use of flap valves, as shown in his patent, Mr. Potts now says that these were not a material part of the patent. This statement, however, is not borne out, so far as I can judge, by examination of his specification, for in it the words occur: Any current in the chamber a, directed to the soil-pipe b, only closes more effectually the flap valve m,' while in the sheet of drawings no illustration is given showing the foot of the soil-pipe open for the admission of fresh air. If, therefore, Mr. Potts intended soil-pipes open at the bottom to be included in his patent, his specification should have shown such an arrangement; the Patent Office takes no cognisances of private systems, and as specifications are published for the information of the public, anything material omitted is at the patentee's own risk. Another objection I have against Mr. Potts's system is the use of a large air-chamber' in connection with his trap, and also an iron grating about 6 ft. long. These involve considerable expense, and, in my opinion, serve no good purpose unless the air-chamber' were to serve as a gasometer, in which to collect the sewer gas and retail it at so much per cubic foot. What the public require in connection with house-drainage is a trap which, while being serviceable in every respect, is also simple and cheap. Such can be had for a few shillings, but when large air. chambers and heavy iron gratings are used, the expense comes up to pounds. As to the certificate from Drs. Dukes (not 'Duke' as Mr. Potts has it), Littlejohn, and Carpenter, which Mr. Potts quotes from, these it seems to me, contain mistakes, and while passable so far, for 1875, are behind the age in 1877. Possibly it was at Dr. Carpenter's instance that the charcoal trays were dispensed with, while Dr. Fergus may have hinted that flap valves were unnecessary. rather ungrateful of Mr. Potts, after Dr. Fergus's kindness, to claim the priority in the use of ventilating gratings, seeing the latter had such in use several months before It was Mr. Potts's Patent was applied for. I beg it to be understood that in the foregoing remarks I do not write as a rival patentee, but as one who takes an interest in sanitary matters from a scientific point of view. 23 Renfrew Street, Glasgow. APPOINTMENTS OF W. P. BUCHAN. HEALTH OFFICERS, INSPECTORS OF NUISANCES, ETC. ANTHONY, Mr. Richard, has been appointed Collector to the Knighton Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, Radnorshire, vice Collins, deceased. BOOTH, Mr. James, has been re-appointed Inspector of Nuisances for the Kidsgrove Urban Sanitary District. BROUGHTON, Mr. Thomas, has been appointed Surveyor to the Corporation and Urban Sanitary Authority of Warwick, vice Lewis, resigned. EARLE, Mr. J. P., has been appointed Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances to the Dronfield Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, vice Messrs. Hall and Birch, resigned. HARRIS, Mr. W., has been appointed Chief Consulting Surveyor to the Smethwick Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, at 150%. per ann. LONGBOTTOM, Mr. J. W., has been appointed Clerk to the Soyland Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, Yorkshire. MACKINTOSH, Angus, M.D. Univ. Glasg., L.F.P.S. Glasg., and L.M., has been re-appointed Medical Officer of Health for the Whittington Urban Sanitary District. MATHER, Mr. George, has been appointed Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances to the Northwich Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, vice Aird, resigned: 150% per ann. RICHARDS, Mr. D. H., has been appointed Public Analyst for Oswestry. WHITTALL, John, Esq., has been appointed Treasurer to the Birkenshaw Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, vice Kershaw, resigned. VACANCIES. ALRESFORD RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT. Medical Officer of Health BINGLEY LOCAL BOARD AND UREAN SANITARY AUTHORITY, Yorkshire. Medical Officer of Health: 50l. per annum. Application, May 4, to William Burr, Law Clerk. BRAMPTON AND WALTON URBAN SANITARY DISTRICT, Derbyshire. Inspector of Nuisances. Application, 30th inst., to George Margereson, Clerk to the Authority, New Brampton, Chesterfield. DOCKING RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT, Norfolk. Inspector of Nuisances: 70l. per ann. Application, May 1, to M. B. Bircham, Clerk to the Authority, Choseley, Lynn. DURHAM CORPORATION AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY OF. Surveyor 1757. per ann., office, and 5. per ann. for gas, etc. Application, 28th inst., to William Marshall, Town Clerk. KINGSCLERE GUARDIANS AND RURAL SANITARY AUTHORITY. Clerk, Superintendent Registrar, etc.: 807. per ann. as Clerk to the Guardians, 20l. per ann. as Clerk to the Rural Sanitary Authority, 207. per ann. as Clerk to the Assessment Committee, and fees as Superintendent Registrar, with the probability of receiving three other appointments now vacant. Application, May 1, to Alfred A. Arnsby, Acting Clerk, Kingsclere, near Newbury. LURGAN RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT. Consulting Sanitary Officer. NEWBOLD AND DUNSTON LOCAL BOARD AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY, Derbyshire. Clerk. Application, May 5, to W. B. Smith Milnes, Esq., Chairman, Dunston Hall, Dunston, Derbyshire. NORTH BIERLEY RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT, Yorkshire. Inspector of Nuisances. SWAFFHAM RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT. Medical Officer of Health for the Bradenham Sub-District. TYNEMOUTH GUARDIANS AND RURAL SANITARY AUTHORITY, Northumberland. Treasurer, vice Milburn, deceased. WINCHESTER, CORPORATION OF, AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY. Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances: 200l. per ann., office, and stationery. Application, May 1, to Walter Bailey, Town Clerk, Guildhall, Winchester. NOTICE. THE SANITARY RECORD will in future be published every Friday morning, and may be ordered direct from the Publishers. Annual Subscription, 175. 4d.; free by post, 195. 6d. Reading Covers to hold 12 numbers of THE SANITARY RECORD have been prepared, and may be had direct from the Publishers or through any Bookseller, price 35. Original Papers. ST. GEORGE'S-IN-THE-EAST. (BY OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.) THE parish of St. George's-in-the-East lies to the right of the Whitechapel Road going east, and is immediately adjacent to the district of Whitechapel proper. Its area is small compared with Whitechapel, but its preventable sanitary defects are much more numerous and patent than those of the larger parish. As is well known, the traders, merchants, and landowners in the district of Whitechapel take a lively interest in the welfare of the inhabitants, and the progress and good management of their parish, and to this incessant and continued activity and interest on their part much is of course due. Still, after spending nearly three days in investigating the sanitary condition of St. George's-in-the-East, we are forced to the conclusion that the comparative efficiency of Whitechapel in things sanitary is mainly due to a more thorough and systematic enforcement of the Sanitary Acts; to the fact that the medical officer of health in Whitechapel devotes his whole time to the discharge of the duties of his office, and is consequently untrammelled by the cares and unembarrassed in the exercise of his powers as medical officer by private practice and private patients; and, lastly, to the employment of a greater number of inspectors in the one to that in the other. We would not for a moment detract from any individual merits, but, looking at the two parishes and their present sanitary condition and progress, and judging simply by results, we feel in duty bound to declare that such a comparison clearly enforces the lesson which we believe the Local Government Board are slowly but surely learning, of the necessity of securing a sufficiently large area, and a sufficient salary, to render it practicable everywhere to appoint as medical officers of health gentlemen who have devoted themselves to the study of health subjects, and whose entire time and energies must be devoted to the supervision of the health arrangements of the districts over which they have control. It is not too much to say that in the course of our inspection of St. George's-in-the-East, not once but often it became only too apparent that there is a sad want of methodical, regular, and efficient sanitary inspection in this parish. We do not blame Dr. Rygate, to whose courtesy we owe much, but we do blame the authorities for not sooner taking steps to have the staff of inspectors made efficient and sufficiently numerous for the work. It cannot be denied that the state of the ashpits in various parts of the district at the time of our visit-in Bowyer's Buildings, for example, the inhabitants declared that the ashpits had not been emptied for six monthswere in a dangerous condition from long accumulation, and although in some parts the dustmen do their work efficiently, still such a state of affairs as that in Bowyer's Buildings points clearly to the fact that the inspection in St. George's-in-the-East | lacks thoroughness and needs considerable improvement. Of course it may be said that the statement of the inhabitants cannot be relied upon, but still the accumulation of refuse at the backs of the houses here and there, the evident truth of the assertion of the occupiers who in our presence declared they had not seen the inspector for a long time, if at all, before, and the dirty condition of many of the privies and yards, alike compel an impartial witness to declare that St. George's-in-the-East sadly lacks the intelligent and continued oversight of efficient sanitary inspectors who know their work and are determined to enforce the powers conferred upon them. No doubt one inspector is not enough for a parish like St. George's-in-the-East, but whether the smallness of the staff is the sole cause of the present absence of thoroughness in things sanitary, it is the province of the authorities, not of ourselves, to decide. Then, again, will it be believed that for the most part, although the water is derived from the waterworks company's mains, and is therefore capable of being supplied to the inhabitants everywhere in a pure and uncontaminated condition, we found almost everywhere, except in the case of some of the courts where waste preventers had been erected, the inhabitants were allowed to have large tubs, and in a few instances open cisterns, into which the water was first run off and then withdrawn by means of a tap in the bottom of the water butt? In other words, each householder was allowed to drink contaminated water, although a pure supply was furnished to each house, as, before using it for any purpose, he is allowed to accumulate it in an uncovered tub, which in many cases is dirty, old, and manifestly unfit for use, even in the most careful hands. Of course it was stated that these tubs are regularly and frequently cleaned, but from all we saw, and judging from the condition in which we found many a water butt, we deny the regularity and frequency, and as for the cleansing, the following incident will suffice. In Lavender Place we entered a house in which a case of typhus fever had just occurred. Anxious to trace the cause of the outbreak, we examined the house, which, though overcrowded, was in fair condition, but in the backyard we found the usual water butt, which was dirty, with an accumulation of stones, etc., at the bottom, rotten, and as usual open at the top. A woman was engaged sweeping out the privy with an old and dirty brush. In reply to our questions she stated that she had just finished cleaning and refilling it (the butt), and that she used the same brush which she had in her hand, and that such was the usual custom. We refrain from comment, because we feel sure that one case of this kind is more eloquent to prove our argument, that more thorough and regular inspection is needed, than pages of mere assertion. We were much struck with the respectability and personal cleanliness of the inhabitants even of the poorest houses, who seemed to struggle, in many cases almost against hope, to maintain a respectable appearance. The poverty of many of these poor people is lamentable, and yet even the Irish inhabitants seem to be, as compared with the poor of Dublin, both tidy and cleanly in their dress and appearance. Thus we found one poor Irishwoman, residing in the Star and Garter Yard, who kept her house beautifully clean, and her children were quite a pattern to many of her neighbours, for their faces were bright and clean, and their clothing, though poor, was well kept and free from rags. Yet her husband only earned something like a pound a week, 5s. of which was absorbed by the rent. The house she occupied presented outwardly the appearance of comfort and ample space, but it possessed no back yard, and its sanitary arrangements were a proof of the want of proper inspection. The closet was partitioned off from the room which the family inhabited during the day, and we can well believe the truth of the poor woman's assertion, that in the summer the smell, in spite of every precaution, was most offensive and unbearable. At the back of one confined little house in this yard is a manure heap, which must be injurious to the health of the inhabitants. Taking the district generally, we found most of the tenement houses to which our attention was specially called in a very bad condition, and if we are to judge from a casual visit paid to one house, those in the principal streets need a much closer inspection than they at present are subjected to. The house we allude to is 13 Samuel Street. Here in the basement-a sort of cellar-dwelling, the other rooms being used as a closet, ash heap, etc.—reside in one room a man, his wife, and three children, one other child having died the week before our visit. The husband is a labourer, and his wife is a trousers maker. Damp, ill-lighted, and badly ventilated, we could not agree with the medical officer in stating that it was a proper abode for such poor people. Even in Dublin, where houses are scarce, we doubt if the Sanitary Association would allow such a room to be occupied by so large a family without serious rernonstrance. In another street (Brunswick) we found a tailor, his wife, and seven children, residing in a house rented at 55. a week. Only two small rooms were used by the family, and judging by appearances we very much suspect that the whole of these nine persons sleep in the little room in the basement, the upper rooms being used as a workroom and sitting-room for grand occasions. This man works for one of the large city tailors, and earns according to his own statement 57. a week. He has two machines at work, and pays an assistant 27. a week in addition. It will be seen from these two cases that, although attention has been called by the press to the dangers attending the system of putting out work adopted by the West End tailors, still those of us who get our clothes made by city tailors run equal risks from the employment of workmen and workwomen who take their work home, as in the case of the poor trousersmaker and this tailor, when they have illness in the house. In another house we found some women making sacks. On inquiry we found that they received for their work-what? Sixpence per sack! No, but 6d. for making twenty sacks. Fancy what a struggle for existence these poor people must have. Once again, in the dirtiest and most poverty-stricken of all the houses inspected, we came across two women who earn their living by picking feathers for an upholsterer's establishment. Anything equalling the squalor of these women and the filth of the room they occupied we have never before witnessed anywhere, and yet the feathers when picked are made into pillows and beds for the use of the worthy citizens. Surely a sanitary inspector who comes across cases of this kind should take some steps to prevent the risk to health engendered by such proceedings, and the Government should compel employers to provide proper workrooms for their employés on pain of public exposure of their supineness and wanton neglect ! We must now give the different groups of houses which, in our opinion, for various reasons ought to be closed, or at any rate materially improved, either, as in the case of Blacksmith's Arms Court, by removing the serious sanitary deficiencies which exist, or, as in London Terrace and Bowyer's Buildings, by closing the houses at once. The difficulties of dealing with the majority of the unhealthy houses unfit for habitation to be found in St. George's-in-the-East, are the comparative smallness of the blocks which they form. Nevertheless, it is dangerous to the public health and disgraceful to the public supervision of the authorities, that many of the houses in the courts and streets we are about to enumerate should longer remain in their present insanitary state, because they for the most part form little fever centres in the midst of fairly respectable areas densely crowded with inhabitants. The Metropolitan Board of Works say they do not form large enough areas for them to apply in their case the Artisans' Dwellings Act, but they admit their disgraceful condition-a condition which is far worse than the majority of the inhabited dwellings to be met with in a condemned area like that situated between Bird Street and Anchor and Hope Alley. Here, again, as in the case of the water-supply and dust removal, the want of prompt sanitary action is lamentably noticeable, for if the areas are too small for the Metropolitan Board of Works, the remedy is easy, and the difficulty to be overcome inconsiderable. If the authorities were really anxious to remedy the evils, why do they not put in force Torrens' Act, the Artisans' Dwellings Act, 1868? Clauses 5, 6, and 18 of this Act clearly empower the local authority to remove or insist upon the removal of a condition or state dangerous to health, in any premises in any place to which this Act applies.' We are surprised that this Act has not yet been enforced in St. George's-in-the-East, and if the local authority does not take action promptly, we counsel those gentlemen who are actively interested in the improved sanitary condition of this parish, to use the powers conferred by clause 12 of the Act, and to formally report the condition of each and all of these premises to the officer of health. This brings us to another point which we wish to urge. We shall hope to see a Sanitary Association formed in St. George's-in-theEast, on the model of the Dublin Association, with the view of a. Creating an educated public opinion with regard to sanitary matters in general. b. Directing the attention of the authorities and the public to those points in which the existing powers for the maintenance of the improved sanitary condition of the parish are not duly exercised, or in which the machinery at the disposal of the sanitary authorities is insufficient. c. To form a body in which the inhabitants may have confidence, and through which they may, if necessary, act. It will be seen that all the points to which we have specially directed attention are capable of remedy in a reasonable time if public opinion is brought to bear upon the local authority in the right way. Such an Association as we propose would not only do great good in this way, but by co-operating with the local authority and by employing their own inspectors, a more stringent and thorough observance of sanitary precautions and conditions would everywhere be secured. We commend this suggestion to the serious attention of those ratepayers who have already shown an anxiety to have the present state of affairs remedied. We will conclude this report by giving a list of the places the houses in which call for special and prompt action on the part of the local authority. It is only fair for us to add that the medical officer, Dr. Rygate, has already reported many of the houses in question to be unfit for habitation. London Terrace, Bowyer's Buildings, Waterloo Court, Brunswick Street, Rix Court, Rahn's Court, Everard Street, Palmer's Place, Russell's Court, Crown Court, Rycroft Court, Allsopp's Court, Lavender Place, Metilda Place, William's Court, Sun Court, Blacksmith's Arms Court, Station Place, Boyd Street, and Church's Gardens. It must be borne in mind that we do not indiscriminately condemn all these houses as past redemption, but in every instance quoted the houses, privies, and yards ought to be demolished or very considerably restored and improved. We must reserve until next week the account we intended to give here of the overcrowding met with, which is one of the worst features of the present condition of the parish. B. DIPHTHERIA IN, AND SANITARY CONDITION OF, BROMLEY (KENT). DURING the year 1876, the death-rate from the seven principal zymotic diseases, was higher in Bromley than in any other of the registration districts which compose the outer ring of suburban neighbourhood around London. This zymotic deathrate was equal to 36 per 1,000 in Bromley, whereas in the entire outer ring it did not average more than 2.8. Of the 138 deaths referred during the year to these seven diseases in the district of Bromley, 30 resulted from diphtheria, 21 from measles, 20 from whooping-cough, 19 from enteric and simple fever, and 34 from diarrhoea. The district of Bromley, the whole of which with the exception of three small parishes, is situatedwithin the outer ring of the Registrar-General, comprises an area of about 40,000 acres, including some of the most beautiful, and at the same time the most naturally healthy parts of Kent. becomes important therefore to ascertain, if possible, the cause of the fatal prevalence of zymotic disease in such a neighbourhood. With this object we propose to deal especially with the fatality of diphtheria, as this disease has been more or less epidemic in the neighbourhood for nearly twelve months. It In one important respect the fatality of diphtheria differs from that of all the six other principal zymotic diseases. The death-rate from small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, whooping-cough, enteric fever, and diarrhoea, is almost invariably greater in urban than in rural populations; diphtheria, however, on the contrary, usually shows the greatest fatality in small villages and rural districts. This affords presumptive evidence that impure water-supply plays a more direct and important part in the causation of diphtheria than of most other zymotic diseases. It will be useful to inquire how far the facts relating to the epidemic prevalence of diphtheria in Bromley can be accepted in support of this theory. The district or union of Bromley is divided into two registration sub-districts, and excepting the local board and urban sanitary district of Bromley, is entirely under the sanitary control of the guardians of Bromley, who constitute the rural sanitary authority. The local board district of Bromley is coextensive with the parish of that name, and has an area of 4,706 acres; the population increased from 5,505 in 1861 to 10,674 in 1871, and there is little reason to doubt that a high rate of increase of population has been maintained since 1871. During the year 1876 the deaths of twenty-two children, aged between one and eight years, were referred to diphtheria within the local board district and parish of Bromley; no less than seventeen of these occurred in the last quarter of the year. Two more fatal cases were registered during the first three months of this year, and in the first two weeks of April two other deaths were referred to the same cause. It may be stated that of the twenty-two deaths from diphtheria in Bromley parish during 1876, six occurred in the Homesdale Road, three in the Tylney Road, and two in the Mooreland Road. Both the urban and rural sanitary districts form part of the combined sanitary district of West Kent, to which Dr. C. O. Baylis is medical officer of health, who formerly held a similar appointment at Birkenhead. There is no reason to doubt, therefore, that the local board of Bromley enjoys the professional advice of a sound sanitarian, who, not being engaged in private practice, devotes all his energies to his sanitary duties. Under the present system of local self-government in health matters, however, the medical officer of health proposes, whereas the local authority disposes, and an efficient medical officer of health is but a small step towards efficient sanitation. The fatality of diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, enteric fever, and infantile diarrhoea, speaks eloquently of sanitary shortcomings in Bromley, which those who only know the bright, cheerful, and clean aspect of its principal thoroughfare, and the healthiness of its surrounding district, find difficult to comprehend. An observant and inquiring visitor of the neighbouring streets and roads in which stand the bulk of the cottage property inhabited by the labouring classes, will, however, cease to wonder at the stern facts disclosed by the Bromley mortality statistics, and feel surprised that matters are not much worse, which they must soon become unless they begin to mend. Much of the cottage property in that part of Bromley, which is called New Bromley, displays such inherent defects to the most casual observer, that health for the residents is next to an impossibility. There are, for instance, sixteen houses, called Eden Cottages, draining into cesspools, and dependent for watersupply upon a single surface-well in close proximity. On the other side of the road an equal number of houses, called Wharton Terrace, having identically similar defects of drainage and water-supply. The mains of the Kent Water Company are laid at a short distance from the road containing these cottages, and yet the local board has taken no measures to insist upon their being supplied with this wholesome water instead of the polluted and inconvenient supply, derived from the shallow wells. significant fact that this cottage property (in which several cases of diphtheria have occurred) is owned by the inspector of nuisances to the local board and his father. It would be interesting to know how far this fact explains the inaction of the local board, and whether Dr. Baylis has reported to the board the objectionable features of this source of watersupply. Adjoining Eden Cottages, but in the North Road, are five cottages called Zion Place, the property of a local builder, who till recently was the chairman of the local board. The well which supplied these houses was condemned in 1875, and for a time the poor residents were left without any supply except what they fetched from neighbouring wells; in the end a new well was sunk in close proximity to the old one, and within about a dozen yards of a row of cesspools. How the local board could have allowed this well to have been brought It is a into use, and how the medical officer of health can sanction its being so continued affords source for astonishment to the outsider, and of apparent danger to those who use the water. At the time of the casual inspection which afforded these facts, two deep cesspools into which these cottages drained had been opened and were only covered with loose boards; in this condition they were left from Thursday to Monday, when they were emptied without any precautions being taken to protect the residents of the surrounding cottages from the effects of the foul effluvium. Without a thorough inspection_it would be impossible to speak definitely as to the apparent over-crowding of much of the cottage property in and about Bromley, but certain it is that the demand for cottage accommodation is much in excess of the supply, with the natural result that labourers and others have to pay high rents, cannot leave unhealthy cottages, and soon get notice to quit if any complaints are made. That such a state of things continues to exist in what should be one of the healthiest parts of Kent, affords an unpleasant commentary upon the principle of local self-government in health matters. The usual course in such cases is to heap abuse upon the local sanitary authority, in this case the local board; and undoubtedly this authority in Bromley is much to blame. It must be remembered, however, that the local board is supposed to represent the ratepayers, and that, therefore, it is the ratepayers who are to blame for electing a local board who neglect their sanitary responsibilities. Zymotic epidemics, it should be understood, are more expensive, by raising the poor-rates, than are sanitary measures, which are economical in the truest sense of that word. It is reported that, not very long ago, an attempt was made to exclude from the Bromley Local Board the owners of small houses and of cottage property, who were deemed obstructive to sanitary progress; this attempt was partially successful, but the experience of the past year proves that more reform is necessary. Although one of the largest owners of small property is no longer chairman of the board, the inspector of nuisances is himself the owner of some such property, and is the son of the owner of a good deal more of the same character. The only remedy for the serious sanitary shortcomings of Bromley is the formation of an influential local sanitary association, with the object of urging upon the local board a more energetic sanitary policy, and above all to promote at the next election the candidature of such members who could be depended upon for showing a due regard for the importance of public health. Sanitary associations in Tottenham and in other places have been most eminently successful in their influence on public health, and we shall be heartily glad to hear that such examples have been followed in Bromley, where sanitary reform is most urgently called for. AT the dinner of the Metropolitan Board of Works, on the 21st ult., the Lord Chancellor contrasted the work accomplished by the Board underground with the lofty sewers and aqueducts of ancient times, and said he feared their great achievements, being unseen, were too often forgotten. The chairman, Sir J. M. Hogg, pointed out that the result of the Board's work was seen in the RegistrarGeneral's returns of the improved health of the people. ON A METHOD OF DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF PROTEINE COMPOUNDS IN VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. BY J. ALFRED WANKLYN, Corresponding Member of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, AND W. J. COOPER.* THE physiological doctrine that the animal does not produce proteine compounds, but simply transforms those proteine substances which it has taken in as food, lends great importance to the determination of the amount of proteine compounds in different kinds of vegetable food; and such a determination becomes of the utmost importance both to the physiologist and from a practical point of view. Hitherto, however, this desideratum has been very imperfectly supplied, and the chemist has very inadequately answered the question as to the prolegumen, vegetable caseine, vegetable albumen, as teine value of the different vegetable foods. Gluten, the various proteine substances occurring in vegetables have been called, vary much in properties. Some of them are soluble and others are insoluble in water, and some are soluble in alcohol; and it would be difficult to draw up any general method of extracting the proteine compounds from vegetables so as to be enabled to weigh the proteine compound Resort has therefore been had in a state of purity. to elementary analysis, and chemists have deduced the amount of proteine compounds from the percentage of nitrogen found on submitting the food to ultimate analysis. To this procedure there are several objections which have apparently not been sufficiently insisted upon. Taking the case of wheaten flour (which is much more favourable than many other cases), the percentage of nitrogen is a little short of 2.00; yet neither the Will and Varrentrapp process nor the Dumas process of nitrogen determination, as it is generally carried out, is at all adequate to the valuation of the proteine substance in flour. The Will and Varrentrapp process, as those who have a critical knowledge of it are aware, is subject to special failure when it is applied to proteine substances, and is not a determination of nitrogen in these instances. certain when it is applied to determine a minute The Dumas method, as usually practised, is unquantity of nitrogenous substance in presence of a large quantity of non-nitrogenous organic matter. Possibly if carried out with extraordinary care and extraordinary precautions, the Dumas process might become available for the purpose in view; but those culties besetting this particular case, will admit that persons who have practical knowledge of the diffiextraordinary care would indeed be required, and that the process would be too impracticable for general employment. The method by which we seek to accomplish the task before us is, we believe, especially adapted for this description of work. We propose to measure the amount of proteine substances in vegetables by the amount of ammonia which the vegetables generate when they are subjected to the action of a boiling solution of potash and permanganate of potash; and, in fact, have * Philos. Mag., May, 1877. |