Dr. H. H. Levy examined him for me at this time, and found dulness, prolonged expiratory note, subcrepitant rales, bronchovesicular breathing at the apex and upper interscapular region, and friction sounds at the base. I did not have a blood count made at the beginning of his treatment, though from clinical evidence he was unmistakably very anemic. On December 23d a blood count was made on coming to my office by Dr. E. G. Williams, which showed 5,160,000 red corpuscles, 8,700 white corpuscles, and hemoglobin ninetythree to ninety-five per cent. The count was again made immediately after he left the cabinet, when the red blood corpuscles numbered 6,310,000, while the white blood corpuscles showed 9,250. At this time he was leading an active life, and expressed himself as feeling better than he had in several years.

Physical examinations were made again on January 13th and February 12th, at which the signs previously noted were found, though evidently less marked.

On February 15th this course of treatment was stopped, and treatment by Finsen light inaugurated.

My apparatus, called an actinolyte, manufactured by a New York firm, consists essentially of an enormous arc light, in which the carbons are set at right angles, so as to save loss, the light from which is concentrated by a series of large lenses, giving, when reduced to a small focus, a light approximated at seventy to eighty thousand candle power. The heat from this, which is so great that a cigarette can be lighted in the focus, is cut out by a water-bath, in which I have used methylene blue with best results.

The patient was stripped to the waist and placed about eight feet from the machine, with his back to the light, and the light focussed to a circle that would cover the consolidated area, including the apex and upper half of the scapula. The sittings were thirty minutes daily. Ozone and electricity were stopped. Later the patient was re

versed, the light being directed on the front of the affected area.

That this light penetrated the lung I demonstrated by an experiment previously made. A negative was placed over the pectoral muscles, and in front of that a sensitive plate, all of which was then covered with material impervious to light. The light was then turned on over the scapula for twenty minutes, when the plate on development, showed clearly a positive, which could only have been produced by rays passing through the negative after penetrating the body.

On March 19th physical examination showed a practically normal lung, with an occasional friction sound near the apex. In this finding Dr. Levy agreed.

On March 23d bacilli were still present, but the patient coughed only in the morning on arising, while taking deep breathing exercises.

Treatment was continued with gradual lessening of the cough, until the last week in April, when he told me that he had ceased to cough entirely.

About April 25th the sputum was examined, and no bacilli were found. This demonstrated clearly the greater efficiency of the concentrated light in deep-seated organs as compared with the diffused light of the arc-light bath.

About May 17th, after great exposure to the sun during the hot spell then on us, the patient complained of malaise, aching in the back, dull headache, etc. Thinking that he had taken cold, I gave him some simple remedy, which relieved the symptoms, except the headache.

On Tuesday, the 20th, he sent for me, and I found him suffering with nausea and intense headache through the temples and cheek bones. His temperature was 100° F. He vomited once that day and once the next day. After that continued intense pain through the temples and face, which resisted all forms of treatment, but anodyne and counter-irritant, was the only symptom except earache. On examining the ear, with

out a speculum, I saw what seemed to be a large piece of wax, which was removed by hydrogen dioxid, but the earache continued two or three days longer.

Dr. H. H. Levy saw him with me about May 26th, and while, of course, suspecting meningitis, we concluded that it was a case of cerebral congestion. His temperature by His temperature by this time was normal. He continued with no other symptoms in this condition until June 3d. Treatment consisted of cathartics, potassium iodide, atropine, ergot, icebag to the head, blisters to the back of the head and neck, and leeches to the temples and behind the ears. He then developed symptoms of meningitis, spasm of groups of muscles, sluggish iris reflexes, stiffness and tenderness at the back of the neck, intense agonizing pain through the temples, difficulty or inability to speak. During this time Dr. Reade attended him with me. This condition lasted until June 6th, when he died.

Whether the meningitis was of tubercular origin or a simple meningitis from his nasal catarrh, ear trouble, or exposure to the sun, can never be known, as an autopsy was not procurable.

In view of the patient's death, nothing can be claimed as demonstrated, for, if he had lived, I should have considered an interval of many months without return of his pulmonary symptoms as necessary to a demonstration of cure, but from the observations recorded in this case and the reports of other observers, I think the conclusion can at least be reached that it offers great hope in this affliction, perhaps more than any other single line of treatment, and that if perhaps associated with wise medication, as well as hygiene, its development may soon rob tuberculosis of its terror, as antitoxin has done for diphtheria.

SUGAR AS AN ARTICLE OF DIET FOR DYSPEPTICS.*

In a series of careful experiments, Morgan has endeavored to ascertain the effect upon gastric digestion of quantities of sugar so large that they have usually been considered harmful. The observations were made upon four sorts of individuals: (1) A healthy day laborer; (2) two cases of hyperchlorhydria; (3) a case of gastritis chronica mucosa; (4) a case of achylia gastrica. The results were as follows:

1. The stomach contents of the healthy individual, after an Ewald meal, showed a total acidity of 50 with free HC140; when 90 g. cane sugar and 180 g. maple syrup were added to the breakfast, the total acidity fell to 25 and the free HCl to 12.5; 90 g. cornstarch pudding added to the test meal showed a total acidity of 32.5 with free HCl,; 10.3 g. cane sugar, a total acidity of 30, free HC120; 10.3 g. sugar and 90 g. maple syrup, a total acidity of 25, free HC112.3. The patient, however, continued during the entire series to feel perfectly well.

40°

2. Both cases of hyperchlorhydria showed similar results. In the first a total acidity of 115, free HC1100, fell, upon the addition of 24 g. cane sugar and 90 g. maple syrup to his daily diet for ten days, to total acidity 60, free HC140. In the second, 20 g. cane sugar, three times daily for a week, reduced the total acidity from 65 to 40, and the free HCl from 52.5 to 20. Under this regimen their condition improved markedly, the appetite improved, ructus and pyrosis disappeared, as did also all gastric distress; their stools, which had been costive, became normal. When the sugar was left off again, all the disagreeable symptoms accompanying hyperchlorhydria reappeared. When they took brandy in addition to the sugar diet, the beneficial effects of the latter failed to appear.

3. The third group of experiments were made upon a diabetic whose urine contained

*W. G. Morgan (Archiv f. Verdauungskrankheiten, 1902, p. 152).

four per cent. of sugar (109 g. daily) and whose stomach contents showed a total acidity of 20, no free HCl, much mucus. He was made to take, in addition to his regular diet, 60 g. of New Orleans molasses and 16 g. cane sugar with each meal. After a week the stomach contents, taken after an Ewald breakfast, not only an increase of total acidity to 35 with free HCl present, but a fall of the glycosuria to one per cent. (26 g. daily). Subjectively, too, the patient was much improved. A return to his former diet caused a return of his former distress and of the former hypoacidity; when the sugar was again added to his diet, the same improvement took place.

4. The case of achylia gastrica was practically unaffected by the sugar diet.

For other incidental observations made in connection with these experiments, the reader must be referred to the original. It may be mentioned, however, that in all the observations the gastric peptonization of proteids was found to be hindered by the sugar; in the case of gastritis mucosa, the formation of mucin in the stomach was much diminished.

As regards the conclusions, the beneficial effect of a sugar diet is well known, and has been confirmed by Strauss and others. Its action on gastritis chronica mucosa is of great interest, but requires further confirmation.

It is fair to add that this article, though published this year, was read before the American Gastro-Enterological Society in May, 1900. It seemed, however, of sufficient interest to warrant abstracting here..

LONGEVITY.

It is not likely that any of our acquaintances will live 969 of our years as Methuselah is supposed to have done, nor do we expect anyone to rival Jared, who is said to have reached the "ripe old age" of 962. But we do maintain that life can be very much

prolonged. In the seventeenth century the average of humanity was a little over 13 years. During the first half of the nineteenth century the average life reached 33 years; and at the beginning of the twentieth century we boast of an average of 38 years. These averages, of course, include infant mortality, war, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, as well as the mortalities following in the wake of Christian Science healers. In England it is computed that at the present time out of 1,000 persons over 100 reach the age of 75; 38 reach 85, and 2 attain 95, while one in about 5,000 becomes a centenarian. The oldest man in modern times, according to the London Lancet, was Michael Solis, who lived in Bogota, in 1878. He claimed to be at that time 184 years old, and Dr. Louis Hernandez, a man of over 80 years of age, who investigated the case, knew him as a centenarian when he himself was a boy. But the signature of Michael Solis, who is a halfbreed, is extant on a document referring to the building of a Franciscan convent at San Salvador, under the date of 1712. There is very little doubt about the authenticity of this remarkable case. The Lancet investigated it thoroughly in 1878, and came to the conclusion that the man was at least 180 years old then. It was in 1896 that Dr. Hernandez made his inquiries, and in 1885 he was still alive, so that his

age, if he died in that year, was only two years short of two centuries. Michael Solis attributed his extraordinary longevity to his regular mode of living. He used to eat but one meal a day, and that he allowed to get quite cold before he touched it, while it consisted of the strongest and most nourishing foods obtainable. For two days in, every week, however, he fasted, and on these occasions only drank large quantities of water.

Henry Jenkins, of Bolton parish, Yorkshire, England, followed the vocation of fisherman for 140 years, and lived to be 169. The next oldest man in England was Thomas Parr (Pan), who lived during the reigns of ten Sovereigns. He was a husbandman, which vocation he followed for

130 years. He lived from 1483 to 1635, or 152 years. His second marriage took place when he was 120 years old. The offspring of this marriage was a son who lived 110 years; and this son had a son that reached 127 years of age.

The oldest living woman of which we have any record is probably Mrs. Nancy Hallifield, North Carolina. She is a lady of color, and has lived 121 years. In 1894, Mrs. Szathmary and her husband Jean celebrated their century of married life in Hungary. In 1772, Mr. Pat Stephens, aged 109, and Mrs. Berry, aged 102, were solemnly united in marriage in the city of Dublin, Ireland. We believe that there are centenarians now living in various parts of California, some of whom we have referred to occasionally, but the above remarkable instances of longevity are vouched for by undoubted authority.

EVER EAT "ELEPHANT EARS?"

The Big Leaf Lawn Plant, Caladium, or Tanya, Is Used as Food.

A PLANT that has received very little attention as a source of food in this country is the caladium, or elephant ear, Colocasia antiquorum, though it is not uncommonly grown for this purpose in some parts of the Southern States, and it may surprise some readers who know it only as an effective ornament of their lawns, to hear of it as an article of food.

It is found oftenest in the coast region of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, where it is known as "Tanya," a local name, probably derived from "Tannier," the West Indian name of a similar plant. In other countries, especially in the tropics, this plant furnishes food for many thousands of people. It is a very important food plant in Japan. The negroes of the Gold Coast in Africa have it under the name of "Eddoes."

It is common in the West Indies. It is the "Taro" of the Sandwich Islands, where it is universally used as food, and from it "poi" is made by pounding the roots in water till they are reduced to dough, which is then allowed to ferment three or four days before eating.

In this country the tanya is cultivated to best advantage in rather moist, rich locations, and it requires a long season to bring it to maturity. It is planted in rows, the plants two or three feet apart, and cultivated like other crops. It forms a large, tuberous root, with numerous smaller tubers clustered closely about it. These smaller tubers are used for the planting of the next crop.

To make them properly edible, the roots require thorough cooking, and must be boiled for an hour, after which the fibrous outer coat is stripped off and the rest served in much the same way as we do potatoes. One who eats tanya for the first time is not likely to be favorably impressed, but on second trial usually likes it better, though it is unlikely that this dish can ever compete with the sweet potato for the favor of the American palate.

Botanically, it is related to the Indian turnip of our woods, and to the cultivated calla lily. Its virtue as a food plant is not made apparent by tasting the fresh leaves or the uncooked root, but its relationship to the Indian turnip is easily recognized from the pungent, acrid taste. The persistent, smarting pain that even a small piece can produce remains long in the mouth and throat. This pungent quality disappears entirely after cooking, however, and the tubers may then be eaten with impunity. The tanya is starchy, like the potato, but compact and closer grained and somewhat lacking in flavor. It is entirely free from fibres or woody parts, and possibly might be cooked by a different method so as to appear to better advantage.—Country Gentleman.

Among the changes and advances made. during the latter part of the century that has now been handed down to history, the changed attitude of the more intelligent members of community toward the important subjects of hygiene, sanitation and the laws of living, and incidentally toward the practice of medicine, presents a marked feature. People are no longer awed by the mystery of medicine, but begin to demand reasons for the edicts announced by their medical advisers. Perhaps a tendency to over-credulity is to be followed by its opposite extreme. The growing demand for reasons is both legitimate and commendable. Furthermore it is irrepressible. As the people gain intelligence they ask questions. and demand reasons. In matters of health all progressive and thinking people are now asking questions and they will insist upon

answers.

In this interim of compromise between credulity and knowledge many have discarded authority and have swung to the other extreme of pseudo-knowledge and self-treatment. Carried to the extreme this is getting out of the hot frying-pan into the hotter fire. The final solution is to be found in knowledge. Thinking people are already demanding this and will not be satisfied un

til it is forthcoming. Already it is becoming evident to such that all curative power is inherent in the organism, and that art can only direct efforts, remove obstacles and supply needed materials.

Thoughtful medical men realize the situation and know that their thinking clients must be better informed of the progress of the age in matters of health, or they will drift away and inform or misinform themselves. This means that they will learn a great deal that they will have to unlearn, because it is not true.

Nor will they be put off with half truths and ambiguity. They must have bottom facts; and this brings up the question of means. Various methods have been suggested, among them popular lectures, but these have been brought into disrepute by the quacks; besides, a lecture is soon forgotten. Non-technical papers in the public press might help; but most of them are either overlooked or mistrusted by the ones who need them most.

The most effective means will undoubtedly be by the more general distribution of sound health journals, journals that are not bought and sold by the multiplying and aggressive commercial interests of the day, and that have no gimcracks of their own to sell.

Health opens the door to wealth and makes enjoyment a birthright. Disease is the direct road to poverty, and doubles the bolts in every prison house of pain.

All the revelations of science during the past quarter of a century teach us that in the face of unhygienic surroundings, faulty feeding and bad habits of living, the efforts of the best and ablest physicians are almost powerless and the best of remedies are of little avail.

For the hopelessly sick man or woman no sun shines, no waters ripple, no flowers bloom.

The more a man knows about his own physiology the more faith he has in educated physicians and the less credence will he put in the conscienceless statements of charlatans.