age of 100 years, and not more than six that of 65 years. The entire population of the globe is upward of 1,200,000,000, of whom 32,214,000 die every year; 96,480 every day; 4,020 every hour; 67 every minute, and one and a fraction every second. On the other hand the births amount to 36,792,000 every year, 100,800 every day; 4,200 every hour; 70 every minute; one and a fraction every second. Married people live longer than the unmarried, the temperate and industrious longer than the gluttons and idle, and civilized nations longer than the uncivilized. Tall persons enjoy a greater longevity than small ones. Women have a more favorable chance of life before reaching their fiftieth year than men, but a less favorable one after that period. The proportions of married persons to single ones is as 75 to Persons born in spring have a more robust constitution than those born in other seasons. Births and deaths occur more frequently at night than in the day time. Only one-fourth of the male inhabitants of the globe grow up to carry arms or perform military service.

1,000.

THE FLY A CARRIER OF MICRO-ORGANISMS.

BY HENRY BARTENS, A. M., M. D., ST. LOUIS.

The question whether all infectious diseases are produced by microorganisms, or, whether the micro-organisms are the product of disease, is still open to discussion. One fact, however, is firmly established, to wit that micro-organisms do really exist, and that they may enter the body, producing septic infection and death.

Micro-organisms may enter the living body through lesions of the skin, openings of sweat pores, hair follicles, or through lesions of the mucous membranes, openings of the ducts and follicles, pockets, sulci and folds.

At this time, I would call your attention to the fact that the common fly is frequently the medium of septic infection; and shall try to illustrate this assertion by citing some of my observations made in practice.

The first case of this nature came into my hands about four years ago, when I practiced in Concordia, Mo. An old lady, the wife of a farmer, had been infected by a fly, which had fed upon the carcass of a dead hog lying in the vicinity of her house. The fly alighted on her neck, she crushed it with a stroke of her hand, and thought no more of it until about three days later, when a most painful inflammatory

swelling on the neck recalled the incident. Unfortunately, she was advised to poultice the swelling (the worst thing she could do under the circumstances), and it was only when matters became very serious that she sent for medical aid. I found an immense suppurating carbuncle situated on her neck; herself in a half comatose condition with all the evidence of blood poisoning. I made in this case several free incisions into the swelling to afford an outlet to the accumulated matter, and dressed it with compresses soaked in a five per cent, carbolized solution, but in spite of my efforts she died-the fly had done its deadly work. Right here I would make a protest against poultices of all kinds. Never apply a poultice to a carbuncle or any inflammatory swelling caused by septic infection, but always apply cloths wrung out of a warm antiseptic solution. They will accomplish more in one hour. than the old fashioned dirty poultice will do in a week.

The next case came under my observation in August, 1888, immediately after my removal to Nokomis, Ill. There, I was called to see a young butcher, suffering from a swollen arm, high fever and severe symptoms of depression. This is the history of this case: Three days previously, he had been working with bare arms among the rubbish at the slaughter-house, when all at once a whole swarm of flies alighted on his arm-flies which had been feasting on the bones and refuse generally found in such places. In driving them off his arm, he crushed a number of them, and forgot the fact until three days later, when his arm became, without any visible cause, painful and swollen, causing a most serious illness. In this case, I could not prevent suppuration, although I used the most rigid antiseptic measures and most careful internal treatment, and he recovered only after a very protracted illness.

The third and most remarkable case is that of a fisherman living on the Illinois river, in Calhoun county. It was in the fall of 1888, when, in consequence of the low water and other unknown causes, a great many fish perished. They were thrown ashore, filling the air with their stench, and thousands of flies feasted upon them. This man was working on his nets at the time, barefooted and barearmed as such such men generally do-all around him flies were buzzing, and now and then one would select his bare legs or arms as a suitable resting place.

The man occasionally drove them away, scratched his legs when he felt an itching, but otherwise paid no attention to them. A few days

later, he commenced to feel very ill, a number of boils formed on his extremities, and he called in a physician, but died from blood poisoning ultimately.

How could all these persons be septically infected without there being any lesion of the skin? There is but one explanation: The micro-organisms were deposited by the flies upon the skin, and entered through the open sweat pores. The fly is our enemy, and he who will find ways and means to destroy him effectually, will be a benefactor to mankind.

WHO PULLED THE BELL-ROPE?

The author of the following statement had been an engineer with a big reputation as a "runner" in the years gone by, but, on account of failing nerves and eyesight, was now enjoying an easy berth around the shops, says the Kansas City "Star."

It was when the old Y. M. & B. was first opened up, he began. I was pulling passenger, and took the first coach over the road. I got a good run, all day work, and was holdin' her down as a good thing. 'Bout a year after we'd got to doin' a good business I had some extra runnin' and lost my turn for a while, and run nights all of the time. It was my last trip before I'd get back to my own run, and I was feelin' glad to get on to the day "trick" again. We'd had some mighty bad weather, and lots of water fell. Our track was in pretty good shape, though, and we didn't much fear washouts, so we kept up with the "card" pretty well. On the night I spoke about I was on No. 2. We had a heavy train, but the machine I had was able to get there," and I was on time till we struck a freight that couldn't take the siding. They "swung us down," and we side-tracked until the freight got away. I was pretty warm over losing the time, and when we lit out of there I pulled her right up to the notch, and she went for all she was worth. We were makin' about 45 miles an hour, and when we reached the "fill" east of Wildcat, I worked steam all the way down. We were 'bout half-way to the creek when the bell rang. I worked mighty quick, but it was down hill, and the rails were wet, and I didn't get stopped until the pilot was almost over the bridge-or where the bridge ought to be-'cause when I stopped the head-light was shining over a chasm. The bridge was washed away. Gad! You can tell just 'bout how I felt. My fireman nearly fainted, and I wasn't far

behind him. Well, after we stopped, the conductor, a smart chap, with a fancy lamp and rubber collar, came a runnin' up wantin' to

know why I stopped.

"'Cause the bell rang. "I didn't," says he.

"Well, who did?” I says.

What did you pull the rope for?' I says.

"No one," says he, hot like.

"Well, some one pulled it or I wouldn't a stopped," says I.

The conductor looked at me a minute, and just then the brakeman

came up.

"Did you pull the rope, Joe,?" said the "con."

"No," says Joe.

Just of a sudden a thought struck me, and I told the "braky" to ask the porter. The "coon" hadn't pulled the bell, and the passengers in his car were all asleep until I jerked them endways with the "air." I took the conductor around to the front end and showed him the bridge. He was scared to death, and we went back together through the train to see who pulled the bell-rope, but every mother's son of them swore it wasn't touched. I began to get scared again, and told them about the bridge, and every body came out to look at it. We couldn't find any body who gave the signal, and after we'd flagged back to the station I got to thinkin' more and more, and I came to the opinion that the bell was rung by Providence. There was 150 people on the train, and if that bell hadn't rung I'd a took them all over into the Wildcat, and dropped them about 100 into the water. There wouldn't been any body left to tell about it either.

The superintendent looked into the thing after I reported, and had me and Joe up "on the carpet" twice, but we both heard the bell and swore to it. Some chap got out a long explanation that the bell-rope was tight stretched, and we struck a low joint coming down the hill, when one end of the coach sagged, and, the rope being tight, it rung the bell, but I don't believe it. It was Providence that did it, and I know it, and I've never swore on oath since, and never will.

DISINFECTION BY SULPHUR.

There has been much discussion recently respecting the efficiency of sulphur as a disinfectant for various infectious diseases, the efficiency of this method of disinfection having been denied by some

physicians whose opinions have been widely quoted in the newspapers. Confirmatory of the results obtained by the State Board of Health of Michigan, we are glad to be able to quote the following from a work by Dujardin Beaumetz, entitled "Les Nouvels Médications :”— "Twenty grammes of sulphur to a cubic meter (1.53 lbs. per 1,000 cubic feet of air space), destroy the different micro-organisms in a moist state, but it is necessary to increase this dose if one wishes to destroy some organisms in a dry state. In fact since the last communications to the Academy, M. Bardet and myself, aided by M. Chambou, have continued these experiments upon micro-organisms in a dry state, and particularly upon vaccine virus. We have taken from the pustules of vaccinia, scabs which we have reduced to fine powder, and placed in chambers where were variable quantities of flowers of sulphur. When a dose did not exceed 20 grammes per cubic meter, the vaccine powder did not lose its properties, and one could, by inoculating animals and infants, obtain a vaccine eruption.

"With 30 grammes per cubic meter (2.297 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet of air space), the results obtained were uncertain, sometimes the powder losing its properties; but when the dose is increased to 40 grammes per cubic meter (3.06 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet of air space), the inoculations are always inactive. So, then, for vaccine, and probably for variola, if one desires to destroy the contagious 'germs' in a dry state, it is necessary to double the dose of 20 grammes which we have already fixed.

"According to the experiments of Vallin and of Legouest, 20 grammes are sufficient for typhoid fever, while, according to Vallin, 40 grammes are necessary for the microbe of tuberculosis."

THE HOPE OF IMMORTALITY.

BY EDWIN ARNOLD.

Why, in truth, should evolution proceed along the gross and palpable lines of the visible, and not also be hard at work, upon the subtler elements which are behind-molding, governing and emancipating them? Taking things as they seem, nobody knows that death staysnor why it should stay-the development of the individual. It stays our perception of it in another; but so does distance, absence, or even sleep. Birth gave to each of us much; death may give very much more, in the way of subtler senses to behold colors we cannot here see,