sition of this knowledge. An agent which appears capable of inducing, increasing, reducing, or destroying the functions of both muscles and nerves, ought not to be employed without extensive information and careful adaptation to the exigencies of the several cases to which it is applied; and until it can be so exhibited its success will be partiali and accidental only. What is required, then, is the most cautious experiment and logical induction; for by this both the science of physiology and the art of therapeutics will advance; while they can but retrograde and become the object of contempt, if a few accidental successes are made the basis of an advertised panacea.

While, in the present day, there are a few who are thus intent upon the progress of that which may prove a great boon to suffering humanity, and whose recommendation of electricity is always guided by a definite knowledge of the effects which it is already known to produce; there are the many whose careless employment of the agent in all kinds of maladies resembles rather the prescriptions of the middle ages, embracing every kind of material-from man's skull to sparrows' dung, and from diamond dust to copper filings-in the hope that some one of them might be of use to the sufferer, and that the others might mutually counteract their several injurious effects.

REVIEW IX.

1. The British Army in India: its Preservation by an appropriate Clothing, Housing, Locating, Recreative Employment, and Hopeful Encouragement of the Troops; with an Appendix on India. By JULIUS JEFFREYS, F.R.S., formerly Staff-Surgeon at Cawnpore, and Civil Surgeon of Futtegurh.-London, 1858. pp. 393. 2. A Brief Review of the Means of Preserving the Health of European Soldiers in India. Part I.. By NORMAN CHEVERS, M.D., Bengal Medical Service.-Calcutta, 1858. 8vo, pp. 131. Reprint from "Indian Annals of Medical Science," July, 1858, p. 632 to 762. THE author of the former of these works, during a lengthened period of service in India, was distinguished for the great attention which he bestowed upon every question which related to the health of the British soldier, for his proficiency in physical science, and for a vast amount of innate mechanical ingenuity. In this country he is better known as the inventor of the "Respirator," which bears his name, and which is in universal use. The volume before us, though written in a style somewhat quaint, is full of most original views and suggestions, and well deserves the serious attention of all who are interested in the preservation in health and strength of our armies in India. We proceed to give a brief epitome of its contents in the order followed by the author:

I. On the Specific Properties of Matter through which heat operates and is to be resisted. It is argued that the example of the natives of India is an uncertain guide in dress. Slow Conduction is the prin

ciple chiefly relied on by them for protection from heat, and this also is the principle on which Europeans wear flannel cap covers, and hats constructed of "Sola pith." Slow conduction, however, though a principle of high value in conjunction with others, is shown to be insufficient in itself for warding off heat. Evaporation is another principle, by means of which the effects of heat may be averted, yet it is a power which cannot be placed under safe control, nor be always at command when most needed, as on a line of march. The two principles of heat, the protective power of which has not been employed by the natives, nor sufficiently recognised by Europeans, and upon which the author places the greatest reliance, are those of Reflection and Slow Radiation. Both these principles are possessed in an eminent degree by bright metallic surfaces, a more general adoption of which in the clothing of our troops is earnestly recommended. Some remarks follow on the Convection and Subterranean Absorption of heat, having more especial reference to the construction of dwellings.

II. General Remarks on Tropical Virulence and Vital Resistance.According to Mr. Jeffreys, the three enemies with which the British soldier in India has to contend, are the sun, the atmosphere, and the ground. He believes that the direct rays of the sun not only produce sun-stroke, but also generate fevers, dysentery, and acute internal inflammations, while at the same time, when long continued, that they induce such a debility of the cutaneous system, as to predispose to the influence of malaria. "The skin's debility is malaria's opportunity." The exemption of the natives from the bad effects of the sun is shown to depend upon the extreme thickness of their scarfskin. The great error also is pointed out of attempting to acclimatize an Englishman by exposure, and examples are given to show the baneful results of such an experiment. The immunity of the Indian has been the work of many generations: in endeavouring to acclimatize an Englishman, the work of many generations is attempted to be effected at once. The ordinary caps and helmets supplied to our troops are described as "vapour tight boxes," preventing all transpiration.

"What then is to be said of coverings for the head, which not only let in solar heat to a large extent, but, as if they were intended as instruments of capital punishment, lock up the only door of escape by smothering the scalp altogether, or tantalizing it with a few ventilating holes of the size of a pin, or at most of a pencil, and at the crown only. The marvel is, how any warmblooded animal should, with the head in such a predicament, escape apoplectic destruction, even though it were of the coolest temperament, emasculated and bovine! But that manly brains,-bulky and busy,-turgid with blood and with thoughts of blood!-with the spirits on fire and excited to combat!should endure for an hour the double culinary process of roasting from without, and stewing within, is what no reflecting physiologist could have anticipated!"

The injurious effects of a heated atmosphere, apart from the direct rays of the sun, are next dwelt upon. Such an atmosphere reduces the tone of the cutaneous system, while at the same time, by failing

to dissipate the sun's direct rays, it aggravates the evils which, these. are wont to inflict.

Mr. Jeffreys does not enter into the question of the mode of origin of malaria, but he observes, that the ground being a poor conductor, radiates and reflects heat upon the body of the soldier, and sol mate-l rially increases the direct action of the sun from above.

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III. The Soldier's Dress.-The head-dress is first considered: "A head-dress, to be effective, should possess such resisting power as to ward off entirely the whole rays of the sun throughout an exposure to its action of any duration; and not only from the skull, but also from the sides of the head, face, and neck. It ought also to transmit so copious a ventilation over the head, as to encourage the perspiration to evaporate freely from it; and yet with a provision by which in cold weather the circulation of the air could be at once reduced or cut off. At the same time, such a head-dress should be no more cumbrous than was necessary to fulfil all those conditions completely."

Mr. Jeffreys gives several plans and descriptions of head-dresses combining all the properties which he recommends. The most complete provision is made for ventilation, while thin metallic plates are so arranged as to reflect the heat both from the exterior and from the surfaces of the ventilating spaces, and at the same time cause the little that is transmitted to be but slowly radiated in the direction of the head. Conduction is also called into play, by means of a layer of cotton wadding three-eighths of an inch thick, so as to transmit tardily whatever heat has not been intercepted by the reflection, slow, radiation, and ventilation.

"This principle is not placed in the van, but is introduced as a powerful reserve, to retard the progress of rays which have broken in through all the previous barriers; against which, such fibrous matter is effective, whereas it can offer but poor resistance to the solar rays, if it is so placed as to receive the brunt of them direct."

The fabric next the head is of wool, so arranged as to permit the perspiration to be exhaled freely, and so produce cold by evaporation. There is also an arrangement whereby the effects of evaporation may be increased by moistening this wool with water from without.

Mr. Jeffreys has ascertained that helmets may be constructed according to his plan, not weighing more than from two to two-and-threequarter pounds. This is no doubt heavier than many of the shakos at present in use, the weight of which is a frequent subject of complaint; yet the oppressiveness of the ordinary head-dress is attributable not so much to its weight, as is usually imagined, as to its imperfect poising, its pressure, and its want of porosity. Nothing is said as to the expense at which the author's head-dresses might be constructed." Their shapes, also, are certainly not very elegant; and we fear that our military authorities will not "crucify fashion" to the extent which Mr. Jeffreys would desire. Yet their mode of construction, the priuciples on which this is founded, and the advantages to be derived from them, are deserving of serious attention.

As regards the body dress of the British soldier in India, it is

argued, that a thin dress is ill suited for much exposure to a hot atmosphere, and that a barrier between this and the skin is required. For this purpose, flannel "next to and enclosing the whole skin" is recommended, and in this recommendation we entirely concur. Flannel being a non-conductor, wards off the excessive heat from without, while at the same time it maintains the temperature of the body within and prevents chills, and being also porous, it absorbs the perspiration and allows it to pass outwards readily, while it permits the ingress of atmospheric air. Those going to India should never fail to provide themselves with this useful material. Thick external clothing, during the hot months, is denounced, but in the cold season soldiers are recommended to be clad so as to be comfortably warm. The following sentence is well worthy of attention:

"Many soldiers and officers likewise think that because they are in India, they cannot suffer by any carelessness with respect to cold, and many, as a consequence, bring themselves upon the sick list, and with ailments often of a tedious character.'

There can be no doubt that sudden chills are quite as frequently the exciting causes of inflammatory diseases in the tropics as in temperate regions. The previous heat diminishes the resisting powers of the skin, and often induces copious perspiration, and the rapid evaporation of the perspiration itself, produced by a current of air, is not rarely the source of the chill.

Some remarks follow on a Sun screen tunic, the great principle in the construction of which is, that it should be of such material as to reflect off as many as possible of the rays of the Sun. Here again bright metallic surfaces are called into play, and the author appears to have succeeded in manufacturing a flexible India-rubber cloth, with such a surface as to answer this purpose. For the details of the construction of this Sun screen tunic, as well as of the helmets, we must refer to the original work.

IV. On the Housing of British Troops in India.-Many original and valuable suggestions will be found under this head, which it is hoped will not be lost sight of in the erection of new barracks in India. A few of these suggestions we shall allude to. The ill effects which may accrue from lodging Europeans upon the ground floor are pointed out, as well as the importance of all the barracks and the houses of the officers being furnished with a double roof. The great importance of thorough ventilation is insisted upon, and the advantages and disadvantages of the means already in use, particularly of the "tattees" (wet matting suspended over the door-ways), are discussed. An ingenious mode of ventilating and cooling dwellings, as well as of heating them in cold weather, is proposed, which is derived from the circumstance that the earth, some feet below the surface, is cooler than the atmosphere in summer, warmer in winter. It is recommended to sink in the neighbourhood of a dwelling a number of deep wells, and to connect these by cross tunnels, so as to form a lengthened subterranean passage, one end of a series of these passages opening on the ground floor inside the house, and the other, which communicates

with the air, being furnished with a large cowl or wind-sail, which will turn in any direction in which the wind blows. A constant subterranean current of air discharging itself in the basement floor of the house will thus be secured. Various observations on "thermantidotes" and "ventilating machines" follow, and a "refrigerator" of the author's own invention is described and figured.

V. On the Locating of British Troops in India.-Mr. Jeffreys dwells with much earnestness upon the necessity of establishing sanitary stations in India, and shows that he was an advocate for them so long ago as 1824. He agrees with Mr. Ranald Martin in thinking, that the proportion of European stations in the hills should be increased, and does not consider that the experience of the recent rebellion is unfavourable to such an arrangement, while the extension of railway communication would render the transport of troops to any seat of disturbance at all times easy. The use of tramways in the construction of Indian roads is also recommended. Ravines near stations are pointed out as objectionable, being certain to become the rendezvous of the natives for depositing that which more refined communities carry off by sewers. The air, laden with putrid emanations, becomes stagnant in these ravines during the calm hot day, but as night advances, it becomes displaced by a colder and denser atmosphere from an adjacent cultivated plain, and is wafted through the open doors and windows of any houses lying to the leeward. A high river bank with land under cultivation, is spoken of as an eligible site for a station. Mr. Jeffreys dwells with much force on the moral necessity which devolves upon the Government for rearing the child of the European soldier in a healthy climate, either in Europe or in the hill stations of India. We entirely agree with him. The awful mortality among the children of English soldiers in India should long ago have suggested some such procedure.

VI. On the Recreative Employment of the Soldier. None who have not experienced it for themselves can form any conception of the frightful ennui of a soldier's life in India during peace. This it is, and not the intensity of the heat, nor the frequency of disease and death, which renders life a burden often so difficult to bear. Any remedies for this state will prove one of the greatest blessings to the soldier, while at the same time they will operate as the most certain prophylactics against disease and intemperance. The Indian Government cannot be said to have been altogether remiss on this score. Regimental libraries and racket-courts are almost universal at the European stations. These provisions are, however, inadequate. Many of our soldiers are unable to read, while the racket-courts afford no protection from the sun, and the game of rackets is too fatiguing and trying to the constitution in India. Mr. Jeffreys points out that many of the soldiers have been originally artisans, and proposes to establish workshops for turning, punching, and other purposes. The formation of experimental farms would also afford occupation to many, and would be one of the most certain ways for developing the natural resources of the country. The profits from these various sources