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268 simplest and most digestible description. Indiscretion in eating is a fruitful cause of relapse in yellow fever; and it must be borne in mind that in this disease relapse is exceedingly dangerous. Nutrition may be aided by nutrient enemata.

The Sternberg treatment.— Sternberg has introduced a system of treatment by alkalis which promises well. It is directed principally to counter-acting the hyperacidity of the gastric and intestinal contents— always a marked feature in yellow fever. His prescription is 150 gr. of sodium bicarbonate and ⅓ gr. of mercury perchloride in a quart of water; of this 1½ oz. is given every hour. This, he claims, not only neutralizes the acidity of the intestinal contents but increases the flow of urine, the perchloride of mercury tending to check fermentation changes in the alimentary canal. Of 301 whites treated in this way only 7.3 per cent, died, and of 72 blacks all recovered. Other encouraging figures have been ad- duced as to the efficacy of this line of treatment, which is certainly deserving of further and more extended trial. Prophylaxis.— It is the duty of sanitary authorities in tropical countries, so far as possible, to free of mosquitoes the areas over which they have charge. If this were effectually done everywhere there would be no malaria, no filariasis, and no yellow fever. Although complete extermination of mosquitoes is not to be expected, relative extermination of mosquitoes is worth attempting, and certainly much can be attained in this direction by the vigorous use of the now well-known measures. In Havana, by such means, in a very few months the number of mosquitoes was reduced 90 per cent., with, doubtless, a corresponding gain to the community in the diminution of mosquito-conveyed disease. The same has happened in Panama, Rio, and elsewhere. During epidemic visitations or during exacerbations of endemic yellow fever, non-immunes should, if possible, immediately quit the implicated locality. Above all, the slums and low-lying districts of the town should be shunned. These places should not