The contrast in the stated number of private patients in the three kingdoms has long been a striking one, and the causes of the difference are worthy of consideration by all who are interested in the treatment of the insane. Probably the same causes are at work in all parts, and we propose to leave Ireland out of the question and to seek out their true nature by a comparison of England and Scotland

Dysentery and diarrhæal affections in English asylums have, for some time past, been attracting considerable attention.

The Commune Hospital was built in 1863 for the reception of poor patients of all classes from the city of Copenhagen. It was therefore necessary to provide a ward for the treatment of the insane. For this special purpose a pavilion was erected simultaneously with the main building, within the grounds of the hospital. It was arranged on the corridor plan, with single rooms only. The pavilion cost between £3000 and £4000. It was forty-two yards long, and had twenty-two single rooms, on two flats, besides a special room in the basement for the reception of patients suffering from delirium tremens. It was by no means intended to provide the city with a regular fully-equipped hospital for the continuous treatment and nursing of the insane. The pavilion was designed to serve as a reception-house, and those patients who did not show signs of improvement within a short time were removed to one of the country asylums. Besides ordinary insane persons, the pavilion was also to receive patients whose condition necessitated isolation, e. g. suicidal cases, epileptics, and severe cases of alcoholic poisoning. Later on, when the physician in charge was appointed Physician of the Court of Justice, all criminals suspected of insanity were sent to the pavilion for observation.

One of the most important and valuable documents that has ever been issued in connection with the institutional treatment of insanity is the Report on the Dieting of Pauper Lunatics in Asylums and Lunatic Wards of Poor-houses in Scotland, by Dr. J. C. Dunlop. It is issued as a supplement to the forty-third Annual Report of the Scottish Commissioners.

“A Flaw in the English Lunacy Law,” to which Dr. Ernest White draws attention(1) is an example of the dangerous power given to the “judicial authority” under the existing Lunacy Act.

Czolgosz, the cacophonously-named murderer of President McKinley, is still the subject of discussion in the United States, the question having been raised whether he was not insane rather than a criminal.

The general index to the first twenty-three volumes of Brain, which has recently reached us, is a valuable addition to our reference shelf. It represents a very large amount of work, which only those who have undertaken similar work can fully appreciate.