MISCELLANEOUS.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 997, 20 August 1872, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

A private letter received in Duncdin, gives an amusing account of " Vaccination from the Heifer." as practised in Auckland:—"Attracted by the glowing description in the papers, I found myself, with forty or fifty others, at Dr \V"s, waiting my tnrn to he vaccinated. The Doctor's house is a remarkably nice one, and the garden and*grounds among the best in Auek- . -oil The Doctor was one of the lu'efty Caledonian holders, remarkahle for the tenacity with which he stuck to his shares, and the readiness with which in adverse times he paid up his calls. Now he has his reward, and has become a great public benefactor, by purchasing heifers, vaccinating them from the human subject, and then revaccinating from them. Of course it was necessary to make a small charge to cover the loss in re-selliug these heifers, as the newspapers put it, which small charge the Doctor has fixed at ss. On my visit the scene was curious. A heifer tied to the verandah post and surrounded with iron hurdles. Inside the hurdles the Doctor with two assistants, and hanging over the hurdles an array of arms, white, black, and whitey brown. Outside the hurdles, the owners of the said arms—men, women, and children, of all ages, sexes, class, and colour. On the verandah a crowd waiting its turn, and a gentleman with a small table registering names and taking fees. In a corner another small crowd clustered round a young lady who had fainted under the excitement of the process. What is doing at Doctor "W 's is only a sample of what may he seen at tae house of every medical man in town, excepting in some cases the heifer, which is neglected by those who have greater faith in the arm to arm process. This small-pox fright will soou wear itself out, but it is a sad pity the disease has been introduced ; and there is a strong feeling to prosecute those whose false declaration alone made the introduction possible.

An eminent authority upon vaccination says that after the age of thirtyfive re-vaccination becomes truly a preservative, and consequently neces--Bary. The following remedy may he a timely contribution :—"An effectual remedy for small-pox is said to have recently been found by a surgeon of the British army in China. The mode of treatment isaa follows :—When the Preceding fever is at its height, and just before the eruption appears the chest is rubbed with croton oil and tartaric ointment. This causes the whole of the eruption to appear on that part of the body, to the relief of we rest. It also procures a full and complete eruption, and thus prevents the disease from attacking the latemal organ?. This is now the

established mode of treatment in the English army in China, and is regarded as a J e feet cure.