r alternating than direct current--probably
due partly to the absence of the scum on the surface which hinders the
radiation of heat.

* * * * *

THE PROGRESS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

A retrospective survey of the progress made and of the reforms
instituted in medical education in the United States is instructive.
In many respects there is cause for much congratulation, while for
other reasons the situation gives rise to feelings of alarm. It is
pleasing to note and it augurs well for the future that a decided
advance has been made in the direction of a more thorough medical
training, yet at the same time it is discouraging to observe that,
despite these progressive steps, competition does not abate, but
rather daily becomes more acute. Dr. William T. Slayton has just
issued his small annual volume on "Medical Education and Registration
in the United States and Canada." From a study of this book, which
fairly bristles with facts, a sufficiently comprehensive opinion may
be formed in regard to the present state of medical education in this
country. According to this work, there is now a grand total of one
hundred and fifty-four medical schools. Of this number, one hundred
and seventeen require attendance on four annual courses of lectures,
and twenty-seven require attendance on sessions of eight months, and
ten on nine months each year. Twenty-nine States and the District of
Columbia require an examination for license to practice medicine;
eighteen of these require both a diploma from a recognized college and
an examination. Fifteen States require a diploma from a college
recognized by them or an examination. Five States, viz., Vermont,
Michigan, Kansas, Wyoming and Nevada, have practically no laws
governing the practice of medicine; Alaska the same. In order to gain
a clear comprehension of the existing state of affairs, a comparison
of the number of students at two periods, with a lapse of years
intervening sufficient to eliminate all minor variations, will be more
to the point than merely regarding the multiplication of schools. Many
of these mushroom institutions are not worthy of notice, containing
perhaps a dozen students, and brought into existence only for the
purpose of profit or from other motives of self-interest. The number
of students is as reliable an index as can be given. For instance,
taking the decade between 1883-84 and 1893-94, it will be fo