A curious affection has been occasionally met with in certain parts of France, especially in Provence, among reed workers, chiefly those who manipulate the stems of Arundo donax. A case at Frontignan has lately been very carefully studied by M. Baltus, of Lille. A man, aged forty-seven, and his son, aged seventeen, had been at work for several hours loading a cart with reeds, which had been cut a year before, and kept in a damp trench. Both were seized with a painful irritation of the nose, eyes, and throat, followed by erythematous swelling in the same parts, which extended to the hands and trunk. An examination of the reeds showed that they were covered with a mould consisting of the spores and mycelium of a fungus, Sporotrichum dermatodes, which had developed under the* influence of the prolonged exposure to moisture. The spores had been shaken off as dust during the manipulation of the reeds, and had irritated the exposed parts of the skin on which they had lodged. Although usually trifling, the malady may sometimes assume a severe form.

It may apparently be prevented by the simple expedient of washing the reeds before their manipulation. - Popular Science News.