and the bleeding frequent and profuse, the only effectual cure is their removal. Where the operation is objected to, the next method is to employ astringent enemata, which must be regulated by the medical attendant. The celebrated Weir’s balsam (248½ Grand Street) has the credit of effecting miraculous cures. It is a medicine of deserved repute, and ranks high with professional men. Pitch pills have been extolled. Now, where piles, both external and internal, do not yield to the means suggested, or the patient may not think proper to avail himself of them, the next best step is their removal; and this is done either by excision or by ligature. Both processes are safe in the hands of a medical man, and are neither attended with any pain nor suffering worth notice. Among the annoyances incident to the rectum, is an occasional preternatural contraction of the sphincter muscle. It is generally the consequence of local irritation set up by purgatives, by which the orifice becomes sore and excoriated, which, if not timely relieved, ulcerates, constituting cracks also, and in process of time a portion sloughs away, and the adjacent edges unite, and thereby diminish the calibre of the opening. This disease _may_ be congenital, that is, the individual may be born with a contracted or narrow sphincter. The treatment, naturally enough, is to dilate the orifice, which is to be attempted by the introduction of bougies, after the mode advised for the cure of stricture, of which this in reality is a form. The cracks of the sphincter are occasionally obstinate to heal; and the ulceration will spread within the rectum. When that is the case, the application of any stimulative ointment will promote a healthy action. In inveterate cases division of the sphincter is necessary, which is to be done with a scalpel, and the incision should be made from within laterally, by which injury to the perineum is avoided. The operation is very simple, and by no means painful or dangerous: the cure is perfect. Appropriate medical treatment must not be neglected. PROLAPSUS OF THE RECTUM. [Illustration]