In our correspondent's case the thickening process doubtless occurred as an after effect of the attack of rheumatic fever. The best remedy is suitable osteopathic treatment for the spine, supplemented by _either very_ hot or _quite_ cold spinal sitz baths, by acetic acid skin treatment, or by any other means which will have the effect of disencumbering the spine. By means of our treatment we free the painful nerves from harmful pressure and promote an increased blood circulation in the parts affected. In this way the cause of the disorder is removed. A diet along the following lines would be better than the present one:-- 8 A.M.--Tumblerful of hot distilled water. 9.30.--One raw egg beaten up with cream and vegetable juice or clear vegetable soup made without salt. Wholemeal bread with plenty of butter and some celery or watercress. 1.30 P.M.--Two conservatively cooked vegetables done without salt, with grated cheese as sauce and a Granose biscuit with butter. 4.--Tumblerful of hot distilled water only. 6.30.--2 oz. of cottage cheese or cream cheese, salad and Granose biscuits, or "P.R." crackers, with butter. 9.30.--A raw egg beaten up with cream and vegetable juice or soup. I think dried milk preparations are inadvisable in such cases as these (especially when taken as beverages, as the "milk sugars" present are very prone to ferment and to hinder the cleansing of the digestive tract), and that the required proteid is best obtained from eggs and curd cheese. Fat is very necessary in nervous troubles; hence plenty of cream, fresh butter and cream cheese should be taken; also pure oil with the salad. MALT EXTRACT. L.F.H. writes.--Is malt extract a good thing to take daily with an ordinary non-flesh diet, two teaspoonfuls or so at breakfast? And is the desiccated or dry malt extract to be preferred to the ordinary sticky article? Malt extract of good quality, containing an active form of diastase, is a good form of relish to take with meals. The diastase promotes starch digestion and makes a good addition to foods of the cereal order. The thick sticky form is the best because the diastase is then in an active condition. Dried malt usually will have this diastase destroyed, hence, although much more convenient to handle, it is not so good dietetically as the sticky original extract. ABOUT SUGAR.