Vienna, Austria, Nov, 12, 1897.
To the Editor:
—I was much surprised while visiting Norway during the last summer, to find that among a population of less than two million people, there existed three special hospitals for the confinement and treatment of lepers, and that in these institutions were domiciled over one thousand unfortunates, afflicted with this terrible disease.By far the largest of these institutions is situated at Bergen, and while there I availed myself of the opportunity to visit it. The superintendent, Dr. Hansen, was away on a vacation, but his first assistant received me cordially, and answered all my queries in the politest manner possible.Naturally, where a fish diet forms so large a part of the food of the population of this country, one asks the question whether this may not act as a strong causative factor in the production of the disease. I was told