Wheeling, W. Va., Feb. 25, 1899.
To the Editor:
—There is no known reason why cataract should be classed among the hereditary diseases. But cases occasionally occur which cause us to pause and think, though they may really belong to the realm of coincidence and not heredity.In the New York Medical Journal of Feb. 8, 1896, I reported "A Cataractous Family," in which the mother, three daughters, and probably two sons, had double cataract at about the age of 40 years. The only other member of the family, a sister, is about 57 and has no symptom of the family failing.In the Journal of the American Medical Association, of Oct. 22, 1898, I reported "Another Cataractous Family," in which my patient, aged 67 years, had double cataract; his father had double cataract when he died, at 68; a sister had double cataract and had been operated on when