In writing this book I have attempted to follow the gen eral pattern of the lectures which I have given to pupil midwives at Worcester Royal Infirmary for the past 21 years. In hospital it has been possible to illustrate what I have had to discuss by reference to cases at present in the wards. This unfortunately is not possible to the same extent in a book, but I have no doubt that my readers will be able to apply the principles described to cases under their care. I am sure that this is a most helpful way of fixing in one's mind the information which is required not only for examination purposes but so much more importantly for the better understanding of the clinical problems with which one is faced, and for the purpose of bringing to them the best possible management. The chapter headings and the arrangement of the chapter content may be regarded as unorthodox, but I have presented the topics in the way in which they seem to me to arise in clinical practice. This, I hope, will make easier the understanding of all aspects of a problem. [ have tried to avoid duplication, and when a topic appears in more than one place, it does so in order to discuss its relevance in a differ ent context. Cross-references have been used throughout the text, in order to facilitate reference to the other facts of importance.

The mining engineer and petrologist Frederick Henry Hatch (1864 1932) left the Geological Survey of Great Britain in 1892, relocating to South Africa. He worked for De Beers and with John Hays Hammond for Cecil Rhodes, finding important new gold fields in Matabeleland and Mashonaland. Control of the gold mines was a significant factor in the tension between Dutch and English settlers that would result in the Second Boer War in 1899. Prior to this, Rhodes and Hammond were behind the abortive Jameson Raid, but Hatch had returned to England briefly and was not implicated. This 1895 work, written with South African mining engineer J. A. Chalmers, reveals the extent of gold reserves in the Transvaal, and the engineering skills needed to exploit them. It deals with geological, economic and legal aspects of the mining industry, remaining of interest to historians of South Africa and the British Empire.