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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4bb761b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60338 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60338) diff --git a/old/60338-0.txt b/old/60338-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5435e57..0000000 --- a/old/60338-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4889 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Enquiry Into the Origin and Intimate -Nature of Malaria, by Thomas Wilson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: An Enquiry Into the Origin and Intimate Nature of Malaria - -Author: Thomas Wilson - -Release Date: September 22, 2019 [EBook #60338] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MALARIA *** - - - - -Produced by Thiers Halliwell, Bryan Ness and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - -Transcriber’s notes: - -The text of this e-book has been preserved in its original form -apart from correction of a few typographic errors (omposition → -composition, recal → recall, gives → give, bloodvessels → blood -vessels), and insertion of some missing quotation marks. Inconsistent -hyphenation and inconsistent spelling (Scheld/Scheldt/Sheldt) -has not been altered. Footnotes have been numbered and positioned below -the relevant paragraphs. - - - - AN ENQUIRY - - INTO THE - - ORIGIN AND INTIMATE NATURE - - OF - - MALARIA. - - - By THOMAS WILSON, - CHEVALIER DE L’ORDRE DU LION NEERLANDAIS. - - - LONDON: - HENRY RENSHAW, 356, STRAND. - 1858. - - - LONDON: - SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, - COVENT GARDEN. - - - - -TO - -M. ROCHUSSEN, - -MINISTER OF COLONIES AT THE HAGUE. - - -SIR,-- - -I have taken the liberty of dedicating this little work to you. -It treats of a subject on which I have made many experiments and -collected many observations in Belgium and in Holland. I have carefully -weighed the conflicting evidence of some distinguished observers, and -the conclusion arrived at is, that this conflict has arisen partly -from a want of due care in making the observations, partly from the -extreme difficulty accompanying all inquiries in which physiology and -pathology, health and disease, are necessarily involved. - -In the course of my memoir I have endeavoured to do justice to -Holland, esteeming it to be the most remarkable country in the -world. I cannot find in the history of any other nation proofs so -clear of the beneficial effects of indomitable industry, directed by -intelligence, over the welfare and destinies of a people; nowhere do -I find evidence so convincing of the great results flowing from the -application of practical science to the wants of a people; nowhere do -I find to the same extent a sound commercial and political economy, -first developed and acted on in Holland, lead so directly to the -civilization and welfare of a nation. Those great principles which -other nations and other races discussed theoretically and elaborated -into systems, the nation of which you are a distinguished citizen, -discovered, adopted, applied, and enforced. To Holland, as a nation, -belongs eminently the character of practical. Whilst other nations left -uncultivated as they found them, or rendered unproductive, the most -fertile territories, seemingly unable to turn them to account, the -country and people to which you belong compelled the ocean to retire -from a barren, unprofitable, and untillable soil, which they converted -into a garden; and if ever the great problem of rendering the whole -earth habitable for man be solved, I may venture to predict--with -all due respect for other nations and other races--that the solution -must come from Holland. As it would be presumptuous in me--a humble -individual--directly to address a nation, I have ventured to do so -indirectly through you. Permit me, therefore, to dedicate this little -work to you, as the expression of my personal regard and friendship, -and of my deep respect for the nation to which you belong. - - I am, SIR, - - Most respectfully yours, - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - INTRODUCTION. - - Epidemics--Their mysterious character--Distinction between endemics - and epidemics--Malaria, where chiefly met with--Is it of one kind - or several?--Author’s long residence in a _malaria_-producing - country pp. 1–3 - - - CHAPTER I. - - The question as to there being several kinds of malaria, further - examined--Theory of Macculloch, tracing to a malaria, chiefly - generated by man himself, all forms of disease, from the plague to - a common neuralgia--This theory now accepted, and to a certain - extent acted on by the British Government--Experiments of the - Board of Health--Results to be seen at Luton, Birmingham, and - London pp. 4, 5 - - - CHAPTER II. - - The history of epidemics adverse to the theory of Macculloch--Results - of confounding drains with sewers, and of converting drains into - drain-sewers--Influence of the external world (earth, air, and water) - over man, first examined by Hippocrates in his celebrated treatise, - “_De aere, aquis et locis_,”[1] but with other views--Influence of - modern chemistry over physiology--Men now expect from chemistry a - solution of some of the great problems of physiology and pathology - still unsolved pp. 6–14 - - [1] Περι αερον, ὑδατων καὶ τοπων. Cary’s edition. Paris. 1806. - - - CHAPTER III. - - The great plague in the time of Justinian--View as to its African - origin, and strictly contagious nature, adopted by Gibbon--Admits, - however, the necessity for an insalubrious condition of the atmosphere, - in addition to the presence of the poison--Its reappearance at present - in Northern Africa (Bengazzi)--Modern theories as to its origin and - mode of propagation, refuted by the histories of plague, cholera, and - typhus--Murrains pp. 15–25 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - View of nature acted on by the Hollander and Brabanter--Their struggle - to overcome the difficulties of their position--Rise of the Dutch - Republic, and of the School of Mechanical and Practical Science of - Holland--Its influence over Europe and the world--Drainage of the Lake - of Haarlem--Practical instances of the truth of the principle, that - “when man interferes with nature, he must carry through the work to an - issue”--How to convert a peat-bog into a healthy meadow, a dreary waste - into a profitable, cheerful farm pp. 26–30 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Sources of malaria--Various medical hypotheses refuted by Colonel - Tulloch--Intermittents and remittents as they appear on the Western - Coast of Africa and in Canada pp. 31–43 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Extent of life on the globe as proved by the microscope--Theory of - Cuvier as to the nutrition of plants and animals--Vast extent of - the microscopic living world--The “blooming of plants”--Results of - disturbing the muddy banks of rivers--Sources of the bad odours of - certain marshes and rivers--Remarkable influence of a change in - temperature over the products of fermentation--Parasite theory of - putrefaction, fermentation, and disease, refuted by Liebig, pp. 44–54 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Decomposition and metamorphosis of animal beings--Influence they - exercise over the soil as a habitation for man--Disposal of the - excreta and remains of animals and vegetables--Danger of these when - accumulated--Immunity of savage tribes--Scurvy amongst the white - troops at the Cape of Good Hope, the healthiest climate in the - world--Metamorphoses of organic remains--Influence of oxygen, of - nitrogen, and ammonia--Source of the inorganic principles--Fluate of - lime in fossil bones--Danger to man of putrescent sea-water--Man’s - incessant struggle with nature--Fatality of the climate of Rio - pp. 55–65 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Earth, air, and water, in relation to man--How modified by - him--Results of that modification--Action and reaction--Antagonism - of man to nature--Effects of human labour on the soil--How man - protects his dwelling--Distinction between a drain and a sewer, a - distinction first practically denied in England--Chemical elements - of animal bodies--Nourishment of plants--Exhaustion of the soil in - Virginia--Value of farm-yard manure--Agriculture in China--Effects of - clearing the primæval forests of America--Causes of the hay-fever, - typhus and typhoid fevers--Effects of bad ventilation--Importance - of the infusoria in nature’s great scheme--Origin and action - of _humus_--Functions of the _humus_ and of the leaves--Means - adopted in Holland for the conversion of a bog or morass into a - polder--Antediluvian vegetation--Elements which require being restored - to the soil--Belgian agriculturists--Statistics of Quetelet pp. 66–88 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - On poisons, miasms, and contagions--Difficulties besetting the - questions as to their essential nature and origin--Poison of typhus, - of yellow fever, and of the remittent fevers of hot countries--Their - appearance at uncertain and distant periods in an aggravated - form--Statistics of the recurrence of remittents in the West - Indies--Light thrown by chemistry on the subject--Fermentation and - putrefaction--Peculiar poisons--Distinction between a miasm and a - contagion--Odour perceptible in sick chambers--Ozone, pp. 89–98 - - - CHAPTER X. - - On the servitude of rivers--Practical knowledge of the ancients--Early - Roman history a fable--The great social problems of _race_ and - _climate_ in some measure unknown to the Romans--First mooted in the - reign of Justinian--Present phases of human society--How affected by - these two problems--Influence of civilization over the earth - pp. 99–110 - - - CONCLUDING CHAPTER. - - Author’s theory of malaria--Has malaria a real existence?--Action of - ferments on the blood--A malarious air not dislodged by storms--Quality - of the air over ditches, &c.--Experiments by the Author on microscopic - mollusca--Influence of chemistry over physiology--Ammonia--Its - volatility and universal prevalence in the air--Its sources and action - on living bodies--Danger of drainage-works during summer--Spread - of plants through the air--Appearance of strange plants in a - country--Conclusion--Various phases of sanitary science--laws of - decomposition and composition--Results to man of a false position in - nature pp. 111–128 - - - APPENDIX pp. 129–136 - - - - - ERRATUM. - - Page 98, line 2 (note), _should read_ “Hydrogen is the lightest known - substance; its specific gravity is to that of air 732 to 10,000.” - - - - -AN INQUIRY - -INTO - -THE ORIGIN AND INTIMATE NATURE - -OF - -MALARIA. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -In addition to the wide-spread desolating epidemics which appear from -time to time, mysterious in their origin, progress, and cessation -or disappearance--such, for example, as the plague of Athens, the -plague of London in the time of Charles the Second of happy memory, -the Indian or Asiatic cholera of modern times, and the disease called -influenza, a frequent visitor to Western Europe during the last -half-century--there exist localities unceasingly under the influence -of a poison inimical to human life. This poison, since it may be so -called, is known to haunt the deltas of large rivers, and seems to be -always present there; but it is found also, if we may determine its -identity by the identity of its deleterious influence on men, in other -and very various localities: sometimes it shows itself--and this most -commonly--in marshy and fenny countries, where no large rivers exist, -at other times by the banks of fresh-water lakes; now it haunts the -forest, and now the open plain, where marsh and fen, swamp and decaying -vegetation, seem all but absent. As the inhabitants of such localities -are especially afflicted with the fevers called intermittent and -remittent, it is the most natural thing in the world to ascribe to the -locality itself the origin of these diseases. When, however, we attempt -to generalize and assign to the same cause in a more concentrated form -those terrible fevers which render tropical countries the graves of -Europeans, great difficulties arise, and numerous objections, which the -best of statisticians, not to mention the simply medical observer, have -failed to elucidate and remove. Thus physicians are not agreed as to -the identity of the poison under all circumstances, or in other words, -demonstrative evidence is still wanting to prove that the cause of -fever on the western coasts of Africa is identical with that which has -so often in the Antilles destroyed England’s chosen troops, decimated -her fleets, crippled her power, annihilated her army, as at Walcheren, -and broken up the health of many a sturdy yeoman by the banks of the -Scheldt, of the Thames and its tributaries. - -To this poison the term malaria has been applied--a word borrowed -from the Italian. This malaria is presumed, whatever it may be, to be -the cause (though not exclusively), on evidence almost amounting to a -certainty, of the fevers marked by intermissions and remissions; it -may also be the cause of the more terrible febrile diseases called the -yellow fever, the black vomit, &c., of tropical countries. On this I do -not insist. As regards intermitting and remitting febrile affections, -we are all but certain that to such localities as I have just alluded -to, their origin may be traced, however they may originate elsewhere. -A long residence in Holland and Belgium (countries supposed by many to -be in an especial manner the hot-bed and active parent of malaria) -has enabled me to observe, I trust in an unprejudiced manner, some -facts which may have escaped the observation of others. Long resident -in that land, on which perished miserably the best equipped army (an -army composed of veterans) which ever, perhaps, quitted England for -foreign aggression; in that land on which perished the chosen garrisons -of the mighty Napoleon; on that spot where they dragged on a miserable -existence, or perished in the prime of life; the writer of this -essay enjoyed the best of health. Even admitting the full influence -of a vigorous constitution, and an innate vitality equal to the -neutralization of all malaria, a something must still be ascribed to -observation leading him to avoid the hurtful and insalubrious agencies -at work around him--agencies ever active, ever seeking to destroy. This -information the author has thought might be useful to others, and with -this view he submits it to the public.[2] - - [2] Medical authors of the highest repute are exceedingly vague in - their ideas respecting the nature of malaria; nor will it ever be - otherwise until the question be taken up by the strictly scientific. - Thus, Sir John Forbes says, in his “Holiday:”--“As the unknown - thing which we term malaria or miasma of marshes, under certain - circumstances gives rise at one time to simple ague, at another - to a fatal remittent fever, &c.; and produces at times a morbid - enlargement of the spleen, at others diseases of the liver, &c.; so I - can imagine that some other _malaria_, or unknown thing or influence - of local origin, may be the cause of ordinary bronchocele, of goitre - of the Alps, and also of cretinism.” - - From the 1st of August to December the author hunted and waded - through the marshes of Belgium and Holland in quest of water-fowl; - his impunity from fever may be in part ascribed to a hardy training - in early life. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -MALARIA--ITS SUPPOSED ORIGIN. - - -Thus stood the question of malaria towards the close of the last -century, and for some years afterwards; its existence in certain -localities was never questioned--no one pretended to say that the fens -of Lincolnshire and of Cambridgeshire, the lowlands of Essex and Kent, -the muddy shores of the Scheldt and the Lower Rhine, the delta through -which the rapid Rhone finds its way to the Mediterranean, were healthy -countries. No one questioned the presence of malaria there, or its -power to inflict the plague of intermittent or remittent fever on most -strangers and on not a few natives who happened, unfortunately for -themselves, to be susceptible of its influence. The poison gave to the -Pontine Marshes a world-wide celebrity. - -Again, of the more terrible febrile diseases of tropical climates, it -was suspected by many and boldly asserted by most medical men, that -to a malaria identical with that of Europe, but more concentrated by -high temperature, they owed their origin. Yet no one up to the period -I allude to--no physician, at least--had ascribed to neglected drains, -ill-conditioned sewers, imperfectly trapped cesspools, overflowing -dead-wells, &c., the origin of a malaria much more destructive than the -celebrated malaria of fenny or marshy countries, the malaria, if such -it really be, equal to the production of that plague, never absent, at -times most destructive--the dreadful typhus[3] of Western Europe. - - [3] Typhus, now subdivided into two--namely, the true typhus and - typhoid fever. - -At last one man, a shrewd, intelligent, and influential observer, a -man of genius, gave to the whole question a new phasis. Since his day -his hypothesis (for we shall presently find that as yet it deserves -no better name) has undergone a variety of modifications, as was to -be expected, in no way, however, affecting the practical deductions -originally drawn from it by its author. A brief history of this curious -episode in medicine, honoured by some with the pompous title of “a -revolution in sanitary science,” will fitly precede the inquiry on -which I am about to enter. Like the small white cloud warning the -navigator of the approaching tornado, this hypothesis, from its first -appearance as a humble essay in a monthly journal, has repeatedly -assumed, by force of circumstances, gigantic dimensions. Of it, as -of Rumour, it may be truly said, _Vires acquirit eundo_: it gathers -strength from motion. As is usual in England, a machinery has been -tacked to it of a character most heterogeneous, but withal so heavy -as already to threaten to surpass endurance--of the truth of which -remark no further evidence need be adduced than the modest demand of -six millions sterling to depurate or cleanse the Thames of those very -materials which, as a first experiment, and by no means an unprofitable -one, the Sanitary Board ordered and compelled the inhabitants of London -to throw into it. A brief history of this remarkable phasis of sanitary -science, as it is called, may prove acceptable to my readers. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THEORIES OF MACCULLOCH. - - -About thirty years ago, as I have already remarked, one of the most -distinguished practical geologists of this or any other country -directed his attention to a subject of much greater difficulty than the -classification of rocks, and their subdivision into primary, secondary, -volcanic, and transition. His object was to discover the origin -or cause of those fatal diseases which, under the names of fever, -dysentery, plague, rheumatism, &c., render the position of man on the -globe so precarious, his life at times so brief, valueless to himself -or to others, his prospects so gloomy; in brief, by tracing to its -origin, if possible, the active agent of such woes to man, to destroy -its fatal influence by practical hygienic measures. In a word, Dr. -Macculloch hoped, by discovering the cause, to devise the means either -of effectually destroying malaria--using the term, however, in a sense -at that time peculiar to himself--or so to mitigate its effects as to -render it less destructive to mankind. - -He, an acute and original observer, statistician, and scientific -man, properly so called, did not require to be instructed as to the -lamentable results which the premature death of millions causes to the -surviving relatives--results so eloquently and so correctly depicted -by the illustrious Quetelet in his work on Man.[4] Of all this he was -well aware, and a consciousness of such a condition of humanity, and -a firm belief in the opinion that the cause lay in some defect in our -social system, remediable by human means, led to those inquiries on -which the late Dr. Macculloch based his theory of a universal malaria -the cause of most diseases--a theory now adopted in its entirety by a -large section of the medical faculty, and by the English Government of -the present date. - - [4] Quetelet, “Sur l’Homme.” - -The theory or theories of Macculloch,[5] as expounded by himself, -amounted in fact to this--that a poison, which may be called malaria, -is generated by vegetable and animal substances whilst undergoing -decomposition or putrefaction, and that to the presence of this poison -may be traced most of the diseases afflicting civilized man. In a -neglected drain or sewer he saw the cause of typhus, of agues, of skin -disease, neuralgias, &c. - - [5] The late Dr. Macculloch was a distinguished geologist in the - employment of Government, representing in himself the department - which has now swelled out into the Metropolitan School of Practical - Geology, the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn-street, the - geological department in connexion with the Ordnance, &c. &c. He - resided mostly in London, and moved in the best circles. Though a - strictly scientific man, he was a professor also of the conjectural - art, having been educated as a medical man. Soon after publishing his - first essays on malaria, thrown out as feelers to the profession and - the public, he had his misgivings as to the safety of the course he - was pursuing. To denounce open sewers, undrained streets, untrapped - cesspools, and overflowing dead-wells, was clearly an attack on - the proprietors of London houses; and he called one morning in - great haste on a distinguished barrister, to consult him as to the - possibility of a passage in one of his essays being construed into - a ground for an action for libel! How changed now are the views of - society in respect of all such matters. - -These views of Macculloch respecting the origin of malaria and its -effects on man, were, when first published, and indeed for many -years afterwards, looked on with suspicion by the physicians of that -day; they were viewed, in truth, as wildly speculative, and wholly -unsupported by facts. This opinion still prevails with many, but they -are being rapidly borne down by a host of writers--many, it must not -be overlooked, enjoying lucrative official appointments, and who thus -have a deep and touching interest in supporting and maintaining the -theories of Macculloch. An opportunity will occur in the course of -this work of tracing briefly the progress of the mania--for such, to -a certain extent, it speedily became--and of assigning the merit or -demerit of the movement to those to whom it may be due. Here it is only -necessary to allude to it as being in fact the source of all those -visionary and Utopian schemes for the entire renovation of the social -state of man, alternately advocated or deprecated by a press naturally -chiming in with the prevailing public feeling. At times the discussion -acquires an almost feverish character--as when, for example, during -the present summer, “the river” exhaled an odour more than usually -unpleasant; at times it cools down in the presence of a proposal to -expend many millions of the public money on some wild, untried scheme, -under the superintendence of the very men who deliberately, and despite -many warnings, reduced “the river” to its present sad condition--of -men who had not the candour or the honesty to admit that, proceeding -on the conjectures of Macculloch, they hazarded one of the coarsest -experiments ever devised on the health of millions.[6] These were -the men whose course of action the Registrar-General endeavoured to -palliate, on the plausible ground that, although they poisoned the -river, the doing so was much less injurious to the inhabitants of -London than to suffer the cesspools to continue any longer buried -in the earth, although for the most part hermetically sealed! Thus -were they permitted in open day to pollute the surface-drains of the -metropolis, converting them into sewers--to render the streets and -squares impassable--and finally to convert the river itself into a kind -of elongated cesspool! This, says the Registrar-General, is an evil -of less magnitude than the permitting the cesspools and dead-wells to -remain as they were until gradually and cautiously disposed of by other -means. - - [6] See the admirable speech of Mr. Disraeli in his place in - Parliament, on the condition of the Thames. - -It were easy to show, were it worth while--1st. How the persons to whom -I here allude suffered to be withdrawn from the Thames nearly a half of -its natural waters before reaching London; 2nd. How next they converted -the healthy surface drains of London and of its environs into odious -sewers, ignoring the distinction between drain and sewer, a distinction -which the most ignorant of day labourers perfectly understands, and -heretofore had uniformly respected; 3rd. How they refused to suffer the -suicidal act to proceed gradually and slowly, whereby the river, out of -its own natural resources, might and would in time have accomplished -its own depuration, but as best suiting their ultimate views, issued -compulsory edicts on the inhabitants of this great city to empty into -the river, and almost at once, the accumulated _excreta_ of a quarter -of a century, such being at least the average age of the contents of -the cesspools. Thus was demanded of the river a depurative force at -the least twenty times greater than under another system would have -been required of it. Lastly, to complete a series of experiments -so injurious to the public, but so profitable to individuals, the -same party proposes further to deprive the stream of all aid in the -purification of its waters, by pouring into the German Ocean the -entirety of the water which the natural drainage of London, and the -valley in which it stands, contribute to it, together with one-half the -waters of the river itself, taken from it above the tide-way for the -supply of the capital. - -Thus, by a series of manœuvres, transparent enough to those who -have carefully watched the movements for the last twenty years, its -inhabitants are now called on at their own expense to remedy the clumsy -experiments of those who occupy positions they could not fill in any -country but England.[7] - - [7] It is right to observe that the unpleasant odour from the Thames, - which during the month of June and part of July of the present year - so disturbed the olfactory nerves of the Londoners, ceased at once - so soon as the Bill for the purification of the Thames passed both - Houses of Parliament. What connexion this had with the causes of the - odour, and how these odours were so opportunely called forth and so - quietly dismissed, I leave to be conjectured by the thoughtful of - all classes. At this moment--August, 1858--during the most intense - heat, the river is as sweet and fresh as a mountain stream, and has - continued so ever since. Some are disposed to ascribe the cessation - of the odours (for the stream is not in any way purified) to the - throwing of quick-lime into the lower sections of the principal - sewers; but if a remedy so simple as this was to be found in such - a process, why was it not employed in June and July? It is only - the unobserving who are surprised at such things, and who have not - happened to observe what follows the spreading of an ancient cesspool - over the fields by the road-side, or pouring its contents into a - comparatively small river. The Thames is a comparatively small river, - and the effects of pouring into it, at a convenient and suitable time - (the dog-days, Parliament sitting, &c.), the contents of half-a-dozen - cesspools of fifty years’ standing, undiluted and at once, would - most assuredly give rise to results such as took place in London in - June and July. The plot was a very nasty one--it might easily have - been traced and the plotters detected: the sewer-makers, under the - direction, no doubt, of the various boards, were very active in - various quarters; and, not to mention other places, the main street - of Hackney, for instance, for nearly a whole day, was by such means - rendered quite unbearable. - -Four-and-twenty centuries ago, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, -gave to the world his celebrated treatise, _de aere, aquis et locis_ -περι ὑδατων αερον και τοπων, having for its object an inquiry into the -influence of the external world on man’s physical structure and moral -nature. To trace the origin of disease to these circumstances, does not -seem to have fallen within the scope of his argument; accordingly, -it can scarcely be said that any author prior to Macculloch ever -considered this matter from a philosophical or physiological point of -view, a reason for which may be found, I think, in the absence of a -minutely accurate chemical analysis of natural and artificial products. -No Ehrenberg had taught mankind the wonders of the living microscopic -world of life; even the geology of Macculloch was much behind the -profound analyses of the present day. Sober thinking men had rejected -the bold speculations of Buffon as to the antiquity of life on the -globe, and the demonstrations of the immortal Cuvier were as yet but -partially admitted; whilst the theories of Lamark, respecting the vast -influence of life in the construction of the crust of the globe, had -been suffered quietly to fall into abeyance. Life was thought to be but -a recent acquisition by the earth; the Silurian and Cambrian systems of -fossils were either unknown or misunderstood. These fossils, at present -called “the first stages of this grand and long series of former -accumulations,” must, in the nature of things, yield their claims to -others which geology will no doubt soon discover, thus rendering more -than probable the theory that life and the globe are coeval. - -Placed accidentally in a country usually considered as a focus or -centre of that malaria or influence, whatever it may be, which man, -correctly, perhaps, esteems as the source and cause of remittent and -intermittent fevers, I have thought it might prove a labour of some -utility to mankind to test the theoretical opinions to which I have -alluded, by an appeal to facts submitted to more refined analyses than -were known at the period of their promulgation. Time can only show in -how far the views I venture to substitute for those now in vogue fairly -represent the truth. A power of nature, invisible and impalpable, -harasses mankind, destroys armies,[8] desolates districts and -countries, slays adult man at the moment when his native land expects -from him a suitable return for all the labour, trouble, and expense -bestowed on him: to inquire into the nature of this poison is the -object, or at least the main object, of this work. If we would rightly -understand its essence and properties, it may be admitted that we -ought to study carefully in the first instance its manifestations and -effects; now these are tolerably well known. The most difficult part -of the inquiry remains, that is, the demonstration of the essential -nature of the poison or miasm giving rise to such disastrous results. -All modern science leads to the conclusion that malaria, whether it -originate in circumstances over which man has no control, despite -every hygienic effort, or emanate from a combination of circumstances -mainly caused by man himself, or be only effectual when it meets with -individuals living in contempt of common sanitary precautions, must, by -its material nature, be within the range of philosophical research. To -Schonbein, a distinguished chemist now alive, we owe the discovery of -ozone. Major Tulloch had already hinted at the doctrine that the cause -of the frightful mortality in tropical countries was to be looked for -in electrical conditions of the atmosphere, of whose nature we as yet -are ignorant.[9] Other discoveries in this direction are sure to follow -at no distant period. What so obscure a short time ago as electricity? -Now look at its position, at least, as a science of application! Life, -it is true, is the mystery of mysteries, equally so in its origin and -extinction; yet granting this to be a truth, and foreseeing in it all -the difficulties of every inquiry directed to elucidate its essential -nature, every reflecting mind must be struck with the remarkable -discoveries of modern times, all tending to show the close alliance -between the chemical and vital phenomena, an alliance wholly unknown to -the most gifted of antiquity. The modern world, right or wrong, looks -to chemistry for the solution of many great and important problems, the -most elevated of which unquestionably is the discovery of the causes -rendering certain wide-spread localities of this earth unfit for the -habitation of those at least who may not claim them as their natal -soil; of which they are not the aborigines.[10] - - [8] The Walcheren expedition. - - [9] Rapid changes in the barometric pressure of the atmosphere - strongly affect some persons, but the _malaise_ caused does not seem - to be of a permanent character. In the spring, in Britain, when - north-easterly winds prevail, the amount of skin disease, rheumatism, - neuralgia, &c., is sufficiently remarkable, and the blights they - cause in plants is a fact known to all. In a work published by - Mulder (“Water en Miht,” Amsterdam, p. 181), we find it mentioned - that Van Swinden investigated the mutations of atmospheric pressure - as a cause of sickness, and arrived at the conclusion that a low - pressure was not the cause of sickness and fever. He remarked that - although there had been many years in which much sickness prevailed, - seemingly connected with hot and dry weather, the barometer had - varied but little. Thus, at Haarlem, in the period between 1755 and - 1780, the maximum was 30·9, the minimum or lowest, 28·0. The summer - of 1779 was extremely hot, and a fever epidemic appeared which - continued for three years. It was ascribed to the draining of several - polders. Several learned societies made reports on the subject of - this fever, but they elicited no new facts. It was generally agreed - that the deeper the mud and turf containing vegetable matter were - under water, the less was the sickness resulting from the draining. - A Mynheer Driessen called public attention to the circumstance that - on the coasts of Holland there were many places where animal and - vegetable matter had accumulated and was in a state of rottenness - or fermentation; and in this state he suggested that being carried - inland by strong westerly winds, it might give rise to sickness. - It is remarkable, however, that both the influenza and cholera - progressed against the prevailing westerly winds. - - [10] Men in a state of nature seem to resist malaria. Thus the - natives of Newfoundland and of Canada generally, and indeed of all - America, withstood readily the malaria of their native land, but - perished when brought within the influence of European domesticity. - We must allow, however, for the power of race. On the other hand, - it seems almost certain that the old Roman armies withstood the - influence of climate much more effectually than modern armies do. - They lived generally in camps, which they themselves fortified. Of - their sanitary regulations we know nothing, but of their camps we - know that no English or French soldiers could possibly stand their - ground for any length of time similarly encamped. A legion (about - 12,000 men) encamped on a space of 700 yards square; what became - of the refuse of the camp, and how was it disposed of? No Crimean - disasters ever happened to Cæsar; he could not afford to lose his - veteran Legions as we lost the Guards. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE ORIENTAL PLAGUE--QUESTION OF CONTAGION. - - -A very few years ago it was the general opinion, even of the best -informed, that epidemic diseases originate in atmospheric influences -over which man has no control. A reservation seems, however, to have -been made in respect of the Oriental, or as some term it, the African, -plague, a malady the most frightful to which man is liable. Writers of -the highest order traced to a damp, hot, and stagnating air, generated -from the putrefaction of animal substances, and especially from the -swarms of locusts, not less destructive to mankind in their death than -in their lives, the fatal disease which depopulated the earth in the -time of Justinian and his successors. The disease was reported to have -first appeared in the neighbourhood of Pelusium, between the Serbonian -bog and the eastern channel of the Nile. Thence tracing a double path -it spread to the east, over Syria, Persia, and India, and penetrated -to the west, along the coast of Africa, and thence to the continent -of Europe. But in order to explain how it spread, it was necessary -to invent another theory and add it to the first; the disease once -generated, was said to spread by contagion. It is related in “The -Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,”[11] that in the spring of the -second year (after its first appearance), Constantinople, during three -or four months, was visited by the pestilence. It did not reach the -capital of the empire at once, but travelled slowly and irregularly, -after the manner of modern cholera. In the admirable descriptions of -the immortal historian, we can trace all the symptoms of the true -Oriental plague, identical in its phenomena and effects with the -sufficiently numerous visitations which have since occurred, and with -that no doubt which, lately originating at Bengazzi, and spreading to -Tripoli, once more threatens the European family of nations. In a damp, -hot, stagnating air, observes the historian, who in his account follows -Procopius, this African fever is generated from the putrefaction of -animal substances, and especially from the swarms of locusts, “not -less destructive to mankind in their death than in their lives.” But -the ferment and putrefaction thus created scarcely accounts for the -origin of the disease, and its extension north-wards into the coldest -regions of Europe is inexplicable on such a hypothesis, though aided -by the modern hypothesis that its propagation is due simply to the -neglect of sanitary regulations, a theory now happily extended to all -zymotic diseases. Passing over the question as to the contagious nature -of plague, typhus, cholera, scarlatina, measles, a question still -undecided, and adhering simply to facts, we are assured by Procopius, -the fidelity of whose descriptions the great historian seems disposed -to vouch for, that the disease always spread “from the sea coast to -the inland country; the most sequestered islands and mountains were -successively visited; the places which had escaped the fury of its -first passage were alone exposed to the contagion of the ensuing year. -The winds might diffuse that subtle venom; but unless the atmosphere -be previously disposed for its reception, the plague would soon expire -in the cold and temperate climates of the earth. Such was the universal -corruption of the air, that the pestilence which burst forth in the -fifteenth of Justinian, was not checked or alleviated by any difference -of the seasons. In time, its first malignity was abated and dispersed; -the disease alternately languished and revived; but it was not till the -end of a calamitous period of fifty-two years that mankind recovered -their health, or the air resumed its pure and salubrious quality. No -facts have been preserved to sustain an account, or even a conjecture, -of the numbers that perished in this extraordinary mortality. I only -find that during three months, five, and at length ten thousand persons -died each day in Constantinople; that many cities of the East were left -vacant, and that in several districts of Italy the harvest and the -vintage withered on the ground. The triple scourge of war, pestilence, -and famine afflicted the subjects of Justinian; and his reign is -disgraced by a visible decrease of the human species, which has never -been repaired, in some of the fairest countries of the globe.” - - [11] Gibbon, vol. vii., p. 421, Milman’s edition. - -The plague of the time of Justinian is known to us only through the -medium of the Greek and Roman writers. We know nothing as to how -it affected the remote East, or whether that portion of the earth -escaped. No record exists to prove or disprove the passage across the -Atlantic, in ancient times, of plagues and pestilences, such as we -know now overleap with ease that seemingly impassable barrier. The -history of cholera in its progress from the East, though drawn up by -skilful official writers, tells us as little of its real nature as -Procopius did of the plague. It resembles in some respects the history -of ancient Egypt, each discovery merely adding another enigma to the -already existing and unexplained. Its propagation by contagion is still -denied by the first of medical authorities, and yet it must be admitted -that it pursues in a mysterious manner the paths of commerce, as if -by the abuse of trade, plagues, which would otherwise become extinct -in the land of their origin, are diffused over the continents of the -world.[12] - - [12] The cholera, in so far as I know, has not as yet penetrated - beyond the tropic into the southern hemisphere. - -The propagation of the plague by contagion was, as we have already -seen, distinctly denied by Procopius, and in this opinion he seems, -as in modern times, to have been backed by a majority of the people. -The immortal historian of “The Decline and Fall” did not partake -of Procopius’ doubts. “Contagion,” he remarks, “is the inseparable -symptom of the plague, which, by mutual respiration, is transfused from -the infected persons to the lungs and stomach of those who approach -them. While the philosophers believe and tremble, it is singular that -the existence of a real danger should have been denied by a people -most prone to vain and imaginary terrors. Yet the fellow-citizens of -Procopius were satisfied, by some short and partial experience, that -the infection could not be gained by the closest conversation; and -this persuasion might support the assiduity of friends or physicians -in the care of the sick, whom inhuman prudence would have condemned to -solitude and despair. But the fatal security, like the predestination -of the Turks, must have aided the progress of the contagion; and those -salutary precautions to which Europe is indebted for her safety, were -unknown to the government of Justinian. No restraints were imposed on -the free and frequent intercourse of the Roman provinces. From Persia -to France the nations were mingled and infected by wars and emigration, -and the pestilential odour which lurks for years in a bale of cotton -was imported by the abuse of trade into the most distant regions.”[13] - - [13] In the _Times_ of to-day (September 8th), the contagious - character of the plague is stoutly denied by one who seems to write - from authority, or who at least is evidently well backed by a strong - party. The writer is evidently one of the Commissioners who met in - Paris some years ago to inquire into the working of the quarantine - laws. I offer no opinion on the subject,--though “one-idea” men, - they have a show of truth on their side, and especially in this, - that they adopt the popular view of the subject when they deny the - contagious nature of the plague. They boldly affirm that plague - only spreads in places where sanitary regulations are despised--a - consoling and useful theory, even if it were not true. They made - the same assertions of cholera--their hypothesis proved sadly at - fault. The pump-well water-drinking theory is the latest expression - of medical theorists in respect of the origin of the cholera: there - never was a greater delusion. It does not merit a refutation, and is - quite unworthy the professors of even a conjectural art. That the - symptoms of cholera strongly resemble the action of a violent poison - taken into the stomach, is not to be questioned, and that water may - have been the vehicle of such a poison is neither impossible nor - even improbable. The iced-water drinking population of Paris, of - Palermo, and of many Sicilian and Italian towns, suffered terribly - from cholera. Nor does it spare the temperate Mahometan, upon whom - cleanliness is enjoined as an article of his faith. Still, the wholly - inexplicable facts in the spread of cholera (and the same may be said - of plague, typhus, and yellow fever) are far too numerous to admit of - any generalization. Whilst the cholera spared Birmingham--at the time - neither properly drained nor sewered, it nearly depopulated Bilston, - a healthy town situated only a few miles from Birmingham, hundreds in - the meantime travelling between the two places every hour of the day. - It swept off the inhabitants of one side of a street in Deptford, - leaving those on the other side unscathed. All drank of the same - waters. The theory merits no attention. - -Thus has been bandied about from the earliest times to the present -day, the great question of the origin of the pestilential diseases, -and their contagious properties when once produced. The question still -remains unsettled, nor has the advent of the cholera in modern times -contributed in the slightest degree to bring the disputation to a -demonstrative issue. - -Are they of terrestrial or atmospheric origin properly, or do both -contribute their share towards the production of pestilences? How -originated the cholera, and how does it spread? These questions may -still be asked, and when asked must remain unanswered. The share -ascribed to man in the production and propagation of this and similar -diseases is mainly the object of this inquiry, and to that I shall -adhere as much as possible. - -Men, ever anxious to discover the causes of events, ascribed the origin -of the plague in the reign of Justinian to the putrefaction of locusts; -but the same event may and has happened without being productive of -similar results--without, indeed, causing any disease whatever, as if -the poison, though present, were ineffectual unless aided by other -circumstances at present unknown to man. Those who have seen cholera -only as it prevails on the rotten banks of the Ganges, ascribe its -origin to heat and putrefaction, its extension to the habits of a -densely-congregated people. They forget, or choose not to remember, -that it raged in the depth of winter in the cold regions of Russia and -of Scotland, in thinly-populated villages, in hamlets, and insulated -cottages, scattered over the elevated yet cultivated estates of noble -and wealthy proprietors.[14] Those who have studied the phenomena of -typhus only in the horrid slums of Glasgow, in the wynds and closes of -cold and bleak Edinburgh--from which it is never absent, occasionally -raging with something like the virulence of a plague--ascribe the -origin and extension of the disease to cold and hunger, to a deficiency -of animal food, and to a contempt for all sanitary arrangements; but -they do not choose to remember that a few years ago typhus in its -worst form appeared in the south-eastern angle of England, spreading -thence through the midland counties, deeply affecting the population of -hamlets and villages the salubrity of whose site was unquestioned. And -if negative evidence be held sufficient to refute Procopius’ theory of -the origin of the true plague, we have but to look into the pages of a -modern traveller, whose official position naturally adds to the value -of his testimony. Mr. Barrow, in describing a visitation of locusts to -the Cape of Good Hope, makes the following curious remark:--“Their last -departure was rather singular. All the full-grown insects were driven -into the sea by a tempestuous north-west wind, and were afterwards -cast upon the beach, where it is said they formed a bank of three or -four feet high, which extended from the mouth of the Bosjesman river -to that of the Becca, a distance of nearly fifty English miles; and -it is asserted that when this mass became putrid, and the wind was -at south-east, the stench was sensibly felt in several parts of the -Sneuwberg.” The distance over which the stench was felt must have been -at least a hundred miles, the range of the Sneuwbergen being at about -this distance from the coast. - - [14] It raged most severely in Scotland, in the remarkably healthy - village of Prestonpans and Fisher-row; in the highest and healthiest - parts of Edinburgh; amongst the peasantry and miners scattered over - the high grounds of Midlothian, belonging to the Marquis of Lothian. - These people lived comfortably in detached cottages amongst the - fields. - -It is hardly necessary for me to observe, that no disease followed the -destruction and putrefaction of these locusts. The colony of South -Africa still continues free from plague and cholera, and many other -diseases afflicting the most favoured of European lands; consumption, -scrofula, and fever are all but unknown. I am not aware that the -inhabitants are in any way remarkable for their sanitary arrangements, -whilst of the Hottentots it may with truth be said, that they are at -once the healthiest and dirtiest people in the world. - -Thus, after the lapse of many centuries, the great questions debated -in the time of Justinian--may we not rather say in the days of -Thucydides?--surge up again whenever a new plague appears on the earth. -The professors of “the conjectural art,” anxious to vindicate their -claim to activity, and to share in the laudations bestowed on the -superior intelligence of the present day, offer at present a highly -consolatory view, not only as to the origin of these diseases, but as -to their speedy suppression. They argue that, but for the neglect of -hygienic measures, such influences or poisons would either not arise, -or would pass on their course, leaving the nations unscathed. In the -meantime, it is prudent to recall to the recollection of those who -arrive rashly at conclusions such as these--who theorize on narrow -local ground--who are sanguine enough to look forward to the speedy -extinction of all zymotic diseases, that pestilential and destructive -epidemics are not confined to man; that, under the form of murrains, -they destroy the beasts of the field. In the murrain of 1747, it is -stated on authority that 30,000 cattle died in Cheshire in the course -of half a year. The marsh districts suffered most; and it has even -been conjectured that such epizootic diseases usually originate amidst -swamps and malarious districts; but of this we have no proofs. Even -the harvests to which man looks for sustenance are not spared--nor -the vine; the life-destroying principle, attacking these lower forms -of life, cannot well be traced to the neglect of hygienic measures on -the part of man, or of the animals or plants themselves; and yet in -the midst of these bogs and marshes which undeniably give origin to -some forms of fever, the buffalo, the ox, the camel, the elephant, -and the wild of all species, live and thrive. Thus the question of -the origin of disease is complicated _ab origine_; the origin of -typhus--that scourge and pest of the nations inhabiting the temperate -regions, more especially of Western Europe, and of the British Isles -in particular--is absolutely unknown. To affect to trace it to a foul -drain, an uncleansed sewer, an untrapped cesspool, a laystall, a -collection of neglected rubbish, is clearly against the evidence and -the daily experience of thousands; but all are agreed that in certain -fenny and marshy countries fevers prevail--intermittent in temperate, -remittent in ardent climes nearer the tropic; whilst within the tropics -the life of the European stranger can scarcely be valued at a week’s -purchase.[15] To this destructive influence, most commonly connected -with a marshy soil, the Italian first gave the name of malaria--a -useful appellation, universally accepted as implying no theory; and had -such fevers been found only in such localities, the inference must have -followed, that a something, open to the chemist to discover, emanating -or produced by these marshes, was solely and distinctly the cause of -all such fevers. But now a more careful and extended inquiry shows -that such fevers are not confined to those districts, but infest even -the hay-field, are not unfrequent in or near woods growing on soils -where marshes have ever been unknown; whilst as regards the more ardent -remittents of Eastern countries, the statistics of Major Tulloch have -all but destroyed the theory which would trace to marshes exclusively -the fevers which in such countries set all medical treatment and all -human precautions at defiance.[16] - - [15] This question, in so far as regards a military life, has been - handled in a masterly manner by Major Tulloch. - - [16] In the expedition to St. Domingo, the English army forming the - expedition landed 10,000 strong; they withdrew in five weeks, without - striking a blow or seeing an enemy. Their numbers were reduced to - 1100. See “History of the Expedition to St. Domingo,” by Dr. Maclean. - -This uncertainty of life from the effects of malaria must ever, I -think, remain whilst the true nature of the poison is unknown; and -it is with a view to discover, if possible, the circumstances under -which it originates, that I undertook this difficult inquiry. Long -resident in a country supposed to be an ague-producing land, I watched -with much interest the social condition of a sagacious, prudent, and -industrious race of men, who could thus, at one and the same time, -preserve their liberty and life from the hostile assaults of furious, -implacable tyrants from without, and of an insidious, invisible enemy -within, walking stealthily around the habitations of men, poisoning the -air of his house, his fields, and gardens. It was in Holland that a -French general, writing to the great Napoleon, and complaining of the -destruction of the garrisons by fever, received from him the only reply -which at the time the necessities of the mighty conqueror permitted -him to give--“_L’homme meurt partout_.” “Man dies everywhere,” was the -only answer, if answer it could be called, to a kind-hearted commander, -more touched by the calamity around him than by the exigencies of the -State. - -But how was it that whilst French and English soldiers perished so -unaccountably in the prime of life, the inhabitants of these countries -lived seemingly unaware of the pestilence walking around and amongst -them? This problem may, I think, be solved; and as not foreign to -the matter in hand, I may be permitted to glance at the character, -position, and social condition of a race and a nation so distinct from -all other branches of the great European family. My remarks will bear -mainly on the influence they exercise over the portion of the earth -they inhabit, and on the modifications which man’s industry, guided by -prudence and science, may imprint on “the earth, the air, and water” -of the territory which, under the circumstances I now describe, may -especially be called their own. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -HOLLAND AND BELGIUM, THE LAND OF MARSHES AND OF FEVER, RECLAIMED AND -RENDERED SALUBRIOUS BY THE ENERGIES OF A FREE PEOPLE. - - -Necessity is the mother of invention. “Quis psittacum loqui docuit? -Venter: Magister artium.”[17] A constant struggle with Nature for -existence taught the Hollander and Brabanter a practical philosophy in -respect of the management of river mouths, tidal rivers, low levels, -freshwater and seawater floods, unmatched by any other nation. It -required the unceasing vigilance of the most experienced scientific -men to combat the adverse circumstances under which their country was -placed. An error of calculation laid waste a province; a breach in a -sea-wall let in upon the land not only the ocean, but famine, followed -by its sure accompaniment--fever, and a wide-spread mortality. - - [17] Persius, Sat. Napoleon expressed the same idea when he said, - “The stomach governs Europe.” - -In this land there was no room for experimental jobbery. To have -placed a linendraper at the head of the great hydraulic works on -which depended the salubrity and prosperity of Amsterdam or Rotterdam -would have roused the indignation of the country, and brought the -matter to a speedy issue. But it was not until the rise of the Dutch -Republic that there sprung up, as a natural result, a school of -philosophy--of natural philosophy, and of the sciences of observation -and application--hitherto unmatched, a parallel to which can only be -found in the era immediately preceding Alexander the Great. Freedom -of thought and action produced Muschenbroek and Leuwenhoek, De Ruyter -and Van Tromp: then flourished the Elzevir press, and Scaliger was -invited by the traders of Holland to pass his days in peace and plenty -with them, that his presence amongst them might throw a lustre on -their country. In this land flourished Camper and Boerhaave; Albinus -and Ruisch taught anatomy; Swammerdam discovered the globules of the -blood. In the meantime Tasman and Van Diemen explored the ocean, -immortalizing their names and their country by the grandeur of their -geographical discoveries. The views of the traders of this the most -celebrated of all republics, were universal, and included mankind: with -them originated sound political economy. The civilization, peculiarly -human, which overcomes all natural obstacles, reached its height in -this free land; security of life and property, equality before the -law, a contempt for all sinister hereditary influences, a respect -for the natural rights of man, and an appreciation of man’s innate -worth, uninfluenced by all extrinsic circumstances, characterized in -the Netherlands a period standing out in bold relief, and in striking -contrast with the history of all other European nations.[18] In this -forward movement Haarlem was conspicuous, proofs of which may be found -in the Transactions of the society established in that city. About -1771 there was offered a prize for an essay on the Waters of Holland, -as to the existence of any matters injurious to man or beast, and to -describe such, if existing. An unsuccessful candidate for the prize (M. -Vander Wild) advanced in his essay this remarkable principle--that the -sap of plants consists of living beings, in a liquid element.[19] - - [18] It has been asserted on good authority, and not contradicted, - that the “Natural Theology” of the celebrated Paley is a mere - translation of a Dutch work. - - [19] This principle, so fertile in ideas, will one day, no doubt, be - fully elaborated and studied to its results. These living beings may - prove to be the syphons of perfume and the messengers of colour. - -As the nation was free to think and to express their thoughts, nothing -practical or useful escaped them: the question as to the influence -of the drainage of lakes on the health of the inhabitants was ably -discussed during the last century, more especially as to the result -of draining the lowlands of Biensten, de Wonner, &c. M. Ungo Waard -and others describe the sickness which took place on the drainage of -Bleewyksthe. In Haarlem, in 1779, the deaths exceeded those of the -previous year by 396; in Amsterdam, by 1727; in Groningen, by 752. The -previous summer had been hot and dry, offering another proof that the -vegetable humus thus exposed to the air, fermenting and rotting, was -the cause of the sickness and increased mortality. In this land there -was no room--no margin, to use a commercial phrase--for experiments on -the pockets and the health of its citizens; they were citizens, not -subjects--far-seeing men, who calculated everything _d’avance_. And now -the draining of the lake of Haarlem shows that the race has lost little -of its ancient spirit of enterprise and industry, of that applicative -invention to the wants of civilized man which gives to Holland and -to her colonies an aspect to which no other country bears any -resemblance. The poisoning of rivers and streams by any combination of -adventurers could never happen there, and the scenes we have witnessed -lately in England would be wholly unintelligible in Holland. It is -here that vast morasses, seemingly valueless, are being converted into -fertile meadows, by processes of which the natives of other countries -have not the slightest knowledge. In this land it is the law that, -before any one be permitted to convert a peat bog into a lake by the -abstraction of the peat, security is demanded of him as to his means -to drain the lake about to be formed, to embank the excavation, and to -convert it into a healthy fertile meadow; in England, on the contrary, -such cautious procedure is held in the most sovereign contempt, as -wholly unworthy that fine chivalrous character for pluck, daring, and -exciting enterprise and speculation which marks the free-born Briton. - -“Break up the cesspools,” shout the interested, “the receptacles of the -filth of millions for a quarter of a century, and pour them at once -into the Thames.” “It will poison the river and the adjoining country -for a lengthened period,” suggests the prudent observer of passing -events. “Persevere,” exclaims the go-ahead party; “have we not proofs -in Macculloch that nearly all known diseases arise from the cesspools? -Leave the river to take care of itself.” What, in the mean time, is -the course of action of the Mayor and Corporation of the richest city -in the world? Fully occupied with the distribution of their revenues, -they abandon the river and interests of a vast metropolis to a host -of talented and needy adventurers, whose name is legion. The people -in Holland and Belgium think that the refuse and excreta of the -inhabitants of towns, villages, and single houses cannot be too soon -or too effectually buried under or incorporated with the soil; we, in -this country, act evidently from a belief that this refuse, the product -of civilization, cannot be too extensively spread abroad in the open -air, and accordingly a formidable and well-paid staff of more than -2000 persons is organized to carry out the delusion to its conclusion. -Luton, Birmingham, and London, afford hints as to what these delusions -may one day end in: that they will proceed in their course, I doubt -not, for, like Macbeth, they are so far involved, that it were safer -to proceed than to back out from their position. This could only have -happened in the land where the greatest of all railways does not pay -the proprietors one shilling of interest on the enormous capital -expended in its construction. - -Located by the mouths of the Rhine and Scheld, the ancient Batavians -must early have commenced their struggle with nature. We have no -information from early history of how that struggle began; but one -thing is certain--it was of great antiquity, for in the Morini--the -last of men--Cæsar encountered no fever-stricken, wasted, dejected -people: they must already have discovered the existence of that hidden -enemy, malaria, and taken measures for at least a mitigation of the -evil.[20] - - [20] For Note on this subject, see page 54. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -ON THE PRESUMED SOURCES OF MALARIA. - - -§ 1. For all practical purposes, the fevers termed intermittent -and remittent may be held to have their origin in one cause. Thus, -whether on the marshy coasts of Essex and Kent, or the more dreadful -banks of the Gambia and Niger, it is not improbable that the fever -so destructive to European life is of one character--mild in Essex; -fatal in Sierra Leone. But the fact is not to be overlooked, that when -fever assumes an intermittent character, however it may conduce to the -inefficiency of the population, it does not greatly swell the bills of -mortality; on the other hand, the remittent form of fever constitutes -that grand and hitherto insurmountable obstacle which Nature seems to -have placed to the extension of the white man over the earth, excluding -him, seemingly for ever, from the tropical regions of the world. - -A favourite theory with medical men was, that the evil influence which -causes fever, whether in Essex or on the Gambia, by the Scheld or the -Niger, was a certain miasma produced by marshes more or less remote -from human abodes; sometimes it was maintained that to produce the -miasma these marshes must be in a great measure dried up, or in the -process of being so; at other times an opposite opinion was held. These -hypotheses were refuted, or at least much shaken, by Major Tulloch, -in his invaluable “Statistical Report on the Sickness, Mortality, and -Invaliding among Troops on the Western Coast of Africa” (p. 26). “So -long as the fever continued to make its appearance during the rainy -season, excessive moisture was deemed one of the principal causes, -but that theory has been abandoned since it has, on three or four -occasions, appeared and raged with equal violence in the middle of -the dry season. If we attempt to connect it with temperature, the -range of the thermometer offers equally contradictory results, the -disease having originated and prevailed nearly as often when that -was at the minimum as when at the maximum. Variations in atmospheric -pressure afford no clue whatever to the solution of the difficulty, for -here, as in all tropical climates, the fluctuations of the barometer -are exceedingly slight. No definite connexion has ever been traced -between the prevalence of any particular wind and the outbreak of -the disease; the breeze blows over the same district in the healthy -as in the unhealthy season. Besides, it seems entirely to negative -the supposition that any of these can be more, perhaps, than mere -accessories, when we find, from 1830 to 1836, the colony of Sierra -Leone remarkably free from fever, without any perceptible change -in these respects. It does not appear that the composition of the -atmosphere during the prevalence of yellow fever in this command has -ever been examined, to ascertain if it differed from what has usually -been observed at periods comparatively healthy; but this test has been -applied without any satisfactory result in other countries. Unless some -light, therefore, can be thrown on the subject by a careful examination -of the electrical state of the atmosphere at such periods, there seems -little hope of the origin of this disease being ever distinctly traced -to any appreciable agency--a circumstance which, except as regards the -interests of science, is perhaps of less importance, since where the -cause is so exceedingly subtle it would, even if discovered, be in all -probability beyond human control.”[21] - - [21] “Statistical Report on the Sickness, Mortality, and Invaliding - among the Troops in the West Indies.” Prepared from the Records of - the Army Medical Department and War-Office Returns. London, 1838. It - has been objected to these Reports that they embrace only one class - of lives. But this does not diminish their value, for the lives they - report on are presumed to be the selected lives of men in the prime - of life. - -In corroboration of the same views, amounting in fact to a rejection -of the favourite hypothesis of the professors of the healing -art--namely, that this fever originated in the miasma of marshes -near the station, this careful and honest observer, whose merits as -such have subsequently been fully tested in the celebrated Crimean -inquiry, makes this further remark:--“The hypothesis that this fever -originates from the miasma of marshes in the immediate vicinity of -the station, as elsewhere it has been supposed to do, is directly -opposed to the fact of the Isles de Loss, Acera, and the peninsula -of Sierra Leone itself, being so subject to it, though all are in a -certain degree remote from the operation of any such agency. If it -be referred to similar exhalations wafted to the distance of several -miles, how is its prevalence to be accounted for at Fernando Po, a -mountainous region, and bordering on a mainland still more so, and -where, so far as can be ascertained, no such agency is in operation? -Instances of disease having raged with the same violence on the rocky -Isles de Loss and the sandy wastes of Senegal, as in those parts of the -coasts where vegetation is most dense, preclude the likelihood of it -originating in a superabundance of that agency. In every description -of situation along the coast has this scourge of Europeans been -found to prevail. The low, swampy Gambia, the barren Isles de Loss, -the beautifully-diversified features of Sierra Leone, the open and -park-like territory around Acera, the lone, jungle-covered hills of -Cape Coast Castle, and the rugged, mountainous island of Fernando Po, -however different in aspect, have all exhibited the same remarkable -uniformity in giving birth to the disease.” - -It may, indeed, be objected that the fevers of Western Africa differ -essentially from those traceable to the deltas of rivers, and to the -lowlands alternately inundated and exposed to a high temperature, of -more temperate climates; but I see no good reason in favour of such an -opinion. The tables of sickness and mortality distinctly state that -the fevers were intermittents and remittents, but mainly remittents, -and that continued or ardent fever was scarcely present; whilst in -Canada precisely the reverse is the case, intermittents prevailing to -a great extent, remittents being comparatively rare. It would seem, -however, that whether or not these fevers spring from a common cause, -the temperature of the locality greatly influences the character of the -disease. - -It is impossible to deny the influence humidity has in engendering -malarious tendencies, but it is not necessary that the humidity be to -any great extent. Water is essential to life, it is essential also to -the production of fermentation, of putrefaction; the absolute desert, -as I have already remarked, is always healthy; so is the surface of -the great ocean, which although it abounds with life, never putrefies, -never exhales unpleasant odours. Countries, like some districts of -Southern Africa and of Australia, where it seldom rains, are the -healthiest countries in the world; there fevers of all types are nearly -unknown, and the sufferers from such coming from unhealthy climates, -recover speedily from the sad condition to which a residence in a -tropical country and frequent attacks of fever may have reduced them. -The Royal African Regiment, composed mainly of deserters, left the west -coast of Africa for the Cape of Good Hope in 1817; many of them were so -reduced in health as to be obviously unfit for service in any country -where fevers of an intermittent or remittent character prevailed. -Now, a residence on the frontiers of the colony of the Cape not only -cured these fevers, but seems also to have been equal to the removal -of those sequelæ of fever and dysentery which haunt those who have -greatly suffered from them, bringing them in the end to an untimely -grave. Nothing of the kind occurred in this remarkable country; all, or -nearly all, recovered, and the mortality and sickness of this shattered -corps, removed from Sierra Leone and the Gambia to the frontier -districts of the Cape of Good Hope, fell considerably below what it is -amongst the same class in Britain. These facts merit the attention of -all interested in the welfare of the army of Britain, an army exposed -more than any other to the effects of climate in all regions of the -world.[22] - - [22] The army of England is, and perhaps has at all times been, an - aggressive army, maintained to intimidate foreign races and nations. - It resembles in many of its main features the army of ancient - Carthage. - -§ 2. The statistics I have just referred to may seem to some to shake -all modern theories of malaria that have ever yet been offered to the -public. I admit this to be the case; but I trust to be able to show -that in the remains of animal and vegetable life, elements collected -in the greatest abundance by the banks of rivers and lakes in marshy -countries, near shores alternately exposed and covered by the tide, and -especially in tidal rivers, but not exclusively in such localities, we -have the source of that poison whose terrible effects on human life -need not be enumerated here. - -The result of Major Tulloch’s report in regard to the relative -prevalence at different stations in British America of remittent and -intermittent fevers, shows in a still stronger light the difficulty -of establishing any uniform connexion between the presence of marshy -ground and the existence of these febrile diseases, to which the -exhalations from it are supposed to give rise; but they do not -refute the view I take,[23] which is based on the researches of the -profoundest chemists. As it was formerly shown that in some of the -Ionian Islands, totally destitute of marsh and comparatively barren -of vegetation, more remittent and intermittent fevers have been under -treatment among the troops, than in others where these alleged sources -of disease existed in the greatest abundance; so in the present Report -we find it established, that yellow fever of the most aggravated form -has repeatedly made its appearance in Ireland Island in the Bermudas, a -rocky barren spot only a few hundred yards in breadth, “containing no -marsh, and with little or no vegetation except a few cedar trees.” - - [23] Report: Section, Mediterranean. - -“Conversely, again, we find that these diseases prevail to a remarkable -extent along the banks of the lakes and the margin of the streams in -Upper Canada, while they are comparatively rare in similar situations -in the Lower Province; that among the troops at Fredericton, living on -the marshy banks of a river, surrounded by a dense vegetation, scarcely -a case of them is ever known; and that a similar exemption is enjoyed -even by those at Annapolis and Windsor in Nova Scotia, though quartered -at the _embouchure_ of rivers daily subject to extensive inundations, -and of which the banks, for the distance of several miles, exhibit that -combination of mud, marsh, and decayed vegetation which is generally -supposed a most prolific source of such diseases. - -“When in subsequent reports we come to investigate the operation of -these diseases on the west coast of Africa and other colonies, we shall -be able to adduce still more satisfactory evidence on this subject; -in the meantime we have felt it our duty to place the preceding facts -in a prominent point of view, not for the purpose of establishing any -particular theory, but to show how inadequate in many instances is -the supposed influence of emanations from a marshy soil to account -for the origin of these diseases. All the evidence obtained seems -only to warrant the inference that a morbific agency of some kind -is occasionally present in the atmosphere, which, under certain -circumstances, gives rise to fevers of the remittent and intermittent -type; and that though the vicinity of marshy and swampy ground appears -to favour the development of that agency, it does not necessarily -prevail in such localities, nor are they by any means essential either -to its existence or operation. - -“Notwithstanding the doubt in which this branch of the investigation -is still involved, we may venture, from the facts adduced in all the -reports hitherto submitted, also to draw the conclusion, that when -this morbific agency manifests itself in the epidemic form, its -influence is frequently confined to so limited a space as to afford a -fair prospect of securing the troops from its ravages by removing to a -short distance from the locality where it originated. The history of -the epidemic fevers at Gibraltar furnishes several remarkable instances -of this kind, and we have also shown that, both in the West Indies and -Ionian Islands, one station has frequently suffered to a great extent -from yellow fever, while others within the distance of a few miles have -been entirely exempt. - -“In the epidemic cholera at Montreal and Halifax, which seems to have -been in this respect somewhat analogous in its operation, we have also -had occasion to remark the sudden cessation of the disease immediately -on the removal of the troops to a short distance.”[24] - - [24] It may be asked, Why not inquire into the statistics of fever - in Essex? The truth is, that no such exist. The conjectures and - recollections of civil practitioners are valueless. - -The discordance prevailing between observers, equally honest, equally -intelligent, arises, no doubt, from this, that all the elements of -the problem to be solved are not yet discovered; nor could this be -expected until a refined chemistry had more fully developed the -relation between chemical and physiological phenomena. The very -essence of the affinities between the soil and vegetable and animal -life was a complete mystery until lately, whilst the relations of the -superambient atmosphere to the organic remains of what had ceased -to live, were wholly misunderstood. The cause of the potato blight, -which produced a famine in Ireland, is still a mystery; so also is -that of the vine. A disease very fatal to horses, called Paard-sick, -from its only attacking the horse, is endemic in some districts of -the Cape; that is, in the healthiest country in the world. The nature -of the Paard-sick has never been discovered. It spares the _wilde_ of -the horse genus--the quagga, zebra, &c.--but is fatal to the domestic -breed. Man’s interference, then, proves at times fatal to his protegée. -It is everywhere the same, unless his interference be guided by all the -lights which the highest reasoning powers, the shrewdest observation, -and oft-repeated experience can afford. The two Canadas are in an -especial manner the land of rivers, lakes, marshy forests, swampy -meadows, and a soil into which the plough never penetrated until the -white man appeared. As a natural result, it might be conjectured and -presumed that intermittents and remittents, under at least certain -of their forms, would be equally frequent and universally diffused. -Statistics prove it to be directly the reverse, Upper Canada being to -Lower Canada, in respect of these fevers, as 178 intermittents is to -26 remittents; whilst even of these 26 it is affirmed that the greater -number of them came from the Upper Province. To show that I do not -exaggerate this singular fact, I quote the remarkable statistics of -Major Tulloch. - -“Taking the results of these ten years as the basis of our deductions, -then, the prevalence of intermittent fevers in Upper compared with -Lower Canada is as 178 to 26. It is necessary, however, to keep in -view that all the admissions (amounting only to 26) from intermittent -fever in Lower Canada did not originate there, by far the greater -proportion of them having occurred among soldiers who came from the -Upper Province while labouring under that disease, or who had acquired -a predisposition to it during a previous residence there. Indeed, -except at Isle aux Naix and the other small stations along the banks -of the Richelieu, fevers of the intermittent type are rarely indigenous -in Lower Canada; at Quebec they are said to be unknown, and at Montreal -nearly so. - -“In Upper Canada these diseases prevail most among the troops stationed -along the course of the great lakes from Kingston to Amherstberg, they -are almost unknown at Penetanguishene and By Town. The settlers who -reside even at the distance of a few miles inland rarely suffer from -them; yet the districts enjoying this exemption are in many parts -covered with lakes, intersected by streams, and abound in marshy -ground, decayed vegetation, and all the other agencies to which the -origin of this type of fever is generally attributed. A reference to -the report on Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will also show that though -the same agencies exist to a similar extent at some of the stations in -that command, intermittent fevers are almost unknown. - -“These diseases, too, are said to be comparatively rare wherever the -surface is covered with dense forests, even though the ground is wet -and marshy. The vicinity of lands recently cleared is most subject -to them, particularly meadows or open patches of the forest, which, -though denuded of trees, have not been brought under cultivation. -It would appear, too, that their prevalence is diminishing with the -progress of agricultural improvement; for it will be observed, on -reference to the Abstract of Diseases, No. III. of Appendix, that since -1831--a period during which this province has been rapidly advancing -in wealth and population, and many important changes have taken place -in the vicinity and stations occupied by the troops--intermittents -have become comparatively rare, the proportion attacked having been -scarcely one-tenth part so high as the average previous to that -period. Intermittents most frequently occur from July to September, -when a high temperature prevails; but they are also to be met with, -though more rarely, in spring, when that agency could only operate -in a trifling degree to induce them. Though a source of inefficiency -among the troops, they add but little to the mortality, as not one -case in a thousand proves fatal. A person who has been once attacked -is exceedingly apt to suffer from them again; but this susceptibility -is easily removed by change of residence to the northern parts of the -province, or to Lower Canada. - -“In some years, fever also manifests itself along the borders of the -lakes in the remittent form, but not of so fatal a character as in the -West Indies or the Mediterranean; for only one case in sixteen is found -to have proved fatal among the troops. - -“The febrile diseases of Upper Canada are by no means uniform in their -prevalence. Even in years when the degree of temperature, fall of -rain, or extent of vegetation have been much the same, the proportion -of cases, particularly of intermittents, is very different. A general -impression exists, that their prevalence is in some measure dependent -on the height of the waters in Lake Ontario, which attain their maximum -in June or July. If, from the quantity of snow or moisture in the -course of the year, this is found to be greater than usual, febrile -diseases are expected to abound, and the reverse if the maximum has -been under the average. As Lake Ontario is the reservoir into which all -the waters of Upper Canada are drained off before finding their way -to the ocean, this theory, if accurately substantiated, would tend to -show how far the origin of these diseases depended on moisture, and we -therefore instituted the following comparison between the height of -the waters in the lake, as measured at Kingston for a series of years, -and the prevalence of fever in Upper Canada during the same period: - - +-----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ - | |1818.|1819.|1820.|1821.|1822.|1823.|1824.|1825.|1826.|1827.|1828.| - +-----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ - |Average height of| | | | | | | | | | | | - |lake in Kingston | | | | | | | | | | | | - |Harbour in each | 14 9| 13 3| 12 3|11 11| 12 1| 13 5|13 11| 12 5|12 10| 14 3| 15 7| - |year | | | | | | | | | | | | - |(feet and inches)| | | | | | | | | | | | - +-----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ - |Cases of inter- | | | | | | | | | | | | - |mittent fever | 110 | 319 | 509 | 348 | 222 | 143 | 171 | 135 | 111 | 220 | 489 | - |in Upper Canada | | | | | | | | | | | | - +-----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ - |Cases of other | 109 | 54 | 150 | 152 | 132 | 69 | 168 | 190 | 155 | 185 | 300 | - |fevers | | | | | | | | | | | | - +-----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ - -“Here we find that, though in the last of these years the maximum -height of water in the lake happened to correspond with the greatest -prevalence of fever, the latter can by no means be looked upon as a -consequence of, or in any way connected with, the former; since in -1818, when the water rose to within a few inches of the same level, -there was less fever than in any of the years under observation; -whereas in 1820 and 1821, when the waters of the lake appear to have -been at the minimum, there was more than in any of the years prior to -1828. - -“This supposition seems to have originated in the circumstance of -fevers being generally most prevalent from June to October, which -happens to correspond with the period when the waters of the lake -are at the greatest height; but the wide sphere over which these -statistical investigations now extend, has enabled us to show that -febrile diseases always prevail most at that season of the year, even -in countries where no such cause is in operation to produce them; -consequently, the rise of the waters in the lakes can no more be -regarded as the cause of fever in America, than the cessation of the -trade winds about the same period can be deemed a satisfactory reason -for the appearance of that disease in the West Indies. Both are merely -coincidences which, by those who have not a sufficiently extensive -field of observation, are apt to be mistaken for causes.” - -There arises out of all such inquiries one obvious deduction--viz., -that the essential nature of malaria is altogether unknown; and that -unless we choose to remain contented with such vague hypotheses as -those of Macculloch, now adopted by the Medical Board of Health of -Great Britain,[25] other inquiries must be entered on. The assertion -is as easily made as its refutation is difficult, that typhus fever is -caused by a neglected drain or ditch; that scarlet fever, small-pox, -and cholera have for their origin the same cause; that if they do not -immediately produce the poison, they predispose the human frame for -its reception; and that as a necessary result, all such diseases, -and deaths resulting therefrom, and from zymotic forms of disease -generally, are preventible by human agency. Let us leave these Utopian -views to the clever pens skilled in the art of making that seem new -which is not new, and that seem true which is not true, and patiently -inquire into some of the many difficulties besetting all investigations -into Nature’s processes, and man’s interpretation of them.[26] - - [25] As by the Registrar-General: see his Reports. - - [26] The ancient Egyptians seem to me to have long ago settled this - question, practically. On the subsidence of the Nile they, without a - day’s delay, commenced agricultural operations; nothing was allowed - to fall into rottenness or putrefaction. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE LIVING WORLD--ITS EXTENT AS REVEALED BY THE MICROSCOPE--HOW ITS -REMAINS ARE DISPOSED OF WHEN LIFE HAS CEASED. - - -§ 1. It has been often remarked, and with great truth, that the world -abounds with life. In the remains of that which had once lived, which -was at one period organic, the illustrious Cuvier and the great -school to which he belonged saw the materials of life, the food, in -fact, of that which exists; he held that between the inorganic and -organic worlds there was an impassable gulf, or in other words, an -inconvertibility or a metamorphosis, call it by what name you will. -This plausible theory, with many others, is now controverted by modern -chemists, who boldly assert that no organic atoms or molecules, as -such, can serve as food for a plant or an animal. But be this as it -may--for chemists admit that the incombustible constituents or the -salts of the blood, so essential to the nourishment or support of -animal life, must have passed through organic bodies[27]--one thing is -certain, that the extent of life on the globe can scarcely be imagined. -For first, as regards the vegetable kingdom, do we not observe how, as -spring and summer advance, the organic beings which during winter had -lain dormant at the bottom, or deeply entombed in the waters (I speak -not of those to be seen at all times on the surface of the earth), -rise to the surface, bringing with them countless myriads of the ova -of aquatic animals and of those which haunt the surface of the water? -Amongst these stand pre-eminent the infusoria or zoophytes; with these -the atmosphere also becomes loaded. They form, in fact, the substratum -of all animal life, constituting the food not only of animals somewhat -larger than themselves, but of many much larger, as the various species -of the cyprinus. Many valuable gregarious fishes, as the herring, -char, and the finer species of trout, live on entomostraca; they in -their turn become the food of larger and more voracious fishes. Even -the whale lives on food a portion of which is almost microscopic. Now, -withdraw the water by which all this life subsists, and putrescence, or -fermentation and decay, must be the result upon a mass of life of which -the amount may be faintly conjectured by the fact that 4,100,000,000 -millions of infusoria may be found in a square inch. These insects, -when dead, are found in strata extending to some acres, and many of -the fossils thus discovered belong to species of genera now alive. -The principles of life were at least as active in what we call the -old world (though in reality the young world), as in the present; the -researches of Ehrenberg, repeated by many others, have placed these -opinions beyond dispute. - - [27] Liebig. - -Now, it is by no means improbable--nay, it is almost certain--that many -species of these infusoria reside in the vapour of the atmosphere. - -The Austrian physicians came to the conclusion that the Asiatic cholera -was of local or terrestrial origin; the facts mentioned above confirm -this view to a certain extent, by disproving the general epidemic laws -supposed to regulate the progress of cholera and of fever (in which -cholera usually terminates), and by showing that the disease sought -out, as it were, the inhabitants of certain districts favourable -for the production of the deleterious influences I am now about to -consider. When the epidemical influence was superadded to these, the -disease appeared; its independence of changes in temperature may have -been owing to other circumstances not yet investigated. Connected -with this evolution of vegetable life in spring and summer, and with -its effects on man, is what is called the blooming of plants. The -presence of stagnant waters and of foul ditches may be discovered even -at a distance by the odour of gases, especially of the sulphuretted -hydrogen, they emit. Now, oxygen decomposes this gas, and thus it is -not so dangerous as represented to live near waters impregnated with -it; but should mud or vegetable refuse be left exposed by the drying up -of the waters, this gas ascends wherever the decayed matter is renewed -or turned over. Venice, Amsterdam, and other great cities similarly -situated, are not unhealthy, although their canals abound with mud; -but so soon as the traffic ceases or becomes trifling, a mud odour -arises, originating in what the French call _epuration_ or _floraison -d’eau_. In every country where there are ponds, canals, or ditches, -this vegetable growth takes place so soon as the temperature of the -water reaches 60° Fahr. As the quickening of the plants extends from -above downwards, from the leaves and stalk towards the roots, these -expand, and the mud becomes loosened; the plants imbibe carbon and give -out oxygen, and this circulation contributes to the loosening and to -the rising of the mud along with the plant. I have witnessed several -square yards of mud raised in this way from the bottom of the waters. -It subsides, of course, in due time. - -We have seen that the vital force has no influence upon the combination -of the simple elements, as such, into chemical compounds. “No element -of itself is capable of serving for the nutrition and development of -any part of an animal or vegetable organization;” the vital force by -its influence merely combines inferior groups of simple atoms into -atoms of a higher order. - -How stands it with the decomposition of animal and vegetable bodies -when the influence of the vital and conservative power has been -withdrawn? Let us attend to what an illustrious chemist has said on -this subject:--“Universal experience teaches us, that all organized -beings after death suffer a change, in consequence of which their -bodies gradually vanish from the surface of the earth. The mightiest -tree, after it is cut down, disappears, with the exception, perhaps, -of the bark, when exposed to the action of the air for thirty or forty -years. Leaves, young twigs, the straw which is added to the soil, juicy -fruits, &c., disappear much more quickly. In a still much shorter time -animal matters lose their cohesion; they are dissipated in the air, -leaving only the mineral elements which they had derived from the -soil.” “This grand natural process of the dissolution of all compounds -formed in living organisms begins immediately after death, when the -manifold causes no longer act, under the influence of which they were -produced. The compounds formed in the bodies of animals and of plants -undergo in the air, with the aid of moisture, a series of changes, the -last of which are the conversion of their carbon into carbonic acid, -of the hydrogen into water, of their nitrogen into ammonia, of their -sulphur into sulphuric acid. Thus their elements resume the form in -which they can again serve as food for a new generation of plants and -animals. Those elements which had been derived from the atmosphere, -take the gaseous form, and return to the air; those which the earth -had yielded return to the soil. Death, followed by the dissolution of -the dead generation, is the source of life for a new one. The same -atom of carbon which is a constituent of a muscular fibre in the heart -of a man, assists to propel the blood through his frame, was perhaps -a constituent of the heart of one of his ancestors; and any atom of -nitrogen in our brain has perhaps been a part of the brain of an -Egyptian or of a negro. As the intellect of the men of this generation -draws the food required for its development and cultivation from the -products of the intellectual activity of former times, so may the -constituents or elements of the bodies of a former generation pass -into and become part of our own frames.” “The proximate cause of the -changes which occur in organized bodies after death, is the action of -the oxygen of the air on many of their constituents. This action only -takes place when water--that is, moisture--is present, and a certain -temperature is required for its production.” - -Let us not, then, be surprised at the seemingly discordant results -arrived at, and at the contradictory observations which have been -made in the best faith possible, and with every regard to truth in -science. The circumstances which seemed to be identical are merely -analogous, but in point of fact are essentially distinct, as proved -by the results. Changes inappreciable by human sense and as yet by -philosophical instruments, may and no doubt do effect results, to man -seemingly contradictory, simply because he comprehends them not. As -chemical science makes progress, these differences are being reconciled -and understood. Thus, as mere temperature exercises a truly remarkable -influence over the nature of the products of fermentation, may it not -be the efficient cause of the difference we observe between the malaria -of the delta of the Mississippi and that floating near the muddy banks -of the Scheldt? The juice of carrots, beet-root, or onions, which is -rich in sugar, when allowed to ferment at ordinary temperature yields -the same products as grape-sugar, but at a higher temperature the whole -decomposition is changed--there is a much less evolution of gas, and no -alcohol is formed. - -In the fermented liquor there is no longer any sugar, and thus may it -be in the great laboratory of nature; the product of the fermentation -will assume in one locality a character it does not possess in another. -The elements are the same; there is merely a change in temperature. - -Are there facts to prove that certain states of transformation or -putrefaction in a substance, are likewise propagated to parts or -constituents of the living animal body? Such facts exist. On no other -principle but that of assimilation can we explain the phenomena of -poisoning by the puncture of the living hand in dissecting-rooms, the -instrument being impregnated with a fermentescible and putrefactive -substance, there undergoing a decomposition. Similar, unquestionably, -must be the action of animal poisons, such as that of poisonous -substances, whether animal or vegetable, of the poisons giving rise -to zymotic diseases, &c.; and such may be the origin of the fevers -caused by the unknown principle which must still be connected with -the decomposition of organic bodies most frequently found in marshy -countries. But before entering more fully on this important matter, -I shall first weigh the evidence for and against a theory long -fashionable, and which may even now have its supporters--namely, -whether fermentation or the revolution of higher or more complex -organic vegetable into less complex compounds, be the effect of the -vital manifestations of vegetable matters, and whether putrefaction or -the same change in animal substances be determined by the development -or the presence of animal beings. They who maintain this theory, assume -as a natural consequence of the views that the origin of miasmatic or -contagious diseases, in so far as they may be referred to the presence -of putrefactive processes, must be ascribed to the same or to similar -causes. - -§ 2. The refutation of this view by Liebig seems satisfactory, and has -not yet been satisfactorily replied to. The subject is one of much -interest; the theory has furnished a foundation for some unquestionably -entirely fallacious ideas concerning the essence of the vital processes -generally, of many pathological conditions, and the causes of certain -diseases. - -These persons regard fermentation, or the resolution of higher or -more complex organic vegetable atoms into less complex compounds, -as the effect of the vital manifestations of vegetable matters; and -putrefaction, or the same change in animal substances, as being -determined by the development or the presence of animal beings. -They assume as a natural consequence of this view, that the origin -of miasmatic or contagious diseases, in so far as referrible to the -presence of putrefactive processes, must be ascribed to the same or -similar causes. - -The most obvious and important considerations in support of this view -of fermentation, are derived from observations made on the alcoholic -fermentation, and on the yeast of beer and of wine. The microscopic -researches of physiologists and botanists have demonstrated that beer -or wine yeast consists of single globules strung together, which -possess all the properties of living vegetable cells, and resemble very -closely certain of the lower family of plants, such as some fungi and -algæ. - -In fermenting vegetable juices, we observe, after a few days, small -points, which grow from within outwards; and these have a granular -nucleus, surrounded by a transparent envelope. The simultaneous -appearance of the yeast-cells and of the products of decomposition -of the sugar, is the chief argument in support of the opinion that -the fermentation of sugar is an effect caused by the vital process, -a result of the development, growth, and propagation of these low -vegetable structures. But if the development increase, and propagation -of these vegetable cells or tissues be the cause of fermentation, then -in every case where we observe this effect we must suppose that the -causes or conditions--namely, sugar, from which the cell-walls are -produced, and gluten, which yields their contents--are both present. - -Now, the most remarkable fact among the phenomena of fermentation, -and that which must chiefly be kept in view in the explanation of the -process, is this, that the ready-formed cells, after being washed, -effect the conversion of pure cane-sugar into grape-sugar, and its -resolution into a volume of vapour and alcohol, and that the elements -of the sugar are obtained without any loss in these new forms; that -consequently, since three pounds of yeast, considered in the dry state, -decompose two hundred-weight of sugar, a very powerful action takes -place, without any notable consumption of matter for the vital purpose -of forming cells. If the property of exciting fermentation depended on -the development, propagation, and increase of yeast-cells, these cells -would be incapable of causing fermentation in pure solutions of sugar, -in which the other conditions necessary for the manifestation of the -vital properties, and especially the nitrogenous matters necessary for -the production of the contents of the cells, are absent. - -Experiment has proved that in this case the yeast-cells cause -fermentation, not because they propagate their kind, but in consequence -of the decomposition of their nitrogenous contents, which are -resolved into ammonia and other products--that is, in consequence of -a decomposition which is exactly the opposite of an organic formative -process. The yeast, when brought into contact successively with the -new portions of sugar, loses by degrees entirely its power of causing -fermentation, and at last nothing is left in the liquid but its -non-nitrogenous envelopes or cell-walls.[28] - - [28] Liebig: Letters on Chemistry. - -On the other hand, it may be admitted that fungi and agarics, and -all that lives, vegetable and animal, contaminate the air when dead; -they absorb oxygen and give out vapours of which some are clearly -detrimental to human life. The effect of breathing air so contaminated -is in some countries immediate--that is, the incubation of the poison -requires only a few days, in others many months. Waters in a state of -fermentation or putrefaction seem to poison the plants themselves, for -duckweed and other swimming plants die, and the swallow and the marten -disappear. On the wide ocean and over the absolute desert, the air is -always pure, nothing living is decomposing; but watch the mud coasts, -and observe the pestilential effects of sea water when suffered to -evaporate, or still more when confined to a locality and suffered to -decompose. In the ancient world, as in the modern, nature teemed with -life, since a cubic inch of the fossil infusoria, contains 41,000 -millions of individuals. The microscopic shell fish called entomostraca -were equally abundant. - -When the evaporation of sea water is quickened by an elevation of -temperature, as in the South of France, noxious and unpleasant -odours, injurious to vegetable life, are distinctly perceptible. The -putrescence and fermentation caused by heat acting on the remains of -life in sea water left to evaporate, as between Rio and Cape Frio, in -the Brazils, seem to be the cause of, or at least to give terrible -effect to, yellow fever. - -Vegetable life is equally abundant, and it may be as injurious when -decomposing in its effects on human life. Lichens speedily cover the -walls of neglected houses, and cause sickness by their decomposition. -The spore or sporule, which in flowerless plants performs the office -of seeds, floats in the atmosphere, and seems to be the cause of -the hay-fever so frequent in fertile lowlands. Nor need we quote -the recent drainage of the Lake of Haarlem in proof of the sure -results of exposing masses of dead animal and vegetable substances -to putrefaction--namely, ague, various fevers, and other ailments -indicative of a poison or malaria affecting the general mass of the -blood. Of the minuteness of animal life, it is only necessary to remark -that we are acquainted with animals possessing teeth and organs of -motion, which are wholly invisible to the naked eye. Other animals -exist which, when measured, are found to be many thousand times -smaller, and which nevertheless possess the same apparatus. Their ova -must be many hundreds of times still smaller. It is to this invisible -world in all probability, and to its decomposition and putrefaction, -or at least to influences arising therefrom, that the essential cause -of ague, and other febrile diseases of an intermittent and remittent -character may be referred, aggravated, no doubt, by insalubrious -atmospheric constitutions of which we know nothing. These from time to -time affect and lower human vitality--a fact admitted by all physicians. - - * * * * * - -NOTE ON THE QUESTION OF QUARANTINE. (See Chapter IV.) - - The special-pleaders who formed the Council of the late Board of - Health argued that, “as there exists an obvious harmony between our - physical and social constitutions, the necessity of intercourse - between all the members of the human family is one of the final - necessities of our race” (“Report on the Quarantine Laws,” Board of - Health, p. 64); in other words, that “the diseases supposed to be - contagious by our predecessors, _cannot be contagious_, because such - a supposition is at variance with _a theory (of their own invention)_ - that there exists a necessity of intercourse between all the members - of the human family;” and therefore all quarantine laws ought to be - abolished. But are not small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough - contagious? And as regards “the necessity of intercourse between all - the members of the human family,” were we to consult the Chinese, - the Hindoo, the Peruvian, the Mexican, the Caffre, the Negro, the - Turk, the Morocene, they would unhesitatingly tell you that such an - intercourse is sure to end in their destruction. Under a Trajan or - an Alexander, an Antonine, or even an Augustus, the world no doubt - was benefited by an universal intercourse between all the members of - the human family _then known_, and such an intercourse was highly - beneficial to humanity; but the kind of intercourse established by - the Clives and Pizarros is of a very different nature from that of - Alexander and Trajan. Civilization is the direct result of artificial - wants, the gratification of which can alone be met by a free and - unrestricted commerce. By violence an empire may be overthrown, - and by rapacity its inhabitants may be deprived, not only of their - land and property, but even of their natural rights as men, as in - India under the administration of England; but all these crusades - have no reference whatever to an ameliorating of the condition of - mankind; they simply form episodes in the history of the human - race, respecting which historians take extremely different views. - The conquests of Mexico and Peru and India form episodes in the - respective histories of Spain and Britain by no means flattering to - the character of these nations. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ON THE DECOMPOSITION AND METAMORPHOSIS OF ANIMAL BEINGS, AND ON THE -INFLUENCE THEY EXERCISE OVER THE SOIL AS A HABITAT FOR MAN. - - -During life animal bodies undergo continual decomposition and -recomposition; life is in fact a perpetual metamorphosis. Whilst alive, -the products of vitality (_excreta_) are returned to or deposited in or -on the surface of the earth, and carried by drainage and other means -into the nearest water, river, or stream; we have lived to see them -thrown _en masse_ into a tidal river the waters of which serve at the -same time to furnish most of that required for the economy of a vast -capital and many surrounding towns; in the same country the cesspools -and dead-wells constructed to receive the liquid and solid _excreta_ of -dwelling-houses are not unfrequently constructed close to the pump-well -which is to supply the inhabitants with pure water for culinary -purposes. - -To these extraordinary facts I shall shortly return. They show the -extent to which intelligent, talented, shrewd men may suffer themselves -to be deluded and led aside from the path pointed out by common sense, -more especially when crotchets are substituted for principles; when -men fancy that in following out some imperfectly-observed inquiry, -they are imitating nature--that nature which is ever consonant with -herself, which created all animals, and which knows how to dispose of -their excreta when living, and of their remains when dead, without -detriment to the living. The Caffre, the Hottentot, the Bosjieman, the -North-American Indian, the Bedouin, require no sanitary arrangements, -no laws regulating, nor staff to carry out a code of theoretical -Utopian schemes, sure to revert on the heads of those foolish enough to -employ them; the excreta deposited on the earth disappear, so do also -the remains of animal life. We never hear of any pestilence, fever, -scurvy, dysentery, small-pox, hooping-cough, malignant sore-throat, -or other zymotics, originating amongst them. It would, indeed, almost -seem that such evils do actually owe their origin to human agency -and to human civilization; where civilized man makes his highest -endeavours, there his most signal failure occurs; experience teaches -him nothing; the insolence of wealth naturally leads to the contempt of -all knowledge derived from means otherwise than national and native. -In Britain the muddy banks of rivers, which in Holland and Belgium are -covered with vegetation, lie exposed, festering in the sun’s rays, -the fertile source of agues and other diseases; here they are being -continually exposed, or alternately covered with water, which is then -allowed to evaporate; this mud is not suffered to rest, but stirred -up in a variety of ways, as best suits the convenience of the parties -interested. It suits, for example, the proprietor of a long-neglected -drain or sewer, cesspool or filthy stagnant canal, or a common ditch, -which once was a clear rivulet, to cleanse it out. He selects the -warmest weather and the longest day for that special work, or he -spreads the contents of the cesspools of half a century’s collection on -the fields, suffering it to remain there for weeks, thus rendering the -roads all but impassable. The selected lives of the finest men in the -kingdom, petted, fed, clothed, and lodged at the public charge, without -anxiety or a care for to-morrow--the Guards of England--die under his -fostering hand, in the ratio of three to one of the care-worn and -toil-exhausted peasant, miserably fed, scantily clothed, badly lodged, -and full of anxiety for the morrow. Now, how comes this? Simply, I -believe, from this--that man, knowing much better than nature, has -chosen to take her place, to do her work clumsily, and to fancy that he -is doing it well; to interfere, and not to carry through the works he -has undertaken. What other proof can be required than the fact that, on -the frontiers of the Cape of Good Hope, in the healthiest country in -the world--a fact proved not only by the statistics of the celebrated -statistician, Major Tulloch, but by the evidence of all medical men who -have resided there,--where the mortality is not a half of what it is -amongst the most favoured counties of England--in such a country, where -every man might have had a mile square of ground to live on, military -arrangements contrived to break down whole regiments of the healthiest -young men England could produce.[29] - - [29] Report, p. 176. - -The Dutch Boers and Hottentots were astonished, as well they might -be. “Towards the end of June, 1836,” observes Major Tulloch, “very -decided symptoms of scurvy began to manifest themselves among part of -the 75th Regiment at Fort Armstrong, and subsequently extended to most -of the other stations along the frontier. The total number of cases -reported either as scorbutus or purpura, were 134, of which 4 proved -fatal; the others readily yielded to change of air, with improved -diet and accommodation.” As was to be expected, the Hottentot troops, -on the same ground, being left to act generally in accordance with the -dictates of their own common sense, wholly escaped the disease. - -Let us now briefly review the means adopted by nature for the disposal -of those remains so embarrassing to the civilized, so innocuous to -man living in a semi-barbarous or savage state, and which prove to -the former a source of infinite expense, discomfort, and disease. The -problem has reference to the soil, to the air, to the water; to the -condition of all three as regards the preservation of animal life -generally, man included. - -I have already remarked in a preceding chapter, that all organized -beings after death undergo a change, in consequence of which their -bodies, as such, disappear from the surface of the earth. In a short -time after the event, animal matters lose their cohesion; they are -dissipated into the air, leaving only the mineral elements they had -derived from the soil. The change commences immediately after death: -with the aid of moisture and exposure to the air, the bodies of -animals, as well as plants, undergo changes, the last of which are[30] -the conversion of their carbonic acid and of their hydrogen into water, -of their nitrogen into ammonia, of their sulphur into sulphuric acid. -Thus, their elements assume or resume forms in which they can again -serve as food to a new generation of plants and animals. “The same atom -of carbon which, as the constituent of a muscular fibre in the heart -of a man, assists to propel the blood through his frame, was perhaps -a constituent of the heart of one of his ancestors, and any atom of -nitrogen in our brain has perhaps been a part of the brain of an -Egyptian or of a negro. - - [30] Liebig, 1851. - -“As the intellect of the men of this generation draws the food -required for its development and cultivation from the products of the -intellectual activity of former times, so may the constituents or -elements of the bodies of a former generation pass into, and become -parts of, our own frames. The proximate cause of the changes which -occur in organized bodies after death is the action of the oxygen of -the air on many of their constituents. This action only takes place -when water--that is, moisture--is present, and requires a certain -temperature.” - -The great agent in all these changes is oxygen, as has been already -sufficiently explained when speaking of the decomposition of vegetables -after death. I shall first attend to the influence these changes have -on the soil as producing agents, intended to restore to the soil those -vivifying powers which it never seems to lose when man interferes not; -and lastly, to consider briefly its influence on man himself. - -The development of scarcely any plant can be imagined without the -assistance of nitrogen or of azotized materials. Now, under certain -conditions known to all botanists, this azote must come from rain -water, either in the form of atmospheric air, or under that of ammonia. -Chemists have, I think, proved that it originates in the ammonia -contained in the atmosphere, and not in the azote as it naturally -exists in the air. The problem is put and solved in this way by Liebig, -“Let us consider a farm suitably conducted, and of an extent sufficient -to maintain itself, ammonia exists there in a sufficient abundance in -rain water and snow; in the water of most fountains; it exists in the -air in abundance, and is being constantly renewed by the decomposition -of animal and vegetable bodies, and is restored to the soil by the -rain, and then absorbed by the roots of plants, and produces, according -to the organs, albumen, gluten, quinine, morphine, cyanogene, and a -great number of other crystallized combinations.” - -The most decisive proof of the part played by ammonia in the -nourishment of plants is furnished us by the use of manure in the -cultivation of cereals and green forage. According to the distinguished -chemist so often quoted in this essay, animal manure (_fumier_) acts -solely by reason of its production of ammonia. The history of the -Peruvian guano, a substance so highly ammoniacal, proves all these -assertions; this celebrated manure, which fertilizes a soil (the -Peruvian) of the most remarkable sterility, consisting mainly of white -sand and argil, is composed chiefly of urates, urate of ammonia, -oxalate of ammonia, phosphate of ammonia, carbonate of ammonia, and -some other salts. - -Thus did the ancient Peruvian, like the Chinese, stumble on the -solution of problems involving the fate of millions by simple -experience alone, wholly unaided by science, which steps in afterwards -and gives the _rationale_ of the process; teaches us that all wheats -do not equally abound in gluten; that rice is poor in azote; potatoes -equally so. Practical agriculturists still find difficulty in applying -with success the processes recommended by the chemist; but these, no -doubt, will gradually be overcome. - -“Since we find azote[31] in all the lichens which grow on basaltic -rocks; that the fields produce more azote than is brought to them -in the shape of aliment; that we meet with azote in all soils -(_terrains_), even in minerals which happen never to come in contact -with organic matters; that in the atmosphere, in rain-water, and in -that of fountains or springs, in every description of soil we meet -with this azote under the form of ammonia, as a product of the slow -combustion or of the putrefaction of anterior generations; that the -production of azotized principles greatly increases in plants with the -quantity of ammonia presented to them in animal manure,--we may in -all safety conclude that _it is the ammonia of the atmosphere which -furnishes the azote to plants_. - - [31] Traité de Chimie Organique. Par M. J. Liebig. pp. 88. - -“It results from the foregoing[32] that the carbonic acid, the ammonia, -and the water, include in their elements the conditions necessary -for the production of all the principles of living beings. These -three bodies are the ultimate products of the putrefaction and of the -_eremacausis_ (slow combustion) of all animal and vegetable races. All -the products of the vital force, so numerous and so varied--all after -death return to the primitive forms in which they first appeared or -from which they originally sprung. Death, the complete dissolution of a -generation, is always the source of a new generation.” - - [32] Liebig, _loc. cit._ - -Equally curious, but foreign to my present purpose, is the inquiry into -the sources of the inorganic principles in plants and animals. These -sources were inappreciable until a more refined chemistry appeared. -Sea-water contains only the 1/12,400th of its weight of carbonate -of lime, and yet this quantity suffices for the production of the -essential components of the shells of myriads of crustaceans and -corals. Whilst the atmosphere contains but 4/10,000ths to 6/10,000ths -of its volume of carbonic acid, the amount in sea water is more by a -hundred times, and yet in this medium we find another world of animal -and vegetable life, which finds re-united in the ammonia and carbonic -acid the same conditions which enable human beings on the surface of -the solid earth (_terra firma_) to live and to maintain their species. - -It would even seem that the essential constituents of some organs have -altered in the course of ages, without affecting, or being materially -affected by, the principles of life. Thus it would seem that fossil -bones contain the fluate (fluorure de calcium) of calcium in much -larger quantities than the bones of recent animals; and the same remark -has been made in respect of the composition of the crania of men found -at Pompeii. They resemble in this respect the antediluvian fossil -remains. - -Thus, imperceptibly, as it were, proceed the grand operations of -nature, and if accidentally any vast collection of excreta should -happen to be found, as in the guano islands of the dry regions of -America, they seem not to affect the life or health of those animals -which repose on them. It is the same in the dry regions of Southern -Africa, where sheep and cattle, in order to protect them from wild -animals, must, on the approach of evening, be collected into a fold -or kraal, surrounded by a strong fence of the mimosa, and carefully -shut in. On this surface, of no great extent, sheep and oxen stand or -rest for the evening: their excreta accumulate, but do not putrefy, -for the air on the kraal is pure comparatively, and never injurious to -the sheep or cattle; the surface of the kraal is, moreover, generally -dry, even when the soil may be accidentally inundated by rain, which, -when it falls, as it does occasionally, descends in torrents. From the -African soil is thus withdrawn by man the excreta of all the domestic -animals; the semi-barbarous Boer never returns it to the soil, and -thus the loss is permanent; but it would seem that this loss, caused -by man’s interference, in no shape, as far as can be observed, affects -the fertility of the soil, called on to reproduce only the native -pasture, or the wild herbs natural to it. It is otherwise when man -demands from the soil heavier exhausting crops of wheat and hemp, -tobacco, &c.: his interference with nature’s balance must be gone -into, or soon his hopes of a harvest would be in vain. Then comes the -theory of manures, a theory beset with difficulties, and which, besides -involving man in much labour and expense, is productive, or presumed -to be on sufficiently probable grounds the cause, of some, if not of -many, of the diseases which afflict humanity. However this may be, -whatever be the extent to which a dense population and a neglect of the -so-called sanitary regulations subject man to infirmity and disease, -one thing is certain--he has interfered with nature’s balance, and -must take on himself the whole task. If he shuts up a harbour mouth, -refusing entrance to the tide, confining within the harbour a portion -of that ocean water which nature intended should be constantly agitated -by tides and currents, he may expect as results that the shores of -that harbour will soon become uninhabitable by man. All animals -instinctively shun the sick, leaving them apart; man crowds them -together into close, ill-ventilated hospitals, sweeping off in hundreds -those whom the battle had spared. - -It were foreign to the object of this work to enter more fully into -the history of that dissolution of animal structures which forms so -important a part of the materials we call manure, destined to restore -to the soil that which artificial crops had deprived it of. Every part -of animal bodies owes its origin to vegetables or plants, no part being -formed by the vital force, and thus all the remains of animals of -necessity form manures. - -On the management of these, man’s civilization depends; without -agriculture there can be no dense population; without the dense -population there can be no civilization. On these points many -remarkably erroneous opinions have been, and still perhaps are, -maintained even by practical men, who nevertheless are often in -error--merely, it is true, as to the theory on which they fancy they -act, more rarely as to the practice they have from experience adopted. - -In calmly considering this important question--the right management of -manures composed of the excreta or the remains of animal and vegetable -life, it becomes evident that several problems, atmospheric as well -as terrestrial, remain yet to be solved. The surface of the soil, -as modified by man’s labour, presents itself under a very different -aspect to what nature intended it to be. A lake may be drained with -much advantage to a country, but the surface so exposed cannot be too -soon cultivated, to prevent the spread of fevers sure to arise from -the decaying, fermenting, and putrefying of the lower forms of animal -and vegetable life thus brought into existence, especially when aided -by those epidemic constitutions of the atmosphere striking directly at -man’s existence on the earth. - -For civilized man there is, there can be, no repose. There are forces -in nature against which, with all his industry, he may never be able to -prevail. The tropical forest returns upon him the instant, as it were, -that he ceases to hew it down, obliterating in an incredibly short time -all traces of human labour. The lands of Western France can scarcely be -secured from the inroads of the sands driven by western gales towards -the interior; the bog is checked only by constant labour, and the hill -where once the heath grew spontaneously, can only be retained in a -green and grassy condition by the constant watchfulness and labour of -men. Twenty years of neglect suffice to restore the heath, and to sweep -away all vestiges of human culture.[33] - - [33] The “Sunderland Times” gives publicity to the following - frightful narrative, drawn up by Captain Edward Robinson, of - Sunderland, commander of the ship _Raleigh_, of South Shields:--“I - arrived at this place in the beginning of May, 1858, being sent - to bring home a vessel whose captain died of yellow fever; little - did I think, before leaving home, that I should have witnessed the - sufferings of so many of my fellow-creatures that were ill of this - dreadful epidemic. I was told it would be all over before I arrived, - but I found that, so far from that being the case, its ravages were - unmitigated. In the street that I lodged in, five in one family were - buried from the house in one day. The Rio journals were publishing - in their columns, ‘No cases of yellow fever to-day.’ One ship at the - port had seven captains dead before she could be brought out of the - place. The vessel--the _Raleigh_ of South Shields--that I have come - home in command of, had her captain, chief officer, second officer, - and four of her crew stricken down by the disease. On the day before - the Captain died I visited him at the hospital; I there witnessed - such sights as I hope never again to see--poor sailors in the height - of the fearful malady, with the black vomit, vomiting dark fluid - like coffee. I shall never forget the looks they gave me, and how - their poor dull eyes brightened as I gave them a word of comfort, and - told them they would get better. Next day, when I returned to see - them, I found the whole gone--the captain and six of his crew, all - dead and buried. Still, ‘No cases of fever,’ say the Rio journals. - The number carried off by yellow fever from February to May, 1858, - amounted to 1609, upwards of 600 of the deaths being among English - sailors. The presence of a plague fever is not to be wondered at, the - state of the town being a disgrace to civilized people. All manner of - filth is to be met with in most parts of the town. Dead animals and - filth I cannot describe meet your eye and offend your senses almost - everywhere. - - “My brother, now sixty-eight years of age, and who has been - thirty-six years at Rio, informs me that he has often seen Europeans - on ’Change in the morning, who died and were buried on the same - evening. He has seen Rio cleared five times of Europeans. The - pestilence, he believes, comes from the flat marshy land near Rio. - The natives burn tar-barrels to purify the atmosphere.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -EARTH, AIR, AND WATER IN RELATION TO MAN--HOW MODIFIED BY -HIM--RESULTS OF THAT MODIFICATION--ACTION AND REACTION. - - -§ 1. The question of acclimation is not confined merely to man’s -transfer from one country to another, and to his attempts to -accommodate himself to the new locality, to the altered circumstances -of his adopted country. As civilized man traverses the earth in -search of new abodes, he carries with him the arts of social life, -and especially the art of agriculture, by which alone he can exist in -congregated masses: agriculture, which forms indeed the very basis of -civilization. - -Whether we view man as a native of the land or a stranger, he cannot -evade this question; for even as a native and as an individual of a -race whose presence on the soil he may inhabit precedes the records -of authentic history, if he form a portion of civilized society he -receives from his ancestors or predecessors a system he is bound to -improve, or at least to maintain, so that he shall live and thrive, -not as the beasts of the field, but as a member of a civilized people. -When a hunting tribe of North American Indians, a horde of Bedouins, -or Hottentots or Caffres, a Turcoman family, or a gipsy encampment, -a Cape Boer, or an Australian sheep-farmer, sit down by stream, or -valley, or lake, they no more influence the soil than a troop of -antelopes or buffaloes. Nature’s great processes go on unaffected: -they deteriorate, it is true, by respiration, the superincumbent -atmosphere, but not more than any equal amount of animal life. This -deterioration the wild plants around, sown by nature herself, speedily -removes; the oxygen consumed by savage man and the animal life around, -equally wild, is speedily renovated by vegetation, and the oxygen they -remove from the atmosphere and the carbonic acid they pour into it, -rapidly and constantly recover their equilibrium under the influence -of vegetation. Thus, neither the earth (soil), air, nor water, is in -any way influenced by his presence, nor is he in general affected by -these; there is no reciprocal influence for good or bad: he cuts down -no forests, grows no wheat, or but little, makes no canals, drains -no marsh-lands, poisons no rivers; the refuse of his dwellings, the -excreta of such a population, are not sensibly perceived, even if -allowed to rot and waste away on the surface--a practice prevalent with -most if not all wild and uncultivated people; it rapidly disappears, -disintegrated by processes in which the lower forms of animal life take -a part. Now, contemplate the picture civilized man presents, and see -him in direct antagonism with nature! The plants of nature’s sowing are -rudely torn up with the plough and destroyed, the fields are forced to -yield crops by which he lives, and what he takes from the soil must, -to use the language of chemists, “be restored to it:” the excreta of -man and animals, the refuse of dwellings, the deteriorated and poisoned -liquids, the products of manufactories, are collected into heaps, to -rot on the surface of the soil, before being dug into it; or are thrown -into the rivers, to poison, in a certain sense, the waters on which -man lives, rendering their banks, if not pestilential, at least most -unpleasant as human abodes; canals are dug, vast reservoirs are formed, -which in time give rise by mismanagement to fevers, intermittent and -others; the minerals of the earth are quarried and placed on the -soil, mines are dug, and from them waters are discharged into the -neighbouring streams, strongly poisoned with the metallic ores. To -imagine that an influence thus affecting earth, air, and water can -proceed and increase without affecting human life, can be overcome by -habit, does not require to be met by counter-influences originating in -the experience and reasoning of man himself, is a supposition which the -history of large cities refutes. The influence is reciprocal. When man -thus acts on the three elements of nature by which he lives, they react -on him, and it is this reaction he is called on to meet and to overcome -as best he can. It is a question of reason and experiment--that is, of -science and of simple observation; simple observation and experiment -taught the native Peruvians the value of guano, for science had at -that time no standing on the American continent; and now the chemist -steps in and explains why it was that the experiment proved successful. -Whether his explanation be satisfactory or not, touches not the -question; though proved to be erroneous in a single instance, as it -possibly is in regard of this very Peruvian guano, science stands on -too secure a basis to require any defence from me. - -It is one of the conditions of civilization, that man must everywhere -accept the social system within which he lives. Whether a dweller in -detached cottages and farm-houses, or congregated into townships and -villages; collected in masses, as in towns and cities, his endeavour is -to protect his dwelling from all that is offensive and from whatever -may prove injurious to the health of himself and family. An ancient -adage tells us not to act contrary to nature; but as nature reveals -nothing to us, as her intentions can only be read by the lights of -science and reason, or science based on observation and experiment, -whence human reason draws deductions conformable with its power, so -is it most difficult for man to say what is best to be done under all -circumstances. When a man builds a cottage, a house, or a palace, after -duly attending to the surface-drains, he constructs near his dwelling, -sometimes beneath it, a cesspool and a dead-well, the former intended -to receive the more solid excreta, the latter the soil-water of the -kitchen--the water, in fact, used in the domestic economy of the house. -If the dead-well or pit dug to receive the soiled water of the house be -sufficiently deep, it filters through the soil, and thus requires no -clearing out--if not, it overflows the court or garden, and speedily -renders the place uninhabitable. The cesspool, if deep enough and -properly secured, remains for many years unknown and unperceived, until -filled; it may even be forgotten altogether, and its very existence -remain unknown, until disclosed by accident; but whatever be its age -or condition, so soon as its contents are exposed to the air, it is -found to have continued unaltered; and if spread on the fields, as I -have seen done, renders the vicinity for some time unendurable, thus -proving the sagacity of the Jewish legislator in his instructions to -that people to whom he gave laws and regulations to serve them for all -time to come.[34] - - [34] Deuteronomy xxii. 12. - -If the adage I have quoted above be true--namely, that we must not -act contrary to nature--there is another of the truth of which we -feel more assured. It is this: whenever man interferes with nature, he -must take the whole matter on himself, and be prepared to meet every -contingency. Nature gave us streams and rivers more or less pure, whose -banks are more or less salubrious. If man pours into these streams and -rivers the refuse of towns and cities, he must be prepared to meet the -result of the experiment. It may be good--it may be bad to him: this -he cannot know beforehand; but reason tells him that the experiment is -likely to prove injurious. It may be less injurious than burying the -excreta in cesspools under his house, or court, or garden;[35] but this -I doubt. In the meantime, how does civilized man protect himself from a -source of disease respecting which there never was a doubt--the natural -humidity of the soil on which he has erected his dwelling, in which he -sleeps and lives? To meet this evil he forms surface drains around his -house and garden and court. Into these collect the humidity natural to -the soil, as well as rains of heaven. These drains, adulterated by no -intermixture with the refuse of house and stables, terminate in the -nearest streams, and serve to maintain these streams and rivers into -which they flow at their natural standard. - - [35] The Registrar-General consoles the inhabitants of London on the - relative amount of injury, being in favour of the plan of polluting - the Thames rather than of gradually abolishing cesspools. - -Thus, before it was discovered that the best way of dealing with these -difficult questions was to break down the distinction between drain -and sewer (thus poisoning, probably for all time to come, the air of -towns and cities), construct a sewer which soon becomes a cloaca to -receive all, and in open day and above ground throw the contents into -the nearest stream--imitating old Rome, without knowing anything of -Rome’s municipal economy, our forefathers drew a marked and clear -distinction--1st, between drain and sewer; 2nd, between a cesspool -and a dead-well; 3rd, between the excreta of man, which they knew -to be offensive, and that of animals, which all were well aware are -innoxious: the latter they restored to the fields, the former they -disposed of as best they could. - -Society, having rejected in this instance the experience of their -forefathers, enters now on a new phasis. Nature, about which they talk -so much, will not suffer them to rest half way. Bad odours pervade -the streets, courts, and houses: rivers can scarcely be approached. -Chemists affirm that that which is thrown into the sea should be -returned to the land. It is this question, in so far as it bears on the -matter discussed in this chapter, I shall now briefly discuss. - -There lie before me the “Letters on Chemistry” of an illustrious German -chemist.[36] They contain the expression of the latest scientific -results hitherto attained. Whatever view those who follow us may adopt, -we must in the meantime accept, to a certain extent, of those contained -in these “Letters.” A phenomenon must be accepted as a fact until -refuted by another; and the last experiment, until refuted, expresses -the nearest approach to that truth which, up to the moment, man had -been able to attain. Simple observation tells man many truths. It -shows him that out of grass, herbivora, or grass-eating animals of all -kinds--from the timid hare to the swift and powerful horse--from the -fierce buffalo to the sagacious and irresistible elephant--find the -means for forming muscle and bones, viscera and skin. Out of a similar -food man himself, though no doubt omnivorous, can also derive the means -of support. The rice-eating population of India are not deficient in -energy; whilst it is equally certain, though less surprising, no doubt, -that out of that which once was a living animal, man and the carnivora -derive a considerable part of their subsistence. - - [36] “Letters on Chemistry.” By Justus von Liebig. London, 1857. - -No experiments can set aside these simple views, which indeed form the -basis of all inquiry; but civilized man, as I have shown, appeals to -the soil mainly for support. He trusts to the cerealia, and to those -exuberant and abundant crops of legumina and of grains required for the -support of herds of animals, which the uncultivated field could never -maintain. Hence arose agriculture, the most useful of all the practical -arts--not yet a science, but likely in time to become one. - -Chemists assert--and I see no reason to doubt their experiments--that -the ash of the blood of graminivorous animals is identical with that -of the ash of grain; the incombustible constituents of the blood of -men, and of such animals as consume a mixed food, are the constituents -of the ashes of bread, flesh, and vegetables; the carnivorous animal -contains in its blood the constituents of the ash of flesh.[37] All -these substances ought to be found in grass alone. - - [37] Liebig, p. 384. - -In these processes it would seem that phosphoric acid plays a most -important, and, as it would seem, an essential part. To this I -shall return: at present I merely consider man’s influence on the -soil or earth he lives on, what he derives from it, and what he -returns to it, and in what form it is and ought to be returned. -If it be true that without trees there would be no underwood, no -corn, and no crops,--for trees attract the fertilizing rain, and -cause the springs perpetually to flow which diffuse prosperity and -comfort,--then assuredly man ought to be most careful in interfering -with nature. It is the remark, I think of the illustrious Humboldt, -that when the white man took possession of certain districts of North -America, vast forests prevailed everywhere. On taking possession, -experience showed that agues prevailed, and that wheat might be grown -successfully. The forests have been now destroyed, and agues have -disappeared; but phthisis pulmonalis prevails, and wheat no longer -grows to maturity. We interfere with the soil as nature made it when -we force it to produce from one acre the natural produce of ten; we -interfere with the processes of nature when we load the air with the -products of thousands of furnaces, manufactories, and the poison -exhaled from poisonous rivers and brooks; and we interfere with nature -when we alter the constitution of those streams and rivers from a -natural to an artificial state, loading them with the refuse of our -artificially-drained fields, &c. - -Let us listen to Liebig on a matter to which he has given the utmost -possible attention:-- - -“Experience in agriculture shows that the production of vegetables on a -given surface increases with the supply of certain matters, originally -part of the soil which had been taken up from it by plants--the excreta -of man and animals. These are nothing more than matters derived from -vegetable food, which in the vital processes of animals, or after -their death, assume again the form under which they originally existed -as parts of the soil. Now we know that the atmosphere contains none -of those substances, and therefore can replace none; and we know -that their removal from a soil destroys its fertility, which may be -restored and increased by a new supply. Is it possible, after so many -decisive investigations into the origin of the elements of animals -and vegetables, the use of the alkalies of lime and the phosphates, -that any doubt can exist as to the principles upon which a rational -agriculture depends? Can the art of agriculture be based upon anything -but the restitution of a disturbed equilibrium? Can it be imagined that -any country, however rich and fertile, with a flourishing commerce, -which for centuries exports its produce in the shape of grain and -cattle, will maintain its fertility if the same commerce does not -restore, in some form of manure, those elements which have been removed -from the soil, and which cannot be replaced by the atmosphere? Must not -the same fate await every such country, which has actually befallen -the once prolific soil of Virginia, now in many parts no longer able -to grow its former staple productions--wheat and tobacco? In the large -towns of England the produce both of English and foreign agriculture -is largely consumed. Elements of the soil indispensable to plants, -do not return to the fields; contrivances resulting from the manners -and customs of the English people, and peculiar to them, render it -difficult, perhaps impossible, to collect the enormous quantity of -the phosphates which are daily, as solid and liquid excreta, carried -into the rivers. These phosphates, although present in the soil in -the smallest quantity, are its most important mineral constituents. -It was observed that many English fields exhausted in that manner, -immediately doubled their produce as if by a miracle when dressed with -bone earth imported from the Continent. But if the export of bones from -Germany is continued to the extent it has now reached, our soil must -be gradually exhausted, and the extent of our loss may be estimated by -considering that one pound of bones contains as much phosphoric acid as -a hundredweight of grain.” - -Many practical farmers, I am aware, still doubt the facts and theories -of chemistry as applied to agriculture; with them I am free to admit -that agriculture is not a science as yet, but an experimental art. With -this I have nothing to do directly, my object being to show in this -chapter in how far civilized man modifies and influences the soil on -which he lives. He, the practical farmer, clings to farmyard manure, -which he collects in heaps in his farmyard, or by the roadside, exposed -to every change of weather, to drenching rains, to summer heat, and -winter’s cold; from it run in streams over the roads the liquid parts -of the manure, carrying with them the soluble salts; out of what is -left when it has become rotten he hopes to restore to the field what -it lost during the previous crop, and to a certain extent he succeeds; -on the other hand, the chemist argues that the grand object of modern -agriculture is to substitute for farmyard manure, that universal food -of plants, their elements, obtained from other and cheaper sources -retaining its full efficacy; and this can only be done when we shall -have learned, what as yet we know but imperfectly, how to give to an -artificial mixture of the individual ingredients the mechanical form -and chemical qualities essential to their reception, and to their -nutritive action on the plant; for without this form they cannot -perfectly supply the place of farmyard manure. All our labours must be -devoted to the attainment of this important object. - -However this may be, and however it may be explained by the chemists, -it must be admitted that to the accidental discovery of bone manure -England owes many turnip crops, and to the introduction of guano from -Peru and Ichaboe crops of wheat which no other manure as yet known -could have produced. Peruvian guano, the best of all, is the excreta -of a sea bird; these excreta, placed in a clear and perfectly dry -atmosphere, have been exposed for centuries to a tropical sun; no rain -falls on the heaps, trodden down only by the gentle feet of the birds -themselves. - -That out of such a product there should arise so excellent a manure -surpasses all previous reasoning derived from mere science.[38] It is -obvious, then, that much still remains to be discovered. Were any proof -of this required, we might refer to the agriculture of China, where, -as has been reported, human excreta alone are used as manure, and with -a success unequalled in any other part of the world. In that singular -land they have discovered much, or using perhaps the discoveries -of preceding races, have turned them to the best account. Their -agriculture is said to be perfect. - - [38] The guano of sea-birds when exposed to rain is of no value. - -With such a system of manure and such a population one might predicate -a condition of earth, air, and water, incompatible with human life. Now -the very reverse happens, at least, in so far as regards the Chinese -themselves. - -No land so teems with a population strong, active, and in robust -health; true, it does not suit the European constitution; fever and -dysentery sweep off the troops and sailors of European nations who -visit the Celestial Empire for the purpose of trade or of plunder. -There is a something unknown in the climate unsuitable to the -European; the condition of the earth, air, and water of China, is fatal -to him. In which of these does the noxious element reside--in all or in -none? This is possible; but man in the meantime must decide by what he -knows and sees. Here is a land teeming with life; on land, as on its -waters, millions live; but that life, as regards man, is confined to -the Chinese race, and is unsuited to the European; as regards the soil, -manured in so strange a manner, it also is Chinese. Is it that we, -generally speaking, spread the material in a liquid and vastly diluted -form over the fields, whilst they manipulate and remove from it all -moisture? There may be something in this, for it is known that organic -compounds, above all, are most susceptible of change by the least -perceivable alterations in their constituents. Agriculture is both a -science and an art. - -“The clearing of the primeval forests of America, facilitating the -access of the air to that soil, so rich in vegetable remains, alters -gradually, but altogether, its constitution; after the lapse of a -few years no trace of organic remains can be found in it. The soil -of Germany, in the time of Tacitus, was covered with a dense, almost -impenetrable forest; it must at that period have exactly resembled -the soil of America, and have been rich in humus and vegetable -substances; but all the products of vegetable life in those primeval -forests have completely vanished from our perceptions. The innumerable -millions of molluscous and other animals, whose remains form extensive -geological formations and mountains, have after death passed into -a state of fermentation and putrefaction, and subsequently, by the -continuous action of the atmosphere, all their soft parts have been -transposed into gaseous compounds, and their shells and bones, their -indestructible constituents, alone remain to furnish evidence of the -existence of life continually extinguished and continually reproduced.” - -If these facts are to be depended on, they explain much of the -influence which man exercises over the soil, and of its reaction on -himself; the hay ague or fever is the produce of his own hands; when he -leaves _on the surface_ millions of tons of fermentable and putrescible -organic remains, he prepares for himself some at least of the diseases -which are to follow. It is possible that epidemic influence, over which -he neither has nor can have any control, might be greatly modified, and -its evil effects abated by prudent action on his part. Typhus fever, -the scourge of modern Europe, may not originate in any condition of -the soil produced by man, but it sweeps thousands in the prime of -life from the earth when placed in circumstances clearly dependent on -man himself. Ten thousand young men are lodged in a barrack; speedily -hundreds of these are swept off by typhus or consumption of the lungs; -now something causes this, and the cause may rest with man himself. -Pestilence and typhus follow in the train of famine; if they originate -in fermentescible and putrescible substances, all these were present -prior to the famine, and yet were not equal to the production of the -maladies. Next comes famine, and prepares the way for malaria to do -its work. The question, as may be already seen, is not so simple as -chemists supposed it to be. The number of substances occurring in -nature which are truly putrescible is singularly small;[39] but they -are everywhere diffused, and form part of every organized being. To -form an idea of what this amounts to, we have but to reflect on the -life which naturally exists on the earth, and on that which is the -result of man’s social condition. Let but the acre of heath or bog, -even of pasture, which in its natural state supports so little of what -lives, be converted into a garden, a wheat field, a nursery, and see -what an amount of putrescible matter is the result. Let that spot on -which nature has placed a single peasant’s family be converted into a -city, and reflect on the influence man exerts on that soil. It is, I -believe, a fact universally admitted, that all those substances which -destroy the communicability or arrest the propagation of contagions and -miasms, are likewise such as arrest all processes of putrefaction or -fermentation; that under the influence of empyreumatic bodies, such as -pyroligneous acid, which powerfully oppose putrefaction, the diseased -action in malignant suppurating wounds is entirely changed; that in -a number of contagious diseases, especially typhus, ammonia, free or -combined, is found in the exposed air, in the liquid and solid excreta -(in the latter as ammonio-phosphate of magnesia); such being the case, -it seems impossible any longer to entertain a doubt as to the origin -and propagation of many contagious diseases. - - [39] Liebig. - -“Finally, it is an observation universally made, and which may be -regarded as established, ‘that the origin of epidemic diseases may -often be referred to the putrefaction of great masses of animal and -vegetable matters; that miasmic diseases are found epidemic, where -decomposition of organic substances constantly goes on, in marshy and -damp districts. These diseases also become epidemic, under the same -circumstances, after inundations, and also in places where a large -number of persons are crowded together with imperfect ventilation, -as in ships, in prisons, and in besieged fortresses.’[40] But in no -case may we so securely reckon on the occurrence of epidemic diseases, -as when a marshy surface has been dried up by continued heat, or when -extensive inundations are followed by intense heat.” - - [40] Henle, “Untersuchungen,” p. 52; also p. 57. - -If we admit these facts we shall be less surprised at the ravages -committed by fever, when, after great battles, the wounded are placed -in the hospitals of large cities, as in Brussels after Waterloo, in -Bilboa, Vienna, &c. Hospital gangrene, the scourge and terror of -the wounded, soon shows itself, and cannot be arrested by any known -surgical means. Much better were it for the wounded that they had been -left on the field of battle. An erroneous opinion prevails, that it is -to the presence of the infusoria that the evil influences are to be -traced; they, on the contrary, whilst alive, act a beneficial part. -The excreta of man whilst putrifying never exhibit the presence of -microscopic animalculæ, whilst we find abundance of them in the same -matters when in a state of decay. “A wise arrangement of nature has -assigned to the infusoria the dead bodies of higher orders of beings -for their nourishment, and has in these animalculæ created a means of -limiting to the shortest possible period the deleterious influence -which the products of dissolution and decay exercise upon the life of -the higher classes of animals. The recent discoveries which have been -made respecting these creatures are so extraordinary and so admirable, -that they deserve to be made universally known.” - -It is not to that which lives, but to that which has lived and is now -dead, that we must look for the sources of those terrible fevers which -destroy humanity in so many fine countries. Nor is it necessary that -marshes be present, nor recently inundated lands. Egypt, annually -inundated, is healthy at all times, but it is always cultivated; -the desert also, which is never cultivated, and incapable of any -cultivation, is also healthy. The Arabian desert which skirts the -cultivated spots, converting them into so many oases, is perfectly -healthy; on its soil the traveller may sleep securely; but let him -cross the boundary of the water drain or stream forming the oasis, and -sleep within the limits of that vegetation so delightful to look at, -and violent fever is sure to overtake him on the morrow, so powerfully -in this instance does nature react on man, when altering the soil, he -prepares with his own hand the flowery path which leads him to the -grave. - -§ 2. _On the Origin and Action of Humus_.--To Liebig we unquestionably -owe the first philosophical investigation into the history of _humus_. -Innumerable difficulties and prejudices beset the inquiry. It was -he who first showed that all vegetables and all their component -parts, so soon as they cease to live, become liable to two forms -of decomposition,--to putrefaction and to rottenness, that is to -fermentation, and to that slow combustion to which Liebig gave the name -of _eremacausis_, a Greek term, expressing by its original meaning -the fact of slow combustion, to which the illustrious German likened -that process which we commonly express by the term of _pourriture_, or -rottenness. By this last-named process the combustible parts of bodies -in decomposition combine with the oxygen of the air. - -The decomposition of the rotting of the woody fibre is attended with -this peculiarity--when in contact with the air, it converts the oxygen -into an equal volume of carbonic acid; so soon as the supply of the -oxygen ceases the rottenness stops. Now remove this carbonic acid, and -add a fresh supply of oxygen, and the rotting commences, and carbonic -acid reappears. The presence of water is essential to this change; the -substances called antiseptic arrest it at once. Now the woody fibre in -this condition of slow combustion or rottenness is precisely what we -call _humus_ or _ulmine_. - -The functions of this humus are no doubt remarkable, and in respect of -it some agricultural theories have been formed, resting on no solid -basis. What seems to be tolerably well ascertained is, that in a soil -permeable to air, the oxygen of the atmosphere continues to act on -the humus, giving origin to carbonic acid, and thus furnishing an -atmosphere for the roots of plants growing in that soil. The springing -of the roots themselves seems to depend on the presence of this -atmosphere; hence the labour and pains to pulverize the soil, and to -give access by such processes to the atmospheric air. At this period of -their growth the roots perform all the offices of their leaves which -are ultimately to appear; and soon the plant has two sets of nourishing -organs, the roots and the leaves. In hot summers plants derive their -carbonic acid wholly from the air. - -Thus gradually is formed that humus or ulmine to which agriculturists -attach so much importance; that vegetable mould supposed to be the -richest of all soils. But where it forms, a kind of putrefaction -continually goes on; the soil is influenced deeply as a residence for -man. No valetudinarian takes up his abode in the centre of a rich -vegetation in hopes of recovering his health and strength, his elastic -step, and freedom from lassitude and weariness; he, on the contrary, -seeks other regions, where vegetation is scant, humus is not forming, -and the soil is never turned over by human industry. - -When vegetation is purely natural, that is when man does not interfere, -the growth of plants does not in the least exhaust the soil. Look at -the meadow and the virgin forest! Now chemistry explains this, or -nearly so. But so soon as man _interferes_, he must be prepared to -undertake the whole labour; if he acts on the earth, the air, and the -waters, they will react on him, and sometimes with fearful effect. -Beyond the processes she exhibits, and which he may read as best he -can, she reveals nothing; all her secrets must be extracted from her -by science, by philosophy, by the slow procedure of experiment and -observation. A traveller from a distant land prepares to cross deserts -of which he has had no previous _experience_; shortly he discovers an -oasis, which to him seems a paradise, and he proposes resting for the -night within its treacherous circle; but the wild Arab, the native -guide, knows better, and explains to him briefly that the desert alone -is healthy, and to rest a night within that seeming paradise is death. -It is the Homeric tale of the syrens reduced to a reality; gorgeous -decorated plants, sweet-smelling flowers, perfumes of Arabia, invite -you to enter that island destined, should you unhappily accept the -invitation, to prove the resting-place of all your labours. - -It may seem paradoxical to maintain that by cultivation we at times -render the earth insalubrious, at times comparatively the reverse, but -the fact is so. It was Humboldt, as I have already remarked, who said -that when Europeans first emigrated to America, the soil of certain -northern states was found equal to the growth of wheat, and ague -afflicted the population. With the destruction of the forests, the -agues have disappeared, and wheat can no longer be grown; in the place -of agues men are now afflicted with pulmonary consumption. Whoever has -seen the marshy and boggy land, at times a lake, at others a black -tremulous morass, and compared it with the rich drained Polder, its -neat and compact farm-house, exhaustless meadows, herds of cattle, and -the contented air of its well-to-do proprietor, will at once perceive -that whatever might be the evil, unless it were a something truly -grievous, so delightful a metamorphosis of a spot doomed by nature to -eternal sterility, entailed on man, that evil was fully compensated for -by the results obtained towards man’s happiness. There is, there can -be, or at least there never was, any unmixed good on earth: the whole -is a system of comparison and compensation; of profit or loss; of gains -and drawbacks. - -When the English army died off at Walcheren the inhabitants of the -province were perfectly healthy, and could not comprehend the cause of -the calamity. It was the same in the Crimea. Under other arrangements, -those more consonant with common sense and experience, the results -might have been different; still it is certain that masses of young -men of immature years cannot be withdrawn from their native soil and -parents’ hearths without suffering severely the consequence of the -every way unnatural position they are forced to occupy; unnatural -physically and morally. Barrack-rooms are not homes. No varied society -is to be found there; no amusement, no employment for mind and body; -it is man cut off from all human industry and enjoyment; no solace -when ill, no comfort under suffering: that young men with unformed -constitutions should “die off like flies,”[41] need excite no surprise. - - [41] The expression of Lord Raglan when he demanded from England - veteran troops, and not lads of immature age, to be sent to the seat - of war. - -To return: to modern science, above all to Liebig, the practical -chemist _par excellence_, we owe the discovery of the true office of -_ulmine_ or _humus_ in vegetation; it nourishes the plant before it -is in a position to draw its nourishment from the atmosphere. The -vegetation called antediluvian had this peculiar character, that it -enabled the plant to be greatly independent of roots and soil; its -broad-leaved foliage sought everywhere for food in the carbonic acid -of the atmosphere. Accordingly all the plants were remarkable for the -smallness of their roots, which generally have disappeared, and are now -no longer to be found. - -Let me now consider briefly--keeping the same object in view, namely, -its influence on man--what are the sources and results of that amount -of hydrogen or azote which plays so important a part in the economy of -all that lives. - -An agricultural farmer at a distance from markets sufficiently -remunerative, has a large field of turnips which he knows not how to -dispose of. Not having cattle or sheep sufficient to consume these -turnips, he addresses himself to drivers of sheep on the way to the -markets, inviting them to turn their sheep into the field, and there -remain until the turnips are consumed. Thus he hopes to restore -to the field the azotized and other principles removed from it by -previous crops, and to prepare the way for fresh and more productive -and profitable crops. It is on the same principle that in many -leases of farms (those called steel-bow) there is an express clause -that the straw shall not quit the farm, but be consumed on it. The -object of this is simply to restore to the soil what forced crops -have removed from it. Man has taken on himself the task of growing -on one acre the natural produce of many; to feed twenty men instead -of one from off the same extent of soil; to live in crowded cities, -drawing their provisions from the surrounding country, producing -nothing of themselves; to feed millions where nature intended but a -few thousands should exist; he has taken the task on himself and must -carry it through, exposed to destruction at every false step, and at -this moment exposed to the accusation by the medical authorities of -England of deliberately rendering his farm-house, his homestead, his -cottage, his mansion, his palace, a pesthouse, the propagator, if not -the absolute generator, of all the wide-spread plagues and pestilences, -from that which desolated Athens in the time of Thucydides; laid -waste the Roman world when Justinian reigned; smote England in the -most unhappy and disgraceful period of past history;[42] and now, -appearing amidst the tents of an obscure Arab tribe, ignorant of -agriculture, living with their flocks and herds on the desert, happily -remote from the influences of boards of health, officers of health, -and registrars-general, once more threatens Europe; he is accused, in -fact, of being the involuntary but certain slaughterer of his little -babes. So says the eloquent Registrar-General of England in one of -his sanitary reports; he belongs, it is true, and this must not be -forgotten, to the theory-loving fraternity,[43] a professor, in fact, -of that conjectural art which heretofore despised statistics, and -which now, by mistaking figures for facts, threatens to convert true -science into a scheme of fictions anything but brilliant. To the -Chadwicks, the Gavins, and a host of others still more potent, but who -always act through the agency of _employées_, we owe the affair of -Luton and of Birmingham, of the disgraceful condition of the Thames and -of innumerable other localities; the deodorizing schemes of Leicester -and Bristol, the intercepting scheme of the Thames, and the network of -officers of health, amounting to 2600, now spread over England for the -benefit of this tax-loving country. - - [42] Reign of Charles the Second. - - [43] He is, I believe, a physician and an M.D. - -If you hope to raise a crop you must replace in the soil certain -elements which previous crops have removed from it. So says Liebig, and -to some extent the experience of mankind supports the view. - -The refuse of men and urinals which English speculators recommend you -to throw into the nearest river, or into the sea if you can, or at -least to deluge well with water before throwing it over your fields, -the Belgian farmer places as nearly as may be under ground until -required. Of it he forms a compost, seemingly inoffensive as being -in some measure buried, trapped, and mixed with house refuse, and -other materials. This compost, to which he looks in due time for the -restoration to his well-managed farm of that which abundant crops had -removed from it, he spreads at convenient and suitable times on his -ground, into which it is speedily dug; thus at every step he reverses -the theories of the would-be agriculturists of England, and should -it be said that the measures he adopts are injurious to his health, -destructive to his family, sources of pestilence to the country, we -have the sure and trustworthy statistics of a true statistician[44] -to oppose to the wild theories and bold assertions of the needy -adventurers and hired officials who, clamouring so loudly for place and -distinction, have chosen for the field of their tactics broad England -and her colonies. - - [44] Quetelet. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -ON POISONS, MIASMS AND CONTAGIONS. - - -§ 1. Although the amount of disease and mortality traceable to -accidents, to the ordinary atmospheric changes of which the thermometer -gives us due information, to the habits of life and the effects of -hereditary influence, be sufficiently great, it yet seems nothing when -compared with the terrible inflictions occasionally and at uncertain -periods visiting man, whether shut up, as it were, within the confined -haunts of cities, or living apart in the open country, in situations -where it might be reasonably imagined no such influences could reach -him. The poison of typhus, for example, if it be a poison, spares -none: in certain epidemics the citizen and the peasant suffer alike: -the strong robust man in the prime of life is its special victim; -cholera attacked the inhabitants of the remote and isolated cottage as -certainly as the careful wealthy citizen, and with the same results. -No mode of life, nor sex, nor age was security against it; no race, -no locality.[45] An inquiry into the origin of such influences is -the most important to which man’s attention can be directed. These -terrible epidemics appear under various forms; sometimes it is by -typhus or influenza, cholera or plague; even those diseases which -seem to be endemic, or confined to a locality, assume the form of -epidemical raging pestilences, and then disappear for a time. Thus -the remittents and yellow fevers of tropical climates do not always -put out their whole strength; there is a lull, a season of repose, -when man, deluded by the security of a few years, hopes that at last -the evil influence has disappeared for ever. Vain hope! It moves -in cycles, like the typhus of temperate climates, falsifying all -predictions. Thus, in Jamaica, the grave of so many noble English -regiments, the fever, sometimes called remittent, sometimes yellow -fever, exhibited its fitful attacks during eighteen years, in the -following capricious manner, at a station called Port Antonio, about -eighty miles from Kingston. At Stoney Hill Barracks, the disease was -still more capricious.[46] As the poison producing intermittents -and remittents must be presumed to be always present, it is -incomprehensible how it should at times cease its attacks on man, -showing that another influence or element requires to be present to -render its attack successful. Again, we find that within a limited -range, a long residence in a land unhealthy to the stranger seems by -acclimation to diminish if not entirely to eradicate the susceptibility -to disease on the part of the latter; but this opinion must be received -cautiously and with reserve, for the phenomenon may be partly due to -the difference in race, respecting which we as yet know but little. The -banks of the Scheldt, the Polders of Holland, and the mouths of the -Rhine, the Danube, and the Indus, are healthy to the natives of these -districts; graves to foreigners. In all inquiries of this kind, these -well-established facts must not be overlooked. - - [45] Cholera has not, as yet, passed into the southern hemisphere - beyond the tropical line. - - [46] “The town of Port Antonio is situated at the north-eastern - extremity of the island, eighty miles from Kingston, and lies in - a hollow surrounded by an amphitheatre of thickly-wooded hills. - Fort George, in which are the barracks for the troops, is built at - the extremity of a peninsula, nearly surrounded by the sea; and - though possessing no great elevation, it has, from its position, a - tolerably free exposure to the breeze. On each side of the peninsula - are two harbours for the shipping; that on the east side enjoys a - comparatively healthy locality, but that on the west is sheltered - by a thickly-wooded hill, which impedes ventilation; and there is a - considerable space of level ground, generally inundated by the tide, - which at low water is left in a marshy state, and when acted on by - the sun emits exhalations said to be both offensive and unhealthy. - - “The barracks stand about twenty yards from the sea, on a piece of - ground of coralline formation, and consist of a building of two - stories, elevated on brick pillars. The hospital is built on a higher - situation, and raised on arches about seven feet. It contains three - wards for the patients, and has a shaded walk attached to it for - convalescents. Water is supplied to the troops, by contract, from a - river a quarter of a mile distant. - - “There seems to have been no troops at this station in 1825 and 1826, - but the mortality during the other years embraced in the Report has - been as under: - - +--------+-----------+---------+-----------------+ - | | | | Ratio of deaths | - | Years. | Strength. | Deaths. | per 1000 of | - | | | | mean strength. | - +--------+-----------+---------+-----------------+ - | 1817 | 177 | 34 | 192 | - | 1818 | 135 | 12 | 89 | - | 1819 | 130 | 45 | 346 | - | 1820 | 143 | 12 | 84 | - | 1821 | 82 | 18 | 219 | - | 1822 | 194 | 10 | 52 | - | 1823 | 79 | 4 | 51 | - | 1824 | 108 | 21 | 194 | - | 1827 | 32* | 3 | 94 | - | 1828 | 129 | 19 | 147 | - | 1829 | 133 | 31 | 233 | - | 1830 | 155 | 21 | 135 | - | 1831 | 161 | 20 | 124 | - | 1832 | 157 | 29 | 185 | - | 1833 | 164 | 37 | 226 | - | 1834 | 185 | 32 | 173 | - | 1835 | 154 | 18 | 117 | - | 1836 | 160 | 4 | 25 | - +--------+-----------+---------+-----------------+ - | Total | 2478 | 370 | ... | - +--------+-----------+---------+-----------------+ - |Average | 137 | 20 | 149·3 | - +--------+-----------+---------+-----------------+ - - * 127 men were here for one quarter of a year only, - which is equivalent to 32 for a whole year. - -“Thus the local circumstances remaining the same, the mortality from -fever yet varies exceedingly. It is the same with the typhus of -temperate countries, showing that in addition to malaria, presumed to -be ever present, a something more is required, that we must look for in -the constitution of the atmosphere.” - -§ 2. When a chemical substance is applied externally or internally to -the living tissues of an animal sufficiently strong to dissolve the -affinity between them and the vital force, and to substitute for it -other stronger affinities, the explanation of the phenomena is easy, -and the coarsest chemistry offers a solution. The action of caustic -potass, of concentrated sulphuric acid, present the examples of this -kind of dissolution. Other substances alone poisonous when given in -concentrated doses, are known to pass, when sufficiently diluted, -through the blood, and be eliminated by secretion and excretion from -the body: after causing disturbances more or less grave, more or less -important, the combinations they form, if any, with the living organic -molecules are overcome by the vital force, which then resumes its usual -influence. Of such substances some pass off unaltered, others are -decomposed, and the bases only appear in the secretions or excretions. -Whilst passing through the lungs, certain of these vegetable salts -combine with the oxygen of the air, and the respiration in consequence -becomes slower, or in other terms, they diminish the production of -arterial blood.[47] - - [47] I am free to admit, with Liebig, that the lungs are the seat - of the most rapid and powerful chemical action (p. 151), yet some - distinguished physiologists think that the external integuments may - become the seat of disease, and give origin to dangerous affections - by mere stoppage of their secretions and excretions. Certain of - these are held to be poisonous and highly irritating, and cholera - itself has been ascribed to the sudden transfer of the tegumentary - secretions into the general torrent of the blood. This seems to have - been the opinion of the celebrated anatomist and physiologist, De - Blainville. - -Now, these salts[48] when placed in contact with animal and vegetable -substances, perform the same function as in the lungs: they take a part -in the combustion going on, and, as in the living body, are converted -into carbonates. Left to themselves for a time, from their aqueous -solution, the acids composing them finally completely disappear. - - [48] Citrates, tartrates, acetates. - -Mineral acids and nonvolatile vegetable acids, as well as mineral -salts with an alkaline base, have the property, when sufficiently -concentrated, to arrest the whole process of this slow combustion;[49] -common salt, as is well-known, arrests putrefaction: so does alcohol. - - [49] Eremacaasie: Liebig. - -The chemical action of certain other mineral salts is different, such -as the salts of the peroxide of iron, of lead, bismuth, copper, and -mercury. These are inorganic poisons. They combine with the tissues of -the organs, and so destroy life. The mode of action of the poisons of -prussic acid, strychnine, morphine, &c., is as yet unknown. - -“But there exists a class of substances no less fatal than the -preceding, originating in certain decompositions. In a preceding -Chapter (III.) we have inquired into the origin of these poisons, and -shown them to originate in fermentation and putrefaction. Let us apply -the chemical principles regulating these processes to organic matters, -to the products of the animal economy; all the elements of these -matters are derived from the blood, the most complex of all existing -substances. In decomposing, a poison is occasionally produced speedily -mortal when it comes in contact with the blood of the living animal. -The venomous principle produced by decomposing animal bodies is not -always the same: that originating in certain German sausages is quite -peculiar; the person who partakes of this fatal dish dies mummified; -he does not rot or fall to pieces like those who perish from wounds -received in dissecting-rooms; on the contrary, he dries up and withers, -but does not putrify.[50] Liebig, the discoverer of this poison and its -effects on man, states that the venom is destroyed by boiling-water and -alcohol, but that these do not absorb it. - - [50] All constitutions are not equally liable to be affected by - morbid poisons. This has been proved as regards dissecting-room - wounds; and as regards typhus, cholera, plague, ague, &c., the matter - admits of no doubt. - -Similar in the mode of action on the economy are the poisons of -small-pox, plague, &c. The substances which arrest fermentation and -putrefaction, also neutralize the power of these poisons; but the -essence of these poisons has not yet been obtained in an isolated -form, and thus nothing positive is known of its real nature. One thing -seems certain; contagions, poisons and miasms are not living beings -nor animalcules, any more than yeast. They may be, and probably are, -produced by fermentation, but this is neither caused by nor terminates -in the formation of living animalcules, to which all or any of these -phenomena might be attributed. - -A nice distinction has been drawn by a distinguished chemist between a -contagion properly so-called and a miasm. When the disease-producing -matter is the product of a disease, it is a contagion; if it be the -product of putrefaction or of eremacausis of any substance, animal or -vegetable,--does it act by virtue of its chemical character, and not -of its condition (_etat_), in forming a combination, or in causing a -decomposition, it is then a miasm. - -The history of diseases so originating scarcely supports this view. -Typhus, which at times seems to originate in a miasm, at times seems to -assume a contagious character. The same may be said of yellow fever. -But however this may be, the distinction applies to such diseases -as intermittent and remittent fevers, which originating in a miasm, -itself springing from the putrescence of animal or vegetable bodies, -gives rise to disease which does not reproduce the miasm. Now, between -diseases so produced and those arising from contagion properly so -called, there is this remarkable distinction: the blood once altered -is no longer susceptible of the same contagion, whereas against miasms -there is no such security.[51] - - [51] Blood has a _mordant_ given to it which dyes it red; when - this is in excess, the blood becomes black, or very dark. This was - the colour of the blood in cholera. Its crasis seemed to be broken - down, and I have it on sure anatomical testimony, that in dissecting - those who had died of cholera, the larger veins, when once opened, - continued to pour out blood for many days. - -In every contagious disease, and perhaps even in those simply arising -from miasms, there is an odour which fills the chambers of the sick, -and is recognisable at once. Ammonia is very generally present, as it -is wherever animal decompositions are going on, that is, putrefaction. -The foul airs emanating from stagnant and neglected ditches is -composed, as has been long known to chemists, of carbonic acid and -sulphuretted hydrogen gases, and these are viewed by some as amongst -the most dangerous of miasms. These gases may be destroyed by acid -vapours now in common use.[52] From chemistry we also derive another -valuable lesson in respect of substances directly destroying human -life. The materials ready to undergo putrefaction, and thus to generate -miasms, may all be present, and yet no miasms are given out, and man -escapes; this security depends upon the absence of that third principle -requisite to bring the others into activity. - - [52] The various plans for the deodorization of cesspools, - water-closets, dead-wells, sewers, &c., were first introduced into - England from France and Belgium. Under French management Paris - is sweet, and proverbially clean and pleasant; London, under the - management of parties without individual responsibility, notoriously - filthy and full of bad odours. Under certain circumstances, and - especially when limited to small quantities of the matter to be - deodorized, they are successful enough in destroying the unpleasant - odour, but in the experiments made a few years ago on the comparative - merits of various kinds of deodorants, it was obvious that no real - dependence could be placed on them, unless the cesspool was at the - same time flushed or cleansed out with a very strong flow of pure - water poured in along with the deodorant. In how far the various - deodorants recommended are at the same time disinfectants, has never - yet been shown. - - The _excreta_ deodorized have hitherto proved of but small commercial - value, farmers very generally declining their use. It is singular - that the same _guano_ (human) which is said to be so valuable in - China, should prove a failure in Europe, and especially in England, - showing how much still remains to be discovered in practical - agriculture. If human guano really be of such value in China as has - been reported, might it not be worth while to import into Britain - a few Chinese agricultural labourers and gardeners thoroughly - acquainted with the agriculture of their country, and from whom might - be learned the art of preparing the manure? Capitalists have engaged - in many less promising speculations than this. - - From whatever source the Chinese derived their knowledge of the - domestic and fine arts they now possess (for it is impossible to - imagine that they invented them), one thing is certain--that they - were recording eclipses, printing books, building temples, raising - crops equal to the support of a vast population, whilst the great - nations of Western Europe were wandering about in their native woods, - clothed in the skins of animals, ignorant even of agriculture, and - barbarous to the last degree. Nor was the knowledge and taste of the - Chinese confined, in the matter of agriculture and horticulture, to - the merely useful, as is obvious by a passage in Humboldt’s “Kosmos,” - wherein the illustrious savant proves that the ancient Chinese, in - respect of taste in horticulture, and in the composition of park - scenery, excelled all the world. - -Thus it happens that in his extensive and elaborate inquiries, Major -Tulloch was continually met by difficulties which overthrew at once all -existing medical theories, rendering it even probable that the supposed -relation of cause and effect between marshes and miasms, and miasm and -fever, was merely accidental. In what that third element consists, -that immediately exciting power which urges on the decomposition to -an extent it had not before attained, rendering that miasm mortal, or -at least most dangerous, which heretofore the vital force was able to -resist, has not yet been discovered. - -Is it electricity? is it ozone?[53] or does it depend on some unknown -principle in the elements of the atmosphere, for the detection of -which we have no instrument? Does security in such cases depend on the -presence in the atmosphere of some such principle as ozone? Whatever -be the cause, the fact is certain; epidemics follow cycles of increase -and decrease; like comets, they come and disappear at long intervals. -Our business in the mean time lies with what is constantly present, in -a more or less aggravated form--the malaria continually reproduced, -always efficient in certain regions of the earth; in the overcoming of -which, as I have endeavoured to show, well-directed human industry is -far from unavailing.[54] - - [53] Ozone is said to oxidize the poison. It destroys sulphuretted - hydrogen and all oxydable miasms, and is the most powerful - disinfecting agent, but is itself unfit for respiration: it causes - suffocation. Air in its normal state contains one ten-thousandth part - of ozone; when raised to one two-thousandth part it is sufficient to - kill small animals. - - [54] Hydrogen, or inflammable air, is the lightest known substance; - its specific gravity is to that of air as 732 to 1000. The gases, - into the composition of which it enters, rising from these ditches - and banks of mud carry with them dried humus, and even animal matter - in a state of putrefaction, which, being dry or moist, may act as - strongly as variola itself, in respect of its injurious effects on - man, who breathes it either as it rises from ditches, or is driven by - currents of air circulating round watery places covered with humus. - It is even (_onctueux_) so strong that it will sustain seeds and dust - upon water, as I have witnessed at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Verona, - Bologna, Venice, and even in the canals of Lambeth and Deptford. - By means of hydrogen we raise a balloon; can we not imagine it to - be equal to the raising up of humus? It is generally supposed that - sulphuretted hydrogen is amongst the dangerous miasms, but it cannot - be so hurtful, for no boat can go into canals without disturbing it, - and yet we see no evil results from this; but if the water-level - lowers, and leaves vegetable or animal matter upon mud in a state of - slow combustion, then it is that fevers commence--a fact, I think, I - have proved by an appeal to the history of pestilences in ancient and - modern times. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ON THE SERVITUDE OF RIVERS. - - -If the servitude of rivers be the noblest and most important victory -which man has obtained over the licentiousness of nature,[55] then -assuredly ancient civilizations bear away the palm in this respect from -the modern, and Britain must be permitted to occupy perhaps the lowest -place in the scale of those empires and nations who, by their industry -and knowledge, overcame the difficulties which the right management of -river courses presents to civilized man. - - [55] “Decline and Fall,” vol. iii. p. 391, Milman’s edition. - -More than forty centuries ago the Nile was completely at the service of -the ancient Egyptians, and the prosperity of Babylon and Nineveh leaves -no doubt as to the subjugation of the Tigris and the mighty Euphrates. -To come to later times, the Rhine itself, even in the days of the -early Roman emperors, must have been subjugated by the labours of the -primitive Batavians, and the revolt of Civilis, with his Batavian -legions, testifies as to the energy and intelligence of the race. And -now by the patient industry of their descendants, that land, seemingly -doomed by nature to be wasted on one side by the turbulent ocean, on -the other by the great rivers which traverse it, presents a spectacle -unequalled in the world. Even the despised Oriental race of China, that -unsolved problem in the history of mankind, whose capital the combined -forces of England and France now threaten, seems never to have had a -difficulty in mastering the great problems which the necessity for the -subjugation of rivers forces on civilized man; the Chinese waters have -been turned to the most profitable account; their deltas seem healthy, -and abound with life, with Chinese life, at least. The great rivers of -the Celestial empire give no trouble to its inhabitants; agriculture is -said to be perfect; no one seems to have proposed to throw the refuse -of Pekin into the nearest stream, that stream too, as it might happen -to be, the source from which the inhabitants of the capital obtain the -water required for their manufactures and for the arts of life.[56] - - [56] The idea of employing the drainage of towns, partaking under - all circumstances more or less of the nature of sewage--using the - term in its most extensive sense, as comprising the excreta of the - entire population--seems first to have originated in Scotland, and - especially in the vicinity of the capital. The period is perhaps not - well known, but about the commencement of the present century we find - the system in full force, but limited to the great outlets of the - drainage and soiled water of the town. These great drains were not - strictly speaking sewers, but drains, for at that time there were - but few sewers, properly so called. If cesspools existed, they were - not emptied into the drains, or so-called town-sewers, so that the - matters contained in the two great outlets used for the purposes of - _foul-water irrigation_ bore little or no resemblance to the turbid, - frightful, and most putrescent mass _now_ conveyed into the Thames by - the sewers of London. This essential distinction in the quality of - the material has been ignored or passed over in the Reports of the - Board of Health. Not that the irrigating water was to be considered - as pure; on the contrary, it was extremely filthy; but it did not - _at that time_ contain the sewage of the town, properly speaking. It - probably now does so in consequence of the extension of the system of - water-closets, latrines, &c. The Scotch agriculturists who employed - the water of these vast foul drains, would have much preferred _pure - water_, but they had it not at their command. With this, such as - it was, they irrigated certain tracts of land, some of which were - originally barren wastes, converting them into meadows on which grew - a peculiar kind of grass, which cattle (milch cows) do not reject - after having been accustomed to its use. But the farmers knew well - that the abominable liquid they thus poured over their fields was - wholly unfit for the usual agricultural purposes; and thus in no - instance did they employ it as manure. The Grange drain was used - by one market-gardener only, simply for the purposes of irrigation - during droughts, but not with any view to the manuring of the garden. - By the time that all the cesspools of London have been poured into - the drains, and the system of drainage and sewage completed and - formed into one system, there arises the question as to how the - material is to be disposed of? The pouring it into the Thames at a - point below the influence of the tide is perhaps, after all, the - easiest and least expensive mode of escaping from the dilemma into - which the capital has been brought by the clumsy experiments of the - late Board of Health; but what the ultimate result of this additional - experiment may be, no one can foretel. If transmitted to the fields, - the farmers are sure to reject it as manure; but it might be conveyed - to barren waste lands, mere sandy wastes, the qualities of which no - doubt in time it would beneficially affect, converting them first - into meadows, and possibly afterwards into land favourable for the - growth of certain green crops. The liquid might also be conveyed to - estuaries which it might be desirable to fill up, and the numerous - small tidal harbours which the extension of railways will speedily - render of little or no value to the inhabitants. - - The mud deposited in tidal harbours or on the banks of rivers within - the influence of the tide is of no value as a manure; when spread - over the fields, the result is the loss of the crops for some years. - -Civilization on the banks of the Thames is no doubt very different and -very superior to what it possibly can be on the banks of the Yellow -River, but as, _non omnia possumus_, as different races and nations, -like individuals, have each their peculiar excellences and forms of -civilization, excelling in some, deficient in other qualities of -mind and body, it may undoubtedly happen that even the English of the -present day, the most perfectly civilized nation on the earth, or -that ever lived, might take a hint from some other nations on points -respecting which their otherwise inimitable genius seems to show some -slight deficiencies. As regards art, for example, we owe some hints -to the pitiful States of ancient Athens and Corinth; the despicable -Copt had connected the Mediterranean and Red Sea by a canal--the art -of re-opening which seems now to be lost; even the miserable native -Peruvian and Mexican had carried the arts of mining, of irrigation, and -the use of artificial manures, to an extent which surprises the men of -modern times, who, in Britain at least, think that civilization really -only appeared in the world during the reign of Queen Anne, as in France -the era of the Grand Monarque is universally admitted to be the period -when the French nation first threw off its primitive barbarous and -Celtic form of civilization, assuming the character and social habits -of that race to whom they owe their name, though not their descent. If -we cast our eyes over the surface of the earth, aided by the lights, -somewhat obscure, no doubt, of history, certain facts rising above the -ocean of detail appear as landmarks. The philosophic historian points -to, as peculiarly within his province, the transfer of the seat of -power from nation to nation, from race to race; how before Alexander -appeared there seemed to have been a Sesostris; after the son of Philip -came Julius the Dictator; then Napoleon; and drawing conclusions -as to the future from the past, historians see no improbability, -at least no impossibility, in New Zealand, after the lapse of many -centuries, producing the Hume of the southern hemisphere; whilst a -future capital arising in the desert regions of Siberia or Northern -America, may one day dictate to the world.[57] Ever at variance as -to the rise and fall of empires, they are yet agreed as to certain -facts and circumstances, many of which are still verifiable by the -geographical distribution of the existing rivers and mountain regions -of the globe; and even if man, in the plenitude of his scepticism, -were disposed to doubt, monuments exist, the undeniable work of human -hands, under circumstances implying the existence of a social system -which cannot well be misunderstood. “In the boundless annals of time, -man’s life and labours must equally be measured as a fleeting moment;” -but the Pyramids, and ruins of Karnac survive the Kaliffs and Cæsars, -the Ptolemies and Pharaohs, and countless monarchs and dynasties prior -even to them. Thus, whatever learned disputants may imagine as to -the primitive occupation of the valley of the Nile, the date of its -occupancy, and the race by whom it was first cultivated, we have in the -Pyramids incontestable proofs of a vast antiquity. Whatever historians -may say of the antiquity of ancient Rome, the _Cloaca Maxima_ of -Servius alone refutes the beautiful romance of Virgil--how Lavinius -and Turnus received Æneas ere Rome was; how Romulus and Remus founded -Rome, and were succeeded by seven kings, none of whom ever in reality -existed. But the existence of the _Cloaca Maxima_ and the researches -of the illustrious Niebuhr tell another tale more consonant with what -we know of man’s social and physical nature. In the most remote times, -man early adopted those measures of self-preservation which nature or -simple observation teaches him. History gives but little information -as to the measures adopted by ancient nations to secure public health; -and were it not for the remains of the _Cloaca Maxima_, so called, of -Servius Tullius, we should be as ignorant as Virgil assuredly was of -the ancient condition of Rome prior to the reign of the seven fabulous -kings.[58] Unquestionably the ancient race which preceded those grand -Romans who fill the page of history for nearly twenty centuries, had -discovered such means, and adopted measures for the safety of the -people. Authentic history, it is true, commenced with the Greeks and -Romans, and the history of Germany dates from Cæsar and Tacitus; but -the subjugation of the double-horned Rhine[59] must have commenced -long before “the building of the city.”[60] But the world as known to -the Romans, even during the reign of Trajan, was a contracted world -compared to what it is now. The tropical regions of the East, and -their vast populations, were wholly unknown to them; of Africa they -knew but little, of Asia still less, whilst the New World was as if -it existed not. Thus certain great problems in the history of mankind -were never presented to them, problems having a basis in facts which -men, for obvious reasons, are so unwilling to admit. The periplus of -the Mediterranean might almost be said to form the Roman world; beyond -the Rhine they made no conquests; the Danube formed their north-eastern -boundary; the eastern shores of the Black Sea were but rarely visited -by them; beyond the Euphrates and Tigris they, the Romans, never -gained a footing, whilst from tropical Africa they were entirely -excluded. Thus at no time were they called on to solve the problem as -to the possibility of European life maintaining its ground in tropical -regions; at no period were they called upon to give an opinion on -the momentous question which now agitates the world, the admission, -namely, of the primitive coloured races of men into the bosom of -civilized society.[61] “Wheresoever the Roman conquered, he inhabits;” -a just observation we owe to Seneca, confirmed by the history of that -wonderful people. As their conquests were confined to countries in -which the natives of Italy could at that time live and thrive, the -rapid extension of their empire, language, and forms of civilization, -need not be wondered at. Thus Rome successively became mistress of -many nations and races, but these were races with whom the Romans -could freely amalgamate; at no period of her history were they called -on to contend with the two great questions, the one social the other -physical, involved in the attempt to occupy by a white race a tropical -country, and a land inhabited by a purely savage race of coloured men; -the problems presented by modern history of a European race attempting -to hold India by the sword, to colonize the American world from the -Polar Sea to the Land of Fire, to inhabit, if not to cultivate, the -insalubrious Antilles, the banks of the Oronoco, or of the still more -dreadful Senegal, Gambia, and Niger, nowhere occur in Roman or Grecian -history; so that these are problems towards the solution of which -ancient history offers no assistance. - - [57] Gibbon. - - [58] Niebuhr. - - [59] Extremique hominum, Morini Rhenusque bicornis. _Æneid_ viii. - - [60] “Ab urbe condita;” from the building of the city (Rome), the era - fixed on by the Romans. - - [61] This question was first agitated in the reign of Justinian, on - the occasion of a proposal on his part to form a treaty with the - negroes of Abyssinia. But the Abyssinians were not negroes. - -A historian whose works I have already quoted on several occasions, -and who of all men had perhaps with most profit studied human nature, -has remarked that the aspiring genius of Rome sacrificed vanity to -ambition, deeming it more prudent to adopt virtue and merit for her -own wheresoever they were found, among slaves or strangers, enemies or -barbarians. This sacrifice it was easy for the Italian race to make; -naturally swarthy, and not unfrequently olive-coloured, they met with -no race with whom the Romans might not freely amalgamate. Far different -is it with modern Europe and her races; follow them to tropical India, -Africa, and America, and it will be seen that extinction seems the -sure result of all their efforts, whether they unite with the native -races or not. If they unite, their purer blood, as we may so call -it, soon disappears in the stream of a darker population; if they -spurn the union, climate, or as some would term it, malaria, speedily -exterminates their race and name. - -In the first or second chapter of this Essay I ventured to suggest that -the discovery of the art to modify the earth, air, and waters of all -countries, so as to render them habitable for _all mankind_, was the -grand problem man is now called on to solve. In the construction of the -continents of the globe, nature seems to have had in view the formation -by centres of life of the living inhabitants of the globe. In these -centres she placed forms of life equal to sustain their existence, -occasionally aided, at other times unaided, by human industry. In the -virgin forests of America the aborigines lived and throve; under their -hands the earth underwent no modification; to the negro the deadly -regions of Central Africa are healthful and pleasant, though at times -abandoned to nature, at times deeply modified by human industry. India -and Java, the Malayan peninsula, as well as ancient Mexico and China, -were many of them highly cultivated regions, in which the aborigines -multiplied and enjoyed life; to the European they are premature graves. - -But when it is attempted to transfer these centres of life to other -regions, the attempt has uniformly failed. - -And yet the Romans, admitting that they never encountered a tropical -climate, seem to have colonized and thriven in countries in which the -natives of Western Europe cannot now maintain their ground, cannot -keep an army effective in the field for any length of time. The Roman -legions and citizens occupied the country of Numidia without an effort; -modern France, with an army larger than Rome ever had, can scarcely -maintain its position in Algeria. The young population are cut off in -their infancy, and it would seem that to maintain a Celtic race in -Algeria will test the energies of an empire which it is true formed but -a small province of imperial Rome. When we contrast late history with -the diffusion of Rome’s armies and citizens over the then known world, -we are forced to the conclusion, either that the Italian constitutions -of those days were stronger than those of the present inhabitants of -Europe, or that the form of civilization presented more safeguards for -the protection of health and life. - -Nothing like the disasters of Varna and the Crimea seems ever to have -overtaken the Roman legions who guarded in the time of Trajan the -mouths of the Danube and the coasts of the Euxine, or restrained and -kept in check the barbarous Moors. - -Amongst the arts practised by the ancients, but now lost, we must -include, I think, the knowledge of that discipline and practical -skill by which the Roman, Greek, and even Tartar generals, contrived -to keep their armies in the field in health and efficiency, whether -storming the castles of Jugurtha, or building walls of defence in that -land where English and French troops can neither fight nor march.[62] -Amongst the lost arts, still known it would seem to the Chinese, is -that of rendering salubrious the site of vast cities and camps. If I am -right in the principles I have endeavoured to establish throughout this -Essay, this art must have been based on the practical knowledge that, -generally speaking, the earth, as framed by nature, is not usually -an unhealthy _habitat_ for those races which grow up in her centres -of created life, and it is only when man interferes, and interferes -imperfectly, that the air and waters become pestilential to him. The -secret lies, no doubt, in agriculture, that first of human arts--that -art by which civilization exists. That human life is of as much value -by the banks of the Meuse, the Scheldt, and the Rhine, as in Sussex or -Surrey, is due to the industry of the inhabitants of Brabant and the -islands of the Rhine. On man in a great measure depends the position -which life is to hold in the scale of fate; he may raise it to its -maximum or sink it to zero. Centuries, it is true, may elapse before -human industry can render the banks of the Senegal, the Maranon, or the -Zambeze, a fit abode for civilized European man, but if the European -persist in transporting himself to these haunts, he must discover -the means to do so in safety, or perish in the attempt. Nature did -not make these countries for him, but she gave him reason, judgment, -observation, and the power of generalization, on the right use of -which faculties his safety must ever depend. The celebrated Jefferson -apologizes in one his confidential dispatches to his government for -noticing various political movements in countries seemingly remote -from and devoid of all interest to a citizen of the United States of -America, by remarking, that although such matters seem remote and -foreign to the object of his duties, they may yet at no distant period -swell into relations of sufficient magnitude to shake the world. As in -the political, so in the moral world; whether the empire of the Sultans -stand or fall, may be a matter of little import to an inhabitant of -Western Europe, nor need it distress him that the finest countries in -the world are nearly reduced to deserts under the administration of -the odious Turcoman. But it may be useful to him to be on his guard as -to the condition of countries through which the spirit of commerce now -urges the Western nations. Many of these countries do not improve; to -compare them with what they were in the days of Trajan were merely a -mockery; the low lands of the delta of the Danube are simply foci of -fever and pestilence, and are likely to continue so under their present -government. - - [62] Trajan’s wall, between the Danube and the Euxine, at Kostenjie. - -All history points to the East and to Africa as the seat and source of -plague, and the entanglement of Eastern affairs presses more and more -on the European nations; if we may trust the statistics of commerce, -Western Europe at times draws a large portion of her subsistence from -countries of which we know but little. On this I make no remark, my -object being merely to show that, however distant these lands lie, -their malarious condition has an influence over the European family of -nations, an influence which daily increases socially, and which, though -originating in the obscure and unknown East, has shown itself at times -at Rome and Moscow, London and Paris, in characters compared to which -all other evils appear insignificant. - -All that lives or has lived is doomed to die, to waste away, and to -disappear; as it perishes it is consumed by nature’s processes, in such -a manner as to entail no danger to the living world, unless civilized -man interferes. For civilized man she has made no provision, saving the -bestowing on him a soil more or less fertile, a constitution more or -less equal to toil, a reasoning power, which in things practical must -not be measured by the loftiness of his conceptions and generalizations. - -Whenever and wheresoever he congregates into masses, there “the earth, -the air, and the waters,” receive modifications from him, which, when -injurious, he alone can rectify. The most consolatory view which man -can take of such a condition of things is unquestionably to believe -them to a great extent remediable by his own labour and intelligence; -for even should he fail, there remains to him the consolation that he -has done his best. - - - - -CONCLUDING CHAPTER. - -AUTHOR’S THEORY OF MALARIA. - - -It is easier to pull down than to build up; easier to refute than to -convince; easier to find fault than to suggest a remedy: and this -reflection may occur, and no doubt has occurred, to those, be they few -or many, who have perused the preceding chapters of this work. It may -now be asked of me explicitly, What is your theory? What is your remedy -for the evils complained of? To this I might reply, as the immortal -historian of the “Decline and Fall” is said to have done, “If you have -read certain chapters of my work with sufficient attention, you may -extract from them my meaning and my views;” but as this might imply on -my part either a Teutonic love for obscurity in phraseology, or a fear -to commit myself to any theory, I shall here sum up in a few words the -views I have arrived at after much reflection on the matter, during a -long and active life passed in a country supposed to be a hotbed of -malaria, the great source indeed of malaria in Western Europe, that -land for which nature has done so little and man so much. - -1. There floats in the lower strata of the atmosphere in all regions -of the earth, but in very various proportions, for reasons already -explained, a poison or poisons, generated by the processes which nature -adopts for the destruction of past generations, and the reconstruction -of those to come; the destruction of the aged, the worn-out, the nearly -extinguished; the reconstruction of the organisms springing into life, -to occupy the place of those that were! Whether the poison be one or -many; whether it be a single species or one of a natural family, does -not affect the general conclusions. The diversity of its effects is no -proof of diversity in its essential nature or even origin; the living -principle is supposed to be of one nature everywhere and for ever; -yet see how varied are the results of this principle in moulding the -vegetable and animal worlds; how slight are the modifications even in -organic elements, which, when called into play, give rise to the most -astonishing and unexpected diversity of results. Why should it not -happen, then, with the poison, influence, or thing we call malaria, -which, modified by a chemical action too subtle for the scientific man -to observe, may yet, being so modified, give rise to an intermittent -or a remittent, a plague, a cholera, a diphtherite, a scarlatina, a -typhus, or a small-pox? Where did so many poisons come from? Whence -came the murrains, the vine-plague, the potato-destroying poison, which -was not at all new, neither was it confined to the potato? Whence came -the pestilences which destroyed the ancient world? which exterminated -at once whole species and genera now extinct? Of one thing we may be -assured, they did not die a natural death. - -2. This poison, whatever it may be, floats in the lower regions of the -atmosphere, supported therein by the gaseous products of fermentation, -and more especially by the ammonia now proved to exist everywhere in -the atmosphere. It is the product, in fact, of the slow combustion -perpetually going on in the air, the earth, the waters, wherever, in -fact, animal or vegetable organisms are to be decomposed. We call it -putrefaction; it is in truth a _ferment_, and the fermentable matter, -that which gives rise to the ferment, is the immediate agent as well -as the result (for it is the nature of all ferments to reproduce their -process) of this fermentation, accumulated in the lower regions of the -atmosphere. Increased to the dangerous point by men’s imprudence or -ignorance, quickened by epidemic influences with whose nature we are -of course wholly unacquainted, and absorbed by the living tissues, it -excites that fermentation, that tendency to putrescence in the living -blood to whose results medical men have given so many appellations. At -times it is called ague; at times remittent fever; now it is small-pox; -and now a fatal diphtherite. To the transit of _ferments_ through the -air and to their inhalation by man, I ascribe the diseases usually -called zymotic. In ancient primitive times, when physicians were -rare,[63] and men did not interfere, a poison thus absorbed ran its -course from incubation to specific fermentation, with all its results, -in a given time, terminating in a crisis which might be calculated -and determined; and which might prove fatal or at once remove the -disease. A violent perspiration, a severe diarrhœa, a specific and -contagious eruption on the surface of the body, proved and effected -the elimination of the poison from the system. The ferment had done -its work; it had altered the mass of the blood, and the products of -the slow combustion (_putrescence_, rottenness, _fermentation_) were -discharged by the secretions, according to circumstances peculiar -to the constitution of the individual: as out of the same materials -serpents elaborate poisons of very different powers and qualities, so -the _ferment_, passing through various constitutions, gives rise to -various results. It pervades the air and clings to it, nor can it be -avoided but by a change of place of residence;[64] storms may, and no -doubt do, affect it, but they frequently fail in dislodging the poison; -intervening wide-spread oceans fail to interrupt its course;[65] and as -regards the caprice exhibited in its attacks, we have only to reflect -on the number of elements, vital, atmospheric, social, and chemical, -involved in its full maturescence. Our doubts on all such matters -originate probably in the coarse chemical theories and still coarser -chemical experiments which prevailed about thirty years ago, and from -their influence, from which men’s minds have not as yet escaped. The -atmosphere was declared to contain a few wide-spread gaseous elements, -and to be unalterable; the air of towns, of theatres, of large heated -apartments, crowded with people, was boldly asserted by chemists still -alive to be eudiometrically perfect. - - [63] There were no medical men in Rome for the first five centuries - of her great career; and some have fancied that this fact explains - the astonishing number of armies which the republic found no - difficulty in sending into the field. - - [64] When unassisted by other deleterious influences, the poison, - though all but universal over the locality, may not be destructive. - After the draining the Lake of Haarlem, the principal physician of - the district informed me that in 2000 cases of ague he had not lost a - patient. - - [65] The choleraic ferment traversed in ships, no doubt, the - Atlantic, as typhus had often done before; but there are grounds for - believing that vegetable and animal matters in a state of rottenness - (fermentation), floating about in the air, are not unfrequently - transported to great and almost incredible distances. Ehrenberg and - Humboldt have particularly insisted on this fact, and have spoken of - distances traversed by these fermentable elements, which I hesitate - to quote from memory. Assuredly they were very great, extending to - some hundred miles from the seat of their origin. - -§ 1. _Discovery of foreign bodies, the remains of animal and vegetable -life, and therefore_ FERMENTABLE, _in the air floating over canals, -ditches, marshes, &c._--Scientific chemists, as well as the professors -of the conjectural art, are occasionally behind the knowledge of -the careful, observing, unprejudiced practical men of the day.[66] -Experience taught me, whilst engaged in other inquiries, that the -sulphuretted hydrogen gas arising from the waters of the canals of -Holland is quite sufficient to spoil cottons printed with nitrate of -lead, used for dyeing yellow with the chromate of potass. The waters -of these canals hold this gas in solution in a certain sense, but from -May to September inclusive, the gas escapes during the night in great -abundance. - - [66] England has often paid a high price for the first steps in - science. Mr. Papillion, in 1806, received from Government 10,000_l._ - for the introduction of dyeing Turkey red; and his success was owing - to his knowledge of the water proper for the operation, which must be - void of fermentable bodies. - -At this time vapours arising from the waters and floating over the -adjoining grounds, were found to contain minute portions of aquatic -plants mingled with the spores of fungi in vast abundance, together -with fragments of a membranous and gelatinous substance about to be -mentioned. To these must be added the remains of infusoria not to be -detected in dried specimens. - -The injurious effects of water holding such substances, gaseous and -solid, in solution, we overcome by boiling and passing the steam -through (heated) iron pipes, and re-converting the steam into water. -By this process we get rid of the injurious effects of these foreign -matters, gaseous and solid, held in a kind of solution by the water, in -as far, at least, as they affect the colours used in dyeing. - -During these examinations of the waters themselves, it was distinctly -observed that the infusoria and testaceous mollusca, microscopic and -otherwise, with which such waters abound, were developed in glutinous -membranes attached to the aquatic herbs abounding in these waters; -in short, these membranes seem to be the matrix for the growth, -nourishment, and production (using the term in a limited sense) of -these organized beings; they form an essential condition of their -existence. - -The plants themselves were now washed in distilled water, and the -animal products were the semivalve and bivalve shells of which I -have preserved many specimens. The semivalve belong to the natural -families Buccinum, Lynceus, Helix, and Planorbis; the bivalve to the -Cardiacæ. The semivalves are the most abundant. By filtering the water -which remained after the shells had been removed, innumerable minute -particles like dust were discovered; these particles were ascertained -by the aid of the microscope to be mainly composed of minute fragments -of aquatic plants and of the spores of fungi; to these must, no doubt, -be added, although not visible when dried, the remains of zoophytes, -and of the glutinous membranes forming the matrix of animal aquatic -life. - -I now endeavoured to obtain the glutinous membrane or matrix in which -these testaceous mollusca were obviously developed, apart and distinct -from the animals themselves. To attain this desirable point we filled -a glass receiver with water containing the aquatic plants and shells, -and the gelatinous membrane already spoken of. The receiver was now -inverted upon a plate, and water poured into the plate to the depth of -half an inch. - -In a few days the receiver became filled with gas, forcing the water -downwards into the plate on which the receiver rested; and although -after the first day we could not discover any of the gelatinous -membranes in the lower part of the receiver, yet that in the plate -became like a flaky jelly, attaching itself to blades of grass or -leaves. The surface exposed to the atmosphere became dry and brittle, -and in this state resembled thin layers of gum; the substance thus -desiccated strongly resembled jelly. - -The glutinous membrane of which frequent mention has been made above, -is of a very viscid nature, and when combined with any animal substance -in a state of transition or fermentation, it is poisonous. It is, I -believe, generally viewed as the matrix for the development of the ova -of these shell fish, and considered as a product or secretion of the -parent. Into this question I enter not, leaving it, if it be one, to -others. - -On exposing for a few days some of the larger testaceous mollusca -alive to the atmosphere of the room at a temperature varying from -65° to 70° Fahr., strong proofs were obtained that ammonia was -produced in the interior of the shell confined therein by the membrane -called operculum, sealing, as it were, the aperture into the shell -hermetically. On puncturing this membrane the presence of ammoniacal -gas could be distinctly traced by the odour. - -I submit to the consideration of professed physiologists the following -questions:--1st. What are the effects likely to result to man from -the inhalation of these microscopic and gaseous products in a state -of decomposition, they being certainly present in the vapours arising -from the waters of canals, ditches, &c., in many countries, especially -during the nights of spring, summer, and autumn? 2nd. What are the evil -effects likely to arise to man from the use of such waters as drink, -or when employed for culinary purposes? Lastly: As the gelatinous -membranes alluded to are the nidus of various forms of organic life, -and contain those forms, developed and undeveloped, occasionally in a -state of decomposition, to which of the two forms of life, animal or -vegetable, or to both, is to be ascribed the deleterious effects on -man, and ascribed by physicians to an unknown poison called Malaria, -designated by them as “a poison, an influence, a miasm, a thing -unknown”? Ferments and putrescence are not “things unknown:” let us -adhere to facts. - -§ 2. Thus the principle of wasting away by the action of the -atmosphere, of the rotting of vegetable and animal substances, first -developed by the illustrious Liebig, opened up to me the path to -that theory which seems to reconcile the conflicting observations of -pathologists,--that vegetable and animal matters do ferment or rot, and -that in this state of rottenness they are carried through the air, was -with me no longer a matter of doubt; next came the question, as to the -effects of such matters on man when inhaled by respiration and conveyed -directly into the living, circulating blood, that most complex of all -fluids, that mysterious compound out of which nature constructs the -animal world. - -This slow wasting takes place in any damp place under ground, and -the ferments assume the form of vapour when such places happen to be -warmer than the open air; it is in this state that the odour is so -sensible to us after a hot dry day or during cold nights. There is no -smell in rainy or damp weather. It is in the spring and autumn months -when ferments from slow combustion abound, aided by the amount of heat -and moisture which then prevail, and by the floating of plants. The -poison thus generated is known to be the product of a ferment, and -like many such products, possesses the quality of fermenting other -organic compounds with which it may come in contact. Introduced into -the living system of man, it finds in certain individuals the material -already disposed to pass into fermentation. It incubates, and this -incubation is measured as to time by a variety of circumstances I need -not enumerate. In cold countries the incubation is slow, extending over -many months; not that the ferment differs, but its action is modified -by the existing condition of the accessories to its action and power. -The ferment introduced into the blood in autumn may not show its full -action on the living fluids until the following spring, or early in -summer: in hot countries it is different; there the ferment, aided by -numerous adjuncts, acts almost immediately; fever sets in, causing -violent reaction of the conservative powers of nature; delirium, -coma, vomiting, death. The mass of the blood has undergone a change -in all its constituents, and dissolution and putrefaction are swift -in reducing the frame, even whilst life is still present, to that -state to which all that lives must come at last; whilst the physician -loses himself in vague theories of an “unknown poison”--a malaria, a -something not strictly a gas, a matter or influence differing from all -chemical or other agents known, the scientific chemist steps in, and -shows that the subtle matter they so anxiously endeavour to discover, -is a process constantly going on before their eyes; a chemical process, -universal; the process, in short, on which in a great measure depends -the disposal of the dead and effete remains of the organic world; the -growth, the nourishment, the renovator of each successive generation of -the same world. - -§ 3. It may be now fully admitted that ammonia is the active principle -or stimulus to vegetable life, as shown by the extraordinary growth -of plants in warm damp climates; in these malaria--as we may still -call the poison so developed--exists to the greatest extent, as in the -Pontine Marshes, by the banks of the Po, Ferrara and Bologna. From -various experiments and observations, I have been led to the conclusion -that the ammonia constantly present in the atmosphere, and derived -from several sources,[67] is the chief cause of the activity which the -ferment, or poison, displays under different and varying circumstances. -There prevails, in truth, an excess of ammonia in such an atmosphere, -resulting from the nitrogen uniting with hydrogen; from the -decomposition of vegetable matter carrying decayed animal matter along -with it; and from the ammonia always existing in the spawn and in the -matter of the shells of infusoria. All my researches into the effects -which the various gases have upon animal tissues, showed ammonia -to be the most destructive; in fact, no animal tissue can resist -complete decomposition by caustic ammonia. I conclude, therefore, that -vegetable and animal matter in a state of fermentation, and mixed -with ammonia, is the cause or essence of that destructive power which -physicians ascribe to malaria. Should this fermentable matter pass in -a concentrated state into the torrent of the circulation, the globules -of the blood are destroyed, and become black; the person is in the -cold stage of fever; next, the vegetable matter ferments, causing the -hot stage. No one in Holland has any doubt as to the origin of this -power, but ascribes it uniformly to the draining of some lake; and it -amounts almost to a demonstration that the air under such circumstances -is poisonous or injurious to health. It was even foretold by several -writers that fevers would result from draining the lake of Haarlem, as -took place in the years 1608, 1641, 1727, 1779, from draining various -polders.[68] - - [67] The ammonia always present in the atmosphere is probably derived - chiefly from the union of nitrogen and hydrogen; but much of it also - no doubt has its source in the fermentation of animal and vegetable - remains. - - [68] Baron von Lynden. - -If the principles I have announced be correct, the extreme -impropriety--not to use a stronger phrase--of carrying on excavations -or other extensive works on the muddy banks of rivers, in marshy or -swampy forests, during the summer months, must be obvious to all -reflecting persons. No work should be done in such places, or in ponds, -after the month of April, for it is warm dry weather that sets malaria -afloat. But if this ferment--which we may strictly call malaria, as -producing a malarious condition of the air--be, as I apprehend it is, -the cause of fever, why should not medical men direct their attention -more earnestly to the question in how far such a fermentation of the -blood may be met by the employment of substances known to resist and -counteract fermentation? Are physicians agreed on the nature of fevers, -and the best means of curing them?[69] - - [69] I have known many persons sickly from the effects of - intermitting fever or malaria from a residence in warm climates, - and who have suffered and perished from an injudicious treatment. - Ill-formed or incomplete agues are extremely common, even in the - south of England, in London especially. They show themselves under a - variety of forms, and with much severity, in the cases of those who, - having once visited a true malarious climate, are ever afterwards - more or less liable to a return of the disease. Let men reflect; - simple truths travel slowly, yet are truths notwithstanding. The - death of the well-known M. Soyer was evidently caused by his wholly - misunderstanding the nature of his complaint, which, in fact, was a - fever originally caught in the Crimea. - -Nothing can be more interesting, in a natural history point of view, -than to watch the results upon large bodies of water, of attempts, -more or less successful, to complete their drainage. Thus during the -operations carried on for this purpose at Haarlem, there sprung up in -the dry places of the more elevated parts an extraordinary quantity -of plants and herbs, which were not seen in the country before they -flowered and sent millions of seeds with their diminutive rocket, -silky tails into the air. They were too minute to be seen upon grass, -but the footpaths were covered with them, and a current of wind might -carry them to distant regions, as the sand is carried from the coast of -Africa into the track of the Brazilian packets, to such an extent as to -make it uncomfortable to walk on deck. It is by no means, therefore, -improbable that those errant seeds came from a foreign land, the native -produce of other countries. Continuing my observations into the transit -of seeds, I have found them to be the cause of shallow canals in -England being full of heretofore unknown water-plants, to the extent of -impeding navigation. - -It is mentioned in the “Kosmos” of Humboldt, that the dust resulting -from eruptions of the volcanic mountains in South America was observed -in Spain. But if currents of wind thus carry seeds and other matters -hundreds of miles through the air, no one can be surprised that the -aquatic plants above alluded to floated to England through the air, -from Holland; these plants, new to the land of their accidental -adoption, bring with them a new corresponding animal life; in due time -they come to maturity and die, and now Nature steps in to take up the -task, and complete her work; her process is simple in appearance, -most complex in its results: a malarious air--malarious at least to -man--appears, as it may be, for the first time in the district, -ascribed by medical men to every cause but the true one. In their -anxiety to discover a cause, they fix on some antiquated drain, or -cesspool, or ditch, by the margins of which many generations of a -stout peasantry had lived and died; or they dive into the pump-well, -and triumphantly exhibit infusoria, not unlikely engaged at the very -moment in purifying the water: it never seems to have occurred to them -that _ferments_ only appear in certain combinations of the air--under -circumstances which only occasionally occur, and that (which is most -lamentable to think of, as in the case of London and the Thames) the -evil is most frequently of man’s creation.[70] - - [70] A friend who resided long on the Grotevisch Rivière, and in het - land den Caffre, informs me that if the Zuureveld be ploughed up, or - altered by the burning, for example, of a Caffre hut, the sour grass, - whence the district derives its name, disappears, and sweet herbage - of various kinds take its place. None of these exist naturally in the - district, so that the seeds must come from great distances. - -The operations of nature when left to herself never vary; they may -always be calculated on, foretold, anticipated; on this assured and -irrefutable fact all science rests. It is only when man interferes and -modifies the elements at work that nature seems to alter her processes; -a disturbing agent has been thrust into the machinery, and the mischief -it effects must either be counteracted or entirely overcome. So long -as the Lake of Haarlem was a lake, or mere, so long were its banks -healthy; but drain it partially, and you must be prepared for the -result. There is no middle course; that which was once a lake or sea -cannot be left in the condition of a putrid, imperfectly-drained, -fermenting mass of mud, teeming with animal and vegetable life, and -with a material for which oxygen is the natural ferment; it must be -arrested by the hands which drained, or attempted to drain it, and -converted into a healthy pasture-land or a wheat-field; if left to -nature, centuries might elapse before that which was once a sea would -become a healthy forest or natural meadow, during which period man, -should he persist in residing on its banks, must undergo the penalty of -his own want of knowledge.[71] - - [71] The effects of partial and incomplete drainage have ever been - the same. In 1823, when the new Polder was made at Neusen-on-the - Sheldt, small-pox raged in the neighbouring villages to such an - extent that the children were forbidden to attend school. The effects - are to be seen now in persons over sixty years of age, bearing the - marks of the epidemic. The whole atmosphere of the district was - infected. - - -CONCLUSION. - -In the first chapters of this work I have endeavoured to trace briefly -yet succinctly the history of opinion as to the nature of malaria, -showing how, prior to the appearance of Macculloch, no one had given -to the theory of malaria any definite form. In those which followed I -have traced the history of his presumed discovery from the period of -its first announcement to its distinct refutation by one of the ablest -of statisticians, showing that, notwithstanding this refutation, the -physician having, in fact, no other theory to fall back on, persisted -in adopting the theory, and, as a natural result, continued to look -for and to find in cesspools and ditches, lay-stalls and drains, that -unknown and mysterious poison which they had been told by Macculloch -was the cause of all diseases. Confounding it with bad odours of all -sorts, they sought for remedies in the destruction of bad odours; at -times they sealed the sewers and cesspools hermetically and by law: -now they opened up and ventilated the sewers and cesspools also by -law;[72] and lastly, on finding that they had poisoned the air of the -metropolis, and that every experiment they made ended in the precisely -opposite results to what they had foretold would happen, as a last -resource they endeavour now so to dilute the refuse of living beings -as to render it, if possible, inodorous at least. This experiment will -also fail. Like true Englishmen, they would not let well alone; they -would attempt to solve questions by main force, which science, aided -by long and careful experience and observation, could alone effect. -At last Liebig appeared, and gave to the whole question a new phasis -and another basis; that basis rests on an appeal to the great laws -of nature, and not on any researches into the occult, hidden, and -mysterious laws regulating the building up and the constructing of the -various forms of animal and vegetable life. In this grand work the -vital force is in action, whereas the destructive processes by which -she annihilates her own forms are strictly chemical; there science may -be properly said to commence in respect of the great question I now -consider; and uniting experience with observation, it seems to lead to -the following conclusions, which, if legitimate, will probably stand -their ground until overthrown or modified by the larger experience of -succeeding ages. - - [72] _Law_ being no body, and quite irresponsible, the blame of these - cruel experiments on the health of the population cannot readily be - brought home to any one. - -§ 1. Seeing that _putrescent_, that is _fermentable_, bodies can and -do exert so great an influence on organic compounds when dead (in the -sense we consider them), it is not unreasonable to suppose that animal -structures and fluids capable of being fermented, may undergo the same -process, that is, fermentation, putrescence, and destruction, or decay, -whilst forming a part of the living body. - -§ 2. As no sane person doubts the harmony which can be shown to exist -in all created beings, so it is probable, if not quite certain, -that the laws of decomposition must be as regular as the laws of -composition; or, in other words, that as the organic matter is without -a doubt the same throughout the living world, and as living bodies are -built up or constructed agreeably to certain laws, so, undoubtedly, -will they be decomposed by laws equally fixed and constant; invariable; -and the nature of the material so decomposed will in no shape be -affected by those specific differences which bestow on organic nature -her beauteous and varied aspect. - -§ 3. The final product, whether of composition or decomposition, must -be the same in all respectively; the infusoria, as well as the gigantic -whale and elephant, are composed, when living, of the same elementary -tissues, and, when dead, decompose into elements the same in all. - -§ 4. The presence of microscopic animalcules in putrifying substances -is viewed by Liebig as accidental, and not essential to putrefaction -or to fermentation; but even admitting this, it is certain that -animalcules (infusoria) exist everywhere in inconceivable numbers; -if water contains these putrescible substances, as it must always -do, then the infusoria are also present in the water; let this water -evaporate under the heat of the sun, and we have in a fermentable, -that is, putrescible, condition countless myriads of infusoria wafted -through the atmosphere, and in certain localities (Pontine Marshes, -Sierra Leone, the Orinoco, &c.) forming almost a constant, if not a -constituent, part of the atmosphere; they pass into living bodies by -respiration: hence the hitherto inexplicable phenomena with regard to -the influence of locality in the production of disease, whether derived -from animal or vegetable remains. - -§ 5. Thus these bodies cause disease, not as live matter, but as dead, -fermentable, and putrescible. They are not found everywhere, nor are -they everywhere liable to pass into fermentation, a certain degree -of heat being necessary for the production of this condition. Their -evil effects on human life are chiefly felt when man places himself in -a false position in regard to them. In pursuit of gain, national or -individual, he seeks the deltas of the rivers of hot climates, plunges -within the tropics, despising the maxims of the natives of those -countries, encamps on or near putrescent marshes, hoping to escape -destruction; prances in holiday costume across the Dobrudscha, as if -he were on the Champs Elysées or the grassy slopes of Hyde Park, and -having carried folly and contempt for the experience of others to its -height, pays the sad penalty sure to be exacted by nature from all -those who despise her warnings. - -These are my opinions, supported, I believe, by facts and figures, and -to those who honour me with a perusal of the preceding chapters I beg -leave to say, in the words of the ancient poet and satirist-- - - Si quid novisti rectius istis, - Candidus imperti, si non--his utere mecum. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -To avoid overloading the text, I have thrown into the form of an -Appendix several Notes more or less intimately connected with the great -question considered in the body of the work. They may be read with or -without any reference to the various headings they treat of. - - -NOTE 1. - -By the deodorizing processes now in use, the ammonia, the most valuable -constituent of manures, is destroyed; whilst by the flushing of sewers -with an excessive quantity of water it is dissipated; hence the low -value, or rather the absolute inutility of the sewage of large towns, -as manure, when diluted with the surface drainage and other waters, -excepting in the case of reclaiming waste lands, in order to convert -them into meadows of so highly objectionable a character that no one -can or will reside near them. The smell from such meadows is most -abominable. - -Even in such cases an outfall must be provided for the surplus sewage -waters, either into a river or into the sea, for the meadows to be -irrigated require but little of it, and that only occasionally and -during droughts. - -The fixing the ammonia is the great difficulty the agriculturist -experiences in all questions respecting those manures which naturally -contain or produce it. Its volatility is so great that it not only -readily escapes into the air, but carries along with it, especially -from waters, bodies at the moment in a state of slow combustion; or, -in other words, ferments, capable of exciting fermentation in other -fermentable bodies. - -It may even pass into the condition of caustic ammonia.[73] - - [73] It is to be remarked that the specific gravity of ammoniacal gas - is 53·619; can it be wondered at that this gas should carry bodies - from waters which are in a state of slow combustion; during its - transit through the air it may even become caustic ammonia? - -In a well written pamphlet by Mr. Ward,[74] the unhappy and fatal -mistake of mixing the surface drainage with the sewage of London is -clearly pointed out for the hundredth time, but the parties who planned -the scheme will no more take notice of such facts than they did fifteen -or twenty years ago, when they commenced their work of polluting the -Thames and other rivers. - - [74] _Purification of the Thames_. A Letter by F. O. Ward, Esq., - addressed to William Coningham, Esq., M.P. London: Renshaw, Strand. - -To Mr. Ward’s proposal of purifying the river and fertilizing the land -by tubular drainage, there are, however, many serious objections. - - -NOTE 2.--_Habits of the_ WILDE, _in desert or uninhabited countries._ - -It is known to sportsmen that in the neighbourhood of hills, partridges -leave the low grounds at the approach of evening, and take themselves -to the hilly or more elevated district. Nature has taught them a very -curious fact in meteorology, namely, that on leaving the valley at -night, and ascending the hill, the temperature of the air increases -up to a certain elevation, and from that point upwards decreases. The -game ascends to the point of highest temperature, and there remains for -the evening. A friend informs me that whilst crossing the high range -of mountains forming the watershed between the Grotevisch Rivière and -the Zondag Rivière, in Southern Africa, he experienced as he ascended -intense cold, with heavy dews in the valleys through which ran the -sources of the Grotevisch Rivière, and these continued until he reached -the base of the crowning heights. Here the party slept in a mud-hut -belonging to a Dutch boer. During the ascent they saw no game; but on -climbing about half way up the remaining steep before daybreak next -morning, they reached a spot where all the large game had congregated. -It was the point of greatest warmth, generally a few hundred feet above -the plain, and below the summit of the mountain. From this point to the -summit the cold was most intense, and snow lay on the high peaks of the -mountains. - -When the shells of infusoria are driven about in the atmosphere -they lose their carbonate of lime by the acid fermentation; and the -membranous portions having the properties of coagulated albumen, -and being also fermentable, may, by passing into the blood, become -excitants of fermentation. This has been already fully explained in the -text.[75] - - [75] It is mentioned in the Report on the Wine Disease in Portugal, - that the _oidium_ was first discovered at Margate; if this was the - case, might it not have originated from the phosphorescent beings in - sea water, observed by all travellers in the evening on the coasts - of Flanders, and known in Holland as Zee Vlam? The potato disease is - thought by some to have sprung from the same cause. - - -NOTE 3.--_Moss._ - -In the _Annales de Chimie_, volume xxix. p. 225, mention is made that -the walls of various towns which had been under water for several -years having become exposed, from the effects of a dry summer and -hot weather, became covered with vegetable matter, the decomposition -of which infected the atmosphere, and caused great sickness in the -environs, and particularly where buildings were situated in marshes in -communication with the sea. The vegetation, in fact, was composed of -lichens. - -On a recent visit to Bangor, in North Wales, I was struck with the nice -firm turf which was in the garden; and upon inquiring of the gardener, -he informed me that the turf came from the seeds blown from the hills, -and that it required great care on the part of the farmers to keep -it under, or it would be exceedingly injurious to land and buildings -if neglected. When it grows on walls it splits them by the capillary -expansion of its roots between the bricks operated upon by damp hot -weather. I have seen this lichen destroy the pillars of a gateway three -feet thick. - -Mill-stones are made in Germany out of granite, by means of willow pegs -being driven into holes thinly covered with water; this causes the -willow to act by capillary expansion, forcing the mill-stones of the -required size out of the rock. - -It is of the utmost importance that the nature of moss and lichen -generally should be well studied before constructing sewers, &c., where -vegetable matter exists near water. - -Was it by similar means that the ancient Egyptians and inhabitants of -Arabia Petræa cut from the solid rock those vast blocks, in effecting -which they do not seem to have availed themselves of any modern -mechanical contrivances? - -The _ferment_, that is, the substances in a state of fermentation -and capable of acting on all fermentable bodies, and especially on -complex organic compounds, as the blood, exist at all times in the -air, but are as a matter of course greatly influenced by a variety of -circumstances as regards their effects on man and other animals. It is -proved by indubitable evidence that this morbific matter is as capable -of entering the system when minute particles of it are diffused in the -atmosphere as when it is directly introduced into the blood vessels by -a wound. When diffused in the air, these noxious particles are conveyed -into the system through the thin and delicate walls of the air-vesicles -of the lungs in the act of respiration. The mode in which the -air-vesicles are formed and disposed is such as to give to the human -lungs an almost incredible extent of absorbing surface, while at every -point of this surface there is a vascular tube ready to receive any -substance imbibed by it and to carry it at once into the current of the -circulation. Thus in certain seasons boils and carbuncles prevail to an -alarming extent, and surgeons dare not operate lest they should lose -their patients from erysipelas and inflammations, running rapidly into -putrescence. In large hospitals the poisonous air in all probability is -constantly present, attacking those who have been previously weakened -by disease or wounds, or loss of blood; in other words, all those in -whom from any circumstance (as by the depression of the vital powers) -the complex organic compounds are held loosely together, and are -therefore prepared to ferment or to fall into putrescence. - - -NOTE 4.--_Anther._ - -This name is given in botany to the summit or top of the stamen -containing the fertilizing fruit-producing dust. - -Pollen is the fecundating dust or fine substance, like flour, meal, or -fine bran. - -Farina, contained in the anther of flowers and plants, which is -dispersed on their stigma for impregnation, form a vegetable essence -constituting the particular nature of a substance forming the flower -existing in other plants of the same family or kind. - -Spore or sporule in botany is that product of flowerless plants which -performs the function of seeds. - -These substances float in the atmosphere, and are the cause of the hay -fever; and when they fall into water and are afterwards left upon mud -they ferment, and being dried up by the sun they fly about with the -spawn of animals. - -Should seeds fly about with the pollen or farina in a state of decay -and full of carbonic acid, the oxygen of the atmosphere, so essential -to human beings, is diminished, and the pollen or seeds are inhaled -into the lungs, and are thus exposed to the action of oxygen whilst -circulating with the blood. - -The result of an excess of carbon in the air is the growth of ferns on -barren rocks, which ferns subsequently become coal. - -The same cause will always produce the same results. When vegetable -matters rise from a large surface of earth or mud (as from the -newly-drained forty thousand acres of the lake of Haarlem), there are -no plants there to inhale the carbonic acid, and to give out oxygen; -but those seeds being rotten or in a state of ferment, the oxygen -for the decomposition is drawn from the atmosphere alone, and human -beings who breathe this malaria have fever; the atmosphere is tainted: -miasms of carbon with hydrogen gas (the lightest thing known) fly -about, carrying them to points where sulphurous gases may find them -a resting-place on mud and shallow waters: these give rise to fever, -cholera, plague, and to all zymotic diseases. - - -NOTE 5.--_Algæ, or Sea-weeds of the Mediterranean Sea._ - -These were examined by Doctor Derbes, Professor of Sciences, and -Captain Solier, of Marseilles, and the result of their researches was -published in the supplement of the _Comtes Rendus_ of the Académie des -Sciences, in answer to a prize essay proposed by the Academy in 1847. -Nothing can exceed the botanical truthfulness of the memoir presented -by these gentlemen to the Academy. After a careful examination of the -substances resulting from the mass of decayed sea-weed in the delta -of the various rivers which flow into the Mediterranean Sea, they -arrived at the conclusion that the product is the cause of fevers, by -generating a malaria which the vital powers are unequal to meet. Thus -the cholera existed at Marseilles in 1850; all knowledge of the extent -of its destructive ravages was withheld from the public; and the truth -of this is in some measure proved by the readiness with which the Board -of Health recommend the quarantine of ten to fifteen days, when it was -reported that the plague or cholera existed at Tripoli, Sicily, and -Sardinia.--July, 1858. - - -NOTE 6.--_The Marseilles Board of Health and Quarantine._ - - TO THE EDITOR OF THE “TIMES.” - - _Challice._ - -Sir,--The Board of Health of Marseilles are about to establish -quarantine regulations of ten days’ and fifteen days’ duration at -that port, because “a dreadful plague rages at Bengazzi, in Tripoli, -and is extending along the coast to Alexandria.” Individuals are to -be confined ten days, and in certain cases fifteen days. Letters are -to be purified, &c., and some 1500 Piedmontese labourers are likely -to be disturbed and thrown out of work if the proposed quarantine -regulations are established. And so this is the sum total of sanitary -experience for the last ten years! The French authorities saw all -quarantine regulations broken down during the Crimean war; in fact, -joined the British in abolishing a quarantine at Smyrna, at Galipoli, -at Constantinople, at Sinope, at Samsoon, at Trebizonde, at Malta, and -even at Marseilles, and indeed at all other ports and places used by -the transports and by the armies in alliance. - -The armies certainly did not escape fever and cholera in their most -terrible forms. The French, the British, and the Sardinians alike -suffered, both in the field and in hospital, at the commencement. The -British alone, however, by means of sanitary works and regulations, -reduced cholera attacks to a _minimum_, and almost abolished fever. A -few simple alterations to the sewers from the great hospitals on the -Bosphorus and other places; ventilation--in many instances by simply -breaking the top squares of windows; regular scavenging without and -cleansing within the works of the hospitals, and the regular use of -the lime-wash brush, emptied the hospital wards of fever patients. -Surface cleansing at Balaklava, and regular scavenging both the shores -and water of the harbour; covering the shallow graves with gravel -and earth; scavenging the camp, and daily disinfecting all latrines, -soon reduced the British army mortality below home or barrack life -and service. The French neglected these things, or blundered in their -execution, as the 5000 deaths per month in the hospitals on the -Bosphorus, from hospital and camp fever alone, during the last three -months of the war, testify. That certain diseases are contagious, -such as scarlatina, measles, small-pox, &c., few will deny. That -plague and cholera are equally contagious many doubt. Sanitary works -and regulations of a very primitive and simple kind can certainly -check the contagibility of cholera, as witness the experience in -Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Tynemouth, in London, in many other English -towns and districts, and in the British hospitals and camps throughout -the Crimean campaign. The lesson taught by experience ought to be -this:--Let the Board of Health at Marseilles cleanse the town, cause -all the foul rooms to be ventilated and lime-washed, disinfect the -foul cesspools and sewage, and cut it off by “interception” from -the harbour and docks, and they may bid defiance to plague from any -quarter. It may be imported in silks, &c., but it will not spread. -Let there be a sanitary staff for the harbour, and another for the -town, armed with brooms, barrows, and lime-wash brushes, in place of -sidearms and muskets, and persons may land at once to go about their -business, and merchandize may be forwarded to its destination without -fear of consequences. During periods of epidemics there can be cholera -without dirt; improper food and mental and bodily exhaustion may bring -on isolated cases; but to have cholera rampant there must be numbers -of human beings fouling air, earth, and water, and habitually living -contrary to known sanitary laws and entirely neglecting sanitary -precautions. - - CIVIL ENGINEER. - - _August 14, 1858._ - - -NOTE 7.--_Mud, Water, and Air._ - -The presence of water and a suitable temperature are indispensable -conditions of the oxidizing process of decay, just as they are -necessary to putrefaction and fermentation. The sides of ponds and -ditches being covered by water during the winter months, in the -spring the air becoming warmer and drier, the water diminishes, the -decay of vegetable seeds, plants, and all woody fibres enter now -into putrefaction, communicating the process to each other, and by -the transmission of decomposition from one particle to another, a -great number of plants give out various gases to the atmosphere while -decaying upon mud, rise into the air, meeting other gases, and then, -floating about, they compose and decompose each other. Hence the bad -odour from the mud-banks of the Thames, near the outfalls of the sewage. - - -NOTE 8. - -I have known fevers cured by a change of the sleeping room from the -south to the north aspect, and still more readily by removing from one -side of the street to the other. All should avoid dwelling near canals, -ponds, or ditches habitually covered with a white froth; this is -formed, in fact, of gases rising through humus swimming on the water, -and contains living beings as well as fermentable substances. - -It is important to men who work and sleep in the same house to have -the day or working-rooms to the north, where the sun never enters, and -to sleep in a room to the east or south. A room to the west, looking -to the west, is not healthy, particularly in summer months, being the -hottest in the evening. Gnats, moths, and flies collect there, and are -at least harassing, if not hurtful, particularly to infants. - -No person not a native of a marshy country should travel overland in -the evening; dew causes a strong action in vapours, mists, &c. Invalids -and soldiers after fatigue, should halt in the daytime, and march in -the evening, to avoid being chilled. - - -NOTE 9. - -A sure remedy against the malaria of ditches, ponds, &c., is to fill -the water-courses with water; never suffer them to be so far dried up -that the spawn of living creatures may attach itself to the sides of -grass, bushes, &c., and afterwards to dry and spread about like the -seeds of flowers, in the environs. The mud which is left exposed to the -air gives out, on drying, various gases, which being mixed with the -fossils of the mud, contaminate the air, and are breathed by the people -in the neighbourhood. - -A circular drain, having a double current, well understood by the -hydraulic engineers of Holland, is the kind of drain I prefer. - - -THE END. - - - - -MR. RENSHAW’S PUBLICATIONS. - - - A TREATISE ON HOOPING COUGH, with its Treatment by a New Remedy. By - George D. Gibb, M.D. Fcap. cloth. Price 7_s._ - - THE DISEASES OF THE FŒTUS IN UTERO. 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- right: 84%; - text-align: right; - font-size: 0.9em; -} - -.label:hover { - background: aqua; -} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: baseline; - position: relative; - top: -0.4em; - margin-left: 0.05em; - font-size: 0.7em; - font-weight: normal; - font-style: normal; - white-space: nowrap; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote { - background-color: #F2F2F2; - color: black; - font-size: 85%; - padding: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 5em; - font-family: sans-serif, serif; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Enquiry Into the Origin and Intimate -Nature of Malaria, by Thomas Wilson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: An Enquiry Into the Origin and Intimate Nature of Malaria - -Author: Thomas Wilson - -Release Date: September 22, 2019 [EBook #60338] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MALARIA *** - - - - -Produced by Thiers Halliwell, Bryan Ness and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p><b><a id="Transcribers_notes"></a>Transcriber’s notes</b>:</p> - -<p>The text of this e-book has been preserved in its original form -apart from correction of a few typographic errors (omposition → -composition, recal → recall, gives → give, bloodvessels → blood -vessels), and insertion of some missing quotation marks. Inconsistent -hyphenation and inconsistent spelling (Scheld/Scheldt/Sheldt) -has not been altered. Hyperlinks (to pages and footnotes) are -underlined and show coloured highlighting when the mouse pointer -hovers over them. <span class="htmlonly">Page numbers are shown in -the right margin and footnotes are located at the end.</span> <span -class="epubonly">Footnotes are located at the end.</span></p> - -<p class="epubonly">The cover image of the book was created by the -transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1> -<span class="t1">AN ENQUIRY</span> - -<span class="t2">INTO THE</span> - -<span class="t3">ORIGIN AND INTIMATE NATURE</span> - -<span class="t2">OF</span> - -<span class="t4">MALARIA.</span></h1> - - -<div class="tp1"><span class="smcap">By</span> THOMAS WILSON,</div> -<div class="tp2">CHEVALIER DE L’ORDRE DU LION NEERLANDAIS.</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - - -<div class="tp3">LONDON:</div> -<div class="tp4">HENRY RENSHAW, 356, STRAND.</div> -<div class="tp3">1858.</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="tp5">LONDON:<br /> -SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,<br /> -COVENT GARDEN.</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="iii"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></a></span></p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="tac fs50 pbb">TO</p> - -<p class="tac fs130 ls01em">M. ROCHUSSEN,</p> - -<p class="tac fs50 pbb">MINISTER OF COLONIES AT THE HAGUE.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="ml2em"> -<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—<br /> -</p> - -<p>I have taken the liberty of dedicating this -little work to you. It treats of a subject on which I -have made many experiments and collected many observations -in Belgium and in Holland. I have carefully -weighed the conflicting evidence of some distinguished -observers, and the conclusion arrived at is, that -this conflict has arisen partly from a want of due care -in making the observations, partly from the extreme difficulty -accompanying all inquiries in which physiology -and pathology, health and disease, are necessarily involved.</p> - -<p>In the course of my memoir I have endeavoured to -do justice to Holland, esteeming it to be the most remarkable -country in the world. I cannot find in the -history of any other nation proofs so clear of the beneficial -effects of indomitable industry, directed by intelligence, -over the welfare and destinies of a people; nowhere -do I find evidence so convincing of the great -results flowing from the application of practical science -to the wants of a people; nowhere do I find to the same -extent a sound commercial and political economy, first -developed and acted on in Holland, lead so directly to<span class="pagenum" title="iv"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a></span> -the civilization and welfare of a nation. Those great -principles which other nations and other races discussed -theoretically and elaborated into systems, the nation of -which you are a distinguished citizen, discovered, adopted, -applied, and enforced. To Holland, as a nation, belongs -eminently the character of practical. Whilst other nations -left uncultivated as they found them, or rendered -unproductive, the most fertile territories, seemingly unable -to turn them to account, the country and people -to which you belong compelled the ocean to retire from a -barren, unprofitable, and untillable soil, which they converted -into a garden; and if ever the great problem of -rendering the whole earth habitable for man be solved, -I may venture to predict—with all due respect for other -nations and other races—that the solution must come -from Holland. As it would be presumptuous in me—a -humble individual—directly to address a nation, I -have ventured to do so indirectly through you. Permit -me, therefore, to dedicate this little work to you, as -the expression of my personal regard and friendship, -and of my deep respect for the nation to which you -belong.</p> - -<p class="tar" > -<span class="mr12em">I am, <span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</span><br /> -<span class="mr4em">Most respectfully yours,</span><br /> -<span class="mr2em"><span class="smcap">The Author</span>.</span><br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="v"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v"></a></span></p> - - - -<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="mrl10"> - -<p class="tac mt2em">INTRODUCTION.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Epidemics—Their mysterious character—Distinction between endemics -and epidemics—Malaria, where chiefly met with—Is it -of one kind or several?—Author’s long residence in a <i>malaria</i>-producing -country <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_1">1</a>–3</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER I.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">The question as to there being several kinds of malaria, further examined—Theory -of Macculloch, tracing to a malaria, chiefly generated -by man himself, all forms of disease, from the plague to a -common neuralgia—This theory now accepted, and to a certain -extent acted on by the British Government—Experiments of the -Board of Health—Results to be seen at Luton, Birmingham, and -London <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, 5</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER II.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">The history of epidemics adverse to the theory of Macculloch—Results -of confounding drains with sewers, and of converting -drains into drain-sewers—Influence of the external world (earth, -air, and water) over man, first examined by Hippocrates in his celebrated -treatise, “<i>De aere, aquis et locis</i>,<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></span> but with other views—Influence -of modern chemistry over physiology—Men now expect -from chemistry a solution of some of the great problems of physiology -and pathology still unsolved <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_6">6</a>–14</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="vi"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi"></a></span></p> - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER III.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">The great plague in the time of Justinian—View as to its African -origin, and strictly contagious nature, adopted by Gibbon—Admits, -however, the necessity for an insalubrious condition of the -atmosphere, in addition to the presence of the poison—Its reappearance -at present in Northern Africa (Bengazzi)—Modern -theories as to its origin and mode of propagation, refuted by the -histories of plague, cholera, and typhus—Murrains <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_15">15</a>–25</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER IV.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">View of nature acted on by the Hollander and Brabanter—Their -struggle to overcome the difficulties of their position—Rise of the -Dutch Republic, and of the School of Mechanical and Practical -Science of Holland—Its influence over Europe and the world—Drainage -of the Lake of Haarlem—Practical instances of the truth -of the principle, that “when man interferes with nature, he must -carry through the work to an issue”—How to convert a peat-bog -into a healthy meadow, a dreary waste into a profitable, cheerful -farm <span class="flr"> pp. <a href="#Page_26">26</a>–30</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER V.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Sources of malaria—Various medical hypotheses refuted by Colonel -Tulloch—Intermittents and remittents as they appear on the -Western Coast of Africa and in Canada <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>–43</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER VI.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Extent of life on the globe as proved by the microscope—Theory of -Cuvier as to the nutrition of plants and animals—Vast extent of -the microscopic living world—The “blooming of plants”—Results -of disturbing the muddy banks of rivers—Sources of the bad odours -of certain marshes and rivers—Remarkable influence of a change -in temperature over the products of fermentation—Parasite theory -of putrefaction, fermentation, and disease, refuted by Liebig, <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_44">44</a>–54</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER VII.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Decomposition and metamorphosis of animal beings—Influence they -exercise over the soil as a habitation for man—Disposal of the -excreta and remains of animals and vegetables—Danger of these -when accumulated—Immunity of savage tribes—Scurvy amongst -the white troops at the Cape of Good Hope, the healthiest climate - -<span class="pagenum" title="vii"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii"></a></span> - -in the world—Metamorphoses of organic remains—Influence of -oxygen, of nitrogen, and ammonia—Source of the inorganic principles—Fluate -of lime in fossil bones—Danger to man of putrescent -sea-water—Man’s incessant struggle with nature—Fatality -of the climate of Rio <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_55">55</a>–65</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER VIII.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Earth, air, and water, in relation to man—How modified by him—Results -of that modification—Action and reaction—Antagonism -of man to nature—Effects of human labour on the soil—How man -protects his dwelling—Distinction between a drain and a sewer, -a distinction first practically denied in England—Chemical elements -of animal bodies—Nourishment of plants—Exhaustion of -the soil in Virginia—Value of farm-yard manure—Agriculture in -China—Effects of clearing the primæval forests of America—Causes -of the hay-fever, typhus and typhoid fevers—Effects of -bad ventilation—Importance of the infusoria in nature’s great -scheme—Origin and action of <i>humus</i>—Functions of the <i>humus</i> -and of the leaves—Means adopted in Holland for the conversion of -a bog or morass into a polder—Antediluvian vegetation—Elements -which require being restored to the soil—Belgian agriculturists—Statistics -of Quetelet <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_66">66</a>–88</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER IX.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">On poisons, miasms, and contagions—Difficulties besetting the questions -as to their essential nature and origin—Poison of typhus, of -yellow fever, and of the remittent fevers of hot countries—Their -appearance at uncertain and distant periods in an aggravated form—Statistics -of the recurrence of remittents in the West Indies—Light -thrown by chemistry on the subject—Fermentation and -putrefaction—Peculiar poisons—Distinction between a miasm and -a contagion—Odour perceptible in sick chambers—Ozone, <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_89">89</a>–98</span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt2em">CHAPTER X.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">On the servitude of rivers—Practical knowledge of the ancients—Early -Roman history a fable—The great social problems of <i>race</i> and <i>climate</i> -in some measure unknown to the Romans—First mooted in -the reign of Justinian—Present phases of human society—How -affected by these two problems—Influence of civilization over the -earth <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>–110</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="viii"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii"></a></span></p> - -<p class="tac mt2em">CONCLUDING CHAPTER.</p> - -<p class="ml2hi2">Author’s theory of malaria—Has malaria a real existence?—Action of -ferments on the blood—A malarious air not dislodged by storms—Quality -of the air over ditches, &c.—Experiments by the Author -on microscopic mollusca—Influence of chemistry over physiology—Ammonia—Its -volatility and universal prevalence in the air—Its -sources and action on living bodies—Danger of drainage-works -during summer—Spread of plants through the air—Appearance of -strange plants in a country—Conclusion—Various phases of sanitary -science—laws of decomposition and composition—Results -to man of a false position in nature <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_111">111</a>–128</span></p> - -<hr class="r10" /> - -<p class="ml2hi2"><span class="smcap">Appendix</span> <span class="flr">pp. <a href="#Page_129">129</a>–136</span></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="r30" /> - -<p class="tac">ERRATUM.</p> - - -<p class="mrl10 fs80">Page 98, line 2 (note), <i>should read</i> “Hydrogen is the lightest known substance; -its specific gravity is to that of air 732 to 10,000.”</p> - -<hr class="chapdouble" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="1"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1"></a></span></p> - -<p class="tac fs110">AN INQUIRY</p> - -<p class="tac fs60 mtb15em">INTO</p> - -<p class="tac fs120">THE ORIGIN AND INTIMATE NATURE</p> - -<p class="tac fs60 mtb15em">OF</p> - -<p class="tac fs160 ls01em"><b>MALARIA.</b></p> - - - -<hr class="r10" /> -<p class="tac ls02em">INTRODUCTION.</p> - - -<p>In addition to the wide-spread desolating epidemics -which appear from time to time, mysterious in their -origin, progress, and cessation or disappearance—such, -for example, as the plague of Athens, the plague -of London in the time of Charles the Second of happy -memory, the Indian or Asiatic cholera of modern times, -and the disease called influenza, a frequent visitor to -Western Europe during the last half-century—there -exist localities unceasingly under the influence of a -poison inimical to human life. This poison, since it -may be so called, is known to haunt the deltas of large -rivers, and seems to be always present there; but it is -found also, if we may determine its identity by the -identity of its deleterious influence on men, in other and -very various localities: sometimes it shows itself—and -this most commonly—in marshy and fenny countries, -where no large rivers exist, at other times by the banks -of fresh-water lakes; now it haunts the forest, and now -the open plain, where marsh and fen, swamp and -decaying vegetation, seem all but absent. As the<span class="pagenum" title="2"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2"></a></span> -inhabitants of such localities are especially afflicted -with the fevers called intermittent and remittent, it is -the most natural thing in the world to ascribe to the -locality itself the origin of these diseases. When, however, -we attempt to generalize and assign to the same -cause in a more concentrated form those terrible fevers -which render tropical countries the graves of Europeans, -great difficulties arise, and numerous objections, which -the best of statisticians, not to mention the simply -medical observer, have failed to elucidate and remove. -Thus physicians are not agreed as to the identity of the -poison under all circumstances, or in other words, -demonstrative evidence is still wanting to prove that -the cause of fever on the western coasts of Africa is -identical with that which has so often in the Antilles -destroyed England’s chosen troops, decimated her fleets, -crippled her power, annihilated her army, as at Walcheren, -and broken up the health of many a sturdy -yeoman by the banks of the Scheldt, of the Thames and -its tributaries.</p> - -<p>To this poison the term malaria has been applied—a -word borrowed from the Italian. This malaria is presumed, -whatever it may be, to be the cause (though -not exclusively), on evidence almost amounting to a -certainty, of the fevers marked by intermissions and -remissions; it may also be the cause of the more terrible -febrile diseases called the yellow fever, the black vomit, -&c., of tropical countries. On this I do not insist. As -regards intermitting and remitting febrile affections, we -are all but certain that to such localities as I have just -alluded to, their origin may be traced, however they -may originate elsewhere. A long residence in Holland -and Belgium (countries supposed by many to be in an -especial manner the hot-bed and active parent of<span class="pagenum" title="3"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3"></a></span> -malaria) has enabled me to observe, I trust in an unprejudiced -manner, some facts which may have escaped -the observation of others. Long resident in that land, -on which perished miserably the best equipped army -(an army composed of veterans) which ever, perhaps, -quitted England for foreign aggression; in that land on -which perished the chosen garrisons of the mighty -Napoleon; on that spot where they dragged on a -miserable existence, or perished in the prime of life; -the writer of this essay enjoyed the best of health. -Even admitting the full influence of a vigorous constitution, -and an innate vitality equal to the neutralization -of all malaria, a something must still be ascribed to -observation leading him to avoid the hurtful and insalubrious -agencies at work around him—agencies ever -active, ever seeking to destroy. This information the -author has thought might be useful to others, and with -this view he submits it to the public<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="4"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4"></a></span></p> - - - -<h2>CHAPTER I. - -<span class="title">MALARIA—ITS SUPPOSED ORIGIN.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Thus stood the question of malaria towards the close of -the last century, and for some years afterwards; its -existence in certain localities was never questioned—no -one pretended to say that the fens of Lincolnshire and -of Cambridgeshire, the lowlands of Essex and Kent, the -muddy shores of the Scheldt and the Lower Rhine, the -delta through which the rapid Rhone finds its way to -the Mediterranean, were healthy countries. No one questioned -the presence of malaria there, or its power to -inflict the plague of intermittent or remittent fever on -most strangers and on not a few natives who happened, -unfortunately for themselves, to be susceptible of its -influence. The poison gave to the Pontine Marshes a -world-wide celebrity.</p> - -<p>Again, of the more terrible febrile diseases of tropical -climates, it was suspected by many and boldly asserted -by most medical men, that to a malaria identical with -that of Europe, but more concentrated by high temperature, -they owed their origin. Yet no one up to the -period I allude to—no physician, at least—had ascribed -to neglected drains, ill-conditioned sewers, imperfectly -trapped cesspools, overflowing dead-wells, &c., the -origin of a malaria much more destructive than the -celebrated malaria of fenny or marshy countries, the<span class="pagenum" title="5"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5"></a></span> -malaria, if such it really be, equal to the production of -that plague, never absent, at times most destructive—the -dreadful <span class="nowrap">typhus<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></span> of Western Europe.</p> - -<p>At last one man, a shrewd, intelligent, and influential -observer, a man of genius, gave to the whole question -a new phasis. Since his day his hypothesis (for we -shall presently find that as yet it deserves no better -name) has undergone a variety of modifications, as was -to be expected, in no way, however, affecting the practical -deductions originally drawn from it by its author. -A brief history of this curious episode in medicine, -honoured by some with the pompous title of “a revolution -in sanitary science,” will fitly precede the inquiry -on which I am about to enter. Like the small white -cloud warning the navigator of the approaching tornado, -this hypothesis, from its first appearance as a humble -essay in a monthly journal, has repeatedly assumed, by -force of circumstances, gigantic dimensions. Of it, as -of Rumour, it may be truly said, <i>Vires acquirit eundo</i>: -it gathers strength from motion. As is usual in England, -a machinery has been tacked to it of a character -most heterogeneous, but withal so heavy as already to -threaten to surpass endurance—of the truth of which -remark no further evidence need be adduced than the -modest demand of six millions sterling to depurate or -cleanse the Thames of those very materials which, as a -first experiment, and by no means an unprofitable one, -the Sanitary Board ordered and compelled the inhabitants -of London to throw into it. A brief history of -this remarkable phasis of sanitary science, as it is called, -may prove acceptable to my readers.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="6"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER II. - -<span class="title">THEORIES OF MACCULLOCH.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>About thirty years ago, as I have already remarked, -one of the most distinguished practical geologists of this -or any other country directed his attention to a subject -of much greater difficulty than the classification of -rocks, and their subdivision into primary, secondary, -volcanic, and transition. His object was to discover the -origin or cause of those fatal diseases which, under the -names of fever, dysentery, plague, rheumatism, &c., -render the position of man on the globe so precarious, -his life at times so brief, valueless to himself or to -others, his prospects so gloomy; in brief, by tracing to -its origin, if possible, the active agent of such woes to -man, to destroy its fatal influence by practical hygienic -measures. In a word, Dr. Macculloch hoped, by discovering -the cause, to devise the means either of -effectually destroying malaria—using the term, however, -in a sense at that time peculiar to himself—or so -to mitigate its effects as to render it less destructive to -mankind.</p> - -<p>He, an acute and original observer, statistician, and -scientific man, properly so called, did not require to -be instructed as to the lamentable results which the -premature death of millions causes to the surviving -relatives—results so eloquently and so correctly depicted<span class="pagenum" title="7"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7"></a></span> -by the illustrious Quetelet in his work on Man<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a></span> Of -all this he was well aware, and a consciousness of such -a condition of humanity, and a firm belief in the -opinion that the cause lay in some defect in our social -system, remediable by human means, led to those inquiries -on which the late Dr. Macculloch based his -theory of a universal malaria the cause of most diseases—a -theory now adopted in its entirety by a large section -of the medical faculty, and by the English Government -of the present date.</p> - -<p>The theory or theories of Macculloch<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a></span> as expounded -by himself, amounted in fact to this—that a poison, -which may be called malaria, is generated by vegetable -and animal substances whilst undergoing decomposition -or putrefaction, and that to the presence of this poison -may be traced most of the diseases afflicting civilized -man. In a neglected drain or sewer he saw the cause -of typhus, of agues, of skin disease, neuralgias, &c.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="8"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8"></a></span></p> -<p>These views of Macculloch respecting the origin of -malaria and its effects on man, were, when first published, -and indeed for many years afterwards, looked on -with suspicion by the physicians of that day; they -were viewed, in truth, as wildly speculative, and wholly -unsupported by facts. This opinion still prevails with -many, but they are being rapidly borne down by a host -of writers—many, it must not be overlooked, enjoying -lucrative official appointments, and who thus have a -deep and touching interest in supporting and maintaining -the theories of Macculloch. An opportunity will -occur in the course of this work of tracing briefly the -progress of the mania—for such, to a certain extent, it -speedily became—and of assigning the merit or demerit -of the movement to those to whom it may be due. -Here it is only necessary to allude to it as being in -fact the source of all those visionary and Utopian -schemes for the entire renovation of the social state of -man, alternately advocated or deprecated by a press -naturally chiming in with the prevailing public feeling. -At times the discussion acquires an almost feverish character—as -when, for example, during the present summer, -“the river” exhaled an odour more than usually unpleasant; -at times it cools down in the presence of a -proposal to expend many millions of the public money -on some wild, untried scheme, under the superintendence -of the very men who deliberately, and despite many -warnings, reduced “the river” to its present sad condition—of -men who had not the candour or the honesty -to admit that, proceeding on the conjectures of Macculloch, -they hazarded one of the coarsest experiments -ever devised on the health of millions<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a></span> These were the<span class="pagenum" title="9"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9"></a></span> -men whose course of action the Registrar-General endeavoured -to palliate, on the plausible ground that, -although they poisoned the river, the doing so was much -less injurious to the inhabitants of London than to -suffer the cesspools to continue any longer buried in the -earth, although for the most part hermetically sealed! -Thus were they permitted in open day to pollute the -surface-drains of the metropolis, converting them into -sewers—to render the streets and squares impassable—and -finally to convert the river itself into a kind of -elongated cesspool! This, says the Registrar-General, -is an evil of less magnitude than the permitting the -cesspools and dead-wells to remain as they were until -gradually and cautiously disposed of by other means.</p> - -<p>It were easy to show, were it worth while—1st. How -the persons to whom I here allude suffered to be withdrawn -from the Thames nearly a half of its natural -waters before reaching London; 2nd. How next they -converted the healthy surface drains of London and of -its environs into odious sewers, ignoring the distinction -between drain and sewer, a distinction which the most -ignorant of day labourers perfectly understands, and -heretofore had uniformly respected; 3rd. How they refused -to suffer the suicidal act to proceed gradually and -slowly, whereby the river, out of its own natural resources, -might and would in time have accomplished its -own depuration, but as best suiting their ultimate views, -issued compulsory edicts on the inhabitants of this great -city to empty into the river, and almost at once, the -accumulated <i>excreta</i> of a quarter of a century, such being -at least the average age of the contents of the cesspools. -Thus was demanded of the river a depurative force at -the least twenty times greater than under another system -would have been required of it. Lastly, to complete a<span class="pagenum" title="10"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10"></a></span> -series of experiments so injurious to the public, but so -profitable to individuals, the same party proposes further -to deprive the stream of all aid in the purification of its -waters, by pouring into the German Ocean the entirety -of the water which the natural drainage of London, -and the valley in which it stands, contribute to it, together -with one-half the waters of the river itself, -taken from it above the tide-way for the supply of the -capital.</p> - -<p>Thus, by a series of manœuvres, transparent enough to -those who have carefully watched the movements for the -last twenty years, its inhabitants are now called on at -their own expense to remedy the clumsy experiments of -those who occupy positions they could not fill in any -country but England<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a></span></p> - -<p>Four-and-twenty centuries ago, Hippocrates, the -father of medicine, gave to the world his celebrated -treatise, <i>de aere, aquis et locis</i> (Περι ὑδατων αερον καὶ -τοπων), having for its object an inquiry into the influence -of the external world on man’s physical structure -and moral nature. To trace the origin of disease to -these circumstances, does not seem to have fallen within<span class="pagenum" title="11"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11"></a></span> -the scope of his argument; accordingly, it can scarcely -be said that any author prior to Macculloch ever considered -this matter from a philosophical or physiological -point of view, a reason for which may be found, I think, -in the absence of a minutely accurate chemical analysis -of natural and artificial products. No Ehrenberg had -taught mankind the wonders of the living microscopic -world of life; even the geology of Macculloch was much -behind the profound analyses of the present day. -Sober thinking men had rejected the bold speculations -of Buffon as to the antiquity of life on the -globe, and the demonstrations of the immortal Cuvier -were as yet but partially admitted; whilst the theories -of Lamark, respecting the vast influence of life in the -construction of the crust of the globe, had been suffered -quietly to fall into abeyance. Life was thought -to be but a recent acquisition by the earth; the Silurian -and Cambrian systems of fossils were either unknown -or misunderstood. These fossils, at present -called “the first stages of this grand and long series of -former accumulations,” must, in the nature of things, -yield their claims to others which geology will no doubt<span class="pagenum" title="12"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></a></span> -soon discover, thus rendering more than probable the -theory that life and the globe are coeval.</p> - -<p>Placed accidentally in a country usually considered as -a focus or centre of that malaria or influence, whatever it -may be, which man, correctly, perhaps, esteems as the -source and cause of remittent and intermittent fevers, -I have thought it might prove a labour of some utility -to mankind to test the theoretical opinions to which I -have alluded, by an appeal to facts submitted to more -refined analyses than were known at the period of their -promulgation. Time can only show in how far the -views I venture to substitute for those now in vogue -fairly represent the truth. A power of nature, invisible -and impalpable, harasses mankind, destroys armies<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a></span> desolates -districts and countries, slays adult man at the -moment when his native land expects from him a suitable -return for all the labour, trouble, and expense bestowed -on him: to inquire into the nature of this poison is the -object, or at least the main object, of this work. If we -would rightly understand its essence and properties, it -may be admitted that we ought to study carefully in -the first instance its manifestations and effects; now -these are tolerably well known. The most difficult part -of the inquiry remains, that is, the demonstration of the -essential nature of the poison or miasm giving rise to -such disastrous results. All modern science leads to the -conclusion that malaria, whether it originate in circumstances -over which man has no control, despite every -hygienic effort, or emanate from a combination of circumstances -mainly caused by man himself, or be only -effectual when it meets with individuals living in contempt -of common sanitary precautions, must, by its material<span class="pagenum" title="13"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></a></span> -nature, be within the range of philosophical research. -To Schonbein, a distinguished chemist now -alive, we owe the discovery of ozone. Major Tulloch -had already hinted at the doctrine that the cause of -the frightful mortality in tropical countries was to be -looked for in electrical conditions of the atmosphere, of -whose nature we as yet are ignorant<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a></span> Other discoveries -in this direction are sure to follow at no distant -period. What so obscure a short time ago as electricity? -Now look at its position, at least, as a science of -application! Life, it is true, is the mystery of mysteries,<span class="pagenum" title="14"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a></span> -equally so in its origin and extinction; yet granting this -to be a truth, and foreseeing in it all the difficulties of -every inquiry directed to elucidate its essential nature, -every reflecting mind must be struck with the remarkable -discoveries of modern times, all tending to show the -close alliance between the chemical and vital phenomena, -an alliance wholly unknown to the most gifted of -antiquity. The modern world, right or wrong, looks to -chemistry for the solution of many great and important -problems, the most elevated of which unquestionably is -the discovery of the causes rendering certain wide-spread -localities of this earth unfit for the habitation of -those at least who may not claim them as their natal -soil; of which they are not the aborigines<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="15"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER III. - -<span class="title">THE ORIENTAL PLAGUE—QUESTION OF CONTAGION.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>A very few years ago it was the general opinion, even -of the best informed, that epidemic diseases originate in -atmospheric influences over which man has no control. -A reservation seems, however, to have been made in -respect of the Oriental, or as some term it, the African, -plague, a malady the most frightful to which man is -liable. Writers of the highest order traced to a damp, -hot, and stagnating air, generated from the putrefaction -of animal substances, and especially from the swarms of -locusts, not less destructive to mankind in their death -than in their lives, the fatal disease which depopulated -the earth in the time of Justinian and his successors. -The disease was reported to have first appeared in the -neighbourhood of Pelusium, between the Serbonian bog -and the eastern channel of the Nile. Thence tracing a -double path it spread to the east, over Syria, Persia, and -India, and penetrated to the west, along the coast of -Africa, and thence to the continent of Europe. But in -order to explain how it spread, it was necessary to invent -another theory and add it to the first; the disease once -generated, was said to spread by contagion. It is related -in “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,<span class="pagenum" title="16"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a></span><span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a></span> -that in the spring of the second year (after its first -appearance), Constantinople, during three or four -months, was visited by the pestilence. It did not reach -the capital of the empire at once, but travelled slowly -and irregularly, after the manner of modern cholera. In -the admirable descriptions of the immortal historian, we -can trace all the symptoms of the true Oriental plague, -identical in its phenomena and effects with the sufficiently -numerous visitations which have since occurred, -and with that no doubt which, lately originating at -Bengazzi, and spreading to Tripoli, once more threatens -the European family of nations. In a damp, hot, stagnating -air, observes the historian, who in his account -follows Procopius, this African fever is generated from -the putrefaction of animal substances, and especially -from the swarms of locusts, “not less destructive to -mankind in their death than in their lives.” But the -ferment and putrefaction thus created scarcely accounts -for the origin of the disease, and its extension north-wards -into the coldest regions of Europe is inexplicable -on such a hypothesis, though aided by the modern -hypothesis that its propagation is due simply to the -neglect of sanitary regulations, a theory now happily -extended to all zymotic diseases. Passing over the question -as to the contagious nature of plague, typhus, -cholera, scarlatina, measles, a question still undecided, -and adhering simply to facts, we are assured by Procopius, -the fidelity of whose descriptions the great historian -seems disposed to vouch for, that the disease -always spread “from the sea coast to the inland country; -the most sequestered islands and mountains were -successively visited; the places which had escaped the -fury of its first passage were alone exposed to the contagion -of the ensuing year. The winds might diffuse<span class="pagenum" title="17"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17"></a></span> -that subtle venom; but unless the atmosphere be previously -disposed for its reception, the plague would -soon expire in the cold and temperate climates of the -earth. Such was the universal corruption of the air, -that the pestilence which burst forth in the fifteenth of -Justinian, was not checked or alleviated by any difference -of the seasons. In time, its first malignity was -abated and dispersed; the disease alternately languished -and revived; but it was not till the end of a calamitous -period of fifty-two years that mankind recovered their -health, or the air resumed its pure and salubrious quality. -No facts have been preserved to sustain an account, or -even a conjecture, of the numbers that perished in this -extraordinary mortality. I only find that during three -months, five, and at length ten thousand persons died -each day in Constantinople; that many cities of the -East were left vacant, and that in several districts of -Italy the harvest and the vintage withered on the ground. -The triple scourge of war, pestilence, and famine -afflicted the subjects of Justinian; and his reign is disgraced -by a visible decrease of the human species, which -has never been repaired, in some of the fairest countries -of the globe.”</p> - -<p>The plague of the time of Justinian is known to us -only through the medium of the Greek and Roman -writers. We know nothing as to how it affected the -remote East, or whether that portion of the earth -escaped. No record exists to prove or disprove the -passage across the Atlantic, in ancient times, of plagues -and pestilences, such as we know now overleap with -ease that seemingly impassable barrier. The history of -cholera in its progress from the East, though drawn up -by skilful official writers, tells us as little of its real -nature as Procopius did of the plague. It resembles<span class="pagenum" title="18"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18"></a></span> -in some respects the history of ancient Egypt, each -discovery merely adding another enigma to the already -existing and unexplained. Its propagation by contagion -is still denied by the first of medical authorities, -and yet it must be admitted that it pursues in a mysterious -manner the paths of commerce, as if by the -abuse of trade, plagues, which would otherwise become -extinct in the land of their origin, are diffused over the -continents of the world<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a></span></p> - -<p>The propagation of the plague by contagion was, as -we have already seen, distinctly denied by Procopius, -and in this opinion he seems, as in modern times, to -have been backed by a majority of the people. The -immortal historian of “The Decline and Fall” did not -partake of Procopius’ doubts. “Contagion,” he remarks, -“is the inseparable symptom of the plague, -which, by mutual respiration, is transfused from the -infected persons to the lungs and stomach of those who -approach them. While the philosophers believe and -tremble, it is singular that the existence of a real danger -should have been denied by a people most prone to vain -and imaginary terrors. Yet the fellow-citizens of Procopius -were satisfied, by some short and partial experience, -that the infection could not be gained by the -closest conversation; and this persuasion might support -the assiduity of friends or physicians in the care of the -sick, whom inhuman prudence would have condemned -to solitude and despair. But the fatal security, like the -predestination of the Turks, must have aided the progress -of the contagion; and those salutary precautions -to which Europe is indebted for her safety, were unknown<span class="pagenum" title="19"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19"></a></span> -to the government of Justinian. No restraints -were imposed on the free and frequent intercourse of -the Roman provinces. From Persia to France the -nations were mingled and infected by wars and emigration, -and the pestilential odour which lurks for years in -a bale of cotton was imported by the abuse of trade -into the most distant regions.<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a></span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="20"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20"></a></span></p> -<p>Thus has been bandied about from the earliest times -to the present day, the great question of the origin of -the pestilential diseases, and their contagious properties -when once produced. The question still remains unsettled, -nor has the advent of the cholera in modern -times contributed in the slightest degree to bring the -disputation to a demonstrative issue.</p> - -<p>Are they of terrestrial or atmospheric origin properly, -or do both contribute their share towards the -production of pestilences? How originated the cholera, -and how does it spread? These questions may -still be asked, and when asked must remain unanswered. -The share ascribed to man in the production and propagation -of this and similar diseases is mainly the object -of this inquiry, and to that I shall adhere as much as -possible.</p> - -<p>Men, ever anxious to discover the causes of events, -ascribed the origin of the plague in the reign of Justinian -to the putrefaction of locusts; but the same -event may and has happened without being productive -of similar results—without, indeed, causing any disease -whatever, as if the poison, though present, were ineffectual -unless aided by other circumstances at present -unknown to man. Those who have seen cholera only -as it prevails on the rotten banks of the Ganges, ascribe -its origin to heat and putrefaction, its extension to the -habits of a densely-congregated people. They forget, -or choose not to remember, that it raged in the depth -of winter in the cold regions of Russia and of Scotland, -in thinly-populated villages, in hamlets, and insulated -cottages, scattered over the elevated yet cultivated -estates of noble and wealthy proprietors<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a></span> Those who<span class="pagenum" title="21"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21"></a></span> -have studied the phenomena of typhus only in the -horrid slums of Glasgow, in the wynds and closes of -cold and bleak Edinburgh—from which it is never -absent, occasionally raging with something like the -virulence of a plague—ascribe the origin and extension -of the disease to cold and hunger, to a deficiency of -animal food, and to a contempt for all sanitary arrangements; -but they do not choose to remember that a few -years ago typhus in its worst form appeared in the -south-eastern angle of England, spreading thence -through the midland counties, deeply affecting the -population of hamlets and villages the salubrity of -whose site was unquestioned. And if negative evidence -be held sufficient to refute Procopius’ theory of the -origin of the true plague, we have but to look into the -pages of a modern traveller, whose official position -naturally adds to the value of his testimony. Mr. Barrow, -in describing a visitation of locusts to the Cape of -Good Hope, makes the following curious remark:—“Their -last departure was rather singular. All the -full-grown insects were driven into the sea by a tempestuous -north-west wind, and were afterwards cast -upon the beach, where it is said they formed a bank of -three or four feet high, which extended from the mouth -of the Bosjesman river to that of the Becca, a distance -of nearly fifty English miles; and it is asserted that -when this mass became putrid, and the wind was at -south-east, the stench was sensibly felt in several parts -of the Sneuwberg.” The distance over which the stench<span class="pagenum" title="22"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a></span> -was felt must have been at least a hundred miles, the -range of the Sneuwbergen being at about this distance -from the coast.</p> - -<p>It is hardly necessary for me to observe, that no -disease followed the destruction and putrefaction of -these locusts. The colony of South Africa still continues -free from plague and cholera, and many other -diseases afflicting the most favoured of European lands; -consumption, scrofula, and fever are all but unknown. -I am not aware that the inhabitants are in any way remarkable -for their sanitary arrangements, whilst of -the Hottentots it may with truth be said, that they are -at once the healthiest and dirtiest people in the world.</p> - -<p>Thus, after the lapse of many centuries, the great -questions debated in the time of Justinian—may we -not rather say in the days of Thucydides?—surge up -again whenever a new plague appears on the earth. -The professors of “the conjectural art,” anxious to -vindicate their claim to activity, and to share in the -laudations bestowed on the superior intelligence of the -present day, offer at present a highly consolatory view, -not only as to the origin of these diseases, but as to their -speedy suppression. They argue that, but for the -neglect of hygienic measures, such influences or poisons -would either not arise, or would pass on their course, -leaving the nations unscathed. In the meantime, it is -prudent to recall to the recollection of those who arrive -rashly at conclusions such as these—who theorize on -narrow local ground—who are sanguine enough to look -forward to the speedy extinction of all zymotic diseases, -that pestilential and destructive epidemics are not confined -to man; that, under the form of murrains, they -destroy the beasts of the field. In the murrain of -1747, it is stated on authority that 30,000 cattle died<span class="pagenum" title="23"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a></span> -in Cheshire in the course of half a year. The marsh -districts suffered most; and it has even been conjectured -that such epizootic diseases usually originate -amidst swamps and malarious districts; but of this -we have no proofs. Even the harvests to which man -looks for sustenance are not spared—nor the vine; the -life-destroying principle, attacking these lower forms -of life, cannot well be traced to the neglect of hygienic -measures on the part of man, or of the animals or -plants themselves; and yet in the midst of these bogs -and marshes which undeniably give origin to some -forms of fever, the buffalo, the ox, the camel, the elephant, -and the wild of all species, live and thrive. Thus -the question of the origin of disease is complicated <i>ab -origine</i>; the origin of typhus—that scourge and pest of -the nations inhabiting the temperate regions, more especially -of Western Europe, and of the British Isles in -particular—is absolutely unknown. To affect to trace -it to a foul drain, an uncleansed sewer, an untrapped -cesspool, a laystall, a collection of neglected rubbish, is -clearly against the evidence and the daily experience of -thousands; but all are agreed that in certain fenny and -marshy countries fevers prevail—intermittent in temperate, -remittent in ardent climes nearer the tropic; whilst -within the tropics the life of the European stranger can -scarcely be valued at a week’s purchase<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></span> To this destructive -influence, most commonly connected with a -marshy soil, the Italian first gave the name of malaria—a -useful appellation, universally accepted as implying -no theory; and had such fevers been found only in such -localities, the inference must have followed, that a some<span class="pagenum" title="24"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></a></span>thing, -open to the chemist to discover, emanating or -produced by these marshes, was solely and distinctly the -cause of all such fevers. But now a more careful and -extended inquiry shows that such fevers are not confined -to those districts, but infest even the hay-field, are -not unfrequent in or near woods growing on soils where -marshes have ever been unknown; whilst as regards -the more ardent remittents of Eastern countries, the -statistics of Major Tulloch have all but destroyed the -theory which would trace to marshes exclusively the -fevers which in such countries set all medical treatment -and all human precautions at defiance<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a></span></p> - -<p>This uncertainty of life from the effects of malaria -must ever, I think, remain whilst the true nature of the -poison is unknown; and it is with a view to discover, if -possible, the circumstances under which it originates, -that I undertook this difficult inquiry. Long resident -in a country supposed to be an ague-producing land, I -watched with much interest the social condition of a -sagacious, prudent, and industrious race of men, who -could thus, at one and the same time, preserve their -liberty and life from the hostile assaults of furious, implacable -tyrants from without, and of an insidious, -invisible enemy within, walking stealthily around the -habitations of men, poisoning the air of his house, his -fields, and gardens. It was in Holland that a French -general, writing to the great Napoleon, and complaining -of the destruction of the garrisons by fever, received -from him the only reply which at the time the necessities<span class="pagenum" title="25"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></a></span> -of the mighty conqueror permitted him to give—“<i>L’homme -meurt partout</i>.” “Man dies everywhere,” -was the only answer, if answer it could be called, to a -kind-hearted commander, more touched by the calamity -around him than by the exigencies of the State.</p> - -<p>But how was it that whilst French and English -soldiers perished so unaccountably in the prime of life, -the inhabitants of these countries lived seemingly -unaware of the pestilence walking around and amongst -them? This problem may, I think, be solved; and as -not foreign to the matter in hand, I may be permitted -to glance at the character, position, and social condition -of a race and a nation so distinct from all other branches -of the great European family. My remarks will bear -mainly on the influence they exercise over the portion -of the earth they inhabit, and on the modifications -which man’s industry, guided by prudence and science, -may imprint on “the earth, the air, and water” of the -territory which, under the circumstances I now describe, -may especially be called their own.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="26"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER IV. - -<span class="title">HOLLAND AND BELGIUM, THE LAND OF MARSHES AND OF -FEVER, RECLAIMED AND RENDERED SALUBRIOUS BY -THE ENERGIES OF A FREE PEOPLE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Necessity is the mother of invention. “Quis psittacum -loqui docuit? Venter: Magister artium.<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a></span> A constant -struggle with Nature for existence taught the Hollander -and Brabanter a practical philosophy in respect of the -management of river mouths, tidal rivers, low levels, -freshwater and seawater floods, unmatched by any other -nation. It required the unceasing vigilance of the most -experienced scientific men to combat the adverse circumstances -under which their country was placed. An -error of calculation laid waste a province; a breach in a -sea-wall let in upon the land not only the ocean, but -famine, followed by its sure accompaniment—fever, and -a wide-spread mortality.</p> - -<p>In this land there was no room for experimental -jobbery. To have placed a linendraper at the head of -the great hydraulic works on which depended the salubrity -and prosperity of Amsterdam or Rotterdam would -have roused the indignation of the country, and brought -the matter to a speedy issue. But it was not until the<span class="pagenum" title="27"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></a></span> -rise of the Dutch Republic that there sprung up, as a -natural result, a school of philosophy—of natural philosophy, -and of the sciences of observation and application—hitherto -unmatched, a parallel to which can only -be found in the era immediately preceding Alexander -the Great. Freedom of thought and action produced -Muschenbroek and Leuwenhoek, De Ruyter and Van -Tromp: then flourished the Elzevir press, and Scaliger -was invited by the traders of Holland to pass his days -in peace and plenty with them, that his presence amongst -them might throw a lustre on their country. In this land -flourished Camper and Boerhaave; Albinus and Ruisch -taught anatomy; Swammerdam discovered the globules -of the blood. In the meantime Tasman and Van Diemen -explored the ocean, immortalizing their names and their -country by the grandeur of their geographical discoveries. -The views of the traders of this the most celebrated of -all republics, were universal, and included mankind: -with them originated sound political economy. The -civilization, peculiarly human, which overcomes all -natural obstacles, reached its height in this free land; -security of life and property, equality before the law, a -contempt for all sinister hereditary influences, a respect -for the natural rights of man, and an appreciation of -man’s innate worth, uninfluenced by all extrinsic circumstances, -characterized in the Netherlands a period -standing out in bold relief, and in striking contrast with -the history of all other European nations<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a></span> In this -forward movement Haarlem was conspicuous, proofs of -which may be found in the Transactions of the society<span class="pagenum" title="28"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28"></a></span> -established in that city. About 1771 there was offered -a prize for an essay on the Waters of Holland, as to the -existence of any matters injurious to man or beast, and -to describe such, if existing. An unsuccessful candidate -for the prize (M. Vander Wild) advanced in his essay -this remarkable principle—that the sap of plants consists -of living beings, in a liquid element<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></span></p> - -<p>As the nation was free to think and to express their -thoughts, nothing practical or useful escaped them: the -question as to the influence of the drainage of lakes on -the health of the inhabitants was ably discussed during -the last century, more especially as to the result of -draining the lowlands of Biensten, de Wonner, &c. M. -Ungo Waard and others describe the sickness which took -place on the drainage of Bleewyksthe. In Haarlem, in -1779, the deaths exceeded those of the previous year by -396; in Amsterdam, by 1727; in Groningen, by 752. -The previous summer had been hot and dry, offering -another proof that the vegetable humus thus exposed to -the air, fermenting and rotting, was the cause of the -sickness and increased mortality. In this land there -was no room—no margin, to use a commercial phrase—for -experiments on the pockets and the health of its -citizens; they were citizens, not subjects—far-seeing -men, who calculated everything <i>d’avance</i>. And now -the draining of the lake of Haarlem shows that the race -has lost little of its ancient spirit of enterprise and -industry, of that applicative invention to the wants of -civilized man which gives to Holland and to her colonies<span class="pagenum" title="29"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></a></span> -an aspect to which no other country bears any resemblance. -The poisoning of rivers and streams by -any combination of adventurers could never happen -there, and the scenes we have witnessed lately in England -would be wholly unintelligible in Holland. It is -here that vast morasses, seemingly valueless, are being -converted into fertile meadows, by processes of which -the natives of other countries have not the slightest -knowledge. In this land it is the law that, before any -one be permitted to convert a peat bog into a lake by -the abstraction of the peat, security is demanded of him -as to his means to drain the lake about to be formed, to -embank the excavation, and to convert it into a healthy -fertile meadow; in England, on the contrary, such -cautious procedure is held in the most sovereign contempt, -as wholly unworthy that fine chivalrous character -for pluck, daring, and exciting enterprise and speculation -which marks the free-born Briton.</p> - -<p>“Break up the cesspools,” shout the interested, “the -receptacles of the filth of millions for a quarter of a -century, and pour them at once into the Thames.” “It -will poison the river and the adjoining country for a -lengthened period,” suggests the prudent observer of -passing events. “Persevere,” exclaims the go-ahead -party; “have we not proofs in Macculloch that nearly -all known diseases arise from the cesspools? Leave the -river to take care of itself.” What, in the mean time, is -the course of action of the Mayor and Corporation of the -richest city in the world? Fully occupied with the distribution -of their revenues, they abandon the river and -interests of a vast metropolis to a host of talented and -needy adventurers, whose name is legion. The people -in Holland and Belgium think that the refuse and -excreta of the inhabitants of towns, villages, and single<span class="pagenum" title="30"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></a></span> -houses cannot be too soon or too effectually buried -under or incorporated with the soil; we, in this country, -act evidently from a belief that this refuse, the product -of civilization, cannot be too extensively spread abroad -in the open air, and accordingly a formidable and well-paid -staff of more than 2000 persons is organized to -carry out the delusion to its conclusion. Luton, Birmingham, -and London, afford hints as to what these -delusions may one day end in: that they will proceed in -their course, I doubt not, for, like Macbeth, they are so -far involved, that it were safer to proceed than to back -out from their position. This could only have happened -in the land where the greatest of all railways does not -pay the proprietors one shilling of interest on the -enormous capital expended in its construction.</p> - -<p>Located by the mouths of the Rhine and Scheld, the -ancient Batavians must early have commenced their -struggle with nature. We have no information from -early history of how that struggle began; but one thing -is certain—it was of great antiquity, for in the Morini—the -last of men—Cæsar encountered no fever-stricken, -wasted, dejected people: they must already have discovered -the existence of that hidden enemy, malaria, -and taken measures for at least a mitigation of the -evil<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="31"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER V. - -<span class="title">ON THE PRESUMED SOURCES OF MALARIA.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>§ 1. For all practical purposes, the fevers termed intermittent -and remittent may be held to have their origin -in one cause. Thus, whether on the marshy coasts of -Essex and Kent, or the more dreadful banks of the -Gambia and Niger, it is not improbable that the fever -so destructive to European life is of one character—mild -in Essex; fatal in Sierra Leone. But the fact is not to -be overlooked, that when fever assumes an intermittent -character, however it may conduce to the inefficiency of -the population, it does not greatly swell the bills of mortality; -on the other hand, the remittent form of fever -constitutes that grand and hitherto insurmountable -obstacle which Nature seems to have placed to the -extension of the white man over the earth, excluding -him, seemingly for ever, from the tropical regions of the -world.</p> - -<p>A favourite theory with medical men was, that the -evil influence which causes fever, whether in Essex or -on the Gambia, by the Scheld or the Niger, was a certain -miasma produced by marshes more or less remote -from human abodes; sometimes it was maintained that -to produce the miasma these marshes must be in a great -measure dried up, or in the process of being so; at other -times an opposite opinion was held. These hypotheses<span class="pagenum" title="32"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a></span> -were refuted, or at least much shaken, by Major Tulloch, -in his invaluable “Statistical Report on the Sickness, -Mortality, and Invaliding among Troops on the Western -Coast of Africa” (p. 26). “So long as the fever continued -to make its appearance during the rainy season, -excessive moisture was deemed one of the principal -causes, but that theory has been abandoned since it has, -on three or four occasions, appeared and raged with -equal violence in the middle of the dry season. If we -attempt to connect it with temperature, the range of the -thermometer offers equally contradictory results, the -disease having originated and prevailed nearly as often -when that was at the minimum as when at the maximum. -Variations in atmospheric pressure afford no -clue whatever to the solution of the difficulty, for here, -as in all tropical climates, the fluctuations of the barometer -are exceedingly slight. No definite connexion -has ever been traced between the prevalence of any -particular wind and the outbreak of the disease; the -breeze blows over the same district in the healthy as in -the unhealthy season. Besides, it seems entirely to negative -the supposition that any of these can be more, -perhaps, than mere accessories, when we find, from 1830 -to 1836, the colony of Sierra Leone remarkably free from -fever, without any perceptible change in these respects. -It does not appear that the composition of the atmosphere -during the prevalence of yellow fever in this -command has ever been examined, to ascertain if it differed -from what has usually been observed at periods -comparatively healthy; but this test has been applied -without any satisfactory result in other countries. -Unless some light, therefore, can be thrown on the subject -by a careful examination of the electrical state of -the atmosphere at such periods, there seems little hope<span class="pagenum" title="33"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></a></span> -of the origin of this disease being ever distinctly traced -to any appreciable agency—a circumstance which, except -as regards the interests of science, is perhaps of less -importance, since where the cause is so exceedingly -subtle it would, even if discovered, be in all probability -beyond human control.<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></span></p> - -<p>In corroboration of the same views, amounting in fact -to a rejection of the favourite hypothesis of the professors -of the healing art—namely, that this fever originated -in the miasma of marshes near the station, this -careful and honest observer, whose merits as such have -subsequently been fully tested in the celebrated Crimean -inquiry, makes this further remark:—“The hypothesis -that this fever originates from the miasma of marshes in -the immediate vicinity of the station, as elsewhere it has -been supposed to do, is directly opposed to the fact of -the Isles de Loss, Acera, and the peninsula of Sierra -Leone itself, being so subject to it, though all are in a -certain degree remote from the operation of any such -agency. If it be referred to similar exhalations wafted -to the distance of several miles, how is its prevalence to -be accounted for at Fernando Po, a mountainous region, -and bordering on a mainland still more so, and where, -so far as can be ascertained, no such agency is in operation? -Instances of disease having raged with the same -violence on the rocky Isles de Loss and the sandy -wastes of Senegal, as in those parts of the coasts where<span class="pagenum" title="34"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a></span> -vegetation is most dense, preclude the likelihood of it -originating in a superabundance of that agency. In -every description of situation along the coast has this -scourge of Europeans been found to prevail. The low, -swampy Gambia, the barren Isles de Loss, the beautifully-diversified -features of Sierra Leone, the open and -park-like territory around Acera, the lone, jungle-covered -hills of Cape Coast Castle, and the rugged, -mountainous island of Fernando Po, however different -in aspect, have all exhibited the same remarkable uniformity -in giving birth to the disease.”</p> - -<p>It may, indeed, be objected that the fevers of Western -Africa differ essentially from those traceable to the -deltas of rivers, and to the lowlands alternately inundated -and exposed to a high temperature, of more temperate -climates; but I see no good reason in favour of -such an opinion. The tables of sickness and mortality -distinctly state that the fevers were intermittents and -remittents, but mainly remittents, and that continued -or ardent fever was scarcely present; whilst in Canada -precisely the reverse is the case, intermittents prevailing -to a great extent, remittents being comparatively rare. -It would seem, however, that whether or not these -fevers spring from a common cause, the temperature -of the locality greatly influences the character of the -disease.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to deny the influence humidity has -in engendering malarious tendencies, but it is not -necessary that the humidity be to any great extent. -Water is essential to life, it is essential also to the production -of fermentation, of putrefaction; the absolute -desert, as I have already remarked, is always healthy; -so is the surface of the great ocean, which although it -abounds with life, never putrefies, never exhales unpleasant<span class="pagenum" title="35"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></a></span> -odours. Countries, like some districts of Southern -Africa and of Australia, where it seldom rains, are the -healthiest countries in the world; there fevers of all -types are nearly unknown, and the sufferers from such -coming from unhealthy climates, recover speedily from -the sad condition to which a residence in a tropical -country and frequent attacks of fever may have reduced -them. The Royal African Regiment, composed mainly -of deserters, left the west coast of Africa for the Cape of -Good Hope in 1817; many of them were so reduced -in health as to be obviously unfit for service in any -country where fevers of an intermittent or remittent -character prevailed. Now, a residence on the frontiers -of the colony of the Cape not only cured these fevers, -but seems also to have been equal to the removal of -those sequelæ of fever and dysentery which haunt those -who have greatly suffered from them, bringing them in -the end to an untimely grave. Nothing of the kind -occurred in this remarkable country; all, or nearly all, -recovered, and the mortality and sickness of this shattered -corps, removed from Sierra Leone and the Gambia -to the frontier districts of the Cape of Good Hope, fell -considerably below what it is amongst the same class in -Britain. These facts merit the attention of all interested -in the welfare of the army of Britain, an army exposed -more than any other to the effects of climate in all -regions of the world<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a></span></p> - -<p>§ 2. The statistics I have just referred to may seem -to some to shake all modern theories of malaria that have<span class="pagenum" title="36"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></a></span> -ever yet been offered to the public. I admit this to be the -case; but I trust to be able to show that in the remains -of animal and vegetable life, elements collected in the -greatest abundance by the banks of rivers and lakes in -marshy countries, near shores alternately exposed and -covered by the tide, and especially in tidal rivers, but -not exclusively in such localities, we have the source of -that poison whose terrible effects on human life need -not be enumerated here.</p> - -<p>The result of Major Tulloch’s report in regard to the -relative prevalence at different stations in British -America of remittent and intermittent fevers, shows in -a still stronger light the difficulty of establishing any -uniform connexion between the presence of marshy -ground and the existence of these febrile diseases, to -which the exhalations from it are supposed to give rise; -but they do not refute the view I take<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></span> which is based -on the researches of the profoundest chemists. As it -was formerly shown that in some of the Ionian Islands, -totally destitute of marsh and comparatively barren of -vegetation, more remittent and intermittent fevers have -been under treatment among the troops, than in others -where these alleged sources of disease existed in the -greatest abundance; so in the present Report we find -it established, that yellow fever of the most aggravated -form has repeatedly made its appearance in Ireland -Island in the Bermudas, a rocky barren spot only a few -hundred yards in breadth, “containing no marsh, and -with little or no vegetation except a few cedar trees.”</p> - -<p>“Conversely, again, we find that these diseases prevail -to a remarkable extent along the banks of the lakes and -the margin of the streams in Upper Canada, while they<span class="pagenum" title="37"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></a></span> -are comparatively rare in similar situations in the Lower -Province; that among the troops at Fredericton, living -on the marshy banks of a river, surrounded by a dense -vegetation, scarcely a case of them is ever known; and -that a similar exemption is enjoyed even by those at -Annapolis and Windsor in Nova Scotia, though quartered -at the <i>embouchure</i> of rivers daily subject to extensive -inundations, and of which the banks, for the distance of -several miles, exhibit that combination of mud, marsh, -and decayed vegetation which is generally supposed a -most prolific source of such diseases.</p> - -<p>“When in subsequent reports we come to investigate -the operation of these diseases on the west coast of -Africa and other colonies, we shall be able to adduce -still more satisfactory evidence on this subject; in the -meantime we have felt it our duty to place the preceding -facts in a prominent point of view, not for the purpose -of establishing any particular theory, but to show how -inadequate in many instances is the supposed influence -of emanations from a marshy soil to account for the -origin of these diseases. All the evidence obtained -seems only to warrant the inference that a morbific -agency of some kind is occasionally present in the -atmosphere, which, under certain circumstances, gives -rise to fevers of the remittent and intermittent type; -and that though the vicinity of marshy and swampy -ground appears to favour the development of that -agency, it does not necessarily prevail in such localities, -nor are they by any means essential either to its existence -or operation.</p> - -<p>“Notwithstanding the doubt in which this branch of -the investigation is still involved, we may venture, from -the facts adduced in all the reports hitherto submitted, -also to draw the conclusion, that when this morbific<span class="pagenum" title="38"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></a></span> -agency manifests itself in the epidemic form, its influence -is frequently confined to so limited a space as to -afford a fair prospect of securing the troops from its -ravages by removing to a short distance from the -locality where it originated. The history of the epidemic -fevers at Gibraltar furnishes several remarkable -instances of this kind, and we have also shown that, -both in the West Indies and Ionian Islands, one station -has frequently suffered to a great extent from yellow -fever, while others within the distance of a few miles -have been entirely exempt.</p> - -<p>“In the epidemic cholera at Montreal and Halifax, -which seems to have been in this respect somewhat -analogous in its operation, we have also had occasion to -remark the sudden cessation of the disease immediately -on the removal of the troops to a short distance.<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a></span></p> - -<p>The discordance prevailing between observers, equally -honest, equally intelligent, arises, no doubt, from this, -that all the elements of the problem to be solved are -not yet discovered; nor could this be expected until a -refined chemistry had more fully developed the relation -between chemical and physiological phenomena. The -very essence of the affinities between the soil and vegetable -and animal life was a complete mystery until -lately, whilst the relations of the superambient atmosphere -to the organic remains of what had ceased to -live, were wholly misunderstood. The cause of the -potato blight, which produced a famine in Ireland, is -still a mystery; so also is that of the vine. A disease -very fatal to horses, called Paard-sick, from its only<span class="pagenum" title="39"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></a></span> -attacking the horse, is endemic in some districts of the -Cape; that is, in the healthiest country in the world. -The nature of the Paard-sick has never been discovered. -It spares the <i>wilde</i> of the horse genus—the quagga, -zebra, &c.—but is fatal to the domestic breed. Man’s -interference, then, proves at times fatal to his protegée. -It is everywhere the same, unless his interference be -guided by all the lights which the highest reasoning -powers, the shrewdest observation, and oft-repeated -experience can afford. The two Canadas are in an -especial manner the land of rivers, lakes, marshy forests, -swampy meadows, and a soil into which the plough -never penetrated until the white man appeared. As a -natural result, it might be conjectured and presumed -that intermittents and remittents, under at least certain -of their forms, would be equally frequent and universally -diffused. Statistics prove it to be directly the -reverse, Upper Canada being to Lower Canada, in -respect of these fevers, as 178 intermittents is to 26 -remittents; whilst even of these 26 it is affirmed that -the greater number of them came from the Upper Province. -To show that I do not exaggerate this singular -fact, I quote the remarkable statistics of Major Tulloch.</p> - -<p>“Taking the results of these ten years as the basis of -our deductions, then, the prevalence of intermittent -fevers in Upper compared with Lower Canada is as 178 -to 26. It is necessary, however, to keep in view that -all the admissions (amounting only to 26) from intermittent -fever in Lower Canada did not originate there, -by far the greater proportion of them having occurred -among soldiers who came from the Upper Province -while labouring under that disease, or who had acquired -a predisposition to it during a previous residence there. -Indeed, except at Isle aux Naix and the other small<span class="pagenum" title="40"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></a></span> -stations along the banks of the Richelieu, fevers of the -intermittent type are rarely indigenous in Lower -Canada; at Quebec they are said to be unknown, and -at Montreal nearly so.</p> - -<p>“In Upper Canada these diseases prevail most among -the troops stationed along the course of the great lakes -from Kingston to Amherstberg, they are almost unknown -at Penetanguishene and By Town. The settlers -who reside even at the distance of a few miles inland -rarely suffer from them; yet the districts enjoying this -exemption are in many parts covered with lakes, intersected -by streams, and abound in marshy ground, -decayed vegetation, and all the other agencies to which -the origin of this type of fever is generally attributed. -A reference to the report on Nova Scotia and New -Brunswick will also show that though the same agencies -exist to a similar extent at some of the stations in that -command, intermittent fevers are almost unknown.</p> - -<p>“These diseases, too, are said to be comparatively -rare wherever the surface is covered with dense forests, -even though the ground is wet and marshy. The -vicinity of lands recently cleared is most subject to -them, particularly meadows or open patches of the -forest, which, though denuded of trees, have not been -brought under cultivation. It would appear, too, that -their prevalence is diminishing with the progress of -agricultural improvement; for it will be observed, on -reference to the Abstract of Diseases, No. III. of Appendix, -that since 1831—a period during which this -province has been rapidly advancing in wealth and -population, and many important changes have taken -place in the vicinity and stations occupied by the troops—intermittents -have become comparatively rare, the -proportion attacked having been scarcely one-tenth part<span class="pagenum" title="41"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></a></span> -so high as the average previous to that period. Intermittents -most frequently occur from July to September, -when a high temperature prevails; but they are also to be -met with, though more rarely, in spring, when that agency -could only operate in a trifling degree to induce them. -Though a source of inefficiency among the troops, they -add but little to the mortality, as not one case in a -thousand proves fatal. A person who has been once -attacked is exceedingly apt to suffer from them again; -but this susceptibility is easily removed by change of -residence to the northern parts of the province, or to -Lower Canada.</p> - -<p>“In some years, fever also manifests itself along the -borders of the lakes in the remittent form, but not of -so fatal a character as in the West Indies or the Mediterranean; -for only one case in sixteen is found to have -proved fatal among the troops.</p> - -<p>“The febrile diseases of Upper Canada are by no means -uniform in their prevalence. Even in years when the -degree of temperature, fall of rain, or extent of vegetation -have been much the same, the proportion of cases, -particularly of intermittents, is very different. A general -impression exists, that their prevalence is in some -measure dependent on the height of the waters in Lake -Ontario, which attain their maximum in June or July. -If, from the quantity of snow or moisture in the course -of the year, this is found to be greater than usual, -febrile diseases are expected to abound, and the reverse -if the maximum has been under the average. As Lake -Ontario is the reservoir into which all the waters of -Upper Canada are drained off before finding their way -to the ocean, this theory, if accurately substantiated, -would tend to show how far the origin of these diseases -depended on moisture, and we therefore instituted the<span class="pagenum" title="42"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></a></span> -following comparison between the height of the waters -in the lake, as measured at Kingston for a series of -years, and the prevalence of fever in Upper Canada -during the same period:</p> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="fs80" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac">1818.</td><td class="tac">1819.</td><td class="tac">1820.</td><td class="tac">1821.</td><td class="tac">1822.</td><td class="tac">1823.</td><td class="tac">1824.</td><td class="tac">1825.</td><td class="tac">1826.</td><td class="tac">1827.</td><td class="tac">1828.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tal pl13hi">Average height of lake<br /> in Kingston Harbour<br /> in each year</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />14 9</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />13 3</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />12 3</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />11 11</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />12 1</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />13 5</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />13 11</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />12 5</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />12 10</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />14 3</td><td class="tac vat">ft. in.<br />15 7</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tal pl13hi">Cases of intermittent<br /> fever in Upper Canada</td><td class="tac"><div>110</div></td><td class="tac"><div>319</div></td><td class="tac"><div>509</div></td><td class="tac"><div>348</div></td><td class="tac"><div>222</div></td><td class="tac"><div>143</div></td><td class="tac"><div>171</div></td><td class="tac"><div>135</div></td><td class="tac"><div>111</div></td><td class="tac"><div>220</div></td><td class="tac"><div>489</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tal pl13hi">Cases of other fevers</td><td class="tac"><div>109</div></td><td class="tac"><div> 54</div></td><td class="tac"><div>150</div></td><td class="tac"><div>152</div></td><td class="tac"><div>132</div></td><td class="tac"><div> 69</div></td><td class="tac"><div>168</div></td><td class="tac"><div>190</div></td><td class="tac"><div>155</div></td><td class="tac"><div>185</div></td><td class="tac"><div>300</div></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>“Here we find that, though in the last of these years -the maximum height of water in the lake happened to -correspond with the greatest prevalence of fever, the -latter can by no means be looked upon as a consequence -of, or in any way connected with, the former; since in -1818, when the water rose to within a few inches of the -same level, there was less fever than in any of the years -under observation; whereas in 1820 and 1821, when the -waters of the lake appear to have been at the minimum, -there was more than in any of the years prior to 1828.</p> - -<p>“This supposition seems to have originated in the circumstance -of fevers being generally most prevalent -from June to October, which happens to correspond with -the period when the waters of the lake are at the greatest -height; but the wide sphere over which these statistical -investigations now extend, has enabled us to show that -febrile diseases always prevail most at that season of -the year, even in countries where no such cause is in -operation to produce them; consequently, the rise of -the waters in the lakes can no more be regarded as the -cause of fever in America, than the cessation of the -trade winds about the same period can be deemed a<span class="pagenum" title="43"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></a></span> -satisfactory reason for the appearance of that disease in -the West Indies. Both are merely coincidences which, -by those who have not a sufficiently extensive field of -observation, are apt to be mistaken for causes.”</p> - -<p>There arises out of all such inquiries one obvious -deduction—viz., that the essential nature of malaria is -altogether unknown; and that unless we choose to remain -contented with such vague hypotheses as those of -Macculloch, now adopted by the Medical Board of -Health of Great Britain<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a></span> other inquiries must be -entered on. The assertion is as easily made as its refutation -is difficult, that typhus fever is caused by a -neglected drain or ditch; that scarlet fever, small-pox, -and cholera have for their origin the same cause; that -if they do not immediately produce the poison, they -predispose the human frame for its reception; and that -as a necessary result, all such diseases, and deaths resulting -therefrom, and from zymotic forms of disease -generally, are preventible by human agency. Let us -leave these Utopian views to the clever pens skilled in -the art of making that seem new which is not new, and -that seem true which is not true, and patiently inquire -into some of the many difficulties besetting all investigations -into Nature’s processes, and man’s interpretation -of them<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="44"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VI. - -<span class="title">THE LIVING WORLD—ITS EXTENT AS REVEALED BY THE -MICROSCOPE—HOW ITS REMAINS ARE DISPOSED OF -WHEN LIFE HAS CEASED.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>§ 1. It has been often remarked, and with great -truth, that the world abounds with life. In the remains -of that which had once lived, which was at one -period organic, the illustrious Cuvier and the great -school to which he belonged saw the materials of life, -the food, in fact, of that which exists; he held that -between the inorganic and organic worlds there was an -impassable gulf, or in other words, an inconvertibility -or a metamorphosis, call it by what name you will. -This plausible theory, with many others, is now controverted -by modern chemists, who boldly assert that no -organic atoms or molecules, as such, can serve as food for -a plant or an animal. But be this as it may—for chemists -admit that the incombustible constituents or the salts -of the blood, so essential to the nourishment or support -of animal life, must have passed through organic <span class="nowrap">bodies<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a></span>—one -thing is certain, that the extent of life on the -globe can scarcely be imagined. For first, as regards -the vegetable kingdom, do we not observe how, as -spring and summer advance, the organic beings which<span class="pagenum" title="45"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45"></a></span> -during winter had lain dormant at the bottom, or -deeply entombed in the waters (I speak not of those to -be seen at all times on the surface of the earth), rise to -the surface, bringing with them countless myriads of -the ova of aquatic animals and of those which haunt the -surface of the water? Amongst these stand pre-eminent -the infusoria or zoophytes; with these the atmosphere -also becomes loaded. They form, in fact, the substratum -of all animal life, constituting the food not only of -animals somewhat larger than themselves, but of many -much larger, as the various species of the cyprinus. -Many valuable gregarious fishes, as the herring, char, -and the finer species of trout, live on entomostraca; -they in their turn become the food of larger and more -voracious fishes. Even the whale lives on food a -portion of which is almost microscopic. Now, withdraw -the water by which all this life subsists, and -putrescence, or fermentation and decay, must be the -result upon a mass of life of which the amount may be -faintly conjectured by the fact that 4,100,000,000 -millions of infusoria may be found in a square inch. -These insects, when dead, are found in strata extending -to some acres, and many of the fossils thus discovered -belong to species of genera now alive. The principles -of life were at least as active in what we call the old -world (though in reality the young world), as in the -present; the researches of Ehrenberg, repeated by -many others, have placed these opinions beyond -dispute.</p> - -<p>Now, it is by no means improbable—nay, it is almost -certain—that many species of these infusoria reside in -the vapour of the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>The Austrian physicians came to the conclusion that -the Asiatic cholera was of local or terrestrial origin;<span class="pagenum" title="46"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a></span> -the facts mentioned above confirm this view to a certain -extent, by disproving the general epidemic laws supposed -to regulate the progress of cholera and of fever -(in which cholera usually terminates), and by showing -that the disease sought out, as it were, the inhabitants -of certain districts favourable for the production of the -deleterious influences I am now about to consider. -When the epidemical influence was superadded to these, -the disease appeared; its independence of changes in temperature -may have been owing to other circumstances -not yet investigated. Connected with this evolution of -vegetable life in spring and summer, and with its effects -on man, is what is called the blooming of plants. The -presence of stagnant waters and of foul ditches may be -discovered even at a distance by the odour of gases, -especially of the sulphuretted hydrogen, they emit. Now, -oxygen decomposes this gas, and thus it is not so dangerous -as represented to live near waters impregnated -with it; but should mud or vegetable refuse be left exposed -by the drying up of the waters, this gas ascends -wherever the decayed matter is renewed or turned over. -Venice, Amsterdam, and other great cities similarly -situated, are not unhealthy, although their canals abound -with mud; but so soon as the traffic ceases or becomes -trifling, a mud odour arises, originating in what the French -call <i>epuration</i> or <i>floraison d’eau</i>. In every country -where there are ponds, canals, or ditches, this vegetable -growth takes place so soon as the temperature of the water -reaches 60° Fahr. As the quickening of the plants extends -from above downwards, from the leaves and stalk -towards the roots, these expand, and the mud becomes -loosened; the plants imbibe carbon and give out oxygen, -and this circulation contributes to the loosening and to -the rising of the mud along with the plant. I have<span class="pagenum" title="47"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"></a></span> -witnessed several square yards of mud raised in this -way from the bottom of the waters. It subsides, of -course, in due time.</p> - -<p>We have seen that the vital force has no influence -upon the combination of the simple elements, as such, -into chemical compounds. “No element of itself is capable -of serving for the nutrition and development of -any part of an animal or vegetable organization;” the -vital force by its influence merely combines inferior -groups of simple atoms into atoms of a higher order.</p> - -<p>How stands it with the decomposition of animal and -vegetable bodies when the influence of the vital and -conservative power has been withdrawn? Let us attend -to what an illustrious chemist has said on this subject:—“Universal -experience teaches us, that all organized -beings after death suffer a change, in consequence -of which their bodies gradually vanish from the -surface of the earth. The mightiest tree, after it is cut -down, disappears, with the exception, perhaps, of the -bark, when exposed to the action of the air for thirty or -forty years. Leaves, young twigs, the straw which is -added to the soil, juicy fruits, &c., disappear much more -quickly. In a still much shorter time animal matters -lose their cohesion; they are dissipated in the air, leaving -only the mineral elements which they had derived from -the soil.” “This grand natural process of the dissolution -of all compounds formed in living organisms begins -immediately after death, when the manifold causes no -longer act, under the influence of which they were produced. -The compounds formed in the bodies of animals -and of plants undergo in the air, with the aid of moisture, -a series of changes, the last of which are the conversion -of their carbon into carbonic acid, of the hydrogen -into water, of their nitrogen into ammonia, of<span class="pagenum" title="48"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"></a></span> -their sulphur into sulphuric acid. Thus their elements -resume the form in which they can again serve as food -for a new generation of plants and animals. Those -elements which had been derived from the atmosphere, -take the gaseous form, and return to the air; those -which the earth had yielded return to the soil. Death, -followed by the dissolution of the dead generation, is -the source of life for a new one. The same atom of -carbon which is a constituent of a muscular fibre in -the heart of a man, assists to propel the blood through -his frame, was perhaps a constituent of the heart of one -of his ancestors; and any atom of nitrogen in our brain -has perhaps been a part of the brain of an Egyptian or -of a negro. As the intellect of the men of this generation -draws the food required for its development and -cultivation from the products of the intellectual activity -of former times, so may the constituents or elements of -the bodies of a former generation pass into and become -part of our own frames.” “The proximate cause of the -changes which occur in organized bodies after death, is -the action of the oxygen of the air on many of their -constituents. This action only takes place when water—that -is, moisture—is present, and a certain temperature -is required for its production.”</p> - -<p>Let us not, then, be surprised at the seemingly discordant -results arrived at, and at the contradictory observations -which have been made in the best faith possible, -and with every regard to truth in science. The circumstances -which seemed to be identical are merely analogous, -but in point of fact are essentially distinct, as -proved by the results. Changes inappreciable by human -sense and as yet by philosophical instruments, may and -no doubt do effect results, to man seemingly contradictory, -simply because he comprehends them not. As<span class="pagenum" title="49"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49"></a></span> -chemical science makes progress, these differences are -being reconciled and understood. Thus, as mere temperature -exercises a truly remarkable influence over -the nature of the products of fermentation, may it not -be the efficient cause of the difference we observe -between the malaria of the delta of the Mississippi and -that floating near the muddy banks of the Scheldt? -The juice of carrots, beet-root, or onions, which is rich -in sugar, when allowed to ferment at ordinary temperature -yields the same products as grape-sugar, but at a -higher temperature the whole decomposition is changed—there -is a much less evolution of gas, and no alcohol -is formed.</p> - -<p>In the fermented liquor there is no longer any sugar, -and thus may it be in the great laboratory of nature; -the product of the fermentation will assume in one -locality a character it does not possess in another. The -elements are the same; there is merely a change in -temperature.</p> - -<p>Are there facts to prove that certain states of transformation -or putrefaction in a substance, are likewise -propagated to parts or constituents of the living animal -body? Such facts exist. On no other principle but -that of assimilation can we explain the phenomena of -poisoning by the puncture of the living hand in dissecting-rooms, -the instrument being impregnated with -a fermentescible and putrefactive substance, there undergoing -a decomposition. Similar, unquestionably, must -be the action of animal poisons, such as that of poisonous -substances, whether animal or vegetable, of the poisons -giving rise to zymotic diseases, &c.; and such may be -the origin of the fevers caused by the unknown principle -which must still be connected with the decomposition -of organic bodies most frequently found in marshy<span class="pagenum" title="50"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50"></a></span> -countries. But before entering more fully on this important -matter, I shall first weigh the evidence for and -against a theory long fashionable, and which may even -now have its supporters—namely, whether fermentation -or the revolution of higher or more complex organic -vegetable into less complex compounds, be the effect of -the vital manifestations of vegetable matters, and whether -putrefaction or the same change in animal substances be -determined by the development or the presence of animal -beings. They who maintain this theory, assume as a -natural consequence of the views that the origin of -miasmatic or contagious diseases, in so far as they may -be referred to the presence of putrefactive processes, -must be ascribed to the same or to similar causes.</p> - -<p>§ 2. The refutation of this view by Liebig seems -satisfactory, and has not yet been satisfactorily replied -to. The subject is one of much interest; the theory has -furnished a foundation for some unquestionably entirely -fallacious ideas concerning the essence of the vital processes -generally, of many pathological conditions, and -the causes of certain diseases.</p> - -<p>These persons regard fermentation, or the resolution -of higher or more complex organic vegetable atoms into -less complex compounds, as the effect of the vital manifestations -of vegetable matters; and putrefaction, or the -same change in animal substances, as being determined -by the development or the presence of animal beings. -They assume as a natural consequence of this view, -that the origin of miasmatic or contagious diseases, in -so far as referrible to the presence of putrefactive processes, -must be ascribed to the same or similar causes.</p> - -<p>The most obvious and important considerations in -support of this view of fermentation, are derived from -observations made on the alcoholic fermentation, and<span class="pagenum" title="51"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51"></a></span> -on the yeast of beer and of wine. The microscopic -researches of physiologists and botanists have demonstrated -that beer or wine yeast consists of single globules -strung together, which possess all the properties -of living vegetable cells, and resemble very closely -certain of the lower family of plants, such as some -fungi and algæ.</p> - -<p>In fermenting vegetable juices, we observe, after a -few days, small points, which grow from within outwards; -and these have a granular nucleus, surrounded -by a transparent envelope. The simultaneous appearance -of the yeast-cells and of the products of decomposition -of the sugar, is the chief argument in support of -the opinion that the fermentation of sugar is an effect -caused by the vital process, a result of the development, -growth, and propagation of these low vegetable structures. -But if the development increase, and propagation -of these vegetable cells or tissues be the cause of -fermentation, then in every case where we observe this -effect we must suppose that the causes or conditions—namely, -sugar, from which the cell-walls are produced, -and gluten, which yields their contents—are both -present.</p> - -<p>Now, the most remarkable fact among the phenomena -of fermentation, and that which must chiefly be kept in -view in the explanation of the process, is this, that the -ready-formed cells, after being washed, effect the conversion -of pure cane-sugar into grape-sugar, and its resolution -into a volume of vapour and alcohol, and that the -elements of the sugar are obtained without any loss in -these new forms; that consequently, since three pounds -of yeast, considered in the dry state, decompose two -hundred-weight of sugar, a very powerful action takes -place, without any notable consumption of matter for<span class="pagenum" title="52"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52"></a></span> -the vital purpose of forming cells. If the property of -exciting fermentation depended on the development, -propagation, and increase of yeast-cells, these cells -would be incapable of causing fermentation in pure -solutions of sugar, in which the other conditions necessary -for the manifestation of the vital properties, and -especially the nitrogenous matters necessary for the production -of the contents of the cells, are absent.</p> - -<p>Experiment has proved that in this case the yeast-cells -cause fermentation, not because they propagate -their kind, but in consequence of the decomposition of -their nitrogenous contents, which are resolved into -ammonia and other products—that is, in consequence of -a decomposition which is exactly the opposite of an -organic formative process. The yeast, when brought -into contact successively with the new portions of sugar, -loses by degrees entirely its power of causing fermentation, -and at last nothing is left in the liquid but its non-nitrogenous -envelopes or cell-walls<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a></span></p> - -<p>On the other hand, it may be admitted that fungi and -agarics, and all that lives, vegetable and animal, contaminate -the air when dead; they absorb oxygen and -give out vapours of which some are clearly detrimental -to human life. The effect of breathing air so contaminated -is in some countries immediate—that is, the -incubation of the poison requires only a few days, in -others many months. Waters in a state of fermentation -or putrefaction seem to poison the plants themselves, -for duckweed and other swimming plants die, and the -swallow and the marten disappear. On the wide ocean -and over the absolute desert, the air is always pure, -nothing living is decomposing; but watch the mud -coasts, and observe the pestilential effects of sea water<span class="pagenum" title="53"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53"></a></span> -when suffered to evaporate, or still more when confined -to a locality and suffered to decompose. In the ancient -world, as in the modern, nature teemed with life, since a -cubic inch of the fossil infusoria, contains 41,000 millions -of individuals. The microscopic shell fish called entomostraca -were equally abundant.</p> - -<p>When the evaporation of sea water is quickened by -an elevation of temperature, as in the South of France, -noxious and unpleasant odours, injurious to vegetable life, -are distinctly perceptible. The putrescence and fermentation -caused by heat acting on the remains of life in sea -water left to evaporate, as between Rio and Cape Frio, -in the Brazils, seem to be the cause of, or at least to -give terrible effect to, yellow fever.</p> - -<p>Vegetable life is equally abundant, and it may be as -injurious when decomposing in its effects on human -life. Lichens speedily cover the walls of neglected -houses, and cause sickness by their decomposition. The -spore or sporule, which in flowerless plants performs -the office of seeds, floats in the atmosphere, and seems -to be the cause of the hay-fever so frequent in fertile -lowlands. Nor need we quote the recent drainage of -the Lake of Haarlem in proof of the sure results of exposing -masses of dead animal and vegetable substances -to putrefaction—namely, ague, various fevers, and -other ailments indicative of a poison or malaria affecting -the general mass of the blood. Of the minuteness of -animal life, it is only necessary to remark that we are -acquainted with animals possessing teeth and organs of -motion, which are wholly invisible to the naked eye. -Other animals exist which, when measured, are found -to be many thousand times smaller, and which nevertheless -possess the same apparatus. Their ova must be -many hundreds of times still smaller. It is to this -invisible world in all probability, and to its decomposition<span class="pagenum" title="54"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54"></a></span> -and putrefaction, or at least to influences arising -therefrom, that the essential cause of ague, and other -febrile diseases of an intermittent and remittent character -may be referred, aggravated, no doubt, by insalubrious -atmospheric constitutions of which we know -nothing. These from time to time affect and lower -human vitality—a fact admitted by all physicians.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Note on the Question of Quarantine</span>. (See Chapter <a href="#Page_26">IV</a>.)</p> - -<p>The special-pleaders who formed the Council of the late Board of -Health argued that, “as there exists an obvious harmony between -our physical and social constitutions, the necessity of intercourse -between all the members of the human family is one of the final -necessities of our race” (“Report on the Quarantine Laws,” Board of -Health, p. 64); in other words, that “the diseases supposed to be -contagious by our predecessors, <i>cannot be contagious</i>, because such a -supposition is at variance with <i>a theory (of their own invention)</i> that -there exists a necessity of intercourse between all the members of the -human family;” and therefore all quarantine laws ought to be -abolished. But are not small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough -contagious? And as regards “the necessity of intercourse between -all the members of the human family,” were we to consult the Chinese, -the Hindoo, the Peruvian, the Mexican, the Caffre, the Negro, the -Turk, the Morocene, they would unhesitatingly tell you that such an -intercourse is sure to end in their destruction. Under a Trajan or -an Alexander, an Antonine, or even an Augustus, the world no doubt -was benefited by an universal intercourse between all the members of -the human family <i>then known</i>, and such an intercourse was highly beneficial -to humanity; but the kind of intercourse established by the Clives -and Pizarros is of a very different nature from that of Alexander and -Trajan. Civilization is the direct result of artificial wants, the gratification -of which can alone be met by a free and unrestricted commerce. -By violence an empire may be overthrown, and by rapacity its inhabitants -may be deprived, not only of their land and property, but even of -their natural rights as men, as in India under the administration of England; -but all these crusades have no reference whatever to an ameliorating -of the condition of mankind; they simply form episodes in -the history of the human race, respecting which historians take -extremely different views. The conquests of Mexico and Peru and -India form episodes in the respective histories of Spain and Britain -by no means flattering to the character of these nations.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="55"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VII. - -<span class="title">ON THE DECOMPOSITION AND METAMORPHOSIS OF ANIMAL -BEINGS, AND ON THE INFLUENCE THEY EXERCISE OVER -THE SOIL AS A HABITAT FOR MAN.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>During life animal bodies undergo continual decomposition -and recomposition; life is in fact a perpetual -metamorphosis. Whilst alive, the products of vitality -(<i>excreta</i>) are returned to or deposited in or on the -surface of the earth, and carried by drainage and other -means into the nearest water, river, or stream; we have -lived to see them thrown <i>en masse</i> into a tidal river the -waters of which serve at the same time to furnish most -of that required for the economy of a vast capital and -many surrounding towns; in the same country the -cesspools and dead-wells constructed to receive the -liquid and solid <i>excreta</i> of dwelling-houses are not unfrequently -constructed close to the pump-well which is -to supply the inhabitants with pure water for culinary -purposes.</p> - -<p>To these extraordinary facts I shall shortly return. -They show the extent to which intelligent, talented, -shrewd men may suffer themselves to be deluded and -led aside from the path pointed out by common sense, -more especially when crotchets are substituted for -principles; when men fancy that in following out some -imperfectly-observed inquiry, they are imitating nature<span class="pagenum" title="56"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56"></a></span> -—that nature which is ever consonant with herself, -which created all animals, and which knows how to -dispose of their excreta when living, and of their -remains when dead, without detriment to the living. -The Caffre, the Hottentot, the Bosjieman, the North-American -Indian, the Bedouin, require no sanitary -arrangements, no laws regulating, nor staff to carry out -a code of theoretical Utopian schemes, sure to revert on -the heads of those foolish enough to employ them; the -excreta deposited on the earth disappear, so do also the -remains of animal life. We never hear of any pestilence, -fever, scurvy, dysentery, small-pox, hooping-cough, -malignant sore-throat, or other zymotics, originating -amongst them. It would, indeed, almost seem that such -evils do actually owe their origin to human agency and -to human civilization; where civilized man makes his -highest endeavours, there his most signal failure occurs; -experience teaches him nothing; the insolence of wealth -naturally leads to the contempt of all knowledge derived -from means otherwise than national and native. In -Britain the muddy banks of rivers, which in Holland -and Belgium are covered with vegetation, lie exposed, -festering in the sun’s rays, the fertile source of agues -and other diseases; here they are being continually -exposed, or alternately covered with water, which is -then allowed to evaporate; this mud is not suffered to -rest, but stirred up in a variety of ways, as best suits -the convenience of the parties interested. It suits, for -example, the proprietor of a long-neglected drain or -sewer, cesspool or filthy stagnant canal, or a common -ditch, which once was a clear rivulet, to cleanse it out. -He selects the warmest weather and the longest day for -that special work, or he spreads the contents of the -cesspools of half a century’s collection on the fields,<span class="pagenum" title="57"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"></a></span> -suffering it to remain there for weeks, thus rendering -the roads all but impassable. The selected lives of the -finest men in the kingdom, petted, fed, clothed, and -lodged at the public charge, without anxiety or a care -for to-morrow—the Guards of England—die under his -fostering hand, in the ratio of three to one of the care-worn -and toil-exhausted peasant, miserably fed, scantily -clothed, badly lodged, and full of anxiety for the morrow. -Now, how comes this? Simply, I believe, from this—that -man, knowing much better than nature, has chosen -to take her place, to do her work clumsily, and to fancy -that he is doing it well; to interfere, and not to carry -through the works he has undertaken. What other -proof can be required than the fact that, on the frontiers -of the Cape of Good Hope, in the healthiest country in -the world—a fact proved not only by the statistics of -the celebrated statistician, Major Tulloch, but by the -evidence of all medical men who have resided there,—where -the mortality is not a half of what it is amongst -the most favoured counties of England—in such a -country, where every man might have had a mile -square of ground to live on, military arrangements contrived -to break down whole regiments of the healthiest -young men England could produce<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a></span></p> - -<p>The Dutch Boers and Hottentots were astonished, as -well they might be. “Towards the end of June, 1836,” -observes Major Tulloch, “very decided symptoms of -scurvy began to manifest themselves among part of the -75th Regiment at Fort Armstrong, and subsequently -extended to most of the other stations along the frontier. -The total number of cases reported either as scorbutus -or purpura, were 134, of which 4 proved fatal; the<span class="pagenum" title="58"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58"></a></span> -others readily yielded to change of air, with improved -diet and accommodation.” As was to be expected, the -Hottentot troops, on the same ground, being left to act -generally in accordance with the dictates of their own -common sense, wholly escaped the disease.</p> - -<p>Let us now briefly review the means adopted by -nature for the disposal of those remains so embarrassing -to the civilized, so innocuous to man living in a semi-barbarous -or savage state, and which prove to the -former a source of infinite expense, discomfort, and -disease. The problem has reference to the soil, to the -air, to the water; to the condition of all three as regards -the preservation of animal life generally, man included.</p> - -<p>I have already remarked in a preceding chapter, that -all organized beings after death undergo a change, in -consequence of which their bodies, as such, disappear -from the surface of the earth. In a short time after the -event, animal matters lose their cohesion; they are dissipated -into the air, leaving only the mineral elements -they had derived from the soil. The change commences -immediately after death: with the aid of moisture and -exposure to the air, the bodies of animals, as well as -plants, undergo changes, the last of which <span class="nowrap">are<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a></span> the conversion -of their carbonic acid and of their hydrogen into -water, of their nitrogen into ammonia, of their sulphur -into sulphuric acid. Thus, their elements assume or -resume forms in which they can again serve as food to -a new generation of plants and animals. “The same -atom of carbon which, as the constituent of a muscular -fibre in the heart of a man, assists to propel the blood -through his frame, was perhaps a constituent of the -heart of one of his ancestors, and any atom of nitrogen<span class="pagenum" title="59"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59"></a></span> -in our brain has perhaps been a part of the brain of an -Egyptian or of a negro.</p> - -<p>“As the intellect of the men of this generation draws -the food required for its development and cultivation -from the products of the intellectual activity of former -times, so may the constituents or elements of the bodies -of a former generation pass into, and become parts of, -our own frames. The proximate cause of the changes -which occur in organized bodies after death is the action -of the oxygen of the air on many of their constituents. -This action only takes place when water—that is, moisture—is -present, and requires a certain temperature.”</p> - -<p>The great agent in all these changes is oxygen, as -has been already sufficiently explained when speaking -of the decomposition of vegetables after death. I shall -first attend to the influence these changes have on the -soil as producing agents, intended to restore to the soil -those vivifying powers which it never seems to lose -when man interferes not; and lastly, to consider briefly -its influence on man himself.</p> - -<p>The development of scarcely any plant can be imagined -without the assistance of nitrogen or of azotized -materials. Now, under certain conditions known to all -botanists, this azote must come from rain water, either -in the form of atmospheric air, or under that of ammonia. -Chemists have, I think, proved that it originates -in the ammonia contained in the atmosphere, and -not in the azote as it naturally exists in the air. The -problem is put and solved in this way by Liebig, “Let -us consider a farm suitably conducted, and of an extent -sufficient to maintain itself, ammonia exists there in a -sufficient abundance in rain water and snow; in the -water of most fountains; it exists in the air in abundance, -and is being constantly renewed by the decomposition<span class="pagenum" title="60"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60"></a></span> -of animal and vegetable bodies, and is restored -to the soil by the rain, and then absorbed by the roots -of plants, and produces, according to the organs, albumen, -gluten, quinine, morphine, cyanogene, and a great -number of other crystallized combinations.”</p> - -<p>The most decisive proof of the part played by ammonia -in the nourishment of plants is furnished us by -the use of manure in the cultivation of cereals and -green forage. According to the distinguished chemist -so often quoted in this essay, animal manure (<i>fumier</i>) -acts solely by reason of its production of ammonia. -The history of the Peruvian guano, a substance so -highly ammoniacal, proves all these assertions; this -celebrated manure, which fertilizes a soil (the Peruvian) -of the most remarkable sterility, consisting mainly of -white sand and argil, is composed chiefly of urates, -urate of ammonia, oxalate of ammonia, phosphate of -ammonia, carbonate of ammonia, and some other salts.</p> - -<p>Thus did the ancient Peruvian, like the Chinese, -stumble on the solution of problems involving the fate -of millions by simple experience alone, wholly unaided -by science, which steps in afterwards and gives the -<i>rationale</i> of the process; teaches us that all wheats do -not equally abound in gluten; that rice is poor in azote; -potatoes equally so. Practical agriculturists still find -difficulty in applying with success the processes recommended -by the chemist; but these, no doubt, will gradually -be overcome.</p> - -<p>“Since we find <span class="nowrap">azote<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a></span> in all the lichens which grow -on basaltic rocks; that the fields produce more azote -than is brought to them in the shape of aliment; that -we meet with azote in all soils (<i>terrains</i>), even in<span class="pagenum" title="61"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61"></a></span> -minerals which happen never to come in contact with -organic matters; that in the atmosphere, in rain-water, -and in that of fountains or springs, in every description -of soil we meet with this azote under the form of -ammonia, as a product of the slow combustion or of the -putrefaction of anterior generations; that the production -of azotized principles greatly increases in plants with the -quantity of ammonia presented to them in animal manure,—we -may in all safety conclude that <i>it is the ammonia of -the atmosphere which furnishes the azote to plants</i>.</p> - -<p>“It results from the <span class="nowrap">foregoing<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a></span> that the carbonic acid, -the ammonia, and the water, include in their elements -the conditions necessary for the production of all the -principles of living beings. These three bodies are the -ultimate products of the putrefaction and of the <i>eremacausis</i> -(slow combustion) of all animal and vegetable -races. All the products of the vital force, so numerous -and so varied—all after death return to the primitive -forms in which they first appeared or from which they -originally sprung. Death, the complete dissolution of a -generation, is always the source of a new generation.”</p> - -<p>Equally curious, but foreign to my present purpose, -is the inquiry into the sources of the inorganic principles -in plants and animals. These sources were inappreciable -until a more refined chemistry appeared. Sea-water -contains only the <span class="nowrap"> <span class="fraction"><span class="fnum">1</span><span class="bar">/</span><span class="fden">12,400</span></span></span>th of its weight of carbonate of -lime, and yet this quantity suffices for the production of -the essential components of the shells of myriads of -crustaceans and corals. Whilst the atmosphere contains -but <span class="nowrap"> <span class="fraction"><span class="fnum">4</span><span class="bar">/</span><span class="fden">10,000</span></span></span>ths to <span class="nowrap"> <span class="fraction"><span class="fnum">6</span><span class="bar">/</span><span class="fden">10,000</span></span></span>ths of its volume of carbonic acid, -the amount in sea water is more by a hundred times, and -yet in this medium we find another world of animal<span class="pagenum" title="62"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62"></a></span> -and vegetable life, which finds re-united in the ammonia -and carbonic acid the same conditions which enable -human beings on the surface of the solid earth (<i>terra -firma</i>) to live and to maintain their species.</p> - -<p>It would even seem that the essential constituents of -some organs have altered in the course of ages, without -affecting, or being materially affected by, the principles -of life. Thus it would seem that fossil bones contain -the fluate (fluorure de calcium) of calcium in much -larger quantities than the bones of recent animals; and -the same remark has been made in respect of the composition -of the crania of men found at Pompeii. They -resemble in this respect the antediluvian fossil remains.</p> - -<p>Thus, imperceptibly, as it were, proceed the grand -operations of nature, and if accidentally any vast collection -of excreta should happen to be found, as in the -guano islands of the dry regions of America, they seem -not to affect the life or health of those animals which -repose on them. It is the same in the dry regions of -Southern Africa, where sheep and cattle, in order to -protect them from wild animals, must, on the approach -of evening, be collected into a fold or kraal, surrounded -by a strong fence of the mimosa, and carefully shut in. -On this surface, of no great extent, sheep and oxen -stand or rest for the evening: their excreta accumulate, -but do not putrefy, for the air on the kraal is pure -comparatively, and never injurious to the sheep or cattle; -the surface of the kraal is, moreover, generally dry, -even when the soil may be accidentally inundated by -rain, which, when it falls, as it does occasionally, descends -in torrents. From the African soil is thus withdrawn -by man the excreta of all the domestic animals; the -semi-barbarous Boer never returns it to the soil, and -thus the loss is permanent; but it would seem that this<span class="pagenum" title="63"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></a></span> -loss, caused by man’s interference, in no shape, as far as -can be observed, affects the fertility of the soil, called on -to reproduce only the native pasture, or the wild herbs -natural to it. It is otherwise when man demands from -the soil heavier exhausting crops of wheat and hemp, -tobacco, &c.: his interference with nature’s balance must -be gone into, or soon his hopes of a harvest would be in -vain. Then comes the theory of manures, a theory -beset with difficulties, and which, besides involving man -in much labour and expense, is productive, or presumed -to be on sufficiently probable grounds the cause, of -some, if not of many, of the diseases which afflict -humanity. However this may be, whatever be the -extent to which a dense population and a neglect of the -so-called sanitary regulations subject man to infirmity -and disease, one thing is certain—he has interfered with -nature’s balance, and must take on himself the whole -task. If he shuts up a harbour mouth, refusing entrance -to the tide, confining within the harbour a portion of -that ocean water which nature intended should be constantly -agitated by tides and currents, he may expect -as results that the shores of that harbour will soon -become uninhabitable by man. All animals instinctively -shun the sick, leaving them apart; man crowds them -together into close, ill-ventilated hospitals, sweeping off -in hundreds those whom the battle had spared.</p> - -<p>It were foreign to the object of this work to enter -more fully into the history of that dissolution of animal -structures which forms so important a part of the materials -we call manure, destined to restore to the soil that -which artificial crops had deprived it of. Every part of -animal bodies owes its origin to vegetables or plants, no -part being formed by the vital force, and thus all the -remains of animals of necessity form manures.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="64"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64"></a></span></p> - -<p>On the management of these, man’s civilization -depends; without agriculture there can be no dense -population; without the dense population there can be -no civilization. On these points many remarkably -erroneous opinions have been, and still perhaps are, -maintained even by practical men, who nevertheless are -often in error—merely, it is true, as to the theory on -which they fancy they act, more rarely as to the practice -they have from experience adopted.</p> - -<p>In calmly considering this important question—the -right management of manures composed of the excreta -or the remains of animal and vegetable life, it becomes -evident that several problems, atmospheric as well as -terrestrial, remain yet to be solved. The surface of -the soil, as modified by man’s labour, presents itself -under a very different aspect to what nature intended -it to be. A lake may be drained with much advantage -to a country, but the surface so exposed cannot be too -soon cultivated, to prevent the spread of fevers sure to -arise from the decaying, fermenting, and putrefying of -the lower forms of animal and vegetable life thus -brought into existence, especially when aided by those -epidemic constitutions of the atmosphere striking directly -at man’s existence on the earth.</p> - -<p>For civilized man there is, there can be, no repose. -There are forces in nature against which, with all his -industry, he may never be able to prevail. The tropical -forest returns upon him the instant, as it were, that he -ceases to hew it down, obliterating in an incredibly -short time all traces of human labour. The lands -of Western France can scarcely be secured from the -inroads of the sands driven by western gales towards -the interior; the bog is checked only by constant labour, -and the hill where once the heath grew spontaneously,<span class="pagenum" title="65"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65"></a></span> -can only be retained in a green and grassy condition by -the constant watchfulness and labour of men. Twenty -years of neglect suffice to restore the heath, and to -sweep away all vestiges of human culture<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="66"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66"></a></span></p> - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII. - -<span class="title">EARTH, AIR, AND WATER IN RELATION TO MAN—HOW MODIFIED -BY HIM—RESULTS OF THAT MODIFICATION—ACTION -AND REACTION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>§ 1. The question of acclimation is not confined -merely to man’s transfer from one country to another, -and to his attempts to accommodate himself to the new -locality, to the altered circumstances of his adopted -country. As civilized man traverses the earth in search -of new abodes, he carries with him the arts of social -life, and especially the art of agriculture, by which -alone he can exist in congregated masses: agriculture, -which forms indeed the very basis of civilization.</p> - -<p>Whether we view man as a native of the land or a -stranger, he cannot evade this question; for even as a -native and as an individual of a race whose presence on -the soil he may inhabit precedes the records of authentic -history, if he form a portion of civilized society he -receives from his ancestors or predecessors a system he -is bound to improve, or at least to maintain, so that -he shall live and thrive, not as the beasts of the field, -but as a member of a civilized people. When a hunting -tribe of North American Indians, a horde of Bedouins, -or Hottentots or Caffres, a Turcoman family, or a -gipsy encampment, a Cape Boer, or an Australian -sheep-farmer, sit down by stream, or valley, or lake,<span class="pagenum" title="67"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></a></span> -they no more influence the soil than a troop of antelopes -or buffaloes. Nature’s great processes go on unaffected: -they deteriorate, it is true, by respiration, the superincumbent -atmosphere, but not more than any equal -amount of animal life. This deterioration the wild -plants around, sown by nature herself, speedily removes; -the oxygen consumed by savage man and the -animal life around, equally wild, is speedily renovated -by vegetation, and the oxygen they remove from the -atmosphere and the carbonic acid they pour into it, -rapidly and constantly recover their equilibrium under -the influence of vegetation. Thus, neither the earth -(soil), air, nor water, is in any way influenced by his -presence, nor is he in general affected by these; there is -no reciprocal influence for good or bad: he cuts down -no forests, grows no wheat, or but little, makes no -canals, drains no marsh-lands, poisons no rivers; the -refuse of his dwellings, the excreta of such a population, -are not sensibly perceived, even if allowed to rot -and waste away on the surface—a practice prevalent -with most if not all wild and uncultivated people; it -rapidly disappears, disintegrated by processes in which -the lower forms of animal life take a part. Now, contemplate -the picture civilized man presents, and see him -in direct antagonism with nature! The plants of -nature’s sowing are rudely torn up with the plough and -destroyed, the fields are forced to yield crops by which -he lives, and what he takes from the soil must, to use -the language of chemists, “be restored to it:” the -excreta of man and animals, the refuse of dwellings, -the deteriorated and poisoned liquids, the products of -manufactories, are collected into heaps, to rot on the -surface of the soil, before being dug into it; or are -thrown into the rivers, to poison, in a certain sense, the<span class="pagenum" title="68"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68"></a></span> -waters on which man lives, rendering their banks, if not -pestilential, at least most unpleasant as human abodes; -canals are dug, vast reservoirs are formed, which in -time give rise by mismanagement to fevers, intermittent -and others; the minerals of the earth are quarried and -placed on the soil, mines are dug, and from them waters -are discharged into the neighbouring streams, strongly -poisoned with the metallic ores. To imagine that an -influence thus affecting earth, air, and water can proceed -and increase without affecting human life, can be -overcome by habit, does not require to be met by -counter-influences originating in the experience and -reasoning of man himself, is a supposition which the -history of large cities refutes. The influence is reciprocal. -When man thus acts on the three elements of -nature by which he lives, they react on him, and it is -this reaction he is called on to meet and to overcome as -best he can. It is a question of reason and experiment—that -is, of science and of simple observation; simple -observation and experiment taught the native Peruvians -the value of guano, for science had at that time no -standing on the American continent; and now the -chemist steps in and explains why it was that the experiment -proved successful. Whether his explanation -be satisfactory or not, touches not the question; though -proved to be erroneous in a single instance, as it possibly -is in regard of this very Peruvian guano, science stands -on too secure a basis to require any defence from me.</p> - -<p>It is one of the conditions of civilization, that man -must everywhere accept the social system within which -he lives. Whether a dweller in detached cottages and -farm-houses, or congregated into townships and villages; -collected in masses, as in towns and cities, his endeavour -is to protect his dwelling from all that is offensive and<span class="pagenum" title="69"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69"></a></span> -from whatever may prove injurious to the health of -himself and family. An ancient adage tells us not to -act contrary to nature; but as nature reveals nothing -to us, as her intentions can only be read by the lights -of science and reason, or science based on observation -and experiment, whence human reason draws deductions -conformable with its power, so is it most difficult for -man to say what is best to be done under all circumstances. -When a man builds a cottage, a house, or a -palace, after duly attending to the surface-drains, he -constructs near his dwelling, sometimes beneath it, a -cesspool and a dead-well, the former intended to receive -the more solid excreta, the latter the soil-water of the -kitchen—the water, in fact, used in the domestic -economy of the house. If the dead-well or pit dug to -receive the soiled water of the house be sufficiently deep, -it filters through the soil, and thus requires no clearing -out—if not, it overflows the court or garden, and -speedily renders the place uninhabitable. The cesspool, -if deep enough and properly secured, remains for many -years unknown and unperceived, until filled; it may -even be forgotten altogether, and its very existence -remain unknown, until disclosed by accident; but whatever -be its age or condition, so soon as its contents are -exposed to the air, it is found to have continued unaltered; -and if spread on the fields, as I have seen done, -renders the vicinity for some time unendurable, thus -proving the sagacity of the Jewish legislator in his -instructions to that people to whom he gave laws and -regulations to serve them for all time to come<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a></span></p> - -<p>If the adage I have quoted above be true—namely, -that we must not act contrary to nature—there is<span class="pagenum" title="70"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70"></a></span> -another of the truth of which we feel more assured. -It is this: whenever man interferes with nature, he -must take the whole matter on himself, and be prepared -to meet every contingency. Nature gave us streams -and rivers more or less pure, whose banks are more or -less salubrious. If man pours into these streams and -rivers the refuse of towns and cities, he must be prepared -to meet the result of the experiment. It may be -good—it may be bad to him: this he cannot know -beforehand; but reason tells him that the experiment -is likely to prove injurious. It may be less injurious -than burying the excreta in cesspools under his house, -or court, or garden<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a></span> but this I doubt. In the meantime, -how does civilized man protect himself from a -source of disease respecting which there never was a -doubt—the natural humidity of the soil on which he -has erected his dwelling, in which he sleeps and lives? -To meet this evil he forms surface drains around his -house and garden and court. Into these collect the -humidity natural to the soil, as well as rains of heaven. -These drains, adulterated by no intermixture with the -refuse of house and stables, terminate in the nearest -streams, and serve to maintain these streams and rivers -into which they flow at their natural standard.</p> - -<p>Thus, before it was discovered that the best way of -dealing with these difficult questions was to break down -the distinction between drain and sewer (thus poisoning, -probably for all time to come, the air of towns and -cities), construct a sewer which soon becomes a cloaca -to receive all, and in open day and above ground throw -the contents into the nearest stream—imitating old<span class="pagenum" title="71"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71"></a></span> -Rome, without knowing anything of Rome’s municipal -economy, our forefathers drew a marked and clear -distinction—1st, between drain and sewer; 2nd, between -a cesspool and a dead-well; 3rd, between the excreta of -man, which they knew to be offensive, and that of -animals, which all were well aware are innoxious: the -latter they restored to the fields, the former they disposed -of as best they could.</p> - -<p>Society, having rejected in this instance the experience -of their forefathers, enters now on a new phasis. -Nature, about which they talk so much, will not suffer -them to rest half way. Bad odours pervade the streets, -courts, and houses: rivers can scarcely be approached. -Chemists affirm that that which is thrown into the sea -should be returned to the land. It is this question, in -so far as it bears on the matter discussed in this chapter, -I shall now briefly discuss.</p> - -<p>There lie before me the “Letters on Chemistry” of -an illustrious German chemist<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a></span> They contain the expression -of the latest scientific results hitherto attained. -Whatever view those who follow us may adopt, we must -in the meantime accept, to a certain extent, of those -contained in these “Letters.” A phenomenon must be -accepted as a fact until refuted by another; and the last -experiment, until refuted, expresses the nearest approach -to that truth which, up to the moment, man had been -able to attain. Simple observation tells man many -truths. It shows him that out of grass, herbivora, or -grass-eating animals of all kinds—from the timid hare -to the swift and powerful horse—from the fierce buffalo -to the sagacious and irresistible elephant—find the<span class="pagenum" title="72"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72"></a></span> -means for forming muscle and bones, viscera and skin. -Out of a similar food man himself, though no doubt -omnivorous, can also derive the means of support. The -rice-eating population of India are not deficient in -energy; whilst it is equally certain, though less surprising, -no doubt, that out of that which once was a -living animal, man and the carnivora derive a considerable -part of their subsistence.</p> - -<p>No experiments can set aside these simple views, -which indeed form the basis of all inquiry; but civilized -man, as I have shown, appeals to the soil mainly for support. -He trusts to the cerealia, and to those exuberant -and abundant crops of legumina and of grains required -for the support of herds of animals, which the uncultivated -field could never maintain. Hence arose agriculture, -the most useful of all the practical arts—not yet -a science, but likely in time to become one.</p> - -<p>Chemists assert—and I see no reason to doubt their -experiments—that the ash of the blood of graminivorous -animals is identical with that of the ash of grain; the -incombustible constituents of the blood of men, and of -such animals as consume a mixed food, are the constituents -of the ashes of bread, flesh, and vegetables; the -carnivorous animal contains in its blood the constituents -of the ash of flesh<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a></span> All these substances ought to be -found in grass alone.</p> - -<p>In these processes it would seem that phosphoric acid -plays a most important, and, as it would seem, an essential -part. To this I shall return: at present I merely -consider man’s influence on the soil or earth he lives on, -what he derives from it, and what he returns to it, and -in what form it is and ought to be returned. If it be<span class="pagenum" title="73"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73"></a></span> -true that without trees there would be no underwood, -no corn, and no crops,—for trees attract the fertilizing -rain, and cause the springs perpetually to flow which -diffuse prosperity and comfort,—then assuredly man -ought to be most careful in interfering with nature. It -is the remark, I think of the illustrious Humboldt, that -when the white man took possession of certain districts -of North America, vast forests prevailed everywhere. -On taking possession, experience showed that agues -prevailed, and that wheat might be grown successfully. -The forests have been now destroyed, and agues have -disappeared; but phthisis pulmonalis prevails, and wheat -no longer grows to maturity. We interfere with the -soil as nature made it when we force it to produce from -one acre the natural produce of ten; we interfere with -the processes of nature when we load the air with the -products of thousands of furnaces, manufactories, and -the poison exhaled from poisonous rivers and brooks; -and we interfere with nature when we alter the constitution -of those streams and rivers from a natural to an -artificial state, loading them with the refuse of our -artificially-drained fields, &c.</p> - -<p>Let us listen to Liebig on a matter to which he has -given the utmost possible <span class="nowrap">attention:—</span></p> - -<p>“Experience in agriculture shows that the production -of vegetables on a given surface increases with the -supply of certain matters, originally part of the soil -which had been taken up from it by plants—the excreta -of man and animals. These are nothing more than -matters derived from vegetable food, which in the vital -processes of animals, or after their death, assume again -the form under which they originally existed as parts -of the soil. Now we know that the atmosphere contains -none of those substances, and therefore can replace none;<span class="pagenum" title="74"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></a></span> -and we know that their removal from a soil destroys its -fertility, which may be restored and increased by a new -supply. Is it possible, after so many decisive investigations -into the origin of the elements of animals and -vegetables, the use of the alkalies of lime and the phosphates, -that any doubt can exist as to the principles -upon which a rational agriculture depends? Can the -art of agriculture be based upon anything but the restitution -of a disturbed equilibrium? Can it be imagined -that any country, however rich and fertile, with a flourishing -commerce, which for centuries exports its produce -in the shape of grain and cattle, will maintain its fertility -if the same commerce does not restore, in some form of -manure, those elements which have been removed from -the soil, and which cannot be replaced by the atmosphere? -Must not the same fate await every such -country, which has actually befallen the once prolific -soil of Virginia, now in many parts no longer able to -grow its former staple productions—wheat and tobacco? -In the large towns of England the produce both of -English and foreign agriculture is largely consumed. -Elements of the soil indispensable to plants, do not -return to the fields; contrivances resulting from the -manners and customs of the English people, and peculiar -to them, render it difficult, perhaps impossible, to collect -the enormous quantity of the phosphates which are -daily, as solid and liquid excreta, carried into the rivers. -These phosphates, although present in the soil in the -smallest quantity, are its most important mineral constituents. -It was observed that many English fields -exhausted in that manner, immediately doubled their -produce as if by a miracle when dressed with bone -earth imported from the Continent. But if the export -of bones from Germany is continued to the extent it has<span class="pagenum" title="75"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75"></a></span> -now reached, our soil must be gradually exhausted, and -the extent of our loss may be estimated by considering -that one pound of bones contains as much phosphoric -acid as a hundredweight of grain.”</p> - -<p>Many practical farmers, I am aware, still doubt the -facts and theories of chemistry as applied to agriculture; -with them I am free to admit that agriculture is not a -science as yet, but an experimental art. With this I -have nothing to do directly, my object being to show in -this chapter in how far civilized man modifies and -influences the soil on which he lives. He, the practical -farmer, clings to farmyard manure, which he collects in -heaps in his farmyard, or by the roadside, exposed to -every change of weather, to drenching rains, to summer -heat, and winter’s cold; from it run in streams over -the roads the liquid parts of the manure, carrying with -them the soluble salts; out of what is left when it has -become rotten he hopes to restore to the field what it -lost during the previous crop, and to a certain extent -he succeeds; on the other hand, the chemist argues that -the grand object of modern agriculture is to substitute -for farmyard manure, that universal food of plants, their -elements, obtained from other and cheaper sources retaining -its full efficacy; and this can only be done when -we shall have learned, what as yet we know but imperfectly, -how to give to an artificial mixture of the -individual ingredients the mechanical form and chemical -qualities essential to their reception, and to their nutritive -action on the plant; for without this form they -cannot perfectly supply the place of farmyard manure. -All our labours must be devoted to the attainment of -this important object.</p> - -<p>However this may be, and however it may be explained -by the chemists, it must be admitted that to<span class="pagenum" title="76"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76"></a></span> -the accidental discovery of bone manure England owes -many turnip crops, and to the introduction of guano -from Peru and Ichaboe crops of wheat which no other -manure as yet known could have produced. Peruvian -guano, the best of all, is the excreta of a sea bird; these -excreta, placed in a clear and perfectly dry atmosphere, -have been exposed for centuries to a tropical sun; no -rain falls on the heaps, trodden down only by the gentle -feet of the birds themselves.</p> - -<p>That out of such a product there should arise so -excellent a manure surpasses all previous reasoning -derived from mere science<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a></span> It is obvious, then, that -much still remains to be discovered. Were any proof -of this required, we might refer to the agriculture of -China, where, as has been reported, human excreta -alone are used as manure, and with a success unequalled -in any other part of the world. In that singular land -they have discovered much, or using perhaps the discoveries -of preceding races, have turned them to the -best account. Their agriculture is said to be perfect.</p> - -<p>With such a system of manure and such a population -one might predicate a condition of earth, air, and water, -incompatible with human life. Now the very reverse -happens, at least, in so far as regards the Chinese -themselves.</p> - -<p>No land so teems with a population strong, active, -and in robust health; true, it does not suit the European -constitution; fever and dysentery sweep off the troops -and sailors of European nations who visit the Celestial -Empire for the purpose of trade or of plunder. There -is a something unknown in the climate unsuitable to the<span class="pagenum" title="77"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77"></a></span> -European; the condition of the earth, air, and water of -China, is fatal to him. In which of these does the -noxious element reside—in all or in none? This is -possible; but man in the meantime must decide by -what he knows and sees. Here is a land teeming with -life; on land, as on its waters, millions live; but that -life, as regards man, is confined to the Chinese race, -and is unsuited to the European; as regards the soil, -manured in so strange a manner, it also is Chinese. Is -it that we, generally speaking, spread the material in a -liquid and vastly diluted form over the fields, whilst -they manipulate and remove from it all moisture? -There may be something in this, for it is known that -organic compounds, above all, are most susceptible of -change by the least perceivable alterations in their constituents. -Agriculture is both a science and an art.</p> - -<p>“The clearing of the primeval forests of America, -facilitating the access of the air to that soil, so rich in -vegetable remains, alters gradually, but altogether, its -constitution; after the lapse of a few years no trace of -organic remains can be found in it. The soil of Germany, -in the time of Tacitus, was covered with a dense, -almost impenetrable forest; it must at that period have -exactly resembled the soil of America, and have been -rich in humus and vegetable substances; but all the -products of vegetable life in those primeval forests have -completely vanished from our perceptions. The innumerable -millions of molluscous and other animals, whose -remains form extensive geological formations and mountains, -have after death passed into a state of fermentation -and putrefaction, and subsequently, by the continuous -action of the atmosphere, all their soft parts -have been transposed into gaseous compounds, and their<span class="pagenum" title="78"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78"></a></span> -shells and bones, their indestructible constituents, alone -remain to furnish evidence of the existence of life continually -extinguished and continually reproduced.”</p> - -<p>If these facts are to be depended on, they explain -much of the influence which man exercises over the soil, -and of its reaction on himself; the hay ague or fever is -the produce of his own hands; when he leaves <i>on the -surface</i> millions of tons of fermentable and putrescible -organic remains, he prepares for himself some at least -of the diseases which are to follow. It is possible that -epidemic influence, over which he neither has nor can -have any control, might be greatly modified, and its -evil effects abated by prudent action on his part. -Typhus fever, the scourge of modern Europe, may not -originate in any condition of the soil produced by man, -but it sweeps thousands in the prime of life from the -earth when placed in circumstances clearly dependent -on man himself. Ten thousand young men are lodged -in a barrack; speedily hundreds of these are swept off -by typhus or consumption of the lungs; now something -causes this, and the cause may rest with man -himself. Pestilence and typhus follow in the train of -famine; if they originate in fermentescible and putrescible -substances, all these were present prior to the -famine, and yet were not equal to the production of the -maladies. Next comes famine, and prepares the way -for malaria to do its work. The question, as may be -already seen, is not so simple as chemists supposed it to -be. The number of substances occurring in nature -which are truly putrescible is singularly small<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a></span> but -they are everywhere diffused, and form part of every -organized being. To form an idea of what this amounts<span class="pagenum" title="79"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79"></a></span> -to, we have but to reflect on the life which naturally -exists on the earth, and on that which is the result of -man’s social condition. Let but the acre of heath or -bog, even of pasture, which in its natural state supports -so little of what lives, be converted into a garden, a -wheat field, a nursery, and see what an amount of -putrescible matter is the result. Let that spot on -which nature has placed a single peasant’s family be -converted into a city, and reflect on the influence man -exerts on that soil. It is, I believe, a fact universally -admitted, that all those substances which destroy the -communicability or arrest the propagation of contagions -and miasms, are likewise such as arrest all processes of -putrefaction or fermentation; that under the influence -of empyreumatic bodies, such as pyroligneous acid, -which powerfully oppose putrefaction, the diseased -action in malignant suppurating wounds is entirely -changed; that in a number of contagious diseases, -especially typhus, ammonia, free or combined, is found -in the exposed air, in the liquid and solid excreta (in -the latter as ammonio-phosphate of magnesia); such -being the case, it seems impossible any longer to entertain -a doubt as to the origin and propagation of many -contagious diseases.</p> - -<p>“Finally, it is an observation universally made, and -which may be regarded as established, ‘that the origin -of epidemic diseases may often be referred to the putrefaction -of great masses of animal and vegetable matters; -that miasmic diseases are found epidemic, where decomposition -of organic substances constantly goes on, in -marshy and damp districts. These diseases also become -epidemic, under the same circumstances, after inundations, -and also in places where a large number of -persons are crowded together with imperfect ventila<span class="pagenum" title="80"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"></a></span>tion, -as in ships, in prisons, and in besieged fortresses.<span class="nowrap">’<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></span> -But in no case may we so securely reckon on the occurrence -of epidemic diseases, as when a marshy surface has -been dried up by continued heat, or when extensive -inundations are followed by intense heat.”</p> - -<p>If we admit these facts we shall be less surprised at -the ravages committed by fever, when, after great -battles, the wounded are placed in the hospitals of large -cities, as in Brussels after Waterloo, in Bilboa, Vienna, &c. -Hospital gangrene, the scourge and terror of the -wounded, soon shows itself, and cannot be arrested by -any known surgical means. Much better were it for -the wounded that they had been left on the field of -battle. An erroneous opinion prevails, that it is to the -presence of the infusoria that the evil influences are to -be traced; they, on the contrary, whilst alive, act a -beneficial part. The excreta of man whilst putrifying -never exhibit the presence of microscopic animalculæ, -whilst we find abundance of them in the same matters -when in a state of decay. “A wise arrangement of -nature has assigned to the infusoria the dead bodies of -higher orders of beings for their nourishment, and has -in these animalculæ created a means of limiting to the -shortest possible period the deleterious influence which -the products of dissolution and decay exercise upon the -life of the higher classes of animals. The recent discoveries -which have been made respecting these creatures -are so extraordinary and so admirable, that they deserve -to be made universally known.”</p> - -<p>It is not to that which lives, but to that which has -lived and is now dead, that we must look for the sources -of those terrible fevers which destroy humanity in so<span class="pagenum" title="81"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"></a></span> -many fine countries. Nor is it necessary that marshes -be present, nor recently inundated lands. Egypt, annually -inundated, is healthy at all times, but it is always -cultivated; the desert also, which is never cultivated, -and incapable of any cultivation, is also healthy. -The Arabian desert which skirts the cultivated spots, -converting them into so many oases, is perfectly healthy; -on its soil the traveller may sleep securely; but let him -cross the boundary of the water drain or stream forming -the oasis, and sleep within the limits of that vegetation -so delightful to look at, and violent fever is sure to overtake -him on the morrow, so powerfully in this instance -does nature react on man, when altering the soil, he prepares -with his own hand the flowery path which leads -him to the grave.</p> - -<p>§ 2. <i>On the Origin and Action of Humus</i>.—To -Liebig we unquestionably owe the first philosophical -investigation into the history of <i>humus</i>. Innumerable -difficulties and prejudices beset the inquiry. It -was he who first showed that all vegetables and all their -component parts, so soon as they cease to live, become -liable to two forms of decomposition,—to putrefaction -and to rottenness, that is to fermentation, and to that slow -combustion to which Liebig gave the name of <i>eremacausis</i>, -a Greek term, expressing by its original meaning -the fact of slow combustion, to which the illustrious -German likened that process which we commonly express -by the term of <i>pourriture</i>, or rottenness. By -this last-named process the combustible parts of -bodies in decomposition combine with the oxygen of -the air.</p> - -<p>The decomposition of the rotting of the woody fibre -is attended with this peculiarity—when in contact with -the air, it converts the oxygen into an equal volume of<span class="pagenum" title="82"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82"></a></span> -carbonic acid; so soon as the supply of the oxygen -ceases the rottenness stops. Now remove this carbonic -acid, and add a fresh supply of oxygen, and the rotting -commences, and carbonic acid reappears. The -presence of water is essential to this change; the substances -called antiseptic arrest it at once. Now the -woody fibre in this condition of slow combustion or rottenness -is precisely what we call <i>humus</i> or <i>ulmine</i>.</p> - -<p>The functions of this humus are no doubt remarkable, -and in respect of it some agricultural theories have been -formed, resting on no solid basis. What seems to be -tolerably well ascertained is, that in a soil permeable to -air, the oxygen of the atmosphere continues to act on -the humus, giving origin to carbonic acid, and thus furnishing -an atmosphere for the roots of plants growing -in that soil. The springing of the roots themselves -seems to depend on the presence of this atmosphere; -hence the labour and pains to pulverize the soil, and to -give access by such processes to the atmospheric -air. At this period of their growth the roots perform -all the offices of their leaves which are ultimately -to appear; and soon the plant has two sets -of nourishing organs, the roots and the leaves. In hot -summers plants derive their carbonic acid wholly from -the air.</p> - -<p>Thus gradually is formed that humus or ulmine to -which agriculturists attach so much importance; that -vegetable mould supposed to be the richest of all soils. -But where it forms, a kind of putrefaction continually -goes on; the soil is influenced deeply as a residence for -man. No valetudinarian takes up his abode in the -centre of a rich vegetation in hopes of recovering his -health and strength, his elastic step, and freedom from -lassitude and weariness; he, on the contrary, seeks<span class="pagenum" title="83"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83"></a></span> -other regions, where vegetation is scant, humus is not -forming, and the soil is never turned over by human -industry.</p> - -<p>When vegetation is purely natural, that is when man -does not interfere, the growth of plants does not in the -least exhaust the soil. Look at the meadow and the -virgin forest! Now chemistry explains this, or nearly -so. But so soon as man <i>interferes</i>, he must be prepared -to undertake the whole labour; if he acts on -the earth, the air, and the waters, they will react on -him, and sometimes with fearful effect. Beyond the -processes she exhibits, and which he may read as best -he can, she reveals nothing; all her secrets must be -extracted from her by science, by philosophy, by the -slow procedure of experiment and observation. A -traveller from a distant land prepares to cross deserts -of which he has had no previous <i>experience</i>; shortly he -discovers an oasis, which to him seems a paradise, and -he proposes resting for the night within its treacherous -circle; but the wild Arab, the native guide, knows -better, and explains to him briefly that the desert alone -is healthy, and to rest a night within that seeming -paradise is death. It is the Homeric tale of the syrens -reduced to a reality; gorgeous decorated plants, sweet-smelling -flowers, perfumes of Arabia, invite you to -enter that island destined, should you unhappily accept -the invitation, to prove the resting-place of all your -labours.</p> - -<p>It may seem paradoxical to maintain that by cultivation -we at times render the earth insalubrious, at times -comparatively the reverse, but the fact is so. It was -Humboldt, as I have already remarked, who said that -when Europeans first emigrated to America, the soil of -certain northern states was found equal to the growth<span class="pagenum" title="84"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84"></a></span> -of wheat, and ague afflicted the population. With the -destruction of the forests, the agues have disappeared, -and wheat can no longer be grown; in the place of -agues men are now afflicted with pulmonary consumption. -Whoever has seen the marshy and boggy land, -at times a lake, at others a black tremulous morass, and -compared it with the rich drained Polder, its neat and -compact farm-house, exhaustless meadows, herds of -cattle, and the contented air of its well-to-do proprietor, -will at once perceive that whatever might be the evil, -unless it were a something truly grievous, so delightful -a metamorphosis of a spot doomed by nature to eternal -sterility, entailed on man, that evil was fully compensated -for by the results obtained towards man’s happiness. -There is, there can be, or at least there never -was, any unmixed good on earth: the whole is a system -of comparison and compensation; of profit or loss; of -gains and drawbacks.</p> - -<p>When the English army died off at Walcheren the -inhabitants of the province were perfectly healthy, and -could not comprehend the cause of the calamity. It -was the same in the Crimea. Under other arrangements, -those more consonant with common sense and -experience, the results might have been different; -still it is certain that masses of young men of immature -years cannot be withdrawn from their native -soil and parents’ hearths without suffering severely -the consequence of the every way unnatural position -they are forced to occupy; unnatural physically and -morally. Barrack-rooms are not homes. No varied -society is to be found there; no amusement, no employment -for mind and body; it is man cut off from all -human industry and enjoyment; no solace when ill, -no comfort under suffering: that young men with unformed<span class="pagenum" title="85"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a></span> -constitutions should “die off like flies,<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a></span> need -excite no surprise.</p> - -<p>To return: to modern science, above all to Liebig, the -practical chemist <i>par excellence</i>, we owe the discovery -of the true office of <i>ulmine</i> or <i>humus</i> in vegetation; it -nourishes the plant before it is in a position to draw its -nourishment from the atmosphere. The vegetation -called antediluvian had this peculiar character, that it -enabled the plant to be greatly independent of roots and -soil; its broad-leaved foliage sought everywhere for food -in the carbonic acid of the atmosphere. Accordingly -all the plants were remarkable for the smallness of their -roots, which generally have disappeared, and are now -no longer to be found.</p> - -<p>Let me now consider briefly—keeping the same object -in view, namely, its influence on man—what are the -sources and results of that amount of hydrogen or azote -which plays so important a part in the economy of all -that lives.</p> - -<p>An agricultural farmer at a distance from markets -sufficiently remunerative, has a large field of turnips -which he knows not how to dispose of. Not having -cattle or sheep sufficient to consume these turnips, he -addresses himself to drivers of sheep on the way to -the markets, inviting them to turn their sheep into the -field, and there remain until the turnips are consumed. -Thus he hopes to restore to the field the azotized and -other principles removed from it by previous crops, and -to prepare the way for fresh and more productive and -profitable crops. It is on the same principle that in many<span class="pagenum" title="86"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86"></a></span> -leases of farms (those called steel-bow) there is an express -clause that the straw shall not quit the farm, but -be consumed on it. The object of this is simply to -restore to the soil what forced crops have removed from -it. Man has taken on himself the task of growing on -one acre the natural produce of many; to feed twenty -men instead of one from off the same extent of soil; to -live in crowded cities, drawing their provisions from -the surrounding country, producing nothing of themselves; -to feed millions where nature intended but a -few thousands should exist; he has taken the task on -himself and must carry it through, exposed to destruction -at every false step, and at this moment exposed to -the accusation by the medical authorities of England of -deliberately rendering his farm-house, his homestead, his -cottage, his mansion, his palace, a pesthouse, the propagator, -if not the absolute generator, of all the wide-spread -plagues and pestilences, from that which desolated Athens -in the time of Thucydides; laid waste the Roman world -when Justinian reigned; smote England in the most -unhappy and disgraceful period of past history<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a></span> and -now, appearing amidst the tents of an obscure Arab tribe, -ignorant of agriculture, living with their flocks and -herds on the desert, happily remote from the influences -of boards of health, officers of health, and registrars-general, -once more threatens Europe; he is accused, in -fact, of being the involuntary but certain slaughterer -of his little babes. So says the eloquent Registrar-General -of England in one of his sanitary reports; he -belongs, it is true, and this must not be forgotten, to -the theory-loving fraternity<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a></span> a professor, in fact, of that<span class="pagenum" title="87"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87"></a></span> -conjectural art which heretofore despised statistics, and -which now, by mistaking figures for facts, threatens to -convert true science into a scheme of fictions anything -but brilliant. To the Chadwicks, the Gavins, and -a host of others still more potent, but who always -act through the agency of <i>employées</i>, we owe the affair -of Luton and of Birmingham, of the disgraceful -condition of the Thames and of innumerable other -localities; the deodorizing schemes of Leicester and -Bristol, the intercepting scheme of the Thames, and -the network of officers of health, amounting to 2600, -now spread over England for the benefit of this tax-loving -country.</p> - -<p>If you hope to raise a crop you must replace in the -soil certain elements which previous crops have removed -from it. So says Liebig, and to some extent the experience -of mankind supports the view.</p> - -<p>The refuse of men and urinals which English speculators -recommend you to throw into the nearest river, -or into the sea if you can, or at least to deluge well with -water before throwing it over your fields, the Belgian -farmer places as nearly as may be under ground until -required. Of it he forms a compost, seemingly inoffensive -as being in some measure buried, trapped, and -mixed with house refuse, and other materials. This -compost, to which he looks in due time for the restoration -to his well-managed farm of that which abundant -crops had removed from it, he spreads at convenient -and suitable times on his ground, into which it is -speedily dug; thus at every step he reverses the theories -of the would-be agriculturists of England, and -should it be said that the measures he adopts are injurious -to his health, destructive to his family, sources -of pestilence to the country, we have the sure and trustworthy<span class="pagenum" title="88"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88"></a></span> -statistics of a true <span class="nowrap">statistician<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a></span> to oppose to -the wild theories and bold assertions of the needy adventurers -and hired officials who, clamouring so loudly -for place and distinction, have chosen for the field of -their tactics broad England and her colonies.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="89"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER IX. - -<span class="title">ON POISONS, MIASMS AND CONTAGIONS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>§ 1. Although the amount of disease and mortality -traceable to accidents, to the ordinary atmospheric -changes of which the thermometer gives us due information, -to the habits of life and the effects of hereditary influence, -be sufficiently great, it yet seems nothing when -compared with the terrible inflictions occasionally and at -uncertain periods visiting man, whether shut up, as it -were, within the confined haunts of cities, or living apart -in the open country, in situations where it might be reasonably -imagined no such influences could reach him. -The poison of typhus, for example, if it be a poison, -spares none: in certain epidemics the citizen and -the peasant suffer alike: the strong robust man in the -prime of life is its special victim; cholera attacked the -inhabitants of the remote and isolated cottage as certainly -as the careful wealthy citizen, and with the same -results. No mode of life, nor sex, nor age was security -against it; no race, no locality<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a></span> An inquiry into the -origin of such influences is the most important to -which man’s attention can be directed. These terrible -epidemics appear under various forms; sometimes it is<span class="pagenum" title="90"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90"></a></span> -by typhus or influenza, cholera or plague; even those -diseases which seem to be endemic, or confined to a -locality, assume the form of epidemical raging pestilences, -and then disappear for a time. Thus the remittents -and yellow fevers of tropical climates do not -always put out their whole strength; there is a lull, a -season of repose, when man, deluded by the security of -a few years, hopes that at last the evil influence has disappeared -for ever. Vain hope! It moves in cycles, -like the typhus of temperate climates, falsifying all predictions. -Thus, in Jamaica, the grave of so many -noble English regiments, the fever, sometimes called -remittent, sometimes yellow fever, exhibited its fitful -attacks during eighteen years, in the following capricious -manner, at a station called Port Antonio, about -eighty miles from Kingston. At Stoney Hill Barracks, -the disease was still more capricious<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a></span> As the poison -producing intermittents and remittents must be presumed<span class="pagenum" title="91"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></a></span> -to be always present, it is incomprehensible -how it should at times cease its attacks on man,<span class="pagenum" title="92"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92"></a></span> -showing that another influence or element requires -to be present to render its attack successful. Again, -we find that within a limited range, a long residence -in a land unhealthy to the stranger seems by acclimation -to diminish if not entirely to eradicate the -susceptibility to disease on the part of the latter; but -this opinion must be received cautiously and with -reserve, for the phenomenon may be partly due to the -difference in race, respecting which we as yet know but -little. The banks of the Scheldt, the Polders of Holland, -and the mouths of the Rhine, the Danube, and -the Indus, are healthy to the natives of these districts; -graves to foreigners. In all inquiries of this -kind, these well-established facts must not be overlooked.</p> - -<p>§ 2. When a chemical substance is applied externally -or internally to the living tissues of an animal sufficiently -strong to dissolve the affinity between them and -the vital force, and to substitute for it other stronger -affinities, the explanation of the phenomena is easy, and -the coarsest chemistry offers a solution. The action of -caustic potass, of concentrated sulphuric acid, present -the examples of this kind of dissolution. Other substances -alone poisonous when given in concentrated -doses, are known to pass, when sufficiently diluted, -through the blood, and be eliminated by secretion and -excretion from the body: after causing disturbances -more or less grave, more or less important, the combinations -they form, if any, with the living organic molecules -are overcome by the vital force, which then resumes -its usual influence. Of such substances some pass off -unaltered, others are decomposed, and the bases only -appear in the secretions or excretions. Whilst passing -through the lungs, certain of these vegetable salts combine<span class="pagenum" title="93"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></a></span> -with the oxygen of the air, and the respiration in -consequence becomes slower, or in other terms, they -diminish the production of arterial blood<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a></span></p> - -<p>Now, these <span class="nowrap">salts<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a></span> when placed in contact with animal -and vegetable substances, perform the same function as -in the lungs: they take a part in the combustion going -on, and, as in the living body, are converted into carbonates. -Left to themselves for a time, from their -aqueous solution, the acids composing them finally completely -disappear.</p> - -<p>Mineral acids and nonvolatile vegetable acids, as well -as mineral salts with an alkaline base, have the property, -when sufficiently concentrated, to arrest the whole process -of this slow combustion<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a></span> common salt, as is well-known, -arrests putrefaction: so does alcohol.</p> - -<p>The chemical action of certain other mineral salts is -different, such as the salts of the peroxide of iron, of -lead, bismuth, copper, and mercury. These are inorganic -poisons. They combine with the tissues of the -organs, and so destroy life. The mode of action of the -poisons of prussic acid, strychnine, morphine, &c., is as -yet unknown.</p> - -<p>“But there exists a class of substances no less fatal -than the preceding, originating in certain decompo<span class="pagenum" title="94"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></a></span>sitions. -In a preceding Chapter <a href="#Page_15">(III</a>.) we have inquired -into the origin of these poisons, and shown them to -originate in fermentation and putrefaction. Let us apply -the chemical principles regulating these processes to -organic matters, to the products of the animal economy; -all the elements of these matters are derived from the -blood, the most complex of all existing substances. In -decomposing, a poison is occasionally produced speedily -mortal when it comes in contact with the blood of the -living animal. The venomous principle produced by -decomposing animal bodies is not always the same: that -originating in certain German sausages is quite peculiar; -the person who partakes of this fatal dish dies mummified; -he does not rot or fall to pieces like those who -perish from wounds received in dissecting-rooms; on the -contrary, he dries up and withers, but does not putrify<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a></span> -Liebig, the discoverer of this poison and its effects on -man, states that the venom is destroyed by boiling-water -and alcohol, but that these do not absorb it.</p> - -<p>Similar in the mode of action on the economy are the -poisons of small-pox, plague, &c. The substances which -arrest fermentation and putrefaction, also neutralize the -power of these poisons; but the essence of these poisons -has not yet been obtained in an isolated form, and thus -nothing positive is known of its real nature. One thing -seems certain; contagions, poisons and miasms are not -living beings nor animalcules, any more than yeast. -They may be, and probably are, produced by fermentation, -but this is neither caused by nor terminates in the<span class="pagenum" title="95"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95"></a></span> -formation of living animalcules, to which all or any of -these phenomena might be attributed.</p> - -<p>A nice distinction has been drawn by a distinguished -chemist between a contagion properly so-called and -a miasm. When the disease-producing matter is the -product of a disease, it is a contagion; if it be the product -of putrefaction or of eremacausis of any substance, -animal or vegetable,—does it act by virtue of its chemical -character, and not of its condition (<i>etat</i>), in forming a -combination, or in causing a decomposition, it is then a -miasm.</p> - -<p>The history of diseases so originating scarcely supports -this view. Typhus, which at times seems to originate -in a miasm, at times seems to assume a contagious -character. The same may be said of yellow fever. But -however this may be, the distinction applies to such -diseases as intermittent and remittent fevers, which -originating in a miasm, itself springing from the putrescence -of animal or vegetable bodies, gives rise to disease -which does not reproduce the miasm. Now, between -diseases so produced and those arising from contagion -properly so called, there is this remarkable distinction: -the blood once altered is no longer susceptible of the -same contagion, whereas against miasms there is no -such security<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a></span></p> - -<p>In every contagious disease, and perhaps even in those -simply arising from miasms, there is an odour which -fills the chambers of the sick, and is recognisable at once.<span class="pagenum" title="96"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96"></a></span> -Ammonia is very generally present, as it is wherever -animal decompositions are going on, that is, putrefaction. -The foul airs emanating from stagnant and -neglected ditches is composed, as has been long known -to chemists, of carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen -gases, and these are viewed by some as amongst the most -dangerous of miasms. These gases may be destroyed -by acid vapours now in common use<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a></span> From chemistry<span class="pagenum" title="97"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></a></span> -we also derive another valuable lesson in respect of substances -directly destroying human life. The materials -ready to undergo putrefaction, and thus to generate -miasms, may all be present, and yet no miasms are given -out, and man escapes; this security depends upon the -absence of that third principle requisite to bring the -others into activity.</p> - -<p>Thus it happens that in his extensive and elaborate -inquiries, Major Tulloch was continually met by difficulties -which overthrew at once all existing medical -theories, rendering it even probable that the supposed -relation of cause and effect between marshes and -miasms, and miasm and fever, was merely accidental. -In what that third element consists, that immediately -exciting power which urges on the decomposition to an -extent it had not before attained, rendering that miasm -mortal, or at least most dangerous, which heretofore -the vital force was able to resist, has not yet been -discovered.</p> - -<p>Is it electricity? is it ozone<span class="nowrap">?<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a></span> or does it depend on -some unknown principle in the elements of the atmo<span class="pagenum" title="98"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98"></a></span>sphere, -for the detection of which we have no instrument? -Does security in such cases depend on the presence -in the atmosphere of some such principle as ozone? -Whatever be the cause, the fact is certain; epidemics -follow cycles of increase and decrease; like comets, they -come and disappear at long intervals. Our business in -the mean time lies with what is constantly present, in a -more or less aggravated form—the malaria continually -reproduced, always efficient in certain regions of the -earth; in the overcoming of which, as I have endeavoured -to show, well-directed human industry is far -from unavailing<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="99"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER X. - -<span class="title">ON THE SERVITUDE OF RIVERS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>If the servitude of rivers be the noblest and most important -victory which man has obtained over the licentiousness -of nature<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a></span> then assuredly ancient civilizations -bear away the palm in this respect from the modern, -and Britain must be permitted to occupy perhaps the -lowest place in the scale of those empires and nations -who, by their industry and knowledge, overcame the -difficulties which the right management of river courses -presents to civilized man.</p> - -<p>More than forty centuries ago the Nile was completely -at the service of the ancient Egyptians, and the -prosperity of Babylon and Nineveh leaves no doubt as to -the subjugation of the Tigris and the mighty Euphrates. -To come to later times, the Rhine itself, even in the days -of the early Roman emperors, must have been subjugated -by the labours of the primitive Batavians, and -the revolt of Civilis, with his Batavian legions, testifies -as to the energy and intelligence of the race. And -now by the patient industry of their descendants, that -land, seemingly doomed by nature to be wasted on one<span class="pagenum" title="100"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100"></a></span> -side by the turbulent ocean, on the other by the great -rivers which traverse it, presents a spectacle unequalled -in the world. Even the despised Oriental race of -China, that unsolved problem in the history of mankind, -whose capital the combined forces of England and -France now threaten, seems never to have had a difficulty -in mastering the great problems which the necessity -for the subjugation of rivers forces on civilized -man; the Chinese waters have been turned to the most -profitable account; their deltas seem healthy, and abound -with life, with Chinese life, at least. The great rivers of -the Celestial empire give no trouble to its inhabitants; -agriculture is said to be perfect; no one seems to have -proposed to throw the refuse of Pekin into the nearest -stream, that stream too, as it might happen to be, the -source from which the inhabitants of the capital obtain -the water required for their manufactures and for the -arts of life<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="101"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a></span></p> - -<p>Civilization on the banks of the Thames is no doubt -very different and very superior to what it possibly can -be on the banks of the Yellow River, but as, <i>non omnia -possumus</i>, as different races and nations, like individuals, -have each their peculiar excellences and forms of civili<span class="pagenum" title="102"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102"></a></span>zation, -excelling in some, deficient in other qualities of -mind and body, it may undoubtedly happen that even the -English of the present day, the most perfectly civilized -nation on the earth, or that ever lived, might take a hint -from some other nations on points respecting which their -otherwise inimitable genius seems to show some slight -deficiencies. As regards art, for example, we owe some -hints to the pitiful States of ancient Athens and Corinth; -the despicable Copt had connected the Mediterranean -and Red Sea by a canal—the art of re-opening which -seems now to be lost; even the miserable native Peruvian -and Mexican had carried the arts of mining, of -irrigation, and the use of artificial manures, to an extent -which surprises the men of modern times, who, in Britain -at least, think that civilization really only appeared -in the world during the reign of Queen Anne, -as in France the era of the Grand Monarque is universally -admitted to be the period when the French -nation first threw off its primitive barbarous and -Celtic form of civilization, assuming the character and -social habits of that race to whom they owe their -name, though not their descent. If we cast our eyes -over the surface of the earth, aided by the lights, -somewhat obscure, no doubt, of history, certain facts -rising above the ocean of detail appear as landmarks. -The philosophic historian points to, as peculiarly within -his province, the transfer of the seat of power from -nation to nation, from race to race; how before Alexander -appeared there seemed to have been a Sesostris; -after the son of Philip came Julius the Dictator; then -Napoleon; and drawing conclusions as to the future -from the past, historians see no improbability, at least -no impossibility, in New Zealand, after the lapse of -many centuries, producing the Hume of the southern<span class="pagenum" title="103"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103"></a></span> -hemisphere; whilst a future capital arising in the desert -regions of Siberia or Northern America, may one day dictate -to the world<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a></span> Ever at variance as to the rise and -fall of empires, they are yet agreed as to certain facts and -circumstances, many of which are still verifiable by the -geographical distribution of the existing rivers and -mountain regions of the globe; and even if man, in the -plenitude of his scepticism, were disposed to doubt, -monuments exist, the undeniable work of human hands, -under circumstances implying the existence of a social -system which cannot well be misunderstood. “In the -boundless annals of time, man’s life and labours must -equally be measured as a fleeting moment;” but the Pyramids, -and ruins of Karnac survive the Kaliffs and Cæsars, -the Ptolemies and Pharaohs, and countless monarchs and -dynasties prior even to them. Thus, whatever learned -disputants may imagine as to the primitive occupation -of the valley of the Nile, the date of its occupancy, and -the race by whom it was first cultivated, we have in -the Pyramids incontestable proofs of a vast antiquity. -Whatever historians may say of the antiquity of ancient -Rome, the <i>Cloaca Maxima</i> of Servius alone refutes the -beautiful romance of Virgil—how Lavinius and Turnus -received Æneas ere Rome was; how Romulus and -Remus founded Rome, and were succeeded by seven -kings, none of whom ever in reality existed. But the -existence of the <i>Cloaca Maxima</i> and the researches of -the illustrious Niebuhr tell another tale more consonant -with what we know of man’s social and physical nature. -In the most remote times, man early adopted those measures -of self-preservation which nature or simple observation -teaches him. History gives but little information<span class="pagenum" title="104"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104"></a></span> -as to the measures adopted by ancient nations to secure -public health; and were it not for the remains of the -<i>Cloaca Maxima</i>, so called, of Servius Tullius, we should -be as ignorant as Virgil assuredly was of the ancient -condition of Rome prior to the reign of the seven fabulous -kings<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a></span> Unquestionably the ancient race which preceded -those grand Romans who fill the page of history -for nearly twenty centuries, had discovered such means, -and adopted measures for the safety of the people. Authentic -history, it is true, commenced with the Greeks -and Romans, and the history of Germany dates from -Cæsar and Tacitus; but the subjugation of the double-horned -<span class="nowrap">Rhine<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a></span> must have commenced long before “the -building of the city.<span class="nowrap">”<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a></span> But the world as known to the -Romans, even during the reign of Trajan, was a contracted -world compared to what it is now. The tropical -regions of the East, and their vast populations, -were wholly unknown to them; of Africa they knew -but little, of Asia still less, whilst the New World was -as if it existed not. Thus certain great problems in -the history of mankind were never presented to them, -problems having a basis in facts which men, for obvious -reasons, are so unwilling to admit. The periplus of -the Mediterranean might almost be said to form the -Roman world; beyond the Rhine they made no conquests; -the Danube formed their north-eastern boundary; -the eastern shores of the Black Sea were but rarely -visited by them; beyond the Euphrates and Tigris they, -the Romans, never gained a footing, whilst from tropical<span class="pagenum" title="105"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></a></span> -Africa they were entirely excluded. Thus at no -time were they called on to solve the problem as to the -possibility of European life maintaining its ground in -tropical regions; at no period were they called upon -to give an opinion on the momentous question which -now agitates the world, the admission, namely, of the -primitive coloured races of men into the bosom of civilized -society<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a></span> “Wheresoever the Roman conquered, he -inhabits;” a just observation we owe to Seneca, confirmed -by the history of that wonderful people. As their -conquests were confined to countries in which the natives -of Italy could at that time live and thrive, the -rapid extension of their empire, language, and forms of -civilization, need not be wondered at. Thus Rome -successively became mistress of many nations and -races, but these were races with whom the Romans -could freely amalgamate; at no period of her history -were they called on to contend with the two great -questions, the one social the other physical, involved in -the attempt to occupy by a white race a tropical country, -and a land inhabited by a purely savage race of -coloured men; the problems presented by modern history -of a European race attempting to hold India by -the sword, to colonize the American world from the -Polar Sea to the Land of Fire, to inhabit, if not to cultivate, -the insalubrious Antilles, the banks of the Oronoco, -or of the still more dreadful Senegal, Gambia, and -Niger, nowhere occur in Roman or Grecian history; so -that these are problems towards the solution of which -ancient history offers no assistance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="106"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106"></a></span></p> - -<p>A historian whose works I have already quoted on -several occasions, and who of all men had perhaps with -most profit studied human nature, has remarked that -the aspiring genius of Rome sacrificed vanity to ambition, -deeming it more prudent to adopt virtue and merit -for her own wheresoever they were found, among slaves -or strangers, enemies or barbarians. This sacrifice it -was easy for the Italian race to make; naturally swarthy, -and not unfrequently olive-coloured, they met with no -race with whom the Romans might not freely amalgamate. -Far different is it with modern Europe and her -races; follow them to tropical India, Africa, and America, -and it will be seen that extinction seems the sure result of -all their efforts, whether they unite with the native races -or not. If they unite, their purer blood, as we may so call -it, soon disappears in the stream of a darker population; -if they spurn the union, climate, or as some would term -it, malaria, speedily exterminates their race and name.</p> - -<p>In the first or second chapter of this Essay I ventured -to suggest that the discovery of the art to modify the -earth, air, and waters of all countries, so as to render -them habitable for <i>all mankind</i>, was the grand problem -man is now called on to solve. In the construction of -the continents of the globe, nature seems to have had in -view the formation by centres of life of the living inhabitants -of the globe. In these centres she placed forms -of life equal to sustain their existence, occasionally aided, -at other times unaided, by human industry. In the -virgin forests of America the aborigines lived and throve; -under their hands the earth underwent no modification; -to the negro the deadly regions of Central Africa are -healthful and pleasant, though at times abandoned to -nature, at times deeply modified by human industry. -India and Java, the Malayan peninsula, as well as<span class="pagenum" title="107"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107"></a></span> -ancient Mexico and China, were many of them highly -cultivated regions, in which the aborigines multiplied and -enjoyed life; to the European they are premature graves.</p> - -<p>But when it is attempted to transfer these centres of -life to other regions, the attempt has uniformly failed.</p> - -<p>And yet the Romans, admitting that they never encountered -a tropical climate, seem to have colonized -and thriven in countries in which the natives of Western -Europe cannot now maintain their ground, cannot keep -an army effective in the field for any length of time. The -Roman legions and citizens occupied the country of -Numidia without an effort; modern France, with an army -larger than Rome ever had, can scarcely maintain its -position in Algeria. The young population are cut off in -their infancy, and it would seem that to maintain a Celtic -race in Algeria will test the energies of an empire which -it is true formed but a small province of imperial Rome. -When we contrast late history with the diffusion of -Rome’s armies and citizens over the then known world, -we are forced to the conclusion, either that the Italian -constitutions of those days were stronger than those of -the present inhabitants of Europe, or that the form of -civilization presented more safeguards for the protection -of health and life.</p> - -<p>Nothing like the disasters of Varna and the Crimea -seems ever to have overtaken the Roman legions who -guarded in the time of Trajan the mouths of the -Danube and the coasts of the Euxine, or restrained and -kept in check the barbarous Moors.</p> - -<p>Amongst the arts practised by the ancients, but now -lost, we must include, I think, the knowledge of that -discipline and practical skill by which the Roman, -Greek, and even Tartar generals, contrived to keep their -armies in the field in health and efficiency, whether<span class="pagenum" title="108"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></a></span> -storming the castles of Jugurtha, or building walls of -defence in that land where English and French troops -can neither fight nor march<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a></span> Amongst the lost arts, -still known it would seem to the Chinese, is that of rendering -salubrious the site of vast cities and camps. If -I am right in the principles I have endeavoured to establish -throughout this Essay, this art must have been based -on the practical knowledge that, generally speaking, the -earth, as framed by nature, is not usually an unhealthy -<i>habitat</i> for those races which grow up in her centres of -created life, and it is only when man interferes, and interferes -imperfectly, that the air and waters become pestilential -to him. The secret lies, no doubt, in agriculture, -that first of human arts—that art by which civilization -exists. That human life is of as much value by the -banks of the Meuse, the Scheldt, and the Rhine, as in -Sussex or Surrey, is due to the industry of the inhabitants -of Brabant and the islands of the Rhine. On man -in a great measure depends the position which life is to -hold in the scale of fate; he may raise it to its maximum -or sink it to zero. Centuries, it is true, may elapse before -human industry can render the banks of the Senegal, the -Maranon, or the Zambeze, a fit abode for civilized -European man, but if the European persist in transporting -himself to these haunts, he must discover the -means to do so in safety, or perish in the attempt. Nature -did not make these countries for him, but she gave him -reason, judgment, observation, and the power of generalization, -on the right use of which faculties his safety -must ever depend. The celebrated Jefferson apologizes -in one his confidential dispatches to his government for<span class="pagenum" title="109"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109"></a></span> -noticing various political movements in countries seemingly -remote from and devoid of all interest to a citizen -of the United States of America, by remarking, that -although such matters seem remote and foreign to the -object of his duties, they may yet at no distant period -swell into relations of sufficient magnitude to shake -the world. As in the political, so in the moral world; -whether the empire of the Sultans stand or fall, may be -a matter of little import to an inhabitant of Western -Europe, nor need it distress him that the finest countries -in the world are nearly reduced to deserts under the -administration of the odious Turcoman. But it may be -useful to him to be on his guard as to the condition of -countries through which the spirit of commerce now -urges the Western nations. Many of these countries do -not improve; to compare them with what they were in -the days of Trajan were merely a mockery; the low -lands of the delta of the Danube are simply foci of fever -and pestilence, and are likely to continue so under their -present government.</p> - -<p>All history points to the East and to Africa as the -seat and source of plague, and the entanglement of -Eastern affairs presses more and more on the European -nations; if we may trust the statistics of commerce, -Western Europe at times draws a large portion of her -subsistence from countries of which we know but little. -On this I make no remark, my object being merely to -show that, however distant these lands lie, their malarious -condition has an influence over the European -family of nations, an influence which daily increases -socially, and which, though originating in the obscure -and unknown East, has shown itself at times at Rome -and Moscow, London and Paris, in characters compared -to which all other evils appear insignificant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="110"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110"></a></span></p> - -<p>All that lives or has lived is doomed to die, to waste -away, and to disappear; as it perishes it is consumed by -nature’s processes, in such a manner as to entail no -danger to the living world, unless civilized man interferes. -For civilized man she has made no provision, -saving the bestowing on him a soil more or less fertile, -a constitution more or less equal to toil, a reasoning -power, which in things practical must not be measured -by the loftiness of his conceptions and generalizations.</p> - -<p>Whenever and wheresoever he congregates into masses, -there “the earth, the air, and the waters,” receive -modifications from him, which, when injurious, he alone -can rectify. The most consolatory view which man can -take of such a condition of things is unquestionably to -believe them to a great extent remediable by his own -labour and intelligence; for even should he fail, there -remains to him the consolation that he has done his -best.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="111"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111"></a></span></p> - - -<h2>CONCLUDING CHAPTER. - -<span class="title">AUTHOR’S THEORY OF MALARIA.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>It is easier to pull down than to build up; easier to -refute than to convince; easier to find fault than to -suggest a remedy: and this reflection may occur, and -no doubt has occurred, to those, be they few or many, -who have perused the preceding chapters of this work. -It may now be asked of me explicitly, What is your -theory? What is your remedy for the evils complained -of? To this I might reply, as the immortal historian of -the “Decline and Fall” is said to have done, “If you -have read certain chapters of my work with sufficient attention, -you may extract from them my meaning and my -views;” but as this might imply on my part either a Teutonic -love for obscurity in phraseology, or a fear to commit -myself to any theory, I shall here sum up in a few words -the views I have arrived at after much reflection on the -matter, during a long and active life passed in a country -supposed to be a hotbed of malaria, the great source -indeed of malaria in Western Europe, that land for -which nature has done so little and man so much.</p> - -<p>1. There floats in the lower strata of the atmosphere in -all regions of the earth, but in very various proportions, -for reasons already explained, a poison or poisons, generated -by the processes which nature adopts for the<span class="pagenum" title="112"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112"></a></span> -destruction of past generations, and the reconstruction -of those to come; the destruction of the aged, the worn-out, -the nearly extinguished; the reconstruction of the -organisms springing into life, to occupy the place of -those that were! Whether the poison be one or many; -whether it be a single species or one of a natural family, -does not affect the general conclusions. The diversity -of its effects is no proof of diversity in its essential -nature or even origin; the living principle is supposed -to be of one nature everywhere and for ever; yet see -how varied are the results of this principle in moulding -the vegetable and animal worlds; how slight are the -modifications even in organic elements, which, when -called into play, give rise to the most astonishing and -unexpected diversity of results. Why should it not -happen, then, with the poison, influence, or thing we call -malaria, which, modified by a chemical action too subtle -for the scientific man to observe, may yet, being so modified, -give rise to an intermittent or a remittent, a -plague, a cholera, a diphtherite, a scarlatina, a typhus, -or a small-pox? Where did so many poisons come from? -Whence came the murrains, the vine-plague, the potato-destroying -poison, which was not at all new, neither was -it confined to the potato? Whence came the pestilences -which destroyed the ancient world? which exterminated -at once whole species and genera now extinct? Of one -thing we may be assured, they did not die a natural -death.</p> - -<p>2. This poison, whatever it may be, floats in the lower -regions of the atmosphere, supported therein by the -gaseous products of fermentation, and more especially by -the ammonia now proved to exist everywhere in the atmosphere. -It is the product, in fact, of the slow combustion -perpetually going on in the air, the earth, the waters,<span class="pagenum" title="113"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113"></a></span> -wherever, in fact, animal or vegetable organisms are to -be decomposed. We call it putrefaction; it is in truth a -<i>ferment</i>, and the fermentable matter, that which gives -rise to the ferment, is the immediate agent as well as -the result (for it is the nature of all ferments to reproduce -their process) of this fermentation, accumulated -in the lower regions of the atmosphere. Increased to -the dangerous point by men’s imprudence or ignorance, -quickened by epidemic influences with whose nature we -are of course wholly unacquainted, and absorbed by the -living tissues, it excites that fermentation, that tendency -to putrescence in the living blood to whose results -medical men have given so many appellations. At times -it is called ague; at times remittent fever; now it is -small-pox; and now a fatal diphtherite. To the transit of -<i>ferments</i> through the air and to their inhalation by man, -I ascribe the diseases usually called zymotic. In ancient -primitive times, when physicians were rare<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a></span> and men -did not interfere, a poison thus absorbed ran its course -from incubation to specific fermentation, with all its -results, in a given time, terminating in a crisis which -might be calculated and determined; and which might -prove fatal or at once remove the disease. A violent perspiration, -a severe diarrhœa, a specific and contagious -eruption on the surface of the body, proved and effected -the elimination of the poison from the system. The ferment -had done its work; it had altered the mass of the -blood, and the products of the slow combustion (<i>putrescence</i>, -rottenness, <i>fermentation</i>) were discharged by the<span class="pagenum" title="114"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114"></a></span> -secretions, according to circumstances peculiar to the constitution -of the individual: as out of the same materials -serpents elaborate poisons of very different powers and -qualities, so the <i>ferment</i>, passing through various constitutions, -gives rise to various results. It pervades the air -and clings to it, nor can it be avoided but by a change of -place of residence<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a></span> storms may, and no doubt do, affect it, -but they frequently fail in dislodging the poison; intervening -wide-spread oceans fail to interrupt its course<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a></span> and -as regards the caprice exhibited in its attacks, we have -only to reflect on the number of elements, vital, atmospheric, -social, and chemical, involved in its full maturescence. -Our doubts on all such matters originate probably -in the coarse chemical theories and still coarser -chemical experiments which prevailed about thirty years -ago, and from their influence, from which men’s minds -have not as yet escaped. The atmosphere was declared to -contain a few wide-spread gaseous elements, and to be -unalterable; the air of towns, of theatres, of large heated -apartments, crowded with people, was boldly asserted -by chemists still alive to be eudiometrically perfect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="115"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115"></a></span></p> - -<p>§ 1. <i>Discovery of foreign bodies, the remains of animal -and vegetable life, and therefore</i> <span class="lowercase smcap">FERMENTABLE</span>, <i>in the air -floating over canals, ditches, marshes, &c.</i>—Scientific chemists, -as well as the professors of the conjectural art, -are occasionally behind the knowledge of the careful, -observing, unprejudiced practical men of the day<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a></span> Experience -taught me, whilst engaged in other inquiries, -that the sulphuretted hydrogen gas arising from the -waters of the canals of Holland is quite sufficient to -spoil cottons printed with nitrate of lead, used for dyeing -yellow with the chromate of potass. The waters of -these canals hold this gas in solution in a certain sense, -but from May to September inclusive, the gas escapes -during the night in great abundance.</p> - -<p>At this time vapours arising from the waters and -floating over the adjoining grounds, were found to contain -minute portions of aquatic plants mingled with the -spores of fungi in vast abundance, together with fragments -of a membranous and gelatinous substance about -to be mentioned. To these must be added the remains -of infusoria not to be detected in dried specimens.</p> - -<p>The injurious effects of water holding such substances, -gaseous and solid, in solution, we overcome by boiling -and passing the steam through (heated) iron pipes, and -re-converting the steam into water. By this process we -get rid of the injurious effects of these foreign matters, -gaseous and solid, held in a kind of solution by the -water, in as far, at least, as they affect the colours -used in dyeing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="116"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116"></a></span></p> - -<p>During these examinations of the waters themselves, -it was distinctly observed that the infusoria and testaceous -mollusca, microscopic and otherwise, with which -such waters abound, were developed in glutinous membranes -attached to the aquatic herbs abounding in these -waters; in short, these membranes seem to be the -matrix for the growth, nourishment, and production -(using the term in a limited sense) of these organized -beings; they form an essential condition of their existence.</p> - -<p>The plants themselves were now washed in distilled -water, and the animal products were the semivalve and -bivalve shells of which I have preserved many specimens. -The semivalve belong to the natural families Buccinum, -Lynceus, Helix, and Planorbis; the bivalve to -the Cardiacæ. The semivalves are the most abundant. -By filtering the water which remained after the shells -had been removed, innumerable minute particles like -dust were discovered; these particles were ascertained -by the aid of the microscope to be mainly composed of -minute fragments of aquatic plants and of the spores of -fungi; to these must, no doubt, be added, although not -visible when dried, the remains of zoophytes, and of the -glutinous membranes forming the matrix of animal -aquatic life.</p> - -<p>I now endeavoured to obtain the glutinous membrane -or matrix in which these testaceous mollusca were -obviously developed, apart and distinct from the animals -themselves. To attain this desirable point we filled -a glass receiver with water containing the aquatic -plants and shells, and the gelatinous membrane already -spoken of. The receiver was now inverted upon a plate, -and water poured into the plate to the depth of half an -inch.</p> - -<p>In a few days the receiver became filled with gas,<span class="pagenum" title="117"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117"></a></span> -forcing the water downwards into the plate on which -the receiver rested; and although after the first day we -could not discover any of the gelatinous membranes in -the lower part of the receiver, yet that in the plate -became like a flaky jelly, attaching itself to blades of -grass or leaves. The surface exposed to the atmosphere -became dry and brittle, and in this state resembled -thin layers of gum; the substance thus desiccated -strongly resembled jelly.</p> - -<p>The glutinous membrane of which frequent mention -has been made above, is of a very viscid nature, and -when combined with any animal substance in a state of -transition or fermentation, it is poisonous. It is, I believe, -generally viewed as the matrix for the development -of the ova of these shell fish, and considered as a -product or secretion of the parent. Into this question I -enter not, leaving it, if it be one, to others.</p> - -<p>On exposing for a few days some of the larger testaceous -mollusca alive to the atmosphere of the room at a -temperature varying from 65° to 70° Fahr., strong proofs -were obtained that ammonia was produced in the interior -of the shell confined therein by the membrane called -operculum, sealing, as it were, the aperture into the shell -hermetically. On puncturing this membrane the presence -of ammoniacal gas could be distinctly traced by -the odour.</p> - -<p>I submit to the consideration of professed physiologists -the following questions:—1st. What are the effects -likely to result to man from the inhalation of these microscopic -and gaseous products in a state of decomposition, -they being certainly present in the vapours arising from -the waters of canals, ditches, &c., in many countries, -especially during the nights of spring, summer, and -autumn? 2nd. What are the evil effects likely to arise<span class="pagenum" title="118"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118"></a></span> -to man from the use of such waters as drink, or when -employed for culinary purposes? Lastly: As the gelatinous -membranes alluded to are the nidus of various -forms of organic life, and contain those forms, developed -and undeveloped, occasionally in a state of decomposition, -to which of the two forms of life, animal or vegetable, -or to both, is to be ascribed the deleterious effects on -man, and ascribed by physicians to an unknown poison -called Malaria, designated by them as “a poison, an -influence, a miasm, a thing unknown”? Ferments and -putrescence are not “things unknown:” let us adhere -to facts.</p> - -<p>§ 2. Thus the principle of wasting away by the -action of the atmosphere, of the rotting of vegetable -and animal substances, first developed by the illustrious -Liebig, opened up to me the path to that theory which -seems to reconcile the conflicting observations of pathologists,—that -vegetable and animal matters do ferment -or rot, and that in this state of rottenness they are carried -through the air, was with me no longer a matter of -doubt; next came the question, as to the effects of such -matters on man when inhaled by respiration and conveyed -directly into the living, circulating blood, that -most complex of all fluids, that mysterious compound -out of which nature constructs the animal world.</p> - -<p>This slow wasting takes place in any damp place -under ground, and the ferments assume the form of -vapour when such places happen to be warmer than the -open air; it is in this state that the odour is so sensible to -us after a hot dry day or during cold nights. There is -no smell in rainy or damp weather. It is in the spring -and autumn months when ferments from slow combustion -abound, aided by the amount of heat and moisture -which then prevail, and by the floating of plants. The<span class="pagenum" title="119"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119"></a></span> -poison thus generated is known to be the product of a -ferment, and like many such products, possesses the -quality of fermenting other organic compounds with -which it may come in contact. Introduced into the -living system of man, it finds in certain individuals the -material already disposed to pass into fermentation. It -incubates, and this incubation is measured as to time by -a variety of circumstances I need not enumerate. In -cold countries the incubation is slow, extending over -many months; not that the ferment differs, but its action -is modified by the existing condition of the accessories -to its action and power. The ferment introduced into -the blood in autumn may not show its full action on the -living fluids until the following spring, or early in -summer: in hot countries it is different; there the ferment, -aided by numerous adjuncts, acts almost immediately; -fever sets in, causing violent reaction of the -conservative powers of nature; delirium, coma, vomiting, -death. The mass of the blood has undergone a change -in all its constituents, and dissolution and putrefaction -are swift in reducing the frame, even whilst life is still -present, to that state to which all that lives must come -at last; whilst the physician loses himself in vague theories -of an “unknown poison”—a malaria, a something not -strictly a gas, a matter or influence differing from all -chemical or other agents known, the scientific chemist -steps in, and shows that the subtle matter they so -anxiously endeavour to discover, is a process constantly -going on before their eyes; a chemical process, universal; -the process, in short, on which in a great measure -depends the disposal of the dead and effete remains of the -organic world; the growth, the nourishment, the renovator -of each successive generation of the same world.</p> - -<p>§ 3. It may be now fully admitted that ammonia is the<span class="pagenum" title="120"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120"></a></span> -active principle or stimulus to vegetable life, as shown -by the extraordinary growth of plants in warm damp -climates; in these malaria—as we may still call the -poison so developed—exists to the greatest extent, as in -the Pontine Marshes, by the banks of the Po, Ferrara -and Bologna. From various experiments and observations, -I have been led to the conclusion that the ammonia -constantly present in the atmosphere, and derived -from several sources<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a></span> is the chief cause of the activity -which the ferment, or poison, displays under different -and varying circumstances. There prevails, in truth, an -excess of ammonia in such an atmosphere, resulting from -the nitrogen uniting with hydrogen; from the decomposition -of vegetable matter carrying decayed animal -matter along with it; and from the ammonia always -existing in the spawn and in the matter of the shells of -infusoria. All my researches into the effects which the -various gases have upon animal tissues, showed ammonia -to be the most destructive; in fact, no animal -tissue can resist complete decomposition by caustic -ammonia. I conclude, therefore, that vegetable and -animal matter in a state of fermentation, and mixed -with ammonia, is the cause or essence of that destructive -power which physicians ascribe to malaria. Should this -fermentable matter pass in a concentrated state into the -torrent of the circulation, the globules of the blood are -destroyed, and become black; the person is in the cold -stage of fever; next, the vegetable matter ferments, -causing the hot stage. No one in Holland has any doubt -as to the origin of this power, but ascribes it uniformly<span class="pagenum" title="121"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121"></a></span> -to the draining of some lake; and it amounts almost -to a demonstration that the air under such circumstances -is poisonous or injurious to health. It was even foretold -by several writers that fevers would result from draining -the lake of Haarlem, as took place in the years 1608, -1641, 1727, 1779, from draining various polders<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a></span></p> - -<p>If the principles I have announced be correct, the -extreme impropriety—not to use a stronger phrase—of -carrying on excavations or other extensive works on the -muddy banks of rivers, in marshy or swampy forests, -during the summer months, must be obvious to all reflecting -persons. No work should be done in such places, -or in ponds, after the month of April, for it is warm -dry weather that sets malaria afloat. But if this ferment—which -we may strictly call malaria, as producing -a malarious condition of the air—be, as I apprehend -it is, the cause of fever, why should not medical men -direct their attention more earnestly to the question in -how far such a fermentation of the blood may be met -by the employment of substances known to resist and -counteract fermentation? Are physicians agreed on the -nature of fevers, and the best means of curing them<span class="nowrap">?<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a></span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="122"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122"></a></span></p> -<p>Nothing can be more interesting, in a natural history -point of view, than to watch the results upon large bodies -of water, of attempts, more or less successful, to complete -their drainage. Thus during the operations carried on -for this purpose at Haarlem, there sprung up in the dry -places of the more elevated parts an extraordinary -quantity of plants and herbs, which were not seen in the -country before they flowered and sent millions of seeds -with their diminutive rocket, silky tails into the air. -They were too minute to be seen upon grass, but the -footpaths were covered with them, and a current of -wind might carry them to distant regions, as the sand -is carried from the coast of Africa into the track of the -Brazilian packets, to such an extent as to make it uncomfortable -to walk on deck. It is by no means, therefore, -improbable that those errant seeds came from a -foreign land, the native produce of other countries. -Continuing my observations into the transit of seeds, I -have found them to be the cause of shallow canals in -England being full of heretofore unknown water-plants, -to the extent of impeding navigation.</p> - -<p>It is mentioned in the “Kosmos” of Humboldt, that the -dust resulting from eruptions of the volcanic mountains -in South America was observed in Spain. But if currents -of wind thus carry seeds and other matters hundreds -of miles through the air, no one can be surprised that -the aquatic plants above alluded to floated to England -through the air, from Holland; these plants, new to the -land of their accidental adoption, bring with them a new -corresponding animal life; in due time they come to maturity -and die, and now Nature steps in to take up the -task, and complete her work; her process is simple in -appearance, most complex in its results: a malarious -air—malarious at least to man—appears, as it may be,<span class="pagenum" title="123"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"></a></span> -for the first time in the district, ascribed by medical -men to every cause but the true one. In their anxiety -to discover a cause, they fix on some antiquated drain, or -cesspool, or ditch, by the margins of which many generations -of a stout peasantry had lived and died; or they -dive into the pump-well, and triumphantly exhibit infusoria, -not unlikely engaged at the very moment in -purifying the water: it never seems to have occurred -to them that <i>ferments</i> only appear in certain combinations -of the air—under circumstances which only occasionally -occur, and that (which is most lamentable to -think of, as in the case of London and the Thames) the -evil is most frequently of man’s creation<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a></span></p> - -<p>The operations of nature when left to herself never -vary; they may always be calculated on, foretold, -anticipated; on this assured and irrefutable fact all -science rests. It is only when man interferes and modifies -the elements at work that nature seems to alter -her processes; a disturbing agent has been thrust into -the machinery, and the mischief it effects must either be -counteracted or entirely overcome. So long as the -Lake of Haarlem was a lake, or mere, so long were its -banks healthy; but drain it partially, and you must be -prepared for the result. There is no middle course; -that which was once a lake or sea cannot be left in the -condition of a putrid, imperfectly-drained, fermenting -mass of mud, teeming with animal and vegetable life, -and with a material for which oxygen is the natural fer<span class="pagenum" title="124"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124"></a></span>ment; -it must be arrested by the hands which drained, -or attempted to drain it, and converted into a healthy -pasture-land or a wheat-field; if left to nature, centuries -might elapse before that which was once a sea would -become a healthy forest or natural meadow, during which -period man, should he persist in residing on its banks, -must undergo the penalty of his own want of knowledge<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a></span></p> - - -<h3>CONCLUSION.</h3> - -<p>In the first chapters of this work I have endeavoured -to trace briefly yet succinctly the history of opinion as -to the nature of malaria, showing how, prior to the appearance -of Macculloch, no one had given to the theory -of malaria any definite form. In those which followed -I have traced the history of his presumed discovery -from the period of its first announcement to its distinct -refutation by one of the ablest of statisticians, showing -that, notwithstanding this refutation, the physician -having, in fact, no other theory to fall back on, persisted -in adopting the theory, and, as a natural result, continued -to look for and to find in cesspools and ditches, -lay-stalls and drains, that unknown and mysterious -poison which they had been told by Macculloch was -the cause of all diseases. Confounding it with bad -odours of all sorts, they sought for remedies in the -destruction of bad odours; at times they sealed the -sewers and cesspools hermetically and by law: now<span class="pagenum" title="125"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125"></a></span> -they opened up and ventilated the sewers and cesspools -also by law<span class="nowrap">;<a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a></span> and lastly, on finding that they had poisoned -the air of the metropolis, and that every experiment -they made ended in the precisely opposite results to -what they had foretold would happen, as a last resource -they endeavour now so to dilute the refuse of living -beings as to render it, if possible, inodorous at least. -This experiment will also fail. Like true Englishmen, -they would not let well alone; they would attempt to solve -questions by main force, which science, aided by long and -careful experience and observation, could alone effect. -At last Liebig appeared, and gave to the whole question -a new phasis and another basis; that basis rests on -an appeal to the great laws of nature, and not on any -researches into the occult, hidden, and mysterious laws -regulating the building up and the constructing of the -various forms of animal and vegetable life. In this -grand work the vital force is in action, whereas the -destructive processes by which she annihilates her own -forms are strictly chemical; there science may be properly -said to commence in respect of the great question -I now consider; and uniting experience with observation, -it seems to lead to the following conclusions, which, if -legitimate, will probably stand their ground until overthrown -or modified by the larger experience of succeeding -ages.</p> - -<p>§ 1. Seeing that <i>putrescent</i>, that is <i>fermentable</i>, bodies -can and do exert so great an influence on organic compounds -when dead (in the sense we consider them), it is -not unreasonable to suppose that animal structures and<span class="pagenum" title="126"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126"></a></span> -fluids capable of being fermented, may undergo the same -process, that is, fermentation, putrescence, and destruction, -or decay, whilst forming a part of the living body.</p> - -<p>§ 2. As no sane person doubts the harmony which can -be shown to exist in all created beings, so it is probable, -if not quite certain, that the laws of decomposition must -be as regular as the laws of composition; or, in other -words, that as the organic matter is without a doubt the -same throughout the living world, and as living bodies -are built up or constructed agreeably to certain laws, so, -undoubtedly, will they be decomposed by laws equally -fixed and constant; invariable; and the nature of the -material so decomposed will in no shape be affected by -those specific differences which bestow on organic nature -her beauteous and varied aspect.</p> - -<p>§ 3. The final product, whether of composition or -decomposition, must be the same in all respectively; -the infusoria, as well as the gigantic whale and elephant, -are composed, when living, of the same elementary -tissues, and, when dead, decompose into elements the -same in all.</p> - -<p>§ 4. The presence of microscopic animalcules in putrifying -substances is viewed by Liebig as accidental, and -not essential to putrefaction or to fermentation; but even -admitting this, it is certain that animalcules (infusoria) -exist everywhere in inconceivable numbers; if water -contains these putrescible substances, as it must always -do, then the infusoria are also present in the water; -let this water evaporate under the heat of the sun, and -we have in a fermentable, that is, putrescible, condition -countless myriads of infusoria wafted through the atmosphere, -and in certain localities (Pontine Marshes, Sierra -Leone, the Orinoco, &c.) forming almost a constant, if -not a constituent, part of the atmosphere; they pass<span class="pagenum" title="127"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127"></a></span> -into living bodies by respiration: hence the hitherto -inexplicable phenomena with regard to the influence of -locality in the production of disease, whether derived -from animal or vegetable remains.</p> - -<p>§ 5. Thus these bodies cause disease, not as live matter, -but as dead, fermentable, and putrescible. They -are not found everywhere, nor are they everywhere -liable to pass into fermentation, a certain degree of -heat being necessary for the production of this condition. -Their evil effects on human life are chiefly -felt when man places himself in a false position in -regard to them. In pursuit of gain, national or individual, -he seeks the deltas of the rivers of hot climates, -plunges within the tropics, despising the maxims of the -natives of those countries, encamps on or near putrescent -marshes, hoping to escape destruction; prances in -holiday costume across the Dobrudscha, as if he were on -the Champs Elysées or the grassy slopes of Hyde Park, -and having carried folly and contempt for the experience -of others to its height, pays the sad penalty sure -to be exacted by nature from all those who despise her -warnings.</p> - -<p>These are my opinions, supported, I believe, by facts -and figures, and to those who honour me with a perusal -of the preceding chapters I beg leave to say, in the -words of the ancient poet and <span class="nowrap">satirist—</span></p> - -<p class="tac fs90"> -Si quid novisti rectius istis,<br /> -Candidus imperti, si non—his utere mecum. -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="128"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"></a></span><span class="pagenum hide" title="129"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"></a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><span class="ls02em">APPENDIX.</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="fs90"> -<p>To avoid overloading the text, I have thrown into the form of an -Appendix several Notes more or less intimately connected with -the great question considered in the body of the work. They -may be read with or without any reference to the various headings -they treat of.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 1.</span></p> - -<p>By the deodorizing processes now in use, the ammonia, the -most valuable constituent of manures, is destroyed; whilst by the -flushing of sewers with an excessive quantity of water it is dissipated; -hence the low value, or rather the absolute inutility of the -sewage of large towns, as manure, when diluted with the surface -drainage and other waters, excepting in the case of reclaiming -waste lands, in order to convert them into meadows of so highly -objectionable a character that no one can or will reside near -them. The smell from such meadows is most abominable.</p> - -<p>Even in such cases an outfall must be provided for the surplus -sewage waters, either into a river or into the sea, for the meadows -to be irrigated require but little of it, and that only occasionally -and during droughts.</p> - -<p>The fixing the ammonia is the great difficulty the agriculturist -experiences in all questions respecting those manures which -naturally contain or produce it. Its volatility is so great that it -not only readily escapes into the air, but carries along with it, -especially from waters, bodies at the moment in a state of slow -combustion; or, in other words, ferments, capable of exciting -fermentation in other fermentable bodies.</p> - -<p>It may even pass into the condition of caustic ammonia<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a></span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" title="130"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130"></a></span></p> -<p>In a well written pamphlet by Mr. Ward<span class="nowrap">,<a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a></span> the unhappy and -fatal mistake of mixing the surface drainage with the sewage -of London is clearly pointed out for the hundredth time, but -the parties who planned the scheme will no more take notice -of such facts than they did fifteen or twenty years ago, when -they commenced their work of polluting the Thames and other -rivers.</p> - -<p>To Mr. Ward’s proposal of purifying the river and fertilizing -the land by tubular drainage, there are, however, many serious -objections.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 2.</span>—<i>Habits of the</i> <span class="lowercase smcap">WILDE</span>, <i>in desert or uninhabited countries.</i></p> - -<p>It is known to sportsmen that in the neighbourhood of hills, -partridges leave the low grounds at the approach of evening, and -take themselves to the hilly or more elevated district. Nature -has taught them a very curious fact in meteorology, namely, that -on leaving the valley at night, and ascending the hill, the temperature -of the air increases up to a certain elevation, and from -that point upwards decreases. The game ascends to the point of -highest temperature, and there remains for the evening. A friend -informs me that whilst crossing the high range of mountains -forming the watershed between the Grotevisch Rivière and the -Zondag Rivière, in Southern Africa, he experienced as he ascended -intense cold, with heavy dews in the valleys through -which ran the sources of the Grotevisch Rivière, and these continued -until he reached the base of the crowning heights. Here -the party slept in a mud-hut belonging to a Dutch boer. During -the ascent they saw no game; but on climbing about half way -up the remaining steep before daybreak next morning, they -reached a spot where all the large game had congregated. -It was the point of greatest warmth, generally a few hundred -feet above the plain, and below the summit of the mountain. -From this point to the summit the cold was most intense, and -snow lay on the high peaks of the mountains.</p> - -<p>When the shells of infusoria are driven about in the atmosphere -they lose their carbonate of lime by the acid fermentation; and -the membranous portions having the properties of coagulated<span class="pagenum" title="131"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"></a></span> -albumen, and being also fermentable, may, by passing into the -blood, become excitants of fermentation. This has been already -fully explained in the text<span class="nowrap">.<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a></span></p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 3.</span>—<i>Moss.</i></p> - -<p>In the <i>Annales de Chimie</i>, volume xxix. p. 225, mention is -made that the walls of various towns which had been under water -for several years having become exposed, from the effects of a -dry summer and hot weather, became covered with vegetable -matter, the decomposition of which infected the atmosphere, and -caused great sickness in the environs, and particularly where -buildings were situated in marshes in communication with the -sea. The vegetation, in fact, was composed of lichens.</p> - -<p>On a recent visit to Bangor, in North Wales, I was struck with -the nice firm turf which was in the garden; and upon inquiring -of the gardener, he informed me that the turf came from the -seeds blown from the hills, and that it required great care on the -part of the farmers to keep it under, or it would be exceedingly -injurious to land and buildings if neglected. When it grows -on walls it splits them by the capillary expansion of its roots between -the bricks operated upon by damp hot weather. I have -seen this lichen destroy the pillars of a gateway three feet thick.</p> - -<p>Mill-stones are made in Germany out of granite, by means of -willow pegs being driven into holes thinly covered with water; -this causes the willow to act by capillary expansion, forcing the -mill-stones of the required size out of the rock.</p> - -<p>It is of the utmost importance that the nature of moss and -lichen generally should be well studied before constructing -sewers, &c., where vegetable matter exists near water.</p> - -<p>Was it by similar means that the ancient Egyptians and inhabitants -of Arabia Petræa cut from the solid rock those vast -blocks, in effecting which they do not seem to have availed themselves -of any modern mechanical contrivances?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" title="132"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132"></a></span></p> - -<p>The <i>ferment</i>, that is, the substances in a state of fermentation -and capable of acting on all fermentable bodies, and especially on -complex organic compounds, as the blood, exist at all times in the -air, but are as a matter of course greatly influenced by a variety -of circumstances as regards their effects on man and other animals. -It is proved by indubitable evidence that this morbific matter is -as capable of entering the system when minute particles of it are -diffused in the atmosphere as when it is directly introduced into -the blood vessels by a wound. When diffused in the air, these -noxious particles are conveyed into the system through the thin -and delicate walls of the air-vesicles of the lungs in the act of -respiration. The mode in which the air-vesicles are formed and -disposed is such as to give to the human lungs an almost incredible -extent of absorbing surface, while at every point of this surface -there is a vascular tube ready to receive any substance imbibed -by it and to carry it at once into the current of the circulation. -Thus in certain seasons boils and carbuncles prevail to an -alarming extent, and surgeons dare not operate lest they should lose -their patients from erysipelas and inflammations, running rapidly -into putrescence. In large hospitals the poisonous air in all probability -is constantly present, attacking those who have been previously -weakened by disease or wounds, or loss of blood; in other -words, all those in whom from any circumstance (as by the depression -of the vital powers) the complex organic compounds are -held loosely together, and are therefore prepared to ferment or to -fall into putrescence.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 4.</span>—<i>Anther.</i></p> - -<p>This name is given in botany to the summit or top of the -stamen containing the fertilizing fruit-producing dust.</p> - -<p>Pollen is the fecundating dust or fine substance, like flour, -meal, or fine bran.</p> - -<p>Farina, contained in the anther of flowers and plants, which is -dispersed on their stigma for impregnation, form a vegetable essence -constituting the particular nature of a substance forming the -flower existing in other plants of the same family or kind.</p> - -<p>Spore or sporule in botany is that product of flowerless plants -which performs the function of seeds.</p> - -<p>These substances float in the atmosphere, and are the cause of<span class="pagenum" title="133"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133"></a></span> -the hay fever; and when they fall into water and are afterwards -left upon mud they ferment, and being dried up by the sun they -fly about with the spawn of animals.</p> - -<p>Should seeds fly about with the pollen or farina in a state of -decay and full of carbonic acid, the oxygen of the atmosphere, so -essential to human beings, is diminished, and the pollen or seeds -are inhaled into the lungs, and are thus exposed to the action -of oxygen whilst circulating with the blood.</p> - -<p>The result of an excess of carbon in the air is the growth of -ferns on barren rocks, which ferns subsequently become coal.</p> - -<p>The same cause will always produce the same results. When -vegetable matters rise from a large surface of earth or mud (as -from the newly-drained forty thousand acres of the lake of -Haarlem), there are no plants there to inhale the carbonic acid, -and to give out oxygen; but those seeds being rotten or in -a state of ferment, the oxygen for the decomposition is drawn -from the atmosphere alone, and human beings who breathe this -malaria have fever; the atmosphere is tainted: miasms of carbon -with hydrogen gas (the lightest thing known) fly about, carrying -them to points where sulphurous gases may find them a resting-place -on mud and shallow waters: these give rise to fever, cholera, -plague, and to all zymotic diseases.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 5.</span>—<i>Algæ, or Sea-weeds of the Mediterranean Sea.</i></p> - -<p>These were examined by Doctor Derbes, Professor of Sciences, -and Captain Solier, of Marseilles, and the result of their researches -was published in the supplement of the <i>Comtes Rendus</i> of -the Académie des Sciences, in answer to a prize essay proposed by -the Academy in 1847. Nothing can exceed the botanical truthfulness -of the memoir presented by these gentlemen to the Academy. -After a careful examination of the substances resulting -from the mass of decayed sea-weed in the delta of the various -rivers which flow into the Mediterranean Sea, they arrived at the -conclusion that the product is the cause of fevers, by generating -a malaria which the vital powers are unequal to meet. Thus the -cholera existed at Marseilles in 1850; all knowledge of the extent -of its destructive ravages was withheld from the public; and -the truth of this is in some measure proved by the readiness with -which the Board of Health recommend the quarantine of ten to<span class="pagenum" title="134"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134"></a></span> -fifteen days, when it was reported that the plague or cholera -existed at Tripoli, Sicily, and Sardinia.—July, 1858.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 6.</span>—<i>The Marseilles Board of Health and Quarantine.</i></p> - -<p class="tac fs80 mt15em">TO THE EDITOR OF THE “TIMES.”</p> - -<p class="tar fs80 mr1em"><i>Challice.</i></p> - -<p>Sir,—The Board of Health of Marseilles are about to establish -quarantine regulations of ten days’ and fifteen days’ duration at -that port, because “a dreadful plague rages at Bengazzi, in Tripoli, -and is extending along the coast to Alexandria.” Individuals -are to be confined ten days, and in certain cases fifteen days. -Letters are to be purified, &c., and some 1500 Piedmontese -labourers are likely to be disturbed and thrown out of work if -the proposed quarantine regulations are established. And so this -is the sum total of sanitary experience for the last ten years! -The French authorities saw all quarantine regulations broken -down during the Crimean war; in fact, joined the British in -abolishing a quarantine at Smyrna, at Galipoli, at Constantinople, -at Sinope, at Samsoon, at Trebizonde, at Malta, and even -at Marseilles, and indeed at all other ports and places used by -the transports and by the armies in alliance.</p> - -<p>The armies certainly did not escape fever and cholera in their -most terrible forms. The French, the British, and the Sardinians -alike suffered, both in the field and in hospital, at the commencement. -The British alone, however, by means of sanitary works -and regulations, reduced cholera attacks to a <i>minimum</i>, and almost -abolished fever. A few simple alterations to the sewers from the -great hospitals on the Bosphorus and other places; ventilation—in -many instances by simply breaking the top squares of windows; -regular scavenging without and cleansing within the works of -the hospitals, and the regular use of the lime-wash brush, emptied -the hospital wards of fever patients. Surface cleansing at Balaklava, -and regular scavenging both the shores and water of the -harbour; covering the shallow graves with gravel and earth; -scavenging the camp, and daily disinfecting all latrines, soon reduced -the British army mortality below home or barrack life and -service. The French neglected these things, or blundered in their -execution, as the 5000 deaths per month in the hospitals on the -Bosphorus, from hospital and camp fever alone, during the last<span class="pagenum" title="135"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135"></a></span> -three months of the war, testify. That certain diseases are contagious, -such as scarlatina, measles, small-pox, &c., few will deny. -That plague and cholera are equally contagious many doubt. -Sanitary works and regulations of a very primitive and simple -kind can certainly check the contagibility of cholera, as witness -the experience in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Tynemouth, in London, -in many other English towns and districts, and in the British -hospitals and camps throughout the Crimean campaign. -The lesson taught by experience ought to be this:—Let the -Board of Health at Marseilles cleanse the town, cause all the foul -rooms to be ventilated and lime-washed, disinfect the foul cesspools -and sewage, and cut it off by “interception” from the harbour -and docks, and they may bid defiance to plague from any -quarter. It may be imported in silks, &c., but it will not -spread. Let there be a sanitary staff for the harbour, and another -for the town, armed with brooms, barrows, and lime-wash brushes, -in place of sidearms and muskets, and persons may land at once -to go about their business, and merchandize may be forwarded to -its destination without fear of consequences. During periods of -epidemics there can be cholera without dirt; improper food and -mental and bodily exhaustion may bring on isolated cases; but -to have cholera rampant there must be numbers of human beings -fouling air, earth, and water, and habitually living contrary to -known sanitary laws and entirely neglecting sanitary precautions.</p> - -<p class="tar mr1em"><span class="smcap">Civil Engineer.</span></p> - -<p class="ml1em"><i>August 14, 1858.</i></p> - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 7.</span>—<i>Mud, Water, and Air.</i></p> - -<p>The presence of water and a suitable temperature are indispensable -conditions of the oxidizing process of decay, just as they -are necessary to putrefaction and fermentation. The sides of -ponds and ditches being covered by water during the winter -months, in the spring the air becoming warmer and drier, -the water diminishes, the decay of vegetable seeds, plants, and -all woody fibres enter now into putrefaction, communicating -the process to each other, and by the transmission of decomposition -from one particle to another, a great number of plants -give out various gases to the atmosphere while decaying upon -mud, rise into the air, meeting other gases, and then, floating<span class="pagenum" title="136"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136"></a></span> -about, they compose and decompose each other. Hence the bad -odour from the mud-banks of the Thames, near the outfalls of -the sewage.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 8.</span></p> - -<p>I have known fevers cured by a change of the sleeping room -from the south to the north aspect, and still more readily by -removing from one side of the street to the other. All should -avoid dwelling near canals, ponds, or ditches habitually covered -with a white froth; this is formed, in fact, of gases rising through -humus swimming on the water, and contains living beings as well -as fermentable substances.</p> - -<p>It is important to men who work and sleep in the same house -to have the day or working-rooms to the north, where the sun -never enters, and to sleep in a room to the east or south. A room -to the west, looking to the west, is not healthy, particularly in -summer months, being the hottest in the evening. Gnats, -moths, and flies collect there, and are at least harassing, if not -hurtful, particularly to infants.</p> - -<p>No person not a native of a marshy country should travel overland -in the evening; dew causes a strong action in vapours, mists, -&c. Invalids and soldiers after fatigue, should halt in the daytime, -and march in the evening, to avoid being chilled.</p> - - -<p class="tac mt15em"><span class="smcap">Note 9.</span></p> - -<p>A sure remedy against the malaria of ditches, ponds, &c., is to -fill the water-courses with water; never suffer them to be so far -dried up that the spawn of living creatures may attach itself to -the sides of grass, bushes, &c., and afterwards to dry and spread -about like the seeds of flowers, in the environs. The mud which -is left exposed to the air gives out, on drying, various gases, -which being mixed with the fossils of the mud, contaminate the -air, and are breathed by the people in the neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>A circular drain, having a double current, well understood by -the hydraulic engineers of Holland, is the kind of drain I prefer.</p> - - -<p class="tac fs80 mt2em">THE END.</p> -</div> - - -<div class="box-outer"> -<div class="box-inner"> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="tac"><b>MR. RENSHAW’S PUBLICATIONS.</b></p> - -<p class="ml2hi2"><span class="smcap">A Treatise on Hooping Cough</span>, with its Treatment by a New -Remedy. By George D. Gibb, M.D. Fcap. cloth. Price 7<i>s.</i></p> - -<p class="ml2hi2"><span class="smcap">The Diseases of the Fœtus in Utero.</span> By Henry Madge, M.D. -Fcap. 8vo. cloth. Price 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p class="ml2hi2"><span class="smcap">On the Epidemic Fevers of Sierra Leone.</span> By Alexander -Bryson, M.D. 12mo. cloth. 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Paris. 1806.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a> -Medical authors of the highest repute are exceedingly vague in -their ideas respecting the nature of malaria; nor will it ever be -otherwise until the question be taken up by the strictly scientific. -Thus, Sir John Forbes says, in his “Holiday:”—“As the unknown -thing which we term malaria or miasma of marshes, under certain -circumstances gives rise at one time to simple ague, at another to a -fatal remittent fever, &c.; and produces at times a morbid enlargement -of the spleen, at others diseases of the liver, &c.; so I can imagine -that some other <i>malaria</i>, or unknown thing or influence of local -origin, may be the cause of ordinary bronchocele, of goitre of the -Alps, and also of cretinism.” -</p> - -<p>From the 1st of August to December the author hunted and waded -through the marshes of Belgium and Holland in quest of water-fowl; -his impunity from fever may be in part ascribed to a hardy training -in early life.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a> -Typhus, now subdivided into two—namely, the true typhus and -typhoid fever.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a> -Quetelet, “Sur l’Homme.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a> -The late Dr. Macculloch was a distinguished geologist in the -employment of Government, representing in himself the department -which has now swelled out into the Metropolitan School of Practical -Geology, the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn-street, the -geological department in connexion with the Ordnance, &c. &c. He -resided mostly in London, and moved in the best circles. Though a -strictly scientific man, he was a professor also of the conjectural art, -having been educated as a medical man. Soon after publishing his -first essays on malaria, thrown out as feelers to the profession and -the public, he had his misgivings as to the safety of the course he -was pursuing. To denounce open sewers, undrained streets, untrapped -cesspools, and overflowing dead-wells, was clearly an attack -on the proprietors of London houses; and he called one morning in -great haste on a distinguished barrister, to consult him as to the -possibility of a passage in one of his essays being construed into a -ground for an action for libel! How changed now are the views of -society in respect of all such matters.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a> -See the admirable speech of Mr. Disraeli in his place in Parliament, -on the condition of the Thames.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a> -It is right to observe that the unpleasant odour from the Thames, -which during the month of June and part of July of the present year -so disturbed the olfactory nerves of the Londoners, ceased at once so -soon as the Bill for the purification of the Thames passed both Houses -of Parliament. What connexion this had with the causes of the -odour, and how these odours were so opportunely called forth and so -quietly dismissed, I leave to be conjectured by the thoughtful of all -classes. At this moment—August, 1858—during the most intense -heat, the river is as sweet and fresh as a mountain stream, and has -continued so ever since. Some are disposed to ascribe the cessation -of the odours (for the stream is not in any way purified) to the -throwing of quick-lime into the lower sections of the principal sewers; -but if a remedy so simple as this was to be found in such a process, -why was it not employed in June and July? It is only the unobserving -who are surprised at such things, and who have not happened -to observe what follows the spreading of an ancient cesspool over the -fields by the road-side, or pouring its contents into a comparatively -small river. The Thames is a comparatively small river, and the -effects of pouring into it, at a convenient and suitable time (the dog-days, -Parliament sitting, &c.), the contents of half-a-dozen cesspools of -fifty years’ standing, undiluted and at once, would most assuredly -give rise to results such as took place in London in June and July. -The plot was a very nasty one—it might easily have been traced and -the plotters detected: the sewer-makers, under the direction, no -doubt, of the various boards, were very active in various quarters; -and, not to mention other places, the main street of Hackney, for -instance, for nearly a whole day, was by such means rendered quite -unbearable.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a> -The Walcheren expedition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a> -Rapid changes in the barometric pressure of the atmosphere -strongly affect some persons, but the <i>malaise</i> caused does not seem -to be of a permanent character. In the spring, in Britain, when -north-easterly winds prevail, the amount of skin disease, rheumatism, -neuralgia, &c., is sufficiently remarkable, and the blights they cause -in plants is a fact known to all. In a work published by Mulder -(“Water en Miht,” Amsterdam, p. 181), we find it mentioned that -Van Swinden investigated the mutations of atmospheric pressure as -a cause of sickness, and arrived at the conclusion that a low pressure -was not the cause of sickness and fever. He remarked that although -there had been many years in which much sickness prevailed, seemingly -connected with hot and dry weather, the barometer had varied -but little. Thus, at Haarlem, in the period between 1755 and 1780, -the maximum was 30·9, the minimum or lowest, 28·0. The summer -of 1779 was extremely hot, and a fever epidemic appeared which continued -for three years. It was ascribed to the draining of several -polders. Several learned societies made reports on the subject of -this fever, but they elicited no new facts. It was generally agreed -that the deeper the mud and turf containing vegetable matter were -under water, the less was the sickness resulting from the draining. -A Mynheer Driessen called public attention to the circumstance that -on the coasts of Holland there were many places where animal and -vegetable matter had accumulated and was in a state of rottenness -or fermentation; and in this state he suggested that being carried -inland by strong westerly winds, it might give rise to sickness. It is -remarkable, however, that both the influenza and cholera progressed -against the prevailing westerly winds.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a> -Men in a state of nature seem to resist malaria. Thus the -natives of Newfoundland and of Canada generally, and indeed of all -America, withstood readily the malaria of their native land, but -perished when brought within the influence of European domesticity. -We must allow, however, for the power of race. On the other hand, it -seems almost certain that the old Roman armies withstood the influence -of climate much more effectually than modern armies do. They lived -generally in camps, which they themselves fortified. Of their sanitary -regulations we know nothing, but of their camps we know that no -English or French soldiers could possibly stand their ground for any -length of time similarly encamped. A legion (about 12,000 men) -encamped on a space of 700 yards square; what became of the refuse -of the camp, and how was it disposed of? No Crimean disasters ever -happened to Cæsar; he could not afford to lose his veteran Legions -as we lost the Guards.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">11</a> -Gibbon, vol. vii., p. 421, Milman’s edition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">12</a> -The cholera, in so far as I know, has not as yet penetrated -beyond the tropic into the southern hemisphere.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">13</a> -In the <i>Times</i> of to-day (September 8th), the contagious character -of the plague is stoutly denied by one who seems to write from -authority, or who at least is evidently well backed by a strong party. -The writer is evidently one of the Commissioners who met in Paris -some years ago to inquire into the working of the quarantine laws. -I offer no opinion on the subject,—though “one-idea” men, they -have a show of truth on their side, and especially in this, that they -adopt the popular view of the subject when they deny the contagious -nature of the plague. They boldly affirm that plague only spreads in -places where sanitary regulations are despised—a consoling and -useful theory, even if it were not true. They made the same assertions -of cholera—their hypothesis proved sadly at fault. The pump-well -water-drinking theory is the latest expression of medical -theorists in respect of the origin of the cholera: there never was a -greater delusion. It does not merit a refutation, and is quite unworthy -the professors of even a conjectural art. That the symptoms -of cholera strongly resemble the action of a violent poison taken into -the stomach, is not to be questioned, and that water may have been -the vehicle of such a poison is neither impossible nor even improbable. -The iced-water drinking population of Paris, of Palermo, and -of many Sicilian and Italian towns, suffered terribly from cholera. -Nor does it spare the temperate Mahometan, upon whom cleanliness -is enjoined as an article of his faith. Still, the wholly inexplicable -facts in the spread of cholera (and the same may be said of plague, -typhus, and yellow fever) are far too numerous to admit of any -generalization. Whilst the cholera spared Birmingham—at the time -neither properly drained nor sewered, it nearly depopulated Bilston, -a healthy town situated only a few miles from Birmingham, hundreds -in the meantime travelling between the two places every hour of the -day. It swept off the inhabitants of one side of a street in Deptford, -leaving those on the other side unscathed. All drank of the same -waters. The theory merits no attention.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">14</a> -It raged most severely in Scotland, in the remarkably healthy -village of Prestonpans and Fisher-row; in the highest and healthiest -parts of Edinburgh; amongst the peasantry and miners scattered over -the high grounds of Midlothian, belonging to the Marquis of Lothian. -These people lived comfortably in detached cottages amongst the -fields.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">15</a> -This question, in so far as regards a military life, has been -handled in a masterly manner by Major Tulloch.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">16</a> -In the expedition to St. Domingo, the English army forming the -expedition landed 10,000 strong; they withdrew in five weeks, without -striking a blow or seeing an enemy. Their numbers were reduced to -1100. See “History of the Expedition to St. Domingo,” by Dr. -Maclean.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">17</a> -Persius, Sat. Napoleon expressed the same idea when he said, -“The stomach governs Europe.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">18</a> -It has been asserted on good authority, and not contradicted, -that the “Natural Theology” of the celebrated Paley is a mere translation -of a Dutch work.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">19</a> -This principle, so fertile in ideas, will one day, no doubt, be -fully elaborated and studied to its results. These living beings -may prove to be the syphons of perfume and the messengers of -colour.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">20</a> -For Note on this subject, see page <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">21</a> -“Statistical Report on the Sickness, Mortality, and Invaliding -among the Troops in the West Indies.” Prepared from the Records -of the Army Medical Department and War-Office Returns. London, -1838. It has been objected to these Reports that they embrace only -one class of lives. But this does not diminish their value, for the -lives they report on are presumed to be the selected lives of men in -the prime of life.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">22</a> -The army of England is, and perhaps has at all times been, an -aggressive army, maintained to intimidate foreign races and nations. -It resembles in many of its main features the army of ancient Carthage.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">23</a> -Report: Section, Mediterranean.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">24</a> -It may be asked, Why not inquire into the statistics of fever in -Essex? The truth is, that no such exist. The conjectures and recollections -of civil practitioners are valueless.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">25</a> -As by the Registrar-General: see his Reports.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">26</a> -The ancient Egyptians seem to me to have long ago settled this -question, practically. On the subsidence of the Nile they, without a -day’s delay, commenced agricultural operations; nothing was allowed -to fall into rottenness or putrefaction.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">27</a> -Liebig.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">28</a> -Liebig: Letters on Chemistry.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">29</a> -Report, p. 176.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">30</a> -Liebig, 1851.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">31</a> -Traité de Chimie Organique. Par M. J. Liebig. pp. 88.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">32</a> -Liebig, <i>loc. cit.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">33</a> -The “Sunderland Times” gives publicity to the following frightful -narrative, drawn up by Captain Edward Robinson, of Sunderland, -commander of the ship <i>Raleigh</i>, of South Shields:—“I arrived at -this place in the beginning of May, 1858, being sent to bring home -a vessel whose captain died of yellow fever; little did I think, before -leaving home, that I should have witnessed the sufferings of so many -of my fellow-creatures that were ill of this dreadful epidemic. I was -told it would be all over before I arrived, but I found that, so far -from that being the case, its ravages were unmitigated. In the street -that I lodged in, five in one family were buried from the house in one -day. The Rio journals were publishing in their columns, ‘No cases -of yellow fever to-day.’ One ship at the port had seven captains dead -before she could be brought out of the place. The vessel—the -<i>Raleigh</i> of South Shields—that I have come home in command of, -had her captain, chief officer, second officer, and four of her crew -stricken down by the disease. On the day before the Captain died -I visited him at the hospital; I there witnessed such sights as I hope -never again to see—poor sailors in the height of the fearful malady, -with the black vomit, vomiting dark fluid like coffee. I shall never -forget the looks they gave me, and how their poor dull eyes brightened -as I gave them a word of comfort, and told them they would get -better. Next day, when I returned to see them, I found the whole -gone—the captain and six of his crew, all dead and buried. Still, -‘No cases of fever,’ say the Rio journals. The number carried off by -yellow fever from February to May, 1858, amounted to 1609, upwards -of 600 of the deaths being among English sailors. The presence -of a plague fever is not to be wondered at, the state of the town -being a disgrace to civilized people. All manner of filth is to be met -with in most parts of the town. Dead animals and filth I cannot -describe meet your eye and offend your senses almost everywhere. -</p> - -<p>“My brother, now sixty-eight years of age, and who has been thirty-six -years at Rio, informs me that he has often seen Europeans on -’Change in the morning, who died and were buried on the same evening. -He has seen Rio cleared five times of Europeans. The pestilence, -he believes, comes from the flat marshy land near Rio. The -natives burn tar-barrels to purify the atmosphere.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">34</a> -Deuteronomy xxii. 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">35</a> -The Registrar-General consoles the inhabitants of London on the -relative amount of injury, being in favour of the plan of polluting -the Thames rather than of gradually abolishing cesspools.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">36</a> -“Letters on Chemistry.” By Justus von Liebig. London, -1857.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">37</a> -Liebig, p. 384.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">38</a> -The guano of sea-birds when exposed to rain is of no value.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">39</a> -Liebig.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">40</a> -Henle, “Untersuchungen,” p. 52; also p. 57.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">41</a> -The expression of Lord Raglan when he demanded from England -veteran troops, and not lads of immature age, to be sent to the seat -of war.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">42</a> -Reign of Charles the Second.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">43</a> -He is, I believe, a physician and an M.D.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">44</a> -Quetelet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">45</a> -Cholera has not, as yet, passed into the southern hemisphere -beyond the tropical line.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">46</a> -“The town of Port Antonio is situated at the north-eastern -extremity of the island, eighty miles from Kingston, and lies in a -hollow surrounded by an amphitheatre of thickly-wooded hills. Fort -George, in which are the barracks for the troops, is built at the extremity -of a peninsula, nearly surrounded by the sea; and though -possessing no great elevation, it has, from its position, a tolerably -free exposure to the breeze. On each side of the peninsula are two -harbours for the shipping; that on the east side enjoys a comparatively -healthy locality, but that on the west is sheltered by a thickly-wooded -hill, which impedes ventilation; and there is a considerable -space of level ground, generally inundated by the tide, which at low -water is left in a marshy state, and when acted on by the sun emits -exhalations said to be both offensive and unhealthy. -</p> - -<p>“The barracks stand about twenty yards from the sea, on a piece -of ground of coralline formation, and consist of a building of two -stories, elevated on brick pillars. The hospital is built on a higher -situation, and raised on arches about seven feet. It contains three -wards for the patients, and has a shaded walk attached to it for convalescents. -Water is supplied to the troops, by contract, from a river -a quarter of a mile distant. -</p> - -<p>“There seems to have been no troops at this station in 1825 and -1826, but the mortality during the other years embraced in the -Report has been as under: -</p> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="fs80" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tac ball pall"><div>Years.</div></td><td class="tac btb pall" colspan="2"><div>Strength.</div></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div>Deaths.</div></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div>Ratio of deaths<br />per 1000 of<br />mean strength.</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1817</div></td><td class="tar"><div>177</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 34</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>192</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1818</div></td><td class="tar"><div>135</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 12</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 89</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1819</div></td><td class="tar"><div>130</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 45</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>346</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1820</div></td><td class="tar"><div>143</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 12</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 84</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1821</div></td><td class="tar"><div> 82</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 18</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>219</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1822</div></td><td class="tar"><div>194</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 10</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 52</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1823</div></td><td class="tar"><div> 79</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 4</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 51</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1824</div></td><td class="tar"><div>108</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 21</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>194</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1827</div></td><td class="tar"><div> 32</div></td><td class="tal">*</td><td class="tac bl"><div> 3</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 94</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1828</div></td><td class="tar"><div>129</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 19</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>147</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1829</div></td><td class="tar"><div>133</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 31</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>233</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1830</div></td><td class="tar"><div>155</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 21</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>135</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1831</div></td><td class="tar"><div>161</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 20</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>124</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1832</div></td><td class="tar"><div>157</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 29</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>185</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1833</div></td><td class="tar"><div>164</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 37</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>226</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1834</div></td><td class="tar"><div>185</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 32</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>173</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1835</div></td><td class="tar"><div>154</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 18</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div>117</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac brl"><div>1836</div></td><td class="tar"><div>160</div></td><td class="tal"></td><td class="tac bl"><div> 4</div></td><td class="tac brl"><div> 25</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac ball pall"><div>Total</div></td><td class="tar btb"><div>2478</div></td><td class="tal btb"></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div>370</div></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div>...</div></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tac ball pall"><div>Average</div></td><td class="tar btb"><div>137</div></td><td class="tal btb pall"></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div> 20</div></td><td class="tac ball pall"><div> 149·3</div></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="mrl10">* 127 men were here for one quarter of a year only, which is -equivalent to 32 for a whole year.</p> - -<p> -“Thus the local circumstances remaining the same, the mortality -from fever yet varies exceedingly. It is the same with the typhus of -temperate countries, showing that in addition to malaria, presumed to -be ever present, a something more is required, that we must look for -in the constitution of the atmosphere.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">47</a> -I am free to admit, with Liebig, that the lungs are the seat of -the most rapid and powerful chemical action (p. 151), yet some distinguished -physiologists think that the external integuments may become -the seat of disease, and give origin to dangerous affections by mere -stoppage of their secretions and excretions. Certain of these are -held to be poisonous and highly irritating, and cholera itself has been -ascribed to the sudden transfer of the tegumentary secretions into -the general torrent of the blood. This seems to have been the opinion -of the celebrated anatomist and physiologist, De Blainville.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">48</a> -Citrates, tartrates, acetates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">49</a> -Eremacaasie: Liebig.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">50</a> -All constitutions are not equally liable to be affected by morbid -poisons. This has been proved as regards dissecting-room wounds; -and as regards typhus, cholera, plague, ague, &c., the matter admits of -no doubt.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">51</a> -Blood has a <i>mordant</i> given to it which dyes it red; when this -is in excess, the blood becomes black, or very dark. This was the -colour of the blood in cholera. Its crasis seemed to be broken down, -and I have it on sure anatomical testimony, that in dissecting those -who had died of cholera, the larger veins, when once opened, continued -to pour out blood for many days.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">52</a> -The various plans for the deodorization of cesspools, water-closets, -dead-wells, sewers, &c., were first introduced into England from -France and Belgium. Under French management Paris is sweet, -and proverbially clean and pleasant; London, under the management -of parties without individual responsibility, notoriously filthy and -full of bad odours. Under certain circumstances, and especially -when limited to small quantities of the matter to be deodorized, they -are successful enough in destroying the unpleasant odour, but in the -experiments made a few years ago on the comparative merits of -various kinds of deodorants, it was obvious that no real dependence -could be placed on them, unless the cesspool was at the same time -flushed or cleansed out with a very strong flow of pure water poured -in along with the deodorant. In how far the various deodorants -recommended are at the same time disinfectants, has never yet been -shown. -</p> - -<p>The <i>excreta</i> deodorized have hitherto proved of but small commercial -value, farmers very generally declining their use. It is singular -that the same <i>guano</i> (human) which is said to be so valuable in -China, should prove a failure in Europe, and especially in England, -showing how much still remains to be discovered in practical agriculture. -If human guano really be of such value in China as has been -reported, might it not be worth while to import into Britain a few -Chinese agricultural labourers and gardeners thoroughly acquainted -with the agriculture of their country, and from whom might be -learned the art of preparing the manure? Capitalists have engaged -in many less promising speculations than this. -</p> - -<p>From whatever source the Chinese derived their knowledge of the -domestic and fine arts they now possess (for it is impossible to imagine -that they invented them), one thing is certain—that they were recording -eclipses, printing books, building temples, raising crops equal to the -support of a vast population, whilst the great nations of Western -Europe were wandering about in their native woods, clothed in the -skins of animals, ignorant even of agriculture, and barbarous to the -last degree. Nor was the knowledge and taste of the Chinese confined, -in the matter of agriculture and horticulture, to the merely -useful, as is obvious by a passage in Humboldt’s “Kosmos,” wherein -the illustrious savant proves that the ancient Chinese, in respect of -taste in horticulture, and in the composition of park scenery, excelled -all the world.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">53</a> -Ozone is said to oxidize the poison. It destroys sulphuretted -hydrogen and all oxydable miasms, and is the most powerful disinfecting -agent, but is itself unfit for respiration: it causes suffocation. -Air in its normal state contains one ten-thousandth part of -ozone; when raised to one two-thousandth part it is sufficient to kill -small animals.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">54</a> -Hydrogen, or inflammable air, is the lightest known substance; -its specific gravity is to that of air as 732 to 1000. The gases, into -the composition of which it enters, rising from these ditches and -banks of mud carry with them dried humus, and even animal matter -in a state of putrefaction, which, being dry or moist, may act as -strongly as variola itself, in respect of its injurious effects on man, -who breathes it either as it rises from ditches, or is driven by currents -of air circulating round watery places covered with humus. It is -even (<i>onctueux</i>) so strong that it will sustain seeds and dust upon -water, as I have witnessed at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Verona, Bologna, -Venice, and even in the canals of Lambeth and Deptford. By -means of hydrogen we raise a balloon; can we not imagine it to be -equal to the raising up of humus? It is generally supposed that sulphuretted -hydrogen is amongst the dangerous miasms, but it cannot -be so hurtful, for no boat can go into canals without disturbing it, -and yet we see no evil results from this; but if the water-level lowers, -and leaves vegetable or animal matter upon mud in a state of slow -combustion, then it is that fevers commence—a fact, I think, I have -proved by an appeal to the history of pestilences in ancient and -modern times.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">55</a> -“Decline and Fall,” vol. iii. p. 391, Milman’s edition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">56</a> -The idea of employing the drainage of towns, partaking under -all circumstances more or less of the nature of sewage—using the -term in its most extensive sense, as comprising the excreta of the -entire population—seems first to have originated in Scotland, and -especially in the vicinity of the capital. The period is perhaps not -well known, but about the commencement of the present century -we find the system in full force, but limited to the great outlets of -the drainage and soiled water of the town. These great drains were -not strictly speaking sewers, but drains, for at that time there were -but few sewers, properly so called. If cesspools existed, they were -not emptied into the drains, or so-called town-sewers, so that the -matters contained in the two great outlets used for the purposes of -<i>foul-water irrigation</i> bore little or no resemblance to the turbid, -frightful, and most putrescent mass <i>now</i> conveyed into the Thames by -the sewers of London. This essential distinction in the quality of -the material has been ignored or passed over in the Reports of the -Board of Health. Not that the irrigating water was to be considered -as pure; on the contrary, it was extremely filthy; but it did not -<i>at that time</i> contain the sewage of the town, properly speaking. It -probably now does so in consequence of the extension of the system -of water-closets, latrines, &c. The Scotch agriculturists who employed -the water of these vast foul drains, would have much preferred <i>pure -water</i>, but they had it not at their command. With this, such as -it was, they irrigated certain tracts of land, some of which were -originally barren wastes, converting them into meadows on which -grew a peculiar kind of grass, which cattle (milch cows) do not reject -after having been accustomed to its use. But the farmers knew well -that the abominable liquid they thus poured over their fields was -wholly unfit for the usual agricultural purposes; and thus in no -instance did they employ it as manure. The Grange drain was used -by one market-gardener only, simply for the purposes of irrigation -during droughts, but not with any view to the manuring of the -garden. By the time that all the cesspools of London have been -poured into the drains, and the system of drainage and sewage completed -and formed into one system, there arises the question as to how -the material is to be disposed of? The pouring it into the Thames -at a point below the influence of the tide is perhaps, after all, the -easiest and least expensive mode of escaping from the dilemma into -which the capital has been brought by the clumsy experiments of -the late Board of Health; but what the ultimate result of this additional -experiment may be, no one can foretel. If transmitted to the -fields, the farmers are sure to reject it as manure; but it might be -conveyed to barren waste lands, mere sandy wastes, the qualities of -which no doubt in time it would beneficially affect, converting them -first into meadows, and possibly afterwards into land favourable for -the growth of certain green crops. The liquid might also be conveyed -to estuaries which it might be desirable to fill up, and the -numerous small tidal harbours which the extension of railways will -speedily render of little or no value to the inhabitants. -</p> - -<p>The mud deposited in tidal harbours or on the banks of rivers within -the influence of the tide is of no value as a manure; when spread -over the fields, the result is the loss of the crops for some years.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">57</a> -Gibbon.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">58</a> -Niebuhr.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">59</a> -Extremique hominum, Morini Rhenusque bicornis. <i>Æneid</i> viii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">60</a> -“Ab urbe condita;” from the building of the city (Rome), the -era fixed on by the Romans.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">61</a> -This question was first agitated in the reign of Justinian, on the -occasion of a proposal on his part to form a treaty with the negroes of -Abyssinia. But the Abyssinians were not negroes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">62</a> -Trajan’s wall, between the Danube and the Euxine, at Kostenjie.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">63</a> -There were no medical men in Rome for the first five centuries -of her great career; and some have fancied that this fact explains the -astonishing number of armies which the republic found no difficulty -in sending into the field.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">64</a> -When unassisted by other deleterious influences, the poison, -though all but universal over the locality, may not be destructive. -After the draining the Lake of Haarlem, the principal physician of -the district informed me that in 2000 cases of ague he had not lost a -patient.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">65</a> -The choleraic ferment traversed in ships, no doubt, the Atlantic, -as typhus had often done before; but there are grounds for believing -that vegetable and animal matters in a state of rottenness (fermentation), -floating about in the air, are not unfrequently transported to -great and almost incredible distances. Ehrenberg and Humboldt -have particularly insisted on this fact, and have spoken of distances -traversed by these fermentable elements, which I hesitate to quote -from memory. Assuredly they were very great, extending to some -hundred miles from the seat of their origin.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">66</a> -England has often paid a high price for the first steps in science. -Mr. Papillion, in 1806, received from Government 10,000<i>l.</i> for the -introduction of dyeing Turkey red; and his success was owing to his -knowledge of the water proper for the operation, which must be void -of fermentable bodies.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">67</a> -The ammonia always present in the atmosphere is probably -derived chiefly from the union of nitrogen and hydrogen; but much -of it also no doubt has its source in the fermentation of animal and -vegetable remains.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">68</a> -Baron von Lynden.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">69</a> -I have known many persons sickly from the effects of intermitting -fever or malaria from a residence in warm climates, and who -have suffered and perished from an injudicious treatment. Ill-formed -or incomplete agues are extremely common, even in the south of -England, in London especially. They show themselves under a variety -of forms, and with much severity, in the cases of those who, -having once visited a true malarious climate, are ever afterwards more -or less liable to a return of the disease. Let men reflect; simple truths -travel slowly, yet are truths notwithstanding. The death of the well-known -M. Soyer was evidently caused by his wholly misunderstanding -the nature of his complaint, which, in fact, was a fever originally -caught in the Crimea.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">70</a> -A friend who resided long on the Grotevisch Rivière, and in -het land den Caffre, informs me that if the Zuureveld be ploughed up, -or altered by the burning, for example, of a Caffre hut, the sour -grass, whence the district derives its name, disappears, and sweet -herbage of various kinds take its place. None of these exist naturally -in the district, so that the seeds must come from great distances.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">71</a> -The effects of partial and incomplete drainage have ever been the -same. In 1823, when the new Polder was made at Neusen-on-the -Sheldt, small-pox raged in the neighbouring villages to such an extent -that the children were forbidden to attend school. The effects are to -be seen now in persons over sixty years of age, bearing the marks of -the epidemic. The whole atmosphere of the district was infected.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">72</a> -<i>Law</i> being no body, and quite irresponsible, the blame of these -cruel experiments on the health of the population cannot readily be -brought home to any one.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">73</a> -It is to be remarked that the specific gravity of ammoniacal gas is -53·619; can it be wondered at that this gas should carry bodies from -waters which are in a state of slow combustion; during its transit through -the air it may even become caustic ammonia?</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">74</a> -<i>Purification of the Thames</i>. A Letter by F. O. Ward, Esq., addressed -to William Coningham, Esq., M.P. London: Renshaw, Strand.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">75</a> -It is mentioned in the Report on the Wine Disease in Portugal, that -the <i>oidium</i> was first discovered at Margate; if this was the case, might it -not have originated from the phosphorescent beings in sea water, observed -by all travellers in the evening on the coasts of Flanders, and known in -Holland as Zee Vlam? The potato disease is thought by some to have -sprung from the same cause.</p></div></div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Enquiry Into the Origin and -Intimate Nature of Malaria, by Thomas Wilson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MALARIA *** - -***** This file should be named 60338-h.htm or 60338-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/3/3/60338/ - -Produced by Thiers Halliwell, Bryan Ness and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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