The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1856-10-23
III I s GEL u q III JUS
From the Scientific american.
EpIDEMtcs.--YELLow FEvER--1Ts cAus

The discovery Of the cause of amy epi
demic would be Of vast importance, for 81
pesticnce that flycth by night and walketl
at MONDAY" is a terrible visitation to any
community. Although volumes have been
written OH cpidcmics, their causes arc still
yelled in much doubt and olscurity.
Some of our PhiIa,lcl phia cotcmporarics
especially the United States Gu=ctte, have
recently published some good articles on
the causes of cholera and yellow fever, still,
they contain too mucl, that is indefinite.
OF late years the cholera aud the yellow
fever have been the most appalling eplcm-
les with which our country has been visited.
The latter is a fever which appears to have
its origin in the West Indies, South Amer
lea, and in some parts OF our Southern
States, and is chiefly confined to those re-
gions. Local causes no doubt, give it the
peculiar character for which it is distin-
guisled. If these were known, the qncs-
ton arises, can they he removed.
The u. S. Gazette says:-" The locali-
ties of yellow fever have been described,
and the features which they possess in CON-
luon have been noted. There are in Il
great many places, 4 mixture Of sea and
land air, maritime exposure, hot and
moist air. low ground, marshes, swamps,
vegetable and animal remains in Il state of
decomposition, and Il mixture of this pro-
duct will, the human or vegetable mold,
forming made ground, with scattered ma
terials on the surface directly exposed to
the operation Of the sun and air ut a high
temperature. This is a description of the
localities also Of those fcvcrs, Intermittent
and reulittent, with which we arc so IA
miliar, and which are sometimes designated
by the title OF marsh or paludal, after their
ordinary locality, also of periodical or i'll
tcrmi,tcnt, and, finally nliusmatic or malari-
ous from their presumed origin i'll nlasma.
generated in the soil by the action Of hot
lld moist air."
This paragraph is somewhat confused,
but it points to one cause Of yellow fever
distinctly, viz, exposure Of upturncd new
soil, and this apparently has some founda-
tion in fact.
DR.. Barton has stated that from 1906 to
the present date, there has no great cpl
demic Of yellow fever in New Orleans
without All extensive breaking up Of the
soil, such as digging canals and basins, or
excavating the streets. DIR. Lcvcrt, of Mobile,
traces epidemic yellow fever in that city TO
similar disturbances Of the soil, aud i'll
Charleston, S. c., such works are forbidden
during hot weather. In 1905, during yell
low fever in New York, it prevailed most
extensively Gas stated by DR.. Bayley.) and
was most fatal in situations where the
ground was ne,o made. There can he no
doubt, we think but that new made ground
exposed in hot weather tends TO cause fc-
termittent fcvcrs and fever and ague arc
most prevalent during the season succeeding
the first breaking up Of extensive tracts Of
new soil in spring. a useful lesson to be
derived from these facts is, that the plow-
ing up Of extensive tracts Of new land
should always be performed in the fall sea-
son, and that extensive excavations and cx-
posure of much fresh soil should never he
permitted in cities during very hot aud
moist weather.
The breaking up of new land or excava
tions, however, will not account for all cpl
demic yellow fever, for it prevails, more or
less every season, in some part Of the in
tertropical regions Of our continent. 1t is
disease which is asserted to be infectious
Ly some, and denied 10 be so by Others
1t will visit place one season, then after
certain period disappear, and perhaps not re-
turn again for Il number of years, and per-
laps never. 1t prevailed fatally and exten-
sively in Norfolk aud Portsmouth, Va, in
1855, when there were no extensive excava-
tions carried on, while this summer these
cities have been comparatively healthy
Some persons asserted that the yellow fever
xs an epidemic travelled in circuits, and that
from New Orleans it was travelling around
the'cities of our. Atlantic coast, and would
visit Philadelphia and New York this sum
,ner; but these predictions have not been
verified by facts, for the city Of New York
although it never experienced hotter
summer-nevcr was heather; TO epidemic
in any form has yet visited it. Some cases
have occurred at the Quarantine Hospital
at Staten Island, brought in by ships from
Havana, and some such occur in tile same
place aImost every summer, but no cpl
demic has made lis appearance.
Gentls Satires.-How much more diff
cult it's toget q woman out on a wet Sun
day uians on a'wct week day. Can the
shut shops lave anything to do with this !
Tie oldest mnemonic curiosity is, that