The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-03-04


The recent cleansing and puaifcalion
Of the streets @and allies, under the
order Of our popular and excellent CON
mander, Brig Gen. r. s Grange, baYe
,alfeady oontrilsilie Ell much o the health
and pleasure Of our CITY; yet there are
many causes and nurseries Of uIihealth-
falness, disease and T.estilenee il and
aroand the city, which, II not removed
before the approached The sssnnmerSol-
tice, viii generate into Dsink-vats and
ess-pools1 of nsiasnsafq, diseqss oad dsqfA
IN riding through the environs Of the
city, on last s,bbai5, ] Observed ii the
neighlsorboOd q the suiIhursssprine. a
vast basin Of low, fat ground interven-
ing between the city and Germantown,
including parts Of both This space,
Immediately contiguous to the most
populous portions of the city, is filed
with an aomrirgp gafisrsaua7 of every inn
imaginable species Of putrid animal and
vegetablematter, pouring into the very
heart and bugs 81 the city is foal
and fetid currents Of putrid, sinking
corruption and death. All the vile gar
bate Of the Kitchens excrementiti0us
MISTER Of the privies and ofal, dirt and
sdebris" Of every hue and stripe, age
and consistency are piled 0ssa upon
Pelion high, in an advanced stage Of
decomposition. and decay The misas-
matte and nialarious efiiuvia arising
from these elagoons" of filth and cor
ruption may be rendered innocuous BY
the cold ais and stern frosts Of an aus
tere winter, but, be assured, that its ma
hghitymill be atlgnented, and It's fatal
effects fearfully felt and seen when ge-
NAL spring and fervid summer shall
heat up, disintegate, diffess and cirou-
late. then deafh-destroyirig gases
through the city.
.Miasmqta," the offspring or product
Of decayed Vegetable substances. and
u.alania, the foul and putrid air gene
rated from decomposed animal or vege-
table matter, may remain inert under
the influence of either extreme cold or
intense heat Hence the absence Of
epidemics arising from miasmatic inhu-
enses during very ervwintersand very
Rotsummers. A medium between the
two extremes of heat and cold,
seems the the most favorable tempera-
ture for lis fatal rayages :
Hence, yon win observe that mild
winters and cool summers are generally
sickly; that "epidenies and endemicsp
are invariably the concomitants Of such
abnormal conditions of the seasons.
During long damp mild winters and
summers, the nocuous exhalations are
condensed collect and 'malign
know that,it is a generally received
dogma that epidemics arise from no APP
parent local cause, but this is now an
effete and exploded doctrine, contra
dicted BY daily experience and lSnown
facts. indeed, the concurrent testiino-
nYof tie most distinguished and emf
nent practitioners in the most terrible
scourges that have eyer visited the !
world, agree that the history of each
and every one of them have been traced |
to some known cause-generally 70 mi
asnt arising frorn patrii animal and /
vegetable substalIces
The terrible yellow fever epidemic Of
1853 that desolated New Orleans and
consigned, in sucf an incredibly brief |
period of time, so many fair women and /
strong, stalwart men topremature and
untimely graves, was traced TO an i'm
mense morass in the rear of the city, I
into whitehall the offal had been thrown
the waters from the canals and lakes
seeping into this basin, stagnated, fer
mentation and deeayof thevegetable
matter ensued and the city was visited
by oneof the mosttlestructiye epideinics
on the record OF time.
The fearful pestilence Of 1855 that
well nigh depopulated Norfolk, Va,
usually one of the healthiest cities in
tho Union, where yellow fever. save in
one instance, had never been known
before, was traced directly to the Jigc
soater" pumped out Of the shipping in
the "dry docks" upon thereturn Of the
African squadron. In both Of these
instances localities or districts were
first inflicted, and the pestilence at
tackled and carried off ySrsi those who
resided iinmediately adjacent TO these
cess pool" or local causes so fruitful of
disaster and death.
The fearful inalady that broke out
80 suddenly few years ago at the Ma
tional Hotel, in the city Of Washington,
By which Presidents Buchanan came
we'll nigh losing his life, and from the
effects Of which several distinguished
Statesmen did die, and many others
suffered severely, was traced directly 70
the cellar Of the kitchen, into
which the Kitchen CABBAGE had besa
thrown for months, and from which
arose an intolerable stencil of deoaying
natter. The privy attached 70 the
Hotel had not been cleaned out for
years and il was 50 eeplete with excre-
mentions matter that il asloshcE and
spurtsd lIpthrough The cracks in walk
ing over the floor
Theladies whooccupied the upperpart
Of the building, were exempt from the
disease; whilst the male boarders who
lived on the lower floors adjacent to
these two fruitful causes fell victims TO
IL
From these premises We mast con-
clude that these fearful epidemics were
the offspring of these local calses. That
these receptieles of filth generate dis
ease, that the disease thus generated
may assume an Epidemic or Endemic
form according "a the rnalf.,,.;t,, of a..