The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-03-26

The following extract is from a lecture By
DR.. Girdwood, on poisons. 1t contains sug-
gestions which every community should
heed
"But there were other poisons of a somewhat
different class--he meant that of special disease
which We knew little about in themselves. but
which were too frequently found producing their
efforts amongst us, such as cholera, typhus,
measles, smallpox, &c. That each of these had
posion peculiar TO itself was generally recog-
nized, for in every case was found a certain fixed
series of symptoms-for the most part running
their course in a certain given time. Such poi
sons were difficult of detection, and their pres
euce was only known by their effects. Some ar
ticles of food commonly used become poison to
certain individuals. This was the with
pork, certain kinds of shel-fsh, and mushrooms.
The lecturer went on to show how psisons had
| an elective affinity for particular organs of the
body, and produced their effects on them especial
" how, but with few exceptions they acted
| through the medium of the blood, and said it
was not necessary that poison should be actually
| swallowed-it might be introduced through the
skin directly into the blood. Diseased, or over
| driven cattle, and newly killed meat, was in
general liable to produce violent gastric irriata-
| ton, and even cholera. 1t WAS necessary tina
| some means should be taken to protect the pub
| lie of cities from having such meat supplied
| them. The lecturer next referred to the pork
| disease in Germany, stating that at one single
wedding feast some sixty people lost their lives,
| having eaten at the feast of sausages made from
pig that suffering from small parasite,
which, when swallowed, perforates the allnlentary
| canal and takes up its abode in the muscles
upon which it lives, and there multiplies till at
last it produces such state of exhaustion, that
| the patient sinks. Both pork and veal were un-
wholesome food, and, unless thoroughly cooked,
| we're very apt to produce poisonous results. The
| lecturer quoted authorities to prove this. He
| went to refer to the habits of the farmers in
bringing into market in sp. ing time very young
veal, before the snow was off the ground, and be
| fore the COW could obtain their natural food,
| good wholesome grass. He did not consider this
| food wholesome and he mentioned one case OF
| dysehtery where death ensued attributable to its
/ use. He alluded to another practice which pre-
| walls here of taking calves and sheep to market
| with their feet tied together. These cattle
| brought in long distances are often tossed down
| on the pavement, and left for whole hours during
| our summer sun without water, and even without
shelter Poultry also was brought in psirs with
| their legs very tightly tied together. Animals
| treated in this way cannot be considered as fit
for food, being in feverish state from the suf-
| ferings they undergo. The only condition Of at
| mosphere which be compared with that
| arising from oyercrowdng in its effect upon the
| spread OF the cholera, is that produced by the
diffusion OF the eifuvia of drains sewers, slaugh-
er-houses, manure manufactures, &c, which
correspond closely in their nature and effects
| with the putrescent carnations from the living
human body. The CARNATIONS from drains were,
for the most part, deleterioHs in reducing the
system by the quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen
present, and by its being Charged with organic
matter, thereby preventing the exhslation from
the lungs of such matters formed during
the circulation of the blood, from the of It's
| sues. Thus the blood becomes charged with
worn-out materials and rendered unfit to keep
the body in health, an epidemic of disease arises,
and such as are within the pale of these delete
rious influences the victims"