The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1871-07-13
Causes of Summer Diseases.

The Herald of Health. one of the most re.
liable health j urnals in this country contains
! the following remarks upon the CAUSE of sum
1ner diseases: =
The mistletoe bough, like the Spanish moss,
which drapes the trees of Southern swampa
in such sad funeral garb, is a growth outside
of the natural condition Of the tree; it is a
parasite, fungus, very low form Of life, cx-
ceedngly slow in development in some cases,
in others SO .inconceivably rapid IS to be re-
produced in millions in a few hours, as in the
toadstool and mushroom The common
yeast, with which VIC make our bread, is a
mass Of living things, dozen Of them gener-
ating myraids more in a night These fungi,
sporulcs, or germs, are not only the pests of
living plants, eating out the entire life in the
course of time, but they infest animals and
man, carrying with them, sometimes, the most
dreadful deaths, The mushroom, the morel,
and the trufle, among the greatest delicacies
of the table with some, are fungi. In some
cases they kill, or cause disease or poison
Ergot, blight, mildew, rust, brand, dry rot,
are all diseased results of fungus growth.
There are similar growths or products in
the animal world called "cell' life Vege-
tables come from seed, animals from eggs, by
cell development, and these cells or eggs are
as amazing in their fecundity as fungous
growth. A man swallows few mouthfuls of
raw pork in which are few trichne. Ina
few days living things are found burrowing in
the flesh by the millions, causing the most ag
onizing pains and dreadful death.
Between the effects of fungi and cell pro-
ducts, the vegetable germ aud the animal
egg. men perish in millions, every year.
Asiatic cholera seems to be, by the latest re-
searches, the product of a thing Of life, but
whcathcr vegetable or animal admits of ques-
ton thus far. it
Whooping cough is apparently of vegcta-
Bile growth for when the expectoration of a
child suffering from it is examined it is crowd
amount Of it was introduced into the wind
pipe Of healthy young rabbit in few days
it had a troublesome cough, and on exami-
nation countless number of these same
germs were found all along the throat, wind
pipe, and lungs. 80, s-., .si.s..
Plague and pestiIence, and all those dis
eases, called epidemic, which suddenly fall
upon whole community, such as fever and
ague, chiHs and fever, bilious fever, yellow
fever, diarrhoea, and dysentery, are caused BY
marsh miasma.
Ia the worst time Of yellow fever and chol-
era in New Orleans, the evening and the
morning air was so cool and delicious and
balmy that many time VIC have breathed it
by the hour in perfect delight and yet the
resident knew that it was but the sure inti-
nation that the disease would be more fear
full in day or two. But if this air be boz
tied and taken thousand miles away. put
into close room where healthy man is
sleeping, he will have the ordinary symptoms
Of chill and fever in a day or woand myriads
of these pestiferous things will be found
about his tongue, his throat and windpipe and
his lungs and stomach.
The newspapers announced recently that
the Asiatic cholera had made Its appearance
in India its progress has been always west
ward along the most prominent lines OF tray
ell, until it reaches America, crosses the cost
of California, and is lost in the boundless
Pacific Fs 1919