Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-06-23
Causes Of Summer Diseases.


The mistletoe bough, like the Spanish
moss, which drapes the trees of Southern
swamps in such sad funeral garb, is a
growth outside of the natural condition Of
the tree; IL Is parasite fungus very
low form of life, exceedingly slow in de-
velopment in some cases. In others 80 in
conceivably rapid as to be reproduced in
millions in few hours, as in the tOadstool
and mushroom. The common yeast with
which we make our bread, Is mass of
living things, a dozen of them generating
myriads more in a night. These fungi,
sporules, or germs, are not only the pests
of living plants, eating out the entire life
in the course Of ,ime but they infest ami
mails and man, carrying with them, some
times, the most dreadful deaths. The
mushroom, the morel, and the truffle,
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
the diseased results Of fungus growth.
There are similar growths or products
in the animal world, called cecil" life.
Vegetables come from seed, animals from
eggs by cell development, and these cells
or eggs are as amazing in their fecundity
as fungus growth. A man swallows
few mOuthfuls of raw pork in which are
few trichiD@. In very few days. living
things are found burrowing in the flesh by
millions, causing the most agonizing pains
and dreadful death.
Between the effects OF fungi and cell
products, the vegetable germ and the ami
NAL egg, men perish in millions every year.
Asiatic cholera seems to be, by the latest
researches, the product of thing of life,
but whether vegetable or animal admits of
question thus far.
Whooping cough is apparently of vege-
table growth for when the expectoration
of a child suffering from it is examined, it
is crowded with germs; on one occasion a
small amount of it was introduced into the
wipdpipe of healthy young rabbit; in a
few days 1t had troublesome cough, and
on examination countless number of
these same germs were found all along the
throat, windpipe and lungs.
Plague and pestilence, and all those dis.
eases called epidemic which suddenly
fall upona whole community, such as
fever and ague, chill and fever, bilious
fever, yellow fever, diarrhea, aud dysen-
terry, are caused by marsh miasm.
In the worst time of yellow fever and
cholera in New Orleans, the evening and
the morning air was so cool and delicious
aud balmy that many time we have
breathed IL by the hour in perfect delight I;
and yet the resident knew that it was but
the sure intimation that the disease would
be more fearful in day or two. But If
this air be bottled and taken thousand
milesaway, put into close room where a
healthy man is sleeping, he will have the
ordinary symptoms of chill and fever in a
day or two, and myriads of these pesti,
ferrous 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 appear
ance in India its progress has been al
ways westward along the most prominent
lines of travel, until it reaches America,
crosses to the coast of California, and is
lost in the boundless Pacifc.-Jouraal Of
Health.