The New York herald., 1875-12-27

lakes - matter OF vital necessity and demands tmme-
The Board Of Health through efficient oaicers-not
who raternze with the cook and make their visits
| close upon dinner time-should visit every house.
whether Of high low degree and examine for defects
IA the delivery and waste pipes and cause defective
cocks and pipes 10 be repaired prevent the rickng
WASTE OK water that prevents more efficient public
| use OF its salutary powers
These visitors should look under every sink into the
ceH ana see that the waste Is not allowed 20 dribbe
out between the joints through breaks tho outlet
pipe II TINS work was efficiently done there would be
great dminutlon In the cases OF dphthefa eerebro-
spinal meningitis and typhus fever-dseases till lately
| unknown IN New York-and 70 possible cause can
these dire mAladies be directly traced as 10 tho
results OF the Introduction Of Croton Into New
| York.
AS a student had unusually large opportunities for
the observation Of typhus and typhoid fevers the
hospitals of Boston, Paris and London and | came 10
New York city intending 2 oe fever DOCTOR" but,
case; except the imported ship fever none had oc-
Cured II New York One day DR.. Griscom aston
lshed the profession by inviting them to call and see
four cases Of this character n the New York Broadway
Hospital, then under his charge To-day these dis
eases are no novelty they are in every physicians
Professor John Tyndal writes letter the London
Times called forth by treatise on typhoid fever by
Or. William Budd. The following Is the concluding
paragraph Of the letter.
What the nature Of the typhoid poison, The yellow
made up of indicated cells The term germ theory
not to my knowledge, the volume possibly b.
countered the English medical press Over and over
that he used he word auratsey Those Who knew him.
however we'll that this not the and in
the early Of the present volume describing the
caames incident TO typhoid fever, he remarks 1t is
on the powers agent 50 low the scale being
sh msT s which % sng on eeayg & g good 400 mq Ge CON
outsider yentured upon this ground q medical theory or
a capacity weigh evidence; and the evidence that
epidemic diseases we're parasitic appeared 70 strong
thas their rSpoc1e yTeses you may plant typhoid
fS & d z arc s iSs fs0Ps o
/ 10 dUeR
the typhoid virus increase and multiply into typhoid fever
smallpox What the conclusion that suggests itsefheres
Is % al s4' aa nS pupss " s S 'I Sns
the notion OF vitality, in the whole range Of chemical
s Rs5ss N with as and q as
s to those sSa Se Sea Psa pt
receptive alutafy upon the public mind
noble nteeet Which has been literally sscTaced to the
public good that draw attention only the mastery
beginning to end of Dr. Budd's volume. but also 20 the
which my attention first drawn by my eminent
friend Mr. simon thai Dr. Klein has recently discovered the
very organism which lies At the root Of all the mischief and
to the obstruction Of which medical and sanitary skill will
| henceforth be directed.
If these views be correct surely then II Is important
that we bestr ourselves that New York may not be
hobed for the reception OF these 'seeds" of disease
| and death. Much may be done by efficient action
The Board OF Health should personally inspect every
sewer, and twice year should 90 through overv
main sewer from the cuvert TO the outlet and see that
the escape is free-that there remain no pockets
breaks which shall retain any portion OF their contents
Nor is the sanitary Of Croton water yet ended
AS present effected Of The greatest injuries
pubic health is effected by its method of sprnkling
the Streets and this introduces the general topic OF
street cleaning.
This implies proper paving anterorly If the resi-
| dents Of Murray Hill could see the present cond-
tton of Forty-second, Forty third and Forty fourth
streets, east OF Third avenue, they could sleep
| their houses; they would smell contagion in every
breath Unpaved for years since they laid out with
reeking tehement houses every side squatters and
L m deeD nj N rha0e
carts can get near them; # our rich in their pala-
tial mansions could see what they daily smell, when
the wind blew from the east with ts sickly enervating
odor, they would flee from their houses Indeed the
tribute New York has paid to this visitor OF death from
typhoid pneumonia alone might teach them how much
better would be pavement than plato glass windows
and cleanliness than gliding. Can part of New
US that sif member is sick the whole body suffer
eth" VIII lofty spires and long prayers and saying
"soul take thine ease keep away typhoid pneumonia
! when reeking cesspool is al your very doorS
The Board Of Health should see that nowhere
4 there break in the pavement and daily report
should be made the condition OF every street In the
city, which could easily be effected through the police
\ OF the city. fhe plumbers who tear up the street
should not be allowed to repave IL but this should be
done by city PAYERS as to leave hummock de-
preston, and the charge be made TO the house for
| which the work was done
! The street sweeping should then be efficiently done
with sufficient frequency 10 keep the streets clean.
Thus swept, sprniRing would be important as
now and If done for GOODNESS in summer the result
need not be the mud which defes vehicles and cloth
ing, and renders street crossing matter OF mpossi
bty for a well dressed person
As part Of the street cleaning for the warm season
every foot Of gutter in the city should in the absence
OF severe, cleansing showers, be daily thoroughly
washed by Croton water, In the cutters, If anywhere
collected the germs OF disease In the poorer parts
Of this city they the recepaces Of all The waste Of
the adjoining houses Hydrants should be SO placed
that they shall command the entire cutters OF the cty
and these should be opened by the Fire Department Of
each ward or precinct TOR few minutes every day.
This is done in Paris, where is sold
bucket, where il is pumped from the river by steam,
and whore water Is thus both costly and scarce The
saving Of water can easily he effected by preventing
its waste az aforesaid in dwellings and, II necessary
by aflxng water meters 70 every house-at cost
to be sure but what is the value Of public healthy
The large proportion Of the surface Of city
occupied by its streets will justify any attention de-
voted to the character the air emanang from them
or yitiated by them The recent essay of Adolf Cluss
is eminently deserving oi attention, in this respect
and especially IN the present consideration in rcfcr
ence to the neratlon OF a city He says.-~''The
fifth OF the streets gathers in and joints
Cruited constantly by Of urine, horse
dung and silt and diluted by the rain IL ermcnts and
forms putrescent, organic mire becoming in course
OF Tune, source Of noxious miasmas In hot and dry
weather these nauseatng deposits pass into the at
m0sphere in the form Of unhealthy yapors, or pulver
zed and drited by the wind, Inconvenience and
poison our lungs Indeed, repairing old pave
ments black layer Of ground saturated with sui
phuretted hydrogen Is found below The stone blocks
and bears witness 70 the infect Of the sub
soil by the soakage Of contaminated water Professor
Tyndall has established by experiment that large
portion OF the particles Of dust the OF London
houses OF organic origin, and other experiments have
demonstrated that horse manure a state Of decom-
position, is permanent Ingredient
Naporg still noxous than these from the road
bed OF the streets rise from the cutters the suhso Of
which is saturated 10 considerable depth By more
concentrated matter or the described composition, and
also from the surface Of alleys which the houses
Of great numbers Of people Of limited means Crowds
OF dirty children whose tender lungs breathe the
Immediately over the miasmatc soil mere contract con-
stItutiona predispostons which doom them TO a lam
gushing and miserable life and render them al easy
prey 70 epidemics.
The american Garden makes earnest plea for the
planting Of trees IN the streets Of cities sanitary
Growing plants assimilate the carbon Of
carbonc acid discharging its oxygen into the atmos
phere The respiration Of men and the consumption Of
fuel load the atmosphere with caroonic acia and the
only means OF destroying that poisonous gas Is found
IN plant agency. Hence II the atmosphere OF CITY
30 be enclosed within impermeabe walls and there
were growing plants within the enclosure the
would quickly become irrespirabic But Of course
the air Is nowhere thus walled about and hence the
deeterous gases il contains disspated and carried
away BY the unceasne movements of the atmosphere
10 other regions where an abundant vegetation may
deprive II oi Us carbonfc acid still there Is
doubt that tins purdcaton Of the air is accelerated by
the presence Of vegetation in the cities Themselves