The Florida agriculturist., 1880-09-22

Continued from page 1879
Until recent period a warm,
moist and sedative climate was advo.
Gated for the treatment of phthisis,
but since medical doctrines have
changed, and the leading minds in
the profession advocate the impor.
tance of dry, temperate and brac>
ing climate-since "Vitalistic and
sthenic views of treatment prevail,
and are found to give infinitely more
satisfactory results than those that
followed antiphlogistic treatment,
the medical mind in America and in
Europe, look about for a cold eli
mate. AS usual, the pendulum has
tendency to the other extreme-to
go from a tropical climate to the ice.
covered SUBMITS OF the Swiss noun.
tains, to the frozen plains of North
ern America. Many minds can
never constitutionally follow the gol.
den adage, Medic tattissjheus i6is.
They cannot remain in the middle of
the road, they must pass from one
extreme TO the other. "-Bennett.
DIR. Jones, of St. Paul, Minnesota,
in his ''Plea for Cold Climates in the
Treatment OF Pulmonary Consump-
tion," uses the following language
"When we begin to enquire into the
character and comparative merits of
climate, we are at once struck with
the fallacy OF the doctrine which has
obtained tor generations, that the
disease is more frequent in cold than
in warm climates. just the reverse
OF this is true. From an extensive
series of data, it has lately been
shown that the farther we progress
North, the greater the immunity the
inhabitants enjoy from consumption.
1t is we'll known that far up in the
North where the Ice King is, con.
sallrn,atian is either axtremely y rar. on.
altogether unknown. in Tue bleak
est, coldest and the most exposed
portions Of the globe, where winter
well nigh continuously exists, and
where sudden and severe changes OF
the atmosphere hold to a maximum,
consumption is very lntrequent. In
deed, SO true is this, that we are
forced to the conclusion that ex-
treme cold is inimical to the produc-
tion OF consumption" To prove
that his statement does not apply to
the United States, we will quote
from Atkins Practice of Medicine,
volume 2, page 7SS: "From the
United States census tables and
other statistics, the fact is developed
that phthisis in the United States
gradually decreases from North TO
South. 1t originates far less COM
monty in the southern than in the
northern regions; it gradually, but
perceptibly diminishes from Maine
to Florida. DR.. Lawsen, (Surgeon.
General United States Army, sets
down the mortality from tubercular
consumption as three times greater
in the Northern than in the Southern
States"
AT page 284, DR.. Jones lays down
the following proposition: The
most unfavorable climate possible
for the consumptive patient is one of
uniform high temperature" Ii these
views regarding 'high lempera-
ture" and the "Ice King" are COR
rect, DIR. Jones should recommend
patients TO avoid Minnesota during
the warm months, and seek region
where the "Ice King is" He
highly recommends the cool and
bracing climate of St. Paul, and at
page 282, says: Heat Is relaxing
and enervatlng." Yet Tor tour
months we find that mis- tavorite
''cool ani bracing" climate OF st.
Paul has higher maximum range of
temperature than most localities in
the tropics. According to his own
figures the mean maximum range
for June is 81, July 90, August "a,
and September 81. If DR.. Jones'
conclusions and statements are cor
rect, jacksonville, which he con-
demns, because it Is too "hot," has
better summer climate for invalids
than St. Paul, as the following data
will establish.