The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-09-23
The Diseases OF Farmers.

The Springfield (Mass.) Republican
gives some interesting facts on this sub
ject and indirectly suggests how some OF
the causes of disease may be prevented or
diminished. The more common diseases
among farmers are: First, pulmonary af-
fections in various forms; second, rheu-
matism; third, dyspepsia; fourth. fevers,
especially of the typhoid type. Every
possible precaution should be employed
to guard against these insidious enemies.
The farmer, with his active, outdoor life,
can digest almost anything, and often
thrives on wretched diet; but the wife
and daughters, living too much indoors,
grow pale and dyspeptic on the same
fare. They need to learn and practice
the pedestrian habits of the women of
England. 1t is largely because they ex-
ercise daily in the open air that the lat
ter retain so long the bloom and vigor of
youth. More outdoor exercise would
promote the health and prolong the lives
of American women. Though dyspep-
STA stands third in the list of diseases
among farmers it is the first in its prey
alence among their wives and daughters.
In many cases farmers wives suffer from
overwork, and sometimes it is true of
their children. The duties of the farm
er's wife are excessive, when to the
bearing and rearing of children is added
general housework, including the cook
ing for farm laborers, besides her own
family, and the care of dairy. The To-
cation of the farmers home is often in
low, damp and unhealthy spot.
Low ground is preferred as more ac
ceSsible, more shielded from winds,
rearer springs, or more convenient for
digging wells. The early settlers in
New England sought the hills and
mountain sides to escape malaria. When
that danger disappeared the tendency of
their descendants was to the valleys, and
many now suffer from damp locations,
near wet meadows and little above the
water level, or on hardpan, which, hold
ing the surface water, is always wet and
cold. In such cases cellars are damp
and the drainage poor 1t is by no
means affirmed that farmhouses are more
likely to be badly located than houses in
our cities and villages, but in the latter
there is little or no choice. Farmhouses
may be and ought to be better located
than city residences. Low sites, where
the house drains, are sluggish, the fogs
frequent the air stagnant and the eifiuvia
from the outbuildings confined, should
always be avoided. Next in importance
to location is cleanliness in the surround
ings of the farmhouses. Pulmonary af-
fections stand first among the four most
common diseases of farmers, and indeed
of the community at large. Two causes
are assigned for this result. One is
needless exposure to cold and wet, espe-
cially wet feet, and another is bad
posture. Some kinds of work, like set
ting out plants, spading, hoeing, NOW
ing and wedding, favor cramped posi-
ton, but none of them necesstate it,
Indeed, one can better bear any work if
he keeps his chest expanded and his
lungs well inflated. He can do any
kind of farm work better by bending at
the hip than by curving the spine and
contracting the chest. The French,
Swiss and German farm laborers are far
more erect than American farmers.