The Penn's Grove record., 1882-03-18
The Dispensary.

THE f!EEDs OF DIsEAsE.-Most
people think bad smells prolific of in
lection, and carrion and decaying
matter generally to be breeders of dis
ease. Some are quite satisfied when
the foul air is deodorized, quite un-
aware that the infective particles may
remain the anne
But we must not mistake here.
Our success in battling with e~pidenlics
will depend on-our getting the exact
truth in the case.
Liberia soon becomes the grave of
every white man that goes there to
stay but the keenest scent detects
nothing of the malaria in the atmos-
phere.
All may be fragrance and beauty
where yellow fever is decimating the
population. 1t was the finest part of
Chicago hat was ravaged By scarlet
fever, while the other parts were
almost exempt. Diphtheria has of
late years had proportionally more
fA1hAAb6 III EDC AAAOdA 1NhLOh5 "
Massachusetts, than in Boston and our
larger cities.
The fact is, infectious diseases come
Of germs just as truly as the products
Of our fields come of the seed sown.
These germs are Blmost infinitely
small, but their mature plants-they
are strictly vegetable-have the power
TO multiply at an almost infinite rate.
Each disease has it own gem. Small
pox cannot come from typhoid germs;
nor measles from scarlatina nor yell
low fever from cholera-and so uni
versally. They must come each from
its own seed, as much so as wheat,
corn, the apple, elm or oak. They
| cannot come without SEED, for sciences
knows of no spontaneous generation.
But the seeds of higher order require
good soil and other favoring condi-
ITEMS. 1t is equally so with the set DIS
OF disease. Their choicest soil is filth,
| and their Is no other favorable condi-
ton equal to a depressed state OF
ones physical system-whether de-
pressed by bad food, impure air, SEN
sual indulgence, long continued anx-
iety, fear watching or undue fasting.
CHLoRAL FOR THROAT AFFECTION.
I'm a paper read before the North
western Ohio Medical Association,
and published in the Detroit Lancet,
for July, 1881, DR.. q. A. Collamore
speaks of q species Of sore throat,
characterized by moderate swelling of
the tonsils and adjacent mucous men,
brane, pain in deglutition, and a pecu-
liar cherry red or purplish red hue Of
the tonsils and pharynx. On the tom
sils appear spots of whitish or yellow
ish white color, the size of a grain o
corr or less. These are composed of
the aggregate secretions of the tonsil-
lar glands, and are readily detachable,
leaving the mucous surface unabrad-
ed. There is, moreover, a moderate,
sometimes high, q ade of fever, and
decided prostration Of the system.
The disease Is properly q follicular
tonsilitis, though the Inflammation Ii
not confined TO the tonsillsr surfaces,
but affects the palatine and pharyn-
geal mucous membrane also, and Is
liable to be mistaken for and called
diphtheria, from which a little care in
observation will dif~ferentiate 1t. In
these cases, combined with suitable
systs matte remedies, chloral acts in .
[ kindly name as a local application,
either a. a gargle, a grain or two to
the ounce Of water, frequently used,
or in a stronger solution, apply with q
camel's hair brush or a swab. A
: small quantity of the gargle may be
swallowed after each gargling, In
t order to apply it to thelower p~harynx.
Employed in this way the author has
found chloral a very valuable remedy.