Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-02-18

maker, who occupied hut located Immediately
within the fever district. Naturally supposing
that valuable Information bearing on the object
OF their mission might be obtained from so old
an inhabitant they visited his hut at nine o'clock
/ in the morning. but were refused adaittance.
/ receiving as an answer to their inquiries OF the
| aged occupant the reply that he never opened
| his doors or windows until midday; that Ii had
oeen his custom during the entire period OF his
residence there to retire before sunset to his hut
close al! avenues from the external air as far
practicable. and keeping up fire until noon the
/ following day. and that he had enjoyed uniater
rupted health. whilst his neighhors had either
| fallen victims TO the fever within a short period
! or been compelled to change their residences to
some distant point. The absence of fever in this
case WAS manifestly due to the maintenance of
an eqnao'e temperature through the ageacies OF
/ HreS Kept up during those hours when the
greatest tall of temperature occurs. and not,
was supposed at the time. to the dissipation by
heat OF an imaginary marsh miasala.
THE PERTINENT INQUIRY
may possibly have suggested Itself that il these
fevers are developed by sudden transitions from
heat to cold or rapid decline of temperature,
why is it that the inhabitants Of mountainous
regions, where such rapid variations constantly
occur, are known to escape? We reply. that in
consequence OF the Typographical features of the
mountain. its irregular surface of deep ravines
and angular peaks. the suns rays fail to fall
! vertically upon any given spot for many con-
! secutive hours but soon descend obliQuely, and
! thereby lose their power aud force. 1t is prob
ably in consequence. then OF this physical fact
that the inhabitants OF such districts escape the
essential antecedent condition of prolonged ifi-
ISOLATION. and hence are not affected by the noe
/ turnal fall OF temperature. Upon the same
principle may be explained the phenomena so
often witnessed of individuals who have re
/ sided for any lcn-th Of time i'm maiarious dis
/ trictS during the heated term and who have
already been affected with intermittent fever or
have escaped il. when transferred to elevated
mountainous situations Immediately develop
paTcXysinal fever; the pathological conditions
already existing. II only needs tie exciting
agent of refrigeratiLn to produce the paroXysm.
| If the same acknowledgements status OF the
atmosphere We're to exist at an elevation of : 600
feet above the level of the sea as tina! which is
! found on the plains below, subject TO the same
variations of temperature, would undoubt-
edly encounter these feyeTs. 1t is the custom Of
/ the negroes living on or near the low lands in
Eastern Virginia to light fires at night tor the
purpose. as they say, of driving off the fever,
without, OF course. comprehending the faodtS
c0e''aradi or rat;onaIs of their sanitary precau-
| tons We find. indeed. the same idea advanced
! 10y Sterne in Tristan Shandy." where he makes
Corporal Trim say to DIR. Stop, in describing the
siege of Limerick:
1T es, and please your honor. in the middle of
ana boys that brought the nux which liked have
thing after tho first ten days as for soldier to lie dry in
his tent without cutting itch around il to draw of the
It, as his honor could. without setting fire every nilt
dsmpo tie and made heinside tent as warm
+ a stove"
| In the pny forests Of some portions OF Viz
gina and Carolina there is a substratum of
ar9iiiaceous earth preventing the percolation of
rain. and covered by superficial layer of
porous sandy soil. for the greater part of the
| year kept damp, but remote from any aggre..a-
tons of water or marshes; Yet We find
h(r INF tlfv,x~
months of the year, evidently produced
by the refrigerating effect of the moisture sup
| piled after nightfail from the damp earth. cor
| related by the continued high solar heat through
! the day. During the months of July. August
and September, we are Informed that intermt-
! tent and remittent fevers appeared along the
valley OF the Competent river. and many other
localities in the northern section of the United
States, where it had rarely ever occurred be-
fore and where there was no visible source of
malaria. This was doubtless due to the pro-
longed solar heat during the day. with the sud
den decline of temperature at night in these
localities.
1T is WELI-KNOwN FACT THAT DRAINAGE AND
CULTIVATION
abates Or entirely destroys the so-caled malaria.
Suburbs Of cities previously unhealthy in con-
sequence of the presence of wet or damp areas.
become healthy as soon as they are thoroughly
drained and built upon. We are told that the
island of Hong Kong, which consists entirely of
/ weathered and decaying granite. so long as it
remained undisturGed. the existence of malaria
was not even suspected. but so soon as eXcava-
tons for building purposes were commenced.
turning up and exposing to the air the disnte-
grated and moist granite, intermittent and re-
mittent fevers to an alarming extent attacked
those engaged upon the work. Instances of a
similar character going to show the important
part played by insulation and refrigeration i'm
the production OF paroXysmal fevers in sup
port of the thermo-hygrometrc hypothesis
might be cited almost Gd mfiyattunl.
WITH REGARD TO THE RHYTHMIC CHARACTER OF
THESE FEVERS,
concerning which there has been so much fruit
less speculation, We have no explanation to offer
beyond the admission of our ignorance as to the
cause, and feel constrained to rest for the pres
ent under the belief that it is regulated by some
occult principle of our organisms. or perhaps
controlled 10y some of those natural laws which
uncOnsciOusly to ourselves affect our physical
beings. We can no more demonstrate why
tert!an intermittent should observe that perio-
deity. than We can explain why i'm women the
catanenial evolution should occur with regu-
larity at the end of every twenty eight days, or
why at the same period the serpent .hould an
nually divest itself of its epidermis.
In conclusion, we desire to emphasize the hy-
pothesis which we have attempted to present in
this paper. by repeating that the hitherto rec0T-
niZed sources of marsh miasma. whether they
consist of genuine paludal districts or areas of
damp earth, exercise their pathOgenc influence
SOLELY BY VARIATIONS OF TEMPERATURE,
or hygrometric conditions of the atmosphere af-
fectng our bodies producing in those who have
undergone antecedent insulation, paroXysmal
fevcrs; but in those who have not possibly at
tacks of acute pyrexias. such as pneumonia
bronchitis, nephritis. pleurtis diarrh9a, etc.
The researches of VirchOw long ago demon
strated that maariai fever was closely related to
heat, since he showed that pigment granules
were found in abundance in the livers. spleens.
and blood Of those affected with malaral fevers.
fact which has been relied upon by modern
Psychologists in determining the dfferential dag
nOsis of typhoid and malarial fevers. The pig
mentatiOn being the crucial test by which the
latteris recognized, no such element being found
in the blood Of the former. In this connection
the question suggests Itself. that inasmuch as it
is an admitted fact that the negro race is capable
of resisting the extremes Of heat far better than
the white. and are also said to be less liable to
attacks of so-callcd malara fevers. can it be due
to the presence of the thick pigmentary layer in
the rete mucosum of the former provided by
nature as a natural prophylactic against the rays
of the sun. that antagOniZes or neutraliZes the