Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-07-30
HYGIENIC MEASURES.
Suggestions Concerning tho Cause and
Prevention of Epidemic Diseases.

I
Prevention of Epidemic Diseases.
EDS. REcoRD-UNIoN While epidemics
are raging in various parts OF the
world and nearly everybody is in fear
of his life, our city has been OF late
blessed with unusual good health, and the
death rate has been correspondingly low.
This. however, should not lull us into q
sleep and prevent us from observing the
strictest hygienic measures in regard to
cleanliness, so as to keep sickness and death
away from our threshold in the future
The indications of what we may do in this
respect will be indicated by studying the
cause of the most prevalent diseases here,
and also the cause of the late healthfulness
of the city.
The infectious principles that give rise to
various miaSmatic and contagio-miasmatic
diseases, such as malarial fevers, typho-
malarial fever, typhoid fever, yellow fever
and cholera, have their origin in the SOIL
and are produced by the action of the air,
IN the presence of moisture and heat, on
decaying and putrefying vegetable and
animal substances. The question, if these
poisonous infectious principles are parasitic
!
slider here, but will simply state that, as
the result of various observations and in
vestigations we have right to believe
that the poison which gives rise
| T. all miasmatic diseases, simple, malarial,
remittent and intermittent tevers, is ready
| formed in the SOIL while that which gives
rise to contagio-miasmatic diseases, such
as typhoid, typho-malarial, yellow fever and
cholera, has to be imported first, only to be
| developed and matured in the soil. To
successful generation and multiplication of
these poisons, however, certain necessary
| agents and conditions of the soil are re-
quired, the entire or partial absence of
either one of which will either retard or
prevent the process of generation entirely.
Here an indication is given where prevent
i've hygienic measures may come in.
These necessary agents for the development
| of infectious substances are, first of all, the
presence of vegetable or animal mat
| ter in the soil and, secondly, air,
moisture and heat. Where either one
of these agents is missing there is no dan
ger of disease. We therefore have no ma
laria i'll cold climates, nor i'll high and dry
countries, nor in one that is continually
submerged under water, for in the former
the necessary heat is absent; in the next,
the moisture, and in the last the air But
the quantity of animal or vegetable matter
present will indicate the degree of danger
The unusual good health of Sacramento
has been due to the high-ground water
The late rains had the effect of keeping the
soil, till very recently, completely sub
merged. The air had no access to the
organic substances stored in the ground
and consequently decay and putrefaction
could not take place; hence the healthful-
ness of the city. To the same degree as the
ground water sinks and the air penetrates
the soil, We may expect more and more
disease, and this for two reasons-irst the
air favors the formation of infectious germs
and, secondly, it serves to bring them to the
surface of the soil, for the air contained i'll
the pores of the ground down to the water
level is subject to the same physical laws as
that above the ground; it will fall and rise
with every change in the atmospheric
pressure. With every fall of the barometer
the air will expand, and the higher the
column is from the surface of the ground
to the water level the higher it will rise
and carry the poisonous substances along
with il. These, outdoors in free space will
easily be disposed and carried away by the
wind. But not so inside of the house and
its Enclosures. Here they will remain and
come to full action and effect, particularly
IL the Ill lIle lower stories.
Besides these changes in the atmospheric
pressure there is another force which has
tendency to draw the infectious germs out
of the ground, and bring them in contact
with the inhabitants of house. This is
the difference of temperature inside and
outside of the house, particularly at night,
when doors and windows are tightly closed.
Warm air has always a tendency
to rise and to produce current
upwards This loss in the lower
strata according to physical laws is con-
tinually resupplied by the surrounding air,
which will enter through pores, cracks and
openings, but where houses are strongly
built, with thick, heavy stone walls, with
few windows and tightly-ftting doors, and
particularly where the lower floor rests di-
rectly on the soil, there the supply of air
is directly aspired from within the founda-
ton of the building. This explains why
brick buildings. and such as have the floor
resting directly on the soil, are so I'M
healthy.
With the above information regarding
the cause and distribution of disease, the
necessity of observing certain hygienic
measures becomes obvious. To this effect
the city should have good drainage, the sew
ers should be cleaned regularly ,cesspools and
priyy vaults should be water-tight and fire.
quently be emptied and disinfected; the
contents of cesspools and privies, and all
kitchen offals should be removed beyond
the city limits, and not be buried in the
immediate neighborhood of human dwell
ings. Houses should be built on elevated
ground, and, if possible. of frame The
ground within the foundation of house
should be firm, and if possible be made
air-tight by cementing the same; round
about the house, on the contrary the
ground should be loose, so as to direct the
escaping gases from under the house to the
outside. Fences should not be built high
and tight but free and open, SO as to per
nit free circulation of air; for the same
purpose the number of shade trees should
be limited and their foliage not be too
dense. A. E. bruno, NJ. D.
REPAIRING THE LEvEEs-The Super
visOrs of Yolo county have been consider
ing the matter of stopping the break in the
evee above the town OF Washington, and
also that at Clark's ranch, about opposite
the lower end of the Riverside road. and
an engineer will visit the localities to-mor-
row for the purpose of making estimates
as to the cost of the work. 1t is proposed
to build a dam at the break above Wash
ington sufficiently high to hold the water
of the river until it has reached hight of
% feet. If the liver rises higher than that
the water can }eriiow the dam, measures
being taken to prevent the dam from be-
ing injured. BY this means ii is believed
much trouble and expense will be saved
the residents of Washington, and the road
leading out Of that place can be kept open
during the winter.
CHAMBERS IN YoLo.-The Yolo Mail of
Tuesday says that a veterinary surgeon of
Sacramento, in company with a number of
horsemen Of Woodland, yesterday exam
ined number OF horses in Woodland and
condemned two or three as being afflicted
with CHAMBERS. 1t is now understood
that the disease is prevalent among the
horses in this locality and the Board of
Supervisors will take steps to prevent its
spread 1t would. therefore be we'll for
owners of valuable horses to be on their
guard as animals are liable to contract the
disease at any time. We understand that
number of horses have already been shot
by their owners to prevent the spread of
the fatal disease
A PEST VIsrTArIoS.-A communication
from J. f.. La Rue, written yesterday, states
that thousands OF small worms have made
their appearance upon the levees of the
La Rue vineyard, near Davisville. They
are of all colors and sizes, from one-eighth
of an inch to an inch in length, with one
and one-fourth inches rs the longest. They
are at work, he states, at the leaves, and