The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-08-16


DR.. Morell Mackenzie, in aninterest-
ing pamphlet, explains the true origin
and nature of that mysterious ailment,
hay fever, as being essentially nothing
more than pollen poison. OF course,
such poisoning differs immensely from
infection by bacterial germs, because
the floating pollen of the air does not
increase and multiply in the human
system, as they do; it merely sets up
irritation Of the mucous membrane,
giving rise to catarrh and asthma. But
the two cases have this much at least in
commOn-that the origin of the disease
has been traced in either instance to a
definite external cause, in living germs
or spores, and that by avoidance OF
this cause we may reasonably hope to
bring the malady under proper control,
if not to eXtirpate it altogether. The
theory that hay fever is due to the
pollen of grasses is no new one. On
the contrary, it has for some time been
growing in favor with Psychologists, and
DR.. Mackenzie's able exposition may
be looked upon rather as the conclu-
sive vindication of the pollen hypothe-
sis than as the first statement of new
truth. Indeed, as long as hay fever
has been known at all, the popular
name by which it is familiarly called
has associated it with the Towering
time of the ordinary meadow grasses;
though the irritation has generally
been ascribed rather to the odor of
sweet vernal grass and scented holcus
than TO the distinctive action of the pol
len itself. The latter species is I'M
know in English meadows, but sweet
vernal grass is familiar TO most of us us
the peculiar spiky plant to which new
mown hay owes with us the whole of
its delicious fragrance. Still hay fever,
like influenza or cholera did not occur
in Europe, according to DR.. Mackenzie,
in 1.-THE good old times" whenever that
NAV be) or if it did occur it was over
looked in the multiplicity of medieval
diseases. As the complaint does not
actually kill, it may have been consid-
cred unworthy serious attention in the
LAYS of the Black Death and the Great
Plague; but it is singular that the first
detailed account was given by Bostock
at as late period as 1919. Since that
date, hay fever seems to have grown so
alarmingly in frequency that DR.. Mae
kenzie is fain to account for its rapid
development by losing new ac-
QUESTION of irritating powers on the
part of certain vegetable bodies Surely,
however, it is more likely that, 80 It's
we, It's ours, have changed, not it,"
Helmholtz was the first author to set
forth definite theory of hay fever,
which he believes to be produced by
vibrios (the modish bacilli were not
then in vogue,) and he held that the
vibrios, though always existing in the
mucous membrane of the nostrils, were
especially excited to spasmodic activity
by summer heat. But it was Dr.. Black
ley, of Manchester, who led the way in
showing that this dsagreeable COM
plant is really due only to the pollen
of flowers and grasses. Instead of max
ing his experiments in cOrpore gjIi, DR..
Blackley made them on his own per-
son; he inhaled pollen, and artifciallv
acquired the complaint; and he proved
that in certain other instances tn,
severity of the disease bore direct rela
ton to the amount of pollen in the air
DR.. Mackenzie, treating the matter il
the most vigorously scientific manner, di-
videS the cause of summer catarrh into
two classes, the predisposing and the
exciting. The predisposing causes is of
course the possession of a certain pecu-
liar idiosyncrasy, dependent perhaps on
abnormality in the mucous membrane,
or in the small veins and nerves with
which it is supplied. AS usual, the Ill
ntn g ! h. Oh,
any is too delicate for direct investiga-
ton. The idiosyncrasy is generally de-
vel0ped quite suddenly, and when once
acquired it tends to increase most I'M
pleasantly with each succeeding sum
mer. And the moral of that is: eff
possible, avoid catching hay fever at all
tor the first time, and you will most
probably never catch it for the second. y
Oddly enough, the idiosyncrasy seems
almost confined to the English race,
at home or in America; Scandina-
vians, Frenchmen, Germans and
Italians all enjoy comparative i'm
munity. French and German doctors
in New York noticed no cases among.
their compatriots there, though the
disease is painfully common among the
Americans proper. 1t is fattering to
our Anglo-SaXon intelligence that hay
fever also specially affects persons of
some education and fair social posi-
ton" In the West Indies, where vel
low fever rarely attacks people of col
ored blood, light brown families are
quite proud if one of their number
catches the aristocratic infection, and it
may, perhaps, be equally consoling to
the sufferers from hay fever to learn
that in DR.. Merriman's experience tn
complaint belongs ''principally to tn
upper and middle classes" So much
is this the case that farmers and aori-
cultural laborers, who are most ex-
posed to the exciting causes, seldom
suffer from it. But in persons who
possess the requisite idiosyncrasy, DR..
Blackley showed quite conclusiveiy that
hay fever can be artilicially produced
by inhalation of pollen. Rye, wheat,
oats and barley affect the mucous mem
brane even more powerfully than the
wild grasses. In America, however, it
is n sort of NORWOOD that oftenest
gives rise to the peculiar catarrhal
symptoms. IL must be remembered
that everywhere pollen is liable to float
in the air in large quantities during the
Towering season of wind fertilized
plants, like the grasses, cereals and
wormwoods, and hay fever may there
g. II 4