Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-06
THE STUDY OF MALARIA.
The Means Of Prevention by a Dis.
tinguished Scientist of Rome.

The eighth session of the international
medical congress has just been held in
Copenhagen. The paper of greatest sci
entific and popular interest to the Amer
lean people is that read by Professor Con-
rad Tomassi Crudeli, of the University of
Rome, Italy, and entitled, "The Natural
Production of Malaria and the Means of
Making Malarial Countries Healthier"
Professor Crudeli has devoted years to
the scientific study of malaria, and is
without doubt the highest living authority
on the subject. His conclusions are there
fore entitled to great weight. He repudi-
ates utterly the paludal theory of malaria
that is, that malaria is exclusively pro-
duced by the putrid emanations of swamps
and marshes. On the contrary, he finds
that it is produced in soils of the most
varied composition, without the presence
of any putrefaction whatever, and is due
to the presence of a specific living vege-
table germ. This germ may exist in soils
without poisoning the atmosphere, re-
manning inert for years, even for centu-
ries, retaining its vitality, however, and
sary conditions are present. These con-
ditions, the concurrence of which is indis-
pensable for the production of malaria,
are three in number, viz: A temperature
which does not fall below 67.5 degrees
Fahrenheit, a very moderate degree of
permanent humidity of the soil, and the
direct action of the oxygen of the air upon
the strata of earth containing the mala-
rial ferment.
Such being the factors in the case, what
can be done to remove one or more of
them, and thus render malarious regions
more salubrious? In the first place, ma
ture makes localities healthy during GER
tain seasons by taking away the factor of
heat-there being less malaria in winter
than in summer. But this means is OBJ
viously beyond the reach of man, nor is
it at all certain that it would be effective
in this country if within his reach, for
every physician has noted the fact that,
while malarial diseases prevail to less
degree in frosty weather, yet old cases
have relapses and new cases occur even
in midwinter.
The second means of prevention con-
sists in depriving the ground of its moist
ure by some system of drainage, by Gull
tivation of plants and trees, which con-
sumes large amount of water in their
growth, or by the destruction of dense
| forests which prevent the rays OF the sun
reaching and drying the soil. Much hope
| was placed in the eucalyptus tree as a
means of extracting moisture from the
ground, but the experience with it, for
Italy, at least, is not encouraging.
Tl,o @b;rI ,,ootloI of no fiop fn
prevent the direct action of the oxygen of
the air upon the infected strata OF soil.
This has been successfully accomplished
10y this system of OVERLAPPING, which con-
sists in covering the infected ground with
thick LAYERS of uninfected earth, at the
same time employing thorough systems
of surface and underground drainage.
Regions about Rome heretofore malari-
GUS have been benefited by macadamiz-
| ing and turing the ground.
In districts where malaria prevails IN a
pernicious form is is difficult to carry out
| large works of Improvements, such as the
| forced cultivation of the soil, because OF
sickness Of the laborers Professor CRU
deli has, therefore, been devoting the
| last few years to a search for means to IN
crease the power of resistance Of the hui
man organism to the attacks OF malaria.
Acknowledging the great value OF quinine
and arsenic, as preventive and curative,
he has still sought to discover a cheaper,
harmless, yet effective remedy, and this
he believes he has found in the ordinary
lemon. He does not claim the discovery
as original with himself, or indeed with
any physician, but candidly acknowled'
ges the remedy to be of popular origin
and with true scientific spirit seeks knowl.
edge, not only in the exact researches OF
the laboratory, but also in the everyday
experience of common people.
He advises that decoction OF lemon