Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-27
DECAYING WOOD.
Its Deletertou influence on the
Health.
vOucbes
Sanitary Engineer

Sanitary Engineer.
1t is generally admitted that the
vicinity Of large quantities Of decay
ing wood is dangerous to health, but
the evidence as to this is scanty, and
by no means definite, nor have we
anything but more or less probable
theories as to how disease is produced
in this way. Yellow fever, typhoid
fever, and various forms of malarial
fever have been attributed to this
cause-not that rotting wood is sup
posed to be alone sufficient to produce
them, but that their specific causes
seem to flourish and increase when
introduced where it is present in
large quantities.
1t is a fact that, in number of in
stances, the prevalence Of yellow few
er in epidemic form has been connect
ed with the presence of decaying timb-
er in or beneath piers and wharves,
or of masses of rotting shavings, chips
and sawdust. This was the case IN
Providence, Baltimore, New York
City, and Norfolk, and the presence
of rotten timbers or planking in yel-
low-fever ships has been noted so
often that by many it is thought to
be something more than a mere coin
cidence.
Collections Of damp and decaying
sawdust hare been in a number OF
instances charged with the production
Of malarial disease, and in some of
the Northwestern states, and especial-
ly in Michigan, the evils from this
caase have been the subject of dis.
cussion by sanitary officials.
Decaying wood pavements or side
walks have been suspected of causing
malarial affections ia Memphis, IN
Washington, and elsewhere, although
the relation between cause and effect
does not appear to have been clearly
established.
We do know, however, that green
wood contains very considerable
amount of albuminoid matter, which
affords food to micro organisms which
decompose it, producing phenomena
of putrefaction and giving rise to
more or less offensive odors.
Prof. Brewer, of New Haven, has
reported the results of a number of
experiments on the results of soaking
green woods of various kinds in cold
water, and thus removing the albums
inoid matters. That green lumber
contains something which greatly
favors its decay, and which may be
removed by long continued soaking
in water, was we'll known many
years ago, and gave rise to the process
of water seasoning, in which the
planks were sunk ia large bodies of
water and kept immersed for from
six months to year, when they were
raised, piled in the air, and thorough
ly dried. Flooring lumber thus treat
ed is little liable to decay, for the
simple reason that it contains little or
nothing that is fit for the food Of the
micro organisms and fungi that cause
decay The albuminoid material
which may be thus extracted from
wood appears to support the life of
various micro organisms which, so
far as we know, are not directly or
indirectly injurious to health. We
can only infer that it will also sup
port the life of other organisms which
may be injurlous-th germs of spe>
cific disease-and conclude that it is
sufficiently probable that this the
case, to warrant the giving of special
attention to this subject in investiga>
tions as to the causes of the local prev
alence of certain disease.
Mr.. G.. A. Sala is known by his
Waite wa.stcoat. IT have worn a
white waistcoat, he says, ''every day
winter and summer, for five and
twenty years. Once, IN Paris, at a
shop where used to buy my gloves,
a serving woman said to me: You
always wear white waistcoat.' Yes !;
[ always wear one the year round.
All the year round?' she exclaimed.
A clean one every dayg Yes, said.
'Oh, if / had only been your washers
womanp"
A Mohammedan university 900
years older than Oxford is still -four
ishing at Cairo as in the days OF Ara
bian conquests. It contains but one
room, the floor is paved and the roof
is supported by 400 columns.
Missionaries in the equatorial lake
regions Of Africa have discovered that
a kind of beer made of bananas is a
prophylactic against malaria fevers,
and that this drink is indispensable to
their health