The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-08

dig ditch to drain the water, and so expose
fresh earth to the atmosphere. or let the
water stand and evaporate and stagnate;
that he had, however, decided to dig the
| ditch, and it was being done then.
Now for difference of conditions. We
have several persons isolated with cases of
| yellow fever, but they are neither over
worked physically, exposed to foul atmos-
phere of closed rooms, to night air. neigh
| bort God of stagnant water or emanationS
| from freshly moved wet earth il the
immediate vicinity of virulent case Of
! yellow fever.
| But we find that Mai. Cruel eencountere l
all of these; the exposure to night air was
only the chilly time of the late eve lug, blt
at that time he passed into and through the
atmosphere over the wet spot
Now, are all of these )nditlons, or only
one, conducive to the spread of yellow fever
| Mr.. Gruele's assistants were as much eX-
| posed to the air in the closed rooms as he
was; none of them are sick. Others We're
very tired from overexertion, got home as
late as he did, but are still well. If the wet
atmosphere is the condition Others should
then be also infected by his presence and
! favorable conditions. They are. Two mem
| berS of his family have the fever.
The inference is thus warranted that one
| of the conditions under which yellow fever
can spread Is produced by the evaporation
| of water from freshly stirred wet earth, or
| from dead vegetable matter.
This is only an inference, but it directs
inquiry to other places where the disease
has sp cad, and suggests the Questi IN: Is
there always an area of fresh earth, or
| dead vegetable matter, wet enough for long
continued evaporation? and, does the fever
exist there when these spo S are dry:
Let us inq ire of Plant City. We are in
formed that this place is OF recent origin
and rapid growth, situated in hitherto
healthy Pine region. There are large areas
of pine sawdust in shallow wet places
but pine sawdust, we are told, is healthy
to have around.
Let us look at Macclenny. 1t is the same
co dition. The sawdust there has been
spread over the streets, fresh land has been
cleared, pine stumps, limbs and 70 IS are
passing throug ferment to decay in the
immediate vicinity. What of Jackson
villes We find no large areas of sawdust
there. There are handsome streets, clean
as can be in any business city, and it is
situated partially on high sand ridges,
with the broad ST. Johns river on one sd I,
and arms of the river on the other, with
natural drainage in both directions. What
can cause the epidemic theref We must
hunt for something different, possibly akin
| to conditions noted elsewhere.
At the wharves and railroads there is a
ttIt5t Va dStttl ca pOSel
but it is dry; in the marshes there is large
wet area, but it is covered with living
| vegetable matter. The ma shes have been
built out upon, the river margin has been
built out upon. Has any new work been done!
No. What is the material Of the fllllngs
Principally slabs, refuse from saw mills,
sometimes covered by a layer of earth, aud
| sometimes by cover of plank.
Let us examine this pile of the road
in hn
about the size of large telegraph poles are
cut into blocks about five inches long.
These are placed end up on boards the
crevices filed with small pieces and sand.
1t is claimed that, being made of cypress.
there would be no rotting, and conse-
quently no danger of disease from these
blt ckS.
There was no epidemic in Jacksonville
I'm il August.
During the early summer there was an
unusually extended drought. The rainy
seasol set in in August
The conditions we find in Jacksonville are
that these road blocks furnish acres upon
| acres of dead vegetable matter During
the early part of the hot season the blocks
were dry. When the rainy season sets in
| they present an immense surface for evapo-
ration, each block being.a miniature sponge.
As long as this surface was dry there was
no epidemic. AS soon as it became satu-
| rated with water the conditions for con-
tinuous evaporation over a large area were
complete, and coincident there With the
| epidemic began. If, then, on the re-
| turn of d y weather the epidemic abates,
it will further corroborate the evidence
that evaporation of water from a surface
of dead vegetable matter, under a suitable
temperature, is intimately associated with
| conditions favorable to yellow fever in cpl
demic form.
This evidence, however, is not conclusive.
1t is clrcumstantial, showing coinc dences
that are very suspicious, and apparently
presents clew leading to the dscovery of
the truth. Such investigation, continued,
will surely lead to better knowledge of
conditions. L en- their avoidance will fol-
low, and modification of the ravages of
the disease must result, and all the attend
ant horrors of stampedes, guarantees, ETC.,
become tales of the past. J. VoYLE,