Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-04-19
CONCERNING MALARIA.

ProL Proctor's Ide.s Regardless tss
Causes Of tho Disease.
The circumstances under which
malaria prevails As q local disease.
though sufficiently marked. are yet in
some degree complicated and psrplex-
ing. 1t is certain that the exciting
cause of the disease is something pres
emit in invisible effiuvia from the surface
of the earth. It seems almost as GER
tain that decomposing. or .ather de-
composed, vegetable matter is the
source of the infection; yet the appear
ance of malaria in such . place as the
rock of Gibraltar. which is character
lied by an entire absence of vegeta-
ton. presents an apparent exception
which prevents us from definitely de-
Gliding that vegetable matter alone can
produce the malarial infection. Moist
ure is necessary to produce the poison;
yet moisture alone, or even with the
necessary degree of heat. is not suf-
ficient; on the contrary, it appears that
if only the soil whence malarial eff1uvia
have arisen could be kept permanently
soaked with moisture, there would be
no infection. The soil must be for q
while sodden with moisture, then dried,
before the INVISIBLE ef1iuvia-the marsh
miasma - become dangerous. The
heat necessary to produce the poison
must be somewhat greater than sixty
degrees. somewhat less than eighty de-
grees; between these limits. but not
outside them. heat does its poison-gen-
Grating work. We have in these con-
ditions alone certain power of in
fluencing malaria, as has been
shown by repeated examples. l re-
member that in my boyhood aguish fe-
vers were very common in parts of
Kent near the shores of the Thames
and Midway. The difference between
the country and the towns in this re-
spect was a subject of constant remark.
But now, as I learn from relatives
living in these regions, malarial
troubles are much less prevalent,
drainage having had a markedly bene-
fetal effect. A similar change, on q
larger scale. has been produced
throughout the eastern counties Of
England, where formerly aguish fevers
were once very common. 1t seems
strange now to think of ague as one Of
the chief death-dealing diseases of
parts of England, insomuch that even
in London. where now it is unknown,
hundreds formerly fell victims to it.
In Switzerland the drainage of swamps
has almost entirely killed out malaria
in certain regions where it was once
prevalent They widened the channels
of rivers running out of lakes in such
sort as to lower the level of the lakes,
and the lakes thus lowered drained
the swamps On the other haEd, the
bog lands of Ireland are free from
malaria. whether because peat moss
does not contain the poisonous mater
ials, or because the boys remain too
constantly moisture-sodden, is not
clear. 1t is stated also that malaria is
unknown in the region of the Dismal
Swamp. Elevation has marked
effect in regard to the prevalence of
malaria. not only locally, but gener-
ally. Thus in certain shore tracts it
has been noticed that near the sea-
level there is no malaria, while. again,
above certain height, as three hum
dred or four hundred feet, malaria is
absent; but between these the disease
is destructive and prevalent Yet ele-
walton alone does not prevent malaria
from appearing-Prof X. a. Proctor.
IN Louisville Courier-Journal.