Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-02
CAUSES OF TYPHOID.
Signal Observer 0. D. Stewart Claims
the Fever is the Result


The weather is always timely subject Of
conversation when people haven't anything
else to talk about, and as Sunday is dull
day in newspaper circles, reporter climbed
up eight fights Of stairs to the Signal OBJ
servers Office, and braced o. d. Stewart for
an item. He uniolded himself as follows:
.'I have theory" he began, "that the
weather and not the water is responsible for
the typhoid fever. talked to DIR. Sturgeon
about my idea. and he thought 1 was right
August was a peculiar month. The days
were warm and the nights cool. Last FRI
day, for example, the temperature was SO
during the day and 59'at night.
People retiring covered themselves with
light clothing, and of course during the
night would become chilled Now this
would have the effect to close up the pores
through which most of the effete matter in
the system is thrown of. The internal heat
would naturally increase, and If this sort OF
thing was kept up for few days would
finally result in a fever, as typhoid. for in
stance, among others.
THE TEMPERATURE Low.
"August, as whole, was little colder
than the average. The temperature for the
month was 20. just two degrees per
day below the nominal. The great
est heat attained was $50 on
Saturday; the lowest 80 degrees, on the 18th.
1t was down to 46 degrees one day in August
of 1887, and this is the lowest on record
since this station was opened in 1870. No
matter, you see, what can be said of the
weather, it hardly ever beats its own record.
The highest temperature for any August
was 100 degrees, in 1881. The August of
1888 was the only one colder than last
month.
August also was an exceptionally dry
month, the rainfall being 1888 inches, or
1.41 inches below the average. Last
August it rained 7.26 inches. There
have been two Augusts in
which less rain fell. The
phenomenal record of 1881 was .88 inches,
and 1.29 inches came down in 1878. The
total rainfall for the first eight months of
the year is 2876 inches, or 1923 inches above
the average, SO that we have not Jared badly
for water; in fact, we have had too much,
and it was destructive to lie and property.
water has been 1888 inches for the first
eight months. During August it rained
only on five days.
SEPTEMBER TO BE WARM.
'From present indications, September
promises to be dry, warm month. The
temperature to-day is 80, higher than at
any time in August. There has been also very
little wind. For the past week the weather
has been exceedingly warm in the Missis-
sippi Valley, and cool in the East and along
the lakes. The crops have not been affected
by the dry weather, because they were ma
tured before the dry spell came"
The temperature is measured by a little
instrument called the thermograph. 1t
consists Of a large cylinder with sheet of
paper wrapped around it and the degrees
marked on the paper. The cylinder is
turned by simple piece of clock mechan-
ism. A band with sharp point is at
tached to q thermometer made out of plat
inum and alcohol, and as it expands and
the band makes line on the |
paper as the cylinder revolves. One revolu- |
lion is made in week, and the irregular |
line shows the variations in temperature.
The apparatus is placed on the roof OF the |
Schmidt & Friday building and neatly en-
,ased in a wooden house.