The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-09-07

Those who left us at the beginning of the
summer are coming back to the city in droves,
and pretty soon Washington will be itself again
OF course they have all had splendid time and
enjoyed themselves immensely If they bring
back with them external symptoms indicating
that their happiness was not unalloyed, as
limited at by our artist in an adjoining column,
no doubt these drawbacks to the pleasures
OF their summer outing were more than bal
anced by the fun they had and the flesh they
gained at the seashore, in the mountains. or in
primitive rural retreats. However, they are
all no doubt glad to get back to their snug
homes in Washington, and feel renewed en-
ergy for work because of their rest and recuper-
alton.
There is another phase of the matter and
serious one, to which attention is likely to be
called later on. 1t is the fact that the malaria,
typhoid fever, and intermittent fever which
sometimes prevail in the cityin the autumn, are
frequently attributed to country we'll water and
the unsanitary condition Of country houses.
DIR. Hamilton Leach said the other day
that people did wrong in blaming the place at
which they stayed during the summer for the
ills they develop later in the season.
"Of all the ills that flesh is heir to,'' he said
"malaria seems to be the predominating one in
buls seCIlOu hdlarld Is Dy no means COnQneQ
to any particular section sections, such as the
Southern Atlantic States, as is often thought
1t exists to greater or less extent all over the
country. In Washington we suffer considerably
from it, and while the death rate cannot be said
to be directly affected by it, the weak
ening of the constitution which it brings about
leaves us less able to resist the attacks of other
diseases.
''The idea that the germs of typhoid and other
fevers are contracted during the summer vaca-
ton in the country is, think, largely erroneous
My belief is that these germs are usually in the
system when the summer vacation begins. The
heathful surroundings of the country and II oun-
tains either disspate them entirely or retard
their development In the latter case when the
patient returns to the city in the fall after breath
ing the pure, bracing air of the country or noun
tains during the summer his system is more sen
sitive to the less pure air of the city, and the
disease germs rapidly develop, thus bringing on
the attacks of typhoid and other fevers which
are go commonly attributed to country we'll
water or the unsanitary conditions of country
houses, when in reality the germs of the diseases
were carried to the country when vacation be-
gan. That diseases take this course is proved
Dy experiments made with birds. If bird is
taken and placed in an air-tight bell, say for
fifteen minutes, it will gradually begin to droop
and lose its brightness the air becomes vitiated
by being breathed over again and again. When
the bird is released it Immediately revives, and
the bad effect of breathing the impure air rap
idly passes away. Then if the bird is restored
to the bell the impurities of the air affect it
mach more quickly, and it will die in a few
minutes, whereas il it had been left in the bell
from the first it would have continued to live
for much longer period of time.
''Of course, there are frequently conditions in
the environments of the vacation-taker which
conduce to the production of these germs in the
system. In fact, large cities are not as subject
to such complaints as are rural districts. few
years since town in Virginia-Plymouth, 1
think-was visited with epidemic of typhoid
fever. 1t was town of probably five thousand
inhabitants, and the people were dying at the
rate of nearly hundred day. The physicians
of the city undertook an investigation as to the
cause of the fever, and found that it originated
dozen miles up in the mountains. poor
farmer, living on the edge of the stream which
furnished the city with its water supply, was
very i'll with typhoid, and his wife had habit
of washing his bed clothing in this stream. The
water coursed down the mountain-side, carving
with it its infection, and was declared by the
lave stigating physicians to be the cause of the
citys epidemic. This merely goes to show the
extent to which a small evil of this kind NAV be
carried. In country places the wells are fre-
quently dug in injudicious places and the drain
age from neighboring sources of infection fire.
quently finds an outlet in them In cases of
this nature the production of fever germs is not
to be wondered at.
"For person afflicted with malaria the best
course OF treatment is to begin with mercurial
purgative, as calomel Follow this with quinine
In small doses, and the malaria will soon be
dissipated This course of treatment can be
used any way by persons who may not be
affected by any such tendencies, and once in
three months is important an aid to good
health as pure food, frequent baths, or clean
clothing"
Takoma Park Gun Club.
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