The sun., 1903-05-03

The Fundamental nrinciplss Of health chal.
lengss the admiration " scientific men.
| Turning 10 the Hlndoos. We note that they
! praotised incubation against smallpox
long before the preventive was known
! to Europeans. They Also had sensible
regulation which forbade anybody going
out In tho rain unprotected. There are also
| wise rules about washing. Theee, however,
are the only prescriptions Of any scientific
| medical interest which DR.. Goldsohmidt
has been able to find among the Hindoos.
Passing to the Chinese, We observe that
the market regulations introduced by
Confucius form collection OF recommenda-
'ions rather than sanitary rules. They
include warnings against the produce Of
the fields when It ia not In season, against
fruit which is not ripe. and against birds,
game and fish which have not been killed
according to directions Further. raw
food materials alone must be offered for
eale, apparently because tainted flesh
might be disguised by cooking. A better
understanding OF hygiene il evlnced In the
teaching that food must vary according to
the individuals ago, and that an old man
may take many kinds Of food which are for
hidden to q young man. The injurious
effects Of alcohol. when drunk In excess,
seem to have been known long ago to tho
Chinese In order that drinking might he
reduced to the most moderate quantities.
the ancient Emperors ordered the intox,-
eating beverage made from rice to be drunk
only from very small glasses, and further
decreed that one hundred obeisances should
be made before drinking second glass.
Thus a small quantity OF alcohol would
take long time to consume. The modern
Chinese do not scruple to use rats ana
snakes as food; nevertheless, tho market
regulations warn them that the tall OF
chicken, when narrow and full, should not
be eaten. nor tho flesh near the tall OF the
wild goose. Again, the meat on the RIBS
OF swans and owls is pronounced unsafe.
and so ID the liver Of the fowl and the
stomach Of the wild goose and swine.
On tho whole, the Chinese have not con-
tributed much moro than have the Hindoos
70 the advancement OF prophylaxis.
We need not dwell upon the recognition
OF the importance OF cleanliness proved by
the public baths which were to be found
all over the Roman Empire, but for
centuries after tho irruption OF the bar
barians wore almost universally neglected.
So far a. Western Europe Is concerned. 1t
was only In Spain. where the Moors main
tanned themselves 90 long, that luxurious
baths were erected for the sake OF per-
rnitting believers in Islam to obey the in
junction to bathe frequently. As regards
tho removal Of refuse, Babylon. Carthage
and Egypt are said TO have had systen1s
OF drainage: and Jerusalem In the HcrodiAn
period is reputed to have had an apparatus
by which waste water was conveyed into
special reservoirs. Hero the impurities
wore allowed to settle to the bottom. and
tho water In the reservoir being then al
lowed to run Of. the sediment was used
for manure. Even to the present day tho
clooeo nsdrimS In Rome, constructed BY
Tarquinius Priscus, II still In US. As early
as the time Of Augustus II was noticed
that fluctuations Of the Tiber caused q
backward dow Of tho debris, In consequence
OF which the Emperor ordered that the
drains should be regularly flushed. Dur
ing the Middle Ages very little was done
to keep tho Eternal City systematically
clean. Tho oldest structure which exsts
In Germany for urban drainage 10 that OF
Bunzlau, which was regularly flushed a.
long ago a. 1850. There arc still older
drains In England. but even there the pol
luted water was conveyed into Tho nearest
stream. Not until 1850 were sysestnatio
attempts made In England to do away With
the evil resulting from this prsotios By
means Of IN intsrospting sewer tho sewage
WAS conveyed to IN outfan below London.
where II was allowed to escape only on the
ebbiua OF the tide into the Thames. When
this measure proved inadequate. the SOW
arc WA subjected to . process OF pre-
cipitation before being permitted to escape.
Hamburg. following Lcndons example. be-
ean to build drains in the dfties Of the
nineteenth century. DanxiS was the hrst
German town, however. to have at the
same time q drainage system. . water
supply system and an irrigation system.
Berlin since 1875 has organized ono Of the
largest apparatuses for drainage In ex-
istenoo.
Tho methods employed In ancient times
for the disposal Of the dead do not evinoe
any very clear conception Of prophylaxis.
In Greece and heather Rome tho dead were
burned, but the Israelites buried oorpses
In tho earth at depth prescribed by their,
laws. Tho European nations which sue
ceeded tho Roman Empire In the West
seem not to have had any strict regulations
about burial until comparatively late times.
Not evon oofans were In general use, and
no rules were enforced regarding tho depth
Of graves Tho churohyard belonged
rather to ecclesiastical authorities than
to tho community. and was always placed
near tho church.
We pAss to DR.. Goldsohmidt's historical
account Of the prevention Of epidemic
diseases. As We have said. incubation
against smallpox has been practised In
China and India from time immemorial.
In Denmark, In various districts OF France
and in South Wales incubation against
smallpox seems to have been known be-
fore Jenner introduced vaccination. An
English physician, Sulten, tried to improve
the method Of incubation by taking the
lymph from the pustules Of patients suffer.
ing from mild smallpox and conveying
II to the arms Of young children by the
lancet point. There Is no doubt that he
lnininised the danger Of the operation.
OF 1900 children inoculated by Sulten up
to the year l7o7, only six or seven died
from the incubation. So brilliant were
the results attained by him that some
physicians beloved smallpox to have dis
appeared altogether In England. It IL
weil known that Edward Jenner was led to
the discovery Of vaccination by the casual
remark Of acountrywoman to tho effect that