Evening star., 1907-11-05
sEA-WATER TREATMENT.
A Frenc1Il\n's Theory Regarding
Salt Water.
From the Pathfinder.

From the Pathfinder.
Medical and scientific men across the
water are taking much interest in the re-
searches and demonstrations of NJ Quin-
ton of Paris in connection with his theory
that every animal in the world, from the
single-celled pratozoans up to man him
self. Is virtually marine animal, living
N salt water and with health and life de-
pending on that salt water. Absurd as
his proposition appears at the outset, 1t Is
based on good scientific foundation, as an
article in ILLUSTRATION of Paris observes.
The rationale of it Is simply this: Orig
tnaliy all animals were sea animals. The
whole globe was covered with water. but
at that time this water was not so salty
as the ocean now is, since the degree of
saltiness Is constantly increasing, owing
TO the gradual wearing away of the noun
tains and the carrying of the mineral sub
stances to the sea, where hey remain In
solution. The natura! cement of all ami
mails of every sort therefore Is sea water.
AS the continents rose above the sea, some
forms of animal life moved out of the sea
and evolved Il career on land; their direct
breathing apparatus developed strongly
since they were now Immersed in air In
stead of water, but their original cement,
nancy sea water, was essential to
them ever.
Tho only difference was that as the
land animals rose higher in the scale OF
life they carried their sea water round
inside of them, that is to say, dissolved IN
the tissues and fluids in their bodies. in
stead of themselves living in that element
as they formerly had. This seems an ODD
way of putting the case, but lnVestlga-
ton has borne it out. Biolog SITS hnd
that all the various fluids which SO large
ly ente- into the makeup Of all animals
are saline in character; the cells must
float in this saline medium In order TO
live and develop: when the salinity OF the
medium becomes much impaired. the ceiis
die. We are. then. as it were, perlpatetlc
aquariums-mere receptacles or sponges
containing sea water. in which live the
myriads of cells which constitute our
real personality. 1t Is well-knoWn
physiological fact that human beings are
which a few pounds of solids are dis
solved. That is essential to our life, and
it must retain the proper salinity or our
health will suffer. If the solution be-
comes too salty the minerals are de-
posted in the body and we have rheu-
matism and a lot of other diseases of
that class; If 1t becomes too weak we get.
as M. Qu!nton believes, another class
'of ailments-or We may perish altogether,
for lack of our primordial element.
Drawing practical conclusions from this
view of mans nature, NJ. Quinton has
elaborated a system of treatment for tu-
berculosis and numerous other diseases
which consist in injecting given quantf
ties of SEA water into the circulation of
the subject. This sea water is, however.
diluted with a little distilled water, in
order to make the solution as near as
possible of the saltness of the sea watec
at the period when the higher animals
first took to the land. Numerous demon
strat.ons have been made in Paris and
three regular stations for the admins
tration of the saltwater treatment have
been opened there. The effect Of inject
ing a salt solution into the blood in order
to restore heart action after death has
apparently taken place is now well estab-
lished, as has been noted repeatedly in
these columns. The place occupied by
salt water in relation to the processes Of
life is being studied by various scientists,
and important discoveries along this line
are no doubt destined to be made.