124 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Now, therapeutics is the end, though 

 the study of diseased conditions might be 

 pleasant enough by itself. We are some- 

 times twitted with letting Nature alone to 

 do her work. We do not. And here, again, 

 we join issue with the theologians. They 

 say, " If >t is God's will that a man die, so 

 be it." But, say we, " God's will is to be 

 found out ; it is not a mere fate." We are 

 not ignorant worshippers of Nature, and, 

 whether a man is doomed to die or no, we 

 know only by the result. We are connec- 

 tive agents. We have to adjust and correct. 

 We know the tendency to recurrence to the 

 equilibrium that is, health and we en- 

 deavor to assist in adjusting this balance in 

 each individual. 



In fever, for instance, two things are 

 promptly at work destructive changes, and 

 changes tending to recovery. In such dis- 

 eases there are certain superficial accidents 

 which we are apt to notice. In fever there 

 are often complications ; but these are really 

 part of the fever-process, and are not to be 

 interfered with by themselves. Our study 

 must be, how best to bring the condition to 

 a safe ending ; for a patient in fever may 

 get well of the fever, and yet die of a bed- 

 Bore. 



In conclusion, if I have spoken more as 

 regards medicine than as regards surgery, I 

 think the surgeons ought to be indebted to 

 me for hints toward the extirpation of super- 

 fluous organs a grand prospect for the sur- 

 geons of the future. British Medical Jour- 

 nal. 



SOUTHERN ALASKA. 



The following statements are from a pa- 

 per entitled " Medical Notes on Alaska," by 

 W. T. Wythe, M. D., read before the Sac- 

 ramento Society for Medical Improvement, 

 and published in the Pacific MedicalJournal : 



The country is very mountainous ; lofty 

 peaks, clad with snow throughout the year, 

 being everywhere visible. One mountain- 

 chain, identical with the Sierra Nevada and 

 Coast Range of California, extends along the 

 coast, through the Alaskan Peninsula and 

 the Aleutian Islands ; another chain, the con- 

 tinuation of the Rocky Mountain system, ex- 

 tends across the country to Behring's Strait, 

 and, passing under the sea, is said to reap- 

 pear in Asia, Between these two mountain- 



chains lies an immense valley, drained by 

 the Youkon, a river nearly as large as the 

 Mississippi, and which Dr. Dall has well de- 

 scribed in his work on Alaska. These moun- 

 tains, with their numerous branching chains 

 and foot-hills, cover the whole country with 

 impassable barriers. Among them lie many 

 valleys, where, during the few days of sum- 

 mer, some vegetation can be seen, and it is 

 here that the natives live ; sometimes, how- 

 ever, a glacier will encroach upon the valley, 

 or an avalanche of snow and rocks from the 

 neighboring hills fill it up, or in spring a 

 flood overflow it. In these inhabitable spots 

 there is but little soil ; all the vegetation 

 seems to spring up in the peat-bogs, which 

 are found everywhere except on the moun- 

 tains. In these bogs, when sheltered from 

 the winds, many kinds of trees will grow, 

 but they are almost totally worthless. Grass 

 grows very rapidly during the warni?r days 

 of summer, and sometimes attains a height 

 of five feet. For agricultural purposes the 

 territory is worthless. 



The climate of the interior of Alaska ia 

 very different from that of the coast. Along 

 the coast the average temperature is about 

 40 Fahr. during the year, while on the other 

 side of the mountains it is many degrees 

 lower. The coast is very foggy and damp. 

 The rainfalls are very frequent, and it is 

 subject to very severe storms of wind. At 

 Sitka, it is said that for a number of years 

 past tne number of days during the yeai 

 when it did not rain or snow, has been thir 

 ty-five. In the interior the climate is very 

 cold in winter, and in summer somewhat 

 warmer than on the coast. There is but lit- 

 tle rain or fog. Snow falls to a great depth, 

 and I have seen the ground frozen thirteen 

 inches below the surface in midsummer. The 

 cause of this peculiar climate, and of the 

 difference of average temperature on the 

 coast and the interior, is the same that mod 

 ifies the whole Pacific coast. The Japan 

 current, which brings the warm waters of 

 the southeast shores of Asia, is undoubtedly 

 the principal agent in controlling the climate 

 of the northwest coast of America. From 

 the Aleutian Islands to Sitka the whole coast 

 is bathed by this " Pacific Gulf Stream." 

 In addition to this current, the winds havo 

 a share in influencing the climate. Along 

 the coast the prevailing winds are from the 



