264 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



is almost sure to start up with a feeling of 

 strangulation" ("Popular Science Monthly," 

 p. 611). But even in such cases the proxi- 

 mate cause can generally be traced to some 

 occurrence of the preceding day; indeed, 

 most sufferers from chronic asthma know 

 from the experience of their waking hours 

 what the next night may be expected to have 

 in store for them. 



I do not suppose that your correspond- 

 ent, whose letters bespeak him an intelligent 

 observer, can be a dupe of the vulgar fal- 

 lacy which mistakes a low temperature for 

 the cause of " colds " and catarrhs ; still, it 

 is evident that he overrates the danger of 

 its employment as a " remedial agent." For 

 one life lost by the abuse of cold water, a 

 million have been lost by the abuse of drugs. 

 Dr. Carl Bock, whose manual of health, 

 "Das Buch vom gesunden und kranken Men- 

 schen," is a standard (though entirely non- 

 systemic) work on practical hygiene, recom- 

 mends a sponge or shower-bath among the 

 safest antispasmodics (c. "Angor pectoris, 

 or Asthma," p. 502). It is well known that 

 the paroxysms of yellow fever and cognate 

 diseases decrease the intoxicating effects of 

 alcoholic stimulants, and hydropathists have 

 repeatedly called attention to the fact that 

 under similar circumstances the dreaded 

 nervous shock of a cold douche is partly neu- 

 tralized by the conditions of the disease itself, 

 and acts only as a tonic in the best sense of 

 the word ; and, since Dr. Koch's discovery, 

 no modification of accepted medical theo- 

 ries has excited more attention than the 

 successful application of cold baths to the 

 treatment of typhoid fever. For a practi- 

 cal illustration of their efficacy in severe 

 cases of spasmodic asthma, I can refer Mr. 

 Crosby to the experience of two of my cor- 

 respondents, Mr. Otto Schreiner, of Jack- 

 sonville, Florida, and Dr. H. D. Warner, of 

 Reliance, Polk County, Tennessee. After 

 stating his personal experience, Dr. Warner 

 adds, " Priessnitz," the founder of hydropa- 

 thy," would become the patron-saint of asth- 

 ma-patients, if they could rid themselves of 

 the superstitious dread of cold water and give 

 the plan a fair trial." 



Stramonium (vide Datura in "American 

 Cyclopaedia," or any medical or pharmaceuti- 

 cal compend) is one of the strongest narcotic 

 poisons, and in its physiological action re- 

 sembles belladonna and henbane, produc- 

 ing " dryness of the throat, active delirium, 

 dilatation of the pupils, and a rapid pulse. 

 Death may occur with coma and convul- 

 sions." And such remedies Mr. Crosby pro- 

 poses to apply to patients who " can endure 

 only the most soothing and gentle treat- 

 ment " ! It is true that the action of the 

 drug is somewhat modified by the abnormal 

 condition of the system; still, its after-ef- 

 fects are perceptible for days ; while those 

 of cold water are limited to the dread of j 



direful consequences, and one or two test- 

 experiments will rarely fail to remove that 

 objection, which is, after all, only a special- 

 ized form of the same traditional fallacy 

 which in winter ascribes fatal consequences 

 to an open window, but risks the sickening 

 effluvium of an unventilated bedroom; which 

 in warm weather dreads a draught of cold 

 water, but trusts its life to the tender mer- 

 cies of the liquor-mixer. Besides, the asthe- 

 nia of an asthma-spasm is an eclipse, a tem- 

 porary paralysis, rather than an exhaustion 

 of the vital energies ; and the shiver of a cold 

 douche, instead of complicating the afflic- 

 tions of the patient, relieves them by break- 

 ing the spell of the obstruction. Of course, 

 neither stramonium nor cold water alone 

 can reach the cause of the disease, which 

 must be removed by an invigorating regi- 

 men out - door life, wholesome food, and 

 persistent continence ; cold water, however, 

 is at least an adjuvant means to that end, 

 while the repeated use of narcotic drugs 

 never fails to impair the tone of the nerv- 

 ous system, and thus directly tends to per- 

 petuate an asthenic diathesis.* 



But I fully agree with your correspond- 

 ent that asthma is the most capricious dis- 

 order of the human organism, and that its 

 study can never be exhausted. Most of his 

 observations can be readily reconciled with 

 the doctrine of my treatise ; but, even in as 

 far as they may represent the record of an 

 exceptional experience, I Consider them, on 

 the whole, a valuable contribution to the 

 pathology of the disease. . 



F. L. Oswald. 



ANIMAL FKIENDSHIPS. 

 Messrs. Editors : 



An article on animal friendships, which 

 appeared not long since in " The Popular 

 Science Monthly," reminded me of a re- 

 markable instance that came under my own 

 observation a short time ago. 



While on a visit to a farmer in a neigh- 

 boring county, I was surprised to see a 

 magnificent, full-grown wild - turkey wan- 

 dering around with the fowls in his barn- 

 yard. On watching the turkey, I was still 

 more surprised to notice that she followed 

 particularly a large rooster ; the two seemed 

 to be on excellent terms, and frequently 

 strayed off from the main flock together. 

 Inquiring of the owner, I learned the fol- 

 lowing facts : Two of his children found a 

 few wild-turkeys' eggs in the forest and 

 brought them home, placing them under a 

 domestic turkey, with other eggs, to hatch. 

 Three of the wild-turkey eggs hatched, and 

 two of the chicks lived to grow up, but soon 



* " China tobacco " and niter are hardly less ob- 

 jectionable. Only three weeks apo Charles H. Cod- 

 man, the well-known liberal and political economist, 

 died from the effects of inhaling niter-fumes. ( Vide 

 p. 148 in Boston 'Index" of September 27, 1683.) 



