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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1883, 



every eight houi-s, or oftener it requii-ed. Immetliately after 

 give a teaspoonful of houyy and sulphur, wliich is to be 

 slowly swallowed. I tried sulphur aud glycerine, but found 

 that it made the patients sick. 



2nd. Pour boiling water on blue gum leaves and let the 

 steam be inhaled day and night. Drawing steam through an 

 inhaler, or holding the head over a jug, is a most weari- 

 some process, and you find that patients, e,specially childi-en, 

 soon get tired of it, so I order the pau, jar, or jug con- 

 taininy iiu; Lifusiou to be placed on a chair beside the bed 

 and a tent of the bed-clothes to be placed over it and 

 the patient's head. This conveys the steam to the patient 

 without exhausting him. Children will submit to this for 

 hours without complaint, as they soon feel the soothing 

 effect, all uneasiness and pain in the throat leaving. Of 

 cour.se iu the milder cases the steaming does not want to 

 be used so often, once every hour for twenty minutes being 

 enough. If the larynx and air passages become affected, 

 which is at once known by the breathing becoming difficult 

 and croupy, or if there is rhfiiculty in swallowing, the 

 steaming must be carried on coutinuou.sly for hom-s. Iu 

 several cases, after five or six hours' constant steaming, 

 complete casts of the air passages were coughed up, and 

 the breathing became easy at once. 



One young lady, tapping the upjier part of her sternum, 

 said, "It is here." She could not swallow a teaspoonful 

 of water ; her lips were blue, and her face of a dusky hue ; 

 but after hours of constant steaming the membrane was 

 coughed up, aud the breathing became at once easy. She 

 told me the next day, "The steam saved my life." I ask, 

 what other remedy except steam would have removed this 

 mechanical impediment to the breathing? In one case 

 where steaming was not carried out the little patient 

 (aged 8) was semi-asphLxiated for three days before death 

 put an end to her torments. It was the first case of the 

 epidemic I saw, and was not able to sufficiently impre.ss 

 the attendants with the importance of the constant use 

 of steam. 



One young lady, aged 19, had no membrane perceivable, 

 with the exception of a very thin film, when I first saw 

 her, which I removed with the mop, and yet on the eighth 

 and ninth day the breathing gradually became difficult and 

 the face dusky. After hours of constant steaming she 

 coughed up large patches of membrane. Force must not 

 be used in mopping or swabbing the throat. Apply the 

 mop and firmly twist it round aud leave any that will not 

 come away. You must not make the throat bleed or form 

 any sores through which the organisms can enter into the 

 blood. 



In blue gum steam we have a most perfect disinfectant, 

 as in no case after the first twenty-four hours was the 

 breatli unpleasant and the swelling in the neck quickly 

 subsided. Towards night the patients generally became 

 feverish and restless and unable to sleep and it was wonder- 

 ful to watch the soothing effect of the steam. A bucket 

 was generally placed in the room containing blue gum water 

 and a red-hot poker placed in it, which at once filled the 

 room with steam, and very shortly one child after another 

 would fall asleep. I generally gave a fever mixture, con- 

 taining Sp. Ath. Nit., Pot. Nit., Sp. Chloro. Liq. Am. Acet. 

 and Aqu. Camph. Blue gum leaves or sulphur poultices 

 around the throat at the commencement. 



As a rule most of the little patients suffered very little, 

 laughing and playing in bed. I found that the fresh air 

 had to be excluded, as on openiug the windows even in 

 this mild climate, the breatliiug quickly became difficult. 

 The blue gum steam purified the atmosphere of the room ; 

 in fact I never detected any smell in any of the patients 

 room but blue gum. The unaffected children were every 

 evening congregated arouud the bucket of blue gum water, 

 and every room fimiigated with it, and all the ch-ains flushed 

 with the refuse water. 



Twenty-four cases were treated as above, with the death 

 of one infant, aged eight months. There were six other 

 children ill in the same family, and not one case of paralysis 

 has occurred amongst them, although two treated by their 

 parents with sulphur are both badly affected. 



I think that I can claim for the above treatment: 



1st. Great simplicity. 



2nd. That it follows Nature's own way of getting rid 

 of the membrane — namely, by suppmation. 



3rd, That it prevents paralysis from foUowiog. 



4th. That it cures the severest cases. 



Hikorangi, where this epidemic occurred is sixteen miles 

 from here, aud is about 300ft. above sea level, being ex- 

 posed to sweeping muds. The soil is light and porous, 

 and there are no swamps in the neighbourhood; in fact, 

 it has always been considered the healthiest spot of this 

 very healthy province (Taranaki). The district is inhabited 

 by small farmers, a very sober, hard-working class, all very 

 comfortably off, aud their houses and surroundings very 

 clean. Most of the children in this province suffer very 

 severely from round worms. I saw one child this morning, 

 aged 3, who has brought away twenty-two within the week. 

 Most of those who suffered from diphtheria brought away 

 several. 



The question naturally arises as to the cause of this 

 epidemic. I found that several of the first affected com- 

 plained of their throats after pa.ssing a putrid horse close 

 to the roadside. The children often complained of the 

 school well water, wliich passes through a submerged 

 forest 20ft. below the surface. A very severe epidemic of 

 diphtheria appeared in this province twenty years ago, and 

 only a few of those attacked recovered, burning the throat 

 with caustic being the only treatment ; and when it again 

 visited the province the settlers became in a measiu*e 

 panic-struck, thinking there was no cure to it ; many linng 

 miles in the bush away from a medical man, aud too poor 

 to pay for attendance. I adopted a course which, under 

 other circumstances — would not be considered professional 

 to many, that of publishing in the local i^ajjers a short 

 account of the above treatment, feeling that I was perfectly 

 justified in so doing, having such perfect confidence in the 

 means I gave, not only of curing the disease, but also 

 of preventing the .spread of so deugerous an epidemic; and 

 the resTfilt has proved itself beyond my most sanguina 

 expectation, as I was able to coufine it to one small district. 

 In six cases the membrane extended to the bronchial tubes, 

 and yet the patient recovered. — Qiieenslander. 



Khat, Oafta, ok Ab.abias Tea. — With the Arabs 

 Ciitha etlidis is a plant of some importance, inasmuch a 

 it fm-nishes them with one of the necessities of life in 

 every country, namely, tea. What the leaves of Camellia 

 Thcu is to us, those of Catlia edulis is to them. The plant is 

 of a shrubby nature, growing about ten feet high, with 

 smooth, elliptical, serrate leaves, two or more inches long, 

 and about an inch wide. They are peculiar in being arranged 

 on some branches opposite to each other, and on others alter- 

 nate. The flowers are small aud white. The plant is largely 

 cultivated in the interior of Arabia, mostly in gardens along 

 with coffee. For the purposes of commerce, the twigs, with 

 the leaves attached, are gathered and carefully dried; they 

 are made up into closely-pressed bundles of different sizes, 

 the quality being known by the form and size of the bundles, 

 the best of which are about a foot or fifteen inches long, and 

 three inches wide ; about forty slender twigs compose these 

 bundles which are tied together with strips of bark. The 

 bundles, are sent into Aden from the place of cultivation in 

 the interior of Arabia iu very large quantities, and sell at an 

 average price for good quahty for about two annas per bundle, 

 the use of this tea in Arabia is said to antedate that of 

 coffee; the effects of its use are described as similar to those 

 of strong Chinese green tea. In consequence of its stimulat- 

 ing effects khat was at one time classed by the people as an 

 intoxicant ; the use of intoxicating substances being forbidden 

 by the Koran, this fell under condemnation. A .synod of 

 learned Mussulm.ans, however, made a decree that as it neither 

 injured the health nor hindered the proper observance of 

 reUgious duties, Init simply increased good humom- and 

 hilarity, it was perfectly lawful to use it. Besides the use 

 of the leaves in the preparation of a beverage, the Arabs 

 also chew them both iu the green and dried states, the eff 

 ect of which is to increase the flow of hilarity or mirth 

 and to produce extreme wakefulness and watchfulness, so 

 that a man may fulfil the duties of sentry all night without 

 a feeling of drowsiness, an effect somewhat similar to that 

 produced by coca. The plant is considered by the Arabs as 

 an antidote to the plague, aud they also say that infection 

 cannot be contracted if a twig is carried about about the 

 person. About 300 camel-loads are brought into Aden iu 

 the cour.se of a year. — Iitdigo Planters' Gazette. 



