STATE AGRICULTURAL BOCIETY. 329 



invigoration, and there is a sense of buoyancy and vitality experienced in 

 no other climate. 

 The therapeutical effect of the climate is essentially tonic and suited 



only to certain classes of invalids. 



Diphtheria, puerperal, typhoid, and malarial fevers are unknown. The 

 exanthemata seldom occur, and. when they do. they appear in their mild- 

 est form. This does not hold true of those large towns on the coast whose 

 intrinsic nncleanliness is often sufficient to partially overcome and destroy 

 the purifying effect of the ocean breezes. 



( )n the other hand, certain diseases are so frequently met with as to ren- 

 der it almost certain that they are fostered by our peculiar climate. These 

 are rheumatism, neuralgia, bronchial affections, and diseases of the liver. 



There is no reason to suppose that this climate would not favorably 

 affect consumption, provided it is not accompanied with serious bronchial 

 lesions. Possibly experience will prove what theory points out, viz.: that 

 this is the climate par excellence, tor it combines tonic qualities with a tem- 

 perature so moderate as to permit of outdoor exercise at all times of the 

 dav. Patients should he warned against "overcoat colds." Underclothing, 

 composed of flannel and chamois leather, will prevent much of the discom- 

 fort complained of by those who arc thin blooded. 



THERAPEUTICS OF THE COAST CLIMATE. 



It is presumed that certain diseases known as endemic depend on loca- 

 tion, and that they are the result of contamination of either soil, air, or 

 water. This influence has been noted from the earliest date of recorded 

 medical observations. Hippocrates thus hegins his essay on "airs, waters, 

 and places:" "When one wishes to properly investigate diseases, he 

 should begin as follows: After first taking into consideration the seasons 

 of the year, he should watch the effects they produce, for these effects vary 

 with the changes of the seasons. Then the winds should he watched 

 whether they be hot or cold, not only those that are common to all coun- 

 tries, but more especially such as are peculiar to one place. * * * 

 Likewise, when one enters a city with which he is unacquainted, he should 

 observe with care its situation with reference to the wind and sun. Its 

 influence varies with its situation, north or south, to the rising or the set- 

 ting sun." 



The malignant "east wind," so often mentioned in sacred and profane 

 histories as being loaded with miasms, plagues, and as an instrument for 

 the accomplishment of divine justice, was nothing but the dry, hot, scorch- 

 ing simoon, the injurious effect of which was due solely to the fact that it 

 absorbs moisture, not only from trees and plants, but from animals as well, 

 rendering the mouth, throat, nostrils, and bronchial tubes dry and parched, 

 and, by its great power of absorption from the skin, drying up the fluids of 

 the body. It is this wind which, in the early Summer months, prevails in 

 the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, blasting vegetation, and bring- 

 ing latent diseases into activity. It is because of this rapid evaporation 

 from the skin that the great heat (sometimes, and possibly erroneously, . 

 registered at 120° and over) is borne. This evaporation cools the body, 

 and renders the heat bearable, but, for reasons just given, it is not the 

 unmixed blessing so often claimed. Its therapeutical effect is worthy of 

 an investigation more thorough than has yet been given it, and which can 

 only be successfully prosecuted by a resident observer. 



Beyond all question, certain districts which are characterized by altitude 

 and dryness present a class of diseases very different to those where the 



