I30 



*'some direct influence on the lung tissue in con- 

 *' sumptives, .... but a little thought will shew them 

 *' that it is not the influence of open air on the lungs 

 *' which brings about the cure of pulmonary tubercu- 

 *'losis, but that it is the influence of pure air and 

 ""sunlight on the blood, and through it on all the other 

 *' tissues of the body, and chiefly the nervous tissues, 

 "by which the good results are obtained. Fresh air 

 "heightens metabolism "^ in every way, and raises 

 *' all the tissues to their highest point of resistance, so 

 *' that they do not succumb to the persistent attacks 

 "of the poisons constantly carried hither and thither 

 "by the circulating blood. The nervous system 

 " responds the most readily to the purer and richer 

 *' pabulum brought to its inmost recesses by the blood, 

 " and as its cells are better nourished, so its trophic 

 " influence is maintained, and the metabolism and 

 "growth of all the tissues is ensured and maintained 

 "at its highest, and they are thus e7iabled either 

 " actively to beat off, or else passively to refuse to succumb 

 " to the specific poisojis of any diseased \ 



A careful consideration of these words, penned by 

 no mean authorit3% and pregnant with the wisdom 

 which comes of intelligent thought and reasoning, 

 will show us what is the right course to pursue with 

 our feathered captives — at an}^ rate with those which 

 are not irretrievably injured when they come into our 

 hands. Even these however may as well die in an 

 outdoor quarantine as indoors, while those which are 

 not beyond recovery from the eff'ects of foul air and 

 unclean feeding wnll stand a better chance if they are 

 immediately removed to the best surroundings 

 possible to us. 



• Ey metabolism is meaut the collective chemical changes which are 

 constantly going on in the body, and which constitute the act of living. In 

 other words it signifies the process of changing inert substances— food— 

 into Hving tissues. W. G. C. 



t British Medical Journal, Feb. 28, 1903. 



