Pi'oceedinfjs of lite Rof/al Socletf/ of Victoria. 285 



time afterwards it mioht happen that the child was seized 

 with violent general > convulsions. The child's violent 

 struofglings, and the comatose condition which followed, ha<l 

 no effect in healing the burn or allaying the irritation. We 

 were not, therefore, of necessity to suppose that any violent 

 manifestation, such as sneezing, served a good purpose. 

 The irritation of the nose which usually preceded sneezing 

 w«s very regularly accompanied with watering of the eyes, 

 so that the flow of the water from the eyes would largely 

 contribute to the washing out process. The question was 

 one of considerable interest, and it was very striking to iind 

 that nearly all the best authorities on physiology seemed, as 

 lie really believed after thinking the matter over, to bo 

 manifestly wrorg in the interpretation the}' put upon it. 



Mr. Hogg said that several instances occurred to him 

 which seemed to show that a blast came through the nose 

 in tlie act of sneezing. If one irritated the nose with snuff, 

 immediately one sneezed a portion of the snuff' was blown 

 on the handkerchief, and it was very obvious that the snuff 

 had come down the nasal passages. It could hardly be 

 supposed that it had been washed down, it certainly seemed 

 to have been blown down by a blast of air. If one were so 

 unfortunate as to sneeze when in the act of drinking, the 

 liquid would be forced down the nasal passage, which 

 seemed to indicate that there was some blast of air down 

 the nose. Whether it was entirely through the nose, or 

 entirely through the throat, was another question. Different 

 ]jeo])le sneezed in different waj's, and the noise produced 

 was different. A friend of his in sneezing made a noise 

 exactly like others did in coughing ; it was a noise not 

 coming from the mouth or nose, but from the pharynx, as in 

 coughing. Of course the question could be set at rest 

 by experimenting, but it seemed to him that there must 

 unquestionably be a blast down the nostrils. 



Dr. Dkxdy said he was very susceptible to hay fever, as it 

 was called, but he thought it was a great mistake to call it 

 hay fever. When he lived in London, if he emerged from 

 the underground I'ailway, the sudden strong light an<l 

 the dust would cause him to sneeze violently. The smell of 

 grass would bring it on, and so would the dust of Melbourne, 

 and it was always accompanied with violent watering of the 

 eyes and running of the nose. He was inclined to agree 

 with Dr. Barrett. 



