30 



ANALOGIES OF WEEDS AND DISEASES. 



The Days ok Few Weeds and of I/Ittle Disease: Tlie first settlers 

 cultivated only small patclies of gi'ound. often only a "truck patch" ; there 

 were few kinds of weeds and these were natives and easily destroyed. 

 Tlie Ragweed (Ainbroshi arteniisia-folia) was probably the chief among 

 them. 



Of the diseases of the native Indians at the time the white man first 

 came among them, we know nothing, Imt we do know that their life was 

 not conducive to the evolution and pro])agation and dissemination of dis- 

 eases, and we can assume that, in all i)robabllity. they were practically 

 free from disease. Men who live in isolation, and in proportion as they 

 do live in isolation, are almost free from the common pus formers, tlie 

 Staphylococci and Streptococci, with an alisence of many of the common 

 ailments of life depemlent more or less on them. 



'! he early settlers were a hardy set of men and women ; tlu'y had left 

 their weak and feeble behind, ami tiiey led a hapjyy life, especially in the 

 northern part of the State where the Indians were not savage or warlike, 

 owing mainly to the influence of the French pioneers. There were few 

 weeds and likewise few diseases; they had left both behind. But they 

 found at least one native disease, nainelv milk sickness, or in other words, 

 the.y found the cause of it, and when this got into the body, through the 

 use of infected milk or the liesh of cattle with the trembles, a reaction 

 came on, and this reaction was called Milk Sickness — a disease about 

 which there has been nnich discussion. 



The Days of Dog Fennel and Jims(jn Weed — Of Malaiua and Ty- 

 phoid Fever: The Dog fennel came in early, from Europe. .Jimson is a 

 corruption of Jalnesto^^'n, the early colonial .settlement iu Virginia. Both 

 weeds flourish iu neglected places, on farms, in villages and in towns ; 

 they disappear with the advance of progress and civilization. On clean 

 farms and in clean villages and towns we see no Dog fennel today — but 

 there are still Dog fennel towns in Indiana. 



Malaria and Ty])hoid fever may api)ropriately be compared and con- 

 trasted with these two weeds; both were lirougbt in by the white man. 

 Malaria came first and was Ivuown as "The Fever." \Mien typlioid fever 

 came in it was called "Continued Fever," to distinguish it from malaria 

 also known as "I'eriodical Fever." Fntil the decade 1S40-1S.10, physicians 

 the world over were not able to clearly diffeivntiafe typhoid fever, it was 



