32 



the diagnosis a matter of doubt. Today the scientific physician takes a 

 few drops of blood from the finger of the patient, one drop he examines 

 for the malarial parasite, the other is used for making the serum test for 

 typhoid fever. In the one disease a few large doses of quinine usually 

 cures outright; in the case of typhoid fever little medicine is given, little 

 being required ; with good nursing, proper diet, and an abundance of pure 

 water and pure air, the patient is apt to recover. Although formerly no 

 exact diagnosis was possible, yet the treatment of cases was simple; qui- 

 nine, whisky, calomel and opium were standard remedies. Little atten- 

 tion was given to hygienic measures, the sickroom was often tightly closed, 

 with the exclusion of fresh air, and as a consequence there was bronchial 

 irritation, often bronchitis. Typhoid fever is not the fatal disease it was 

 considered to be in the early days, and the nurse has largely taken the 

 place of the doctor in the treatment. 



In the early days of Indiana, bleeding was in order in the treatment 

 of malaria, but this practice soon declined. Although the proper remedy 

 is quinine, yet for a long time it was given in insuflicient dosage. .Just as 

 too little water can be put on a fire, and fail to put it out, so too little 

 quinine can be given to cure a patient — and if you wait too long the fire 

 (or the disease) may become very destructive. It was customary to "pre- 

 pare the patient for the quinine." Some died before the preparation was 

 completed. The discovery of the Plasmodium malaria, the active cause 

 of the disease, was a great advance in medicine. But to look for the 

 parasite is not universal today ; some physicians find it easier to prescribe 

 before they are sure of the diagnosis — Dog fennel days still survive. 



The Days of Common European Weeds : The white man in his wan- 

 derings over the world has brought together a miscellaneous collection of 

 weeds, and these follow him wherever he goes. Today most of our com- 

 mon Indiana weeds are immigrants from Europe, where they have resisted 

 destruction for ages. The Amaranths and Chenopodiums when cut down 

 will sprout anew ; pulled up by the roots they take fresh hold while lying 

 prostrate on the ground ; if but a single plant ripen seed, the surrounding 

 country will soon be restocked. 



The white man in his wanderings has likewise collected a miscellan- 

 eous lot of diseases, and these, like his weeds, follow him wherever he 

 goes. A list of their names may be found in the daily mortality statistics 

 in the newspapers or in the advertisements of patent medicines. 



