4 SMlTirSONIAN MISCKLI.ANKOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 63 



a ].ra(ti(al method of curt; ami lias done nmch to correct the earlier 

 iiiir<iuii<lc(l and mischievous notions that jjrevailed as to what was 

 necessary for the cure of tuberculosis. 



'J\-ikin^^ this institution as an example, let us see what bearing it 

 may have on our 5.,'eneral subject, the relation of the atmospheric air 

 to tuberculosis : 



(a) It is in the midst of an evergreen forest of over 10,000 square 

 miles; (b) the atmosphere is pure, or at least as pure as may be ob- 

 tained on the continent; (c) the air is moderately moist; (d) the 

 rainfall averages 35 inches; (e) the air is moderately rarified, ow- 

 ing I0 (f) an elevation of 1,750 feet; (g) owing to its northern 

 situation, (latitude 44°) and its elevation (1,750 feet) (h) the 

 climate is cold in winter and (i) subject to rather sudden changes 

 with an annual range of 50° C. or 138° F. 



CHAPTER II. VALUE OF FORESTS, MICRO-ORGANISMS, 

 ATMOSPHERIC IMPURITIES. 



GENERAL I'.ENEFIT OE FORESTS 



it has come to be an axiom in i)hthisiology that the air of an 

 evergreen forest is eminently suitable for a ])atient with tuberculo- 

 sis.* As we have previously mentioned, the pine forests of Libya 

 were used two thousand years ago for the cure of " ulcerated lungs." 

 At that ])eriod the pines abomided and gave the locality a reputation 

 as a health resort for affections of the lungs. But the ravages of 

 time, aided by fire and sword, not to s])eak of domestic needs, have 

 obliterated all vestiges of these ancient forests. 



The successful institutions located in the Hartz Mountains, the 

 Black Forest of Germany, in the Forest of Ardennes, the State 

 Forest Reserve of I'cnnsylvania, .'uul the Adirondack Forest in New 

 York owe much of their success to the abundant use of the purest 

 air both day and night. 



lun-opean (iovernments h;ive long recognized the great value of 



' tlir i(.ll(.\\ iiiK (|U()lalinn from Pliny shows thai it was Kcnorally agreed 

 ill his (lay that the forests and especially those which abound in pitch and 

 balsam are (he most beneficial to consumptives or those who do not gather 

 strength after loii^ illness, and ihal they are of more value than the voyage 

 to Egypt: 



" Sylvas, eas duntaxat (piae picis resinaetpie gratia redantur, utilissimas 

 esse i)hthisicis, aut qui longa aegritudinc non recolligant vires, satis constat ; 

 ct ilium coeli acra plus ita quam navigationem Aegyptian proficere, plus quam 

 lactis herbidos per nidiitium aestiva potus." — C. Plinii, Hist. Nat. lib. xxiv, 

 Cap. C. 



