OF THE MARSH POISOV. 28*7 



kind, and I shall therefore proceed to draw some conclusions, 

 which I think are fairly warranted from the facts and narrative 

 I have submitted. . : ; ..j , 



. d novoi'.|cili) Oil yfifu aiili 'Aiihli I ,onolB i- 



That the marsh poison cannot emanate from vegetable pu- 

 trefaction, I tliink must be 'evident from the fact, that it is 

 found most virulent and abuhdaht'on the driest surfaces ; of- 

 ten where vegetation never existed, or could exist for the tor- 

 rents, such as the deep and steep ravine of a dried water- 

 course, and thai it is'nevei* fbiihd in savannahs or plains, that 

 have been flooded ih' 'the' rainy season, till their surface has 

 been thoroughly exsiccated ; vegetation burnt up; and its pu- 

 trefaction rendered as impossible as the putrefaction of an 

 ■Egyptian mummy. .If this be doubted or denied, let us take 

 examples where vegetable putrefaction is self-evident, and exa- 

 mine whether it be productive of disease and death, similar to 

 ' what emanates from the marsh poison. Surely the evidence 

 of every dung heap, in every part of the world, will answer 

 the question in the negative; or if it be insisted that the poi- 

 son is generated from a c<itnbination of aiqueous and vegetable 

 putrefaction, let us- resort to the easy familiar illustration of a 

 West India sugar-ship, where the drainings of the sugar, mix- 

 ing with the bilge-water of the hold, creates a stench that is 

 absolutely suffocating to those unaccustomed to it ; yet fevers 

 are never known to be generated from such a combination. 

 These are familiar examples ; but I cannot think they should 

 be of less intrinsic value on that account, or be deemed less 

 conclusive. The Italians, to be sure, have published ordonan- 

 ces against the steeping of hemp in stagnant pools, but these 

 resemble many other ordonances relative to health everywhere ; 

 in overlooking the leading primary causes of the stagnant 

 pool, the autumnal season, and the malarious lands around, 



VOL. IX. p. II. o o and 



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