BY J. BANCROFT, ESQ., M.D. U3 
Regarding the population, we find that the physical powers of 
our Australian youth are not surpassed by those in the Northern 
Hemisphere, and laurels were won by us in cricket and now in 
boating. The population of the Northern Queensland coast 
towns shows no signs of deterioration, and boys and girls born 
in the tropical latitudes that come to Brisbane to school are good 
samples of Australian youth. They are not so rosy as the inhabi- 
tants of Tasmania and New Zealand, but are their equals in 
physical endurance. 
Confining myself more to local affairs and particularly to 
questions of health, I may state that the parasitic diseases due to 
the presence or hydatids and filaria, demand special remark. 
The latter (i.e. filaria) is a parasite that inhabits various struc- 
tures of the body, and voids its embryonic brood into the circu- 
lating blood. It causes chyluria, lymphatic varicosities, elephan- 
toid limbs and growths. Judging from the hospital records of 
the late Dr Barton, before referred to, I am of opinion that we 
are indebted to the earlier Chinese immigration for this parasi- 
tic disease—filaria—as well as for the less important affection, 
leprosy. Some years since—from 1876 to 1880—filaria disease 
was very common among our town children, some eighty cases 
being under my observation. I have now to chronicle that the 
investigations of the last five years show the disease to be extend- 
ing little or no further in the city; the outlying towns where 
the water is defective contribute the only fresh cases of chyluria 
and lymph tumours that fall under medical treatment. Though 
this is not a medical paper, I may mention that in May, 1883, 
I verified the opinion that the disease called scleroderma was a 
form of elephantiasis, and was caused by the presence of filaria. 
The account of this discovery has formed the subject of a com- 
munication to Dr. Cobbold, of London. Mosquitoes take up 
embryonic filaria with the blood they suck, then carrying them 
to open tanks and wells perish in the water, which becomes 
polluted with filaria. The fact was discovered by Dr. Manson, 
