216 
mestic purpose, ought never be per- 
‘mitted to be thrown out -upon the 
streets. Upon the same principle, rivu- 
lets ought not to be diminished by irri- 
gation, or by drawing off part of their 
water for the working of mills ; these, 
operations may be conducted by other 
means: but every running stream ought 
to be kept as much united and concen- 
trated as possible. In like manner, the 
splashing and waste of water at the pub- 
lic fountains, especially those within 
towns, ought to be prevented; other- 
wise the moistened mud and filth, 
‘always met with in such situations, 
afford a plentiful source of marsh 
miasma—in this way I have seen the 
yellow fever originate. Matters thrown 
out by the sea upon the shores ought 
to be collected and burnt in the dry 
season, or mixed with a quantity of 
fresh burnt lime: it may be then used 
as manure. 
But that which is most conducive for 
the preservation of health, in places on 
the coast, is to construct a wall or ram- 
part along the shore, stretching con- 
siderably beyond the limits of the town, 
and in such a manner as to have a 
depth of water of several feet on the 
outside, during every season, in ;what- 
ever direction the wind may blow. Low 
places, in, or situated near, towns liable 
to remittent fever, ought to be brought 
to a level with the contiguous streets 
or grounds; so as to prevent the rains 
collecting there, or humidity from other 
sources ; and the operation, for this pur- 
pose, ought to commence by strewing 
thick layers of quick-lime and sand 
alternately over the bottom, having a 
drain previously constructed, so as to 
carry off any superabundant humidity 
that may collect; the remainder of the 
hollow should then be filled with lime- 
stone, or any other pieces of rock, and 
the interstices filled with sand. 
In what are strictly called marshes, 
and which are too extensive to be drain- 
ed and filled up, the greatest possible 
care must be taken not to diminish the 
quantity of water they contain, as the 
more shallow such places are, so, in pro- 
portion, is the quantity and malignant 
qualities of the vapour extricated from 
them. Therefore, in such circumstan- 
ces, a considerable quantity of quick- 
lime, strewed frequently over the banks, 
and keeping the marshes as clean as pos- 
sible, are the only preventive measures 
that can be adopted regarding them :— 
taking every care also, that, as any par- 
Dr. Robertson on Remittent Fever.—Danish Traditions. [Nov.1, 
ticular spot becomes dry, the water be 
not allowed again to cover it. ‘This 
may be effected, in most cases, by 
trenches and banking; and by bringing 
such places into a state of cultivation. 
An opposite conduct, at Argostoli, bids 
fair, in the course of some years, to 
render that place uninhabitable :—a 
bridge, or rather rampart, having been 
carried across the creek ; whereby the 
supply of water, from its communication 
with the bay, is not equal to the quan- 
tity exhaled from the marshy grounds 
in the inland extremity. For this rea- 
son, the insalubrity of that place is in- 
creasing yearly. 
The lime employed in the operations 
above-mentioned must be fresh burnt, 
and taken immediately from the kiln, 
before it has been long exposed to the 
air; otherwise, itis unfit for the pur- 
poses for which I have recommended 
it. Quick-lime is a caustic earth, which, 
when mixed with animal and vegetable 
matters, speedily destroys their texture, 
and this more readily, in proportion to 
the quantity of humidity these contain. 
In situations favourable for the evolu- 
tion of marsh miasma, these organic 
matters are always mixed with a suffi- 
cient quantity of humidity ; andin such 
circumstances, it would seem, that the 
elementary parts of these matters are 
thereby modified into new combinations, _ 
naturally inoffensive to health : and per- 
haps this may also be occasioned by the 
high temperature produced on slacking 
the quick-lime; thereby occasioning a 
rapid evaporation of the humidity, pre- 
venting its decomposition, and the conse- 
quent evolution of the noxious miasma. 
Argostoli, Cefalonia, March 20, 1817. 
——a———— 
DanisH Trapitions and SuPERSTITIONS. 
(Continued from No. 409, p. 411.) 
Soeren Olsen’s Daughter. 
N the choir of the cathedral church at 
Roskilde, is a tomb-stone, on which 
is dépictured a skeleton ; around whose 
neck a snake has twisted itself. The 
tradition concerning this is as follows: 
—A nobleman of the name of Soeren 
Olsen, gave to his daughter a sum of 
money just before he travelled out of 
the land; commanding her as soon as 
she heared of his death to’ lay out the 
money to the best advantage for the 
use of the poor. But when the daughter 
received intelligence of the father’s _ 
death, she did not spend the money as 
he had directed her, but bought with it 
a costly gold chain, which she placed 
“round 
