0' C ALL AGH AN OCEAN LIFE. 



induce it. This highly dangerous belief led to the 

 performance of the most outrageous practices on the 

 part of those who did not wish to bear children. For- 

 tunately, in the interest of humanity and the good of 

 society, better instruction has promulgated the truth 

 that the soul the life begins at the moment of con- 

 ception, and the destruction of that life is equally 

 criminal at any time. Ordinary natural labor should 

 be regarded as a physical healthy act, and labor, 

 whether that of miscarriage or abortion, is pathological, 

 never occurring without more or less injury to the 

 general system. 



There are many diseases incident to pregnancy which 

 become of importance as they may induce premature 

 delivery, hence their study comes within the scope of 

 the obstetrician. Of these may be mentioned exces- 

 sive vomiting, occasionally going to such an extent as 

 to bring on labor, or to so threaten the life of the 

 woman as to brinsr up the question of the induction of 

 labor for her relief; albuminuria, in which condition 

 the blood becomes so loaded with injurious matter 

 that the woman is often placed in a very critical condi- 

 tion, and is threatened with convulsions and death ; 

 disorders of the circulation and of the respiration dis- 

 orders of secretion and excretion ; disorders of the 

 nervous system ; finally, serious displacements of the 

 gravid womb. 



Labor may be defined as the effort of the pregnant 

 womb to extrude its contents, and it becomes natural 

 or otherwise as it varies from the proper time for its 

 occurrence, and as it is complicated or connected with 

 disorders or disturbances which more or less interfere 

 with its proper or speedy completion. 



A natural labor rarely exceeds 24 hours in its dura- 

 tjon. Tliis is from the commencement of the dilata- 

 tion of the mouth of the womb to the completion of 

 delivery. Many accounts of labors of inordinate length 

 are based upon a calculation from the inception of 

 apparent labor pains. Instances are constantly occur- 

 ring in which the labor has been regarded as extending 

 over many days or even weeks. These are usually 

 known as false pains, and are due to a variety of 

 causes, as fatigue, excessive exertion, rheumatism, and 

 the like. The first labor is usually longer in duration 

 than any subsequent ones. .So invariably is this the 

 rule that it is generally safe for the obstetrician to pre- 

 dict a much shorter time and a more easy delivery in 

 subsequent labors. Of course this alludes to such 

 cases where it is known that there is no abnormal con- 

 dition df the parts. Yet, even in cases where there 

 has been great irregularity, nature unaided shows a 

 wonderful power, spontaneous delivery having fre- 

 quently taken place under the most nntoward circum- 

 stances. This is the only means by which such mon- 

 strosities as the Siamese twins, or that more recent 

 one, the double woman, could have been delivered 

 alive and undivided. 



At present the art of obstetrics has arrived at such 

 a stage that the skill of the obstetrician is able to 

 deliver alive and with safety to the mother many 

 infants who otherwise must inevitably have perished, 

 and perhaps have involved the mother, either causing 

 her death or permanent invalidism. This is shown 

 by the great success which now follows the operation 

 of Caesarean section ; the scientific employment of the 

 forceps ; tuniing ; and the induction of premature 

 labor ; the prevention or relief of puerperal eclampsia. 

 i-tr. The study of the art of obstetrics is now regarded 

 as of equal importance with the other brandies nf med- 

 icine, and is one of the seven fundamental branches, 

 taught by a separate professor in all medical schools. 



The best works for consultation in the study of obstetrics 

 are those of Leuhiiian, Churchill, Tarnier's Cazeaux, etc. 



(W. B. A.) 



O'CALLAGHAN, EDMKVD BAILKY (1799-1880), 

 antiquarian, was born at Mallow, Ireland, in 1799. He 

 went to France in 1821, and to Canada in 1823. He 



75 



began the practice of medicine in 1827, but became 

 editor of the Montreal Vindicator in 1834. After the 

 insurrection of 1837 he removed to New York, and in 

 1848 he was appointed keeper of the historical manu- 

 scripts in the office of the secretary of state at Albany. 

 In 1870 lie removed to New York city, where he con- 

 tinued his historical labors till his death on May 27 T 

 1880. He had edited for the State the Documentary 

 History of New York(\l vpls., 1849, sqq.); Documents 

 Relating to the Colonial History nf New York (1 1 vols., 

 1855-61) ; Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War 

 of the Revolution (1868), and other works. He also 

 published a History of New Netherlands (2 vols.. 

 1845-48). 



OCCUM, SAMSON (1723-1792), Indian preacher, 

 was born near New London, Conn., about 1723. He 

 was educated at Rev. Ebenezer Wheelock's Indian 

 school, at Lebanon, Conn., and afterwards taught 

 school at Montauk, L. I. In 1766 he was taken to 

 England by llev. Dr. Whitaker, who went to raise 

 funds for the Indian schools. These funds became the 

 endowment of Dartmouth College (q. v.). Occuin 

 after his return preached in Long Island, chiefly to the 

 Indians. He wrote an account of the Montauk Indians 

 and a hymn, "Awaked by Sinai's Awful Sound." 

 He died at New Stockbridge, N. Y., in July, 1792. 



OCEAN LIFE in most of its forms has been fully 

 treated in the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. This 

 article treats briefly of the important discoveries that 

 have been made of recent years concerning the life- 

 forms of the deep sea, the unexpected and surprising 

 information that has been attained by careful dredging 

 under scientific direction. It was long believed, indeed, 

 that the depths of the ocean were quite incapable of 

 sustaining animal life from lack of the necessary con- 

 ditions of food and light, and from the immense press- 

 ure of the water at great depths, and it was argued 

 that the lowest limit of penetration of light, which was 

 believed to be about 40 or 50 fathoms, probably 

 formed the lower boundary of ocean life. Late research 

 has disproved all this. It is now known that light 

 penetrates the water to a considerably greater depth 

 than was supposed, and that animal life of high forms 

 exists far below the utmost possible limit of light pene- 

 tration. 



Scientific efforts to dredge the ocean bottom began 

 in the last century, but none of these extended to great 

 depths, and it was not until recently that dredging 

 below the 100-fathorn line was attempted. The earliest 

 revelation as to the life-forms of the deeper ocean was 

 made in 1819, when Sir John Ross, during his first 

 Arctic voyage, sounded to a depth of 1000 fathoms, 

 and brought up strange forms of life attached to his 

 sounding-line. Yet it was not till 1838 that a strong 

 interest in deep-sea dredging began to display itself; 

 Dr. R. Ball, of Dublin, in that year devising a greatly 

 improved form of the naturalists' dredge. Previously 

 a square-mouthed dredge had been used, with a purse- 

 net attached to hold the collections. He constructed 

 his dredge with an oblong, narrow mouth of about 12 

 by 4 inches, and attached scraping edges to both sides, 

 so that it might do its work no matter how it fell. In 

 the same year the Wilkes exploring expedition did 

 some deep-sea dredging, while in 1840 Sir James Ross 

 dredged to a depth pi over 400 fathoms, and proved 

 that the sea was prolific at that depth. Many others, 

 both in Europe and America, followed this example, 

 but no greater depth was attained till 1 860, when in 

 the voyage of the Bulldog, sent to examine a proposed 

 northern cable route, the sounding-line brought up 13 

 star-fishes from a depth of 1260 fathoms. These were 

 attached to a part of the line that had lain for some 

 time on the bottom, but many naturalists considered 

 it possible that the animals might have clasped the line 

 on its way up. A telegraph-cable, which had been 

 laid across the Mediterranean from Sardinia to Africa, 

 and which was lifted in 1861. was found to be covered 

 with animals in parts that ban been 2000 fathoms deep. 



