DISEASES. 393 



of the country. There seems to be an opinion amongst the 

 writers on this subject, that the climate of the west is two or 

 three degrees milder than the east, under the same parallel of 

 latitude the winters of the latter being more severe, and the 

 summers of the former cooler. Judging from human feeling, 

 this may perhaps appear to be the case from the influence of the 

 sea air, in the country bounded by the Atlantic, but the ther 

 mometer observations which have been published seem to make 

 the temperature nearly alike at the same altitude on both sides 

 of the Alleghanies. The meteorology of the United States has 

 not, however, been properly investigated, and the most im 

 portant difference to the farmer, in the climate of the two 

 countries, is a deeper fall of snow in the east than in the west, 

 and a steadier winter. 



To the east of the Alleghany mountains, where north-east 

 winds prevail in spring, consumption is a frequent complaint 

 with the human race, and more especially near the sea-coast, 

 the air being particularly keen at certain seasons, This disease 

 is most frequent in the New England states, where the cold 

 and dampness of the north-east wind is strongly felt. The 

 inhabitants of New England have not that dark seered com 

 plexion so common in other parts of the Union, many of them 

 closely resembling the people of Britain. It is probable the 

 florid complexion of the people, and their proneness to con 

 sumption, arise from the dampness of the climate. To the 

 west of the Alleghanies, the most common complaint is bilious 

 fever, in every variety of type, passing by the names of 

 &quot; ague,&quot; &quot; chill and fever,&quot; and many etceteras. Fe vei 

 ls essentially a disease of the country, and seems connected 

 with the luxuriance and decay of natural vegetation. In every 

 part of inhabited America, fever, originating from this cause, 

 must be frequent, and will be more severe towards the south, 

 as the heat and length of summer increase. It is common on 

 the banks of rivers and on the prairies, from exhalations pro 

 duced by the rays of the sun ; and on first clearing wood lands, 

 the same effects are produced. With the progress of cultiva 

 tion, fever is likely to abate, and I have no doubt the fatality 

 of the disease in this region is at present heightened by the 

 quantities of animal food consumed by the inhabitants. On 



