HOOKER 



2831 



HOOSAC TUNNEL 



man, he again distinguished himself in the 

 attack on Atlanta. In 1864 he was relieved 

 of command, and after taking charge of several 

 minor departments retired from service in 1868. 



HOOKER, MOUNT, one of the highest eleva- 

 tions of the Rocky Mountain range in Canada, 

 on the boundary between the provinces of 

 Alberta and British Columbia. Mount Hooker, 

 together with a nearby peak, Mount Brown, 

 was first reported by David Douglass, an Eng- 

 lish botanist, when he traveled through that 

 country in 1826. Hooker was named for two 

 mountain-climbing scientists of the party. The 

 mountain rises to a height of 10,505 feet, but 

 at one time, before accurate measurements 

 were taken, it was supposed to be over 15,000 

 feet high. The mountains in its vicinity in 

 British Columbia contain gold, lead, copper, 

 silver and coal. 



HOOK 'WORM, a parasite found in dirty 

 water or mud, which attaches itself to the 

 feet and legs of persons wading or walking in 

 it, rapidly penetrates the skin and is carried 

 by the blood to the lungs. From the lungs it 

 is raised with the mucus which is always pres- 

 ent, and finds its way into the throat or mouth, 

 and is then swallowed, finally finding lodg- 

 ment in the small intestines. By means of 

 hooks, from which its name is derived, it at- 

 taches itself to the mucous membrane and 

 sucks blood and nourishment from the sur- 

 rounding tissues. It may also be swallowed 

 with unclean vegetables which are eaten raw, or 

 with dirty water. 



Symptoms. Loss of weight and strength, 

 with a pale, watery condition of the blood, are 

 prominent symptoms. The presence of the eggs 

 of the hookworm in the bowel discharges make 

 its existence certain. Its usual permanent loca- 

 tion is the upper part of the small intestine, 

 though occasionally it may find its way to the 

 kidneys or the lungs, there finding lodgment. 

 Later symptoms are abdominal pain, loss of 

 appetite, alternating diarrhoea and constipation, 

 progressive weakness, followed by dropsy and 

 death. 



Treatment. Under the watchful eye of the 

 physician the use of thymol has been found to 

 kill the hookworm, a preceding fasting and 

 laxative treatment being necessary. To lessen 

 the disease, if not entirely to prevent it, water 

 for drinking should be boiled or well filtered, 

 vegetables should be thoroughly clean, and 

 people should refrain from walking barefooted 

 in water 'or mud in localities where hookworm 

 is known to be prevalent. 



Where Found. The hookworm has a wide 

 distribution in tropical and subtropical coun- 

 tries of America, but properly inhabits the 

 older-settled hemisphere, Southern Europe, 

 (Italy, Austria and Switzerland) and the re- 

 gions of the Mediterranean on Asiatic as well 

 as African shores. Occasionally an imported 

 case is found in some seaport of the United 

 States. S.C.B. 



Consult pamphlets issued by the Public Health 

 Service of the United States Department of the 

 Interior, as. Report on the Prevalence and Geo- 

 graphic Distribution of Hookworm Disease; 

 Hookworm Disease: Its Nature and Prevention. 



HOOPOE, hoo'poo, a bird related to the 

 kingfisher and hornbill, widely distributed 

 throughout the warmer parts of Europe, Asia 

 and Africa. The best-known species is the 

 common hoopoe of Europe, which is about 

 twelve inches 

 long, with a slen- 

 der, sharp bill 

 and a crest 

 formed of two 

 parallel rows of 

 feathers which it 

 can erect at will. 

 Its general color 

 is buff, with black 

 and white mark- 

 ings on wings and 

 tail. It feeds on 

 insects and makes 

 its nest in a hole 



in a tree or wall; THE HOOPOE 



its eggs are white. Another species, found only 

 in South Africa, is called the wood-hoopoe; it 

 has glossy black plumage, a long, tapering tail 

 and no crest. It is a noisy, restless bird, and, 

 like the true hoopoe, emits a strong, disagree- 

 able odor. 



HOOSAC, hoo'sak, TUNNEL, the longest 

 tunnel in America, nearly five miles in length, 

 piercing the Hoosac Mountain in Massa- 

 chusetts. It was constructed for the Boston 

 & Maine Railroad; it is 137 miles from Boston 

 and fifty-four miles from Troy, N. Y. Experi- 

 mental work on it was undertaken in 1851; 

 active tunneling w r as commenced in 1856 and 

 was completed in 1873. The tunnel contains 

 two tracks, is twenty-four feet wide and twenty- 

 two feet eight inches in height. Work was com- 

 menced at the same time at both ends and also 

 from a shaft sunk to a depth of 1,028 feet in 

 the center. This shaft is now used for ventila- 

 tion and affords a good supply of fresh air. 



