246 



THE 1RR1GA110K AGE. 



ment to prevent the patient from 

 falling into a melancholia which 

 can but prove disastrous. 



Other conditions being equal, 

 there is no question that tubercular 

 cases improve much more rapidly, 

 and a very much larger percentage 

 of permanent recoveries are found 

 where the relative humidity is the 

 lowest. 



While there are many good cli- 

 mates, theie are none presenting 

 exactly the conditions found in the 

 vicinity of Phoenix, viz: highest 

 annual temperature, lowest relative 

 humidity and least wind movement. 

 No other region even approximates 

 to these advantages. 



The average' annual rainfall is 

 about 7 inches, as compared with 

 34 inches at Ashville, North Caro- 

 lina; ei^ht-tenths of this falls dur- 

 ing the months of July and August. 

 The relative humidity at the Phoenix 

 weather station is 36%, which is 

 lower than that of any other city 

 in the aria belt. 



The method pursued by the more 

 modern sanitarium at present, par- 

 ticularly in Germany and at Davos, 

 Switzerland, is to give the tubercu- 

 lar patient as nearly as possible an 

 absolute out-door existance. There 

 is no place in America where this 

 end can be attained with greater 

 success than in the Salt River 

 Valley. 



Undoubtedly the best results are 

 being secured in pulmonary cases 

 by a tent-life on the desert at the 

 foot-hills which extend to within 

 ten miles of Phoenix. Indeed, many 

 people sleep in the open air all win- 

 ter, although it is not so common a 

 practice as it should be when car- 

 ried out under intelligent directions. 



Phoenix can probably offer more 

 inducements in the way of amuse- 

 ment than any town in the territory. 

 A good theatre offers some of the 

 best attractions on the road, Phoe 

 nix being on one of the transconti- 

 nental lines of railway and an easy 



stopping point for companies going 

 from the East to the Pacific Coast. 



In midwinter a week is devoted 

 to "La Fiesta," a thoroughly cur- 

 ious and interesting event, modeled 

 somewhat after the holiday amuse- 

 ments of Old Mexico. 



Good horses are numerous and 

 cheap and there are plenty of 

 vaqueros (cowboys the genuine 

 article) to show w T hat horses can be 

 made to do. 



The roads for fifteen or twenty 

 miles on either side of Phoenix are 

 good. The desert itself is as easy 

 to drive over as the average eastern 

 roadway, and the whole valley is a 

 paradise for bicyclists and horse- 

 men. 



While the Salt River Valley is 

 the climate par excellence for the re- 

 lief of pulmonary tuberculosis, 

 there are many other diseased con- 

 ditions that do well here. Asthmatic 

 patients usually receive prompt re- 

 lief and are permanently cured. 

 Bronchitis and laryngitis disap- 

 pear as if by magic, the dry, warm 

 air acting as a most effectual stimu- 

 lant to the mucous membrane of 

 the respiratory tract. 



Kidney cases seem to do remark- 

 ably well in summer, as the perspira- 

 tion is copious and the skin per- 

 forms the largest part of elimina- 

 tion. 



Rheumatic affections are gener- 

 ally much improved during the 

 winter, but it is in the summer that 

 the best results are attained, as the 

 constant perspiration, maintained 

 for months, has a greater elimina- 

 tive effect than a sojourn at the 

 most famous springs. This terri- 

 tory might well be included with 

 Mexico as the " Land of Manana " 

 (tomorrow), and the perfect rest and 

 relaxation that tired nerves exper- 

 ience in this balmy air act almost 

 as a specific for nervous prostra- 

 tion and insommnia, as well as af- 

 fording a new lease of life to the 

 consumptive. 



