EFFECTS OF CLIMATE. \) 



spongioles being apparently paralyzed and their func- 

 tions destroyed. Examining them carefully it could be 

 seen that something like a process of fermentation was 

 going on around them — in other words, that fungoid 

 exhalations or microbes were gathering upon them, 

 that these gradually extended through the rootlets and 

 sap, while those on the leaves were reaching out to the 

 stems and buds. All the green color of the plant dis- 

 appeared, the coloring matter apparently yielding to 

 chemical decomposition under the exhausting influence 

 of microbes, and finally the plant would turn yellow, 

 droop, and die. 



Place a child predisposed to indisposition, or even a 

 healthy person, in circumstances equally unfavorable, 

 and the consequences are similar. A change from a 

 warm to a cold atmosphere is one of the most c<3mmon 

 causes of disease. The conditions of life in this country 

 are especially calculated to furnish ample illustrations of 

 this. In summer people are apt to counteract the effects 

 of heat by removing portions of their covering and seek- 

 ing a cool resting place, glad sometimes of a current of 

 air which feels refreshing yet is fraught with peril. In 

 winter most of us live in overheated houses, from which 

 necessity takes us often suddenly into a wet or cold ex- 

 ternal atmosphere. The consequence is a cold, or in- 

 flammation of the lungs, or worse. A cough is one of 

 the first symptoms, and on examination it is found that 

 a peculiar microbe has attached itself to the bronchial 

 tubes or upper air passages, producing an irritation, and 

 the cough is Nature's effort to get rid of it. Or it may 

 become attached to the mucous membrane of the nose, 

 giving rise to what is variously known as ^^ cold in the 

 head," coryza, and acute catarrh. It can readily be 

 understood that in the latter case it is more easy to re- 

 move the cause of the trouble, but where there is a 

 cough the disease germs may spread downward to the 

 lungs, extending their influence throughout the tissues, 

 and producing bronchitis or pneumonia as the case 

 might be. 



