POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



£8l 



the earth, occurring most frequently in the 

 autumn and during seasons of drought. It 

 has sometimes been traced with every evi- 

 dence of probability to decayed wood, and 

 this indicates that vegetable decay is one 

 of the prime sources of its origin — a view 

 which the fact that it has been produced by 

 the drying of ponds does not contradict, 

 but rather supports. A direct connection is 

 traced, in the United States, between the in- 

 crease of summer temperature and this dis- 

 ease. The curves of normal temperature, 

 of typhoid fever, and of malarial fevers are 

 almost exactly parallel, except that the cul- 

 mination of the fever curve, in September 

 for Iowa, October for the Eastern States, is 

 behind that of the temperature curve, which 

 occurs in July. A general parallelism, but 

 without the uniformity of the culminating 

 point of fever, has, with the exception of 

 one spot (Munich), been observed in Europe. 

 Since the disease is not contagious, the mi- 

 nute directions for isolation, disinfection, 

 destruction of clothing, etc., so eminently 

 proper in really contagious diseases, are 

 useless in typhoid fever. In our present 

 knowledge of the causes of the disease, but 

 little can be done, and that only in a gen- 

 eral way, to prevent it. The principal points 

 are to see that the drinking-water is pure, 

 that the house is well ventilated and not 

 built over a marshy spot, that slops are re- 

 moved far enough away, and that the drains 

 are kept clean and washed and are occa- 

 sionally disinfected with copperas ; and, 

 when sickness occurs, the patient should be 

 given quiet and plenty of fresh air. 



The Weather and Efenralgia. — The case 

 of Captain R, Catlin, United States Army, 

 as reported by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, affords 

 a curious illustration of a relation between 

 neuralgic pains and meteorological condi- 

 tion. Captain Catlin had his foot crushed 

 by a round shot in August, 1864. His leg 

 was amputated below the knee. Pain was 

 felt early as if in the lost foot, and became 

 severe within nine months, while in other 

 respects Captain Catlin is and has been in 

 perfect health. Since 18Y1, the captain has 

 kept a regular record of the hours of pain 

 he suffered each year and each month. The 

 maximum of pain was attained in ISYi and 

 1875. During 1876 the amount of pain fell 



ofP 100 hours (from 1,892 to 1,790), with a 

 decrease of mean annual pressure and a 

 corresponding increase of temperature. For 

 1877, pain and pressure remained constant 

 and parallel, with some increase in tempera- 

 ture. In 1878 the pain decreased 200 houi-8, 

 while an equally remarkable fall was shown 

 in the barometric curve. The law of rela^ 

 tionship of low pressure and high tempera- 

 ture to the amount of pain and the number 

 of attacks of pain and the number of storms 

 becomes more apparent in considering the 

 quarterly and monthly distribution of pain 

 and storm. " The winter months hold the 

 advantage as pain-producers," while in quar- 

 terly amounts the first quarter, beginning 

 with the winter solstice, leads ; the fourth 

 quarter, ending with the winter solstice, 

 follows ; and the second, or spring quar- 

 ter, is next. In months, March holds the 

 lead, and is closely pressed by January, after 

 which follow November, December, May, 

 February, April, August, October, Septem- 

 ber, July, and June. The average duration 

 of each attack of pain during eight years 

 was 18-97 hours. The duration also bears 

 a relation to the amount of pain and the 

 number of storms, and is greatest in Febru- 

 ary. To determine the average distance of 

 the storm-center at the beginning of the pain- 

 attack, sixty well-defined storms through ten 

 consecutive months were taken. The aver- 

 age distance was six hundred and eighty 

 miles, the particular distances ranging from 

 two hundred to twelve hundred miles. It 

 has been observed that eating a meal, when 

 the pain is on, intensifies it, and it is be- 

 Ueved that it often hastens the attack. Dur- 

 ing seven years (1875 to 1882) nine neural- 

 gic attacks of great and unusual power were 

 observed, and a coincidence was traced be- 

 tween them and storms of extraordinary in- 

 tensity. The best regimen for this neural- 

 gic subject has been found to consist in 

 physical exercise, nutritious food, and light, 

 agreeable occupation. 



Dr. Miehael Foster on School Examina- 

 tions. — Dr. Michael Foster, in a recent ad- 

 dress before a pharmaceutical school in Lon- 

 don, gave a vigorous expression to his views 

 respecting examinations. The passing of an 

 examination was regarded as a mark, stamp, 

 or certificate, of what ? He ventured to 



