20 



FARMERS' REGISTER— ON MALARIA. 



ciich trip, iiiid tlu; latter Is, Tlic expense of the 

 orij^-itial coiistniction oC tlie cnginen, however, iuid 

 ol' their \v(!iir iiiul tear in vi-ry <j,'reat, tlioii^h iiol 

 iKuirly Ko frwnl on the laltcr aci-oiinl, \)y. Lanl- 

 ner assures^ ns, as haR heen sonietiineK slated. 

 Tlie iirice ol" one of the most improved enii;iiiew at 

 firsi, is idtDiit ,i:H()(), and it will travel li-om 2.0,000 

 to :iO,()00 miles wiliiout costing' as much more lor 

 repiiirn. Notwillistandifi^ many exira exjienscs 

 wiiich this nndertakini>:, as the first of the kind, 

 has had to hear, and from tlie experience [mr- 

 chased by which Ihlurc speculators will profit, it 

 has been perlectly successful in a commercial point 

 of view. 'J'he profils on the ca|)ita! investeil have 

 been li'om the first above 6 per cent, per annum; 

 and during \hr latter six months of 1831, it was at 

 th(! rate of ahove 8 per cent, per nnnnm; and it 

 Jias since probably exceeded tiiiil amount. The 

 ori<j;ina,l .£ 100 sliures already sell llir above .£200. 

 On the oilier hiuid, th(5 advimt;ii.!:es to Ihc public 

 li;i,ve been as <j;reat as to the proprietors. Fidly 

 000,000 |)assenii,'ers now pass by the rail road in 

 the course o(" tlie year between Liverpool and 

 Manchester, or li)ur times as many as used for- 

 merly to make the journey. Tlic transference of 

 merchandise is also ell'ecled both with infinitely 

 greater speed, and at a vast reduction of expense. 



Some time a fjo a work was publislied by Mr. 

 Gordon, the eng-ineer, on the upplication of steam 

 as a movin<>' power ibr coaches on common turn- 

 pike roads; tin; (iicts continued in wliicli were prin- 

 cipally derived from \\u' report on this sid)ji'ct ol' 

 the Committee of the House of ('ommons, vvliich 

 waa ordered to 1)(» printed, on the 121 h of October 

 last. Dr. Lardner has here availed himself of 

 tJUi information supplied by tlie same most intc- 

 restiny and important |)arliamentii,ry [)aper; some 

 of lh(5 ciu'ious details o-iven in which we may pos- 

 Bil)ly t;d<e another o|)j)orlunily of laying- beliire our 

 nvulers. In thc^ meanwliile we can only afford 

 room l()r the general conclusions to which the coni- 

 mitli^e came on the e\idence brought before them. 

 Tlniy are as Ibllows: 



" 1 . Tiiat, carriiiges can be proi^-lbnl l)y steam on 

 common roads at an average rate of t(!n miles per 



llolM". 



"2. 'I'b.it ill this rale they ha\e conviyed up- 

 wards of lliurleen passengers. 



".3. That their weight, including engine, fuel, 

 Avater, and attendants, may lie under three tons. 



"1. Thai they can as(;eiid and descend hills ol' 

 ronsiderabli; inclination with fiicility and salt^ly. 



".'). 'I'lial they are perlJ-clly safe l()r [lasstMigers. 



"0. That lh(^y ;u-e not (or need nol bi^, if pro- 

 perly coiislrucled) miisunces lo tlu; public. 



"7. That they will liecomc; a, spc^'dier and 

 cheaper mode of convejaiice tiian caniug'es drawn 

 by horses. 



"8. 'J'hai, as Ihey admit of greater breadth of 

 lire than oilier carriages, and as the roads are nol 

 acted on so iitjinioiLsly as by the Ic-et of horses in 

 common di'migiit, such carriages will cause less 

 wear of road:! than coacJies drawn by horses. 



"!>. 'J'h;it rales of loll have been iuijiosivl on 

 .'•lean\ carriages, which would prohibit their being 

 used on several lines of roa<l, wen; such charges 

 permitted lo remain unallennl." 



"TIk^ loll bills coiiijtiained (»f liuve since l)een 

 lepculed. "At the moment that I write," says 

 Or. liardniM', "several steam cnrriages aiv in pro 

 cc. ,4of construct ion (br regular work upon llie j.idi 



lie roads of England. Some are about to be es- 

 liiblished between Paddington and tla; Bank, 

 upon the New Roud; otliers between London an(i 

 (Greenwich, and other places in the vicinity of the 

 metropolis. Anolhtr, it is stated, is to run be- 

 tween London and Rirmingharii. Tiie first im- 

 pulse onc(! received, the- jirogiess will be rapid, 

 and the ellect of jjrop'ortionate im](orluncc," 



ON MALARIA. 



Extrfiots from TVircc Icctarea on the ori'^in and properties of Ma- 

 liirid niid Mamli Miasma, by rrolessor Magill, of tlic Uiii- 

 viirsity of Virginia. 



[The pamphlet from wfiich the following passages 

 arc extracted has veiy lately issued from the press. 

 There is scarcely any subject which more needs in- 

 vestigation; and but few are of more importance to 

 agricultural interests in a large portion of the United 

 Slates.] 



"The sid)jcct of malaria, or marsli eflhivium, 

 has lor a long time attracted much of the atten- 

 tion of tlie medical ju'oli'ssion, and interested to 

 a high degree the feelings of society at large. 

 Piiysicians of all countries have tortured their 

 brains, and exhausted all the known resources of 

 the chemical art, in atlempting to discover the 

 pi'opcrtles of this invisible agent of disease and 

 death, which prostrating in its silent march whole 

 citi(;s and connnunities, bids defiance to all the 

 measures hitherto suggested to slay its destruc- 

 tive i)rogress. Uniiuestionalily it is one of tfie 

 most important subjects which can be presented 

 to the contemplation of man; to detect the causes 

 which originate; to ascertain and define the laws 

 which regulate, and to discover means by which 

 the human llmiily maybe shielded from this "pes- 

 tilence which widkelh in darkness," would l()rn) a 

 suitable and nobh; employment l()r the philosopher 

 and philanthropist, as well as the; physician. 



"N(jneofall tlm many " ills which flesh is heir 

 to," has probal)ly been so prolific of destruction 

 and misery to the race of nuud<ind, as mi.'ismatic 

 exhalation.* In all quarters of the world except 

 th(! liigid and ice-bound north, where per|)etual 

 winter "rules the year," tjiis scourge of humanity, 

 has been occasionally found, breathing disease 

 and dealli upon all wdhin the niiigt; of its mor- 

 bific inlluence. in the east aiul in the west, its 

 wilhering and di^solating elU'cIs have been felt in 

 nil their tcrrilic severilv.j Alonglhe classic shores 

 of the Mediterranean it has [loured Avith a hberal 

 hand the " vials of its wrath."| The shores of 



*It is computed tliat upwards of one half of tlie liu- 

 m.an race perish by fever (in one or othcrof its forms.) 

 Miasma is the principal if not the oiily cause of fe- 

 Ijiilo disease. 



I Acrording to the report of tlie comnn'tteo, consist- 

 ing of Dr. W. Aiiislie, prcsideMt, and Mr. A. Smith, 

 and f)r. M. Clu-istie, the fever which incvailcd in the 

 provinces of Coimbatore, Madura, Diniligiii and 'I'in- 

 nivelly, in the years IHOft, ISK) and ISII, consigned 

 lo tiu' grave I0«,7S<» pcrs-ms, to wliicli nuiy l)e added 

 tlu- ruin of lin,' coiistilulioiis of many tlioiisands. 



tot' all liic countries lying along ("lu; Mcdilorranean, 

 Italy has prol)al)ly siiHercd most liom malaria, liome, 

 once the proud "mistress of the world," in her careei 

 to grc.iliicsH and spliuidor, had often well nigh f)eeii 

 aiinihilalcd hy llicl)liH-li(i,|g hand of pestilence. Livy 

 iiK'ntions the occiirrciice of (ilfecn plagues hcfore the 

 year Al). llrl),- Condita .5f». and no oiie now doubts 

 tiiat tlicy vviTc pri>diicc(| hy the pestiferous exhalations 



