294 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



No. 5 



Hippocrates, 1o prove its beneficial effects. Napo- 

 leon, whose niiiul was ever observant and active, 

 tested it in one of iiis campaigns in Italy, and suc- 

 ceeded in preserving the heahh olliis soldiers. A 

 very strong case in point is cited on good authority. 

 An individual, engaged in cutting wood in Alri- 

 ca, found that his work could not be carried on 

 during the summer months, in conseijuence ofthe 

 lever prevailing among the laborers. By way 

 of expedient, he constructed a large number of 

 earthern furnaces in the immediate vicinity, where 

 (he laborers were at work, and kept them con- 

 stantly supplied with fuel, which burned all day; 

 the result was, that before he made this arrange- 

 ment, he had Irom 40 to 50 men sick a day, when 

 in a short period they were reduced from 12 to 1. 

 The night is dangerous too, on account of its 

 being the time when we seek relief and rest from 

 the fatigues of the day in sleep ; the consequent 

 relaxation produced by this state of the human 

 system, renders man more liable to disease when 

 asleep, then awake. During the prevalence of 

 ihe liital scourge, the cholera, which has devas- 

 tated so large a portion of the inhabitants of the 

 earth, it was noticed by every one that the majority 

 of cases were attacked at night. 



Malaria is also intercepted by trees with thick 

 foliage, attributed to mere mechanical obstruction, 

 the vapor settling in the foliage. The late Dr. 

 Faust, of Columbia, in a treatise on malaria, has 

 given a chymical explanation of this fact. He 

 remarks, that "it is probable that the carburetted 

 hydrogen accompanying the water, is obsorbed 

 by the trees, and being decomposed, contributes 

 to their growth in the same manner as carbonic 

 acid." 1 am inclined to think that the utility of 

 trees in preventing the propagation of malaria, is 

 to be attributed much, if not more, to the mechani- 

 cal obstruction which they afford, as the chymical 

 change which takes place during the process of 

 vegetation ; for high fences or walls have afforded 

 the same protection. In Rome, during the sickly 

 season, the most prudent inhabitants, conscious of 

 this fad, retire into their houses at sunset, close 

 the windows and doors, and will not allow them 

 to be opened until the sun has been up long 

 enough to dissipate the fog. In this way they 

 have kept from contracting ffiver, when their near 

 neighbors, not making use ofthe same salutary 

 precaution, have sickened and died. Dr. James 

 .Johnson, who has bestowed much atlenlionon 

 (his subject, in his work on Tropical Climates, re- 

 marks : " During my residence near the marshes 

 of Languedoc, I lived near a very fine building 

 formerly the convent Franquevaiix, erected on the 

 very border of the marshes. The monks in the 

 house were perfectly healthy, though feiw ofthe in- 

 habitants of^ the environs escaped disease in sum- 

 mer or autumn. Tradition nevertheless relates, that 

 they were accustomed in hot weather, to sleep on a 

 terrace contiguous to (he convent, a sure method of 

 exposing themselves to disorders; but they were 

 sheltered by a lent of double or triple convass, and 

 this simple precaution, necessary against the mus 

 quitoes, proved, unknown to them, a still more 

 certain protection against miasmata." Now this 

 coes clearly to prove, that the safety of these indivi- 

 duals was entirely attributable to the mechanical 

 obstruction afforded by the canvass. It is often 

 noticed by persons with astonishment that one side 

 ofaBtreetis (he seat of sickness, and not the other: 



this can be accounted for on the same principle, 

 one row of houses being more exposed than the 

 other. This has even been noticed as regards 

 large buildings, one part being perfectly healthy, 

 and the other not so. It is said, that in the ex- 

 tensive hospital of St. Spirito, in Rome, the warda 

 to the south and south-east are sickly, and the 

 others quite healthy. We might mention man}' 

 similar examples, which although highly interes- 

 ting, we are compelled to omit, as we must pro- 

 ceed to examine some of the most evident causes 

 ofthe increased unhealthiness ofthe low countrj' of 

 this state. 



The change in the cultivation of rice from inland 

 to river-swamps, i have no doubt, is a very fruit- 

 flil cause. The deleterious effect of this change 

 was (o leave an immense extent of rice-fields 

 abounding with stubble, from which, is said by 

 the inhabitants of India, the poison is chiefly pro- 

 duced ; and not being cultivated, there is always 

 a sufficient quantity of water to do all the mischiefl 

 Extensive rice fields have been allowed to lay- 

 waste, by falling into the hands of individuals 

 who had not the means of cultivating them. It is 

 through this agency that we account for the sick- 

 ness which now prevails in situations where the 

 inhabitants spent their summers ibrmerly, when 

 every place was under high cultivation. 



Clearing land is another fruitful cause. The 

 surface of the earth with the vegetable matter, 

 becomes exposed to the action of the sun, and ma- 

 laria is readily formed ; but when the surface of 

 the land is throughly shaded, the agency of the 

 rays of the sun is in a great measure cut off. This 

 circumstance is proved by the fact, that summer 

 residences in pine-land, in most cases, remain heal- 

 thy, until the officious hand of man destroys the 

 trees, and allows the heat ofthe sun to act on the 

 land. It is said that it was for this reason that 

 the Romans consecrated their 'groves and woods. 

 Connected with this, is the turning of new land 

 for cultivation in summer, which I think hss been 

 almost overlooked. The village of Pineville, which 

 afforded so pleasant and convenient a residence 

 for many families, and now almost entirely deser- 

 ted, may be cited as an example of the injurious 

 practice of clearing and cultivating land in the 

 vicinity of a summer residence. The following in- 

 stance is one of much importance, and deserves 

 our attention. 



During the summer of 1834, when the space 

 in front of the Citadel, in this city, was in a state 

 of preparation by [iloughing the land, in order to 

 level it for a parade ground, yellow fever, of a 

 very malignant nature, attacked the soldiers, 

 which I have no doubt was caused, if not aggra- 

 vated, by the exposure of the land; there were 

 verv lew cases in the city. 



How often do we hear of digging ditches and 

 drains in the summer causing sickness; which 

 liict should show us the propriety of doing such 

 work in the winter. The rich lands of the west, 

 when first cleared and turned for cultivation, if 

 done in summer will cause the deaths of many, 

 which I think has already has been the case. 

 Volney, Rush, M'Culloch, and many eminent 

 writers, have noticed the fact, the breaking tjp Tof 

 the first time of meadow land, for cultivation, is 

 always attended with fatal consequences. A wri- 

 ter on the diseases of India, describes (he disease 

 produced by (his process of cultivation, to be as 



