244 



Twenty- !i\v int. of tin' patients senl to the Adirondacks suffering 



from inripknt consumption come back cured, a proportion only surpassed by th< 

 -State of Colorado. As a sanitarium tor the State -mil City of New York alone. 

 tin- . ;dn<- of this ivgiun is inestimable, and many professional men will be ;: 

 loss w ; send their suffering mti.'iits who ar* mal>!<' to p;iy tli 



a trip to Colorado or California, unless steps be immediately taken ; 



State this heritage that should be preserved for the people. 



"Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, of New York, (an eminent authority) h 

 valuable scientific testimony to the value of evergreen forests as U therapeutic 

 airnt in lung ions. He writes : 



: Having long- since been convinced by my observations that evergreen 

 forests hr. powerful purif\ ing effect upon the surrounding atmosphere, and 

 that it is rendered antiseptic by the chemical combinations which are constantly 

 ,ig on in them, I invite attention to some conditions which may explain their 

 therapeutic power. Such ambiguous terms .->s ; balsamic influence, ' health-giving 

 emanations' and 'aromatized atmosphere,' must be regarded as empty phra 

 and meaningless as scientific explanations. The clinical evidence, however, of 

 the beneficial effects of pine forests, on phthisical subjects is unquestionable. 

 The changes attributable to the persistent inhalation of air impregnated with 

 the emanations of evergreen forests are such as to indicate that the atmosphere 

 is not only aseptic, but antiseptic, made antiseptic by some element which is not 

 alone fatal to germ life, but at the same time is stimulant and tonic to normal 

 physiological processes within the lungs. We are led to the conclusion that this 

 antiseptic element of evergreen forests, an element which is not found elsewhere 

 is the product of the atmospheric oxidization of turpentine. It is evident that 

 the local and constitutional effects of turpentine are those of a powerful germicide, 

 as well as a stimulant. Its presence in the atmosphere of the pine forests cannot 

 be questioned. Again, ozone I to be present in excess in the air of evergreen 



.-sts, aud the beneficial effects of such an air have been ascribed to this 

 stance alone. But it seems evident that there is a close relation between an 

 excess of ozone in the atmosphere and turpentine exalation. 



' Recent developments in the treatment of phthisis by gaseous injections, if 

 they are found beneficial, are apparently due to the arrest of septic poisoning, and 

 not to the destruction of the tubercle bacilli. It is my belief that the atmosphere 

 of evergreen forests acts in a similar manner, and facts seem to prove that the 

 antiseptic agent which so successfully arrests putrefactive processes, and septic 

 poisoning, is the peroxide of hydrogen, formed by the atmospheric exudation of 

 turpentine vapours. It is stated that wherever the pine, with its constant 

 exhalation of turpentine vapour and its never failing foliage can be distributed 

 in a proper proportion to the population, the atmosphere can be kept not only 

 aseptic but antiseptic by nature's mm processes, independent of other influences, 

 than a certain amount of sunshine and moisture. It is not possible for every 

 one to take his weak lungs to an antiseptic air, but it is possible to render the 

 air of most localities antiseptic. I would therefore, impress on the public the 

 importance of preserving our ev rgreen forests, and of cultivating about our 

 homes evergreen tr< 



