316 T3E TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



asthma. Farmers, who are of necessity constantly exposed to the influence of pollen, 

 rarely suffer from it. It is difficult to account for this immunity ; by some it has 

 been supposed that it is owing to the absence of the predisposition which mental 

 culture induces, whilst others think that they are rendered insusceptible to the 

 action of grasses by their constant exposure to its influence. However that may be, 

 there is no doubt that an attack of hay asthma is a great trial of faith and patience, 

 religion and philosophy, and enough at times, as some one once said, " to make a 

 man curse his mother and turn Turk," if that be the ultima thule of human turpitude. 

 The man who could bear with equanimity the annoyances of hay fever would rival 

 the fortitude of Guatimozin himself, who, when stretched upon live coals by his 

 brutal conquerors, rebuked the complainings of his fellow sufferer by gently reminding 

 him that "he, too, was not upon a bed of roses." The first attack often begins in 

 childhood, and rarely occurs late in life. The complaint appears to be more frequent 

 in men than in women, and there is reason to believe that the susceptibility to this 

 troublesome affection runs in families. It is probably more common in this than in 

 any other country. An analogous disorder prevails in some parts of the United 

 States, where the rose is largely cultivated, and is known as " rose fever " or " rose 

 catarrh." " Peach cold " is an affection of similar nature. 



In many people an attack closely resembling that of hay fever is produced l>y 

 dust in any form. A patient says : " If in my walks I see men sweeping a street, 

 and clouds of dust arising, I shun it as I would a rattlesnake ; and if I see a building 

 in process of demolition, I go half a mile out of the way to avoid it. I always walk 

 on the shady side of the street if there be one, and select a well-watered street if 

 possible, or keep well to windward. I cannot express the agony I have on certain 

 occasions suffered from this cause, and I therefore confine myself within doors as 

 much as possible. Dusts and draughts are my particular aversions. I cannot smell 

 a rose or eat a peach unpeeled the hairs irritate my fauces without suffering an 

 attack, and a pinch of snuff would I believe make me sneeze my head off. Nothing 

 that I have ever snuffed up my nostrils has failed to injure me." In conckision 

 he adds, " I pray for rain with all the fervour of the old Scotch clergyman, without 

 caring whether or not it should eventuate in a deluge." 



An attack of hay fever may usually be cut short by removal from the exciting 

 cause. A sojourn at the sea-side will palliate, and, for the time, often cure the 

 complaint \ but it is not every sea-side district that gives the hay-fever patient 

 relief. A sea-side town deeply indented in the land is not a good place to choose, 

 for it partakes more or less of the character of a bay. One should rather look out 

 for some place situated on a promontory or peninsula, so that there is very little 

 chance of hay-fields being in the neighbourhood. But wherever a patient may be 

 at the sea-side, if the wind is blowing from the land, and if hay-grass is in flower at 

 the time, he, will be liable to be attacked by his enemy. It is therefore a matter of 

 importance in selecting a retreat for the hay season to find some place where the 

 prevailing winds are from the sea. It is also better to choose a spot where the 

 sufferer can be continually near the water, and if possible a place where the shore 

 is backed with high cliffs, because these act as a kind of screen when a land breeze 

 is blowing. There are several places in this country which are recommended as 



