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In its cru le state, iriitta ptrcha has no resem- 

 b!anc«; whatever to ImHa ra!.)bpr, nor are it-i 

 chwmic^l or ni'c'ianci! properties ilie Mime, nor 

 d tea the tree trora which it is taKen belong lo the 

 same family of trfe-i or jjrow in ibe 8;ime soil ; 

 Jet, Iroin the fact that it ctm be dissolved, and 

 wrought into water-proof wares, reany, not in- 

 formed on the suVtject, have inclined to the belief 

 that the two materials are identically, or very 

 De4rly the same. But nothing could be more er- 

 roneous, as may be seen by the foilowine com- 

 parisons, which prove that India rubber and got- 

 ta percha are chemically and mechanically, as 

 well as commercially, very difiFerent: 



India robber, or caoutchouc, is produced from 

 a milk-white sap. takes chiefly fmm the Seph- 

 ODca Cahuca tree, afterwards coagulated, and 

 the whey pressed out or dried oft by heat — the 

 residue is the India rubber of commerce. 



Gutta percha is produced from the Isonandra 

 or Gutta tree ; is of a brownish color, aod when 

 exposed to air, soon solidifies, and forms the gut- 

 ta percha of commerce. 



India rabber of commerce is of a gummy na« 

 ture, not very tenacious, and astonishingly elas- 

 tic. 



Gutta percha of commerce is a fibrous mate- 

 rial much resembling the inner coating of white 

 oak bark, is extremely tenacious, and without 

 elasticity, or much flexibility. 



India rubber when once reduced to a liquid 

 state by heat, appears like tar, and is unfit tor 

 further manufacture. 



Gutta percha may be melted and cooled any 

 number of times, without injury for future man- 

 ufacture. 



India rubber, by coming in contact with oil or 

 other fatty substances, is soon decomposed or 

 ruined for tuture use. 



Gutta percha is not injured by coming in con- 

 tact with oil or other fatty substances — in fact, 

 one good rise of it is, for oil cans. 



India rubber is soon ruined for future use, if 

 brought in contact with sulphuric, muriatic, and 

 other acids. 



Gutta percha resists the action of sulphuric, 

 mnriatic, and nearly all other acids in fact, one 

 great use of it is for acid vats, &c., and other 

 vessels for holding acids. 



India rubber is a conductor of beat, cold and 

 electricity. 



Gutta percha is a non-conductor of electricity, 

 as well as of heat and cold. 



India rubber, in its crude state, when exposed 

 to the action of boiling water, increases in bulk, 

 does not lose its elastic properties, and cannot be 

 moulded. 



Gutta percha, in its crude state, when exposed 

 to ihe actioB of boiling water, contracts, and be- 

 comes soft like dough or pasle, and may then be 

 moulded to any shape, which it will retain when 

 cool. 



India rubber is not a perfect repellant of water, 

 but is more or lees absorbent, according to qual- 

 ity. 



Gutta percha has an exceedingly fine grain, 

 and its oily property makes it perfect repellent 

 of liquids. 



HYGIENE. 



Fever and Agoe; How to live in Unbealthfti! 

 Sitoatious. 



To go west, and lo liave lever atid agae, are 

 almost synonymous. Indeed, we once knew a 

 Methodist pre-icher, who was going out w< st on 

 purpose to catch the affue, in ordrr to cure him 

 of bronchitis, or preacher's sore throat ! Every 

 man expects to have lever and ague who goes into 

 a new country to settle. The westprn parts of 

 the State of New Tork, and even the adjacen*; 

 parts of the counties of New York and West- 

 chester, are very much infested with this disease. 

 The consequence is, that the value of the pro- 

 perty ill these parts is depreciated. 



We have no doubt, that if there could be dis- 

 covered a certain cure for — or, still better apre- 

 vention of this disease, the value of the land 

 would, in many cases, rise fifty per cent, at once. 

 We should be very muct elated inbeart, and en- 

 riched in intellect, if we could prescribe a sure 

 remedy tor the country, or the inhabitants. But, 

 as we do not profess to be priests, nor prophets, 

 nor even "wonderful doctors," but simply medi- 

 cal philosophers, we must inquire as rigidly for 

 ourselves as for others, the cause and the remedy. 



What is fever and ague? and what is its cause? 

 Many, and learned, truly, are the treatises on 

 these questions; but like many other subjects, 

 authorities are not agreed upon them. We can- 

 not, therefore, refer you to any one authority on 

 the subject for satisfaction, but we must try to 

 satisfy you ourselves. 



Fever and ague, or rather ague and fever, is a 

 peculiar kind of fever, which consists in having a 

 distinct cold stage, hot stage, and sweating 

 stage, and then a period of fteedom from fever 

 at all. It has many varieties- bnt our descrip- 

 tion covers them all. 



The cause of this disease, is an alternation of 

 hot and cold, damp and dry, condition of the 

 ground and air, whereby the heat of the body is 

 raised and lowered suddenly, and the vegetable 

 remains are quickly decomposed, giving existence 

 to noxious vapors. 



Either the direct loss of heat of the body, or 

 the indirect loss of it, by the action of the noxious 

 vapors on the respiration and blood, will produce 

 the cold stage, and that will cause the hot and 

 sweating stagps. If only one of these cattses 

 operate' the fever is mild. If both operate the 

 fever' is sevsre. 



The temperature of the human body in health 

 is 98° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. If this be 

 raised, as is the case in sun-stroke or burning, 

 fever, with little, if any, cold stage ensues. If 

 this temperature be lowered, just in proportion 

 to the lowness of the temperature, and the sud- 

 deness of it, fever, with considerable cold stage, 

 ensues. 



The immediate cause of the fever, is the reflec- 

 tion of the temperature of ihe blood. No matter 

 how this is prodneed, whether by some subtle 

 poison inhaled in the atmosphere, or by the heat 

 of the blood being abstracted. If, therefore, you 

 feel cold and shivery in an agueish locality— at 

 once do everything that can be done, to restore 

 the heat to the blood. 



