400 Miscellanies. 



and sizes have been found in it, and the spoils of tlie cave, we are 

 told, would be a very valuable addition to the collection of the cu- 

 rious antiquarian.' 



"As bones, I believe, have rarely been found in caves in this coun- 

 try, though common in Europe, and deemed of great importance in 

 settling ihe geological character of a country, I thought I would 

 bring the above to your notice, if it has not already been done, as 

 you have probably some correspondent in that vicinity, Avho would at 

 your request, examine the premises, secure the bones, or make such 

 a report as would be interesting to the readers of your Journal, and 

 important to the cause of science." 



Mr. Gaylord remarks that the average temperature of June and 

 July has been about 7° lower than that of the corresponding months 

 of last year. 



We request information respecting this cavern and its osseous con- 

 tents. — Eds. 



29. Case of Transpiration of half the body* 



Fort Hamilton, New York, Nov. 25, 1837. 



Prof. SiLLiMAN — Dear Sir — In 1834 I called the attention of the sci- 

 entific community to an anomalous case of cutaneous transpiration which 

 presented itself in the person of a friend of mine, a merchant of Balti- 

 more. The particulars of the case were published in the " Medical Li- 

 brary," a journal conducted by Prof. Pattison, and copied from thence 

 into the " Transylvania Journal of Medical Sciences ;" but the expla- 

 nation of the phenomenon attempted by the editor was to me unsatisfac- 

 tory. Will you oblige me by giving the ' case' a place in your Journal, 

 with such comments as its perusal may suggest. 



The merchant referred to, from his earliest youth enjoyed a marked 

 immunity from disease ; and assured me that from infancy to the moment 

 at which he spoke, his " sweating" was confined to one side of his body. 

 The right side of his scalp, the right side of his face, right side of his 

 thoracic, hypochondriac, iliac, lumbar, and pelvic regions, right thigh, 

 leg, and foot, were frequently saturated with the matter of perspiration, 

 whilst their corresponding opposites maintained an unvarying aridity. My 

 intimacy with him afforded me repeated opportunities of observing the 

 phenomenon. It was often a subject of merriment with him, and never 

 one of the least concern. Could paralysis of the exhalents of the oppo- 

 site side have existed without other morbid manifestations ? I think not. 

 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



Lucius O'Brien, Lieut. 2d Reg. U. S. Infantry. 



* This fragment would have appeared before but for the expectation of hearing 

 again from the writer of the letter, in answer to certain inquiries addressed to him 

 in a letter hitherto unanswered. Being unable to suggest any satisfactory expla- 

 nation, we must refer the case to our medical friends. — Eds. 



