[Entered at-the Post-Offlce of New York, N.Y., as Second-Class Matter.J 



A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF ALL THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



Eighth Year. 

 Vol. XV. No. 377. 



NEW YORK, April 25, 1890. 



SiNGLB Copies, Ten Cents. 

 .$3.50 Per Year, in Advance. 



THE SUPPEESSION OF CONSUMPTION. 

 The first step in the practical suppression of consumption 

 is to take those measures that are necessary to reduce its 

 production to insignificant proportions; that is, we must se- 

 cure the effective prevention of the disease. We shall attain 

 this object by seeing that, on the one hand, we have or ob- 

 tain such an amount of lung surface as is adequate not only 

 to perform the ordinary work that is demanded of it, but 

 also to meet, within certain limits, any extra demand that 

 may be made upon it, and, on the other, by so arranging our 

 habits, mode of life, and surroundings, that tlieir tendency 

 as a whole is to develop the lungs. What amount of lung 

 capacity is necessary to conform to the above requirements? 

 Hutchinson's so-called standard of vital capacity is too low. 

 The lungs of a man having a chest-girth ranging between 

 Brent's "medium" and ''maximum" standards, with an ex- 

 tent of movement of four inches and upwards, would give 

 the required amount of lung surface. I give these standards 

 in the following table: — 



It will be found, on examination, that many of us do not 

 possess the standard of chest development; and if we would 

 be certain of absolute freedom from the possibility of an at- 

 tack of the disease, then we should deliberately set to work 

 to obtain this development. There is no difficulty whatever 

 in doing that, for the size and shape of the chest depend 

 upon the conditions to which it is subjected. "^ To develop 

 the chest we must avoid those conditions that tend to disuse 

 of the lungs, to their compression or injury, and introduce 

 others-that markedly tend to develop the lungs. If possible, 

 the residence should be situated in the country, in a healthy 

 suburb, or in a wide, open street. The rooms, and espe- 

 cially that used as the sleeping apartment, should be lofty, 

 capacious, well lighted by windows that open, and ventilated 

 by direct and continuous free communication with the ex- 



1 "What is Consumption?" (1886); "The Experimental Production of 

 Chest-Types in Man." British Association, 1887. Statistics; "Physical Develop- 

 ment;" The Illustrated Medical News, Nov. 9, 1889. 



ternal air, summer and winter, night and day. Gradually- 

 lower the temperature of the rooms till tbere is not nearly 

 so much difference between it and that of the external air 

 as that to which we are now accustomed. Great care 

 should be taken about the clothing of the body. It is es- 

 sential that the clothes should be made so loose that they 

 offer no impediment to the full and free movement of the 

 chest. When ordering clothes, be sure the measurement is 

 taken at a full inspiration, and see that they are quite easy 

 even then. Don't use braces, corsets, or respirators : they 

 tend to impede the respiratory movement. Wool manufac- 

 tured in such a way that it is elastic and permits free ven- 

 tilation should be worn next the skin; and the under-linen 

 should be frequently changed, so that no impediment is 

 offered to its emanations. A sponge-bath should be taken 

 every day. Low-heeled boots, wide, broad toes, should be 

 worn, so that walking exercise may be taken in comfort. 

 Spend as much time as possible, and that daily, in some 

 form or other of active exercise in the open air. Carefully 

 avoid the habit of stooping : throw the shoulders back, the 

 chest forward, and get into the habit of holding the body 

 erect at all times. Breathe through the nose, and take balf 

 a dozen deep inspirations, followed by full expiration, several 

 times daily. Go in for gymnastics, giving special attention 

 to the development of the muscles of the chest, swimming, 

 singing, and athletics, and get gradually acclimatized to the 

 external air, wind, and rain. Don't overload the body with 

 clothes; and maintain the temperature in the natural way, 

 by increased muscular exertion. Get the chest-girth and 

 vital capacity taken at regular periods, and record them, so 

 that you may know what progress you are making ; and do 

 not relax these efforts for a day until the chest-girth at the 

 nipple line is higher than Brent's medium standard. 



The members of consumptive families and those who bear 

 the marks of threatened disease — a narrow chest and faulty 

 carriage of the body, associated with some indication or 

 other of deranged health — should make it the first business 

 of their lives to carry out the above directions. Till that 

 has been accomplished, it is worse than useless — it is certain 

 disease — for them to engage in sedentary, chest-constricting, 

 or dust-inhaling occupations. Those who are engaged in. 

 such occupations, or who are unavoidably submitted to sur^ 

 roundings that tend to reduce the breathing capacity, shoul(5 

 most scrupulously devote sufficient time daily to one or other' 

 mode of developing the lungs, in order to counteract their 

 effects. And I need not point out that considerations of 

 self-interest, of humanity, and of public policy, alike <fo- 



