574 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



Are the above-named constituents of sewer air the origin or cause of the sick- 

 ness so commonly attributed to the inhaling of sewer gas ? 



Although many of the gases named are poisonous, if inhaled into the system 

 in large quantities, and may, even if present in smaller quantities, cause nausea, 

 asphyxia, headache, vomiting, etc., none of them can be said to produce any of 

 the so called " filth diseases." To determine the exact origin of these is a still 

 unsolved problem of physiology. While some believe that the particles of de- 

 composing organic matter, present in sewer air and known as "organic vapor" 

 cause disease, others seek the origin of the latter in microscopic spores or germs 

 which live and feed upon such organic vapor and are capable of reproduction 

 under favorable conditions, such as presence of putrefying filth, excess of 

 moisture, heat, lack of oxygen, etc. 



Whatever theory may be accepted as true, it is evident that, by preventing, 

 the decay of organic matter wiihin sewers, drains and soil pipes, or by depriving 

 these germs (if such be the cause of disease) of the conditions facilitating their repro- 

 duction, we can best prevent the outbreak of excremental diseases. In other 

 words, by compleiely removing as speedily as possible all ivaste matters from the dwell- 

 ing by pipes thoroughly and tightly jointed, and by a sufficient dilution of the air in these 

 pipes with oxygen, the danger of ir^fection, arising from defective drai?iage and plumb- 

 ing, may be reduced to a minimum. 



It should be mentioned that some hygienists, notably Dr. Soyka and Dr. 

 Renk, both assistants of Pettenkofer in Munich, have lately denied the existence 

 of any positive proof of a connection between sewer gas and the spread of epi- 

 demic diseases — just as Naegeli and Emmerich doubt the possibility of infection 

 from drinking water contaminated by sewage. Dr Renk considers the exclusion 

 of gases of decay of the interior of dwellings necessary only so far as they 

 are offensive to the sense of smell. In this view, however, I cannot concur ; in 

 regard to " filth diseases," their causes and origin, I accept the theory of Drs. 

 Simon, Parkes and others. ^ >!< ^ — Van Nostrand's Magazine. 



THE TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA. 



[Rules adopted on the stibj'eci by the Philadelphia Health Author ities.'\ 

 The great degree of fatality attending sickness from diphtheria, particularly 

 among children, makes it important that every precaution be taken against the 

 spread of the disease, and that the treatment of those coming down with it be 

 prompt and intelligent. In view of the general lack of information with regard 

 to the proper treatment of diphtheria patients, the resolutions just adopted by the 

 Philadelphia Board of Health are interesting and valuable. These resolutions 

 have been printed and given to the teachers of public and private schools for 

 distribution among their pupils. By way of parenthesis, it may be remarked that 

 every particular with regard to the unsatisfactory sanitary condition of the Jack- 

 son School, recently brought out in the Globe- Democrat, has been verified by th 



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