426 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OE SCIENCE. 
Temperature. — The writer in Reynold's System {pp. cit.) says of this mat- 
ter of the relation of the temperature of climate to the cure of phthisis, " It was 
formerly supposed that warm climates were beneficial for consumptive patients. 
* * * But it will be invariably observed that unaccustomed warmth is 
injurious. * >i< * What is really required, is a cool, temperate cli- 
mate, free from great alterations of temperature." Dr. Austin Flint {pp. cit.) calls 
attention to the fact, that " the disease is oftener developed during the spring 
months and hot months of summer," when either there is a great deal of moisture 
in the air, or the debilitating effects of heat are present as factors. On the other 
hand, Ruehle says that the temperature has "nothing to do with the prevalence 
of consumption." 
It is known that the effect of heat is to raise the body temperature, to lessen 
the number of respirations, to quicken the pulse, to lessen the digestive powers 
and the appetite, to diminish the excretion of urea because of the diminishing of 
the ingesta, and to depress the nervous system, especially if the heat be accom- 
panied with excessive moisture. It seems, then^ that it can be stated as a fair 
inference from the foregoing, that a dry, temperate climate, is to be sought by the 
phthisical invalid. The Rocky Mountains furnish a dry climate. The table 
shows that the mean temperature is only a mean between the extremes in our 
range. The question will, however, be presented in a better form farther on. 
Winds. — The points of importance in regard to the winds are their velocity 
and direction. It is well known that they are regulated somewhat by changes in 
atmospheric pressure and temperature. 
Velocity. — It is known that a cold wind abstracts body-heat, and in propor- 
tion to its velocity. By consulting our tables it will be seen that the mean daily 
velocity of the winds at Denver is less than it is in the Eastern States; and that 
as a consequence, while the mean temperature is nearly the same, the chilling 
effect will be much less. On the other hand, as it has a considerably greater 
velocity, and as there are fewer calms than at either Augusta or Los Angeles, it 
has a proportionately greater purifying power in bringing fresh ozone, and in 
blowing away the products of decomposition. 
Direction. — Of more importance than the velocity, is the direction of the 
winds. The favorable and unfavorable directions vary for different places, ac- 
cording to their geographical location. The east and north winds are known to 
be the trying ones along the Atlantic coast; and our table shows that the north- 
east wind is the prevailing one at both Augusta and Jacksonville. The west 
wind, blowing from the Pacific Ocean, and bringing fogs, is the trying one on 
the California shore ; and the table shows that this is the prevailing one at Los 
Angeles. The south wind is the salubrious one for the eastern slope of the 
Rocky Mountains, in Colorado ; and our table shows that this is the wind that 
blows there most frequently. 
We can therefore add this element to the others, — of elevation, dryness of 
air, small amount of precipitation, and mean temperature, — as favorable to the 
Rocky Mountains as a place for phthisical patients to resort. 
