W. Whitalter—On Geology and Consumption. 60ij 



examination of the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, of whicli 

 an outline has been given above, are as follows : — 



(1). That on pervious soils there is less consumption than on im- 

 pervious soils. 



(2). That on high-lying pervious soils there is less consumption than 

 on loio-lying pervious soils. 



(3). That on sloping impervious soils there is less consumption than 

 on flat impervious soils. 



(4). These inferences must be put along with the other fact, that 

 artificial removal of subsoil water, alone, of various sanitary works, 

 has largely decreased consumption. 



From which follows the general inference, that wetness_ of soil 

 IS A GREAT CAUSE OF CONSUMPTION, no othcr condition having been 

 found, in the course of these inquiries, to go along with the con- 

 sumption death-rate to any great extent. 



The value of such a conclusion, should it stand the test of further 

 examination, cannot I think be over-estimated. It would introduce 

 a new principle and object into the carrying out of those drainage- 

 works that have been so much called for of late ; it would aid 

 consumptive people in choosing healthy living-places, and in avoid- 

 ing those that may be hurtful ; it would lead to the lessening of a 

 disease that is the special curse of our country ; and, by bringing 

 men of science something nearer to the knowledge of the first cause 

 of consumption, it might lead to the discovery of that cause, and of 

 such treatment and remedies as would successfully grapple with the 

 disease. 



Confirmatory and independent evidence of the truth cf the above 

 conclusion comes to us from America, Dr. Bowditch having drawn 

 attention, in 1862, to the fact that ''medical opinion in Massa- 

 chusetts .... tends strongly to prove .... the existence of a 

 law in the development of consumption in Massachusetts .... that 

 dampness of the soil .... is intimately connected, and probably as 

 cause and effect, with the prevalence of consumption." ^ The Eegis- 

 trar-General for Scotland, quoting the above (in his Seventh Annual 

 Eeport), and applying it to eight large towns in Scotland, accepts 

 the theory. It is right to add however that no such detailed exarni- 

 nation, as in our case, seems to have been made in either Amenca 

 or Scotland. 



n^OTiCES OIF 3vcE^y^OII^S- 



I. — EXPEEIJIENTS ON CONTORTION OF MOUNTAIN LlJIESTONE.^ 



By Louis C. Miall, Esq. 



T has been well established by numerous experiments that no 

 rigid body is either quite inflexible or perfectly elastic. All 



1 " Consumption in Now England and elsewhere, or Soil-moisture one of its chief 

 causes." Ed. 2. Boston, 1868. I should state that Dr. Buchanan did not know of 

 this pamphlet until the completion of his own researches. 



2 Kead before the British Association (Section C.) at Exeter, August, 1869. 



1 



