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52 



MEDICINE AND MEDICAL STATISTICS. [Sect. XIV 



resort of sliippingj shonld be examined, and, if found to 

 contain lagoons or marshes, mapped in such a way that 

 those spots which are the most exposed to the malaria 





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oming from these localities may be known, and if possible 

 avoided as an anchorage. The nature of the soil in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, the kind and the depth of water 

 in lagoons, the character, depth, and consistence of swamp, 

 bog, or marsh land, the description of plants which snr~ 

 round or grow from them, would greatly enhance the 

 value of such information. These being the acknow- 

 ledged sources of fever and ague, it wonld not escape the 

 zeal of the inquirer to ascertain whether they were liable 

 to irruptions from the sea, or floods from the interior; 

 whether fogs arose from them, and if so, at what time of 

 the day or year they were most observable ; and also 

 whether they emitted noxions effluvia. It has sometimes 

 occurred that officers and men employed on boat service 

 have been rendered conscious of the fact, that certain 

 particular spots emit noxious 

 than others. 



uvia more perceptibly 



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Ihe tides, by occasionally washing over or breaking 

 down the banks of low alluvial lauds, and by spreading 

 over the adjacent country, form extensive brackish la- 

 oons and marshes, which greatly impair the sanitary 

 condition of a country. I'hese circumstances, therefore, 

 and their influence on health, should invariably be noticed 

 under the head of topographical information. 



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jro nre lew thmgs of more importance to the naval 

 medical officer than the origin and characters of febrile 

 diseases, as a knowledge of the facts connected with the 

 former may greatly bias his judgment with regard to the 



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