524 Howrah Hospital Report for 1 846. 



very severe character, readily yielding to fresh provisions 

 and fruits, and acids generally. Rheumatism is often found oc- 

 curring in the same ship with scurvy, as a grade and variety 

 of the same disease, which consists essentially in a depraved 

 state of the blood. Something explanatory of the nature 

 of scurvy is observable in the condition of the natives of 

 this country, particularly during the cold season. They 

 commonly exhibit then a number of scorbutic phenomena, 

 such as spleen disease and ague, bleeding gums and bleeding 

 haemorrhoids. Scurvy is commonly observed to break out 

 during continued bad weather at sea, after much wet weather — 

 there is an analogy therefore between the two cases — allowing 

 for a certain depression of vital power and energy, the effect of 

 the lowered temperature of the air, and considering it as 

 an agent in the production of the disease, I would enumerate, 

 as a material cause of scurvy, diminished cutaneous perspira- 

 tion, and the consequent retention of serum and dilution of the 

 blood. Dr. O. Rees in his Gulstonian lectures further minutely 

 explains the effect of this dilution and lowering of the specific 

 gravity of the blood, thus : " the globules of the blood, by 

 absorbing the surrounding serum of lowered specific gravity, 

 become less capable afterwards by the laws of endosmose 

 of attracting to themselves the ferruginous and nutritious 

 part of the chyle ." 



Syphilis. — Forty -four cases have been admitted, out of 

 these, two only of secondary syphilis ; all have proved of a 

 mild character. 



Cholera. — Forty-three cases have been treated, out of these, 

 there have happened 25 deaths, the ages of all, and of those 

 that died, are shown relatively in the table. The greatest re- 

 lative proportion of mortality in this disease takes place, 

 according to these very scanty data, at an age between 20 

 and 30, the period which is the prime of life certainly with the 

 sailor ; and is probably to be explained by the consent of 



