102 
San/iarij Effect.'! of Land Draining. 
stream again by an embankment at a lower point, so that this water, 
containiiii;- vcgctal)lc matters in a state of decomposition, must remain 
stagnant until evajioratcd by the sun's rays, or dissipated by the wind ; 
cases of fever occiu'ring under these circumstances have repeatedly come 
under my observation, as well as tliat of other medical men familiar with 
the district, and this fruitful source of disease (in seasons like 1839 more 
especially) will probably now remain in full force until an Act of the 
legislature shall effect a change." 
Mr. Thomas Marjoribanks, the minister of Lochmaben, — 
" No means of any consequence, so far as I am aware, have yet been 
tried to remedy the evil, the removal of such substances as generate ma- 
laria. There are no scavengers appointed for the removal of nuisances. 
One great means of preventing the generation of malaria (in my opinion) 
would be the lowering of the bed of the river Annan, which would to a 
great extent free the surrounding lands of stagnant water, give greater 
facilities for draining, improve the system of farming, lessen the risk of 
damage, and increase the quantity as well as improve the quality of the 
food which the low lands produce, and in every way conduce to the 
comfort and cleanliness of the inhabitants. It is computed that in con- 
sequence of the flooding of the Annan, damage during the last four years 
lias been done to the amoimt of 6000/., and this along only about three 
miles of its course. The property is very much subdivided, and, in con- 
sequence, poverty and want have increased to a great extent among the 
small jn'oprietors." 
In closing this exposition of the state of the chief external evils 
that afiert the sanitary condition of the labouring population, it 
may be observed that the experience, on which the conclusions 
rest as to the principles of prevention, is neither recent nor con- 
fined to this country. That which is new, is the advantages we 
possess beyond other times, and perhaps beyond all other coun- 
tries, in capital and practical science for its application. The 
experience of the advantage of public sewers to the health of a 
town population is nearly as old as Rome itself. I may refer 
with M. Du Chatelet to tlie experience of that city, to illustrate 
the consequences of neglect, such as are manifest amidst large 
)n asses of the community throughout the country, and are par- 
tially displayed in the mortuary registers first cited. He gives 
the details from the treatise ' De Adventitiis Romani Coeli Qua- 
lilatibus,' by the celebrated Italian physician Lancisi, who deeply 
studied the sanitary condition of Rome, and wrote several admir- 
able works on the subject, which had the happy effect of inducing 
the pope to cleanse and drain the city : — 
"The barbarians of every tribe having several times pillaged and 
sacked the city of Rome, the aqueducts were destroyed, and the water, 
spreading into the surrounding plains, formed marshes, which contri- 
buted greatly to render uninhabitable the surrounding country. 
" The aqueducts existing no longer, the sewers and privies were alike 
