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almost immunity from this scourge for those who have never 
left their native valley. 
The commission, referred to, showed how much more free 
agricultural and thinly populated districts were from con- 
sumption, while in the higher valleys where there was a 
large manufacturing population, as in the watch making 
districts of the Jura, then the death-rate became considera- 
ble ; and my own opinion is, that Davos, with a manufac- 
turing population, would have been absolutely unhealthy, 
but as this can only be a matter of personal opinion, it is 
necessary to give the reasons that have led me to this 
conclusion. 
The position of the valley is most wonderfully favourable 
for a health resort, being very wide, and well protected from 
the north and east, and being so splendidly enclosed, there 
is remarkably little wind in winter, but this very stillness 
of the air which has made Davos unrivalled is a cause of 
danger as soon as there are a large number of houses to 
pour their smoke into the air, and their drainage on to the 
land or into the river. We have now a very serious smoke 
and drainage nuisance, and if changes are not soon made 
the history of Davos will resemble that of many southern 
health resorts, where favourable results have at first been 
obtained, leading to exaggerated reports, upon which has 
followed a rush of suitable and unsuitable cases ; then large 
hotels have been built, but sanitary arrangements have 
lagged behind, while instead of providing for a quiet simple 
life, which is so frequently necessary for consumptive pa- 
tients, the hotel keepers devoted their attention to furnishing 
unsuitable amusements ; and theatres and other large build- 
ings into which patients have congregated, have helped to 
ruin many resorts. These are partly the reasons that the 
favourite places of 20 years ago have been replaced by 
newer ones. An overgrowth is more to be feared in an en- 
closed valley, where there is only a very limited space, than 
would be the case on the sea coast. 
