37 
duration of life among them was said to be one hundred years; 
and their domestic condition may be judged of from the cha- 
racteristic recorded, that men loved their own wives. But 
now, and for long cycles of years back, much of the forest 
thus alluded to has ceased to exist ; long wastes of semi-desert 
country have taken its place ; the surface yields only stunted 
acacias, capers, and asclepias; rivers which then existed are 
decreased in size ; one historic stream, the sacred Suruswattee,* 
has for centuries ceased to flow, and cities situated in the less 
arid localities, are periodically swept by epidemics, terrible by 
their fatality. 
8. From times the most ancient, the relation of climate to 
organic nature was recognised by Hindoo writers. f A very 
few examples must here suffice. A swampy country was 
indicated as Anupa. In such a tract “ lilies and other waters 
flowers abound; the air is cool; geese, ducks, cranes, fish, 
and serpents abound. In such a situation the inhabitants are 
unhealthy and short-lived,” The hilly country, or jungala, 
was characterised by “ arid plains, on which dwarf trees and 
prickly shrubs grew sparsely ; the heat of the air is great, 
and hot winds prevail. In such a country there is little water 
upon the surface, and wells have to be dug.” Diseases of air 
and bile — that is, intestinal and hepatic — prevail, but the 
climate is healthy, and the inhabitants long-lived. It is 
further added, that when the above-enumerated conditions are 
found in the same country the general climate of that coui^t^y 
is described as mixed. 
the demon of disease in Western nations is believed to manifest himself 
under the name of “ specific germs.” The subject of so-called “ specific 
germs” in relation to zymotic diseases obtains a great deal of attention. 
With regard to it the following are some of the conclusions arrived at 
by speakers at the meeting of the International Medical Congress, and by 
writers subsequent to that occasion. Although “ germs ” have been found 
in the products of inflammation, they have not always been so. The ‘ ‘ speci- 
ficity ” of germs is still an unsettled question . The theory in regard to their 
presence and character is no more than an assumption. Each theory is con- 
tradicted by another, Were the presence of “germs” definitely determined, 
which it is not, the question would still remain, whence do they obtain their 
specific properties ? Also, how do they start into activity ; how cease to be 
in activity, and what becomes of them while “ dormant ” ? 
* Suruswattee passes by the holy town of Thaneshur. In ancient times it 
seems to have flowed across the Rajputana plains to join the Indus below its 
confluence with the Punjab rivers. Its deserted bed can still be traced as far 
as Mirgarh, in Bhawalpore ; but the water now only penetrates to Bhatneir 
in Rajputana. In “the upper part of its course it dries up partly in the 
early part of the year, becoming then a series of pools (whence its name). 
Many of the early Arian settlements were on the banks of this river.” — From 
Hunter’s Imperial Qazetteer. t Chakrata, 
