690 
A. F. BRUSH. 
each other under the same latitude and in the same kind of 
country, yet differed, and he expressed much surprise at 
the fact.” * 
These facts relating to the cattle-breeding propensities of 
the negroes account for the statements of ' Daniell, that 
“ phthisis is widely prevalent and very malignant among the 
negroes of the west coast of Africa.” In the interior plateaus 
of southern Africa phthisis, however, hardly ever occurs. 
This immunity can be accounted for by the presence of the 
tsetse fly. This fly inhabits well-defined regions in central 
Africa, and where it exists cattle, horses and dogs cannot 
live, f 
Let us now take the civilized inhabitants of a colder clime, 
and we find that in Denmark, one of the noted dairy coun¬ 
tries, there are 1,470,078 cows to 2,033,959 inhabitants, or one 
cow to 1 5-14 inhabitant. The mortality from phthisis in that 
country ranges from three in a thousand to 2.1 in a thousand. 
Now Iceland, an island belonging to the King of Denmark, 
where the climatic conditions are nearly the same, has 20,000 
cows to 80,000 inhabitants. There are no definite statistics 
about this, but taking the most trustworthy accounts of the 
island as a guide, this is about the condition of affairs. The 
people of Denmark are well-to-do, and can use for themselves 
more of their dairy productions, while the poor Icelander 
pays his rent with his dairy product. With the exception of 
milk, the Icelander uses very little from his herd for food. 
In several accounts of travelers in that country, giving a de¬ 
scription of the entertainment extended to them, I never find 
beef in a single instance, while in the winter nearly all the 
milk used is obtained from the sheep. Owing to the short 
hay crops, the cows are fed in winter on dried fish, and con¬ 
sequently the cattle will not give milk on the same low diet as 
the sheep do. Wdth all these modifying influences, and only 
* Guiol says that consumption is not uncommon among the colored race, 
particularly the Kaffirs. Guiol, “Archives Gen. de Medecine,” November, 
1882, p. 329. 
t Wallace, “The Geographical Distribution of Animals,” 1876. Vol. i, 
p. 946. 
