iW If m m : A- t*tTH'B|>C/C a_ * NATIONAL LIBRARY MEDICINE Washington,D.C. /J®~ CALORIC: MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL AND VITAL AGENCIES PHENOMENA OF NATURE. SAMUEL L. METCALFE, M.D., LATE OF TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY. VOL. II. PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 1859. Q Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. CONTENTS OE VOL. II. BOOK V. CHAPTER I. PAGES Influence of Climate on the Physical, Intellectual and Moral Cha- racter of the Human Race.................................................. 0-46 CHAPTER II. Origin of llaces, Nations, Languages and Mythologies.—Unity of the Human Race, and of Organization.—Longevity of Nations... 47-97 CHAPTER III. Influence of Climate and Season on the Diseases of Mankind.— General Laws of Epidemics, and on the Nature of Malaria, or Bad Air........................................................................... 98-140 CHAPTER IV. Theory of Hybernation, suspended Animation, warm and cold Bathing........................................................................... 150-177 Nor is it less certain, that the Affghans of northern India are a large, athletic and powerful race, compared with the tropical Hindoos, who, although evidently belonging to the same original stock, do not exceed five feet six inches in height. The same difference exists between the northern and southern Chinese,— the natives of Persia, Turkey, Georgia, Circassia,—and the Arabs of southern Asia and northern Africa, in- cluding the Egyptians. The Patagonians, the Arau- coans of Chili and other tribes that inhabit the tem- perate latitudes of South America, like the North American Indians in corresponding latitudes, are also much larger, stronger and more courageous than those of Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico and Peru, who, like the Eboes, Gaboons, Mandingoes and other blacks of tro- pical Africa, New Holland and New Guinea, have always been a feeble, indolent and servile race. As we advance from the middle latitudes of America to Cape Horn southward, or to the Arctic Ocean north- ward, man diminishes in stature until the average does not exceed four and a half or five feet.* organization, and especially that of the brain. Owing to the want of due exercise, the legs of the negro are slender and the calf de- fective. His jaws being more employed than his brain, are like his cheek-bones, prominent; his lips thick, his mouth open and large, his nose broad and flat. But activity of the brain calls into exer- cise nearly all the muscles of the face, including the alse nasi; which causes the vomer to rise, lessens the protuberance of the jaws and modifies the whole visage. * The horse, ox, deer, sheep, goat, dog and some other domestic animals are also larger, better formed and more vigorous in the middle latitudes than in either the tropical or polar regions. And although the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, lion, tiger 38 SUPERIORITY OF EUROPEANS. There is nothing in the history of our race more certain, than that in all the attributes of a vigorous and beautiful organization, man has attained to the highest perfection in the temperate zone. How strik- ing is the contrast between the tall European, with his high and expanded forehead, large, bright and intelligent eyes, oval face and well-marked features, compared with the low, thick stature of the northern Asiatic, with his square head, flat face, large cheek- bones, low forehead, broad nose, small eyes* and ill- defined features; or with the black skin, coarse woolly hair, large mouth, thick lips, broad flat nose, advancing jaws, diminutive forehead and dull eyes of the Afri- can ! The Berbers of north Africa, like the Caffres of the south, are also greatly superior in strength, ac- tivity, symmetry of form, regularity of features and intelligence, to the tribes of the interior, who are dis- tinguished by low cunning, cruelty, cowardice and sensuality. The climate most favourable to a high development and some other mammalia attain to very great size within the tro- pics, they have less strength and activity, in proportion to their size, than animals in the middle latitudes. And if reptiles are larger in hot than in cold climates, it is be- cause their respiration is imperfect, and arrested for six or eight months in the higher latitudes, during which they cease to grow; whereas within the tropics, they continue to grow throughout the year. * The contraction of the aperture of the eyelids in the Tartars and other northern nations, was doubtless produced by the habitual effort to protect that delicate organ from the cold, piercin"- winds, and the glare of light reflected from the snOwy ground, as they had no fixed habitations to protect them from the elements. STATURE OF EUROPEANS. 39 of the human race, would seem to be one in which the mean annual temperature approximates that of the whole earth, which is about 58°, and in which the va- riations are small, as in the middle latitudes of Eu- rope, where the average of summer is seldom more than 10° above the mean of the year, and that of winter rarely more than 10° below the same standard. For man has attained to larger stature in Great Bri- tain, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Prussia, Sweden and Russia, than in any other quarter of the world. It was long supposed that the natives of Patagonia were larger than those of any other nation. Yet we have no recent authentic account of any individual of that tribe who measured above six feet six inches and a fraction, or more than forty-eight inches around the thorax, according to Wallace and Cordova. They are even inferior to the Osages and Blackfeet Indians of North America, who are sometimes above seven feet in height, according to Catlin. But the Irish giant, whose skeleton is now in the London College of Surgeons, measured eight feet four inches. There have also been men in England, Scot- land, Hanover, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark and Russia, above eight feet in height, and some who have mea- sured fifty-two inches around the thorax, without being unusually fat. According to numerous measurements of M. Quetelet and Professor Forbes, the average sta- ture of the Irish, Scotch and English adult students in the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, is above five feet nine inches; which exceeds that of the French and Belgians, who are taller than the inhabit- ants of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. The 40 MEASUREMENTS OF FORBES AND QUETELET. beautiful statue Adonis was five feet eight inches, and that of the Venus di Medici about five feet; which mav be regarded as the mean stature of the men and women of southern Europe.* We also learn from Professor Forbes, that the better classes in Ireland are taller, heavier and stronger, than the same classes in Scotland, who are superior to the same classes in England.f Is this because the tem- * There is reason to believe that in all parts of Europe, the finest specimens of manly beauty, strength, activity and intelli- gence, have been found most frequently among individuals of moderate stature, corresponding with the Grecian model; which may therefore be regarded as an example of the perfect average man. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cromwell and the Duke of Wellington, were of nearly the same stature as that of the Adonis, and Napoleon considerably less. It is evident, however, from all the foregoing facts, that the average stature of man varies in different climates. f For example, the mean height of the Irish, with shoes, was 70-2 inches; of the Scotch 693; of the English 68"9; and of the Belgians 68 3, which is, perhaps, very near the average among the northern French and Germans. But among eighty students of Cambridge, (belonging chiefly to the aristocracy of England, which are somewhat taller than the lower orders,) M. Quetelet found the average height to be five feet nine inches and three-fifths, which is considerably above the average stature in both the north and south of Europe. Recently, Mr. Macdonald has found the mean stature of 562 men of the middle and upper classes in England, Scotland and Ire- land, to be 68-5 inches; while that of the lower and middle classes is about 6V5 inches. He also found the average height of 2000 infantry soldiers (Royal Highlanders) to be 68 25 inches, and the circumference of the chest 38-ig inches. In eleven counties of Scotland the mean height varied from 6T33 to 685 inches, and the circumference of the chest from 38T1 to 41-01 inches. But among 1439 town and country recruits belonging to the London INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE BRAIN. 41 perature of Ireland is more uniform, being less ex- posed to the cold east winds from the continent, and more open to the prevalent west winds from the At- lantic? or is it because the Irish consume less animal food and more potatoes? In favour of the former hypothesis it may be observed, that in the maritime climate of Japan, the natives are larger and stronger than in the same latitudes of China, where the ex- tremes of summer and winter are great;—that in the tropical islands of the Pacific, where the temperature is mild and uniform, the inhabitants are much larger, stronger and better formed, than in the same latitudes of Africa, Asia, South America and New Holland, where the temperature rises twenty or more degrees higher, and falls as many degrees lower at night. For tropical islands are perpetually fanned by the trade- winds, the temperature of which varies only a few degrees. In regard to the influence of climate on the size and configuration of the brain, we are yet greatly wanting in accurate information. But some valuable facts have been collected and published by Dr. Morton, in a work entitled Crania Americana,—from which it would ap- pear, that among the least educated classes of the English, Scotch, Irish, Germans, Swiss, Dutch and Anglo-Americans, the head is larger than among any other race. That this difference depends more on cli- mate, geographical position and other physical influ- ences, than upon civilization, would appear from the District, the average height was 5 feet 8 inches, and the mean cir- cumference of the chest 32 47 inches. (Johnston's Phys. Atlas, Ethnographic Map of Europe.) vol. II. 3 42 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE BRAIN. fact, that he found the mean capacity of the skull greater in three Esquimaux, than in seven Chinese, in the ratio of eighty-six to eighty-two cubic inches;— greater among the barbarous tribes of America, who reside in the temperate and higher latitudes, than among the partially civilized Peruvians, in the ratio of eighty-two and eighty-four to seventy-six cubic inches, and seventy-nine in the Mexicans. The head is also larger among the Tartars than the Chinese, Hindoos and other inhabitants of southern Asia. But if the barbarous tribes of America and Asia have larger heads than the Chinese, Hindoos, Egyptians, Peruvians and Mexicans, it is because in the former the inferior organs greatly predominate over the ante- rior and superior, which are small in all savages, and are gradually developed by culture. Hence the selfish, warlike and depraved character of man in the barbar- ous state,—and which can be radically cured only by improving his intellectual and moral organization. The relative capacity of the skull in what has been called the five different races of mankind, was ascer- tained by filling it with white pepper-seed, which was afterwards measured, and is represented in the follow- ing table of Dr. Morton:— Number of skulls. Average. Capacity in cubic inche?. ..... 52 87 from 109 to 75 ..... 10 83 93 69 ..... 18 81 89 64 ...... 147 80 100 60 ...... 29 78 94 05 Thus we perceive, that the brain is nearly as large among the savage tribes of northern America and Caucasian. Mongolian Malay...... American.. "Ethiopian., INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE BRAIN. 43 Asia, as among the civilized inhabitants of Europe, and smaller among the tribes of central Africa and America, than among any other people, excepting the natives of tropical America. M. d'Orbigny says "that a Peruvian is not less different from a Patagonian, and the latter from a Quarani than is a Greek from an Ethiopian or a Mongolian." (L Homme Americain, vol. i. p. 122.) It is not, however, so much in the aggregate volume or weight of the brain that the superiority of man consists, as in the development of its anterior and superior portions; moreover, if the brain of the negro were of the same size and form as that of the Euro- pean, it would still be inferior in firmness of structure, and therefore in power, because not supported by so large a thorax, not supplied with such an abundance of good arterial blood, the vital properties of which depend on the amount of respiration, (cazteris paribus,) which is diminished by an elevated temperature of the atmosphere, as will be further proved when I come to treat of temperaments. In fact, the inferior organiza- tion of the negro brain must be ultimately referred to his inferior vitality, which renders him indolent, and prevents the improvement of his faculties by exercise. Should it be urged that the magnitude and form of the head, on which the intellectual and moral cha- racter of nations so much depends, are determined chiefly by regimen, modes of living, political, religious and social institutions—I reply, that all of these are no less modified by climate than the geographical dis- tribution of plants and animals:—that if the natives of the polar regions live chiefly on flesh, and clothe themselves with skins, it is because the climate does 44 ORIGIN OF LAWS AND INSTITUTIONS. not afford grain, grass, fruits, cotton, flax, wool and silks; all of which abound in warmer latitudes:— that if the Budhists, Brahmans and Essenes, of south- ern Asia, abstained from animal food and spirituous liquors, it Avas because they are injurious to health in hot climates:—that if, like the priests of Egypt, they enjoined the frequent use of the cold bath as a reli- gious duty, it was because they found it salutary in a burning climate:—that if they had resided in Russia they would have substituted in its place warm bath- ing, which the Russians regard as a panacea:—that if the laws of Moses against the use of pork, hares, rab- bits, all carnivorous animals, shell-fish and fat of every description, were adapted to the climate of Palestine, they are constantly violated by even the Jews, in the higher latitudes of Europe, Asia and America; for the plain reason that no laws will ever be long and widely obeyed, unless founded on, and in harmony with, those of nature. # Thus it is manifest, that the diet, clothing, habita- tions, manners, customs and religious ceremonies of mankind are greatly modified by geographical posi- tion,—that "creeds and morals vary in every clime growing like herbs upon the soil,"—that the physical character of nations, and even their political institu- tions, depend greatly on the region in which they are created. For in countries where the climate is unfit for agriculture, the population must necessarily be poor, thinly scattered and separated into numerous tribes of wandering shepherds, robbers and hunters who cannot unite under regular forms of government' nor make any considerable progress in civilization ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENTS. 45 arts, science and general improvement. As the higher intellectual and moral faculties are but little exercised, they are imperfectly developed, and the animal feel- ings greatly predominate. But in countries where the population is dense, all the higher faculties are stimulated to exertion, by the prospect of obtaining wealth, pleasure, distinction or power,—which are both the cause and effect of im- provement of the nobler faculties. Even the organs of voice are modified by climate. The voice of man becomes less adapted to singing as we pass from the south of Europe to the north, until in the polar re- gions it degenerates to a hoarse whistle. Northern voices are said to be dry, harsh and strident, while southern are liquid, soft and flexible. Northern lan- guages abound in consonants, mutes, gutterals and strong aspirates; southern, in vowels and liquids. And, as among barbarous tribes, the objects are few about which the mind is employed, language is poor, or defi- cient in copiousness and variety. On the other hand, I fully agree with Mr. Lawrence, that "bad govern- ment, oppressive laws, neglected education, bigotry, fanaticism and religious intolerance will counteract the noblest gifts of nature, and plunge into ignorance, degradation and weakness nations capable of the highest culture, the most splendid moral and intellec- tual achievements." If the climates of India and China are less favourable to a high development of physical, intellectual and moral endowments, than those of Europe, the inhabitants have also been kept stationary for the last 2000 years by the institution of castes, and the misfortune of a hieroglyphic language; 46 INFLUENCE OF BAD LAWS. so that the finest portions of Asia are buried in pro- found darkness, or prevented from improving their condition; while in Russia the mass of the people have been hitherto degraded to the condition of serfs, and sold with the estates on which they labour, like beasts of burden. It is also worthy of notice in this connection, that even in the fine climate of Ireland, a number of people who were driven from the counties of Antrim and Down, toward the sea-coast, about 200 years ago, where they have lived ever since in great poverty and mental degradation, exhibit the most re- pulsive features,—projecting jaws, large and open mouths, depressed noses, high cheek-bones, with bow- legs, slender limbs and small stature. CHAPTER II. " If the human mind can ever flatter itself with having been suc- cessful in discovering the truth, it is when many facts, and these facts of different kinds, unite in producing the same result."— Baillie. It is still an unresolved problem among philoso- phers, whether all the varieties of mankind have re- sulted from the influence of climate, geographical position, and different modes of living, as supposed by Herodotus, Diodorus, Hippocrates, Buffbn, Zimmer- man, Forster, Herder, Smith and some others,—or from an original difference of race, as maintained by Voltaire, Humboldt, Adelung, Caldwell, Lawrence, Morton and others. The most prevalent hypothesis of the present day is, that all the nations of the earth may be traced to different races, which have been mingled by conquests, colonizations, marriages, &c. Without denying that all of them may have descended from the same original stock, Blumenbach has reduced the whole to five distinct classes, which he terms the Caucasian, the Mongolian, the Malay, the American and the Ethiopian races. To the first of these classes belong the Hindoos, Arabians, Persians, Egyptians, Lybians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Saxons, Celts, with their descend- ants, now spread over Europe and many other parts (47) 48 ORIGIN OF MANKIND. of the world. To the second, or Mongolian family, belong the ancient Scythians and their descendants, the modern Tartars of central Asia, the Chinese, Ja- panese, the Indo-Chinese and the various tribes of northern Asia, To the Malay race belong the natives of Malacca, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, New Zealand, the Philippine and other islands of the South Sea. The fourth class embraces the numerous tribes of America, from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn; while the black natives of central Africa, New Holland and New Guinea, belong to the fifth, or Ethiopian race. It is maintained by Mr. Lawrence, in his very able and learned work on the Natural History of Man, that "external agencies, whether physical or moral, will not account for the bodily and mental differences which characterize the several tribes of mankind; and that they are the offspring of natural differences in the breed or race." (Pages 300, 387,442, 486.) M. Quetelet also observes, in his late Treatise on Man, that "dif- ferent races must be admitted, although the characters on which these distinctions are established have not been sufficiently defined." And he adds, "how can we study the modifications which the elements relative to man, as well as their laws of development, undergo in the different races, when we have not settled the point of commencement?" In regard to the first abode of mankind, termed the Garden of Eden, or the terrestrial Paradise, various opinions have been advanced by different nations and individuals. By some of the Hindoos, it is supposed to have been situated in the beautiful vale of Cashmere; and by others in the tropical island of Ceylon. San- THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 49 son, Roland and Calmer, have placed it in Armenia, between the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates,— Abram, Le Clerc and Heidegger, in Assyria near Ba- bylon,—^-others in the neighbourhood of Damascus,— others in Arabia Felix,—and some in Palestine. Among the curious speculations of that great man, Christopher Columbus, was the hypothesis that the Garden of Eden was situated near the head-waters of the River Amazon, in South America, which he per- sisted in regarding as a portion of the Asiatic conti- nent. The latest opinion I have met with on the sub- ject, is that of Mr. Luke Burke, who maintains that the primary centre of civilization was the long-lost island of Atlantis, described by Plato, who pretends to have received his account of it from Solon, who re- ceived it from an Egyptian priest. (Ethnological Jour- nal, No. 3, p. 138.) But the most improbable of all the hypotheses I have met with is that of Buffon, Adelung and Herder, who supposed that mankind be- gan their existence on the elevated table-lands of cen- tral Asia, or about Mount Caucasus, where the climate is extremely rigorous during the greater part of the year. For if the human race began in a rude state of nature, ignorant of agriculture and the arts, it must have been in a tropical or warm climate, in which the earth would spontaneously supply an abundance of nutritious fruits. Nor is it possible, that men could have existed in the climate of central Asia without clothing, unless covered with hair. If we are to take the description of Eden contained in the second chapter of Genesis, it would seem to have embraced a large portion of southern Asia, ex- 50 ORIGIN OF MANKIND. tending from the Ganges on the east, to the Euphrates on the west. For it is said to have been watered by the Pison, the Gihon, the Hiddekel, and the Euphrates. But Josephus, Jerome and Eusebius, tell us that the River Pison was called by the Greeks Ganges. Gasi- nius would have us believe that the Gihon was the Nile, and others that it was the Araxes. Malte Brun states, that in the Midian language the Hiddekel was called Tigr, which is evidently the Tigress. As for the fourth river of Eden, it is expressly identified with the Euphrates, which, like the Tigris and the Araxes, has its origin in the mountains of Armenia. Thus it would appear, that the Garden of Eden embraced the whole of India, Persia, Arabia, Turkey in Asia, and Syria. It is true that we are not required by the authority of Genesis to believe that all mankind are descended from a single pair, since we read that after murdering his brother Abel, Cain fled to the land of Nod, where he took to himself a wife. Nor is it philosophical to assume, as many writers have done, that they are de- scended from several distinct aboriginal pairs, without positive proof that such has been the case. The opinion of Linnaeus, that all the varieties of plants and animals of each species came from one stock, although not proved, is more rational than the late hypothesis of Decandolle, who refers all the known varieties of plants to about twenty geographical cen- tres, from which they have spread and multiplied. But that they owe their specific character chiefly to difference of climate, in the large sense, including soil and other physical conditions favourable to their pro- ORIGIN OF MANKIND. 51 duction and development, would plainly appear from the fact, that the plants at different heights, on ascend- ing tropical mountains, exhibit generic and specific differences corresponding with what has been found on advancing from the equator to the higher latitudes, until we arrive at the polar regions. Now if all the various species, amounting to about 100,000, have emanated from a few botanical provinces, why are the plants at the foot of Mount Ararat like those of west- ern Asia; a little higher up like those of Italy; still higher, like those of France; at a greater elevation, like those of Sweden; and beyond this point exhibit the Flora of Lapland ? Above all, why have the plants and animals of the same latitudes and provinces been so totally unlike at different geological epochs? That all the different nations, tribes and families of mankind belong to the same genus and species, is now universally admitted by physiologists. And that they have all descended from the same primitive stock, which began its existence in some part of southern Asia, is maintained by the learned Dr. Prichard, in his work on the Physical History of Man. But he thinks that cultivation, or civilization, has had more influence in producing varieties than climate, geo- graphical position, or any other known cause. (Pages 155, 194-222, 1st ed.) The late Godfrey Higgins maintains, in his very elaborate work on the Origin of Nations, Languages and Religions, that southern Asia was the ancient mother of nations,—that men gradually spread themselves from India and Arabia, across the Red Sea to Ethiopia, whence they descended the Nile to Lower Egypt, and 52 MIGRATIONS OF MANKIND. from north Africa to other portions of the continent; that from the Peninsula of Malacca they passed over to Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea, New Holland, New Zealand and other islands of the southern Pacific; that from the north of India and Persia they extended over ancient Scythia, Siberia and the north of Europe; while to the westward, they spread over Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Germany and every part of Europe; that the ancient Sasca? or Sax- ons, who occupied the greater part of Europe, were in fact Scythians, that came originally from the north of India and Persia; finally, that the Saxons, Celts and Scandinavians, were successive swarms of the same hive, sent out from middle Asia, and arrived in the west at different periods, like the colonies sent from Great Britain to America, Africa and Australia; the difference in their dialects being such as would natu- rally arise in a few hundred years in unwritten, or even in written languages. (Anacalypsis.) Dr. Prichard also states on the authority of Hero- dotus and Diodorus, that the Saxons were Scythians, who were originally a colony of Medes; and that the Tartars of middle Asia, like the Getse, Thracians, Goths and Sarmatians of northern Europe, were de- scended from the same stock. He further observes, that between all the native dialects of north Africa there is a close affinity; that accurate observations on the language and customs of the various tribes scat- tered over the South Sea Islands, put it beyond a doubt, that they all descended from one stock, and came originally from southern Asia; but that owino- to their having migrated at very early periods, before AFFINITY OF LANGUAGES. 53 the language and institutions of the mother country were fully formed, few remains of its ancient my- thology, manners and customs, have been found among them; and that notwithstanding the differ- ence between the languages of China, India and Egypt, Sir William Jones has traced many striking affinities in their ancient civil and religious observ- ances. (Op. cit. pp. 147, 478, 484, 500, 544.) Dr. Prichard further states, that the primitive lan- guage of Persia, called the Zend, was only a dialect of the ancient Sanskrit, from which all the modern languages of India are derived, and differed but slightly from that of Egypt, Phoenicia and Judea,— that the present Brahmans of Benares still perform the same religious ceremonies which were practised in ancient Persia, whose dominion was established over a large portion of Asia, as early as the time of Abraham, and before the extension of the Syrian power,—that the modern Parsees, who are descendants of the an- cient Persians, still retain the Zend and Pahlavi dia- lects; that according to an old poet of Sidon, the founder of Babylon was a Phoenician; and that the same astronomical formulas were employed in Chaldea as in Egypt. (Id. pp. 450, 469.)* * Lucian also represents philosophy as having commenced in India, whence she repaired to Ethiopia, thence to the Egyptians, and next to the Chaldeans. (Tooke's Lucian, vol. i. p. 606.) In accordance with this statement, which is corroborated by Diodorus, Godfrey Huder maintains, that the Egyptians were a people of southern Asia, who travelled westward over the Red Sea, and from Ethiopia, by degrees spread themselves over Upper Egypt. (Phi- losophy of Heat.) ■A AFFINITY OF LANGUAGES. Sir Edward Bulwer justly observes, that "when history fails in accounting for the foreign extraction of any people, or when it is manifestly mistaken, the question must be determined by the analogy of lan- guages, which is at once conclusive, if nothing else were left." And it has been shown by Godfrey Hig- gins, that there is not one written language, in ichich several words of every other written language may not be found; that according to Vans Kenedy, 900 San- skrit words have been discovered in the Persian, Greek, Latin, German and English languages; 339 in the Greek; 319 in the Latin; 263 in the Persian; 163 in the German; and 31 common to them all; that accord- ing to Cluverius, nearly 1000 Hebrew words have been found in other languages; that Dr. Geddes has shown nearly all the genuine Saxon words to be either He- brew, Chaldee, Arabic or Persian; that Sir William Drummond has traced a radical affinity between the Coptic or Egyptian, the Ethiopic, the Chaldee, Arabic and Hebrew; that General Valiancy has shown the ancient Celtic to be a dialect of the Phoenician, which Le Clerc, Gesenius and others, have proved to be nearly identical with Hebrew, and closely allied to the Sanskrit and Zend, from which the ancient Scythian, Manchoo Tartar, German and Celtic are derived, as the Italian, French and Spanish, from Latin; that Valiancy further asserts, that almost every word in the first twelve verses of the Illiad may be traced back to Phoenician, Egyptian, Chaldee and Hebrew origin; and that in the native Irish language, which is Celtic, he found fifty words relating to augury and divination, every one of which was oriental. (Anacalypsis, vol. i. ORIGIN OF WORDS. 55 pp. 449, 454 and 461.) Von Hammer says, that there are remarkable affinities between 400 German and Persian words. (Archis, p. 126.) Corresponding with the foregoing facts, we are in- formed by Jacob Bryant, in his very learned work on Heathen Mythology, that the Greek words &«?, life, Zwov, an animal, and fastv, to live, were derived from zoon or zoan, a Phoenician and Egyptian name of the sun, —showing that in the earliest times, the Greeks re- garded life as an emanation from that luminary, as maintained by Macrobius in the third book of his /Saturnalia, (page 282.) And Wilkinson states in his late work on Egypt, that onh is still the Coptic word for life, the male principle of which was termed linga, and the female yoni, as in ancient India, where the genetic power of solar heat was represented by the male and female organs of generation. (Page 523, 1st ed.) Bryant has further shown, that the Greek word Aidsp, Aither, was derived from the word Aith, Ath, Eth or Oth, (all of which are modifications of the same word, signifying the sun, among the Egyptians, Phoenicians and several other oriental nations,) and from Aur, Our or Ur, meaning light or fire; and when joined together, signifying solar light or fire. But both of these words are also Hebrew; and Dr. Adam Clarke says, in his Commentaries on the First Chapter of Genesis, that mN, Ath, Eth or Oth* signifies the * Bryant maintains that the Greek word dsoz, was derived from the Egyptian Thoth, which is doubtless a modification of the He- brew and Phoenician Oth, the sun,—"on which the young nations of the world gazed with the freshness of childhood, until their admiration became a worship,—wondrous and divine still, after all 56 PRIMITIVE MEANING OF SOME sun, the lights of heaven, and the substance of all things; while the word 11N% Aur, Our or Ur, desig- nates light, fire, lightning, and sometimes the rainbow. Parkhurst also observes, that Aur denotes the extreme fluidity of light, or the continual flowing of its parti- cles from the sun, which in the Twenty-fourth Psalm is termed the king of glory,—a word that plainly implies the action of light; that in the thirty-first chapter of Job, Aurf is employed to signify the sun; and fire in the Book of Ezekiel, as in many other parts of the Old Testament. our Astronomies and Almanacs." (Carlyle's Hero Worship.) Bryant further states, that Bel, Bal or Baal, was a Babylonian title of the sun, and when compounded with Orus, as in Bel-Orus, signified the Lord of Light. Dr. Prichard also observes, that Sunuh was one of the Sanskrit names of the sun, which in the Manchoo Tartar language is Shun, and Sonne in German. The Latin verb uro, I burn, is also derived from ur, fire. f He further states, on the authority of Varro, that the Latin word aurum, was derived from Aur, meaning the golden sun, with his heavenly light. Xor is it less certain, that the Greek word A-/j/>, and the Latin aura, signifying air, were derived from the same He- brew and Phoenician root; that the spirit termed nil, described as moving on the face of the waters, and as breathed into the nostrils of man, like the Ilveup.a, the 4'^/Ji, and Ave^o? of the Greeks, literally means breath, the air in motion, and animal life; that there is not a single word in the Old or New Testament, nor in any written language, to designate the human soul, or any spiritual essence, which does not also signify air, light or fire. But from the time of Orpheus to that of Hippocrates, and even down to the period of Cicero, the Greeks and Romans confounded air, (because ignorant of its compound nature, and of the limited extent of the atmosphere,) with the more subtile and all-pervading ether, which they were fully aware extended throughout universal space. Hence the assertion of Aristotle, that nature abhors a vacuum, which he very truly observes, would destroy all motion. MOST IMPORTANT WORDS. 57 Bryant has also shown that the Greek word 'EAtoc, or Helios, is radically identical with the Phoenician word Elion, a compound of El or Eli, and On; both of which were primitive titles of the sun, and signi- fied Deus Sol. With Macrobius, he maintains that all the Grecian names of Deities were originally titles of one God, and related to the sun or solar fire; that from the names of places, mountains, groves, fountains, mounds, towers, temples and obelisks, consecrated to the sun, and called after him, the Greeks invented ideal gods, heroes, and the histories of what they had done, —that the name of Persia was taken from Parez or Perez, an eastern name of the sun,—that Syria was derived from Sur or Suria, a Chaldean title of the sun, which is also termed Surya in Sanskrit,—that Ethi- opia was formerly called Atheria, from Ath and Ur, or from Aythur, meaning land of the solar fire; that the Greeks took their appellation of 'E-U^e^ Hellenes or Heliadce, from Helios, implying their descent from the solar race. (Heathen Mythology, vol. i. pp. 56, 96; vol. ii. p. 405.) Dr. Prichard also informs us, that one of the San- skrit names of the sun is Hailigh or Hailis, Col. Mel- ford says He-li, (Asiat. B. vol. iii. p. 460,) and is doubt- less the same word as Helios or Helion,—which is one of the titles employed in the Hebrew Bible to desig- nate the Supreme Deity, according to the very learned Jerome, who is represented by Parkhurst as the most skilful Hebracian among the Fathers. Another title of the Supreme Creator in Hebrew is Adonai, which, according to Bryant, is compounded of three Phoe- nician words, Ad, On and Ai,—all of which designated VOL. n. 4 58 PRIMITIVE MEANING OF SOME the sun, who was worshipped as the creative and for- mative God in ancient Tyre, Sidon, Canaan and Car- thage. Another and still more common title of the Supreme Deity in Hebrew, is the word 7N, Al, El, Eli, or Elion,—all of which are modifications of the same word, which we have already seen was a Phoe- nician, Sanskrit and Greek name of the sun. We also read in the first chapter of Genesis, that in the be- ginning, D'^N, Elohim, created the heavens and the earth. The ablest Hebrew scholars differ in opinion as to whether the word Elohim is singular or plural, as it sometimes agrees with singular, and at other times with plural verbs. But Parkhurst maintains, that it generally answers to the Greek word Qtoq, and ex- presses the universal extension or omnipresence of the Divine spiritual essence,—moreover, that the idea of this attribute was taken from the celestial fluid in its threefold condition of light, fire and spirit, operating jointly in every effect. He also quotes the declaration of Diodorus and Varro, that the Egyptian Jove was identical with the Jehovah of the Jews,—that with some dialectical variations, the Phoenicians, Etruscans, Romans and other ancient nations, gave the same title to the all-pervading fiery Ether that was supposed to actuate the universe, and to endow all beings with life. He further states, on the authority of Servius, that the Deity was termed Al or El in the Phoenician language,—and that the Canaanites had a tower or temple dedicated to the sun, 7n, Al, according to Jose- phus. (Hebrew Lexicon.) In accordance with these remarkable analogies, it is MOST IMPORTANT WORDS. 59 stated by Godfrey Higgins, that the root mrr* ^eye or Yehovah, signifies, in both Hebrew and Sanskrit, to be, to live, and the self-existent fire, which, under that sacred title, the Brahmans chaunted in their service. (Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 430, 468; and vol. ii. p. 249.) Nor is it surprising that the language, and many of the Jewish customs, so nearly resembled those of several oriental nations, when we reflect, that Abra- ham was a Chaldean,—that his descendants resided long in Egypt, during which time they must have adopted the language, manners and opinions of that country; that from Egypt they removed to the Phoe- nician land of Canaan, where they very soon adopted the worship of Baal and Molech,—which was practised to a greater or less extent, from the time of Joshua until they were carried away captive into Babylon, (from which the ten tribes never returned;) and where they learned the Chaldee letters, in which the Hebrew Bible is written. Like the ancient Hindoo word Alkache, the Arabic name of God, Allah, is doubtless a modification of the Hebrew ^X, Al. We are also informed by Diodorus, that among the Egyptians Jove was a personification of the celestial Ether, which they called Youpiter, be- cause the spirit of life, and the generator of all things, according to a priest of Memphis,—and that the Greeks derived their word Zeo>, to burn, from his name, Zeus. (Lib. i.) And Servius states, that natural philoso- phers will have Jupiter mean the Ether, whence he is called Zws, from :«v, to be hot or warm. (Mneid i.) Similar expressions are found in Euripides, who repre- sents the unbounded Ether which encircles all things (30 UNIVERSALITY OF THE ANCIENT as Jove. The Roman poet, Ennius, also says, that all invoke the shining Ether as Jove. And Virgil calls him Pater Omnipotent ^ETHER. (Georg. ii. line 325.) Sasenius tells us, that the Hebrew language was nearly the same as that of the Phoenicians in Canaan, until the Babylonish captivity, when the Jews adopted the Chaldaic, which is closely allied to the Egyptian, the Sanskrit, and all the most ancient languages of Asia. Plutarch further states, that Osiris, an Egyptian name of the sun, signified likewise the Ether or active principle in nature, and Lsis the passive elements from which everything is formed. Macrobius also main- tained, that there exists a luminous, igneous and sub- tile fluid, which, under the name of Ether or spirit, fills the universe; that it is the essential principle of mo- tion and life; and is, in fact, the Deity. (Somn. Scip.) The same doctrine was held by the learned Varro, who regarded the Ether as the essence of Deity, ac- cording to St. Austin. (Oivitas Dei, lib. vii. c. 22.) The truth is, that the worship of the sun, or of that etherial fire which animates the infinitude of suns which glitter in the boundless firmament, was prac- tised in Memphis and Thebes, Nineveh and Babylon, Tyre and Sidon, Balbec and Jerusalem, long before the time of Abraham; that it prevailed from Ethiopia to Siberia, and from Eastern Asia to the remotest bor- ders of Western Europe, if not in every part of the inhabited world,—for it may be traced in the lan- guage, mythology and monuments of North and South America. Temples dedicated to the sun have been discovered in the ruins of Palenque and other ancient SUN OR FIRE WORSHIP. 61 cities of Central America. We also learn from Robert- son's History of America, that the Iroquois, Hurons, Algonquins, Natchez and many other Indian tribes, performed the religious ceremony of dancing around what they called the holy fire, into which they cast a portion of everything they used, as a sacrifice in honour of the sun. (Vol. ii., book iv. p. 23.) The same fact is attested by Adair and many other travellers. Mr. George Catlin also states, that the Man- dans of the Upper Missouri " offered sacrifices, prayers and thanksgivings to the Great Spirit who lives in the sun"*—that they had a tradition concerning the trans- gression of the first woman, the general deluge, the miraculous conception, birth, subsequent miracles, and death of a Saviour. (Manners, Customs, etc. of the North American Indians, vol. i. p. 180; vol. ii. p. 135.) We are further informed by Lord Kingsborough, that the native language of Mexico, (like the Saxon and Celtic of Europe,) is full of Hebrew words; that the people had a tradition of the flood, performed the rites of circumcision, baptism and auricular confession, * There is reason to believe that the pyramids of Egypt, the turrets of China, the cromlechs of the Druids, the round towers of Ireland, and the mounds of America, were originally intended as monuments of the same primitive worship practised in groves and high places by the Canaanites and all the ancient nations of the earth. For it is stated by Parkhurst, on the authority of several distinguished authors, that obelisks were originally dedicated to the sun. And Yolney says, that the Egyptians represented the sun by a cone, fire by pyramids, and the earth by a revolving cylin- der. Nor is the opinion that the pyramids were consecrated to the worship of fire inconsistent with the general belief, that the kings of Egypt were buried in their vaults. 62 WIDELY SPREAD TRADITIONS OF ASIA. sacrificed their first-born, like the ancient Phoenicians, Syrians and other oriental nations, including the early Jews; and that they expected a Messiah. (Antiquities of Mexico, vol. vi.)* It is also stated by Higgins, on the authority of De Guignes, Bergeron and Paravey, that an ancient Chinese History, called the Chan King, treats of the terrestrial paradise, the fall of angels and of man, the Sabbath, confusion of tongues, manna in the wilder- ness, the Trinity, and of the Holy One in the west, who was incomprehensible, and one with Tien, for whom the nations of the earth are waiting like plants for a refreshing shower, as taught by Confucius nearly twenty-four hundred years ago. (Op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 28, 33.) Thus it would appear from the language, traditions and monuments of America, that it was originally peopled from the Asiatic continent. In opposition to this view, we are told by Voltaire, that the same crea- tive Power which caused grass and trees to grow on the American soil, could place man there. Dr. Prichard and Mr. Lawrence also admit, with Buffon, that, ex- cepting the regions north of the Baltic in the old world, and those north of Canada in the new, no quad- rupeds were originally common to both. But the ab- * In eighty-three American languages, examined by Barton and Vater, one hundred and seventy words were found, the roots of which appear to be the same. Of these one hundred and seventy, three-fifths resemble the Manchou, the Tonguse, the Mougol and the Samayed; and two-fifths the Celtic and Tchoud, the Biscayan, the Coptic and Congo languages. (Humboldt's Views of the Cor- dilleras, English translation, vol. i. p. 19.) MODERN ORIGIN OF AMERICA. 63 sence of the horse, ox, sheep, dog, and other domestic animals of the old world, in the greater part of the American continent when first discovered by Colum- bus, tends rather to prove that the new world was elevated from beneath the ocean at a more recent geo- logical epoch, than Asia, Africa or Europe,—an hypo- thesis which is corroborated by the great number of volcanos and earthquakes now in operation in various parts of South America, Mexico and the West Indies. It is also well known that large districts in Chili, Mexico, and other parts of the country, have been raised several feet within the last few years. And Darwin, the naturalist, says, that they are covered with the same species of shells that now inhabit the Pacific. But as if the recent origin of a continent were a proof of inferiority, Dr. Caldwell rejects the hypothesis as "a calumnious fabrication, invented for the purpose of depreciating the new world." Others have maintained, that if America had been peopled from Asia, the natives would not have been ignorant of letters and the use of iron. But, as Hig- gins observes, this may have been owing to their sepa- ration from the primitive tribes of the old world, before they had advanced beyond the savage or pastoral state. And he thinks that, as the horse was unknown in America previous to the time of its discovery by Co- lumbus, the pictorial representations of that animal by the Mexicans, prove that their progenitors came originally from the old world. If, then, it be true, that Africa, New Holland and the various islands of the Pacific were peopled from southern Asia, which, as we have seen, was the seat Q4 IDENTITY OF THE FIVE RACES. of the Garden of Eden,—that ancient Scythia, north- ern Asia, the whole of Europe, and the new world, were peopled from the same prolific region,—there is no foundation in nature for the division of mankind into three, five or more primitive races. We are there- fore authorized to conclude, that all the nations, tribes and families of the earth are descended from one and the same original stock—in other words, that "God hath made of one blood all the nations that dwell on the earth." Nor will the admission of five or more primitive races explain the endless varieties of colour, form, etc. of the human species,—why, for example, the Patagonians are so different from the natives of Terra del Fuego on the one hand, and those of Peru, Brazil, Guiana and Mexico on the other,—why the Osage and Black Feet Indians are larger than any other tribes of North America, and the Esquimaux little above the stature of dwarfs; while they are all supposed to belong to one and the same distinct race. Again, there is a far greater difference between the tribes of northern Asia, Europe, or -even of Tartary, and the natives of China, (all of whom are regarded as belonging to the Mongolian race,) than between the latter and the Hindoos, Arabs, Egyptians, Per- sians, Georgians and Circassians, who are equally dif- ferent from the Greeks, Romans, Germans, Dutch, British and other nations of Europe—all of Avhom are supposed to have descended from the Caucasian stock. There is also an endless diversity among the tribes which constitute the negro and Malay races, as they are called. Among all the various classifications of mankind that have been offered, the most singular is VARIETIES OF COLOUR. 65 that of Oken:—1. Homo cuticularis, the Ethiopian; 2. Homo lingualis, the Malay; 3. Homo nasalis, the American; 4. Homo auricularis, the Mongolian; 5. Homo oadaris, the Caucasian or European. Having in the preceding chapter examined the in- fluence of climate on the stature, magnitude of the chest, size and form of the head, intellectual and moral character of the human race, I proceed to inquire how far it modifies the complexions of mankind. Dr. Prich- ard states, on the authority of Herodotus, Diodorus, the travels of Norden, Volney, Sonnini and Denon, that the original colour and general configuration of the ancient Egyptians were those of the negro race, with dark skin, woolly hair, prominent cheek-bones, low and narrow forehead, thick lips, flat nose, protruding eyeballs and short stature.* In support of this opinion, Godfrey Higgins states, that the most ancient statues of India and Egypt are black, with curly hair, thick lips and flat nose; that in Greece, which was originally peopled from southern Asia and northern Africa, the statues of Jupiter, Hercules, Bacchus and other gods, were of the same colour,—from which he inferred, that all the first inhabitants of the earth were black, and gradually changed through every gradation of colour, on spread- ing over the higher latitudes. Yet Dr. Prichard thinks that "climates have very * Dr. Latham, in his recent work on the Varieties of Men, says of the modern Copts, who are descended from the ancient Egyp- tians, that the hair is black and crisp, or curled, the cheek-bones projecting, lips thick, nose somewhat depressed, nostrils wide, com- plexion varied, from yellow to dark-brown, eyes oblique, physiog- nomy heavy and inexpressive. (Page 509.) 66 VARIETIES OF COLOUR CLIMATIC. inconsiderable and doubtful effect in exciting varieties of complexion,"—which are owing more to civiliza- tion or "cultivation, than to any other known cause." (Physical History of Man, pp. 155, 194, 222.) But it is only in the hottest portions of the earth that man is perfectly black, as among the negroes of Soudan, Bennin, Dahomy, Loango, Angola, Benguela, and other parts of central Africa. In fact, the genuine negroes of Africa are confined chiefly to the low lands and river-courses, such as the valleys of the Senegal, the Gambia, Niger and Upper Nile. If we pass to the more temperate regions of north and south Africa, we shall find that the natives are neither black nor white, but exhibit various shades of colour, from dark- brown, olive and dusky-red to a tawny-yellow, with black and slightly curled hair, as among the Berbers, Caffres, Boshuanas, Hottentots and several other tribes. We have also seen, that in the tropical portions of New Holland, the temperature approximates that of central Africa, owing to the absence of mountains, the prevalence of large sandy deserts and the scarcity of rain,—that in this dreary region the mercury some- times rises to 112° in the shade, during the hot winds from the interior, according to Mr. Lang—and it is known that the natives are almost as black as in cen- tral Africa. The climate is also excessively hot in the large tropical islands of New Guinea, Borneo, Java and Sumatra, in consequence of their vicinity to south- ern Asia and New Holland. As might be supposed, the natives exhibit various shades of black, dark-brown and dusky-olive. But among all the smaller tropical islands scattered over the Pacific, where the temperature VARIETIES OF COLOUR CLIMATIC. 67 scarcely ever rises above 85° or 90° in the shade, there is not one that contains a purely black population. Although continually exposed to the sun, the natives are of a light-brown complexion, with long, straight hair, regular features and fine symmetrical forms, espe- cially on mountainous islands, where the inhabitants are larger and fairer than on such as are low and level, according to the observations of Captain Beechy and others. Moreover, it is well established, that the inhabitants of southern India, China and Arabia, are several shades darker than in the northern portions of those coun- tries; and more dark than the Japanese, who live in a more temperate climate. We also learn from Niebuhr, De Pages and Frazer, that in the burning province of Yemen, or Desert of Akhaf, the Arabs are of a colour approaching that of the negro, and have curly hair. But Bruce states, that among the mountains of Rud- dua in the north of Arabia, where water freezes, the natives have red hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Nor is it less certain, that the Persians and Turks are darker than the Georgians and Circassians; that in the north of Spain, Italy, and even France, the inhabitants are much fairer than in the southern provinces; finally, that in England, Scotland., Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Russia, where the mean temperature of summer is lower than in any other part of the world in corresponding latitudes, and varies from 60° to 66°, they are of a ruddy white com- plexion, with fair hair and blue eyes, modified, how- ever, by more or less exposure to the sun, and by mixture with the natives of other climates, which pro- duce an endless variety of shades. « 68 THE SUN THE GRAND PAINTER OF NATURE. But why should I multiply words to prove that the sun, with his different coloured rays, is the great Painter of Nature? For no indigenous white race has ever been found ivithin the tropics, and no black nations in the middle or higher latitudes, if we except the dark- brown inhabitants of Van Dieman's Land, who, as Dr. Prichard observes, may have come from New Guinea, the tropical portion of New Holland, or some other hot climate * Is it not also an incontrovertible fact, that Europeans become several shades darker, and often quite brown, after residing fifteen or twenty years in tropical India or South America? Nor is this any more remarkable than that the blush of the apple, peach and other fruits, should be always deepest on the side exposed to the sun,—that the sky, the ocean, the evening clouds, the plumage of birds and insects, with all the adornments of the external world, should be always most richly and variously coloured where the power of the sun is greatest; and diminish on to the polar regions, where they are reduced to a dull monotonous mixture of brown and leaden gray in summer, and to whiteness during winter,—that those parts of animals from which the solar rays have been excluded, are pale or white, like celery and other plants when kept in the dark,—or that the offspring of brown mice when constantly kept in dark cellars, is often white, with reddish eyes. It is said that in * Dr. Latham very justly observes, that migration from a tro- pical continent to tropical islands, would favour a gradual change from dark to fair, while the transition from the latter to New Guinea and Australia, would produce a change from fair to dark. (Varieties of Man, p. 259.) COLOUR OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS. 69 southern Italy, sheep and swine are chiefly black; whereas in England, their prevailing hue is white. (Wisemans Lectures, vol. i. p. 190.) Should it be asked why the natives of tropical Ame- rica are less dark than those of central Africa, southern India, New Holland, New Guinea, Borneo and Su- matra, I answer, that the mean temperature of South America is greatly mitigated by the continual expo- sure of its eastern coast to the trade-winds,—by the elevation of Chili, Peru and Mexico, from eight or ten to thirteen thousand feet above the ocean,—and by the small amount of dry land between lat. 10° and 30° N.; giving to Guatemala and Mexico the character of a maritime climate. Accordingly, we are informed by Bougouer and other travellers, that on the table- lands of Peru the natives are much fairer than on the low and level plains of Brazil, where, Dr. Prichard says, they are nearly as black as Africans. Don Antonio D'Ulloa says, the natives of Guayaquil, in Peru, are fresh coloured, and fairer than the Spaniards. (Voyage to South America, vol. i. p. 171.) We also learn from the surgeon who accompanied Captain Beechy in his voyage of discovery in the Pacific, that among the Araucoans who inhabit the temperate climate of Chili, he found several individuals that had gray eyes, which is never the case with persons of dark bronze or copper complexion. Molina also describes those who inhabit the thirty-ninth degree of south latitude, as fair and well-featured as the northern Europeans. It has been stated on the authority of Humboldt, that the colour of the native Americans is nearly the same in all latitudes; consequently that difference of 70 COLOUR OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS. climate will not explain all the varieties of complexion in the human species. But this assertion is refuted by the testimony of numerous accurate observers. Humboldt himself states, that the Indians of the upper Orinoco are fair; and that on the northwestern coast of America, around Cloak Bay, in lat. 54°, the natives have large eyes, European features, and are not darker than the peasantry of Germany. It is also stated by Say, Major Long and other travellers, that near the sources of the Mississippi, the natives are much fairer than the more southern tribes of North America; and that many individuals have light flaxen or yellow hair. Mr. Catlin further states, that among the Mandans who resided in lat. 46° N. and had be- come so far civilized as to have comfortable dwellings, with the art of manufacturing vessels of pottery, there were females almost white, with hazel, blue and gray eyes, regular features, and hair of every colour, except red and auburn. (Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians, vol. i. p. 94.) Even among the Esquimaux, Charlevoix observed individuals with red hair. And Dr. Morton admits that the aboriginal Americans exhibit all the varieties of colour, from a decided white to an unequivocally black skin. (Gran. Americana, p. 69.) Certain it is, that the people who inhabit the high table-lands of Mexico are much fairer than those of Vera Cruz and other towns on the coast. Should it still be urged, that the general complexion of the native Americans is that of iron-rust, while that of the various tribes in northern Asia and Europe is yellow or tawny, it may be answered, that all bar- barous nations are continually exposed to the sun and VIEWS OF DR. PRICHARD. 71 air during summer, and mostly confined in smoky dwellings amidst filth during winter, while many of them employ red paints. But it is obvious, that if the whitest nations of Europe had been exposed in the same manner for a sufficient length of time, their skin would be thick, coarse and yellow, the hair and eyes black. For the peasantry of Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden and Russia, are of a brownish- yellow colour, and several degrees darker than the in- habitants who remain chiefly within doors during the heat of the day. In support of his theory, that civilization, or what he calls "cultivation, produces greater varieties of complexion than any other known cause," Dr. Prich- ard says, that the Moorish ladies of north Africa, who remain in the shade, are often beautifully fair; while their brothers, who are much exposed to the sun, are brown or olive; that the Brahmans of India, (which is equally true of the wealthier classes in general, in- cluding the Parsees,) are several shades lighter than the field labourers, boatmen and sailors; that the Tar- tars who conquered China about two centuries ago, and adopted the habits of civilization, have become much fairer, and now often have blue eyes. But Dr. Prichard seems to have overlooked the fact, that in warm climates, the temperature is 20° or 30° higher in the sun than in the shade,—a difference almost equal to that between the tropical and middle lati- tudes,—-so that what he calls cultivation means protection from the influence of external temperature, which is the principal element of climate. He admits, that the Kabyles of Tunis and some of the high mountains in 72 GRADUAL CHANGES OF COLOUR north Africa, (where the climate resembles that of Greece and Italy,) are of a fair and ruddy complexion, with hair of a yellow or reddish colour, as stated by Shaw, Hornemann and Marsden,—while the Tuarics of the Great Desert, who speak a dialect of the same language, are of a dark-brown complexion, as among the natives of Ceylon, Bengal, Malacca, Penang, Mada- gascar and other tropical climates. Should it still be objected that the inhabitants of northern China are darker than those of western Europe, where the mean annual temperature is nearly the same, I reply, that the average of summer is from 15° to 20° higher at Pekin than in Great Britain, France, Germany and Holland, the natives of which are much fairer than in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal, where the climate is proportionally warmer.* Dr. Prichard maintains, that "the complexion ac- quired by exposure to the sun is not imparted by parents to their offspring,—and that no change of cli- mate, however great, or for whatever time its influence may have been exerted, could transform white Eu- ropeans into negroes, or even make them approximate in any considerable degree." (Op. cit. pp. 194, 222.) The same opinion has been embraced by Mr. Law- rence. And Dr. Caldwell maintains, that although * In fact, we are assured by the Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith, that "in no other country is there such a regular gradation of colours as is traced from the fair natives of Pekin to the inhabit- ants 'of Canton, who are of a dark copper.» ( Variety Hum. Spec. p. 16.) He might have added, that in western Asia, the colour deepens from Persia, where the people are fair, to the south of Arabia, where they are nearly black. FROM WHITE TO BLACK. 73 the whites in Africa have been somewhat darkened, their constitutions deteriorated, and their numbers re- duced, no perceptible progress, or even tendency, has been made toward their conversion into another race. Nor does he believe that the negro owes his colour to a tropical sun, because those parts of the body which are covered with us, are of the deepest black. But he forgets that in Africa, the natives generally go naked, or nearly so, as among all barbarous tribes in warm climates. On the coast of Guinea and other parts of tropical Africa, most of the lower animals, such as cattle, dogs and poultry, like men, were black. (Voy- age to and from Borneo, 1712, p. 14.) In opposition to the foregoing views, we are informed by Herder, on the authority of highly respectable tra- vellers in Africa, that the descendants of the Portu- guese who settled on the coast of Guinea about three hundred and fifty years ago, are nearly as black as the natives; while in symmetry of form, regularity of features, and general intelligence, they have signally degenerated. (Philosophy of Hist. vol. i. p. 267.) And Bishop Heber says, that the Portuguese of India have become black as Caffres. (Narrative, vol. i. p. 68.) Finally, Dr. Morton says, "that the Foulah or Fella- tah population of central Africa, now spread over a region of 1500 miles from east to west, and 500 miles from north to south, are a mixed progeny of Arabs, Berbers and negroes, no longer admits of a reasonable doubt." If, then, there has been so great an approximation of Europeans to the colour and other peculiarities of the negro race in three hundred and fifty years, what VOL. II. 5 74 THE BLACK JEWS OF COCHIN. changes might naturally be expected to arise in the course of two or three thousand years ? Does this not look as if the white might be transformed gradually into the black race ? In support of this opinion, Bruce states, that the Jews are black in Abyssinia, brown in Arabia, Syria and Egypt; and it is certain that they are much darker in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey, than in Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Sweden and Russia, where many of them are exceed- ingly fair and ruddy, with sandy beards. We also learn from The Researches of Claudius Buchanan in India, that before the downfall of the Babylonian empire, a colony of Jews settled in the southern province of Malabar, who are now black, and scarcely distinguishable from the Hindoos; whereas the modern Jews who came from Palestine at a much later period are nearly white. (Pages 226-230.) Malte Brun further states on the authority of Oldendorp, that Loango, in tropical Africa, contains black Jews scat- tered throughout the country. (Histoire de la Mission, p. 287.) It is therefore undeniable, that notwithstand- ing the rigid adherence of this remarkable nation to their original manners, customs and modes of living, their complexion is as various as the climates in which they have long resided. Burkhardt says, that the descendants of Arabs and Turks who were sent by Selim, after his conquest of Egypt, to the African coast of the Red Sea, are of the darkest brown, ap- proaching to black. (Travels in Nubia, p. 391, second edition.) Various other travellers affirm, that the Arabs who passed over to Africa about a thousand years ago, are much darker than those of Asia; and GENERAL COROLLARIES. 75 that in the Great Desert of Sahara, they have become nearly as black as the Tibboos and natives of Fezzan. There is also reason to believe, that in the course of two thousand years, and perhaps a much shorter time, the blackest negroes of central Africa would become perfectly white in such a climate as that of Great Britain, and undergo a corresponding change in their whole organization. For it has been observed that, after the third generation, the descendants of negroes brought from Africa to the United States, are several. shades lighter than their ancestors,—the hair longer, softer and less curly; the eyes more animated, the mouth smaller, the nose more elevated, and all the features more agreeable, with a corresponding improve- ment of the intellectual faculties,—the change being much greater among domestic servants than field labourers, who are more exposed to the sun. (Smith on the Causes of Variety of Complexion and Figure in the Human Species, pp. 115, 171, second edition.) I have also been informed by a highly intelligent gen- tleman of colour from St. Domingo, that he has ob- served a considerable change of his own complexion, and that of his countrymen in general, after a few years residence in Paris or London. From all the foregoing facts, we are authorized to conclude:— 1. That if the climate of the whole earth had been the same as that of tropical Africa near the level of the sea, ever since the origin of mankind, they would have been everywhere black, with curly hair and dark eyes. 2. That as the Greeks and Romans, Saxons and 76 UNITY OF ORGANIZATION. Celts, came from southern Asia and northern Africa, they must have originally been of the same complexion and configuration as the present Hindoos, Egyptians and Moors, who are of a dark-brown colour. 3. That if in all latitudes, the temperature of the earth had always corresponded with that of Britain, France, Germany and Holland, there would have been no black nor brown nations and tribes. 4. But that as the temperature of the globe is diversified by the inclination of its axis, the unequal distribution of land and sea, mountains and valleys, dense forests and sandy plains, there is a correspond- ing variety of colour, form, features and whole organi- zation of the human species,—multiplied by the mix- ture of nations, tribes and families, by conquests, migrations and intermarriages. The truth is, that if caloric be the organizing prin- ciple throughout nature, it must determine all the various degrees and modes of action, on which every diversity in the structure of plants and animals de- pends,—that as all the organs are formed by the nutritive process, the rapidity of which is in propor- tion to the amount of respiration, they are more fully developed in warm than in cold-blooded animals, mo- dified, however, by climate, or external temperature, nature of the surrounding medium, and the various circumstances which tend to augment the growth of some one or more organs, and to suppress that of others, as shown by the numerous diversities of form, size, intelligence, &c. among animals belonging to the same genus and species. Moreover, it has been ascertained by the researches UNITY OF ORGANIZATION. 77 of Lamarck, St. Hilaire and other eminent physiolo- gists of France, whose views have been adopted by Dr. Grant, that all the animals enumerated by natu- ralists (amounting to about 557,600 species) have been formed after one and the same primitive type or model,—the lower orders differing from the highest chiefly by defect,—in other words, that all the animals which inhabit the earth are, in reality, but one animal, as maintained by Aristotle. The unity of organiza- tion has been still further traced by physiologists, who have found that in plants, the primitive tissues from which all the others are evolved, consist of nucleated cells, essentially analogous to those that constitute the elementary tissue of the ovum in all animals. (See Owens Lectures on Reproduction, in the Lancet of 1841.) And that there has been a gradually ascending pro- gress of organization, would appear from the recent discoveries of geologists, who have found that the oldest sedimentary formations are filled with animals of the lowest class and most simple structure, which becomes more and more complex, until we arrive at the newer tertiary deposits, which abound with the fossil remains of the higher or warm-blooded species. Yet there is no historical proof that fishes have ever been transformed into reptiles, nor the latter into birds and mammalia. Nor is it probable, even if such were the fact, that it will ever be demonstrated otherwise than by analogy—owing to the enormous periods of time, and perhaps the great geological changes, requi- site to bring about corresponding changes of organiza- tion. In the present imperfect state of our know- 78 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE ledge, it must therefore remain a problem, whether the higher orders have arisen by imperceptible de- grees from a very simple state during the long course of innumerable ages. It would doubtless be interesting to know whether, if all the plants and animals that now inhabit the earth were destroyed, similar orders, tribes and families would gradually arise, in obedience to existing laws,— whether the higher orders began their existence in a very simple state, and gradually advanced from one stage of development to another, as the recent dis- coveries in geology would seem to indicate,—and why it is that among all the higher animals, nearly an equal number of the two sexes were produced. In all these things there is a profundity of wisdom be- fore which we must bow with humility and pious ado- ration. But I must now examine briefly the influence of climate on the duration of human life. From the researches of M. Moreau de Jonnes, published in the Revue Encyclop>edique for 1833, we are enabled to com- pare the annual mortality of different countries in Europe, as in the following table, constructed from various statistical reports:— Great Britain........................from 1800 to 1804 1 in 47 Germany proper............................ 1825 to 1828 1 in 45 Sweden and Denmark.................... 1821 to 1825 1 in 45 Russia in Europe.......................... 182G to ...... 1 in 44 Kingdom of Poland....................... 1829 to ...... 1 in 44 Austria....................................... 1825 to 1830 1 in 40 Prussia....................................... 1821 to 1826 1 in 39 Holland...................................... 1827 to 182S 1 in 40 Fiance....................................... 1825 to 1827 1 iu 39-5 Switzerland.......................«.......... 1827 to 1828 1 in 40 DURATION OF HUMAN LIFE. 79 Spain...................................from 1801 to 1826 1 in 40 Portugal..................................... 1815 to 1819 1 in 40 Italy........................................... 1822 to 1828 1 in 30 Greece....................................... 1828 to ...... 1 in 30 Turkey in Europe......................... 1828 to ...... 1 in 30 Thus we perceive that, in the temperate and colder latitudes of Europe, life is longer than in the warm climates of Italy, Greece and Turkey, where the tem- perature of summer approximates that of the tropics; and longer in the equable climate of Great Britain, than in any other part of Europe. For example, it is stated by Mr. Farr that the annual mortality of Eng- land and Wales, exclusive of still-born infants, is 217 per cent.; while in Sweden it is 2-46, in France 2*52, and in Prussia 2'80. (Third Report of the Registrar- General, p. 101.) In an article on Miasm, by Dr. John Bell, published in the North American Journal of the Medical Sciences, the author states, but without giving his reference, that between the 14th and 25th of July, 1743,11,000 persons fell dead in the streets of Pekin, the popula- tion of which is rated at 1,500,000. And, although the temperature of summer is less in the United States than in China, it is well known that the mortality of our large cities is greatly augmented during July and August, especially among labourers in the hot sun, who are often attacked with apoplexy, (coup desoleil,) phrenitis, cephalalgia, paralysis, or congestive fever. The unnecessary waste of life occurring every year in Great Britain has been estimated at 60,000 souls, and the number of cases of sickness which might be prevented at 1,708,000, or, at the lowest calculation, 1,020,000. (Brit, and For. Medico-Chirurg. Rev., Jan. 80 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE 1848.) But if we estimate the population of Great Britain at 26,000,000, and that of all Europe at 250,000,000, the annual waste of life from diseases which might be prevented, must be 576,923 souls. And there is good reason to believe that this estimate is a moderate one, perhaps very far below the actual truth. We also learn from the Second Report of the mar- riages, births, diseases and mortality of England and Wales, that out of a population of 15,666,800 in 1838-9, there were 103 deaths at the age of 100 and upwards; and 140 per 1000 at the age of 70 and up- wards. It is much to be regretted that these exceed- ingly valuable reports have not yet embraced Scotland and Ireland. Nor do they represent, as they ought, the whole number of living individuals who have ar- rived at 100 years of age and upwards. But it is stated by Dr. Copland, in a note to Riche- rand's Physiology, that according to authentic returns, the ratio of centenarians in England was '34 for every 20,000, in a population of 12,218,500 in the year 1821 —which would give 207 individuals then alive, who were 100 years old and upwards, or one for every 59,000. He also states, that in Scotland, when the population was 2,135,300, the ratio of centenarians was 1-903 for every 20,000—which would give 203, or one for every 10,484. And he says that in 1811, according to the bills of mortality in Russia, the whole number of deaths was 828,561, of which nine hundred and forty-seven occurred at the age of 100 and up- wards; fifty-one at 120; twenty-one at 125; seven at DURATION OF HUMAN LIFE. 81 130; one at 135; and one at 140. But there is reason to doubt the accuracy of this report; for, according to Sir John Sinclair, the number of deaths throughout the empire, at the age of 100 and upwards, was only 436 in the year 1801. (Code of Health, vol. i. p. 119.) The superiority of Great Britain over all other parts of Europe, in health and longevity, would appear from various considerations. Passing over the account of Galour McCrain, of the island of Jura, who is said to have died in the reign of Charles I. at the age of 180, it is tolerably well established, that during the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries, Francis Conciest, of Yorkshire, lived to the age of 150; Thomas Parr, of Shropshire, to 152; and Henry Jenkins, to 169:— that in Scotland, Mr. Lawrence died at the age of 140; Margaret Patton at 138; and John Mount at 136:—that in Ireland, Colonel Winslow died at the age of 146; the Countess of Desmond at 140; and a very large number, in all parts of the United King- dom, at 120 and upwards. Sharon Turner gives an account of an Irishman of Kerry, who, at the age of eighty-four, had married a young, fifth wife, by whom he had twenty children, and that he died at the age of 111 years, the last seventy of which he drank freely of rum and brandy. According to Mr. Finlayson, between 1813 and 1830, 290,309 individuals died at the age of 80 and upwards, out of 3,938,496, buried in England and Wales—mak- ing 73 per 1000; whereas, according to the tables of mortality in Prussia, the number of deaths from 1820 to 1834, at the age of 81 and upwards, was 207,599, 82 LONGEVITY IN THE UNITED STATES. out of 5,457,209,—making the ratio only 38-7 per 1000. (American Almanac for 1839.)* But if we are to credit the census taken in 1830, the number of centenarians in a white population of 10,845,729 in the United States, was 531, or one for every 20,425, and larger than the ratio in England, or perhaps an}' other part of the world excepting Scot- land. What is still more remarkable, the number of slaves who had arrived at the age of 100 and upwards, was 1379 in a population of 2,010,436, or in the ratio of one for every 1457. But as it is known that the ages of negro slaves are often uncertain, it is probable that in the present case they have been exaggerated, and must therefore be received with caution. This opinion is corroborated by the fact, that from 1830 to 1840, the increase of slaves in the United States was 476,777, or about 2*32 per cent, annually; whereas that of the white population was 3,343,489, (including a large proportion of emigrants from Europe,) or at the rate of about three per cent, annually. I have not be- fore me the free black population of 1830; but it was 386,235 in 1840; and the number of centenarians among them in 1830, is represented as 741. (American Almanac for 1832-40.) As for the rest, life is longer in both the Middle and Southern States, if we except Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, than in New England and other States north of lat. 40°.f * According to the Report of the Registrar-General in the year 1839, there were 20,818 deaths in England and Wales at the age of 80 and upwards, and 121 at the age of 100 and upwards. f From January 1, 1846, to January 1, 1847, about 50 per cent. LONGEVITY IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME. 83 Dr. Bisset Hawkins states, on the authority of Ulpi- anus, that from the time of Servius Hostilius to that of Justinian, embracing about one thousand years, the mean duration of life among the free citizens of Rome was thirty years, which corresponds exactly with the present state of Italy, Greece and European Turkey. Plutarch also states, in his treatise on the Defect of Oracles, that Heraclitus reckoned thirty years as the age of man's life. And Mr. Strong tells us, that in 1839, in all Greece, the mortality under ten years of age was fifty-one per cent., which is less than that of Boston in 1846-47, or of New York and Philadelphia in 1850-51. But there is reason to believe that among the ancients, life was longer in those countries than among the moderns, especially in Greece. For Demo- critus is said to have died at the age of 108, Hippo- crates at 104, Xenophon of Colophonia at 102, Xeno- philus at 106; while Solon, Thales, Pittacus, and other sages, lived to the age of 100 and upwards. We are also informed by Lord Bacon, that during the reign of Vespasian, in the year 76, when the ages of the Roman people were registered, it was found that in the country between the River Po and the base of the Apennines, there were one hundred and twenty-four individuals who had arrived at 100 years and upwards —fifty-seven of whom were 110; four who were 130; and three 140:—that in the hilly country around Pla- centia, there were six individuals aged 110; four who of all the deaths in Boston were those of children under five years of age, excluding the still-born, which amounted to 112 per cent of the whole. 84 MORTALITY OF TOWNS AND COUNTRY. were 120; one woman 132; and one man, Marcus Aponius, of Rimini, 150. (Life and Death.) Bacon also enumerates several individuals who had arrived at the age of 100 and upwards in the City of Rome,—among whom were Orbilius, Metellus, Clodia, Terrentia, the wife of Cicero, Luceia and Galeria,— while Statilia lived to the age of 99, and Livia, the wife of Augustus, to 90. But, although the clergy of Europe, as a class, are long livers, Bacon says, that among two hundred and forty-one Popes of Rome be- fore his time, only five had arrived at the age of 80. It is therefore probable, that during the high and palmy days of that great city, when supplied with an abundance of pure water, public baths, (at about a farthing for the poor,) and admirable sewers for carry- ing off filth, it was more healthy than during the reign of the Popes. The marshy districts around were also drained by Julius Caesar and his successor, Augustus, by which the country was rendered more salubrious than at present. Nor was imperial Rome polluted by the effluvia from grave-yards—like London and many other modern cities. Thus we perceive, that after making all due allow- ance for the influence of civilization, industry and the arts on the mean duration of human life, it is greater in the temperate latitudes of Europe than in either the north or south. And M. Quetelet has shown that in all parts of Europe, it is considerably greater in the country than in cities or large towns, in which it varies from 22 to 40-8 years in the middle and higher latitudes; but from 18 to 36 years in the south of Europe,—and that in Belgium the proportion is 46*9 ANNUAL MORTALITY OF EUROPE. 85 in the country, to 36-9 in the towns. (Treatise on Man, p. 28.) The difference is still greater in England and Wales, where, according to the Second Report of the Regis- trar-General, the mean duration of life is fifty years in the country districts, and thirty-seven in the large towns. And the diseases chiefly incident to children are twice as fatal in towns as in the country, as shown by the following table, contained in the Third Re- port. Deaths in 1,000,000 children:— Country Districts. Town Districts. By Hydrocephalus.............................. 419 1071 Convulsions.................................. 942 2586 Pneumonia................................... 995 2028 From scarlatina, measles, croup, smallpox and whoop- ing-cough the difference was about the same, or in the average ratio of 1999 to 4014. We also learn from the Third Report, that in Eng- land and Wales the number of deaths in 1839-40 was 350,101,—of which 141,747 occurred under the age of five years, or in the proportion of 404 per 1000. From which it follows, that if we estimate the whole population of Europe at 250,000,000,* and the average annual mortality of individuals at all ages as one to forty, the number of deaths must be 6,250,000; and 2,525,000 before arriving at the age of five years. This enormous waste of life is owing greatly to the exposure of tender infants to cold and vicissitudes of * Of this number, 25,000,000 are paupers, or about 10 per cent. of the whole. In England and France it is 10 per cent.; in Bel- gium and Flanders 20 per cent.; and in Ireland 33 per cent, of the whole population. 86 INFLUENCE OF WINTER ON HEALTH. temperature, at an age when the power of generating heat is so small, that they often become chilled even during summer, if not sufficiently covered, or if suf- fered to remain in their wet clothes. As a proof of what has just been observed, M. Que- telet has shown, that the mortality of infants is from 20 to 30 per cent, greater during winter than summer in Belgium,—that the maximum takes place at the end of winter, and the minimum about the middle of summer; that during the first month after birth it is in the ratio of 100 in January to 52 in July, and diminishes on to the twelfth year, when the influence of season disappears until the age of 40; during which time the power of obtaining heat by respiration is at a maximum. But after this period, the mortality in winter augments until the age of 80, when the ratio in winter is 100 to 51 in summer; while at 90, the difference is as 100 to 39. (Recherches sur la Pop. et la Mortalite de THomme, &c.) We also learn from the Reports of the English Registrar-General, that among aged people, and all individuals of feeble constitution, the mortality is from 30 to 50 per cent, greater during winter than summer; that whenever the mean tem- perature in London falls below 50'5°, the mortality increases progressively; that cold destroys a certain number of persons rapidly, and produces in others maladies which prove fatal in a month or six weeks, —so that the effects of a low temperature go on accu- mulating, and continue to be felt for thirty or forty days after the extremes have passed away. (Third Report, p. 108; Letter of Mr. Farr.) The truth is, that the healthy growth of all young animals is retarded by cold, which is the great enemy LONGEVITY IN WARM CLIMATES. 87 of infants, old people, and all individuals whose power of obtaining caloric from the atmosphere by respiration is imperfect. There is reason to believe, that nearly all infants are born with a sound organization, and therefore might be reared to maturity, if always main- tained at an agreeable temperature, supplied with suit- able nourishment, pure air, and allowed plenty of moderate exercise. Owing to improvements in wealth, science, diet, clothing, habitations, &c. the mean dura- tion of life has augmented from 20 to 30 per cent, in the middle latitudes of Europe, within the last one hundred years; and the mortality of infants has dimi- nished nearly 40 per cent, in the same time; for it has been estimated by statisticians of high repute, that between the years 1730 and 1750, it was about 740 per 1000 under six years of age. There cannot, there- fore, be a rational doubt, that the general diffusion of sound practical knowledge of the animal economy among the people, would augment the average dura- tion of life at least 50 per cent. According to the researches of Dr. G. Emerson, the ratio of women to men living in Philadelphia, from the age of forty-five years and upwards, is as 100 to 74, among the whites, and as 100 to 69, among the blacks,—owing doubtless, to the greater amount of exposure, intemperance, &c. of men. The mortality of males to that of females, in the whole of the United States, is in the ratio of 100 to 97. (American Journal of the Med. Sci. Nov. 1827.) In regard to the mean duration of human life in the warm and tropical portions of Asia, Africa and Ame- rica, our information is exceedingly imperfect. But from all the best accounts I have been able to collect gg LONGEVITY OF THE CHINESE. from books of travels, there is reason to believe, that in southern Asia, northern Africa and central Ame rica, it does not exceed thirty years. For the Hin- doos, Arabs, Egyptians and southern Chinese, are said to be old at fifty, and rarely live beyond seventy years, if we except the Brahmans and the wealthier classes in general, who avoid the noxious influence of a burning sun, and resort to frequent ablutions with cold water—by which health is preserved, and life often protracted to eighty, or even to one hundred years in some cases, especially in the extra tropical portions of India, China and Africa. It is seldom, however, that man arrives at the age of one hundred, even in the north of China, where life is longer than in the southern provinces. For we are informed by Sir John Sinclair, that when in the year 1784, the Emperor Kien Long ordered all the centenarians in his dominions to be numbered, only four could be found. (Code of Health, vol. i. p. 89.) In the Com- panion to a Chinese Calendar for 1832, edited by J. Morrison, it is stated that from a census taken in 1813, the official returns amounted to 362,447,183 souls, which M. Gutslaff has adopted as the most probable amount of the real population of that em- pire. Yet in the year 1827, when a census was taken by the Emperor Kang He, it was found that there were only twenty-one individuals in the empire who had arrived at the age of 100 years and upwards; 10,000 who were 90; and less than half a million who had attained to the age of 70 and upwards. {Sharon Turners Sacred Hist, of the World, vol. ii. pp. 402-406.) But if we take the population of the DURATION OF LIFE IN TROPICAL CLIMATES. 89 ' United Kingdom of Great Britain at 26,000,000; and the number of individuals who have arrived at the age of 70 and upwards must be 3,640,000, about eight times as many as in the entire population of China. In the temperate climate of south Africa, the mean duration of life among Europeans has been found nearly the same as in England; while it is said that the Caffres also frequently arrive at the age of one hundred and upwards. Such, however, is not the case with either natives or foreigners in climates of perpetual summer, if we except a few small islands, which are exempt from extremes of temperature, and the impure air arising from putrefaction, combustion and the respiration of animals. For example, life is longer in Bermuda, Barbadoes and some other small islands, than in the same latitudes of America; while in Madeira and St. Helena, the average is said to be from forty-eight and a half to fifty years. From the facts collected by M. Moreau de Jonnes, as presented in the following table, we may form a general, though imperfect notion, in regard to the influence of a tro- pical climate on the mean duration of life among na- tives and foreigners. (See Quetelet on Man, pp. 27, 45.) Batavia, 1805...................... Natives................. 40 years. " " ...................... Chinese................. 29 " " " ...................... Slaves.................. 13 " " " ...................... Europeans............. 11 " Bombay, 1815..................... " ............. 18-5*" " " ...................... Mussulmans........... 17'5 " * It is stated by R. D. Thomson, in a recent work on Digestion, that among the Mahometans and Moguls of Calcutta, the mean value of life is thirty-six years; among the English twenty-eight years; the Armenians twenty-five; the Hindoos sixteen; and the native Christians fourteen,— making an average of nearly twenty-four years. VOL. II. 6 90 DURATION OF LIFE IN TROPICAL CLIMATES. Bombay, 1815........... Havana, ........... Guadaloupe, 1811 to 1824 >< << " Martinique, 1815........... i« " ........... Granada, ........... St. Lucia, ........... Mean of the whole... Nor would the general result be materially different, if the Europeans were omitted in the estimate. We also learn from the sixth edition of Dr. J. Johnson's work on the Diseases of Tropical Climates, that the average annual mortality of the British troops in Bengal varied from 7640 to 90*69 per 1000, from 1790 till the year 1810. According to the reports of Major Tulloch, it was 78*5 per 1000 among the white troops serving in the West Indies, from 1817 until 1836, or above five times greater than in the United Kingdom, where it was only 15*3 per 1000, and nearly the same in British America; whereas on the western coast of Africa, it varied from 483to668'5perl000. But he states, that among the black troops of Sierra Leone, including the slaves liberated by the English cruisers and settled there, it was only 30 per 1000, and about the same as the annual mortality of the whole slave population throughout the British West Indies. He adds, however, that the mean duration of life among the negroes of all ages does not exceed twenty-three years;* and that the annual number of births is not equal to the number of deaths. * It is therefore not true, as maintained by Dr. Prichard and others, that the mean duration of life is about the same in all cli- Parsees................. 24 years. « ................. 33 Whites.................. 23-5 " Free Blacks............ 35 " Whites................. 24 Free Blacks............ 33 " Slaves.................. 22 DURATION OF LIFE IN TROPICAL CLIMATES. 91 Such facts exhibit in a very striking manner the fatal influence of tropical climates on Europeans, com- pared with the negro race. But why is the mortality of the whites so much greater in central Africa than in the East and West Indies? And why so much greater in all hot countries than among the natives? The rationale of the latter fact has been already given, when treating of the manner in which the develop- ment of the chest, and the quantity of respiration are modified by external temperature, and will be further explained hereafter. The truth is, it is much easier to counteract the influence of external cold, by suit- able clothing, habitations, artificial combustion and a liberal supply of animal or oily food, than it is to avoid the debilitating tendency of a burning climate, and the noxious exhalations which it inevitably engenders, wherever there is vegetable and animal matter in a state of decay. The greater mortality of tropical Africa than of the West Indies, must also be sought in the vast difference between their climates. For although the mean an- nual temperature is nearly the same, it rises 20° higher during the heat of the day in central Africa, while it often descends to 60° at night, and sometimes to 50°, or even to 42° in the morning before sunrise,—making a diurnal range of from 50° to 70°; whereas in the West India islands it is only from 10° to 20°. Be- mates. Solomon tells us, that fourscore was an extreme age in Judea. But we have seen that in Europe and the United States it is frequently twenty, and sometimes fifty or sixty years longer. And Dr. Smith, who resided some time in Peru, informs us, that at Lima, the mean duration of life does not exceed twenty years. 92 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE NEGRO. sides, owing to the vast bodies of alluvial lands, which are converted into swamps or morasses, by periodical inundations of the rivers in tropical Africa, a much larger amount of malaria is generated, than in islands of moderate size and a milder temperature. Corresponding with this state of things, we learn from the travels of Adanson, Mungo Park, Winter- bottom, Denham, Clapperton and others, that the ne- groes on the Senegal, Gambia and Niger, like those of Fezzan, Soudan and other portions of central Africa, are generally a feeble, indolent and phlegmatic race, who seldom live beyond sixty years,—who are gray, wrinkled and decrepid with age at forty-five; while in health, strength, beauty and intelligence, they are greatly inferior to the natives of the elevated plains of ancient Ethiopia and Abyssinia, or those of north and south Africa. But when removed to the milder climate of St. Domingo, and other West India islands, it is said by Collins and others, that in two or three generations, they improve greatly in all the endow- ments of body and mind. As a proof of this, some of the black Creoles of Hayti have been distinguished for courage, ability, information and patriotism. We have also seen, that in the temperate climate of the United States, the increase of the negro population is nearly the same as that of the whites, notwithstanding the number of emigrants added annually to the latter. It is therefore not true, as supposed by Dr. Prichard, that negroes are under the same disability to thrive and multiply in cold or temperate climates, as Euro- peans within the tropics. Nor is it true, as maintained by Dr. Caldwell, that "the negro is most healthy, long MADNESS OF COLONIZING CENTRAL AFRICA. 93 lived, and attains the highest perfection of his nature in his native country." On the contrary, there is but little reason to hope from the history of the past, that he will ever rise much above the state of barbarism, in the tropical portions of his native country. Why then should men calling themselves philanthropists, be so anxious to remove the black population of the United States (where they multiply faster and live longer than almost any other people in the world) to the western coast of Africa, where the mean duration of life is not much above twenty years, as among the colonized blacks of Sierra Leone and Liberia? It is a reckless expenditure of money and life. It is stated by Collins, in his work on the treatment of slaves, that the Creole women of the West Indies are more fruitful than the natives of Africa, among whom abortions are frequent. It is therefore not sur- prising, that the population of tropical Africa has always been sparse. The women are also unfruitful in the north of Asia, Europe and America, where sel- dom more than three births are produced from one marriage; and where the mean duration of life is short. For example, it has been computed that in Iceland, (the climate of which is moderate compared with that of Asia or America in the same latitudes,) the annual mortality was one in thirty, from 1825 to 183.1. (Bibliotheque Universelle, Oct. 1833, p. 177.) The prevalent diseases are said to be phthisis, pleu- risy, jaundice, erysipelas, leprosy, elephantiasis and lowness of spirits. That moderately warm climates are more favour- able to fecundity than such as are cold, has been es- 94 FECUNDITY IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES. tablished by the researches of Quetelet, who has shown that from the fortieth to the fiftieth degree of Latitude in Europe, 100 marriages give 475 births; while from lat. 50° to 67°, the number is 430; and that in Portugal, it is 510, but only 362 in Sweden, __and greater in the south than in the north of France, in the ratio of 503 to 464. Perhaps there is no part of the world where the population increases so rapidly as in Ireland,*—especially when we con- sider the multitudes that emigrate annually to other countries; for, according to Professor Rau, it doubles every 28'6 years; in England, every 42-3 years; in Spain, every 41-9 years; in Prussia on the Rhine, every 52*33 years; in Austria, every 53"6 years; in France, every 1103 years; in Sweden, every 118; and, according to M. Ch. Dupin, every 66 years in Russia. (Quetelet, op. cit. p. 51.) It may be received as a fundamental axiom, that whatever is most delightful to the unperverted in- stincts of mankind, is most favourable to health, beauty, longevity, the development of all the higher faculties, and the perfection of human nature,—such for example, as a medium temperature, pure air and * Such is the delightful uniformity of temperature in the Green Isle, that at Cork, the mean of winter is about 43°, and that of summer 61°. When this beautiful country shall have thrown off the shackles of superstition, and obtained its political rights, it will advance in literature, science and the arts, with a rapidity pro- portioned to the physical superiority of its inhabitants. From all the foregoing facts and observations, it is evident that the climate of Europe is superior to that of all the other quarters of the globe, and that of the United States next,—if we except New Zealand and a few other small islands. INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONS ON LONGEVITY. 95 water, simple but nourishing food, moderate exercise of the physical, intellectual and moral faculties, espe- cially of the domestic and social affections, and tran- quillity of mind, which is the fruit of a well-spent life.* Nor is it less certain, that whatever excites painful or disagreeable sensations, is detrimental to sound health and long life, whether it be excessive heat or cold, too much or too little nourishment, excessive study, im- moderate indulgence of the passions, impure air, the depressing emotions, nauseous drugs or intemperance in the use of spirituous liquors. From the researches of Dr. Madden, contained in his work entitled Infirmities of Genius, it would ap- pear, that, notwithstanding excessive intellectual exertion is a frequent cause of ill health and prema- ture death, the mean duration of life among the learned and liberal professions is about forty-six years, if we deduct 30 per cent, for the mortality of infancy. For he found that by taking twenty indi- viduals belonging to each of the professions devoted to science, literature and the arts, in different parts of Europe, the average was as follows:— Writers on Natural Philosophy.......................... 74-7 years. Moral Philosophy............................ 70-8 " Law and Jurisprudence..................... 69'7 " Medicine........................................ 68-4 " Revealed Religion........................... 67-7 " Philology........................................ 66-1 " Natural Theology............................ 62-7' " * It is stated by Sir John Sinclair, in his Code of Health, that after many years of research, he had not been able, to find one case of an habitually wicked man who had arrived at a great age. The truth is, that the natural tendency to crime is in itself a fatal disease, and should be treated as such. 96 LONGEVITY OF DIFFERENT CLASSES. Artists................ Musical Composers Novelists.............. Dramatists........... Poets.................. Average.. Dr. Charles Caldwell also informs us, that out of the fifty-six Americans who signed the Declaration of Independence, fifty-four lived to the age of 66 years and nine months. (Physical Education.) But according to the researches of Caspar, as given by Quetelet, theologians live longer in Prussia than any other class; agriculturists next; and physicians the shortest period of all. More extended observa- tions are required to furnish data for a sure induc- tion. According to the reports of Tulloch, life is longer among officers of the British army in the West Indies, than among privates, in the ratio of 7-8 per cent, to 4-2; while the mortality increases from the age of eighteen to forty and upwards. And we learn from the late report of Mr. Chadwick, on the sanitary con- dition of the labouring population in England and Wales, that the average value of life among the no- bility and gentry is from 30 to 50 per cent, greater than among the tradespeople and mechanics; and that above 50 per cent, of all the children belonging to the labouring classes die under five years of age; whereas the ratio is only 25 per cent, among the gentry.* The * According to the calculations of Dr. Grey, founded on the mortuary registration of 1839, the average age of all who die above 15 years of age, among the class of gentry and professional men 70-6 years. 64-4 " 62-8 " 62-4 " 57-2 " INFLUENCE OF DESTITUTION ON LONGEVITY. 97 fatal influence of destitution would appear from the fact, that out of 12,313 individuals of all ages, in the English workhouses, 2552 deaths occurred in 1838, or about 20 per cent, of the whole. (Lancet, May 1,1841.) Even in the hospitals and infirmaries of England, the mean annual mortality varies from 4 to 11 per cent. according to Porters Progress of the Nation. is 59 years; while among tradesmen and the labouring class it was 49 and 48 years; the liability to consumption among the latter being about twice as great as among the former. Both in Paris and London the mortality among the working classes is nearly double what occurs among the more wealthy. CHAPTER III. INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE AND SEASON IN MODIFYING THE DISEASES OF MANKIND. " The time may come when, guided by yet undiscovered know- ledge, new and more direct principles, the tendency to tubercular and other morbid formations, may be surely checked, chronic in- flammations cured, and fever suspended in its first movements."— Conolly. A complete history of the mode in which the dis- eases and mortality of the human race are modified by external temperature, regimen, clothing, habita- tions, employments, and the various modes of living, would afford more practical information in regard to the causes, prevention and right method of treatment than all the systems that have been invented within the last two thousand years; for it would enable us to reduce the heterogeneous and chaotic mass of facts that constitute the sum of medical literature, to the certainty of an exact science. And that such an im- portant undertaking might be, to a great extent, ac- complished in a short time, by the combined exertions of a few enlightened individuals, is manifest from what (98) INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON DISEASE. 99 has been recently done in Great Britain by the Reports of Major Tulloch and those of the Registrar-General, aided by the judicious researches of Mr. Farr and other statisticians. The diseases of man are no less modified by climate and season, than the various mechanical, chemical and physiological operations of our planet—being as dif- ferent in the tropical portions of Africa, India, South America and the West Indies from what they are in the temperate and higher latitudes, as are the botani- cal and zoological characters of those regions. The following tables, constructed from the Reports of Tulloch, laid before both Houses of Parliament, ex- hibit the average annual ratio of mortality per 1000 mean strength of the British troops serving in different parts of the world, from 1817 to 1836, omitting epi- demic cholera:— TABLE I. Fevers ........................... Eruptive Fevers............... Diseases of the Stomach 1 and Bowels............... J Diseases of the Liver......... Respiratory Organs........... Diseases of the Brain........ Dropsies......................... All other diseases............. Total....................... 1-4 0-1 0-8 0-4 7-7 0-7 0-3 2-7 14-1 0-2 6-7 1-2 0-4 1-6 14-0 C ^4 7t > 2-4' : U--2, 1-3 1-5 0-2 71 1-3 0-5 M 13-3 13-0 36-9 3-5 0-8 4-8 1-0 0-6 1-5 25-2 20-7 1-8 10-4 3-7 2-1 2-9 78-5 101-9 5-1 1-0 7-5 2-6 1-2 2-0 410-2 41-3 60 4-9 4-3 4-3 12-0 121-3 483-0 382-6 220-6 14-3 1-6 1-6 3-2 44-4 668-3 100 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON TABLE II. Exhibiting the average annual ratio of Mortalit,,per 1000 of Black Troops serving in the West Indies, Sierra Leone and the Southeast Coast of Africa. Cap.' of West Indies. Sierra Leone, (iood Hope. From Fevers......................•............. 4"6 2'4 °'7 Eruptive Fevers................................ 2-5 6.9 Diseases of the Stomach and Bowels..... 7-4 5-3 4 8 Diseases of the Brain........................ 0-9 1-1 0-5 Respiratory Organs............................ 16-5 6-3 39 Dropsies......................................... 21 0-3 All other diseases.............................. 3-8 6-2 1-0 Total................................... 40-0 30-1 10-9 Thus we perceive, that in Great Britain, the Cana- das, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, about one-half of the mortality is from diseases of the respiratory organs; whereas in the warm climate of the Mediter- ranean they form about one-fifth of the whole; in the West Indies nearly one-seventh; and not one one-hun- dredth part among the white troops in tropical Africa. We are also informed by Tulloch, that in the East Indies, where the mean annual mortality varies from seventy to ninety per 1000, nearly the whole was from fever, dysentery, cholera, diarrhoea and disease of the liver; that among 74,850 native troops serving in Madras, the mean annual ratio was only one per 1000 from all diseases of the lungs; and but 2*4 in the Mau- ritius and at St. Helena. We further learn from the last edition of Dr. James Johnson's work on the Dis- eases of Tropical Climates, that from 1827 to 1836 the proportion of deaths from diseases of the respiratory organs was one-eleventh of the whole at Calcutta; at Chinsurah one-sixteenth; and at Berhampore one-twen- tieth. In north Africa, the mortality from phthisis is THE DISEASES OF MANKIND. 101 still less, according to M. Guyon, a medical officer of the French army, who states that from 1838 to 1841 it was only one-fortieth of the whole among the Moors at Algiers; among the Jews, one-thirty-seventh; and about one-twentieth among Europeans. It is also well known, that diseases of the lungs are comparatively rare among the nations of Egypt, as in South America, and almost unknown in the Sandwich Islands. The physicians of ancient Rome were in the habit of send- ing their consumptive patients to the valley of the Nile. But why is it, that the mortality from diseases of the lungs is so much greater among negroes of the West Indies than among Europeans? And why are the latter so much more liable to fevers, when removed to tropical climates, than the natives? The solution of these queries must be sought in the radical differ- ence of organization of men and other animals in cold or temperate and in hot climates. For example, we have seen that, owing to the high temperature of tro- pical Africa, for the greater part of the year, during the heat of the day, respiration is proportionally dimi- nished, and the lungs exercised less, than in colder climates, by which the size of the thorax is accommo- dated to the wants of the system; so that when re- moved to the West Indies, where the maximum tem- perature is from 10° to 20° lower, the natives of Africa are unable to obtain caloric from the atmosphere by respiration, as fast as it is abstracted by the surround- ing media, especially in the high lands, or during the prevalence of northerly winds, and early in the morn- ing when the air is damp. 102 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON DISEASE. The consequence is, that under such circumstances, they are often found shivering with cold, but never complain of the most intense heat of the sun, which is no less delightful to their feelings than conducive to their health; that during winter, when northerly winds prevail, and the air is much cooler than at any other season, they are extremely liable to catarrh, influenza, pneumonia, pleurisy, and other diseases of the lungs, including rheumatism, eruptive fevers, dysentery, diar- rhoea, colic and tetanus—all of which are brought on by exposure to cold, damp air, a shower of rain, and often by sleeping in damp clothes, by which the circu- lation through the lungs and general system is greatly diminished and perspiration checked, followed by con- gestion of the stomach and bowels, or of the pulmonary organs. Nor is it until several generations after his removal to a colder climate, that the thorax of the African is developed to the same extent as that of the European; so that, like the monkey, the lion, tiger and leopard, he is proportionally subject to diseases of the lungs. On the other hand, as the lungs are more ex- ercised in temperate and cold climates, the thorax is more highly developed among the whites, who there- fore obtain a larger amount of caloric by respiration, co3teris paribus, by which they are enabled better to resist the influence of a low temperature. But for this very reason, when removed to the burning climate of tropical Africa, India and America, they receive caloric from the atmosphere by respiration faster than it is carried off, causing the temperature of the body to rise above the natural standard, and predisposing it to at- tacks of malignant fever. According to an estimate of Mr. Farr, published in DISEASES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. 1Q3 the Second Report of the Registrar-General, the mor- tality of England and Wales in 1838 was 342,559 in a population of 15,441,735, or in the ratio of 22-11 per thousand of all ages, and from all diseases—which is 7'8 per cent, higher than among the British troops in the United Kingdom from 1817 to 1836. The reason of this difference is, that the army is composed of men chiefly in the prime of life; whereas in the civil popu- lation of England and Wales, 130,695 of the deaths were of children under five years of age, or in the ratio of above 40 per cent, of the whole mortality. And we have already seen that, throughout the tem- perate and colder latitudes of Europe, a large propor- tion of the deaths among children are owing to the influence of cold, at a period when the power of main- taining the temperature at the natural standard is limited, and the whole organization extremely deli- cate. In England and Wales, the mortality from all the diseases registered in ] 838 was as follows, according to the classification of Mr. Farr. (See Second Report of the Registrar-General, p. 100.) DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. Consumption.................... 59,025 Pneumonia...................... 17,999 Asthma........................... 5,745 Whooping-cough.............. 9,107 Croup............................. 4,463 Hydrothorax.................... 2,306 Bronchitis....................... 2,067 Influenza*...................... 806 Pleurisy......................... 582 Tonsillitis........................ 432 Laryngitis...................... 99 Doubtful.......................... 2,568 Total...........................105,199 * In the tables of Mr. Farr, influenza, croup and whooping-cough are classed as epidemics. But they also belong to the respiratory organs, as much as catarrh or pneumonia, and ought to be classified as such. And as inflammation is common to almost every class of diseases, their division into inflammatory and non-inflammatory is often fallacious. 104 TABULAR CLASSIFICATION OF DISEASES. DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. Convulsions..................... 26,047 Hydrocephalus................. 7,672 Apoplexy........................ 5,630 Paralysis........................ 4,975 Cephalitis........................ 2,178 Epilepsy......................... 1,093 367 ..... 121! 182 21 Doubtful.......................... 1,407 Insanity............. Tetanus .............. Delirium Tremens. Chorea ............... Total........................... 49,704 FEVERS, EPIDEMIC AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. Typhus........................... 18,775 Remittent Fever............... 182 Ague.............................. 44 Smallpox......................... 16,268 Measles.......................... 6,514 Scarlatina........................ 5,802 Erysipelas....................... 1,203 Syphilis.......................... 159 Hydrophobia................... 21 Thrush........................... 1,090 Total........................... 50,001 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. Gastritis and Enteritis........ 6,061 Diarrhoea........................ 2,482 Dysentery Cholera.... Hepatitis.. Jaundice.. Hernia..... Colic........ Worms..... 627 331 449 841 507 619 749 Tabes Mesenterica.......... Peritonitis..................... Ascites......................... Intussusception.............. Stricture........................ Hfematemesis................, Teething......................... 4,404 Doubtful......................... 3,978 724 168 63 233 111 111 Total........................... 22,463 DISEASES OF UNCERTAIN SEAT. Dropsy........................... 12,342 Inflammation................... 5,816 Abscess........................... 1,478 Mortification.................... 1,343 Haemorrhage.................... 1,218 Carcinoma....................... 2,448 Tumors........................... 373 Debility.......... Atrophy......... Gout.............. Malformations. Sudden deaths. Scrofula......... 12,634 2,018 207 166 3,012 1,119 Total........................... 44,232 From diseases of the skin, urinary, sexual and locomotive organs, the number of deaths was.............................................. Old age.................................................. Violent deaths.......................................... Intemperance............................................. Starvation and want...................... 7,436 35,564 11,727 161 167 Total. 55,055 INFLUENCE OF SEASON ON MORTALITY. 105 From the foregoing tables we perceive, that in Eng- land and Wales, a much larger number of individuals die from diseases of the respiratory organs than from any other class of maladies. And Mr. Farr has shown that in the metropolis, from January, 1838, to June, 1841, or three years and a half, the number was much greater during winter than any other season, as repre- sented in the next table:— Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Consumption..................... 5,600 5,778 5,501 5,148 Pneumonia ...................... 3,326 2,454 1,827 3,600 Asthma........................... 1,733 642 344 1,080 Whooping-cough............... 1,674 1,208 644 787 Bronchitis........................ 495 307 191 347 Hydrothorax..................... 272 183 136 206 Pleurisy........................... 70 62 39 51 Influenza............•.............. 67 48 24 46 The greatest number died from consumption in spring, owing to the result of the previous winter's cold, as suggested by Mr. Farr. But this is not the only class of diseases that prove more extensively fatal during winter than any of the other seasons, as will be seen in the following table, the upper line of which represents the mortality of London from all diseases in 1838* * Mr. Farr says, that the ratio of mortality in the different seasons has been about the same in England for the last one hundred and forty years, and is doubtless nearly so in all climates, in which the heat of summer is not sufiicient to generate malignant epidemic fevers. And it is stated by Dr. Heberden, that from 1795 to 1799, the mortality of London was 13,406 in winter, 12,904 in spring, 9678 in summer, and 10,226 in autumn. He also states, that during five weeks, from the 31st of December, 1794, to the 3d of February, 1795, the mean temperature in the morning was 23°, and the whole number of burials 2823; whereas, in an equal period, between the 30th of December, 1795, and the 2d of February, 1796, the temperature was 43-5° in the morning, and the mortality only 1471, making a difference of VOL. II. 7 1Q6 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON THE Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn. 15,611 13,109 11,937 12,581 Apoplexy......................... 299 241 201 246 Paralysis.......................... 234 181 135 187 Dropsy.............................. 501 427 375 465 Typhus............................ 1,285 1,175 829 788 Old age........................... 1,383 969 778 981 Sudden death.................... 216 165 105 146 1838 to 1841. Diseases of child-bed.......... 310 261 217 309 Diseases of the heart.......... 739 556 571 698 Mortification..................... 217 177 153 171 Ulcers............................. 23 16 9 13 Phlegmons....................... 9 2 3 1 Rheumatism..................... 124 113 99 117 Insanity........................... 73 45 35 42 (Second Report of the Registrar-General, pp. 88, 90, 98; and Third Report, p. 105.) From the 1st of January, 1838, till the 1st of June, 1841, the mortality of the metropolis from diseases of the digestive organs was, during winter, 1982; in spring, 2139; in summer, 2978; and in autumn, 22G3. The facts contained in the foregoing tables, espe- cially the two last, are exceedingly instructive in a theoretical and practical point of view, as showing the influence of external temperature in modifying the general character of diseases, together with the true method of treating, or rather of preventing them. Should pathologists still assert, as they have long done, that phthisis depends on a hereditary predispo- sition to the formation of tubercles, I answer, that the hereditary predisposition is engendered chiefly by cold, because rare in hot climates. And if less prevalent in nearly 100 per cent. According to Dr. Emerson, the mortality of adults is nearly the same at Philadelphia, in all seasons of the year; while that of infants is from 30 to 40 per cent, greater during summer than autumn, win- ter and spring. PREVALENCE OF PHTHISIS. 107 Russia than in Great Britain, France or Germany, it is because more attention is paid to clothing and the warming of houses in Russia, where the temperature is kept at about 70° within doors throughout the win- ter. Besides, in the north of Europe, the atmosphere is generally clear and dry. In the United States north of 40°, where the mean temperature of winter is from 25° to 34°, the mortality from diseases of the lungs has been estimated at from 25 to 30 per cent. But in the middle latitudes of Europe it is about 20 per cent.; and varies from 12 to 15 per cent, in Italy, Spain, Por- tugal, Greece, the Ionian Islands and the southern States of North America; while within the tropical portions of Asia, Africa and other parts of the world, it forms a very small proportion of the whole, as we have already seen. Should it be urged, that a large proportion of the deaths in the West Indies are from phthisis, this ap- parent exception to the general law, is partly explained by Sir James Clark, in his late valuable Treatise on Climate. For he states that it was formerly the cus* torn to draught seamen, labouring under chronic dis- eases of the lungs, into ships going to the West Indies. He further informs us, on the authority of Ferguson, Musgrave, Mox% knowledge, v6oq} pru- dence, btf and m*?N; that the old Greek verb ew, to be, and the word a»v, being, were derived from the Hebrew word jrn, or from the noun miT, which has been variously written by dif- ferent authors, Lao, Lei, Yeye, Yehovah and lastly Jeho- vah, signifying the primitive essence of all existence or being.* But as the letter o was originally employed * Parkhurst further states, that the Hebrew word rvn JRuah, signifying the spirit of God that was breathed into man when first 180 ALL OUR IDEAS DERIVED FROM NATURE. instead of o, which was added to the Greek alphabet at a later period, it is evident that wv is in reality the same word as On, which, among the Egyptians, Phoe- nicians and other oriental nations, signified the sun. Hence it was, that many of the Greek philosophers employed the words to Q,v and ™ Ev, to represent the primitive source of all existence. And it is remark- able that the words Qv and E» are used in the first chapter of the Apocalypse, verse 8, to represent the Su- preme Jehovah,---'0 wv, xac 6 rjv, xac 6 epzopzw;,---" He who was, and who is, and who is to come." Nor can there be a rational doubt, that the earliest impressions of mankind in regard to the existence and attributes of the Great First Cause, were acquired from beholding everywhere the creating and life-giving power of the sun,* or of that all-pervading fire which animates the infinite multitude of suns. For it is manifest that all our ideas, whether of matter or spirit, created, also means air or breath. He moreover observes, that it has precisely the same meaning as the Greek word r.vsu;j.a, as in John, chap. iv. verse. 24, where it is said that " God is a spirit." Bat he maintains that nvsopa denotes also an incorporeal substance, dis- tinct from the animal soul termed ?, which man hath in com- mon with the brutes; because he is represented as consisting of soul, body and spirit, as in Thess. chap. v. verse 23, and Hebrews, chap. iv. verse 12. Yet he admits that both nveupa and 4'oyri mean breath, the air in motion, animal life, the human soul and spirit. (See Greek Lexicon, under these words.) * The learned Dr. Lewis observes very justly, that when Aris- totle speaks of the Prime Mover as itself immovable, he did not employ the last term to denote inactivity or quiescence, but as in- capable of being moved, or of deriving its motion from anything external or antecedent; for he describes it as essentially an eternal energy. (Platonic Theology, p. 193.) ELEMENTARY FIRE THE TYPE OF OMNIPOTENCE. 181 are prototyped in the visible and tangible operations of the universe; that they were originally derived through the senses, as demonstrated by Locke, and by the simple method of tracing all words to their primi- tive signification; that there is no foundation in either nature or revelation, for the doctrine of Kant and other metaphysicians, that our ideas of the Divinity, infinite space and duration, are innate in the reason- ing faculties, and wholly independent of the external world, or of any material organization. On the con- trarjr, "the heavens declare the glory of God,.and the firmament showeth his handywork." (Psalm xix.) The truth is, that elementary fire is the only appro- priate representation of the Divinity; because it is everywhere present, and performs every operation in the physical universe. Could we travel with the speed of lightning for myriads of ages, we should still be encompassed by a boundless ocean of etherial fire, which generates every ray of light, guides the planets in their revolutions and fills them with innumerable forms of life. It is, therefore, not surprising that in so many parts of the Old and New Testament, it has been employed to represent the unknown Cause of Causes,—that it should have been declared by Moses that " God is a consuming fire," which he commanded to be kept perpetually burning on the altar of the tabernacle. (JDeut. iv. 24; Levit. vi. 13.) The sacred fire was also kept burning in the Jewish temple, be- tween the cherubim, in the holy of holies, which is often described as the special seat of the Divine Pre- sence. And it is expressly declared in the First Epistle of John, that " God is light," chap. i. verse 5,— 182 PROSPECT OF A BRIGHTER ERA. a doctrine which seems to have been understood lite- rally by many of the most distinguished fathers of the church, who maintained that the Deity is an eter- nal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and incon- ceivably subtle light or fiery spirit, as wevare informed by Brucker, Mosheim and others. But when the science of medicine shall have arrived at perfection, it will be found to consist chiefly in the art of employing those agents on which the operations of life constantly depend; or in making the vital prin- ciple itself by which the body is formed and renovated, the grand instrument of its preservation. It will then be the province of the enlightened physician to assist nature in strict accordance with her own laws. The universal diffusion of such knowledge would enable the people to prevent nearly all the diseases by which they are now afflicted, or to cut them short before they become incurable. There is reason to hope that a time is coining when a more simple, comprehensive and practical knowledge of the physical, intellectual and moral laws of the universe, will banish disease, quackery, superstition, intolerance, discord, war and a thousand other evils, from among the nations; when the glimmering now scattered through innumerable libraries shall be con- densed into a few priceless volumes; when the science of nature shall be stripped of mystery and reduced to the simplicity of self-evident axioms, about which there can be no essential difference of opinion; when the many conflicting systems of religion, philosophy and politics, that have so long distracted the world, shall be melted down into one universal code of peace PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF OXYGEN. 1g3 and harmony. The accomplishment of this great ob- ject is surely enough to rouse the ambition, and com- mand the support, of all those who feel within them the vocation to benefit mankind. But it must be brought about by the patient and united exertions of men honestly devoted to the study of nature and the pursuit of truth. When it was discovered that animal life cannot be supported without the inspiration of oxygen, physiolo- gists began to regard this gas as the primary cause of vital action. In accordance with this view, it is ob- served by a writer in the Monthly Chronicle, that "of the two animal wants, air and warmth, the former is incomparably the more important," and that "oxygen is the life-sustaining principle of the air." (Vol. i. p. 221.) But I have already shown that the principal office of oxygen is to supply animals with caloric, with- out which it could no more maintain the action of the heart, stomach, brain and other organs, than it could the movements of a steam engine. And that more caloric is imparted to the blood dur- ing the respiration of oxygen than of common air, has been proved by the experiments of many physiologists, who found that it increased the temperature of the body, the action of the heart and with it the activity of all the functions; while it enabled the system to resist the influence of external cold and that of the mephitic gases, for a longer time than common air. From some experiments of Count Morozzo, related by Dr. Thomson, it would appear that sparrows are capa- ble of living nearly five times longer when confined in pure oxygen, than in the same quantity of atmo- 184 INFLUENCE OF OXYGEN ON THE VITAL FUNCTIONS. spheric air. For he found on placing them one after another in a vessel of air, (with potassa for absorbing the carbonic acid,) that the first remained alive three hours; the second three minutes; and the third one minute. But when he filled the same vessel with oxygen gas, he found that the first sparrow lived five hours twenty-three minutes; the second, two hours ten minutes; the third, one hour thirty minutes; the fourth, one hour ten minutes; the fifth, thirty mi- nutes; the sixth, forty-seven minutes; the seventh, twenty-seven minutes; the eighth, thirty minutes; the ninth, twenty-two minutes; and the tenth, twenty- two minutes. Dr. Beddoes also found that when one of two half- grown rabbits of the same brood, size and strength, was placed for some hours in a gaseous mixture com- posed of one half oxygen, and the remainder of com- mon air, it remained lively for nearly an hour, while surrounded with a freezing mixture, although its feet were frozen; whereas the one which had breathed common air, became nearly lifeless in forty minutes, and was frozen quite dead in fifty-five minutes. In another experiment, he caused one of two kittens to respire common air, and the other a mixture of two- thirds oxygen with one-third of atmospheric air for twenty minutes; when both were immersed under water until they became motionless. On taking them out, the latter recovered in one minute and a half, and walked about, while the other was fifteen minutes in reviving, when it was scarcely able to stand. He fur- ther ascertained, that when puppies were kept in hy- drogen, nitrogen and carbonic acid, until animation INFLUENCE OF NITROUS OXIDE. 185 was suspended, they recovered much sooner in pure oxygen than in common air. (Considerations on the use of factitious airs.) At the same time, it must be admitted, that breath- ing oxygen gas tends to accelerate the vital functions beyond their natural speed, and therefore, like the hot bath, should be resorted to only when the temperature and vital activity of the circulation are below the natural standard, when it cannot fail to produce a salutary effect. The nitrous oxide gas, which contains a much larger proportion of oxygen than common air, and is a more rapid supporter of combustion, also produces corre- sponding effects on the living body. When inhaled into the lungs, it causes the sensation of a warm glow throughout the system, an acceleration of the pulse, an augmentation of muscular power, exhilaration of spirits, with sudden bursts of laughter, increased acute- ness of all the senses and a rapid succession of vivid emotions, especially in persons of the sanguine tem- perament. But after being breathed for some time, it produces opposite and deleterious effects, changing the blood from its previous florid colour to a dark hue, as shown by the purple colour of the face,—for it has been observed by Sir H. Davy and others, that after being breathed for some time, the greater part of its oxygen disappears, the residue, consisting chiefly of nitrogen and carbonic acid,—a portion of which is ab- sorbed into the blood, causing confusion of the brain and sometimes syncope, with more or less derangement of all the vital functions. It has been said, that when taken into the lungs in vol. n. 12 186 INFLUENCE OF A RAREFIED ATMOSPHERE moderation, after exhaustion from over-exertion, it re- moves at once the sensation of weakness and fatigue, without being followed by that debility which succeeds over-excitement from ordinary stimulants. There is, therefore, reason to hope that when its modus operandi in exalting the powers of life shall be better under- stood, it will be found highly important as a therapeu- tical agent in cases of torpor of the stomach, bowels, liver and brain, which characterize dyspepsia, hypo- chondriasis, hysteria, chlorosis and the cold stage of all fevers—especially in conjunction with the warm bath, moderate exercise, regimen, &c. The quantity of respiration is greatly diminished in a rarefied atmosphere, as on the tops of high mountains. The consequences of which are, hurried and difficult breathing, small and frequent pulse, paleness or blue- ness of the skin, languor and prostration of strength, dimness of sight and general loss of sensibility, nausea, giddiness and symptoms of apoplexy, as observed by De Saussure when near the summit of Mont Blanc. The same effects are produced, in a still more remark- able manner, on the high mountains of India and South America, where the amount of respiration is so far diminished, that the blood is chilled to the very centre of the system. It is well known that in the polar regions life may be sustained for many hours, with suitable clothing, when the temperature is from 30° to 50° below 0°. But Dr. Gerard states, that many lives are lost in crossing the Himalayas, when the tem- perature is 16° F., at the height of 14,000 feet—owing to the united influence of rarefaction, external cold and exhaustion from exertion. He says, that in crossing ON THE FUNCTIONS OF LIFE. 187 the Manerung, at an elevation of 18,612 feet, respira- tion was hurried and difficult, long before reaching the summit; that the least motion was attended with men- tal dejection and debility, which compelled him to sit down every few yards. And it has been observed on the high mountains of South America, that symptoms are produced analogous to those arising from excessive loss of blood; that mules are attacked with hurried breathing and trembling of the limbs, when they stop short, or attempt to lie down, but if compelled to go on, they often fall pros- trate, and sometimes die in convulsions, as if suffo- cated by mephitic gases. That the above symptoms are greatly augmented by exertion, is evident from the fact, that aeronauts have ascended equally high with much less inconvenience, while sitting tranquilly in their cars. When, on the 15th of September, 1804, Gay-Lus- sac rose in a balloon to the height of 23,040 feet above the sea, his respiration was hurried, his pulse frequent, his hands benumbed and his body chilled throughout. And it was found by Lavoisier, that Guinea pigs could live in air that contained only one-third its usual pro- portion of oxygen, when the carbonic acid was ab- sorbed by pure potassa, but not without torpor and drowsiness. It is therefore probable, that men might exist at an elevation of 30,000 feet, with warm cloth- ing, while at rest, better than at 15,000 feet in a state of exertion; for we have seen that above three times more oxygen is required during active muscular mo- tion, than in a state of repose. It was long ago observed by Dr. Halley, that life was supported longer in the condensed air of a diving- 188 INFLUENCE OF THE MEPHITIC GASES bell, than on the surface of the earth. And the younger Brunei found that, on going out of a diving- bell thirty feet under water, he could remain twice as long without inspiration, as in the ordinary state of the atmosphere. After commenting on this fact, Dr. Faraday states, that on taking a few deep inspirations, he could refrain from breathing much longer than usual. But he adds, "those who wish to refrain from breathing should avoid action, which exhausts the air in the lungs of its vital principle more quickly, and charges it with bad matter." (Phil. Mag., third series, vol. iii. p. 243.) It is very true, that the vital prin- ciple is exhausted by exertion,—not, however, in the lungs, for there it is obtained, and imparted to the blood,—but in the muscles, where it is expended in causing their action. Since the time of Cullen, it has been generally sup- posed that the mephitic gases produce disease and death, by operating as positive poisons on the nervous system, and not primarily on the blood. But carbonic acid, nitrogen and hydrogen cannot be regarded as positive poisons, for the obvious reason, that they'are at all times present in the lungs. When mixed with air in the ratio of one or two per cent., carbonic acid retards the union of oxygen with carbon and hydrogen in the lungs, in the same way that it diminishes the process of ordinary combustion, which is often extin- guished in places where foul air is abundant. It has been said, that air containing one one-thousandth part of sulphuretted hydrogen speedily destroys the life of birds; and that mammalia die in air containing the one hundred and fiftieth part of the same gas, which, ON THE FUNCTIONS OF LIFE. 189 therefore, probably induces some change in the che- mical properties of the blood. When animals are im- mersed in carbonic acid, or any of the mephitic gases, they die in about the same time as if confined in a vacuum, or as when respiration is suspended by stran- gulation or immersion under water. Under such cir- cumstances, birds die sooner than mammalia, and the latter sooner than reptiles or fishes, because respira- tion is more essential to the former than to the latter, in proportion to the greater amount of oxygen which they require. The symptoms that follow the inhalation of these gases in small quantities, or in a state of mechanical mixture with the atmosphere, are diminished respira- tion, attended with chilliness, imperfect arterialization of the blood, which is sent to the brain, stomach and other organs, of a dark hue, as shown by the pallid or purple colour of the skin. Under such circumstances the pulse becomes low and feeble, while all the ener- gies of life are reduced, for the same reason that they are diminished by loss of blood, breathing a rarefied atmosphere, or by depriving the system of caloric more rapidly than it is supplied by respiration. Nor is there a more frequent cause of headache and general debility than exposure to the carbonic acid of crowded assem- blies, in ill-ventilated churches and halls, not to men- tion the many catarrhal diseases that are contracted by delicate individuals on going out of such places into the cold night air, without sufficiently warm clothing. And it is wrorthy of special notice, that as the brain is supplied with a much larger proportion of blood than an equal weight of any other organ, it is sooner af- 190 EFFECTS OF MEPHITIC GASES. fected by loss of blood, or by whatever impairs its vital properties, than any other part of the system—for the same reason that birds are more seriously affected by impure air than mammalia, and the latter than cold- blooded animals. For example, we have seen that in birds the circulation is so rapid, that all the blood in the system passes through the different tissues in some- thing less than a minute, during which it gives out to the solids whatever amount of caloric it receives in the lungs, and thus returns to the state of venous blood, which, if not again properly supplied with ani- mal heat, and its arterial properties restored, induces a general reduction of temperature, and a vitiated con- dition of the blood, attended with universal debility. Accordingly, the respiration of impure air is attended first with confusion of the brain, impaired vision, ring- ing in the ears, pain in the head, vertigo, stupor, syn- cope and general loss of sensibility, or delirium. And as the contractile power of the muscles remains for some .time after the voluntary influence of the brain over them is suspended, they contract spasmodically, for the same reason that convulsions are caused by loss of blood, or breathing a rarefied atmosphere. The stomach being no longer supplied with arterial blood, loses the power of digestion, and is affected with nau- sea or spasms, as in cholera. The pains in the head, back and limbs arise from a deficiency of vital heat and arterial blood in those parts, and are not essen- tially different from the aching sensation produced by exposure to intense cold, a shower of rain, getting the feet wet, or sitting in a cold room,—all of ichich are owing either to an imperfect supply of the animating INFLUENCE OF AIR ON PLANTS. 191 principle by respiration, or to its abstraction from the surface. Among all the wonderful adaptations of nature, there is nothing more calculated to excite admira- tion than the beautiful and harmonious dependence of plants and animals on each other, for the well-being of both. In many respects, they closely resemble each other. In the first place, they are both formed of the same elementary constituents, (oxygen, hydrogen, car- bon and nitrogen,) though in different proportions. They are both furnished with organs of circulation, secretion, nutrition and generation, all of which are maintained in a state of vital activity by the same principle. In other respects, however, they differ essen- tial^. For example, we have seen that plants have no breathing apparatus,* and depend wholly on the agency * It is true, that in germination, atmospheric oxygen unites with a portion of the carbon contained in the starch of seeds, by which sugar is formed for supplying the germ with nourishment, until its leaves are developed. The same process takes place during the flowering or fecundation of plants, by which a portion of the farina is converted into sugar for sustaining the embryo bud,—car- bonic acid being formed, and caloric evolved, as during germina- tion. Botanists have observed, that when the sugar of flowers has been extensively rifled by honey-bees, they are rendered unfruitful. Oxygen also unites with a portion of the carbon contained in the gum and lignin of green fruits, during the process of ripening, by which sugar is formed. The leaves of plants, however, must be regarded as organs of assimilation rather than of respiration, in which crude sap is converted into cambium by the decomposition of carbonic acid, or the appropriation of its carbon and the libera- tion of oxygen. Nor is it unworthy of notice, that mushrooms, mosses, algae, lichens, and other plants which have no leaves for 192 INFLUENCE OF VEGETATION of external temperature for the manifestation of their powers. The consequence of which is, that they have no complex organs of assimilation and absorption, no nervous and muscular tissues, no sensation, perception or power of locomotion. But a still more remarkable difference between them is, that plants have the faculty of converting the binary constituents of inorganic mat- ter, such as water, carbonic acid, and perhaps ammo- nia, into their own substance, by a peculiar species of action, intermediate between ordinary chemistry and that of animal bodies,—whereas the latter cannot be nourished except by plants that have been already organized, or by other animals that have been ulti- mately nourished by plants. It is therefore evident that, as animals have no means of assimilating inor ganic matter, they could not exist without plants. On the other hand, it has been wisely ordained, that those substances, which are rejected by animals as ex- crementitious and injurious, are the appropriate food decomposing carbonic acid, have no visible organs of circulation, secretion or reproduction, and consist chiefly of a simple homo- geneous cellular tissue. It may also be observed here, that the lowest species of animals, which have no specific organs of respira- tion, have neither heart, brain, nerves, muscles nor blood; and con- sist chiefly of a gelatinous mass, such as the medusa, polypus, echinus, sponge and other zoophytes, which are scarcely to be dis- tinguished from plants. M. Becquerel observes, in a lecture de- livered before the Academy of Sciences at Paris, on the 13th of July, 1840, that plants have a temperature of their own, though very different from that of the surrounding media,—but that it is inappreciable during the night, on account of their sleep, and shows itself under the influence of light. Query : might not the difference of temperature between day and night explain the phe- nomenon quite as well as the supposed influence of sleep ? IN PURIFYING THE ATMOSPHERE. 193 of vegetables. And it would seem to be a law of nature, that plants not only supply animals with nou- rishment, but preserve the atmosphere in a state of purity, by absorbing the vast quantities of carbonic acid generated during the decomposition of organic matter, the respiration of animals and by ordinary combustion, including what is thrown into the atmo- sphere by volcanos and hot springs. For we learn from the recent work of Liebig, on the application of organic chemistry to agriculture, that except during the early growth of plants, they receive very little carbon from the soil, and actually derive nearly the whole of it from the atmosphere, which contains about one one-thousandth part of its weight of carbonic acid, 27 per cent, of which is pure carbon. He further maintains, that as a column of air, weighing 2216*66 pounds, Hessian measure, rests upon every square Hes- sian foot, the whole atmosphere must contain three thousand billion pounds of carbon in the gaseous state; that as a single man consumes 45 cubic feet of oxygen in twenty-four hours, or 16,425 cubic feet annually, one thousand millions of human beings would increase the amount of carbonic acid in the atmosphere 100 per cent, in one thousand years, by respiration alone, with- out taking into account the enormous quantities sup- plied by other sources. For example, he estimates the yearly amount of oxy- gen consumed by ordinary combustion, in the town of Giessen, as eight times greater than what is required for the respiration of seven thousand human beings. And it is certain, that a much larger amount of car- bonic acid is generated by the decomposition of vege- 194 BEAUTIFUL ECONOMY OF NATURE. table and animal matter, than by all the other opera- tions of nature. We are therefore authorized to con- clude, that if the atmosphere were not continually purified by the growth of plants, it would very soon become incapable of supporting life. For it was ascer- tained by Dr. Dalton, that the air of churches and other crowded assemblies contains about one per cent, of car- bonic acid, which is extremely prejudicial to health. It was also ascertained by the experiments of Allen and Pepys, that when animals were made to inhale air which had been repeatedly inspired, they exhaled less carbonic acid than when breathing fresh air, in the ratio of 9-5 to 32 cubic inches per minute. But in the trans- cendently beautiful scheme of Providence, as displayed in every department of nature, partial evil only tends to the general preservation and welfare of the whole system. The demi-philosopher might pronounce car- bonic acid a positive evil, because when inspired in any considerable quantity, even for a short time, it causes convulsions and death. But the Author of na- ture has ordained, that the formation of this same poisonous gas in the lungs should be essential to the conversion of chyle into blood, and to the evolution of that spiritual fire by which all animals are endowed wdth life, sensation, the power of motion, &c; while it is equally essential to the growth of plants, in the leaves of which it is decomposed,* the carbon being * In addition to the oxygen returned to the atmosphere by the leaves of plants, Liebig maintains, that in the formation of lignin, starch, sugar, acids, and especially oils or resins, water is decom- posed, its hydrogen being assimilated and its oxygen returned to the air. (Vol. i. pp. lt-22.) Dr. Draper says that plants can ob- PHILOSOPHY OF EXERCISE. 195 retained, and the oxygen returned to the air in that state of purity required for the respiration of animals. In a recent paper read before the Academy of Sciences, by M. Leblanc, he states, that in the great lecture- room of the Sorbonne, (after being filled one hour and thirty minutes,) and in one of the Parisian churches, the amount of carbonic acid was about one per cent.; while in hospital wards it was from three to eight times more than in the open air. But in the closed green-houses of the Jardin des Plantes, the air was pure as out of doors. See all things with each other blending, Each to all its being lending, All on each in turn depending— While everywhere diffused is harmony unending. (Fatjstus, by Goethe.) PHILOSOPHY OF EXERCISE. It was long ago observed by Hippocrates, that no- thing is more essential to good health than a just pro- portion of aliment and exercise; and that as it is the tain carbon from the air only when the sun is shining on them, and that the decomposition of carbonic acid is effected by the yellow ray, in contradistinction from the blue extremity of the spectrum, in which the result is not produced. But MM. Mohl and Schleiden have shown, that the decomposition of carbonic acid by the leaves of plants takes place in the dark, though slowly, as might naturally be supposed from the fact that all the vital functions of plants are diminished at night, owing to a reduction of temperature. Nor will any of the rays of light produce t'he effect without a sufficient amount of caloric. MM. Cloes and Gratiolet have recently proved, that the decomposition of carbonic acid by aquatic plants exposed to light, does not take place below the temperature of 21° F., and that the process augments with the temperature up to 54° F. 196 ANIMAL HEAT AUGMENTED BY EXERCISE, tendency of exercise to diminish the substance of the body, it is the object of aliment to replace what has been lost. (De Dicetd, lib. i. sec. 2; and lib. hi. sec. 8.) Yet, it must be admitted, that he never fully explained any one of the vital functions. In regard to the influence of exercise on respiration, we are indebted to the celebrated Lavoisier for the first accurate experiments, which were performed on M. Seguin, a vigorous and healthy young man. When surrounded with air at the temperature of 59° F. and at rest, it was found that he consumed at the rate of 1344 cubic inches of oxygen per hour; but that when he performed the labour of lifting a weight of fifteen pounds to the height of 613 feet in fifteen minutes, he consumed at the rate of 3200 cubic inches of oxygen per hour. It was further ascertained, that after taking a hearty meal of animal and vegetable food, he con- sumed from 1800 to 1900 cubic inches of oxygen per hour when at rest, during the process of digestion, and 4600 cubic inches while lifting the above weight, cete- ris paribus. (Mem. de TAcad, des Sciences, 1789.)* Thus it would appear, that respiration is augmented above 100 per cent, by exercise beyond what it is in * Scharling also found, that during the month of June, a man weighing 131 pounds, and thirty-five years of age, exhaled when fasting 145 grains of carbon per hour, but 190 grains after break- fast and a walk, 165 grains after dinner, 160 grains.after tea, and 100 grains while asleep. {Simon's Chem. of Man, p. 113.) In another series of experiments, a man thirty years of age was found to exhale 12-06 grammes of carbon per hour when remaining at rest, but when wielding violently a heavy iron rod, and perspiring freely, the same man exhaled 42-2 grammes of carbon per hour. {Year-Book of Science and Art, 1852, p. 223.) BUT STILL MORE RAPIDLY EXPENDED. 197 a state of repose; and that it is increased about 40 per cent, after taking a hearty meal. The consequence of which is, that a corresponding amount of caloric is im- parted to the blood, and the temperature of the whole body elevated, as shown by the increased action of the heart, the sensible glow of warmth that is ex- perienced, and the flow of perspiration that follows.* Hence, also, it is, that men in health can endure a temperature of 32° during moderate exercise, with more comfort and safety, than one of 50° while in a state of rest; and that when supplied with an abund- ance of food, they can endure the most intense degrees of cold, so much better than during abstinence, as ob- served by Franklin, Ross and other travellers in the arctic regions. We have also seen, that the vital activity of all the organs, and the rapidity with which their composition is renewed, are in proportion to the amount of caloric * In accordance with the absurd theory of Bacon, Boyle, Borelli, Boerhaave, Haller and many others, that heat is the effect of mo- tion, friction, &c, it was maintained by Cullen, that "animal heat is probably the effect of the motion of the blood, because in dying animals, the heat grows less as the motion of the blood grows less; and when at death it ceases altogether, the heat ceases also in a very short time." {Institutions of Medicine.) It is almost in- credible, that this sentence should have been written after Cullen was made acquainted with the great discovery of Dr. Black. Nor is it less remarkable, that Dr. C. Holland should have maintained that exercise increases respiration and animal temperature, by caus- ing a less amount of blood than usual to pass through the lungs in a given time. {Laws of Organic and Animal Life.) Dr. H. main- tains, in various parts of this work, that the less the quantity of blood which passes through the lungs in any given time, the more perfectly is it organized and vitalized. 198 OBSERVATIONS OF GRANVILLE. that passes through them in a given time, in combina- tion with the arterial blood by which they are nour- ished. But as it is a law of nature that the cause of force is always expended in producing motion, the vital heat of animals is wasted more rapidly during violent exercise, than it is obtained by respiration. The truth of this proposition is proved by the well-known fact, that long-continued muscular exertion is followed by more or less exhaustion, and by diminished power of enduring cold. For, notwithstanding the elevation of temperature thus induced, the absolute amount of caloric in a state of combination with the organs is reduced below the usual standard; while it is equally obvious, that in proportion as respiration is increased during violent exercise, must it be diminished after- wards, for the plain reason, that a large amount of the carbon and hydrogen by which the vital combustion is supported, has been already given off in the lungs* As a further proof that the caloric obtained by re- spiration, and transferred to the different organs in combination with arterial blood, is forced out and ex- pended during their action, it is stated by Dr. Gran- ville, that during the violent contractions of the uterus which mark the progress of difficult parturition, its * When respiration has been accelerated for several hours by exercise, it is afterwards proportionally diminished, if not supported by fresh aliment, for the same reason that a pound of fuel is sooner exhausted by a rapid combustion than when the process is mode- rate. This was experimentally proved by Dr. Prout, who found that, in his own person, the amount of carbonic acid exhaled was always much diminished by fatigue, abstinence from food and the depressing emotions or anxiety of mind. {Annals of Philosophy, vol. ii. pp. 328-43.) EXPERIMENTS OF BECQUEREL AND BRESCHET. 199 temperature sometimes rises to 110°, and even 120°. Dr. Edwards also relates a case of tetanus, on the au- thority of Dr. Prevost, in which the temperature of the body rose 12*6° during the spasms. (Lnfl. of Phy- sical Agents, p. 490.) But this is an exceedingly rare occurrence. We further learn from some experiments of Bec- querel and Breschet, that the temperature of the biceps muscle of the arm was elevated from l-80° to 2*60°, by making it contract repeatedly for five mi- nutes. These results were obtained by uniting two needles at their points, and thrusting them into the muscle when extended, while the other extremities of the needles were connected with the wires of a thermo- multiplier; when the rise of temperature was mea- sured by the deflection of a magnetic needle connected with the multiplier. ( Cyclop, of Anat. and Physiology, vol. ii.) Thus we perceive, that after caloric has performed its vital office of causing a muscle to contract, it is given out in a free state, when it deflects the magnetic needle.* * Dr. Edwards observes, that "the first source of the heat evolved during exercise, lies in the voluntary muscles." {Cyclop. of Anat. and Physiology, vol. ii. p. 615.) But we have seen that the "first source" of animal heat is the lungs, where it is obtained from the atmosphere, imparted to the blood and then to the dif- ferent organs, where it is expended in maintaining their activity. And it might as well be said that caloric is generated de novo by hammering a metal, instead of being forced out from between its particles, as that it is generated by muscular contraction, secretion, nutrition or any other species of vital action. Moreover, as the power of an organ when once exhausted, cannot be again restored, 200 WASTE OF THE BODY AUGMENTED BY EXERCISE. I have also proved, in the fourth book and fourth chapter of this work, that so soon as the caloric by which the particles of arterial blood are united with the different organs is expended, they successively fall from their places,* wdien they are taken up by the ab- sorbents, conveyed into the general circulation, and thence through the lungs, wrhere the greater part of without an additional supply of animal heat from the blood,—so has it been found, that when the ductility of iron has been dimi- nished or destroyed by forcing out a portion of its latent caloric by hammering, it cannot be restored until resupplied with what it had lost, by exposing it to the fire. In the Treatise on Diet, which has been generally ascribed to Hippocrates, the author observes, that "during exercise a portion of our nourishment is consumed by the natural heat; that another portion is expired in the form of air (carbonic acid?); while a third portion passes off in the form of urine." He adds in the next section, "that a portion of the fluids is carried off by expiration; a portion by expectoration; while another portion is employed in maintaining the heat of the soul;" that exercise renders the head clear, the senses acute, and the bowels free, when in moderation; but that when carried to excess it often brings on chills, which, if not promptly removed by the warm bath, long-continued frictions, and a little weak wine, until the veins become full and turgid, are followed by troublesome fevers. (Lib. ii. sec. 131, 132, 149.) But if immoderate exercise often brings on the cold stage of fever, (which is certainly the case,) this important fact proves that our vital heat is rapidly expended by muscular and nervous exertion. * The extent to which the vital cohesion of the solids is dimi- nished by violent exercise, is strikingly illustrated by the fact, that the flesh of a stag hunted to death is far more tender than if bled to death, and undergoes putrefaction in a much shorter time, as stated by John Hunter. And it was observed by Autenreith, that a muscle taken from an animal before its irritability had ceased, putrefied much sooner if stimulated to frequent contractions, than if left at rest. (Miiller's Elements, p. 52.) WASTE OF THE BODY AUGMENTED BY EXERCISE. 201 their carbon and hydrogen is given off, in combination with oxygen. In the mean time, the compounds of nitrogen, oxygen, soda, lime, and other salts, together with the small remainder of carbon and hydrogen not employed in respiration, pass off chiefly through the kidneys in the form of urine, and partly through the bowels and skin. From which it follows, that every muscular contraction, every thought, feeling or emotion of the brain, is attended with a loss of that vital heat by which all the organs are enabled to perform their respec- tive functions, and of the substance by which they are nourished; that the power of vision is diminished by exposure of the eyes to a dazzling light, for the same reason that the brain is exhausted by intense think- ing, and the muscles by violent exercise. Hence it is, that a daily supply of food is required to restore the waste of the solids; and that the amount required to maintain the standard weight of the body is always in proportion to the degree of exertion. This was strikingly illustrated in the case of Captain Barclay, who, when performing his great feat of walking one thousand miles in one thousand successive hours, con- sumed daily, from five to six pounds of animal food, with a proportional quantity of bread, vegetables, wine, ale, porter and tea. (Lond. Quarterly Rev., vol. lxv. p. 322.) It has also been ascertained, that without a large addition to the usual allowance of prisoners em- ployed in the treadmills of England, they lose about one pound in weight every week, and become greatly emaciated in a few months; that they are extremely VOL. II. 13 202 EXPENDITURE OF CALORIC BY EXERCISE liable to severe colds, rheumatism, bowel complaints, scurvy and other maladies arising from debility.* It is because the substance and vital energy of the body are expended by exertion, that the growth of all young animals is retarded by premature labour. Blaine, the veterinarian, says that "horses early and hard-worked, never arrive at their full size." Hence also it is, that the mean duration of life among the working classes in England, does not equal that of the higher orders; although it must be admitted that imperfect nourishment, impure air and intemperance, augment the evil. The same observation applies to coach horses, which are worn out in a few years by active service. And it is said that in the hilly parts of Scotland, the shepherd's dog cannot labour above five or six years, but eight or nine years on the low lands. The waste of the body is accelerated by intense cold, for the same reason that it is augmented by ex- ercise ; that is, because the animal heat by which the molecules of arterial blood are united with the solids is abstracted by the surrounding media more rapidly than it is obtained by respiration; so that notwith- standing the natives of the polar regions consume a larger amount of food than the inhabitants of warm and temperate climates, they are stinted in growth, and life is of short duration. The rapid expenditure of caloric by exercise and exposure to cold, creates the sensation of a vital want, or what the French * At the treadmills, the number of feet in ascent per diem, varies from 44,000 to 50,000 in ten hours; or from nearly eight to nine and a half miles. THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF FATIGUE. 203 denominate besoin de respirer, which causes the indi- vidual to take more deep and frequent inspirations; while the consequent waste of the solids creates the sensation of hunger, which prompts him to take more or less food, according to the amount of waste. In like manner, the expenditure of animal heat and of the solid tissues by exercise, faster than they are renewed by respiration and nutrition, diminishes the vital energy of the brain, nerves and voluntary mus- cles, and thus creates the necessity for repose or sleep, the object of which is to repair what has been lost. Nor is it unworthy of remark, that after exposure to intense cold for a few hours, or until the body is chilled and benumbed, there is generally a feeling of drowsi- ness and tendency to sleep, which are also induced by exhaustion from over-exertion. It is therefore evident, that an expenditure of the vital heat and substance of the body, whether by exercise or exposure to cold, faster tJian they are renewed by respiration and nutrition, is the proximate cause of fatigue, hunger and sleep. When the lungs are large and sound, and men are supplied with an abundance of nourishing food, they can endure protracted exercise and intense cold with- out serious injury.* But when exhausted by loss of * Edward Johnson maintains, that "it is possible, by very rapid exertion, to fill almost every vein in the body with arterial blood." But, as if not aware, that although arterial blood is thus rapidly formed and united with the solids, it is still more rapidly expended by exertion, he recommends walking four or five miles every morning, the same distance before dinner, and the same again in the evening. {Life, Health and Disease, pp. 278-85.) This would, doubtless, be the way to obtain a full development of the lungs and muscular system; but it would certainly be at the expense of 204 PATHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE OF blood, or when its vital properties are greatly impaired, as in phthisis, disease of the heart, the advanced stages of fever, scurvy and some other maladies, faint- ing, and sometimes sudden death, is often induced by comparatively slight exertion, obviously because the small amount of force thus expended is not renewed by the nutritive process. It is generally known that violent exercise diminishes and sometimes arrests the process of digestion, by diverting arterial blood from the stomach to the voluntary muscles; and that life is often destroyed suddenly by a large draught of cold water, which abstracts the small remainder of caloric from the capillaries of the stomach and paralyzes the action of the heart. For the same reason, digestion is always impaired when the stomach is weak, and often entirely arrested for some time, by drinking cold fluids, which are a very frequent exciting cause of flatulence, colic, cardialgia and spasms, which are more promptly relieved by hot drinks and the appli- cation of external warmth, than by any other means. A correct knowledge of the manner in which animal heat is expended by exercise, will enable us to explain why it is that when greatly fatigued, health is often destroyed by immersion in the cold bath, which sud- the brain, which is generally small and feeble among pedestrians, wrestlers, boxers, country labourers, and all individuals who take much exercise, compared with what it is in men employed in intel- lectual pursuits, and who lead a less active life. The true method of securing the highest degree of physical, intellectual and moral excellence, is to exercise all the organs within the limits of plea- surable excitement, without producing fatigue, which is incipient disease, and should therefore be carefully avoided. TOO MUCH EXERCISE. 205 denly reduces the body below the natural standard, paralyzes the lungs, diminishes respiration, and thus lays the foundation of pneumonia, phthisis or some other fatal malady, if not prevented by immediate recourse to the warm bath or the application of dry heat, until the circulation is perfectly restored.* Nor is there a more frequent predisposing cause of fever, dysentery, cholera, diarrhoeaf and congestion of the liver, than exposure to rain, fogs, damp night air or even a moderately cool draft of air, when fatigued by over-exertion, especially in hot climates, where the smaller amount of caloric obtained by respiration is much sooner expended by exercise than in the higher * I knew a case of incurable hemiplegia brought on a vigorous man in the prime of life, by walking ninety miles, (from London to Birmingham,) in three successive days. And it is well known to medical men, that when the muscles have been weakened by over-exertion, they are more liable to rheumatic inflammation than at other times; that when the loins have been overstrained, expo- sure to a slight cold will bring on lumbago. But it is consoling to know by experience, that in recent cases of rheumatism, the weak- ness of the capillaries may be very soon overcome by the repeated employment of hot applications, aided by gentle frictions. f The last illness of President Polk was brought on by over- exertion in putting up his library, and in superintending other domestic affairs, after his return home from Washington. His fatigue was followed by slight fever, and the next day with diar- rhoea, which continued for three days, when it was arrested by his physician, Dr. Hay. But his strength was so far exhausted, that the vis medicatrix naturae was inadequate to her task, and he ex- pired on the 17th of June, 1849, aged fifty-three years and seven months. His fatigue was augmented by conversations with Dr. Edgar and others, on the subject of his baptism, which was finally performed by his friend, the Rev. Mr. McFerren, a Methodist minister. 206 ILL EFFECTS OF OVER-EXERTION. latitudes; so that a very slight exposure brings on a chill, and torpor of the internal organs. The exhaustion of animal heat by violent exercise, has been long practically recognized by sportsmen, who are careful to cover the race-horse with a warm garment immediately after he reaches the goal, with a view to prevent his taking cold. Veterinarians are also aware, that horses are far more liable to tetanus from exposure to cold, when fatigued by violent exer- tion, than at any other time; and that what is called a founder, is generally brought on by drinking too much cold water, (which is also the cause of colic,) when they have been over-exercised.* Many persons imagine,—and I am not sure that even medical men are wholly free from the same error, —that the danger from exposure to cold after fatigue, is owing to what they call an over-heated state of the body. But there is not the slightest danger of taking cold when the body is over-heated by the warm bath, as proved by the Russians, who have found that it enables them to endure cold for a much longer time than they otherwise could; and that after coming out * The danger of cold bathing when exhausted or much weak- ened by exercise, is strikingly illustrated by Quintus Curtius, who relates of Alexander the Great, that "after making a forced march to save the City of Tarsus from being burned by the Persians, he plunged into the cold waters of the River Cydmus. Having scarce entered the water his limbs began to grow cold with a sudden trembling; then paleness spread over him, and the vital heat almost left his whole body. His attendants took him, like a dying per- son, in their arras, and carried him, not rightly in his senses, into his tent." (Quintus Curtius, lib. iii. c. 5.) RESPIRATION AUGMENTED BY THE WARM BATH. 207 of the vapour bath, the lower orders often roll them- selves in the snow with impunity. The fact is, that whenever the circulation is languid, respiration is aug- mented by the warm bath, which increases the action of the heart, and causes a larger amount of blood to pass through the- lungs in a given time, as explained in the preceding chapters of this work. CHAPTER II. ON ALIMENTS. "In cold regions, more food is necessary to enable the animal to resist the rigours of climate, and a greater degree of stimulation is requisite for the evolution of heat, than would be endured in the equatorial latitudes; while the inhabitants of warm climates are instinctively led to the choice of vegetable food, because it stimu- lates in a smaller degree, and is attended with a smaller evolution of animal heat."—Sir Ch. Morgan. The object of food in the animal economy is to supply materials for supporting that incessant process of combustion in the lungs, by which the temperature and vitality of the body are maintained, and its com- position renewed.* Nor can there be a rational doubt, * I met in the Philadelphia Ledger of June, 1849, the follow- ing estimate of the amount in value expended annually for heat in the United States:— Fuel in families..................................... $66,000,000 Warmth of clothing................................ 66,000,000 of houses................................. 132,000,000 Fuel in factories, shops, &c..................... 36,000,000 Total......................................... $300,000,000 But the vital heat of all animals is obtained by the combustion of their food, for which a still larger sum is expended. The annual production of grain alone amounted to above $500,000,000 in 1846, without regard to hay and pasturage. The fact is, that if we except mere luxuries, physical and mental, nearly all the labours (208) THE FOOD OF NATIONS DETERMINED BY CLIMATE. 209 that a complete knowledge of all the changes which it undergoes while passing through the system, would explain nearly everything hitherto mysterious in the operations of life. For it involves the whole theory of respiration, sanguification, secretion and nutrition, by which the perpetual waste of all the organs is re- paired. From the earliest periods of history down to the present time, it has been a question among philoso- phers, whether animal or vegetable food is better cal- culated to promote health, strength, beauty, long life and the highest development of the intellectual and moral faculties. But we have already seen that the aliment of nations, like their clothing, habitations, manners, customs, social economy, complexion and general organization, have been determined chiefly by climate and geographical position, to which the insti- tutions of lawgivers and founders of religious creeds have been, to a greater or less extent, accommodated. And it will be found, that in every part of the world, nature has supplied in greatest abundance those de- scriptions of food best suited to the well-being of its inhabitants. For example, the tropical regions abound with rice, yams, dates, sugar-cane and an exhaustless variety of fruits; but owing to a deficiency of the more nutritive of life are expended, one way or another, in obtaining and preserv- ng the caloric which supports our being, the annual cost of which cannot be less than $800,000,000. Yet how small in amount is the caloric thus obtained, compared with what we receive from the sun, without which there could be no vegetable growth, therefore no fuel, no food, in short, no existence! 210 THE FOOD OF NATIONS DETERMINED BY CLIMATE. species of grass and grain, they are less adapted to the multiplication of domestic animals than temperate climates, which abound with wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, rich grasses, the olive and vine, with a great variety of fruits and vegetables; while the polar re- gions afford neither grass, grain nor fruits, and no vegetable aliment excepting a few stunted mosses, but abound with reindeer, bears, seals, the walrus and other cetacea. It is therefore evident, that nature has provided a large predominance of vegetable food in the torrid zone, of animal food in the frigid zone, and a due mixture of both in the intermediate latitudes; consequently, that if the Budhists and Brahmans of India, the Essenes of Palestine and the Pythagoreans of southern Europe, had resided in Scythia, Siberia or British America, they could not have required total abstinence from animal food. , It is also a beautiful provision of nature, that most of the animals in the polar regions afford a much larger proportion of oil or fat, than those of the middle latitudes; and those of hot climates still less, ceteris paribus. For it is said that the Greenland whale has been known to afford thirty tons of oil, or 50 per cent. of its whole weight, and the smaller cetacea in like proportions ;* whereas the average ratio of fat in mo- * By means of an immense blanket of fat, from eight to fifteen inches thick, the whale is enabled to preserve his own temperature at from 100° to 104° amidst the polar icebergs. And when em- ployed as food, it enables the Esquimaux to maintain their temper- ature at the natural standard, while surrounded with air at from 50° to 10° below 0° F., with no other habitations than snow huts, and no fires except miserable oil lamps. RATIO OF SOLID MATTER IN ALIMENTS. 211 derately well-fed beef, mutton and pork, in England, is about 25 per cent, of their weight* In a full-grown ox, the whole amount of lean meat is estimated at four hundred pounds. But in some rare cases, the animal has been so far loaded with fat as to weigh two thou- sand pounds ; the proportion of fat being as four to one of muscular flesh, which contains about 75 per cent, of water, and therefore only 25 per cent, of solid matter. It must, however, be observed, that poultry, veal, lamb, venison, hares, rabbits and nearly all wild animals, contain very little fat, more especially in hot climates. But according to Boussingault, the proportion of solid matter in wheat when deprived of water, is 95 per cent. And if we estimate the ratio of pure flour at 90 per cent, it follows that 2-20 pounds of wheat will afford two pounds of starch and gluten; whereas it requires eight pounds of lean fresh meat to afford two pounds of nutritive matter when deprived of water. The potato also contains from 24 to 33 per cent, of starch and gluten, according to the analyses * According to Mr. Brande, the proportions of solid matter in the muscular and albuminous portions of fresh meat, are 29 per cent, in mutton, 2t in chicken, 26 in beef, 25 in veal, 24 in pork, 21 in cod, 21 in sole, and in haddock 18; while it is generally esti- mated that the average is 25 per cent. In eggs, there is about 30 per cent, of albumen and oil, according to Dr. Christison; while in milk of the cow, goat and ewe, the proportion of caseine, sugar and oil, is from 12 to 14 per cent., according to 0. Henry and Chevallier. So that a cow giving sixteen quarts of milk per diem, would afford 3 84 pounds of solid aliment, allowing the milk to contain 12 per cent., and 4*48 pounds if it contained 14 per cent.; two-thirds of which would be oil and sugar. 212 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ALIMENTS. of M. Payen; so that if we estimate the average at only 25 per cent, eight pounds must afford the same quantity as two pounds of flour, and the same propor- tion of solid matter as eight pounds of fresh lean meat. Let us now examine the chemical composition of the more important aliments. In the following table they are reduced to three classes. The first embraces the principal constituents of grain and other vegeta- bles ; the second, the fibrin, albumen and caseine, of both animal and vegetable food; while the third divi- sion exhibits the composition of alcohol, essence of pepper and the most important descriptions of oil or fat. By whom ana- Substances analyzed. Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Nitrogen. lyzed. , 44-250 6-674 49-076 Berzelius. . 42-225 6-600 51-175 Berzelius. . 40- 6-73 53-27 . 36-71 6-78 56-51 41-906 . 40- 6-788 6-67 51-306 53-33 Berzelius. . 41-369 3-800 54-831 Berzelius. 35-980 3-807 60-213 Berzelius. 41-38 3-45 55-17 53-671 , 53-850 6-878 6-983 23-688 23-494 15-763 15-673 Scherer. Scherer. 54-825 7-153 22-394 15-628 Scherer. . 54-617 7-491 22-083 15-809 Jones. " albumen., , 55-01 7-23 21-84 15-92 Jones. " caseine..., , 54-138 7-156 23-034 15-672 Scherer. Gelatinous tissues... 50048 6477 25-125 18-350 Mulder. Calfs-foot tendon..., , 49-563 7-148 24-819 18-470 Scherer. Caffeine................ 49-77 5-33 1612 28-78 Liebig. 50-101 49-53 5-214 5-02 15-676 11-74 29-009 13-45 Jobst. . 51-980 13-700 34-320 Saussure. 80-95 8-13 10-92 Gobel. CARBON AND HYDROGEN IN DIFFERENT ALIMENTS. 213 Substances analyzed. Carbon. Linseed oil............ 76-014 Olive oil............... 77-213 Spermaceti............ 78-000 Tallow................. 78-996 Lard.................... 81-660 By whom ana- Hydrogen. Oxygen. Nitrogen. lyzed. 11-351 12-635 Saussure. 13-360 9 427 Gay-Lussac, 11-800 10-200 Ure. 11-700 9-304 Ure. 12-862 5-478 Chevreul. From the above table we perceive that the propor- tions of carbon and hydrogen in the vegetable acids and grape sugar, vary from 40 to 46 per cent.; in cane sugar, gum and sugar of milk, from 46 to 48, while in the starch of grain and other vegetables they amount to 50 per cent.; but that the fibrin, albumen and ca- seine, of both animal and vegetable matter, contain about 60 per cent, and the various species of oil or fat about 90 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen, or 30 per cent, more than lean meat, and from 40 to 50 per cent. more than pure farinaceous food, sugar, gum and the sub-acid fruits. It is therefore evident, that the latter are especially adapted to tropical and warm climates, where a smaller amount of animal heat is required than in the higher latitudes, where the articles contained in the second division of the table are more appropriate; and that in the polar regions, where animal heat is rapidly ab- stracted by the surrounding air during winter, oily food is peculiarly adapted for supplying its loss, by supporting a rapid combustion in the lungs. Hence it is that the Esquimaux, Samoieds and Tungouses prefer blubber and train oil to any other description of aliment, but have no relish for vegetable food; that they often consume ten pounds or more of animal and oily food per diem, according to the reports of nume- 214 PROPORTIONS OF NUTRITIVE MATTER rous travellers; who also inform us, that while win- tering in those desolate regions, European sailors prefer the fattest meat they can obtain. And hence it is, that throughout the northern and middle latitudes of Eu- rope, more animal food is consumed than in southern France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece; while it is well known that in southern Asia, tropical Africa, the South Sea Islands and nearly all tropical or warm cli- mates, the inhabitants live chiefly on rice, bread, fruits and vegetables, with a little milk, butter and fat. It also follows from the foregoing data, that a man who daily consumes twenty-four ounces of rice, flour, oatmeal, barley, maize or any other species of farina- ceous aliment, gum, sugar, &c, cannot afford above ten or twelve ounces of carbon and hydrogen for the sup- port of respiration; whereas the same weight of fresh lean meat deprived of water would afford about 14*40 ounces; and the various species of oil above twenty ounces. But as wre have seen that fresh lean meat does not contain above 25 per cent, of solid matter, twenty-four ounces would afford only six ounces of nutritive matter and 3*60 ounces of carbon and hydro- gen. In accordance with these facts, we are informed by Mr. Ross Cox, an agent of the American North- western Fur Company, that the men employed in ac- tive service, and without any other aliment, consume eight pounds of fresh meat per diem; and that their allowance is ten pounds if it contain any bone. I am also credibly informed that, under the same circum- stances, the hunters belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, consume about the same quantity of meat daily,—which would afford two pounds of nutritive IN ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD. 215 matter and 1*20 pounds of carbon and hydrogen. But it is well known that a labouring man in Europe is well supported on two pounds of flour, rice, oatmeal or bar- ley, any of which contain about one pound of carbon and hydrogen, or a little more if we allow for the glu- ten, which, as will be seen presently, varies from 8 to 13 per cent.* And it has been ascertained by Govern- ment Commissioners, that when the peasantry of Ire- land have no other food than potatoes, they consume about eight pounds per diem,—which contain the same amount of farinaceous matter as two pounds of flour. It is also well known that a full-sized horse or ox, , weighing seven hundred pounds, may be well sup- ported on ten pounds of grain per diem; and that a lion weighing three hundred and fifty pounds requires ten pounds of fresh meat daily; so that if he weighed seven hundred pounds he would require twenty pounds. In accordance with this fact, I have ascertained that a cat of average size requires six ounces of meat per diem, and, if allowed, would consume much more. It is therefore evident, that the various species of grain afford a much larger amount of nourishment than the same weight of fresh lean meat. We are informed by Major Tulloch, that the weekly rations of the British troops are seven pounds of fresh and salted meat, seven pounds of flour, two and a half * It is equally certain that men who live a sedentary life may be well nourished on a much smaller amount of the same species of aliment. Cornaro subsisted on twelve ounces of farinaceous food, with fourteen ounces of weak wine per diem, during the greater part of his long life, in the mild climate of Italy, while the Hindoos and Chinese live on from sixteen to twenty-four ounces of rice daily. 216 RATIONS OF BRITISH SOLDIERS. pints of peas, ten ounces of rice, nine ounces of sugar, five ounces of cocoa and two pints of spirits. If, then, seven pounds of meat contain 25 per cent, of fat, it will make twenty-eight ounces, which contain 90 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen, or twenty-five and one- fifth ounces. And if we suppose that seven pounds of lean meat contain 25 per cent, of solid matter when deprived of water, there will remain twenty- eight ounces of muscular and albuminous matter which contain 60 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen oi 16*8 ounces, making in all 3*5 pounds of solid fat and lean meat, which contain two pounds ten ounces of carbon and hydrogen for the support of respiration. But if we add together the flour, peas, rice, sugar and cocoa, they will make eleven pounds of vegetable ali- ment, which contains 50 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen or 5-5 pounds; making in all fourteen pounds eight ounces of nourishment per week, inde- pendent of spirits, and eight pounds two ounces of car- bon and hydrogen. From which it follows, that a British soldier con- sumes daily about two pounds one ounce of solid ani- mal and vegetable food, which contains one pound two ounces of carbon and hydrogen; consequently that in the course of a year his allowance of aliment amounts to seven hundred and fifty-four pounds, of which four hundred and twenty-two pounds consist of carbon and hydrogen, leaving three hundred and thirty-four pounds of oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and salts. In accordance with the above facts, we are informed by Liebig, that the German soldiers belonging to a INFLUENCE OF FOOD ON RESPIRATION. 217 company of the body-guard of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, consume daily as much animal and vegetable food as afforded 13*9 ounces of carbon, in- dependently of hydrogen, which must have amounted to about two ounces, making in all 15-9 ounces.* He has also proved, that so long as the body does not in- crease in weight, all the carbon and hydrogen taken into the stomach, not discharged as urine and faeces, unite with atmospheric oxygen to form carbonic acid and water*, which, like the solid excrements, are nothing else than the incombustible or imperfectly burned parts of the food; and that the compounds in which nitrogen predominates pass off through the kidneys in the form of uric acid, urea, ammonia and the different salts; that the superabundant carbon and hydrogen not eliminated from the lungs, are converted into fat and deposited in the cellular tissue, where it remains until required by abstinence^ or increased exercise, when it is taken up by the absorbents, con- veyed into the general circulation and thence into the lungs, from which it is given off as carbonic acid and water. * But this far exceeds the daily consumption of the civil popu- lation in any part of Europe. Liebig states, that in a family of his acquaintance, consisting of five adults and four children of dif- ferent ages, the average quantity of carbon in their daily food was 9 "5 ounces. f In support of this view, he adduces the loss of fat and general emaciation that takes place in many animals during hybernation, when they remain in a state of partial lethargy for months, without any food. He also relates the case of an individual who was un- able to swallow, whose body was reduced one hundred pounds in weight during a month. (Animal Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 25.) VOL. II. 14 218 LIEBIG DEMONSTRATES THAT ANIMAL HEAT He then shows, that as caloric enough is evolved during the combustion of one ounce of carbon to raise one hundred and five ounces of water 135°,—the 13-9 ounces of carbon contained in the daily food of a Ger- man soldier would, on uniting with atmospheric oxy- gen, afford heat enough by respiration to raise one ounce of water 197,032°, and three hundred and seventy pounds of water from 32° to 98-3°; that if the quantity of heat carried off with three pounds of water in the form of vapour, from the lungs and skin, be 51,097°, there will remain 145,935° for maintain- ing the temperature of the body, independent of what is obtained from the combustion of hydrogen. He therefore concludes that animal heat is derived wholly from the action of oxygen on the combustible elements of food, or of the structures formed from it, as was long ago maintained by Black, Crawford, Lavoisier, Dalton and many other distinguished chemists. But although Liebig has triumphantly refuted the absurd hypotheses that animal heat is generated by nervous influence, secretion, nutrition, muscular mo- tion, &c, candour obliges me to say, that he has over- looked some of the most important facts connected with the theory of respiration. For example, he main- tains, in various parts of his late work, that atmo- spheric oxygen is conveyed from the lungs to every part of the body, where it unites with carbon and hydrogen to form carbonic acid and water; that "the globules of the blood, which can be shown to take no share in the nutritive process, serve to transport the oxygen, which they give up in their passage through the capillary vessels." (Op. cit. p. 60.) IS OBTAINED WHOLLY BY RESPIRATION. 219 But that atmospheric oxygen combines with carbon and hydrogen in the lungs, is evident from the fact, already stated, that in mammalia the temperature of blood is from 1° to 3° higher in the lungs, left ven- tricle of the heart and carotid arteries than in the right ventricle of the heart, vena cava, or jugular veins, as noticed by Black, Haller, Plenck and Men- zies, but fully demonstrated by the numerous careful experiments of Dr. John Davy, which I have verified by many observations on recently killed sheep and oxen. I have also proved that, during the passage of arterial blood through the systemic capillaries, the ca- loric obtained by respiration in the lungs is employed in combining a portion of its organic particles with the solids, in maintaining the various secretions and the vital activity of all the functions. (See book iv., chap- ters ii. and iv. I have further shown, from the experiments of Mi- chaelis and Mulder, that venous contains more carbon and hydrogen than arterial blood; consequently, that they must unite with atmospheric oxygen while pass- ing through the lungs, where caloric is obtained, with an excess of oxygen and nitrogen. But in the total absence of these experiments, which Liebig has overlooked, the combination of oxygen with carbon and hydrogen in the lungs is sufficiently demon- strated by the facts, that the temperature of the blood is elevated while passing through the lungs, and diminished while passing through the systemic capillaries, where it ought to be raised, if oxygen there combined with carbon and hydrogen. Yet, as if wholly unaware of these facts, Liebig asserts, that "arterial and venous blood 220 ERRORS OF LIEBIG. have the same temperature." (Page 272.) It is there- fore evident, that his whole theory of respiration and animal heat is fundamentally erroneous; while in some respects it is even more defective than that of Black, Lavoisier, Crawford and Dalton, who main- tained rightly, that animal heat is evolved in the lungs, and given up by the blood to the solids in the systemic capillaries; but without explaining what office it performs in any of the vital functions. And, so far is it from being true, as maintained by Liebig, that "the globules of the blood take no share in the nutritive process," that they are far more abundant in arterial than in venous blood, as proved by the numerous experiments of Prevost and Dumas, Denis, Le Canu, Mayer, Autenrieth, Berthold, Letellier and others. It is therefore manifest, that while passing through the systemic capillaries, a portion of them is dissolved, expended in nourishing the solids and in maintaining the various secretions. It is one of the most extraordinary facts in the history of modern science, that Liebig should have neglected to ascertain the difference between the tem- perature and chemical composition of arterial and ve- nous blood; for this very difference constitutes the key to a right knowledge of animal physiology.* Had this * The consequence of this neglect has been, that his theory of fever is more defective, if possible, than any before offered. For example, he says, that "if in consequence of a diseased transforma- tion of living tissues, a greater amount of force is generated than is required for the production of the normal motions, it is seen in an acceleration of all or some of the involuntary motions, as well as in a higher temperature of the diseased part. This condition is ERRORS OF LIEBIG. 221 celebrated chemist given us more analyses, and fewer hypotheses, he would have avoided many grave and fundamental errors, which now essentially detract from the value of his work. But he seems not to know what kind of experiments are most requisite to the elucidation of animal physiology. His explanation of the decomposition or waste of the solids, affords a curious example of the manner in which the greatest strength must fail when embarked in a wrong path at the outset. In accordance with the foregoing hypothesis, that oxygen is conveyed lay the blood globules to all parts of the body, he maintains that "atmospheric oxygen is the proper, active, external cause of the waste of matter in the animal body; that it acts like a force which tends to destroy the manifestation of the vital force at every moment;" that "by the absorption of oxygen into the substance of living tissues, these lose their condition of life, and are separated as lifeless, unorgan- ized compounds;" that "the cause of waste of matter is the chemical action of oxygen;" that " the globules called fever." Again he observes, that "as the motions of the cir- culating system and of the intestines increase, the power of pro- ducing mechanical effects in the limbs must diminish in the same proportion as in wasting fevers." {Pages 229, 256.) But I have shown that the preternatural temperature of fever and inflamma- tion is always owing to a derangement of the blood, which is no longer in a state to unite with the solids as during health; so that the caloric which is usually transferred to the solids, is given out in the free state; that the increased action of the heart is owing to the preternatural temperature of the blood; and that the vital energy of the whole body is diminished, owing to a failure of the nutritive process. 222 ERRORS OF LIEBIG. of arterial blood, in their passage through the capilla- ries, yield oxygen to certain constituents of the body;":!: that "a small portion of this oxygen serves to pro- duce the change of matter, determines the separation of living parts, and their conversion into lifeless com- pounds; while the greater part is employed in'con- verting into oxidized products the newly formed sub- stances which no longer form part of living tissues;" that "in their return toward the heart, the globules which have lost their oxygen, combine with carbonic acid, producing venous blood;" that "the globules of arterial blood contain a compound of iron saturated with oxygen, which, in the living blood, loses its oxy- gen during its passage through the capillaries;" that after losing a part of their oxygen, they become venous, and combine with carbonic acid, which is given off in the lungs, when they again absorb oxygen, which is conveyed to all parts of the body; that " waste of mat- ter occurs in consequence of the absorption of oxygen into the substance of living parts;" that in cases of starva- * He maintains, that as all the tissues of the body contain, for the same amount of carbon, more oxygen than the constituents of blood—during their formation, oxygen, either from the atmosphere or from the aliment, is added to the elements of proteine, which he regards as the basis of albumen, and the starting-point of all the tissues; that the gelatinous tissues contain an excess of nitrogen and hydrogen, in the proportions to form ammonia; that vegetable albumen, fibrin and caseine are the only parts of plants capable of being converted into actual nourishment; and that they are identi- cal in composition with the nitrogenized constituents of the animal tissues—not only in containing the same proportions of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, but of sulphur, phosphorus and phosphate of lime. ERRORS OF LIEBIG. 223 tion, and in all chronic diseases, death is produced by the chemical action of oxygen, by which every part of the body, except the bones, is consumed by a slow combustion; and that the true cause of death in these cases is the respiratory process. (Pages 28, 223, 238, 243, 259, 271.) Now it is worthy of special notice, that in no part of his work, has Liebig explained what causes the constituents of arterial blood to combine with and nou- rish the solids; the consequence of which has been, as might naturally be supposed, that all his speculations in regard to the cause of waste have been founded on hypothetical and erroneous assumptions.* But we have seen that atmospheric oxygen unites with carbon and hydrogen in the lungs, where caloric is evolved; that the caloric is thence conveyed into the systemic capillaries, where it causes a portion of the fibrin, albu- * He is equally in error with regard to the cause of the circu- lation ; for he represents the heart as a forcing-pump, which sends blood into all parts of the body; and also a suction-pump, by means of which all fluids, of whatever, kind, as soon as they enter the absorbent vessels which communicate with the veins, are drawn toward the heart,—the expansion of which produces a vacuum, into which the blood is forced by the external pressure of the at- mosphere. {Op. cit. p. 58.) For the rationale of the circulation, the reader is referred to the fourth book of this work, chapter iii. Nor is it true, as Liebig maintains, that the capacity of the chest, the volume of oxygen consumed, and the standard temperature of animals are the same, whether at the poles or the equator,— nor that pulmonary diseases arise from excess of oxygen, and hepatic diseases from excess of carbon. {Pages 20, 24.) Never did any work on physiology contain a greater number of pernicious errors—most of which are already exploded; and others are des- tined, ere long, to share the same fate. {Note to the scond edition.) 224 THEORY OF WASTE. men and red globules of arterial blood to combine with the solids, and to form the various secretions,—by which the temperature and vital activity of all the organs are maintained at the expense of the arterial blood, the temperature and vital properties of which are diminished, when it assumes the venous state; that so soon as the caloric by which the particles of arterial blood are combined with the tissues is ex- pended by their action, the vital attraction of the solids gradually ceases, when they are more or less rapidly dissolved, taken up by the absorbents, con- veyed into the general mass of venous blood, and thence into the lungs, where the whole is reconverted into arterial blood, until nearly all the carbon and hydrogen are given off as carbonic acid and water; while the remaining compounds of oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and salts pass off through the various emunctories as dead matter. It is therefore evident, that the "waste of matter" is not owing to "the absorption of oxygen into the substance of living parts," but to an expenditure of the vital heat obtained in the lungs, and transferred to the different organs while passing through the sys- temic capillaries; that in cases of starvation, and in chronic diseases, death is not produced by the chemi- cal action of oxygen, and a slow combustion in every part of the body, but that the proximate cause of death is a failure of the nutritive process and a gene- ral dissolution of the solids, wThich are reduced to the state of inorganic compounds, by giving off carbon and hydrogen in the lungs; while those in which nitrogen predominates, are carried off through the kidneys and LIEBIG ON ANIMAL MOTION. 225 bowels as lifeless matter. Thus it is, that when de- prived of food, respiration is supported, and the body nourished, at the expense of the blood* and of its own ruins; that the substance of the brain, nerves, mus- cles, &c. is rapidly dissolved, conveyed into the gene- ral circulation, and thence into the lungs, where they are consumed by a slow combustion, attended with dizziness, mental debility, stupor, delirium, weakness of the limbs, hollowness of the features and rapid emaciation, which are the leading symptoms of star- vation, as described by Captain Bligh. The observations of Liebig on the cause of animal motion, would have been noticed when treating on that subject, had not the fourth and fifth books of this work gone to the press before I examined his second volume. He there states that "everything in the animal organism to which the name of motion can be applied, proceeds from the nervous system;" that "no change of condition can occur in the body without the nerves, which are essential to all vital motions;" that " under their influence the viscera produce those com- pounds, which, while they protect the organism from the action of oxygen of the atmosphere, give rise to animal heat;" that "by means of nerves, all parts of * Among all the wonders of nature, there is nothing more mira- culous than the self-repairing powers of the living body. Nor is it very easy to explain why it should wear out in threescore years and ten. Compared with this chef-d'oeuvre of creation, the grand- est inventions of human genius are but rude and imperfect imita- tions. Had the steam engine the power of conveying its worn-out particles to the furnace, and of converting them into new materials for repairing the loss arising from motion and friction, it would slightly approximate the perfection of the living frame. 226 CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS OF LIEBIG. the body, all the limbs, receive the moving force which is indispensable to their functions, to change of place, to the production of mechanical effects;" that "where nerves are not found, motion does not exist;" that " the excess of force generated in one place, is con- ducted to other parts by the nerves;" and that "from the unequal degree of conducting power in the nerves, we must deduce those conditions which are termed paralysis, syncope and spasm." (Vol. ii. pp. 3, 30, 219, 230.) " Yet in opposition to all these assertions, (which are refuted by the well-known existence of motion in plants, and in many of the lower animals that have no nerves,) he maintains in the same volume, that " the only known ultimate cause of vital force, either in animals or plants, is a chemical process/' that "the ultimate cause of all the forces in the animal body is a change of material particles by the conversion of food into oxidized products;" that "the process of chymification is independent of the vital force, and is purely a chemical action."* (Pages 30, 32, 34, 108.) * It is very true, that food may be converted into chyme by the chemical action of gastric juice alone, even out of the stomach, if kept at the temperature of the body, as demonstrated by the experiments of Dr. Beaumont and others. But does Liebig really believe, that the secretion of gastric juice is not as much a vital process as nutrition, muscular motion or any other function ? And does he mean seriously that bile is not essential to chylification, because of the small proportion of nitrogen it contains ; or that it serves merely for the support of respiration ? The most probable opinion is, that bile unites with chyme to form chyle, and that the excess of carbon and hydrogen not required to form blood, is given off in combination with oxygen. For it is stated by Miiller, on the CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS OF LIEBIG. 227 But in direct contradiction of all these statements, he observes in another place, that uthe cause of the phenomena of living bodies is not a chemical force; it is a force which has certain properties in common with all causes of motion and of change in form and struc- ture in material substances. It is a peculiar force, because it exhibits manifestations which are found in no other known force." (Vol. ii. p. 232.) And he tells us in the first volume, that " the vital principle is a power distinct from all the other powers in nature." When he says of the soul, that "it is no object of physical investigation," it would seem that he under- stands as little of what the ancients meant by the soul or vital principle, as he does of the essence or ori- gin of anything in nature, whether spiritual or cor- poreal. What is still more remarkable, Liebig has offered no explanation of the office or agency of heat in diges- tion, sanguification, secretion, nutrition, sensation and muscular motion; but at the commencement of his work, represents it as an immaterial agent, like light, electricity and magnetism. I am therefore less sur- authority of Shultz, that in oxen which had not recently taken food, there was found from twelve to sixteen ounces of bile in the gall-bladder, but only from two to four ounces after digestion. Hence it is, that when the process of digestion is arrested, as dur- ing fever, or only diminished, as in hot climates, there is a super- abundance of bile, which is discharged by vomiting, or passes downward, causing bilious stools. Hence also the reason why Hippocrates, Galen and nearly all the ancients, regarded bile as the cause of fevers; an opinion which has prevailed to a greater or less extent among mankind ever since, and is still most potently believed by the vulgar. 228 CAUSE OF CHEMICAL ACTION. prised than I should otherwise have been, that at one time he represents all vital action as proceeding from the nervous system; at another time, from chemical action ;* again, from a peculiar force, distinct from all the other powers of nature; and fourthly, that he should observe in another place, "we resemble the ignorant man, to whom the motion of an iron piston rod in a cylinder, in which the eye can detect no visi- ble agent, and its connection with the turning of thou- sands of wmeels at a distance from the piston rod, appear incomprehensible." Liebig further maintains, that the proximate con- stituents of the blood and organized tissues of animals are all originally produced in the organism of plants; * But as he offers no explanation of the primary or ultimate cause of chemical action, it is evident that he has no fulcrum on which to place his lever. For example, Liebig maintains that "all bodies in the act of combination or decomposition, have the pro- perty of inducing those processes;" that "a molecule set in motion by any power, can impart its own motion to another molecule with which it may be in contact;" that "the most general condition for the production of eremacausis (a slow combustion) in organic matter, is contact with a body in that state; for the communication of combustion is in reality the effect of contact,"—of which he offers many illustrations that admit of a different and far more satisfactory explanation. (See vol. i. pp. 221, 237, 26T, TO, 14, 373.) For I have proved that without caloric there could be no motion among the particles of common matter; that it causes oxygen to unite with all the other elements of ponderable matter or with any of them separately, without any previous contact with a body in the state of combustion. It is therefore perfectly natural, as caloric is evolved during every process of combustion, and as there could be no combination or decomposition without it, that the contact of a burning body should increase the chemical action of other bodies. LIEBIG'S THEORY OF ALIMENTS. 229 that " all such parts of vegetables as can afford nutri- ment to animals, contain constituents rich in nitro- gen;" that "animals require for their support and nutrition less of these parts of plants in proportion as they abound with nitrogenized constituents;" that "no nitrogen is absorbed from the atmosphere in the vital process;" yet that "the chief ingredients of the blood in all animals, contain nearly 17 per cent., and no part of an organ less than 17 per cent, of nitro- gen;" that "in the absence of starch, sugar, fat, gum, &c. the oxygen of the atmosphere combines with the tissues;" that "the metamorphosis in existing tissues, and consequently their restoration or reproduction, must go on far less rapidly in graminivora than in car- nivora;" that starch, sugar, gum, fat, pectin, bassorine, wine, beer, spirits and all substances not containing nitrogen, are incapable of being transformed into blood, and serve merely to support respiration; but that as flesh, vegetable fibrin, albumen and caseine, contain the proximate constituents of blood and the animal tissues ready formed, they alone are capable of supporting the nutrition and growth of animals. He therefore reduces all aliments to two classes, one of which he calls elements .of respiration, and the other, elements of nutrition; maintaining, that if animals were not supplied with the former, their organism would be destroyed by the action of atmospheric oxygen; and that if not supplied with nitrogenized matter, they would perish from starvation. (Vol. ii. pp. 43, 45, 75, 76, 96.) In support of the assertion, that all the nitrogen contained in the blood and organized tissues of ani- 230 DO ANIMALS EVER OBTAIN NITROGEN mals is obtained with their food and none from the atmosphere by respiration, Liebig has offered. no ex- periments of his own; and what is rather surprising, has not taken the slightest notice of the numerous and accurate experiments of many distinguished che- mists, whose results are in direct opposition to his theory. Passing over those of Priestley, it wras found by the varied and often repeated experiments of Spal- lanzani, on birds, mammalia, reptiles and insects, that in nearly all cases, respiration was attended with a notable disappearance of nitrogen. The same results were obtained by the still more careful experiments of Humboldt and Provencal, who found that during the respiration of fishes, the mean proportion of nitrogen that disappeared was as 57-6 to 145*4 of oxygen. It was also ascertained by numerous experiments of Sir Humphrey Davy on himself, that about 18 per cent. of nitrogen was permanently absorbed during respira- tion; after which similar results were obtained by Henderson and Pfaff. These general results have been confirmed by the experiments of Macaire and Marcet, Michaelis, Mag- nus, Dr. Clanny, Mulder and others, who have found that there is more nitrogen in arterial than in venous blood; which could not be the case if it were not ab- sorbed from the atmosphere. Yet we are told, that in a majority of the experiments performed by Dulong, Despretz and Nysten, more nitrogen was exhaled dur- ing the respiration of warm-blooded animals than was absorbed. What is still more incredible, (because contradicted by innumerable experiments of many of the most distinguished chemists in Europe,) it is FROM THE AIR BY RESPIRATION? 231 stated by Liebig on the authority of Despretz, that more nitrogen is exhaled from the lungs of herbivora than of carnivora. But if the German professor had examined these results with the same attention which he bestowed on Dulong and Despretz's theory of ani- mal heat, he would have found them equally falla- cious.* Some highly important experiments performed by Dr. W. F. Edwards, enable us in some measure to comprehend the contradictory results of different che- mists, and even those of the same individuals at dif- ferent times or under different circumstances. For example, he found that more nitrogen was exhaled by new-born Guinea pigs and puppies, living on milk, (which contains much more nitrogen than vegetable food,) than was absorbed; that the same wras true of adult sparrows, during spring, summer and autumn, until the twenty-second of October; after which time there was a striking disappearance of nitrogen; and that when yellow-hammers were kept fifteen minutes in a vessel containing 94*6 cubic inches of air, during the latter part of autumn, winter and the beginning * It is curious enough, that since the first edition of this work was published, Liebig has shown it to be utterly impossible that animals should exhale such a vast amount of nitrogen as the ex- periments of Dulong and Despretz would lead us to believe. For example, a dog weighing eleven hundred and fifty grammes, ex- haled at the rate of 6 75 litres, or 7*46 grammes of nitrogen gas in twenty-four hours, according to the experiments of Dulong. But Liebig has shown, that if all of this nitrogen proceeded from the animal, its whole body would be exhaled in about seven days. {Lancet, vol. i. p. 201, 1845.) 232 EXPERIMENTS OF EDWARDS. of spring, the amount of nitrogen was diminished in almost every instance. Now although Dr. Edwards does not notice the fact, it is well known that sparrows, yellow-hammers and most of the smaller birds, live to a considerable extent during the warmer months, on worms and insects, that afford, like milk and other animal matter, a much larger amount of nitrogen than grain, which forms the principal nourishment of birds after the middle of October, when their summer food is removed by the cold season. We are therefore authorized to conclude, that when animals live on vegetable food, which con- tains less nitrogen than is requisite to form blood, the deficiency is obtained from the atmosphere by respira- tion,* as shown by the experiments of Priestley, Spal- lanzani, Humboldt and Provencal, Davy, Henderson and Pfaff; but that when they live on food which con- tains more nitrogen than is required to form blood, the excess is exhaled from the lungs, or discharged from the kidneys, as shown by some experiments of Ju- rine, Berthollet, Dulong, Despretz and Nysten. Be- sides, Dr. Edwards found that nitrogen was sometimes absorbed and at other times exhaled, during the re- spiration of man.-j* * It is during the passage of chyle, venous blood and the waste materials of the solids through the lungs, that the whole is con- verted into arterial blood, by giving off carbon and hydrogen; and by absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere, whenever that element is deficient in the food. It is also in the lungs where blood is formed, and where, after it has performed its vital office of nourish- ing the tissues, the whole is converted into oxidized products and other inorganic compounds. f Were it not for the large amount of nitrogen discharged in CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF DIFFERENT'FOODS. 233 But if we examine the chemical composition of ani- mal and vegetable foods, it will be found that their nutritive value is far from being in proportion to the amount of nitrogen they contain. For example, the first two columns of the following table exhibit the proportions of solid matter and of nitrogen, in different species of vegetable food, when dried at temperatures from 212° to 230°, according to the experiments of Boussingault himself, recorded in the Annates de Chi- mie et de Physique, tome lxiii. To these I have added two other columns, representing the quantities of vege- table aliment required to afford as much nitrogen as one pound of lean meat deprived of water; and the proportions of nitrogenized matter in one hundred parts of vegetable food. The third column was ob- tained by dividing the quantity of nitrogen contained in the dry fibrin, albumen and caseine of the animal tissues, (estimated by Liebig at 17 per cent.) by the numbers in the second column. The fourth column was then obtained by finding how often the numbers in the third column go in one hundred parts:— the urine of carnivorous animals, there would be more of it exhaled from the lungs than actually takes place. From the recent experi- ments of Prof. Lehman he found, that when he lived twelve days on animal diet alone, (consisting of thirty-two eggs daily the last six days,) his urine contained 821*37 grains of urea, and five-sixths of all the nitrogen ingested. But that when he lived twelve days on a vegetable diet, the amount of urea was reduced to 347 10 grains. He also found, that when living on animal food alone, 22-64 grains of uric acid were discharged through the kidneys every twenty-four hours; but only 11 24 grains when using food that contained no nitrogen. VOL. II. 15 234 PROPORTIONS OF NITROGEN IN DIFFERENT FOODS. Equivalents to Quantity of Solid matter. Nitrogen. lib. of animal nitrogenized matter. matter. Wheat..................... 95- 2-30 7-40 13 51* Oats....................... 87-6 2-20 7-42 13- Barley.................... 86-8 2-02 8-42 11-86 Maize..................... 82- 2-00 8-5 11-76 Rice....................... — 1-39 12-23 817 Rye........................ 90- 1-70 10- 10- Potatoes.................. 27- 1-80 9-44 10-58 Peas....................... 83-3 4-20 4-04 24-75 Horse-beans............ 92-1 5-50 3-09 32- White haricots......... 95- 4-30 3-95 25- Lentils.................... 91- 4-40 3-86 25- Carrots................... 12-4 2-40 7-08 14-12 Turnips................... 8-8 2-20 7-72 18- White cabbage......... 7-7 3-70 4-59 22- Ordinary hay........... 888 1-50 11-33 8-82 From the foregoing table, we perceive, that if only the nitrogenized portions of food were capable of being transformed into blood and the various tissues, one pound of lean meat deprived of water, (which is a binary compound, and supports neither respiration nor nutrition,) ought to afford as much nourishment as 7*40 pounds of wheat, 8*42 pounds of barley, ten pounds of rye, 11"18 pounds of maize, or 12*23 pounds * According to the experiments of Yauquelin, the proportion of gluten in hard Odessa wheat is 145# per cent., and 1020 per cent, in that of the Paris bakers. But it would seem to vary greatly according to the nature of the soil; for Boussinganlt re- lates some experiments of Hermstedt, which show that wheat grown on a soil manured with ox blood, or human urine and ex- crements, afforded from 33 to 35 per cent, of rough gluten; while that produced on a soil manured by cow dung, or pigeons' dung, afforded about 12 per cent. When manured with vegetable mould, the proportion was 9*6 per cent, and 92 per cent, on the same soil not manured. Similar experiments should be often repeated, for the purpose of arriving at greater certainty. ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD. 235 of rice,*—which is positively contradicted by all ex- perience,—for every one knows, that a horse or ox weighing seven hundred pounds may be well sup- ported on ten pounds of pure grain per day. But I am informed by the celebrated Van Amburgh, that a lion of the largest size requires every twenty-four hours from ten to twelve pounds of clear flesh, during six days in the week; and from sixteen to eighteen pounds when mixed with bone, as in a neck-piece of fresh beef; that his large tiger consumes nearly the same quantity, and the lioness about ten pounds; that the spotted jaguar, or Brazilian tiger, which weighs from one hundred and ninety to two hundred pounds, requires daily from six to seven pounds of clear flesh, and the leopard five pounds. If, then, the Brazilian tiger weigh two hundred pounds, and require seven pounds of fresh meat a day, he would require twenty- * It also follows, that one pound of peas and beans ought to be equal, in nutritive value, to two pounds of wheat or barley, and three pounds of rice. But even Liebig admits, that peas and beans are of inferior value as articles of nourishment, because, as he thinks, they are deficient in phosphate of lime and magnesia. It is well known, however, to farmers, that they are excellent food for horses and other domestic animals, especially when boiled or ground into meal. And I am disposed to believe that they con- tain a larger proportion of nutritive matter than was estimated by Sir Humphrey Davy, who represents it as 57 per cent. In wheat he found it 95 per cent., in barley 92 per cent., in rye 722. Again, if the quantity of nitrogen in dry hay be 1-50 per cent, and a mea- sure of its nutritive value, eleven and one-third pounds ought to afford as much nourishment as eight and a half pounds of maize— which is absurd, and contrary to all experience. Even Boussin- gault admits, that twenty-seven pounds of wheat are equal to one hundredweight of ordinary hay. 236 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD. four and a half pounds if as large as a full-grown horse or ox. And if we estimate the proportion of water in twenty-four and a half pounds of lean meat at 75 per cent., there will remain 6'12 pounds of nu- tritive matter, which would be consumed daily by a carnivorous animal weighing seven hundred pounds. But the quantity of nitrogenized matter in ten pounds of oats, barley or maize, varies from 1*17 to 1-30 pounds. From which it is obvious, that, according to Liebig's theory, a carnivorous animal weighing seven hundred pounds would take in with his food above five times more nitrogen than a horse living daily on ten pounds of grain. It also follows, that as there is only T80 per cent, of nitrogen in dried potatoes, thirty-eight pounds, in the fresh state, would be re- quired to afford as much nitrogen as four pounds of lean fresh meat, allowing both to contain 75 per cent. of water. And as it requires one hundred pounds of fresh turnips to afford 8*8 pounds of dry solid matter, which contains 2*2 per cent, of nitrogen, nearly eighty- four pounds would be required to afford as much nitro- genized matter as one pound of dry fibrin, albumen or caseine.* * If, then, it be a fact, that lean fresh meat contains 4-25 per cent, of nitrogen, while the constituents of grain, potatoes and tur- nips contain only from l-39 to 230 per cent, of that element, how is it possible that herbivorous animals can exhale more nitrogen than such as are carnivorous ? For we have seen that the latter consume a larger amount of food in a given time, in proportion to their weight; and that the same amount of nitrogen enters into the composition of both classes. It therefore follows, that all gra- nivorous animals, and a large majority of the human race, who live FOOD OF THE LABOURING CLASSES. 237 Again, so far is it from being true, that man and other animals require less food in proportion as it abounds with nitrogen, that a much larger amount of lean fresh meat is required than of wheat, barley or any other farinaceous aliments, as we have already seen with regard to carnivora and herbivora. We have also seen that the hunters of America consume daily about eight pounds of fresh meat, when they have no other food; while it is certain that the labour- ing classes of Europe are equally well supported on twenty-four ounces of flour made into bread, with eight ounces of fat bacon; that the Irish peasantry, who live on eight pounds of potatoes a day, are supe- rior in size, strength and activity to those of England, where the proportion of beef and mutton consumed is three times greater than in France, four times greater than in Prussia, five times greater than in Austria, and six times greater than in Italy or Spain. The peasantry of Scotland, who live chiefly on oatmeal and potatoes, with milk,* and just meat enough to flavour chiefly on vegetable aliments, must derive a portion of their nitro- gen by respiration, or by swallowing it with their food in the form of air. It cannot, then, be admitted, that their food contains all the nitrogen found in their excretions. According to Le Canu, a full-grown man rejects every twenty-four hours, in his urine alone, about half an ounce of nitrogen; this amount of nitrogen is con- tained in about three ounces of muscular flesh, which must, there- fore, be removed every day by the waste of the body. To restore this waste, there must be eaten thirty ounces of flour, or forty-five of bread, if all the nitrogen expelled be derived from our food. * I am credibly informed, that the children of the wealthier classes in Scotland are fed chiefly on oatmeal porridge and milk, until the age of puberty. But the solid portions of cow's milk, when deprived of water, do not contain above four per cent, of 238 FOOD OF THE LABOURING CLASSES. their vegetable broth, are superior in health, strength and longevity to the North American Indians, or to any other race of men in the world, who subsist chiefly on animal food. It is also well known, that in almost every country in Europe, above half the popu- lation is supported chiefly on bread, milk, potatoes and other vegetables, with a little butter and fat, which contain no nitrogen; that the agricultural labourers of England, Holland, Germany, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and New England prefer the fattest pork they can obtain; because they say it goes farther, and supports their strength better, than lean meat. Nor is it improbable, that about four-fifths of the human race derive nearly all their nourishment from the vegetable kingdom: for it is certain, that throughout southern Asia, a large portion of Africa, the South Sea Islands and tropical America, nearly all the inhabit- ants live chiefly on rice, bread, yams/sugar, oil, dates, lemons and other fruits.* nitrogen, and human milk not much over half that proportion; so that it approximates the composition of farinaceous food, the starch of the latter being replaced by oil and sugar. But according to the new theory, skimmed milk ought to afford more nourishment, than new milk, because the ratio of nitrogen is larger in a given weight of the former, for the cream is supposed not to be con- vertible into blood. And if one pound of lean meat, deprived of water, contain 17 per cent, of nitrogen, it ought to afford as much nourishment as four and a half pounds of the solid parts of milk, which contain only four per cent, of that element. Such are the conclusions to which we are inevitably brought by adopting' the premises of Liebig. * Macaulay says, that one hundred and sixty-five years ago, (1685,) one-half the common people of England ate animal food twice a week; whereas the other half ate it not at all. {History of England, vol. i. p. 391.) FOOD OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS. 239 But if men and other animals were nourished only by those parts of food which contain nitrogen, a man living on twenty-four ounces of rice per day would consume only about two ounces two drachms of ali- ment capable of being transformed into blood and the various tissues of the body—all the rest being em- ployed in supporting respiration. And if a labouring man consume twenty-four ounces of flour in the form of bread, with eight ounces of fat meat, he would take only three ounces of actual nourishment, or about six times less than is contained in the daily food of a horse living on ten pounds of pure grain, which affords about twenty ounces of nitrogenized matter. But we have seen that a Brazilian tiger, weighing two hun- dred pounds, consumes six pounds of fresh beef, which contains twenty-four ounces of nitrogenized matter; so that if his weight were one hundred and fifty pounds, (the average of man,) he would take daily eighteen ounces of matter capable of being transformed into blood, and six times more than the labouring man who lives on twenty-four ounces of flour, with eight ounces of fat meat, and nearly as much as a horse weighing seven hundred pounds. Is it then true, that sanguification, secretion, nutri- tion and growth are six times more rapid in carnivora than in herbivora? That the process of waste and renovation is far less rapid in the latter than in the former, as maintained by Liebig? So far is this from being the case, that the calf, lamb, kid and pig grow much faster than any of the carnivorous quadrupeds.* * I have been informed by respectable butchers, that a calf eighteen weeks old, fed on milk and various species of farinaceous 240 GROWTH OF HERBIVORA AND CARNIVORA. Nor is it possible that the quantity of gluten in the food of herbivora and granivora can account for their rapid increase of weight. The horse, ox, deer, sheep, goat, hare and rabbit have a higher mean temperature, with proportionally greater power of enduring cold and prolonged mus- cular exertion, than the lion, tiger, leopard, hyena, cat, or any species of carnivorous mammalia, if we except the dog, wolf and fox, whose blood is not richer in organic particles than that of the more ac- tive herbivora. And it has been observed, that the greyhound, when fed on hard biscuit, with milk and fat, is not less swift as a runner than when supplied with lean meat, ^here is also reason to believe, that during recovery from long illness, the weight of a aliment, has been known to weigh four hundred pounds; a lamb fifteen weeks old, sixty-five pounds; and a pig six months old, three hundred pounds. It is also well known that the hare and rabbit grow much faster than the cat, or any other carnivorous animal of the same size; and that the deer grows more rapidly than the dog, wolf or fox. The same general observation applies to birds. It is said by poulterers, that the domestic pigeon is nearly as large when only four weeks old as the parent bird, which consumes one ounce two drachms of barley per day. But this would afford only one drachm eleven grains of nitrogenized matter, which is manifestly insufficient to renew the composition and supply the rapid waste of the pigeon. The common fowl, when well fed, is usually considered as ready for market at the age of fourteen weeks; while it is cer- tain that the turkey, ostrich and other granivorous or frugivorous birds grow faster than the eagle, vulture and other birds of prey. Yet we are gravely assured by Liebig, that the processes of reno- vation and waste are far less rapid in herbivora than in carnivora, and that the amount of nitrogenized constituents in the urine of animals is a measure of their nutrition and waste. FARINACEOUS AND SACCHARINE FOOD. 241 man, nourished chiefly on farinaceous and saccharine food, increases at the rate of about two pounds per day, and often greatly beyond that amount. And as we have seen that men require two or three times more lean meat for their support than of purely fari- naceous and oily aliments, we are authorized to con- clude, that starch, fat, gum and sugar not only sup- port respiration, but that during this process, they are transformed into blood (by absorbing nitrogen from the air) capable of nourishing the tissues, like gluten and the nitrogenized portions of animal food* The opinion that substances not containing nitro- gen are incapable of supporting animal life, has been * Dr. Paris thinks that an ounce of fat contains nutriment equal to four ounces of lean meat. {On Diet, p. 72.) Nor can there be a rational doubt that honey, sugar, sago, tapioca and arrow-root, which contain little or no nitrogen, are highly nutritious. I have also been frequently told that the blacks of the West Indies and Brazil are never so hearty and well-looking as when they live freely on juice of the sugar-cane, with molasses. And we are in- formed by Sharon Turner, on the authority of Mr. Easton, that Rebecca Joseph, of Malpas, near Newport, in Monmouthshire, lived to the age of one hundred years, and her chief sustenance, for the last two years of her life, was brown sugar and water. {Sacred History of the World, vol. iii. p. 322.) It is therefore impossible to admit the assertion of Liebig, that starch, sugar, gum and oil are incapable of being transformed into blood by the chemistry of animal life. For it is manifestly not true, as he maintains, that the quantity of nitrogenized matter in the food of herbivora is amply sufficient for the growth and development of their tissues, and for the supply of waste. If this were the case, a cow fed on forty-two pounds of turnips would consume only two ounces of nitrogenized matter; whereas the milk of a cow giving sixteen quarts would contain above twenty ounces of caseine, which con- tains about 16 per cent, of nitrogen, or 3-20 ounces. 242 IMPORTANCE OF A MIXED AND VARIED DIET. erroneously inferred from some experiments of Ma- gendie, who found that when dogs were fed on sugar, butter, olive oil or gum, separately, with only water, they died in from thirty-one to thirty-four days. But he also found afterwards, that when rabbits and Gui- nea pigs were fed on wheat, barley, oats, carrots or cabbage, separately, with water alone, they died with all the symptoms of starvation in fifteen days, but suffered no ill effects when fed on the same articles simultaneously, or in succession. (Physiology, trans- lated by Milligan, vol. ii. page 486, second edition.) It has also been clearly established, by a Report of the Gelatine Committee, (in the Comptes Rendus des Seances de VAcademie des Sciences, vol. v., Aout. 1841,) that fibrin, albumen and gelatine, when taken alone and separately, will not support the life of dogs, although carnivorous animals,—but that an exclusive diet of muscular flesh, raw bones or gluten is capable of complete and prolonged nutrition. (Pereirds Lect. on Foods; Pharm. Journal, October, 1842.) Hence the vast importance to health of a mixed and varied diet, as indicated by the appetite, and the diversity of ali- ments supplied by nature. There is reason to believe that the best possible nou- rishment for man is a mixture of animal and vegetable food in such proportions as to produce a composition resembling milk, which Dr. Prout very justly regards as the model of what our aliments should be in after life. He observes, that nearly all our artificial com- binations of food are nothing more nor less than dis- guised imitations of the prototype milk; and that the more nearly they resemble this model, the more nearly COMPOSITION OF MILK. 243 do they approach perfection. For example, by adding to flour fat, sugar and eggs, as in making pastry, we have a composition very nearly analogous to that of milk, which was evidently intended by nature for the nourishment of animals during a considerable period of their existence. Now it will be seen from the fol- lowing analyses of 0. Henry and Chevallier, that the average proportion of caseine in milk of the cow, ass, goat and ewe is as one to 2-23 parts of oil and sugar; while in that of woman, the difference is as one to 5-76:— Cow. Ass. Goat. Ewe. Woman. Caseine.............................. 448 1-82 4-02 4-50 1-52. Butter................................ 3-13 0-11 3-32 4-20 3-55 Sugar................................ 4-77 6 08 5-28 500 6-50 Salts................................. -60 -34 -58 -68 -45 Total........................... 12-98 8-35 13-20 14-38 1202 Liebig maintains, that the proportion of caseine in the milk of woman is increased by her living on ani- mal food; while the proportion of oil is increased by a farinaceous diet. (Vol. ii. p. 83.) But we perceive from the above table, that the ratio of caseine is 2*6 times greater in the milk of herbivorous animals than in that of woman, who lives partly on animal food. It also follows, according to Liebig's theory, that nearly six times more aliment is required to support the respiration of an infant, than is employed in its nutrition, and 2-23 times more in the calf, colt, kid and lamb. But so far is this from being the case, that the temperature of the calf, kid and lamb is several degrees higher than that of the infant; while experience demonstrates that human milk is not less nutritious than that of other animals. The inference 244 ADAPTATION OF MAN TO A VEGETABLE DIET. is therefore clear, that the sugar and butter of milk, like the starch of grain and other vegetables, serve not merely to support respiration, but are also con- vertible into blood and the various tissues,—conse- quently, that there is no foundation in nature for the division of food into "elements of respiration and ele- ments of nutrition." The obvious tendency of Liebig's theory is to aug- ment the consumption of animal food among man- kind. But it is worthy of special notice, that no highly civilized nation has ever yet been strictly carnivo- rous; that the teeth, jaws, stomach, bowels and whole organization of man, resemble those of the monkey tribe much more nearly than those of carnivora; con- sequently, that man is specially adapted by nature to a vegetable diet, which, if sufficiently varied, is equally palatable, and far more conducive to health, strength, beauty, sweetness of body, intelligence, morality and urbanity of manners, than a diet of animal food alone; if not preferable to a mixture of both* In support of this view, it may be observed, that * A writer in the London Examiner, of October, 1852, main- tains that the Englishman is lumpish, heavy, harsh and phlegmatic, because of the immense quantities of half-cooked beef and mutton he devours; whereas the Frenchman is gay and sprightly, like his diet and beverage; that the English are strong drinkers, because they are gross feeders, whose digestion requires the aid of stimu- lants ; while their Gallic neighbours, who use a lighter diet, seldom employ alcohol or even the lightest wines to excess; in fine, that the art of selecting and preparing food marks the progress of civilization, and is next in importance to the art of medicine. The truth is, that the materia alimentaria are of infinitely greater im- portance to man than the Materia Medica. SUPERIORITY OF HERBIVORA. 245 in all the attributes of a beautiful and vigorous or- ganization, mildness of disposition, docility and use- fulness, herbivorous animals are far superior to the carnivora, nearly all of which are characterized by ferocity, a fetid odour of the skin and breath, with a rank, disagreeable taste of the flesh, which was doubt- less the reason they were forbidden as food by the laws of Moses.* I therefore agree with Pythagoras, Dr. Lambe and Mr. Shelley, that much of the savage cruelty which has characterized many barbarous tribes of mankind, may be in part ascribed to their exclusive use of animal food; although it must be admitted that some of the tribes inhabiting central Africa and the South Sea Islands, who life on fruits and vegetables, have been equally ferocious and cruel. The superiority of vegetable over animal food is still more striking in an economical point of view. For ex- ample, if we estimate the average produce of wheat at twenty bushels, or 1250 pounds per acre; a square mile (640 acres) would yield 800,000 pounds, which would support a population of fourteen hundred and sixty- two individuals, allowing each to consume twenty-four ounces per diem throughout the year. And it is well known that an acre of ground will produce from 40 to 50 per cent, more barley, maize, oats, beans or peas, than of wheat. But if the products of an acre of ground be required to give 200 pounds of meat on an * But when fed on a vegetable diet, the flesh of the dog and other carnivora is no less palatable than that of lamb and venison. The delicious flavour of the canvass-back duck is owing to its feed- ing on wild celery; and that of the green turtle has been attributed to its living on sea-moss. 246 POLITICAL ECONOMY Of average, a square mile would give 128,000 pounds; so that if it contain 25 per cent, of fat and 25 per cent. of lean meat, deprived of water, there would remain 64,000 pounds of nutritive matter, which would sup- port one hundred and seventeen inhabitants, allowing twenty-four ounces for each. From which it follows, that land sown in wheat would support above twelve and a half times the number of inhabitants that it could if devoted to the rearing of cattle and sheep.* But at present the number of horses in Great Bri- tain is 2,166,000, and of cattle 13,000,000; so that if each of these animals consume as much food as five men, that of the whole would maintain a population of 75,830,000. If to this we add 56,000,000 sheep, and 25,000,000 pigs, their food would support a popu- lation of fifty millions of human beings, independent of what is employed in feeding poultry, deer, dogs and cats. And if an acre of ground can produce 22,000 pounds of potatoes, which are equal to 5500 pounds of wheat, a square mile would support four thousand eight hundred and twenty-one human beings. Nor is it improbable that the time may come, when animal food and woollen clothing may be exchanged for a vegetable diet (with perhaps milk, butter, eggs and fish,) and cotton clothings when the work of animals will be performed chiefly by steam power; when the * Sharon Turner says, that there are 58,000,000 acres of culti- vable land in the Kingdom of Great Britain, every one of which would support a family on vegetable diet) whereas it requires three acres to support one family on flesh and vegetables; so that the United Kingdom would support 300,000,000 on vegetables, but only 100,000,000 on both. {Sacred Hist of the Earth, vol. iii.) ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE ALIMENTS. 247 population of England shall be augmented from two hundred and eighty to one thousand on the square mile; and by a judicious variation of their vegetable diet, live far better than at present.* The following table, compiled by a recent author of great merit, who has chosen to remain anonymous, exhibits an estimate of the relative quantities of food that an acre of ground will produce in temperate climates:— Pounds. Potatoes.......................... 22,000 Mangold Wurtzel............... 22,000 Parsnips......................... 11,000 Cabbages........................ 10,000 Turnips.......................... 8,240 Apples........................... 7,000 Pears.............................. 5,000 Onions........................... 2,800 Beans and Peas................ 2,000 Pounds. Plums and Cherries............ 2,000 Oats and Barley................. 1,840 Wheat.............................. 1,250 Mutton............................. 224 Beef................................ 186 Milk................................ 2,900 Butter.............................. 300 Cheese.............................. 200 With regard to the quantity of aliment required to maintain health and strength, much depends on cli- mate, season, age, sex, temperament and mode of life. To persons in robust health, and whose appetites have not been rendered dainty by silly tampering in early life, scarcely anything in the rich banquet of nature comes amiss; whereas, the feeble and phlegmatic re- * In the northeastern provinces of China, where very few ani- mals are reared for food, and still fewer for labour, the population varies from five hundred to nearly eight hundred on the square mile, without the advantage of machinery and other means of aug- menting the comforts of life. It is therefore evident, that with the vast resources of Britain, and the adoption of a diet consisting chiefly of vegetables, she is capable of supporting in comfort more than 100,000,000 inhabitants, and that in such a state of things there would be no necessity for migration to other countries. f 248 QUANTITY OF FOOD REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN HEALTH. quire moderation and the choice of a light but nutri- tious diet. Perhaps there is no better guide than the instinctive appetite implanted by nature, which if not perverted by artificial and vicious customs, always prefers what is salutary, but revolts from the use of drugs and poisons. Let every one then partake in moderation of what he likes best, and cure repletion by abstinence or exercise, rather than resort to emetics and purgatives. When more food is taken than is required to repair the waste of the solids, there is a superabundance of imperfectly formed blood, that abounds with oily matter, which if not carried off by suitable exercise, deranges the nutritive process, causing a feverish state of the body, indigestion, headache, low spirits, hys- terics, gout, &c. For example, it is well known to the feeders of poultry, that after being crammed for ten days or two weeks, until loaded with fat, they become feverish and drooping. It is therefore obvious, that a large accumulation of fat is incompatible with a healthy condition of the blood, and should be pre- vented either by abstinence or by exercise, which, according to Lucian, performs the same office which winnowing does for corn, by blowing away the chaff and other impurities, while the pure grain is left behind. Nearly all descriptions of food are more digestible and nutritious when cooked, than in the raw state, if we except the softer species of ripe fruits, (which are already more or less cooked by the heat of the sun,) and oysters, the albumen of which is coagulated like the white of eggs, by a high temperature. For the MODUS OPERANDI OF SPIRITS. 249 same reason, warm meals are more easily digested by weak stomachs than cold. And we are told by the Chevalier Edelcrantz of Sweden, that the process is accelerated by warm clothing, but retarded by what- ever reduces the temperature of the body below the natural standard. It is generally understood that the cold bath, even in summer, is injurious, if employed soon after eating. In regard to the modus operandi of ardent spirits, wine, malt liquors and other stimulants, on the ani- mal economy, very little has been ascertained with certainty. It is generally understood, that their ac- tivity is in proportion to the amount of alcohol they contain, which varies from 50 to 54 per cent, in spi- rits, from 10 to 26 in wines, and from 4 to 8 per cent. in porter and ale. But that Caloric is the active prin- ciple in alcohol would appear from the fact, that when swallowed pure, or even diluted with nearly one half water, as in brandy, gin and whiskey, it produces a burning sensation in the throat and stomach, like so much liquid fire. And it is generally known, that the sudden mixture of alcohol with water is attended with a considerable elevation of temperature. The same heating influence is produced in the body by ether, ammonia and other stimulants. Liebig maintains that the carbon and hydrogen of spirits, wine and malt liquors unite with atmospheric oxygen within the body and assist in the generation of animal heat, because, as he says, the expired air, perspiration and urine, do not contain any trace of alcohol after it has been used. This is doubtless the case when they are taken in small quantities, espe- VOL. II. 16 250 MODUS OPERANDI OF SPIRITS. cially in combination with food. But when taken alone or in large quantities, they may be always per- ceived in the breath. They have also been detected in the blood, the ventricles of the brain and in the excretions, according to Magendie. When taken in moderation, there is reason to be- lieve that drinks containing alcohol augment the pro- cess of respiration, the action of the heart, and the circulation of blood through the lungs; thus producing a pleasurable glow of warmth throughout the body, a temporary flow of animal spirits and an accelerated activity of all the functions. In accordance with this viewr, we are informed by Dr. Paris, that Mr. Spalding consumed the oxygen of the air in his diving-bell much sooner when he drank spirituous liquors and employed a diet of animal food, than when he drank only water and lived on vegetables. On the other hand, it was found by the experiments of Dr. Fyfe and Dr. Prout, that the amount of carbonic acid gene- rated in a given time by respiration, was always ma- terially diminished by the use of spirits, wine and malt liquors, especially when taken on an empty stomach. (An. of Philos., vol. ii. p. 328; vol. iv. p. 334.) Nor can there be a doubt, that when taken in large quantities they are absorbed into the blood and con- veyed to the brain, where by their narcotic influence they diminish its voluntary command over the func- tion of respiration, as shown by the coldness of the extremities, languor of the circulation, giddiness, stu- por, insensibility, loss of appetite, nausea, tremors and general prostration of strength, that characterize in- toxication, which literally means the action of a poi- MODUS OPERANDI OF SPIRITS. 251 son. It is therefore not surprising that their habitual use induces delirium, paralysis, apoplexy, epilepsy, madness and a frightful train of physical maladies, especially in hot climates. For it is certain, that they may be consumed in much larger quantities in cold than in warm and tropical countries, without causing intoxication or disease. And this proves that they afford a certain amount of caloric either by uniting with the fluids of the body or by increasing respira- tion, in the same way that animal food and fat pro- duce this effect. Hence it is, that when the energies of life are exhausted, as in the latter stages of typhus, cholera, tetanus and other low forms of disease, they are often revived by the judicious employment of brandy, ether, wine, &c. Yet there cannot be a rational doubt, that the abuse of these articles has caused a greater amount of phy- sical and moral suffering than war, famine, pestilence or any other single calamity. If, by virtue of a strong constitution, a few drunkards have arrived at old age, millions are destroyed in the prime of life by intem- perance. It was the opinion of Dr. Forry, that nine- tenths of the mortality in the United States army, at the salubrious posts of the north, was owing to the excessive use of ardent spirits. That intoxicating liquors are not sanctioned by nature would appear from the fact that they are generally disagreeable to the unvitiated taste of the lower animals and of young children; while it is notorious that their con- stant use diminishes the appetite of adults for whole- some food. The sooner we begin to assist nature by stimulants, the sooner she leaves us a prey to artificial 252 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. excitement, which is seldom beneficial except when the powers of life are reduced below par. If the £65,000,000 annually expended for spirits, wine and malt liquors in Great Britain, were rightly employed in the promotion of a sound physical and moral edu- cation of the lower classes, pauperism would soon dis- appear; while vast multitudes would be rescued from crime, madness and premature death.* RECAPITULATION. The cardinal facts embraced in this chapter may be reduced to the following general propositions:— 1. That each zone affords in the greatest abundance those descriptions of aliment best suited to maintain the well-being of its inhabitants. 2. That excessively cold climates abound with ani- mals which contain a large amount of oil and fat, that are rich in carbon and hydrogen, which afford an abundant supply of animal heat where it is most required. 3. That the middle latitudes abound with grass, grain and domestic animals, which are less numerous and contain a much smaller proportion of fat in hot * It is estimated that the annual cost of intoxicating drinks in France is $234,000,000, while it is about $100,000,000 in-the United States, where the average consumption of proof spirits by each individual has been estimated at four and three-quarter gal- lons. In Sweden it is said to be seven gallons, in France nine gallons and in Great Britain eleven and a half gallons. The latter country pays annually for ardent spirits £30,000,000; for wines, £10,000,000; and £25,000,000 for 387,552,672 gallons of malt liquors. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 253 climates, where there is an exhaustless profusion of saccharine fruits, gum and farinaceous aliments, that afford less carbon and hydrogen, therefore less caloric by respiration, than animal food. 4. That the various species of grain afford a much larger amount of actual nourishment than an equal weight of animal food, if we except cheese, butter, fat and lean meat deprived of water. 5. That during the process of respiration, starch, sugar, gum and fat are converted into blood, by ab- sorbing nitrogen from the air and by giving off carbon and hydrogen; consequently, that the elements of respiration, when combined in due proportion, are employed in nourishing the solids, like the fibrin, albumen and caseine, of both animal and vegetable food. 6. That as the chemical composition of all animals is the same, herbivora must derive a portion of their nitrogen from the atmosphere, because their food does not contain enough of that element to maintain their nutrition and growrth, which are even more rapid than in carnivora. 7. That the living body is a self-repairing machine, which has the power of transforming both ternary and quaternary compounds into its own tissues; and when wholly deprived of food, is capable of living for many days on its own ruins, which are repeatedly renovated in the lungs, where they are also gradually converted into carbonic acid, water and other inorganic com- pounds. 8. That the rapid increase in the weight of the body after long abstinence or illness, the speedy healing of 254 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. broken bones, the filling up of ulcers, and the rapid growth of herbivorous animals, all tend to prove that the nitrogenized portions alone of vegetable food are insufficient to account for the renovation of their com- position and the supply of waste. 9. That a suitable variety of vegetable aliments is better adapted to the organization, health, strength, intelligence and moral excellence of the human race, than a diet of animal food alone. 10. That although spirits, wine and malt liquors,* when taken in moderation, elevate the temperature of the body, augment the circulation, produce a tempo- rary flow of spirits, remove the sensation of hunger, fatigue and other disagreeable feelings; they impair the vital properties of the blood and diminish its co- agulating power, when used to excess; derange the nutritive process, cause a dropsical or phlegmatic con- dition of the solids and gradually destroy the vis medi- catrix naturae, as shown by the slowness with which wounds and ulcers heal in intemperate drinkers. * It is important that every one should know there is about three times more solid and nutritive matter in a pint of milk than in the same measure of porter, and twenty times more in a pound of good bread. Yet thirty-five million bushels of barley are wasted annually in England in making malt liquors, (which vitiate the breath and gradually destroy health,) or enough to nourish three and a half millions of human beings. Nor is there a more palpable error than the general opinion that malt liquors are essential to support the strength of a labouring man. But it is in vain to reason with men whose appetites and reasoning faculties have been per- verted by artificial customs. CHAPTER III. SLEEP. —"That knits up the ravelled sleave of care, The birth of each day's life, sore labour's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast."—Shakspeare. It has been said that "sleep is the great miracle and mystery of life." The remark is true so far as this, that a complete theory of sleep necessarily in- volves that of life itself. And so it is of all the func- tions, whether healthy or morbid. I have already shown that the power of the stomach to digest, of the muscles to contract, of the brain to think and of the nerves to feel, is directly in proportion to the rapidity with which their composition is renewed, cateris pari- bus; but that the animal heat obtained by respiration, and the organic particles of arterial blood by which the solids are nourished, are still more rapidly ex- pended by the action of the brain and voluntary mus- cles, than they are renewed; in short, that the cause of force is always expended in producing motion or action; that the object of aliment is to supply mate- rials for supporting respiration and for repairing the waste of the solids, induced by exercise; after which it is carried out of the system by the different emunc- tories, in the form of carbonic acid, sweat, urine, &c. (255) 256 OFFICE OF SLEEP. I shall now proceed to show, that the proximate cause of sleep is an expenditure of the substance and vital energy of the brain, nerves and voluntary muscles beyond what they receive when awake; and that the spe- cific office of sleep is the restoration of what has been wasted by exercise.* That the necessity for sleep arises from an exhaus- tion of sensorial and muscular power, would appear from the fact, that it is induced by intense bodily pain, laborious exercise of the brain and voluntary muscles; when not carried so far as to interrupt the nutritive process. So pressing is the demand for it in cases of painful and difficult parturition, that women often fall into a slumber between the paroxysms of violent uterine contraction. They also require more sleep during gestation than at other times, owing to the expenditure of blood and vitality in support of the foetus. In accordance with these facts, sleep is more profound and long continued, after the body has been greatly wasted by protracted illness, or exhausted by over-exertion of any description, whether of the ner- vous or muscular organs. It is related by Sir Natha- niel Wraxall, that in 1796, after many days of intense anxiety and mental exertion in Parliament, Mr. Pitt drove out to Wimbledon, where he slept above sixteen hours without interruption. * In a late work, entitled Psychology, by Dr. Haddock, pub- lished by the Fowlers, the author maintains that "the insensibility of sleep is owing to a collapse, or falling together of the fibres of the cerebrum, by which the blood is prevented from entering the finer channels of the brain, which has the power of imbibing or rejecting the vital fluids." This collapse is also caused, he says, by the manipulations of the mesmerist, who thus produces hypnotism. SLEEP THE PERIOD OF GROWTH. 257 Again, that the system actually increases in its dimensions during sleep, but diminishes while awake, and in a state of action, would appear from the fact, (which I have verified by numerous measurements,) that an ordinary-sized man is from eight lines to one inch taller in the morning, after a good night's repose, than in the evening. Some physiologists have main- tained that this is owing to an expansion of the inter- vertebral cartilages, after the superincumbent weight of the body is removed, and to their compression when in the erect posture. But that it is owing to increased growth of the whole body, is proved by the smooth- ness and plumpness of the features and limbs, the rapid healing of wounds and the speedy recovery from the wasting effects of long illness, during and after sound repose,—by which the animal frame is filled with new life, exhaustion removed, the vivacity of the mind and the vigour of the muscles restored.* Thus it is, that sleep is the " chief nourisher in life's feast;" and "a remedy for every curable disease;" as long ago observed by Menander. Nor is it less cer- tain, that the whole body is wasted, and the features contracted, after long watching, by which the repara- tive powers of nature are diminished; and that nothing tends more effectually to injure the constitution than loss of sleep, by which it is rendered extremely liable * Hippocrates seems to have understood that sleep is favourable % to the nutritive process, for he observes, in the treatise on Diet, that it causes nourishment to unite with the body; and that loss of sleep impairs the power of digestion. (Lib. ii. sec. 121.) Aristotle also observes, that nutrition and growth are best performed during sleep, when all the higher faculties of our being are wholly inactive. 258 RENOVATING INFLUENCE OF SLEEP. to the noxious influence of cold, malaria and other causes of disease. It is also worthy of notice, that young animals sleep more during the period of rapid growth, than after they arrive at maturity. Hence the remarkable activity and sprightliness of children, after the term of infancy is passed, and they have acquired the free use of their locomotive organs. In like manner, many persons who have attained their full growth, enjoy better health and spirits after great emaciation from severe illness and excessive medica- tion, than they have had for several years before, pro- vided no serious disorganization has taken place. The reason of which is, that after the body has been much reduced, and the disease arrested, the process of reno- vation by nutrition is more rapid than during an ordi- nary state of health; so that in respect to growth, intellectual vivacity and general excitability, the indi- vidual returns for a time to the charming condition of a new and youthful existence. It is maintained by Edward Johnson and other phy- siologists, that nutrition goes on only during sleep. But I have proved, that during the contraction of every muscle, and during every action of every organ, there is an expenditure of substance and vital energy, in proportion to the activity of each; and that if not perpetually renovated by a fresh supply of arterial blood and vital heat, animal motion and all the ope- rations of the nervous system are extinguished in a few minutes. So far is it from being true, that the formative process goes on only during repose or quies- cence of the brain, nerves and voluntary muscles, that respiration and sanguification, secretion and nutrition, THE VITAL ENERGY RESTORED BY SLEEP. 259 are greatly augmented during violent exercise; for it is well known that the more vigorously any organ is exercised, the more abundantly is it supplied with arterial blood. Hence it is, that more food is required by men who take much exercise, than by such as lead a sedentary life. Yet, as the animal heat by which the organic particles of blood are united with the solids is more rapidly expended by exertion through the day, than it is obtained by respiration, the vital affinity by which the said particles are held in com- bination with the solids is very soon dissolved, when they are removed by the absorbents, and replaced by new ones, as shown in the foregoing parts of this work. It is only, however, the brain, nerves and voluntary organs whose substance and power are so greatly ex- hausted by exercise; for, as the action of the lungs, heart, stomach, bowels and other involuntary organs is more nearly the same at all times, the process of renovation is generally equal to that of waste, and they never require absolute repose, but continue in action throughout the whole period of existence. The most remarkable difference between exercise and sleep is, that during the former, the expenditure exceeds the income; whereas, during the latter, the income exceeds the expenditure. For example, if the annual income of an individual be five hundred pounds, and his ex- penses one thousand pounds, it is obvious, that unless the latter be materially diminished for a time, his whole capital must be very soon exhausted. In like manner, if the substance and vital heat of the body be expended by exercise of the brain, nerves and 260 ANIMAL HEAT RETAINED DURING SLEEP. voluntary muscles with twice the rapidity that they are replaced by respiration and nutrition, it becomes evidently necessary that the activity of the system should be suspended until the loss is repaired, which is most effectually accomplished during repose, when the expenditure is at the minimum. Thus it is, that although respiration is diminished 20 per cent, about the middle of night, even when awake, if the body be at rest, according to the experiments of Dr. Prout, and probably still more during sleep; yet the income greatly exceeds the waste. It is therefore manifest, that, in a philosophical point of view, sleep is the birth, and not " the death of each day's life," as main- tained by Shakspeare; nor is it "death's younger brother," as asserted by Sir T. Brown. That a larger amount of animal heat is retained in the body during sleep, when sufficiently covered, than during the exercise of the day, would appear from the fact, that the temperature under the tongue is one or two degrees higher on first awaking in the morning, than at bedtime; except after exercise or taking a hearty supper, both of which augment respiration. This explains why it is that in hot countries, where the inhabitants take an afternoon nap, as during sum- mer in the United States, the face, neck and whole surface of the body perspire more than if awake at the same time, cceteris paribus. And Sanctorius in- forms us, that during seven hours sleep, the fluid ex- haled from the skin of a healthy man was about double what was lost in the same time while he was awake. (Med. Stat. sec. 4.) But as less caloric is obtained by respiration during INFLUENCE OF SLEEP ON THE PULSE. 261 sleep than when we are awake, if the body be not well covered, it is more easily chilled, and the circu- lation depressed, than during exercise. Hence it is, that when exhausted by previous exertion, the caloric obtained by breathing is still more rapidly abstracted by exposure to cold and damp night air during sleep, than it is replaced,—by which the body is predisposed to a chill, which ushers in all the different forms of fever and other constitutional maladies. M. Quetelet states, in his recent statistical work on man, that the number of inspirations are diminished during sleep in the ratio of six to seven when awake, and the pulsa- tions at the wrist, in the ratio of three to four per minute; that among three hundred individuals, at different ages, the extreme values were as represented in the following table. (Seepage 71.) Inspirations. Pulsations. At birth................................................ 44 136 5years................................................ 26 88 15 to 20................................................. 20 69-5 20 to 25................................................. 18-7 69-7 25 to 30................................................. 16 71 30 to 50................................................. 18-1 70 But that the diminished frequency of the heart's action during sleep is owing to the cessation of volun- tary motion, has been demonstrated by Dr. Knox, who found that in a healthy young man of regular, habits, aged twenty, the average number of pulsations at seven in the morning was 7*4 beats greater than at ten in the evening, independent of food and exercise. Horizontal. Sitting. Standing. Average morning pulse................... 62 78-3 90 Average evening pulse.................... 56 67 77 262 INFLUENCE OF SLEEP ON THE PULSE. He has further shown, that the excitability of the heart diminishes regularly from an early hour in the morning until midnight, when it is at zero. And I have found that the mean temperature under the tongue, ceteris paribus, is from 1° to 2° or 3° higher early in the morning than at midnight.* As might naturally be supposed, Dr. Knox observed, that the action of the heart was greatly reduced by sitting in a cold room;-}- that its pulsations are most frequent in infancy, and diminish on till old age, when they are at a minimum; that they are more accele- rated by food and exercise in the morning and during the forenoon than in the afternoon, and least of all in the evening—more in weak than in strong indi- viduals—but that this does not apply to wine and spirituous liquors; finally, that the action of the heart is augmented more by muscular exertion than by fever or any other cause. (Ed. Med. and Surg. Journal for 1813-14-15.) Nor is this latter fact at all surprising, when we reflect that from three to four times more caloric is disengaged by respiration during active exer- cise than when we are at rest. Nor is it difficult to comprehend, why the action of the heart is more strong and frequent in the morning than evening, * This fact is confirmed by the more recent observations of Dr. J. Davy, who found the temperature of the human body is highest in the morning, and that it remains high, but fluctuating, till evening, (being augmented by exercise, and after eating,) and lowest about midnight. f Blumenbach says the pulse is slower in cold than in tropical climates, where the mean temperature under the tongue is about 2° higher than in England, as shown by Dr. J. Davy. TIME REQUIRED FOR SLEEP. 263 when we reflect that more animal heat is expended by exercise during the day, than is obtained from the atmosphere by respiration. It is said by McNish, that birds sleep less than mammalia, and the latter less than man, who requires more during winter than summer, and more in cold than in hot climates. However this may be, it is cer- tain, that during the long nights of winter, for some time before and after Christmas, the cock frequently crows at intervals, as if not disposed to sleep so long. During the prime of life, men require from six to eight hours sleep, if we except those of large chests, vigor- ous constitutions and sanguine temperament, who are able to endure great muscular and intellectual exer- tion with much less repose, than individuals of the phlegmatic temperament—doubtless because the nu- tritive or reparative process is more energetic in the former, and because their sleep is more perfect. Dur- ing the most active period of their lives, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Washington, the Duke of Wel- lington, Lord Brougham and many other distinguished men, have not slept above four or five hours in the twenty-four. But nothing tends more certainly to injure the constitution and shorten life, than a want of sufficient sleep, which is more essential to men of studious habits, and to such as take much laborious exercise, than to the idle and inactive. Bourrienne says of Napoleon, that he generally slept seven hours out of the twenty-four, besides taking a short nap in the afternoon. (Memoirs of Napoleon.) Owing to im- perfection in the nutritive process, sleep is less sound and refreshing in old age, than during the earlier periods of life. 264 IMPROPRIETY OF LATE AND HEARTY SUPPERS. Whatever diminishes the circulation of arterial blood through the brain, and thus impairs its vital activity, tends to produce drowsiness. For example, it is often induced by a full meal, which causes a de- termination of blood and vital heat from the brain and other organs to the stomach, for the purpose of supplying it with gastric juice, during the process of digestion; causing sleepiness, languor and chilliness in feeble constitutions. Hence the impropriety of taking late and hearty suppers, (especially after a full din- ner,) the digestion of which during sleep requires a large supply of blood in the stomach, at a time that it should be employed exclusively in repairing the previous waste of the solids, which, as we have seen, is the prin- cipal object of repose. The nutritive properties of the blood are also impaired by the mixing of fresh chyle with it, which is the reason that sleep is less sound after full than light suppers; and that more of it is required to refresh and renovate the body. It is less refreshing on hard than on soft beds, because the weight of the body presses on a larger surface of the latter, and the rest is more complete. It is a savage custom, that of making children lie on hard beds, which do not contribute to vigorous health; and have been found injurious to the shape of infants. Sleep is frequently induced by a glass of negus or warm spirits and water, which also produce a deter- mination of blood from the brain to the stomach—and by hearing a dull monotonous discourse, which nearly suspends the train of one's own thoughts, without being interesting enough to maintain the activity of the brain. Sleep is also induced by exposure to the VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MODIFY SLEEP. 265 air of a heated room, which causes a determination of blood to the surface, at the expense of the brain, mus- cles and other important organs. Hence it is, that the most delightful of all soporifics is the warm bath, especially after exposure to cold and fatigue, as it re- moves the stiffness, soreness and aching, which some- times prevent sleep when most required. But exces- sive external warmth is unfavourable to sound sleep, because it raises the temperature of the solids nearly to an equilibrium with that of the arterial blood, by which the combination of its particles with the solids is diminished. Hence it is, that when oppressed with too much covering, we feel languid and unrefreshed on rising in the morning, until the body is washed with cold water; and that men sleep more soundly in temperate than in hot climates, where nothing more conduces to healthful repose than cooling ablutions, or the tepid bath, before going to bed. Whatever greatly diminishes the nutritive process, tends to prevent natural sleep, which is therefore always imperfect, if not wholly interrupted, during fever, and many other forms of disease. It is also frequently prevented by over-activity of the nervous system, caused by mental anxiety and too intense thinking, which interfere with the nutritive process, and induce a feverish state of the brain, that may be relieved by cold applications to the head, putting the feet in warm water and then getting into a warm bed —all of which tend to equalize the circulation, dimi- nish the morbid activity of the brain and thus induce sleep.* * Raspail is said to have discovered that one grain of camphor, VOL. n. 17 266 VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MODIFY SLEEP. It is maintained by Dr. Billing, that a warm bed is favourable to sleep, by causing a plethoric state of the brain. (Principles of Med. p. 80.) But according to the observations of Blumenbach, the circulation is diminished in the brain and its vessels are less turgid during sleep than when we are awake. Hence it is, that strong tea and coffee prevent sleep, by augment- ing the circulation and activity of the brain, (perhaps also by impairing the nutritive properties of the blood;) or that when the blood is determined from the surface and extremities, by sleeping in a cold bed, and sent to the brain in augmented quantities, we are kept awake until the circulation is equalized by warmth. Sleep is more sound during the early part of night, when the nutritive process is actively employed in repairing the previous waste, than toward morning, when it is often partially interrupted by dreams. Long before the phi- losophy of mind had been rescued from the reveries of metaphysics, by the discoveries of Dr. Gall, it was known that the different senses sleep in succession and with different degrees of intensity; that in cases of partial somnolency individuals are capable of hearing and even of answering questions, when vision and all the other senses are quiescent; that sleep-walkers per- form many extraordinary feats of muscular and men- tal exertion, of which they remember nothing after- wards. But this inquiry cannot be further pursued at present. It may, however, be observed, that night- formed into a pill, and followed by a draught of one and a half ounces of the infusion of hops, mixed w;th five drops of ether, will procure sleep when all other narcotics fail, even in cases of ap- proaching insanity. PLANTS REQUIRE NO SLEEP. 267 mare is owing to a temporary obstruction of the general circulation, caused by overloading the stomach, or by the intemperate use of spirituous liquors; both of which prevent sound and refreshing sleep; while they induce a lethargic state of the system, as shown by the torpor of the boa constrictor when gorged with an enormous meal, by some savage tribes, and by nearly all intemperate persons. As for plants, they require no sleep, because they suffer no loss of their substance and vitality by exer- cise, therefore have nothing to do but to grow. The drooping of the leaves which takes place in a few of them when deprived of light, is owing to a diminished circulation of sap through their vessels, and is no more entitled to be regarded as sleep than the folding up of the leaves that takes place in some plants, under the scorching influence of a burning sun, which causes their fluids to be carried off by evaporation faster than they are supplied by the soil. Nor must we confound the lethargy of hybernating animals, (during which the temperature falls to that of the surrounding medium, or nearly so, and all the functions of life are arrested or greatly diminished, with natural sleep; for what the ancients called the vital and natural functions, Harvey the vegetative, and Bichat the organic functions, still continue to go on, while the temperature remains at the healthy standard. But hybernation consists in a diminution or temporary suspension of vitality, which, as we have seen, is aug- mented by genuine sleep. Nor must we confound the sweet restorer of nature and "balm of hurt minds," with the stupor of apoplexy, epilepsy, trance, typhus 268 INFLUENCE OF THE MIND and other forms of malignant fever; all of which are attended with diminished respiration, sanguification, nutrition and growth. The blood being imperfectly renovated and supplied with caloric in the lungs, be- comes of a dark colour even in the arteries, and there- fore unfit to maintain the activity of the brain, which falls into what Dr. Billing very aptly terms " the coma of inanition." The same condition is induced by ex- cessive loss of blood, a large abstraction of caloric from the body, the inhalation of mephitic gases, the use of opium and other narcotics, or by whatever greatly diminishes respiration, the vital properties of the blood and its power of nourishing the solids. INFLUENCE OF THE MIND ON HEALTH. Nothing contributes more essentially to health and longevity than a happy and tranquil state of mind, which must be sought in a temperate exercise of all the physical, intellectual and moral faculties. Benevo- lence, friendship, love, a good conscience, with tender, refined and elevated thoughts, are never-failing sources of health, beauty and delight; whereas pride, envy, jealousy, covetousness, anger and all the passions, when habitually indulged to excess, not only embitter our own happiness and that of all around us, but sap the foundations of health, mar the human face divine and shorten the period of existence. It is therefore manifest, that the connection between vice and misery, virtue and happiness, depends on the radical laws of our organization, which cannot be violated with impu- nity; and that a due regulation of the passions is no ON THE FUNCTIONS OF LIFE. 269 less important to our well-being, than temperance in eating, drinking, muscular exercise, &c* That the forces of life are greatly modified by conditions of the brain and nervous system, is evi- dent from the fact, that respiration, on which they all depend, is a voluntary process, which is excited to increased activity by hope, love, joy, confidence and whatever tends to excite pleasurable emotions; the lungs expand with freedom, by which the blood is abundantly supplied with caloric, converted into a bright scarlet fluid, the force of its circulation is aug- mented, digestion, sanguification, nutrition and all the other functions of life are performed with alacrity. But when the brain is paralyzed by grief, fear, despair, * Dr. James Johnson observes, in his treatise on the Economy of Health, that a great majority of our corporeal disorders, in the present state of civilized society, spring from or are aggravated by mental perturbations; that the passions are the tempests of life, which too often set at defiance the rudder of reason, driving the vessel on shoals and quicksands and ultimately wrecking it alto- gether ; that the bench, the hustings, nay, even the pulpit, pour forth the destructive elements of discord; that the fury of political strife, the hazards of commerce, the jealousies, envies and rivalries of the professions, the fear of poverty, the terrors of superstition and the hatreds of sectarianism, are perpetual sources of ill health and a long train of moral evils ; that nearly all the causes of ner- vous maladies may be traced to anxiety of mind, intensity of thought, sedentary avocations and plenary indulgence ; that the besetting sin of the present age is not so much that of intemper- ance in eating and drinking, as reading and thinking; the penalty of which, alas, falls far more frequently on those who labour for the good of society, than on those who live in luxury and idleness. But he adds, of the mode in which the mind operates on the body, we know as little as we do in regard to the modus operandi of gravity and magnetism. (Pages 134, 146, 150.) 270 INFLUENCE OF THE MIND or by the repeated shocks of adverse fortune, its volun- tary power is diminished, as if by a blow on the head, so that the individual almost forgets to breathe, until a feeling of oppression warns him to take a deep in- spiration, which is only another name for the boding sigh.* The supply of animal heat by respiration is dimi- nished, the action of the heart enfeebled, the circula- tion through the lungs and general system is languid, the extremities are cold, perspiration is checked, the surface is pale or sallow and the internal organs are congested with dark venous blood, which was called black bile by the ancients, who regarded it as the cause of the melancholy temperament. They also knew that happy emotions induce a bright arterial hue of the blood; for Homer speaks of florid joy, and Hip- pocrates of black melancholy. Respiration is no less certainly diminished and the vital properties of the blood impaired, by the depressing passions, than by the influence of an impure atmosphere, an impove- rished diet, too much or too little exercise, intemper- ance in the use of spirituous liquors and mercurial salivation, as proved by the experiments of Dr. Prout. The natural consequence of such a state of things is, that all the secretions are deranged; and the nutri- * The immediate cause of yawning is fatigue or exhaustion, es- pecially of the brain, and it is most easily produced in persons whose nervous system is in a feeble state. It is, therefore, a sign of drowsiness, and generally precedes an attack of fever. The yawn itself consists in a deep and slow inspiration, prompted by the in- stinctive feeling of a vital want, and the tendency of which is to supply that want by augmenting the process of breathing. ON HEALTH AND DISEASE. 271 tive properties of the blood being diminished, it unites imperfectly with the solids. Dr. Cheyne observes, "the juices of the body are always in a highly de- ranged and disordered state whenever those violent passions of grief, revenge or love exist, which absorb the unhappy patient." And Plutarch justly remarks, that the influence of an envious person disturbs and injures others both in mind and body, especially such as are feeble. I have also frequently been mesmerized by stupid company, until scarcely able to utter a sen- tence or to digest my dinner. On the other hand, I have been often so excited by the influence of an in- tellectual companion of large and generous heart, as to feel a delightful expansion of my whole being, both physical and mental. So that a portion of the caloric which ought to be employed in that process and in maintaining the secretions, is given out in the free state, causing a low fever and more or less debility of the brain, stomach, bowels and of all the organs. In this way is laid the foundation of dyspepsia,* costive- * The great mistake of Abernethy and many other modern pathologists, was in supposing that dyspepsia is a primary disease, and that all the complicated symptoms attending it are owing to sympathy of different parts of the body with some deranged con- dition of the stomach, which has been aggravated in many thou- sand cases by the blue pill, black draught and other pernicious drugs. It is true, that the disease is frequently brought on by gluttony and the excessive use of spirituous liquors; but it is much oftener the consequence of grief, anxiety, disappointment, uncon- genial employment, too much or too little exercise, exposure to vicissitudes of weather without sufficient clothing, and frequently by the imprudent use of cold drinks, when the stomach is weak. That the proximate cause of the disease depends chiefly on dimi- 97^ OPINIONS OF JOHNSON AND COMBE. ness, hysteria, amenorrhcea, low spirits, habitual me- lancholy and torpor of all the organs; not, however, because "they are supplied with a vitiated nervous fluid," but because they are supplied with imperfectly arterialized blood, which, as I have already shown, is even more essential to the healthy activity of the brain and nerves, than to that of any other tissue. Bright and sound blood is essential to clear, strong and elevated thoughts; whereas dark and imperfect blood is the source of feeble, obscure and mystical ideas, which are the offspring of bodily disease or of an unbalanced state of the brain. In accordance with the hypothetical views of Hoff- man and Cullen, Dr. James Johnson tells us, that "the brain presides over and furnishes energy to every other organ in the body" (Op. cit. p. 13.) And Dr. An- drew Combe observes, that " changes in the quality or amount of nervous influence transmitted from the brain to any organ, have a direct power of modifying its function; that if by some violent emotion of fear or grief, the brain be inordinately excited, so as to send forth a stimulus vitiated in quality, the stomach, which receives it, will partake of the disorder, causing nished respiration, circulation, secretion and nutrition, is evident from the fact, that the patient often complains of cold extremities, succeeded by more or less fever, pains in the head, back and limbs, giddiness, stupor and general debility, attended with-an indisposi- tion of wounds and ulcers to heal kindly, or a diminution of the vis medicatrix naturae; symptoms that obviously require the warm bath, moderate exercise, warm clothing, pure air, nourishing food, agreeable company, with whatever is calculated to augment the circulation and improve the vital properties of the sanguineous fluid. EXPERIMENTS OF BRODIE AND PHILIP. 273 the loathing or sickness so often induced by unex- pected bad news." (Principles of Physiology, p. 279.) Many others maintain with Bichat and Richerand, that the organs of digestion, circulation, secretion, &c. are supplied with vital energy by the ganglionic sys- tem of nerves. But I have shown in a preceding chapter, that so far as respiration depends on the voluntary power of the brain and medulla oblongata, (exerted chiefly through the nervus vagus,) they are essential to the evolution of caloric in the lungs, san- guification, secretion, nutrition and growth, but no further. Hence it is, that division of the vagus of rabbits causes impeded respiration, a reduction of tem- perature and indigestion, as in the experiments of Dr. Philip; while other physiologists have found that it destroys life in a few days. But it was found by Sir Benjamin Brodie, that when the vagus was divided in young cats, near the -cardia of the stomach and below the branch distributed to the lungs, the conver- sion of food into chyme and chyle was not prevented. It has also been well established by other experi- menters, that the sensibility of a part may be entirely destroyed by dividing the nerves which go to it, with- out seriously impairing the nutritive process. When the mind is overwhelmed with anxiety, grief, despair or some all-absorbing passion, it is no longer capable of exercising its accustomed voluntary power over respiration; on the due performance of which the vital properties of the blood and the healthy activity of all the functions depend. For it is certain that the life of the brain, spinal marrow, ganglionic nerves and every part of the body, is derived from the blood, 274 INFLUENCE OF INTENSE STUDY. which derives it from the atmosphere, while passing through the lungs. It is therefore manifestly an erro to maintain that the brain or any other portion of the nervous system is the source of vitality; or that they exert any influence on the vital functions, except through the medium of the lungs, whose office in the animal economy resembles that of the sun in the planetary system. Nearly the same effects are produced on the consti- tution of man by intense and long-continued study as by the depressing emotions; especially when the sub- ject of inquiry involves at every step principles of the widest span, and therefore keeps the intellectual facul- ties on a perpetual strain.* Hence it is rare to find * The pathological history of literary and scientific men affords innumerable examples of the dangerous consequences arising from over-exertion of the intellectual faculties. No enlightened medical man can read the life and correspondence of Sir I. Newton, without being convinced, that for the space of two years he laboured under a state of partial insanity, brought on by his excessive devotion to mathematical and physical researches; aided, perhaps, by anxiety in regard to the extreme narrowness of his income. There is also evidence, that he was at times affected by doubts concerning the vacuum of space, the projectile force of planets, the inherent attrac- tive and repulsive properties of atoms, as maintained in the Prin- cipia, which had been powerfully criticized by Leibnitz. In addition to all these causes, operating on a sensitive organization, he was annoyed by charges of infidelity, brought against him by Hutchin- son and other fanatics of his age. Had not his labours been re- warded by a lucrative office under government, and crowned with glorious fame, it is probable that he would have sunk into a state of permanent melancholy, if not madness, and have died prema- turely of apoplexy or paralysis, which carried off Sir Walter Scott in the sixty-second year of his age, notwithstanding the natural EFFECTS OF MENTAL OVER-EXERTION. 275 the highest degrees of mental culture conjoined with vigorous health, except among individuals of large thorax. And even among the latter, the energy of the brain is maintained at the expense of the other organs and tissues. Like the bow, which loses its elastic force by being long bent, the power of the strongest mind is gradually impaired by intense think- ing. And if not relieved by change of scenery and of occupation,* exercise in the open air, the occasional use of the warm bath, succeeded by a cold douche, light or agreeable amusements and the soothing con- versation of congenial friends, it falls into a state of me- lancholy from which it never recovers; or is quenched by apoplexy, paralysis or madness, still more deplor- able than premature death. Alas! how many precious lives have been sacrificed by an ardent zeal to benefit mankind; and some of them while attempting to un- fold the laws of physical and moral health! But when the mind has been once kindled with a live coal from vigour of his constitution. Thus it is that the intemperate quest of knowledge often destroys its favourite votaries no less certainly than the depressing passions or excesses in eating, drinking and many other gross vices. But when science shall have been stripped of mystery and reduced to the simplicity of established principles, it will be only a healthful and delightful amusement to acquire a knowledge of whatever is essential to happiness. * Change of ideas is as necessary to a perfectly sound state of mind, as variety of food to physical health. Great discoveries may be achieved by the cultivation of a particular talent; but the highest state of mental improvement requires the temperate exercise of all the intellectual faculties and moral sentiments in such a way as to produce the greatest amount of pleasure without fatigue or satiety, and maintain a due balance of the whole. Otherwise it is impos- sible to have "mens sana in corpore sano." 276 EFFECTS OF THE DEPRESSING PASSIONS. off the altar of God, and inspired with the animating hope of discovering truths more important than mines of silver and gold, it cannot pause in its onward ca- reer, until arrested by the approach of death or the failure of its powers. It was observed by Madame De Stael, that "grief is not only a foe to intellectual fertility, but a rapid poison .•" and, like fear,* it has been known to destroy life almost as suddenly as a dose of hydrocyanic acid. It also produces epilepsy and apoplexy, which are fre- quently brought on by over-exertion of mind, and de- pend essentially on a temporary paralysis or even lesion of the brain, by which respiration is nearly suspended, the power of the heart greatly diminished, and the vital properties of the blood so far impaired, that it becomes black even in the arteries, as shown by the livid or purple hue of the features. If in this state the chemical function of the lungs be not speedily restored by fresh air, artificial inflation or stimulants applied to the nostrils, and the circulation aroused by * In a conversation with Prince Metternich, the King of Naples said to him:—" Fear is a thing which lays hold of me in the head, and then it works in my chest, and then lower, until its effects are medicinal." Dr. C. Holland also observes, that fear produces diar- rhoea and a flow of urine, showing that the bowels are debilitated, perspiration arrested and the bladder contracted. I have also seen a recent statement, on the authority of the London Medical Times, that in Russia four murderers were placed, without know- ing it, in four beds, in which four persons had died of malignant cholera. They did not take the disease. They were then told they were to sleep in beds where some persons had died of cho- lera, whereas the beds were new, and had never been used at all. Nevertheless, three of them died of the disease within four hours. MEGHANICAL INJURIES OF THE BRAIN. 277 the application of warmth, aided by friction, the pa- tient sinks to rise no more. For so long as respiration and circulation are suspended, from whatever cause, blood-letting can be of no use.* In cases of compres- sion and concussion of the brain, the symptoms are nearly the same as in the worst forms of apoplexy. The breathing is slow and stertorous, the surface and extremities cold, the pulse feeble, with prostration of strength, loss of appetite, nausea and suppression or derangement of all the secretions; showing that the voluntary power of the brain over respiration is im- paired, and the circulation impeded. Owing to the * But it is not only by diminishing respiration, and thus im- pairing the vital properties of the blood, that intense thinking and the depressing emotions paralyze the energies of the brain, which is weakened by over-exertion, for the same reason that the volun- tary muscles are exhausted by violent exercise. Judging from my own experience, I should say that intense and long-continued ac- tion of the brain has a direct tendency to impede the nutritive process, by which its composition and power are perpetually renovated. For I have observed in very many instances, after a few hours severe application, (especially when the general strength was much reduced,) that the forehead became feverish, and hotter than any other part of the body,—showing that the caloric sent to the brain, in combination with arterial blood, was not all employed and expended in maintaining the renewal of its substance and vitality. At such times, the circulation through the brain was so far impeded as to cause a preternatural throbbing of the carotid arteries; and the loss of mental power was often such as to pre- vent all successful exertion; but was uniformly more or less re- stored by the application of cold water to the head, moderate exer- cise in the open air, and the conversation of agreeable company. The most effectual method of prosecuting any literary or scientific enterprise which requires intense application, is to pursue the sub- ject at leisure, so as never to induce exhaustion of the nervous system. 278 THE TONIC POWER OF HOPE. vitiated condition of the blood, it fails to unite with the solids; so that although less caloric is obtained by respiration than during health, it is not transferred to the solids, and expended in maintaining their ac- tivity, but accumulates in the body, causing the pre- ternatural temperature of fever. Nor can the fevers thus induced be easily distinguished from such as are brought on by the influence of cold, miasmata, filth and a vicious or poor diet; but present the typhoid or inflammatory type, according to the greater or less injury of the brain, state of the constitution, &c. It has been long known that during the prevalence of epidemics, fearful and desponding individuals, like those who have been weakened by intemperance, poor living, cold, impure air, and exhaustion from too much labour, are among the first to be attacked, and the most difficult to cure. Nor is there anything in the whole Materia Medica so potent in the prevention and cure of disease, as a buoyant state of mind. Hippocrates justly observes, that "the first duty of the physician is to inspire his patient with courage and consolation, which alone will often produce a cure." (De Morbis, lib. i. c. 2.) And it is certain, that a better knowledge of nature, as connected with the laws of health, would banish much of the idle terror that prevails among the people; and which is too often fostered by their spiritual leaders, icho ought to know that despair of re- covery is the beginning of death* * The influence of fear on the functions of animal life was well understood by Shakspeare :— "I ha\e a faint, cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the seat of life." RATIONALE OF TRANCE AND MESMERISM. 279 In those cases of partially suspended animation, termed trance, which occur chiefly in persons of weak or disordered minds, especially females of irritable con- stitution, the brain is paralyzed by over-excitement of the nervous system, caused by religious emotions of ecstasy, fear, &c. Respiration is so far arrested, that the temperature of the patient has been known to fall 20° or 30° below the natural standard, when the ac- tion of the heart becomes almost extinguished, the surface pale, and the individual exhibits scarcely any appearance of life. In many respects, the phenomena resemble the effects produced by the influence of what has been termed animal magnetism. After mesmer- izing about one hundred persons of different classes, and both sexes, Dr. Sigmond states, that he found females much more easily affected by his manipula- tions than males; that in some, they brought on sleep or stupor—in others, fainting, hysteria, convulsions, and even trance; that respiration became impercepti- ble, the pulse feeble, the extremities cold and the features pallid; that in the case of a young lady in Fitzroy Square, it induced all the symptoms of sus- pended animation, which lasted four hours.* (Lancet, Dec. 9, 1837.) The death of Madame Manchini, the sister of Cardinal Mazarin, had been foretold by her deceased husband, who was a great astro- loger. And the prediction was doubtless the cause of its fulfil- ment, because, from the first moment of her last illness, she con- sidered herself doomed, and actually expired at the very time foretold. {Pardoe's Court of France, p. 23.) * Dr. Sigmond very justly refers the phenomena to diminished respiration; for he says, "the principle is precisely that of stealing the breath away." Yet he maintains, that "the act consists in 280 RATIONALE OF TRANCE AND MESMERISM. The function of respiration is diminished by swing- ing, whirling round or riding backward in a carriage, which interfere with the voluntary power of the brain, obliging the person to breathe again the carbonic acid previously expired." But this theory is quite as satisfactory and explicit as that of John Hunter, who defines trance as "the natural effect of a disposition in the person to have the action of life suspended for a time." {Obs. on the An. Economy, p. 109.) All such cases should be treated by first arousing the circulation by artificial respiration, the warm bath, friction, sternutatories, and afterwards prevented by avoiding the exciting causes,—not excepting the manipulations of mesmerism, which cannot fail to derange the healthy state of the nervous system in weak females. The advocates of mesmerism admit that trance, sleep-walking, catalepsy, and other similar affections of the nervous system, are modifications of the same influence; and that it is seldom produced on persons in a state of vigorous health and sound mind. Under the name of witchcraft, the influence of animal magnetism was recognized by the ancients. Plutarch says that "the eye sends forth a strange fiery power, which operates greatly on weak, but less on strong constitutions; that something proceeds from the eye, whether light or a stream of spirits, by which the fire of love is kindled in the breast, and the soul of the lover seems to flow out, as it were, and to mingle with the object of his affection." Dr. Paris justly observes, "a propensity to attribute every ordi- nary and natural effect to some extraordinary and unnatural cause, is one of the striking peculiarities of medical superstition." {Phar- macologia, vol. i. p. 17.) And M. Becquerel says, that whatever has been found most difficult to comprehend, men have latterly re- ferred to electricity,—which has been supposed to be the cause of animal magnetism, and capable of enabling people to see without the organs of vision, to predict future events and to perform many other miracles. Yet we are told by Menzel, that "the discovery of animal magnetism is certainly one of the most important that was ever made, and does especial honour to Germany,"—while he ranks the discoveries of Gall with "the foolery of Lavater." {Ger- man Literature, vol. ii. p. 218.) That no material agent or fluid RATIONALE OF SEA-SICKNESS. 281 causing giddiness, weakness, nausea, and sometimes fainting. Nor is it more strange that the passes of the animal magnetist should induce sleep, fainting and catalepsy, than that the rocking of a cradle should put children to sleep. Dr. Wollaston informs us that, while at sea, he caught himself holding his breath, as if waiting till the lurch of the vessel was over. And he very justly referred the languid action of his pulse, the great prostration of strength, together with the nausea and vomiting, to the influence of the ship's motion on the function of respiration. The natural remedy for sea-sickness is exercise, stimulat- ing drinks and aliments; in short, whatever augments respiration and circulation, or the horizontal position, when exercise cannot be taken. In feeble and irritable constitutions, the chemical function of the lungs is greatly diminished by painful is communicated from the operator to the patient, has been repeat- edly demonstrated by the fact, that no impression is produced when the process is performed without his knowledge, or upon indi- viduals who are unconscious of what is done. And that many of the cases on record are resolvable into the influence of the mind over the body, has been shown by making patients believe that they were mesmerized, when nothing of the kind was done, and thus producing all the pretended effects, without any intervention of the assumed cause; and by the counter-experiment of perform- ing upon them the magnetic process without their knowledge, when no effect was produced. Prof. Bush regards mesmerism as a proof that the claims of Swedenborg to the power of holding communion with the spirits of another world are well founded. He observes, "if mesmerism be true, Swedenborg is right." But if mesmerism be a physiological or pathological process, the revelations of Swe- denborg are reduced to natural laws, and thus removed from the sphere of metaphysics. VOL. ii. 18 282 INFLUENCE OF ACUTE PAIN. impressions made on the nervous system. It is well known that compound fractures, extensive burns, pain- ful surgical operations and protracted labours, or even a painful prick of the hand or foot, are often followed by coldness of the skin, weak pulse, livid countenance, faintness, stupor, general prostration of the system, convulsions, and sometimes by death in a few hours. Many of the above symptoms have been caused in children by the irritation of teething, worms and the presence of indigestible matters in the stomach; but much oftener by inflammation of the glottis, which impedes the passage of air to the lungs, and destroys life by suffocation. CHAPTER IV. MODUS OPERANDI OF MEDICINES. "Nonnulla symptomata non tarn morboquam medico debean- tur." —Sydenham. A thorough investigation of this important subject, under the guidance of broad and fundamental prin- ciples, would create a new era in medical science, and rescue it from the opprobrium of uncertainty which has long rendered its utility more than doubtful among men of the soundest views. It is still a ques- tion among physiologists, whether these agents ope- rate primarily on the blood, as maintained by the humoral pathologists, or through the medium of the nervous system, by what has been called sympathy, as maintained by Stahl, Hoffman, Baglivi, Gaubius, Cullen, Brown and a large majority of modern au- thors. That the brain and nervous system are more quickly and powerfully affected by the mephitic gases and narcotic poisons than any of the other organs, cannot be denied. But we have already seen that all parts of the body are formed from, and vitalized by, the blood, which is absolutely essential to every operation of the animal economy, and more essential to the healthy activity of the brain than any other part of the system,—consequently, that whenever the (283) 284 EXPERIMENTS OF BRODIE, vital properties of the blood are impaired, the nervous system is the first which becomes diseased.* It was long ago ascertained by Fontana, that opium, poison of the viper, ticunas and laurel-berry exert only a local influence on the nerves, and produce no general effects unless they enter the circulation. Sir Benjamin Brodie also found, that when the worara poison was applied to a wound in the forefoot of a rabbit, after all the nerves of the anterior extremity in the axilla of the same side were divided, the action of the poison was not prevented; but that when a ligature was placed around the leg of a rabbit, leaving out the principal nerves, no bad effects were produced by the poison, until the ligature was loosened, when they immediately ensued. (Phil. Trans. 1811, p. 178; 1812, p. 107.) He also found, that chloride of barium, tartar emetic and corrosive sublimate produced the same effects when applied to fresh wounds as when taken into the stomach; that, like arsenic, alcohol, oil of tobacco, oil of bitter almonds and other narcotic poisons, they are absorbed into the circulation, and pro- duce their morbid effects by diminishing the voluntary power of the brain over the function of respiration. What is of vastly greater importance in a practical point of view, he ascertained, that after respiration * For example, we have seen that about five times more blood is sent to the brain, in proportion to its weight, than to the body in general. The consequence of which is, that it is the first organ to suffer from loss of blood, or from whatever impairs its vital pro- perties. Hence the prevalent opinion of pathologists, that the remote and exciting causes of fever produce their primary effects on the nervous system. WEDEMEYER AND EMMERT. 285 and all the visible actions of life in a rabbit had been arrested by a dose of the oil of bitter almonds, they were restored by keeping up artificial respiration for sixteen minutes, and the animal appeared perfectly well in two hours* In accordance with the foregoing facts, we are in- formed by Muller, that in the experiments of Wede- meyer, the strongest prussic acid produced no sudden effect when applied to the nerves so as not to enter the circulation; that when Emmert amputated the * "We are informed by Mr. Morgan, of Guy's Hospital, that Mr. Sewell, of the Royal Yeterinary College, inoculated a horse suffering from an attack of locked jaw, in the fleshy part of the shoulder, with an arrow-point coated with the ticunas, (which has been supposed to have the property of paralyzing the voluntary muscles, and thus of arresting spasmodic action,) when apparent death was produced in ten minutes; but that, on keeping up arti- ficial respiration four hours, reanimation so far took place, that the animal rose up, seemed perfectly recovered, and eagerly par- took of hay and corn, without any return of tetanus; yet died the next day. Mr. Morgan relates the case of an ass affected with tetanus, that was treated in the same way, with similar results; from which he was induced to recommend inoculation with the ticunas as a remedy for tetanus. But as it is certain, that nearly all the active poisons produce convulsions, I am fully convinced that, in the above cases of tetanus, the relief arose from the em- ployment of artificial respiration, in spile of the deadly poison : for it will be shown hereafter, that in all the worst forms of tetanus and hydrophobia, the natural process of respiration is nearly sus- pended. I am the more disposed to attach the highest importance to artificial respiration, aided by the warm bath, in all spasmodic diseases, from the fact that they are always attended with difficult respiration, and a dissolved or greatly vitiated state of the blood, which is the proximate cause of all the most fatal forms of disease, and should be counteracted by restoring the process of respiration, by which the blood is formed and purified. 286 EXPERIMENTS OF MAGENDIE, extremities of animals, leaving them connected with the trunk by the nerves only, and then introduced poison into the feet, no general effect resulted—nor even when applied to the nervous trunks themselves; that Viborg applied nearly a drachm of concentrated prussic acid to the brain of a horse, laid bare by means of the trephine, without the slightest symp- toms of poisoning being produced; that Magendie and Delille divided all the parts of the thigh of a dog, ex- cept the crural artery and vein, which were dissected quite clean and freed from their cellular coat, to main- tain the connection of the limb with the trunk—when two grains of the upas ticuti were inserted into a wound in the foot, the action of which was as rapid as if the limb had not been previously injured,—the first symptoms showing themselves in four minutes, followed by death in ten minutes. We are therefore bound to admit with Midler, that the general effects of poisoning are produced by the entrance of noxious substances into the circulation, through which they operate upon the brain and ner- vous system.* He further states, that on applying * A still more decisive proof that poisons operate on the solid tissues through the medium of the fluids is, that they destroy the life of plants, which have no nervous system, as when they are placed in air containing small proportions of sulphurous, nitrous or hydrochloric acid, ammonia, carbonic oxide, olefiant gas, or in solu- tions of the vegetable, animal and mineral poisons. This has been fully demonstrated by the experiments of Macaire, Turner, Christi- son and other physiologists, who have also found that the Mimosa pudica and the Berberis vulgaris are killed much sooner by hy- drocyanic acid than by solutions of opium, corrosive sublimate, DELILLE AND HORSEFIELD. 287 narcotics to the spinal marrow and nerves of frogs, no twitching of the muscles was excited, unless the poisons entered the circulation; yet he thinks their local action on the nervous system is proved by the influence of belladonna in dilating the pupil of the eye, and of lead in causing paralysis of the hands. (Elements of Physiology, pp. 238, 242, 628.) That poisons operate on the nervous system through the blood, might naturally be inferred from the fact, that their effects are produced more rapidly on birds than mammalia and very slowly on cold-blooded ani- mals, or whenever the circulation is languid, as in cases of nearly suspended animation from cold, or by inhaling carbonic acid. For example, it was long ago observed by Dr. Horsefield, that when fowls were wounded by arrows dipped in the chettick of Java, they died in one minute; and that much depends on the size of the animal, for when large, the poison is more diluted than when it is small; that the poison of the upas killed a mouse in ten minutes, a cat in fifteen minutes, a dog in one hour and a buffalo in two hours ten minutes. Similar results were obtained by Brodie, who also found that the narcotic poisons ope- rated sooner on the brain, and thus arrested respira- tion, when applied to the tongue, than to the intes- tines, and sooner in small than large animals. Miiller relates that Hering found, from eighteen experiments on horses, that ferrocyanide of potassium mixed with the blood passed from one jugular vein, arsenic and arsenite of potash. But as the circulation of plants is less rapid than that of warm-blooded animals, so does it require a longer time for poisons to extinguish their vitality. 288 EXPERIMENTS OF HERING AND BLAKE. through the lungs and general system to the opposite jugular vein, in from twenty-five to thirty seconds; from the jugular vein to the great saphena in twenty seconds; from the jugular to the mesenteric artery in from fifteen to thirty seconds; to the facial artery, in one experiment, in from ten to fifteen seconds; and from the jugular vein to the metatarsal artery in from twenty to thirty seconds. Miiller also states, from his own experiments, that coloured fluids pass through living membranes in one second, so as to be seen on the opposite side; and he thinks that the speedy effects of hydrocyanic acid are owing partly to its elasticity, by which it is rapidly diffused, absorbed into the cir- culation and thus conveyed to the brain and spinal marrow. Mr. Blake has further shown, in a paper published in the Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. liii., and another in the Lond. Med. Gazette of June 18, 1841, that the ra- pidity with which poisons operate is in proportion to the activity of the circulation and the nearness of their application to the nervous centres; that hydro- cyanic acid never produces its first symptoms sooner than nine seconds; that one grain of strychnia dis- solved in a small quantity of acetic acid, produced convulsions in twenty seconds, when injected into the jugular vein of a dog, and apparent death in ninety seconds; that worara arrested the action of the lungs and caused apparent death in twenty-five seconds, when introduced into the jugular vein; that convul- sions and death followed the insertion of conia into the femoral vein of a dog in thirty seconds; and that, in another dog, hydrocyanic acid passed from one part EXPERIMENTS OF BLAKE. 289 of the vascular system back to the same part in from twelve to twenty seconds.* When the narcotic poisons do not immediately de- stroy life, they produce small and difficult respiration, coldness of the surface, weak pulse, a pale or livid and ghastly expression of countenance, drowsiness, stupor, nausea, and sometimes vomiting; a dark and dissolved condition of the blood, prostration of strength, con- vulsions, and nearly all the symptoms which follow the inhalation of mephitic gases or an excessive loss of blood. And that they all operate by entering the circulation, is evident from the fact, that they rapidly disappear from a shut cavity, after which they are found in the blood and various secretions.f It has * In a later series of experiments, published in the St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal, November, 1841, Dr. Blake has shown, that when the above poisons are introduced into the veins or applied to the tissues, they produce their first symptoms on the horse in from sixteen to twenty seconds; on the dog, in from ten to twelve seconds; on the fowl, in about six seconds; and on the rabbit, in four and a half seconds; which he found to be the rela- tive times required for the blood to complete the whole round of the circulation in these animals. From which he rightly infers, that poisons never act by a direct impression produced on the nerves of the part to which they are applied; but that they are conveyed to the nervous centres, through the medium of the circu- lating fluid. f Tiedemann and Gmelin found verdigris and sugar of lead in the blood and veins. Wibmer detected copper in the liver ; lead in the liver, spinal cord and muscles. Mayer found cyanide of potassium in the blood, serous secretions, and in various soft solids. Westrumb detected sulphocyanic acid in the blood and various soft parts of dogs, poisoned with that substance. Iodine has been found in the blood, sweat, urine, saliva and milk of patients who were using it medicinally. And many other similar cases might be 290 ORFILA, THACKRAH, DAVY AND PRATER. also been fully established by the numerous experi- ments of Magendie, Orfila, Thackrah, Dr. John Davy, Prater and other physiologists, that, when sufficiently concentrated, they greatly diminish the coagulating property of the blood, by dissolving its fibrin or by disorganizing its red particles; that after death, the lungs, brain and abdominal organs are found engorged with dark fluid blood, and the body soon putrefies. It is therefore evident, that if in small doses they alleviate pain, it is owing chiefly to their influence in diminishing sensibility, by impairing the vital proper- ties of the blood; that if hydrocyanic acid relieves pain in the stomach, it is by inducing torpor of that important organ; and so of all the other narcotics.* adduced. Yet, owing to the small quantities that enter the vessels, and to the fact that in certain cases the poisons pass out of the body with the excretions before death, they cannot sometimes be detected. Some of them are decomposed in the blood, which they must also decompose by their action, which is the cause of their fatal influ- ence. (See Christison on Poisons, p. 14 and elsewhere.) * The influence of alcohol is very similar to that of opium and other narcotic poisons. It kills leeches in two or three minutes, and very soon destroys the life of plants. Like the strong acids and caustic alkalies, it produces rapid inflammation of the stomach, solidifies the albumen of the blood, arrests the process of breathing and causes all the symptoms of apoplexy, as proved by the experi- ments of Brodie on cats, rabbits and dogs. Orfila found that the injection of four drachms of pure alcohol into the veins of a dog was followed almost immediately by death. And that it impairs the vital properties of the blood when diluted, as in the form of spirits, wine or even malt liquors, is evident from its dark, grumous character and diminished power of coagulation, when drawn from the veins of a drunkard. The consequences of this are dimi- nished respiration, cold extremities and shivering from slight ex- ALCOHOL AND ARSENIC. 291 Arsenious acid also, when applied to a fresh wound or taken into the stomach, causes short and hurried respi- ration, coldness of the surface, a pale or livid hue of the face, feeble pulse, vomiting, faintness, stupor, convul- sions and death, when the stomach is found to exhibit decided marks of inflammation. In doses of from one- eighth to one-sixteenth of a grain, three or four times per diem, it has been often observed to produce nausea, vomiting, griping pains, headache, sweating, tremors, oedematous swelling of the face, hands and feet, spasms of the lower extremities, cutaneous eruptions and other symptoms of constitutional derangement. It should be banished from the Materia Medica. The effects of red or white lead when taken into the stomach, are diminished respiration, coldness of the extremities, small and slow pulse, nausea, cramps, torpor of the bowels, prostration of strength, partial paralysis, con- vulsions and death. The salts of copper are also fol- lowed by rigors, violent headache, loss of sensibility, vomiting, cramps, paralysis and death. posure, (when the influence of the stimulus has ceased,) a dirty or livid complexion, loss of appetite, impaired sensibility, torpor and congestion of the capillaries, attended with palpitation of the heart, imperfect nutrition, low spirits, giddiness, stertorous breath- ing, confusion of mind, softening of the brain, premature old age, sterility, madness, idiocy, epilepsy, paralysis, apoplexy and death Delirium tremens, the most common disease of drunkards, comes on with chilliness, weak pulse, nausea, great mental depression, general debility and a cadaverous expression of countenance, fol- lowed by imperfect sleep, frightful dreams, a dry and furred tongue, cold sweats, tremors, convulsions and sometimes death. Mr. Lay also describes the Chinese opium-eater as marked by a sallow visage, weak voice, ghastly features, emaciated limbs and tottering gait. 292 BICHLORIDE OF MERCURY. Corrosive sublimate produces nearly the same effects as arsenic, with still more decided marks of inflam- mation in the stomach. Like the chloride of tin, the chloride of barium, the subacetate of lead, the nitrates of copper and bismuth, it combines with and precipitates the albumen of the blood, according to Magendie, who recommends the white of eggs as an antidote when any of these poisons have been swal- lowed. He also found that seven grains of oxalic acid, when injected into the veins of a dog, caused difficulty of breathing, followed by death the next morning, when his blood was found in a dissolved state, as when mixed with the same poison out of the body. But a larger quantity is required to produce the same effects when taken into the stomach, because it is then more gradually diffused throughout the mass of the blood, and thus diluted. When half an ounce is swallowed, respiration is greatly diminished, the surface becomes cold and clammy, the pulse feeble or imperceptible, the countenance pale or livid, attended with nausea, vomiting, convulsions and death in a few hours, when the stomach is found in a state of inflam- mation. Tartar emetic produces vomiting, purging, great debility, headache and often cramps, whether taken into the stomach or applied to a fresh wound. Ma- gendie found that when from six to ten grains of it were introduced into the stomach of dogs, and the gullet tied, they died in from two to three hours; that when a solution of it was injected into the veins of a dog, it produced nausea after the stomach was re- moved, difficulty of breathing, cough, symptoms of MODUS OPERANDI OF TARTAR EMETIC. 293 pneumonia, fever and death. He further states, that he has not found the exhibition of this medicine, in the treatment of pneumonia and rheumatism, to cor- respond with the accounts of Laennec; and that when mixed with very small proportions of blood, imme- diately after it was drawn from the body, it disorgan- ized the red particles. We are also informed by Andral, that when six grains of it were given daily, in divided doses, to individuals labouring under the milder forms of pneumonia, the disease gradually as- sumed the character of malignant typhus. And there is reason to believe that, if all physicians had recorded their observations with the same intelligence and fidelity, many thousand similar cases might be ad- duced. The operation of an emetic is attended with all the leading symptoms of intermittent fever. Its first effect is to weaken the capillary vessels of the stomach, by impairing the vital properties of the blood; to arrest the secretion of gastric juice and cause a tendency to inflammation of that important organ. The shock thus imparted to the general system diminishes, to a greater or less extent, the function of respiration, as shown by a slight sensation of chilliness soon after the medicine is taken, followed by a small, frequent and irregular pulse, headache, dimness of vision, low- ness of spirits and universal debility, until a spasmodic state of the stomach is induced and its contents are discharged by vomiting. But as this stage of depres- sion is attended by a diminution of nutrition and of all the secretions, the vital heat obtained by breathing is not transferred to the solids, but accumulates in the 294 MODUS OPERANDI OF TARTAR EMETIC. blood, causing a temporary fever; for it was found by Dr. C. Holland, that soon after it produced vomiting, the temperature under his tongue rose from 97° to 100-5°, (the air being at 59*5°,) and his pulse from 77° to 100°.* This elevation of temperature aug- ments the action of the heart, by which the blood is sent into the extreme capillaries of the whole body and perspiration induced, when the paroxysm termi- nates and the various functions gradually return to their former state, which it generally requires two or three days for them to regain. Thus we perceive that tartarized antimony (and the same is true of all other emetics) produces, in a miti- gated form and for a short time, the cold, hot and sweating stages, of intermittent fever; consequently, that it operates in the same way as malaria and other morbific agents. It is, therefore, not surprising that, when given in small doses for several days in succes- sion, it generates malignant typhus, as proved by the experiments of Andral and other pathologists.^ But * He says, that forty-five minutes after taking four grains of tar- tar emetic and twenty grains of ipecac, the temperature under the tongue of Mr. Buchan fell from 98° to 96°, (that of the room be- ing 63-5°,) but that after vomiting several times, his temperature rose to 99° and the pulse from sixty-six to seventy-seven beats per minute. {Laws of Org. Life.) f It is obvious that when tartar emetic is taken in large doses, it is less dangerous than in smaller ones, because, in the one case, the greater part of it is soon expelled by vomiting and purging; whereas in the latter case, it is nearly all absorbed into the blood, the red particles of which it dissolves and thus impairs its vital and nutritive properties. We have already seen, that when only six grains were introduced into the stomach of a dog and the oesopha- MODUS OPERANDI OF MERCURY. 295 if the object be to excite perspiration, why employ a medicine that does so by impairing the vital proper- ties of the blood and by generating more or less fever? Is not caloric the most certain, agreeable and salutary of all the sudorifics and diaphoretics, when employed externally and internally? Does it not increase the vigour of the circulation through the lungs when tor- pid, and thus improve the vital properties of the blood? Is it not the agent on which all the phenomena of life and health depend ? Why then resort to the use of a drug, the obvious tendency of which is to diminish all the powers of life,—except when it is necessary to relieve the stomach from an accumulation of morbid or indigestible matter, which may be accomplished far more safely by copious draughts of lukewarm water, and tickling the throat with a feather? Perhaps there is no article in the Materia Medica that has been more extensively employed than mer- cury, in various forms, which, there is reason to believe, has destroyed more constitutions than even malaria; for, although the mode of its operation is still in- volved in mystery, it is given in almost every form of disease. It has long been regarded as a specific remedy in syphilis; but, fortunately for mankind, physicians are now beginning to learn that this dis- ease may be cured without mercury; and that it rarely proves dangerous, except when aggravated by the abuse of that mineral, to which the worst forms of gus was tied, so as to prevent its expulsion, death was produced in three hours. What then can justify the practitioner who gives his patient from two to six grains of this medicine daily, in broken doses ? 296 MODUS OPERANDI OF MERCURY. what has been called secondary syphilis are now justly ascribed.* It was the opinion of John Hunter, that mercury cures syphilis by creating another disease, which, being incompatible with the primary one, overcomes and re- moves it. But this is obviously no explanation. And there is reason to believe, that it operates either by combining with and neutralizing the syphilitic virus or by diminishing the nutritive process, and thus en- abling the absorbents to remove chancres, buboes and other glandular enlargements. Dr. Billing maintains very justly, that both mercury and iodine remove morbid growths by starving them.-j- In favour of this * In his Lectures on Surgery, Sir Astley Cooper observes, that in a healthy person, the venereal disease is slow in its progress, and attended with little inflammation; but that in an irritable person; it is rapid in its progress and accompanied by considerable inflam- matory action; that mercury itself unfortunately produces dis- eases very similar, both in appearance and effect, to syphilis; that he once had a patient whom he regarded as "poxed up to the eyes," and who was entirely cured without mercury, by using the warm bath, at the sea side. f In a late treatise on the Mercurial Disease, by Dr. Dietrich of Munich, we are informed that it is attended with a sensation of coldness, which is followed by alternations of feverish dryness and profuse sweats, with salivation, a dissolved condition of the blood, great prostration of strength, diarrhoea, haemorrhages and cold sweats,—when mercury may be detected in all the secretions, or by rubbing against the skin a piece of copper, which becomes white; that if not carried out of the body through the different emuncto- ries, it produces ulceration of the soft parts and swelling of the bones, or disease of the periostium; that the worst forms of the disease are attended with softening of the brain, paralysis, apo- plexy, madness or loss of mental power, dropsy, rapid emaciation, subsultus tendinum, hectic fever and death. Alas! how many MERCURY, IODINE, DIGITALIS, ETC. 297 opinion, it is well known that tartarized antimony and other emetics, (which operate by arresting or diminish- ing the nutritive process,) cause the removal of bu- boes, swelled testicle, effusions of lymph, serum, &c. The general opinion is, that mercury, iodine, digi- talis and some other medicines, produce these effects by augmenting the activity of the absorbents; whereas they operate by diminishing the process of nutrition, while that of absorption continues to go on; causing a more or less rapid waste of the whole body, by which effusions and morbid growths are removed.* It is in thousand lives have been sacrificed by the abuse of this slow but certain poison! When speaking to his class on the abuse of mer- cury in the South, Dr. Chapman observes: "It is a disgraceful reproach to the profession of medicine; it is quackery, horrid, unwarranted, murderous quackery." Nearly the same fatal effects are produced by the long-continued employment of iodine, which sometimes causes vomiting, purging, small pulse, fever, cramps, colic, rapid emaciation and death, when it is found in the blood, milk and urine of the patient. We are also informed by Orfila, that four grains of iodide of potassium, when injected into the jugular vein of a dog, caused convulsions and death in about one minute. That mercury induces ptyalism by weakening the capilla- ries of the salivary glands, would appear from the swelling, inflam- mation and often mortification of those glands, which result from its use. * It is maintained by medical authors of high repute, that sali- vation is useful in fever, by preventing the nutritive process^ But I have proved that the proximate cause of fever, and in reality of all the other forms of disease, is a derangement of the nutritive process; and we have just seen that the use of mercury induces hectic fever. This fact was noticed by J. Hunter, who says, " that it quickens the pulse, increases its hardness and occasions a kind of temporary fever." (On Vener. Dis., p. 340.) Why then give a medicine which produces the very symptoms we wish to counter- vol. ii. 19 298 MODUS OPERANDI OF THE this way that small doses of calomel have been sup- posed to be useful in removing the effects of chronic inflammation of the larynx, trachea and bronchi, when attended with an effusion of lymph and a thickening of the mucous membrane. Thus it is by giving a preponderance to the lymphatic absorbents over the nutritive process that such medicines produce their effects. Nor can there be a doubt that nearly all the more active articles in our Materia Medica impair the vital properties of the blood, and, relatively, increase absorption. For example, it was found by Orfila, that on inject- ing a drachm of the liquor ammonise into the jugular vein of a strong dog, convulsions immediately followed, and death in ten minutes. The same effects are pro- duced in a much shorter time by injecting a few grains of caustic potassa into the veins of a dog. Liebig maintains that alcohol and most of the neutral salts operate by abstracting water from the moist tissues.* act and remove ? Yet there is reason to believe, that when given in four-grain doses every four hours through the day, and followed by some more brisk cathartic, calomel is an excellent remedy for the removal of morbid excretions from the alimentary canal. I cannot, however, subscribe to the prevalent doctrine of the schools, that it increases the secretion of bile; an opinion which seems to have arisen from the fact, that, like many other medicines and mor- bific agents, it arrests or greatly diminishes the process of diges- tion ; so that there is but little chyme formed to unite with the bile, which, therefore, seems to be more abundant than usual. What the celebrated Porson said of sea bathing in England, applies much better to some of our heroic medicines, that "it had been regarded as salutary, because many have been known to survive it." * Poiseuille found that there was endosmose through animal tis- sues from the serum of blood to Seidlitz water, and saline solu- NEUTRAL SALTS AND ALKALIES. 299 But we have seen from the experiments of Magendie, (referred to in a note to pages 595-6 of this work,) that when mixed with fresh blood as soon as taken from the body, they all prevent or greatly retard its coagulation. He also found that very small propor- tions of the carbonates of soda, potassa and ammo- nia, nitrates of potash, lime and other alkalies, pro- duced the same effects; that soon after injecting less than an ounce of carbonate of soda into the veins of a dog, he was attacked with dyspnoea, small and frequent pulse, prostration of strength, conges- tion of the lungs and abdominal viscera, effusions of blood and all the symptoms of malignant typhus fever.* It is, moreover, certain, that when taken into the stomach daily in small doses for a considerable time, they induce great emaciation, a dissolved condi- tion of the blood, and many of the symptoms that characterize scurvy. Many of them operate as diu- tions; but that when hydrochlorate of morphia was added to the same solutions, the endosmose was very much weakened and the direction of the current ultimately changed. Hence the reason, that when taken internally, salts produce copious serous discharges, containing albumen; while morphia and other preparations of opium check diarrhoea, dysentery, and produce constipation. (Mateucci, Phenomena of Living Bodies, pp. 73, 74.) * Magendie further ascertained, that by introducing a portion of finely powdered potato starch into the carotid artery of a dog, he was attacked with dyspnoea, cough, prostration of strength, diarrhoea and fever; that when he injected a drachm of varnish, holding some sifted pulverized animal charcoal in suspension, into the femoral artery of another dog, after tying it, the limb became swollen below the ligature, cold, motionless and insensible, followed by extravasation of blood into the cellular tissue, obstruction of the capillaries and gangrene. 300 ERRONEOUS OPINIONS OF THE GREEKS. retics merely from their refrigerating influence, by which perspiration is checked and the amount of urine proportionally augmented. But when taken with hot drinks they sometimes operate as diaphoretics. A vast amount of mischief is produced in the United States, by the employment of alkalies in bread, which has been often observed to cause disorder of the stomach, sore mouth and other morbid effects. By neutralizing the acid of gastric juice they impair digestion. The truth is, that all emetics are purgative, when taken in small doses; and that all purgatives excite vomiting, when given in large doses. From the foregoing brief and imperfect examination of this important subject, it is evident that nearly all the most active articles employed in the treatment of diseases are more or less hostile to the animal economy, as maintained by many of the most enlightened phy- sicians of ancient and modern times. The ablest writers on Materia Medica admit that, like the various causes of disease, their effect is to produce an excite- ment of the system, or some portion of it, above the healthy standard, or a depression below that standard; both of which are abnormal and therefore morbid. There is reason to believe that the prevalent abuse of emetics and purgatives has been owing in part to the erroneous opinion of the Greeks, that the proximate cause of fever and other forms of disease is a super- abundance of bile, which ought to be carried off. Yet Hippocrates often cautions us in regard to their debili- tating influence, especially in acute diseases and dur- ing the relaxing heat of summer. He further states, that in some cases the death of his patient seemed to VIEWS OF THE ANCIENTS. 301 be hastened by the violent operation of the medicines which he prescribed. (Epidemics, book v.) It was the opinion of Erasistratus that purgatives first produce the bad condition of the humours which they afterwards bring away. Asclepiades also maintained, that what- ever good resulted from their use was so far balanced by evil that they should be rarely given, but instead of them injections. It was an important axiom with him, that disease should be cured safely, speedily and pleasantly: tuto cito, et jucunde. (Celsus, lib. hi. c. 4.) This is one of the finest general axioms that has been transmitted to us by the ancients, and is worthy of Hippocrates himself. For the safest method of treating any disease is to begin with it early, by which it may be arrested and cured very soon and without the employment of harsh or disagreeable remedies, which are apt to prolong it and often endanger the safety of the patient. The truth should be no longer disguised, that a large majority of our active medicines operate as predisposing and exciting causes of disease, by weakening the stomach, bowels, brain, voluntary muscles, deranging the nutritive properties of the blood and depressing all the forces of life. It must also be admitted, that instead of being pleasant to take, most of them are extremely repugnant to nature. There is something calculated to arrest the atten- tion of our profession in the following sad confession, of Dr. Faustus, by Goethe, if it be lawful to pry into the secrets of the prison-house:— 302 CULLEN AND BROUSSAIS. " Thus with our hellish drugs, death's ceaseless fountains, In these bright vales, o'er these green mountains, Worse than the plague we raged: I have myself to thousands poison given, And heard their murderer praised as bless'd by heaven, Because with nature strife he waged." Even Dr. Cullen tells us, in his work on the Prac- tice of Physic, that a purge often brings on a relapse of intermittent fever, after the paroxysms had ceased. The doctrine of Broussais, that all fevers depend on inflammation of the stomach and bowels, was partial and erroneous; yet it had the good effect of lessening the use of emetics and purgatives, which, although sometimes useful in removing morbid accumulations, often aggravate the disease.* And although the ho- moeopathic theory be founded on a series of hypotheses * The late Dr. M'Culloch was still more opposed to the use of emetics, cathartics and other active medicines, which, together with blood-letting, he ranks among the principal causes of disease. Dr. W. Stevens also thinks, that patients labouring under fever in the West Indies, have a much better chance of recovering when left to themselves, than when treated with emetics, calomel and opium, which add greatly to the suffering of the patient and to the mor- tality of hot climates. {Medico-Chirurg. Re v., July, 1830.) And Dr. James Johnson observes, that " in a great majority of the mild fevers in temperate climates, it is probable that nature would be more successful than art or the farrago of medicines prescribed by the routine practitioner." But he facetiously adds, "let not this, however, be told in Gath." And he very properly ridicules the prevalent self-quackery of taking calomel, or some other mercurial preparation, for the removal of what is called biliousness. During the prevalence of epidemic cholera in the United States, many cases were immediately brought on by taking a drastic purge, with a hope of preventing the disease. STIMULANTS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL. 303 that explain nothing, the infinitesimal doses of medi- cine which it prescribes are harmless and afford nature an opportunity of curing the disease* Yet its votaries are chargeable with leaving undone many important things which ought to be done. In a practical point of view, caloric, air and food, are of infinitely more importance, in the prevention and treatment of diseases, than all the articles of the Materia Medica; because they are the natural agents by which all the healthy operations of life are main- tained. Next to these, are the artificial stimulants, such as wine, spirits, ether, ammonia, the essential oils, balsams, spices and terebinthinites,—all of which owe their active properties to the large amount of caloric which they contain, (and probably to the com- bination of their carbon and hydrogen with atmo- spheric oxygen, by which heat is evolved,) as shown by the hot and burning sensation they produce in the mouth and stomach. Hence it is, that when the powers of life are reduced below par, they are often useful in restoring the circulation to its natural vigour. It is also worthy of notice, that the stimulating in- fluence of the Spanish fly, mustard, turpentine, pitch and many other external applications, is owing chiefly, if not wholly, to the heat which attends their opera- * After all that Hahnemann says concerning the potency of his medicines and the new degree of power which they acquire at each dilution, by the rubbing or shaking they undergo, he frankly ob- serves, " Si non juvat, modo ne noceal." {Organon, p. 187.) The influence of faith on the curative powers of nature, is attested by the millions who have been cured by amulets, incantations and secret nostrums, whose efficacy was miraculous until their composi- tion was exposed. 304 MODUS OPERANDI OF TONICS. tion. It has been generally supposed that blisters and rubefacients relieve internal inflammations and con- gestions by acting as revulsives and evacuants. But the same beneficial effects are produced by the perma- nent application of a heated iron or vessel of hot water, without any evacuation of serum and lymph. I am therefore inclined to believe, that they operate by aug- menting the partially suspended circulation of the capillaries, which is the proximate cause of inflamma- tion. As for the balsams, they stimulate the mucous membranes, which, in chronic catarrh and gonorrhoea, are in a weakened state. The opinion of Cullen, that Peruvian bark and other tonics render the tissues more firm and augment their cohesion, has been rendered highly probable by the researches of Dr. Adair Crawford, who maintains, in his Experimental Lnquiry into the Effects of Tonics, that their operation is chiefly mechanical and owing to their astringent properties. Should it be objected that alum, acetate of lead and many other astringents, are greatly inferior as permanent tonics to the cinchona and other bitters, pepper and spices, I answer, that the former operate as poisons, and gradually impair the vital properties of the blood; whereas the latter Reme- dies do not produce this effect. It is consoling tp find that the most agreeable of all remedies are the most speedy, efficacious and safe, in the prevention and treatment of diseases. For example, what is?so plea- sant and effectual in arresting and prevenfyng the chilliness by which they are all ushered in, as the warm bath, hot drinks and the application of dry heat? or when the temperature has been raised above GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 305 the natural standard, what so delightful and salutary as fresh air, with cooling drinks and ablutions? There is reason to hope, that the time is not distant when the various morbid conditions of the body will be coun- teracted and removed by regimen, exercise, a judicious occupation of all the faculties, warm and cold bathing, improvement of the social system in every respect; that health will be preserved by a right knowledge of whatever modifies the vital functions, whether in health or disease, without resorting to poisonous drugs; that except in surgical cases, every one may be his own physician, and a far more efficient one than any of those who now belong to the medical profes- sion. CHAPTER V. THEORY OF TEMPERAMENTS. " The moderns have neither by observation extended the ancient distinctions of temperaments, nor, though they have attempted it, have they ever given, as far as I can judge, any happy explanation of the causes or foundation of the distinctions they have so gene- rally adopted."—Cullen. It was maintained by the great Hippocrates, that the vital spirit or soul, (^xv) is the same in all men and in every description of animals; that as death is always produced by excessive haemorrhage, the soul resides in the blood, with which it is diffused through all parts of the system; that all organized bodies are composed of four primitive elements, which are en- dowed with inherent properties of heat, cold, dryness and moisture; that all the varieties of constitution in man, whether in a state of health or disease, depend on the predominance of one or more of what he called the four cardinal humours, viz., red blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm; giving rise to the sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments; that when they are duly mixed or rightly proportioned, the constitution is perfect; and that any deviation from this balanced mixture, (*/>«<«?,) tends to produce disease. (De Naturd Humana, v. vi. to ix.) (306) FOUR CARDINAL HUMOURS. 307 He maintained, that these four primary humours were all specifically different from each other in tem- perature, colour, consistence, &c.; that red blood is hot and moist; yellow bile, hot and dry; black bile, cold and dry; phlegm, cold and moist; corresponding to the nature of the different seasons in which each of them is in excess. According to this ancient theory, red blood predominates in spring, when it is often dis- charged from the nose spontaneously, and that it is warm and moist, because the season is so; that yellow bile superabounds during summer, when it is frequently vomited spontaneously, and, like the season, is hot and dry, therefore the cause of fevers; that black bile pre- dominates during autumn, being cold and dry, because the season is so; and during old age, which is the au- tumn of life, when the blood is watery and impove- rished, causing a predisposition to melancholy and sad- ness. Hippocrates also tells us, that phlegm is cold and moist, like the winter, when it is more abundant than at any other season; and as it is discharged from the lungs or throat during catarrh, influenza, pneu- monia, phthisis, &c. he regarded it as the predisposing cause of those diseases. All this is very absurd and fanciful; for although it be true, that all diseases of the respiratory organs are more prevalent during winter than summer, and the secretion of mucus or phlegm is more copious, they are merely concomitant effects of cold. In like manner, the excess of bile and the preva- lence of fevers during summer, are merely effects of an elevated temperature, impure air and other causes that arrest or diminish digestion and the formation of chyme. In the treatise on the Structure of Man, yellow bile 308 WHAT IS BLACK BILE? is referred to the liver and black bile to the spleen. - (Sec. i.) But in the treatise on Human Nature, it is said that when a man is mortally wounded by dividing the vessels of the neck, blood flows at first, very hot and very red; after which it comes mixed with phlegm, and lastly with much bile. (Sec. xi.) From which it appears, that phlegm and bile were regarded as con- stituents of the blood. That the phlegm of Hippocrates was not merely the secretion termed mucus, but included the serous portion of the blood, would appear from the fact, that he describes it as the humour from which urine, sweat and dropsical effusions are derived. Whether he al- ways meant by yellow bile the hepatic secretion, is doubtful; for although he says that it is formed in the liver, he states in another place, that on dissecting the heart of an animal he found a little yellow bile in the left ventricle. (De Corde, sec. 9.) But that his black bile was identical with dark venous blood, is evident from the fact, that he sup- posed it to be generated in the spleen, which is now well known to be a reservoir of black blood. (De Structurd Hominis, sec. i.) And he states that the dark grumous fluid discharged from the stomach in cases corresponding with our haematemesis, was black bile. (De Morbis, lib. ii.) Galen also says expressly that all the humours are contained in the blood. (De Atrabile, Frob. p. 163.) Accordingly, it was regarded by Hoffman, Morgagni, Cullen and many other dis- tinguished moderns, as only another name for dark venous blood. Nor can there be a doubt, that in a climate like that of Greece, respiration is so far dimi- THE CHOLERIC TEMPERAMENT A FICTION. 309 nished by the excessive heat of summer and autumn, as greatly to impair the vital properties of the blood and change it to a darker colour than usual. From the time of Boerhaave to that of Richerand, physiologists have described the sanguine tempera- ment as marked by a broad chest, full and robust body, strong pulse, an abundance of rich arterial blood, a florid complexion, a cheerful flow of spirits and a vigorous exercise of all the functions, with an elevated temperature. They also represent the cho- leric temperament as marked by a broad chest, a high temperature, a spare but muscular frame, an active circulation, great mental power and a passion for lofty achievements; attributes which have no more connec- tion with the size of the liver and the quantity of its secretion than with the amount of urine or of cuta- neous perspiration. And if it be true that the quan- tity of good arterial blood is in proportion to the mag- nitude and soundness of the lungs, it is evident that the choleric is only a modification of the sanguine temperament. And if it be true that the intellectual endowments of men are in proportion to the magni- tude of the brain, cwteris paribus, it must be more fully developed in such as belong to the choleric tem- perament, which is characterized by strong passions, aspiring ambition and great energy of mind. It is therefore obvious, that the bilious temperament is a mere phantom, which should be henceforth excluded from the forum of science and numbered with the fables of antiquity. Again, that the melancholic and phlegmatic tem- peraments are modifications of the same physical con- 310 PHLEGMATIC AND CHOLERIC TEMPERAMENT. stitution, would appear from the fact, that they are both described as characterized by a narrow chest, a deficiency of animal heat, a feeble circulation, an im- poverished state of the blood, a pallid or livid com- plexion and languor of all the functions: but with this difference, that the former is marked by a higher development of the nervous system, with a greater tendency to intellectual exertion, which leads to ex- haustion, and predisposes to indigestion, torpor of the bowels, lowness of spirits, insanity, apoplexy, paraly- sis and other forms of nervous disease,—whereas the phlegmatic constitution is generally marked by a pre- dominance of the abdominal viscera over the brain, an inanimate expression of countenance, a soft and flaccid state of the muscles, with a tendency to dropsy, diabetes, scrofula and other diseases which arise from debility. That Lord Bacon regarded the choleric as identical with the sanguine, and the melancholy with the phleg- matic temperament, would appear from his remark, that the humours of a young man are choleric, and his blood inclined to heat,—in an old man, phlegmatic or melancholic. (Life and Death.) With many other modern physiologists, Dr. Cullen maintains that the sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments are character- ized by light, sandy, yellow or brown hair, and fair skin; while some maintain that the choleric and melancholic are marked by dark, coarse and curly hair, with a yellowish or brown complexion. But if we except the pale, sallow and livid hues, that result from an impoverished condition of the blood, com- plexion has very little more connection with tempera- THEORIES OF GREGORY AND THOMAS. 3H ment than the colour of our garments; for when it is yellow, olive, brown or black, and the cuticle thick, the richest blood does not show itself in the skin; but when fair, the cuticle thin and transparent, it shows its character in the florid, pale or livid hue of the face. The opinion of the ancients, that yellow and dark com- plexions depend on the excess of yellow or black bile, was adopted by Blumenbach and Smith, who imagined that the blackness of the negro race is owing to an ex- cess of the hepatic secretion in hot climates, whereas complexion is only skin deep, but temperament in- volves the whole physical and intellectual organiza- tion. The division of temperaments into sanguine, cho- leric, melancholic and phlegmatic, has remained from the time of Hippocrates down to that of Dr. James Gregory, who added a fifth division, which he deno- minated the nervous. But another classification has been recently proposed and ably supported by Dr. F. Thomas, in a treatise entitled Physiologie du Tempera- mens, published at Paris in 1826; in which the intel- ligent author refers all the varieties of constitution to the relative size of the thorax, brain and abdomen. He maintains that when the lungs are more highly developed than any of the other principal organs, the temperament is thoracic; that when the brain is large, compared with the chest and abdomen, it is encephalic; and that when the abdominal viscera are highly de- veloped, compared with the thorax and brain, the tem- perament is abdominal. The essential parts of this theory have been adopted by Dr. Caldwell, of Kentucky, and ingeniously carried 312 VIEWS OF CALDWELL. out, in a recent work on Malaria and Temperament. With a strong prejudice against the humoral doc- trine,* and a singular partiality for the hypothesis of Cullen, he maintains, that as "the solids are the ruling portion of all organized matter, they must be looked to exclusively as the ground of temperament; that it depends, first, on diversity in the minute interior or radical structure of the tissues which compose the body; and, secondly, on difference of size and vigour in certain ruling organs of the system,"—by which he means the thorax, brain and abdomen. But neither of these distinguished physiologists has * Dr. Caldwell maintains, that " humoralism is one of the most fearful and destructive monuments of error that has ever been erected,—an idol, which, through the many centuries of its exist- ence, has done nothing but falsify and adulterate the principles, and lamentably pervert the practice of medicine; that physicians have sacrificed millions of their fellow-beings under the fatal spell of its influence;" that although the fluids may be vitiated in their condition, disease is not predicable of them, according to any legitimate interpretation of the word. But the only reason he assigns for these remarkable assertions is, that "we know nothing of the manner in which the blood is affected by different kinds of food and drink, medicines and morbid states of the atmo- sphere,—nor what condition of the blood predisposes to disease, and what affords security against it." {On Malaria and Tem- perament, pp. 124, 208, 212, 217.) With due deference to the opinions of this distinguished author, it may be asserted with con- fidence, that millions of our fellow-beings have been sacrificed, owing to the ignorance of physicians in regard to the true theory of -sanguification, secretion, nutrition and the manner in which the vital properties of the blood are impaired,—and that it is high time they should set about ascertaining how it is affected by food and drink, various states of the atmosphere, medicines, passions of the mind, vicissitudes of temperature, &c. OBJECTIONS STATED. 313 even attempted to explain in what the diversity of organization and radical structure of the tissues con- sists; nor why it is that, among different nations, certain ruling organs are more fully developed than among others. The principal advantage of their new classification is, that it is simple, and appeals more directly to the senses, than that of the ancients. At the same time, it must be confessed, that, in other respects, it is imperfect and erroneous. In the first place, the thoracic temperament of Thomas and Cald- well does not differ essentially from the sanguine; for they both represent it as marked by a high tempera- ture, great activity of all the vital functions and a full development of the muscular system, as in the Gre- cian statue of Hercules, and in all athletic individuals. But they have overlooked the fact, that among the natives of cold climates the chest is larger in propor- tion to the whole body than among the nations of the middle latitudes, or any other parts of the world, while it is well known that the polar inhabitants are dimi- nutive in stature, and of a feeble or phlegmatic consti- tution. It is therefore clear, that a comparatively large chest is not always an indication of activity and great muscular power. Nor is it true, as they maintain, that a large thorax is generally accompanied by a small brain or one of moderate size, for Plato had a large head; and it is said that he took his name from the great breadth of his chest. Dr. Caldwell also informs us, from personal observation, that General Washington had a large head; and it is notorious that he had a remarkably broad chest, Herculean frame and corresponding mus- vol. n. 20 314 OBJECTIONS TO THE THEORY OF cular power. The celebrated Mirabeau, like Daniel O'Connell, was equally distinguished for the enormous size of his head and for the capacity of his thorax. Nor is it true, as a general rule, that a large abdomen is an indication of the phlegmatic temperament, as maintained by Thomas and Caldwell: for in Mira- beau, O'Connell, and hundreds of others that might be mentioned, it would be difficult to say whether the thoracic, the encephalic or the abdominal organs pre- dominate. How, then, shall we determine to which temperament they belong? Another objection to the above classification is, that it does not embrace many individuals of the choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments of the older physiologists* It is true that, in one respect, the en- cephalic corresponds with the choleric constitution; for they are both represented as characterized by great energy of passion, sentiment and intellect. But it is not true, as maintained by Thomas and Caldwell, that the encephalic temperament is generally distinguished by a small or moderately-sized chest and want of energy in the vital functions. There are also many individuals who answer to the melancholy and phleg- matic temperaments, in whom all the principal or * Nor does it explain the manner in which temperament is modified by age; for it is certain that nearly all persons in vigor- ous health, during youth and the meridian of life, are sanguine and vigorous; that men are more so than women; but that during old age they become weak and phlegmatic or melancholic, even when the thorax is large, especially among such as have been intem- perate, or who have over-exerted their intellectual faculties, and spent the summer of their life in excesses of any kind. THOMAS AND CALDWELL. 315 ruling organs are imperfectly and yet so equally de- veloped, that they cannot be said to belong either to the encephalic or abdominal divisions. It is therefore manifest, that Thomas's classification does not embrace all the diversities of constitution; and that there is still room for one that is more simple and comprehen- sive. Moreover, if it be a fact that all the organs are formed immediately from, and vitalized by, the blood, it is manifestly an error to overlook the influence of the fluids on the development of the solids. Again, if it be true, as I have endeavoured to de- monstrate in a preceding chapter, that animal heat is the agent by which blood is formed and converted into the different tissues, it must determine the radi- cal structure, relative size and power of all the organs, fashion every part of the body and regulate every variety of constitution or temperament,—whether we regard it as depending on the condition of the fluids, as maintained by the ancients, or on the relative size and vigour of certain ruling organs, as maintained by Thomas and Caldwell. It also follows, that as the quantity of organic particles in the blood, and the aggregate vital energy of animals, are in proportion to the capacity of their lungs and the amount of their respiration, all individuals with a broad, deep and full chest belong to the sanguine, or what I propose to call the dynamic temperament, whether the brain and ab- domen be large or small, and whatever the complexion may be,—but that all persons with a narrow, flat or small chest, in whom respiration, sanguification and nutrition are imperfectly performed, have feeble con- stitutions, and belong therefore to what may be called 316 ORIGIN OF TEMPERAMENT. the adynamic temperament, which includes the melan- cholic and phlegmatic of the ancients.* In accordance with the Grecian axiom, that "strength is derived from spirit and from blood," and depends on the amount of caloric that passes through the body in a given time, it may be observed that birds belong more emphatically to the sanguine or dynamic tem- perament than mammalia, and the more active among the latter, than such as have imperfect organs of respi- ration, and therefore fall into a state of lethargy dur- ing winter; but that all warm-blooded animals in per- fect health are of a sanguine constitution, and belong to the dynamic temperament, when compared with reptiles and fishes, which are cold-blooded, imperfectly organized, deficient in strength, and therefore belong to the adynamic temperament, which includes all indi- viduals of the human species, with small chest and diseased lungs, whether cold and dry, or cold and moist. According to the analyses of Denis and Le Canu, the average proportion of solid particles in the blood of vigorous and healthy men during youth, adolescence * Should physiologists not approve of this classification, as not sufficiently descriptive, they may have a choice of the following, until something both accurate and more definite is offered. For example, when the thorax is large, the brain finely developed and well-formed, the temperament may be denominated sanguineo-cere- bral; when the thorax and muscles predominate, it may be called athletic, or sanguineo-muscular ; and sanguineo-abdominal when the chest and chylopoietic organs are large. But if the brain be large, the chest small or the lungs imperfect, the temperament may be regarded as nervous; or if the thorax, brain and muscles be small, and the abdomen predominate, it may be termed phlegmatic. THE DYNAMIC TEMPERAMENT. 317 and middle life varies from 12-92 to 15-85 per cent,, whereas in persons of feeble constitution they vary from 11 to 8 per cent. They also found that in per- sons labouring under phthisis, scrofula, scurvy, rickets, dropsy and other low diseases, the ratio of solid par- ticles varied from 8 to 6-40 per cent., or nearly the same as in cold-blooded animals, in which the solid matter varies from 8 to 4'80; corresponding with the imperfect development of their lungs, brain, muscles and whole organization. Hence a common expression among the vulgar, in regard to persons whose blood is impoverished, that they are " weak as water." In per- sons of this class, the conversion of albumen into fibrin is imperfectly performed, owing to imperfection of the respiratory process, by which all the proximate con- stituents of blood are formed. The dynamic temperament embraces the sanguine and choleric of Richerand, the thoracic of Thomas and Caldwell, with some other subordinate varieties. For example, if the chest be large, the lungs sound, the body not encumbered with fat, the health good, the muscles fully developed and the brain small, we have what has been called the athletic temperament, (an- swering to the iron temperament of Plato,) as in boxers, wrestlers, agricultural labourers and other in- dividuals who have spent their lives in active employ- ment of the muscles. In professional boxers, stone- masons and blacksmiths the muscles of the chest and arms are the most fully developed, whereas among por- ters, pedestrians and savage tribes those of the lower extremities predominate, because more constantly ex- ercised. In the middle latitudes of Europe and Ame- 318 THE INTELLECTUAL TEMPERAMENT. rica the mean circumference of the thorax, or that of the average man, does not exceed thirty-six inches; while in men of the largest size, it varies from forty- eight to fifty-two, and even fifty-eight inches, accord- ing to the best information I have been able to derive from respectable tailors in London, New York and Philadelphia.* But if the thorax be broad, round and full, the waist small, the muscles moderately developed, the brain large, well formed and of fine texture, we have what may be called the ethereal and intellectual con- stitution, (answering to the golden temperament of Plato,) which comprehends the noblest specimens of the human race. It is finely portrayed in the follow- ing soliloquy of Hamlet: " What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!" The greatest poets, philosophers, orators, states- men, inventors of arts, and heroes, of the world, have * It is much to be regretted, that so little attention has been given by ancient and modern writers on the natural history of man, to the size and configuration of the thorax among nations and individuals, with a view of ascertaining how far they are modified by climate and modes of living. For it is of much greater im- portance to know the character of the chest and head than the stature of mankind; which, however, should not be omitted in our attempts to ascertain the best methods of improving the physical, intellectual and moral character of the race. But it is worthy of notice, that the circumference of the thorax is not always an exact measure of the size of the lungs; for it is deeper or longer in some persons than in others. The form most favourable to strength is that of fulness in front and behind, with a corresponding breadth and depth, as in men of round backs. THE INTELLECTUAL TEMPERAMENT. 319 been formed after this beautiful and classical model, so far as we can judge from portraits, busts and the im- perfect descriptions of historians and biographers. Such was the physical character of Democritus, Hip- pocrates, Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Zeno, Alcibiades, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Cicero, Se- neca and Virgil, among the ancients; and of Galileo, Bacon, Shakspeare, Luther, Melancthon, Petrarch, Tasso, Sully, Richelieu, Cromwell, Milton, Newton, Franklin, Washington, Mirabeau, Burns, Watt, Napo- leon, Wellington and Byron, with many other modern heroes, sages and benefactors of mankind. The truth is, that General Washington, the Duke of Wellington and many other illustrious men, have been even more remarkable for the capacity of their chests and for the absence of all superfluous fat, than for the magnitude of their heads. The same observa- tion applies to Napoleon when young; for although he had a fine classical head, with a large forehead, it was less massive than that of either Bacon or Franklin. And if we can depend on the cast of him taken by Dr. Antomarchi, soon after his death, his head was very little above the average size among intellectual men; while in all the portraits of him he is repre- sented with a deep, round and full chest. Nor is the head of Lord Brougham much, if anything, above the average size. But as it is supported by a long and large thorax, compared with the size of his spare body, he is endowed with extraordinary mental activity and the power of long-continued application,—and a spas- modic quickness of movement, which marks an ex- citable state of the nervous system. 320 THE ABDOMINAL TEMPERAMENT. Again, if the chylopoietic viscera be more highly developed than the brain, we have what Thomas calls the "abdominal temperament," which embraces that very large class of persons described by Shakspeare, with " fat ribs and lean pates." Even when the thorax is large and the body supplied with an abundance of rich arterial blood, a large proportion of it is diverted from the brain to the stomach and expended in diges- tion, while much of it goes to the formation of fat, which is deposited in the cellular tissue, where it hangs as a burden on the system. But here again it is worthy of notice, that the accumulation of fat indi- cates imperfect sanguification, owing to excessive ali- mentation, want of exercise, or some defect in the function of respiration. And that this state is not natural, but acquired by over-indulgence or the want of suitable exercise, would appear from the fact, that many of the lower animals when domesticated, highly fed and prevented from taking exercise, become very fat and much less active than in the wild state. Men of the above class are generally good natured and contented while they have plenty to eat and drink; but they love repose and dislike profound thinking, or indeed any kind of exertion. It is true, that Dr. Johnson, Gibbon the historian and some other highly intellectual men, became fat and large around the waist as they advanced in age. But this was the result of over-indulgence or of sedentary habits. And I am not aware that any great hero or genius of the first magnitude has been remarkable for obesity. Com- pared with such men, Julius Caesar, the spare Cassius, General Washington, the Duke of Wellington and DYNAMIC AND ADYNAMIC TEMPERAMENTS. 321 Lord Brougham, are what the large-chested and fine- blooded racer is to the heavy and unwieldy dray- horse. For the same reason, men of moderate stature have stronger and more active minds than such as are above the middle size. For it is impossible that a man measuring forty inches around the chest and weigh- ing two hundred and fifty pounds could have anything like the mental energy of a man like Napoleon, whose weight, when twenty-six years of age, did not exceed one hundred and twenty-five pounds, but whose thorax was of large dimensions. Even Pope the poet had a long and capacious chest, if compared with the diminu- tive size of his body. Thus we perceive, that all indi- viduals with a large thorax and sound lungs, belong to the strong or dynamic temperament, of which there are several varieties; such as the muscular or athletic, the intellectual or cerebral and the abdominal; which are often so combined as to form other subordinate varieties. On the other hand, whenever the thorax is below the ordinary size or the function of respiration is im- perfect, there is a deficiency of animal heat and of rich arterial blood, with a languid state of all the vital forces; constituting the weak or adynamic tem- perament, whether the muscles, brain or abdominal organs predominate. But if the nervous system be considerably more developed than the respiratory ap- paratus, we have that variety termed by the ancients the melancholic, which corresponds with the nervous temperament of Richerand and other modern physi- ologists. For they are both represented as marked by a small chest, a pale, sallow or livid complexion, (in- 322 THE ADYNAMIC TEMPERAMENT. dicating a deficiency of bright arterial blood,) a lan- guid circulation, torpor of the stomach, bowels and of all the secretions, a spare habit, small, soft and feeble muscles, morbid sensibility, sudden fluctuations of temper, with a predisposition to nervous and spas- modic affections. And we have already seen, that the principal difference between this temperament and the phlegmatic is, that in the latter the abdominal organs are more highly developed than the brain, which is weak and lethargic. It is therefore evident that the adynamic tempera- ment, whether cold or dry, or cold and moist; whether denominated melancholic, nervous or phlegmatic; and whether hereditary or acquired, is rather the effect of disease than a primitive or natural constitution. And that it is often acquired, would appear from the well- known fact, that many distinguished individuals who were originally of the sanguine temperament, have been rendered melancholic or nervous by grief, anx- iety, intense study, a sedentary life and repeated shocks of adversity; as exemplified in the characters of Dante, Petrarch, Tasso, Pascal, Cromwell, New- ton, Voltaire, Rousseau, Zimmerman, Collins, Cowper, Burns and Byron. The misery of such men is owing to a greater activity of the nervous system than it has the physical power of supporting; or as Thomas Car- lyle observes, it is " a consequence of their greatness," and the intensity of their desire to get " a deeper in- sight into the heart of things." (Hero Worship.) That the intellectual powers of man are in propor- tion to the magnitude of his brain, cceteris paribus, especially its frontal portions, would appear obvious GRADATIONS OF INTELLIGENCE. 323 from the corresponding gradations of intelligence among nations, as we ascend from the African, the Esquimaux and Samoiede of the arctic regions, the North American Indian, the Malay, the Mongolian, the Hindoo and Arab, up to the European, who has the largest forehead and the finest intellect of them all. Nor is it less certain, that among the lower animals intelligence corresponds with the size of the brain and the fulness of its anterior portions, as in many of the smaller birds, the better educated dogs, the horse, elephant and the higher orders of the monkey tribe, in which the form of the head and the degrees of intelligence are exceeded only by man. The sensibility of any organ is also in proportion to the abundance of nervous matter with which it is supplied, casteris paribus. For example, in the eagle, hawk and many other birds, the power of vision cor- responds with the enormous size of the optic nerves and tubercles. The sense of smelling is likewise more acute in the common hound, in which the olfactory nerves are spread over an extensive surface, than in other dogs; while in the greyhound, whose nose is small, the sense of smell is very imperfect. The mouth and nose are larger in the African, the North American Indian and some other savages, than among civilized nations, who are inferior to them in the facul- ties of taste and smell. But why is it that many individuals with moderately- sized heads possess far greater power and activity of mind than others who have large and well-formed heads? Until this problem is solved, human physiology, and especially that important branch of it termed phre- 324 MODIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES. nology, cannot be regarded as a complete science, even were it established that all the different organs of the brain and their specific functions had been fully dis- covered, which cannot yet be fairly assumed. I have already shown it to be a law of nature, that the power of any organ is in proportion to the amount of rich ar- terial blood with which it is supplied, the quantity of caloric that passes through it in a given time, caeteris paribus, and depends on the amount of respiration. For example, the cohesive and contractile power of the muscular tissue is much greater in birds than in mammalia, (and greater in the latter than in reptiles and fishes,) because birds are more abundantly sup- plied with arterial blood, which is more rapidly dis- tributed through their bodies. For the same reason, the structure of the human brain is firm, dense and powerful, in proportion to the rapidity with which its composition and vitality are renewed by the formative process. Hence it is, that by far the greater number of illustrious men have been distinguished no less by the capacity of the thorax than for the size and con- figuration of the brain. But if the chest be small, the lungs unsound, or if respiration be diminished by impure air, improper diet, intemperance, the depress- ing emotions, intense thinking and a sedentary life, the vital properties of the blood are impaired and the brain imperfectly nourished; so that although large and well formed, its texture is infirm or softened and its power proportionally diminished. If the skull be thick, (as in the African,) or if the carotid and verte- bral arteries are small, the brain will receive propor- tionally less arterial blood in a given time than when IMPORTANCE OF A LARGE THORAX. 325 they are large; and still less when the chest is small or the lungs imperfect. All persons of this class be- long to the adynamic temperament, whether the brain be large or small. And owing to the softness of its texture, the capillaries are easily ruptured, giving rise to the effusion of blood or serum, apoplexy, paralysis or idiocy. It is therefore manifest, that this is not the temperament of robust health, nor of intellectual power to the highest extent. It is a great blessing to be born with a large thorax; for it offers the surest pledge of vigorous health and long life. Had all men such chests as the Duke of Wellington or Daniel O'Connell, disease would be greatly diminished and the duration of life augmented. I am informed that six individuals of the Wellesley family, recently alive, had arrived at the aggregate age of four hundred and forty-three years, making the average of each seventy-four years. And Mr. O'Con- nell stated, in a speech, that among twenty-two chil- dren of his grandmother, eleven arrived at the age of ninety-six or upwards. (Vide Examiner, March 14, 1841.) Like the heroes of Greece and Rome, the physical energies of these illustrious Irishmen were developed by exercise in the open air and its free cir- culation through their capacious lungs, without which they never could have endured so much bodily and mental exertion, nor have enjoyed such uniformly good health. With a full chest and sound lungs, men are able to endure degrees of cold, muscular exercise, loss of sleep, excesses in eating and drinking, that would soon shorten the lives of ordinary individuals. Nor is it 326 METHODS OF IMPROVING true, as maintained by Thomas and other physiolo- gists, that the thoracic or sanguineous temperament is peculiarly liable to inflammatory diseases. On the contrary, the general exemption from disease, whether of body or mind, the average duration of life, the power of enjoyment and of being useful to our fellow- beings, are in proportion to the vital energy of the system and the activity of the functions. It is equally certain that the liability to fever, inflammation and nearly all the forms of disease, are in proportion to the feebleness of the constitution; while death is merely the cessation of power and activity of the functions. And there is reason to believe, that a pro- per system of physical education would, in nearly all cases, prevent that imperfection of the thoracic organs which lays the foundation of phthisis, asthma, scro- fula and many other diseases which become hereditary and embitter while they shorten life. The great secret of such an education is to give full scope to the in- stinctive love of exercise in the open air, so natural to children and all young animals. Is the chest nar- row or flat in infancy? It may be greatly expanded and improved by frequent singing, reading aloud, dancing, playing at battle-door, the graces and other agreeable pastimes; or when there is sufficient strength, by fencing and other manly exercises. Are the su- perior and frontal portions of the brain imperfectly developed, compared with the lateral and posterior divisions? The former may be greatly improved by moderate exercise of the intellectual and moral facul- ties, for the same reason that the magnitude and power of any organ are augmented by action. And if the THE ORGANIZATION OF MAN. 327 whole brain be unduly developed in early life, it should be exercised less than the lungs and muscles. Thus it is manifest that, to a very great extent, we can modify those unbalanced conditions of the body which predispose to disease, immorality, crime and suffering. But mankind have been so long in the habit of violating the laws of health, by intemperance in diet, the use of intoxicating liquors, poisonous drugs, too much or too little exercise, undue indul- gence of the passions, unnecessary exposure to vicis- situdes of temperature and bad air, that a beautiful organization and sound health are confined to a very small number, even in temperate climates, where they should be almost universal. The human mind has also been so filled with falsehoods and pernicious pre- judices, from infancy up to maturity, that its native clearness in the perception of truth is greatly dimmed, and the creative power of genius is still more rare. Nor is it to be expected that men should fully obey the laws of nature and of the animal economy, until they shall be more thoroughly understood. A correct knowledge of the mean size of the thorax and brain in infancy, in both sexes, would enable us to regulate the employment of different individuals, so as to in- sure the best organization. But if ever mankind be destined to arrive at perfection or the full and harmo- nious development of all their physical, intellectual and moral powers, it must be the result of a complete knowledge of nature and its reduction to the simplicity of self-evident axioms, which may be readily under- stood by every one. The universal diffusion of such knowledge would enable men to see everything in its 328 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON TEMPERAMENT. true light and would abolish all differences of opinion. The best means would be directed to the best ends, and vice would become rare if not impossible; for a perfect system of education from infancy to maturity, operating for many generations, would produce every- where the best organization, and the passions them- selves, under the guidance of reason, would contribute no less to virtue and happiness than the higher facul- ties. In regard to the influence of climate on tempera- ment, it is maintained by Dr. Prichard, that the Afri- can negro exceeds all other races in the firmness and density of his fabric. (Nat. Hist, of Man, p. 172, first edition.) What is still more remarkable, it is main- tained by Menzel, that the choleric temperament pre- vails in the north, the sanguine in the south, the melan- cholic in the east and the phlegmatic in the west; that the will predominates in the first, sense in the second, feeling in the third and understanding in the fourth; finally, that men belong to the choleric and phlegmatic temperaments, in which the will and the understand- ing predominate; but women to the sanguine and melancholic, in which sense and feeling predominate. (German Literature, vol. ii. p. 102.) But the thorax, brain, muscles and all the more important organs, are more highly developed in temperate climates than in either the tropical or polar latitudes,—because respira- tion, sanguification, secretion, nutrition and all the forces of life, are diminished by a high external tem- perature; and because, in excessively cold climates, animal heat is more rapicHy abstracted by the sur- rounding atmosphere than it is obtained by respira- INFLUENCE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY LIFE. 329 tion. From which it is obvious that the sanguine or dynamic temperament, with all its complications, whether athletic or intellectual, belongs emphatically to the middle latitudes; while in the tropical and polar regions, the adynamic constitution, with all its various modifications, predominates. The higher development of all the organs in tem- perate climates leads to a proportionally greater exer- cise of them, by which their development and power are still further augmented. So far is it from being true, as suggested by Menzel, that the sanguine tem- perament prevails in the south and the phlegmatic in northern Europe, that the very reverse is the fact. And we have seen that there is no foundation in nature for the existence of a choleric temperament, unless it be regarded as a modification of the san- guine with a large brain; and that the melancholic is a modification of the phlegmatic, with a predominance of the brain over the other organs, as exemplified in Dante, Petrarch, Tasso, Zimmerman, Cowper, Collins and some others; in whom it was probably induced by a want of sufficient vital energy to support the activity of the brain, aided by an undue development of cautiousness, and by the absence of hope. As for the rest, the cerebral or intellectual tempera- ment is more common in cities and large towns than in the country; among scientific, literary and profes- sional men, including artists and the higher mechanics, than among servants, day-labourers, small farmers, common mechanics, soldiers, seamen, boxers and wrest- lers, in whom the thorax and muscular organs are VOL. II. 21 330 PROXIMATE CAUSE OF SPASMS. more fully developed than the brain, because more exercised, as proved by phrenological measurements. THEORY OF SPASMODIC DISEASES. It was said by a writer in Blackwood's Magazine. that the discovery of a remedy for hydrophobia would be worthy of a great national reward, or even a title of nobility.* But are we not equally in the dark in regard to the nature and treatment of tetanus and all other spasmodic diseases? Has any one explained their proximate cause or laid down any certain prin- ciples of treatment which apply to all cases? Besides, the number of deaths from hydrophobia was only fif- teen throughout England and Wales, and one hundred and twenty-four from tetanus, in the year 1839, ac- cording to the Registrar-General ;-j* whereas it was 25,408 from all other spasmodic maladies. In a work published about fifty years ago by the celebrated Tissot of Paris, the author gives it as his opinion, that nearly all children who die under one, and even two years of age, are carried off by convulsions. (Avis au Peuple.) * Alas! such is the present vicious standard of morality, even among the most civilized nations, that the man who should invent the most dreadful engine of destruction or perpetrate some thou- sand murders on the field of battle, would stand a much better chance of receiving a great national reward than if he were to dis- cover an exact method of saving millions of human beings annu- ally from disease and premature death. f At Philadelphia, the mortality from hydrophobia was ten from January 1, 1807, to January 1, 1821, and one hundred and twenty- five from tetanus during the same period. LOSS OF BLOOD. 331 It was observed by Dr. Cullen, that "as we know not the condition of the brain in the ordinary condi- tions of the will, we are also ignorant of its preter- natural state in all involuntary movements." And Mr. Morgan says, in a lecture on Tetanus, published in 1833, that "we can take no credit to ourselves for curing a disease respecting the proper treatment of which we positively know nothing." In accordance with the theory of Boerhaave, that "convulsions are owing to a vigorous influx of nervous influence into the muscles," Bichat referred them to a " preternatural activity of the cerebral functions."* Others maintain, with Dr. Billing, that their primary seat is in the white medullary portion of the brain; and others, with Dr. M. Hall, that they originate in the spinal marrow; while Liebig refers them to "an unequal degree of conducting power in the nerves." But that they are in nearly all cases attended with diminished vitality of the brain, will appear from the following facts:— 1. That, in all the higher orders of animals, convul- sions are invariably produced by a great and sudden loss of blood, as when they are bled to death. And it is generally known, that they often follow excessive haemorrhage from the uterus after parturition. Why, then, is it that blood-letting is often practised in cases * Some late writers erroneously maintain that strychnia, brucia, nux vomica, the upas ticuti and other narcotic poisons, augment the irritability of the muscular fibres, therefore should be given in cases of paralysis; but that as conia and the ticunas diminish irritability and produce paralysis, they should be given in tetanus and hydrophobia. 332 TREATMENT OF SPASMODIC DISEASES. of tetanus, hydrophobia,* and other spasmodic dis- eases ? Is it not more in accordance with reason and common sense to follow the maxim of Hippocrates, that diseases are to be treated by remedies of an oppo- site nature from that of the causes which produce * With a candour and magnanimity worthy of commendation, Dr. Elliottson gives it as his opinion that he hastened the death of a woman labouring under hydrophobia, by bleeding. Dr. Clutter- buck also employs it in the same disease. Yet he acknowledged before the Medical Society of London, a few years ago, that every- thing had hitherto failed. And he recommended that all the Samp- son remedies in the Materia Medica should be separately tried in succession. Such is the dire uncertainty of physic, that in the treatment of diseases the most opposite remedies are thrown into the stomach, "without rhyme or reason," so that when the patient recovers it is impossible to know what one has produced the effect, or whether it was Owing to the efforts of nature, in spite of a con- fused and empirical practice. For example, in the Medico-Chi- rurgical Transactions of 1815, there is a case of tetanus related by Dr. Phillips, brought on a young lady of delicate constitution by exhaustion from dancing and subsequent exposure to a cold atmosphere. In the first place, he had her put into the warm bath for fifteen minutes, when she became so much relieved that she begged not to be removed from it and was allowed to remain fifteen minutes longer. In the mean time he bled her, when she seemed greatly exhausted and the spasms returned, with faintness and vomiting. Yet he prescribed calomel and scammony, Epsom salts and senna. In fact, it is no uncommon thing, in cases of slight indisposition, (which nature, temperance and rest would remove in a short time,) to prescribe a dose of calomel and jalap, or scam- mony, salts and senna, the next morning, to carry off the mercury, &c, and then quinine to overcome the debility thus produced. So that the double task is imposed upon nature of overcoming the original disease and the morbific effects of the medicines. Alas! poor mortals! when shall ye be delivered from this sad and mon- strous abuse of reason ? COLD AND THE NARCOTIC POISONS. 333 them? (Contraria medentur contrariis.) Or is it more philosophical to follow the homoeopathic doctrine, that similia curantur similibus? 2. But convulsions are also produced by the sudden abstraction of animal heat from the body, without any loss of blood, or when its temperature is reduced several degrees below the natural standard, as shown by the cramps induced by the exertion of swimming in cold water. Yet the cold bath has been frequently em- ployed as a remedy for tetanus. As might naturally be supposed, it has, in several cases, proved almost in- stantly fatal. 3. Lt is ivell knoivn that all the more active narcotic and other poisons, when taken into the stomach or ab- sorbed into the circulation, produce convulsions and death. Yet we are informed by Samuel Cooper, in his First Lines of Surgery, that solutions of opium, arsenic and even hydrocyanic acid, have been injected into the veins, with the view of curing hydrophobia. In his Lectures on the Blood, Magendie states, that by in- jecting simple water or the serum of blood into the veins of dogs, he produced difficult breathing, stupor, apoplexy of the lungs, a dissolved condition of the blood, convulsions and death; yet he informs us that he treated a case of hydrophobia by injecting two litres of tepid water into the veins. (Lancet, December, 1838.) And he observes in another place, that "so great is our ignorance of those physiological derange- ments called diseases, that it would perhaps be better to do nothing, and resign the complaints we are called on to treat to the resources of nature, than to act as we are frequently compelled to do, without knowing 334 VARIOUS CAUSES OF SPASM. the why and wherefore of our conduct and at the ob- vious risk of hastening the end of the patient." I would add, that when the attainment of certain know- ledge is possible, it is an act of criminal ignorance, next to manslaughter, to practice on the lives of our fellow-beings without knowing the why and wherefore of our conduct. 4. When the temperature of the body is reduced several degrees below the natural standard, as during the cold stage of intermittent fever, there is a constricted state of the skin, chattering of the teeth, trembling of the limbs and a spasmodic state of the whole system, as when exposed to a very cold bath. The pulsations of the heart are exceedingly weak, and the circulation through the lungs is so far diminished, that the blood loses its florid hue even in the arterial capillaries, as shown by the livid hue of the skin. In malignant cholera, the inspirations have been so few as seven per minute, and the temperature of the blood from 10° to 25° below the normal standard, attended with a spas- modic state of the stomach, bowels and abdominal muscles, including the flexors of the extremities. In short, whenever the temperature is reduced below the natural standard, whether by the abstraction of animal heat from the surface or by diminished respiration, ow- ing to the influence of an impure atmosphere, the vital properties of the blood are impaired and a tendency to spasmodic action induced. Dr. Johnson tells us, that " men die of cholera in precisely the same way as from haemorrhage; with shrinking, paleness and coldness of all the external parts, diminished circulation, (the most universal and essential symptom of cholera,) and VARIOUS CAUSES OF SPASM. 335 spasms. It is therefore evident that the proximate cause is a deficient supply of animal heat and of good arterial blood. 5. Convulsions are produced by strangulation, as in hanging or drowning, or by whatever arrests or greatly diminishes the process of respiration, whether it be expo- sure to the mephitic gases, the rarefied atmosphere of high mountains, a blow on the head or violent emotions of terror and other depressing passions. The spasmodic tremour of the hands caused by intemperance in the use of ardent spirits, mercury, opium and other nar- cotic poisons, is owing to diminished respiration and a vitiated condition of the blood, like the subsultus ten- dinum of typhus and other malignant fevers, attended with a great loss of vitality and general prostration of strength.* When the vital energy of the brain is much ex- hausted, every sudden impression, whether by sight, hearing or touch, causes the whole frame to start, and, ■ in many cases, brings on repeated spasms, which, in persons of extremely shattered nerves, are induced by the shutting of a door or by the slightest current of air. At the same time, it is equally manifest, that in cases of hydrophobia and traumatic tetanus spasms are caused by the irritation of a wounded nerve, in the same way that pricking the nerve of a frog excites involuntary or spasmodic contraction of the muscles. The convulsions of infants are far more prevalent, * Among the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, he points out the dan- ger of convulsions from cold, immoderate purging, loss of blood and from wounds. (Aph. i. 6, sec. v.) 336 CHOLERA INFANTUM. and require more prompt treatment in hot climates than in the middle latitudes, and more so in the latter during summer, when the atmosphere is in a rarefied and impure state, than during winter, especially in large towns and crowded or ill-ventilated dwellings. But cold and moisture are by far the most general exciting causes of cholera infantum and other spas- modic diseases; to which may be added the pro- cess of teething, irritation from worms and improper diet; all of which tend to diminish the function of respiration and to prevent the due arteriahzation of the blood, as shown by the frequent coldness of the extremities, the pale or livid* hue of the features, loss of appetite, general debility and derangement of all the secretions. In the convulsive fits of new-born in- fants, the lungs should be inflated by blowing into the mouth of the patient, with the nostrils closed, and by compressing the thorax after each inflation, so as to imitate the natural process of breathing. In this way the colour of the face may be changed from purple to red, before the voluntary action of the lungs is restored.-}* * In all such cases the violence of the spasms and dangerous condition of the patient are in proportion to the difficulty of re- spiration and the purple hue of the features, which are anxious, emaciated and shrunken. Nor is there any chance of saving life without restoring the free circulation of blood through the lungs; which can generally be accomplished by an early and judicious em- ployment of the warm bath, frictions, diffusible stimulants and the application of dry heat, so as to maintain the temperature of the body at the natural standard. But if this point be exceeded there is danger of exhaustion. f It was in this way that Elisha restored the son of the Shu- namite from a state of suspended animation, or, as we.read in HYSTERIA AND EPILEPSY. 337 The most frequent predisposing cause of hysteria is the influence of grief, anxiety and other depressing passions, by which respiration is diminished, as shown by the difficulty of breathing, palpitation of the heart, coldness of the extremities, flatulence, nausea, consti- pation of the bowels, lowness of spirits, and in some cases a feeling of suffocation, attended with stupor, faintness, loss of sensibility, a spasmodic condition of the muscles about the throat, alternations of sobbing and laughter and general convulsions of the whole body. That the disease is often brought on by expo- sure to cold and a stoppage of perspiration, is equally evident from the copious discharges of limpid urine between the paroxysms. Some pathologists have re- ferred the above symptoms to a congested state of the uterus and suppression of the menstrual secretion. But like all the other morbid phenomena, this last condition must be regarded as a concomitant effect of the same causes which diminish the process of respira- tion and impair the vital properties of the blood. Nor is it possible that any spasmodic disease can exist so long as the brain and general system are supplied with an abundance of good arterial blood, which is the foun- tain of life and health to all parts of the body.* 2 Kings, from actual death. For it is said that Elisha "lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth,—when the flesh of the child waxed warm: he sneezed seven times, and then opened his eyes." (Chapter iv., verses 34, 35.) * Dr. Marshall Hall says, that " spasm can arise only from irri- tation of some part of the spinal nervous system." How then is it that spasms are produced by loss of blood, strangulation, suffo- cation, haemorrhage and the mere loss or deficient supply of animal heat; all of which are essentially negative, and therefore cannot be regarded as causes of irritation ? 338 RATIONALE OF SPASMS. According to the best writers on the practice of medicine, epilepsy is brought on by loss of blood, the mephitic gases, intemperance in the use of ardent spirits, violent emotions of terror or whatever tends to diminish the power of the brain. And that the immediate cause of the frightful spasms which charac- terize the fit is the want of good arterial blood in the brain, is manifest from the purple or livid hue of the face, showing that, even in the arteries, the blood is black; consequently, that respiration is nearly or quite suspended during the paroxysm. In all cases, the more suddenly the brain is deprived of good arterial blood and its power of commanding the movements of the muscles destroyed, the more violent is their spasmodic action. For it must be re- membered, that as the brain receives about five times more blood in a given time than an equal weight of the body in general, its power is abolished sooner by whatever diminishes the chemical function of the lungs and the force of the circulation, than that of the muscles, which continue to contract for some time after the power of the brain has ceased, independent of its guidance, and therefore in a spasmodic or invo- luntary manner. The brain of infants is also much larger and receives more blood, in proportion to the size of their bodies, than that of adults; which is the reason they are more liable to spasmodic affections. For example, in cases of decapitation the muscles contract with more or less violence until their vitality is extinguished; which proves clearly that spasms are "not owing to a vigorous influx of nervous influence into them from the brain," as supposed by Boerhaave CAUSES OF TETANUS. 339 and other pathologists; nor to "an increased activity of the cerebral functions," as maintained by Bichat and his disciples. Nor is it less manifest, that in cases of epilepsy, (or when the process of respiration is sus- pended by exposure to the mephitic gases,) the power of the brain is arrested, or nearly so, while the mus- cles continue to contract with great force. In like manner, when respiration is greatly diminished, as in cases of cholera, the blood is sufficiently vitalized to enable the muscles to contract, although not suffi- ciently so to enable the brain to command their move- ments; which is also the case in hysteria, chorea, the convulsions of children, the spasmodic twitchings of typhus, and the mobility of nearly all individuals while in a low or very feeble state of health. If any additional proof were required that the muscles con- tract without any influence of the brain, it is afforded by the rigidity after death, which is a low degree of spasmodic action, therefore perfectly involuntary. The predisposing causes of tetanus are exhaustion from over-exertion or whatever diminishes the general powers of life, such as the elevated temperature of tropical climates, where it is more frequent than in the middle latitudes, and more so in the latter during summer than winter. But all the best writers on pathology agree, that exposure to cold after exertion in the hot sun, is by far the most general cause of idiopathic tetanus. Perhaps the most simple form of the disease is that local affection termed a crick in the neck, which is always produced by cold and ought therefore to be cured by cold, according to the homoeo- pathic doctrine of similia curantur similibus. It hap- 340 CAUSES OF TETANUS. pens, however, in this, (as in many other cases,) that the most pleasant, safe and speedy method of cure is to restore that which has been lost. Mr. Morgan relates the case of a sailor who deserted from his ship in the Thames, swam ashore, continued in his wet clothes all night and was attacked with tetanus next morning. He also states, what has been observed by many others, that " the first complaint of the patient is that he has taken cold and is suffering from sore-throat." (Lecture on Tetanus, 1833.) What is called traumatic tetanus has been caused by dislocations, compound fractures, a severe burn, painful surgical operations,* such as castration, ampu- tation of the breast, a limb, and almost every descrip- tion of local injury, from a simple incision to the most serious laceration of the soft parts. Mr. Morgan knew a case produced in a scholar by the blow of a school- master's cane across the back of the neck; and another by a stroke of the same instrument on the back of the hand. Baron Larrey also knew a case produced by the lodgment of a fish-bone in the fauces. And Dr. Willan relates another case that arose from intense anxiety of mind, which, like all the causes just enu- merated, diminishes the voluntary power of the brain over the breathing process, and consequently, the nominal supply of animal heat. We further learn from the British and French army surgeons, that, among wounded soldiers, tetanus is rarely brought on * Hippocrates relates the case of Scamander of Larissa, in whom tetanus was induced by a large incision, followed by the actual cautery, in a case of diseased hip-joint. (Epidemics, book v.) CAUSES OF TETANUS. 341 without exposure to cold, fatigue or the depressing passions. On the 9th of January, 1839, Dr. Bird re- lated before the Westminster Medical Society the case of a man who had chopped the nail of his thumb on one hand and injured the adjoining finger, but re- mained well for three days, when he was exposed to cold and wet which produced a chill, followed by fever and decided symptoms of tetanus. On the same occa- sion Mr. Streeter related another case that was pro- duced by cold alone, and which, like that of Dr. Bird, was cured by the ordinary treatment employed in fever.* (Lancet, 1839.) But whether the disease be idiopathic or traumatic, and whatever the remote or exciting cause may be, the prominent symptoms are essentially the same, viz., difficult and hurried respiration, cold extremities, a pale or livid hue of the surface, small and irregular pulse, loss of appetite, nausea and sometimes vomit- ing, constipation of the bowels, with such a derange- ment of all the secretions that the formation of pus is arrested in ulcerating wounds. Dr. Elliottson re- gards the disease as analogous to chorea, hysteria and the shaking palsy. He also observes, that in ninety- nine cases out of a hundred, tetanus in females is attended with flatulency, globus hystericus and other like symptoms. But the most important general fact connected with * That all such diseases are owing chiefly to a loss or deficient supply of animal heat would appear from the fact, that the earth itself grows rigid under the influence of winter, as if seized with approaching convulsions, like the body of man during a chill. 342 EXPERIMENTS OF LIST0N. the pathology of tetanus is, that in all the most malig- nant cases the circulation through the lungs and general system is almost wholly arrested. As an example of this, it is stated in Cooper's First Lines of Surgery, that when Mr. Liston amputated the arm of a pa- tient, with a view of stopping the progress of tetanus, brought on by a wound in the thumb, scarcely any blood flowed from the divided arteries, and no ligatures were required to prevent haemorrhage. Corresponding with this remarkable fact, we are informed by Cullen and many other distinguished writers on pathology, that during the latter stages of the disease the blood is so far dissolved as not to coagulate when drawn from the body; in which it closely resembles the blood of patients labouring under malignant cholera, which is emphatically a spasmodic disease. In the worst forms of tetanus, the generation of animal heat by respiration is so far diminished that the temperature of the body is below the natural standard ;* and the excitability is so far reduced that enormous quantities of brandy and other diffusible stimulants have been often given without producing intoxication or any perceptible increase of circulation. The system is in a condition resembling the nearly suspended animation from cold, during which the me- phitic gases and narcotic poisons produce little or no * Hippocrates observes, that "fever supervening in a case of confirmed spasm or of tetanus, removes the disease." {Aphorism lvii., sec. iv.) Although this aphorism must be received with some grains of allowance, it is evident that the danger of spasmodic diseases is greatly diminished by a free circulation of the blood, which generally attends the coming on of fever. PROXIMATE CAUSE OF TETANUS. 343 influence. For it has been observed, that during the advanced stages of tetanus the most active purgatives rarely move the bowels; and that from thirty to sixty grains of opium have been given every six hours, without producing any visible effect. Mr. Abernethy relates the case of a man who died of the disease, in whose stomach were found thirty drachms of opium which had not undergone any material change.* From all the foregoing facts and observations it is evident, that the proximate cause of tetanus, as of spas- modic cholera, is a torpid condition of the circulation, a dissolved state of the blood and a great loss of vitality. Nor is it less certain, that if all the most powerful remedies in the Materia Medica were given in succes- sion, they would be wholly unavailing, without restor- ing the vital properties of the blood, which can be done only by augmenting its circulation through the lungs, where it is formed and endowed with the power of carrying on all the functions. If the case be not too far advanced this object can be attained by a judi- cious employment of the warm bath, the application of dry heat to the surface and the use of internal * The same torpid state of the bowels exists in the worst form of cholera, which is a spasmodic disease. Dr. John E. Cooke, then of Lexington, Ky., informs us, that in June, 1833, he gave to a patient with that disease one hundred and twenty grains of calo- mel, which in twelve hours produced not the slighest effect; when he gave two hundred and forty grains without any effect. After ten hours he gave one ounce, which produced a slight discharge. The same dose was repeated twice afterwards, at intervals of twelve hours, when the patient expired. ( Transylvania Journal, Sept. 1833.) 344 THEORY OF HYDROPHOBIA. stimulants.* In short, we must employ that agent by which the blood is perpetually formed in a state of health, enabled to excite the heart and maintain all the functions in their natural state. But the applica- tion of heat must not be continued after the body has been raised to the normal standard and the circulation restored, as it would then diminish respiration and defeat the object in view, which is to renovate the blood. When the circulation has been restored, respi- ration and the nutritive process may be augmented by sponging the body with cold water and by the free admission of cold air; which are important in cases of syncope and whenever there is fever. It is only, how- ever, in the early stages and milder forms of the dis- ease that tetanus is attended with fever; because respiration is too much diminished to produce reac- tion. Yet Dr. EdwTards relates a case on the autho- rity of Dr. Prevost, in which the temperature rose to 110-6°. In regard to hydrophobia, it is still a problem whe- ther it is propagated by a specific and contagious virus or whether it be a modification of tetanus, as supposed by Democritus and other ancients. Perhaps there is no subject on which the common sense of mankind has been more signally perverted by superstitious and * Since the first edition of this work was printed, I have met with several accounts of traumatic tetanus that were cured by the free use of brandy, given to the extent of three pints in twenty- four hours, and two gallons in eight days, by Dr. Wilson. Mr. Solly also had a case of tetanus which was cured by the use of stimulants, given night and day, by a careful nurse. {Braithwatfs Retrospect, part 12.) IS HYDROPHOBIA CONTAGIOUS? 345 groundless fears than that of hydrophobia, if we ex- cept the burning of poor old women for witchcraft. Within a recent period, Magendie says it was no uncommon thing to smother patients bitten by a rabid animal between two feather beds, or to bleed them to death, with a view of speedily terminating their suf- ferings. And I have been told that a case of the kind recently occurred in Scotland. The prevalent opinion of medical men, that it is a strictly contagious disease, was admirably ridiculed by Baron Munchausen, who gravely tells us that " his cloak became mad while in the wardrobe, after having been torn by a rabid dog." But to be serious, if hydrophobia be generated by a specific poison, it ought to be communicated in nearly all cases of inoculation with the saliva of a rabid ani- mal or by exposure to its bite. Yet we are informed by Mr. Youatt, that of five dogs which he inoculated with the saliva not one became rabid. And he says, in another place, that he had never been able to pro- duce rabies by inoculation with the saliva of a dead dog, nor with the blood of a living one in the rabid state. It was long ago related by John Hunter, that out of twenty persons who had been bitten by the same mad dog only one of them was attacked by the dis- ease. And it was stated by Sir Benjamin Brodie, a few years since, before a Committee of the House of Commons, that out of above four thousand persons bitten by dogs suspected or actually rabid, since he had been connected with St. George's Hospital, not one, to his knowledge, had become hydrophobous. Now if canine madness were a contagious disease, like vol. n. 22 346 CAUSES OF HYDROPHOBIA. smallpox, psora, lues or gonorrhoea, is it possible that it should have failed in more than four thousand cases? The story of Munchausen's cloak is scarcely more incredible. But Mr. Youatt thinks the conta- gious character of the disease has been proved by the experiments of Magendie and Breschet, who say they communicated it to a dog by inoculation with the saliva of a man who had hydrophobia. (See the Ve- terinarian, vol. iv. p. 225.) And Mr. Colman has proved that madness is often produced in dogs during hot weather by confinement, exposure to their own breath, urine and other excrements, improper food, and from too much or too little exercise. He does not, however, assert that it is never communicated by in- oculation. And he believes that typhus, jail fever, the itch, the farcy and glanders in horses, the roup in fowls and the husk in pigs, are contagious maladies, often produced by impure air, filth, &c. without conta- gion. (Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 636.) Nor is there anything better established in the his- tory of diseases than that hydrophobia is often pro- duced in the human species without contagion or the bite of a rabid animal. And there is reason to believe that tetanus is often confounded with hydrophobia, if, indeed, they are not modifications of the same disease. Brodie relates a well-authenticated case, published in the Philosophical Transactions above a century ago, of a man who died of hydrophobia a month after he was bitten by a dog that was alive and well two weeks be- fore his death. Dr. Watson gives an account of a man that was brought to the Middlesex Hospital on the 5th of October, 1837, who had been bitten by a dog a few SPONTANEOUS HYDROPHOBIA. 347 days before. His disease was apparently induced by fright, caused by reading works on hydrophobia; for he was a nervous subject. On being asked if he would have some water he became greatly excited, rushed out of his bed terrified, became furious and remained so until he died. (Principles and Pract. of Physic, p. 825.) Nor is it unworthy of notice, that when Dr. Webster, of Boston, was taken to the Medical College, and portions of the body of Dr. Parkman, whom he had murdered, were brought before him, he went into convulsions and called for water, at the sight of which he violently repelled those who offered it, like one writhing in the deepest agonies of hydrophobia. " The sight of water crazed him," said the reporter of the Boston Bee. Mr. Hutchinson also relates the case of Mrs. Sara Johnson, who had been struck on the nose by a little dog, but without causing the slightest abra- sion of the skin; and who, about two weeks after- wards, (on the twentieth of November,) got wet, when she was attacked with shivering, languor, depression of spirits, thirst, furred tongue, pain in the head, back and limbs, difficulty of breathing and agitation of manner. On the twenty-third, the slightest motion of the air around her, or the sight and even mention of fluids, induced hydrophobic spasms, and she died on the twenty-fourth, after expressing a belief from the first that she would not recover. Mr. Denby gave it as his opinion that the case was owing to fright and the influence of cold.* (Lancet, 1839; Trans, of the Lond. Med. Society.) * I have just met with a similar case in the Philadelphia Ledger of September 1, 1849, reported by Dr. T. S Reid. Mr. Willets, 348 SPONTANEOUS HYDROPHOBIA. A still more decided case of what is termed sponta- neous hydrophobia occurred in my own practice, in the year 1827. A middle-aged lady, of phlegmatic constitution, took a long walk one afternoon in the month of August, after which she sat down before an open window, exposed to a cool breeze, until she felt rather chilly. Soon after retiring to bed a sensation of stiffness about the jaws came on. On visiting her the next day, I found there was an impossibility of swallowing, and the utmost horror on the approach of liquids to her lips, owing to a spasmodic state of the muscles about the throat; which is the real cause of the dread of fluids; but seldom occurs in the disease as it exists in dogs. The pulse was exceedingly small and feeble, the extremities cold, the complexion livid and the features contracted, with an expression of ex- treme anxiety. Under these alarming circumstances, instead of arousing the nearly suspended circulation by the warm bath or the application of dry heat, I vainly endeavoured to administer laudanum, brandy and ether, which she could not swallow, and she ex- pired in convulsions the following day. Nor can there be a doubt in the mind of any dis- aged thirty-five, of strong constitution and active habits, returned from his labour as overseer at a ship-yard, on Tuesday evening, in his usual good health. On Wednesday morning he arose with a stiffness in the side of his neck and numbness of the arm, which he attributed to exposure to a change of temperature during the night. Not being relieved by the remedies employed, he rapidly grew worse, soon manifested all the symptoms of hydrophobia, and died on the following Friday morning, of what Drs. Condie and Reid termed spontaneous hydrophobia. EXPERIMENT OF M. BUISSON. 349 passionate medical practitioner, that in a large majority of cases m which hydrophobia follows the bite of a rabid animal, it is brought on by exposure to cold, fatigue and the depressing passions. There are also many cases on record of its being produced in persons of timid and feeble constitutions by violent emotions of terror, without the bite of a rabid animal or any local injury. The needless alarm of the community, arising chiefly from ignorance in regard to the cause of hydrophobia, is far worse than the disease, which must be treated like tetanus; for the proximate cause is the same in both.* And I venture to predict, that by an early employment of the means already sug- gested, they will both be found curable maladies. In a small treatise addressed to the French Academy of Sciences in 1823, by M. Buisson, the author states, that nine days after attending a woman who died of hydrophobia, he was attacked with a stiffness about the throat, a difficulty of swallowing fluids and other symptoms of that frightful malady, which he supposed was brought on by wiping his hand (one finger of which had on it a slight sore) with a towel that had * That the bite of a rabid animal operates in the same way as a wound which causes tetanus, and not by the introduction of a spe- cific poison into the blood, would further appear from the fact established by Youatt and Blanc, that the virus remains inert within the wounded part until aroused into action by some irrita- tion in such part. I have just read an account of an old man who was bitten by a maniac on the little finger, when inflammation ex- tended up the whole arm, causing death in two days, which was attributed to the influence of "the poison communicated to his system with the bite on the finger." (See Chambers's Journal, No. 257.) 350 PRACTICE OF M. BUISSON. been employed in removing saliva from the patient's mouth. Believing himself to be attacked with a mor- tal disease, he resolved on stifling himself in a vapour bath, which he had raised to 107°. But, to his great surprise and delight, he soon found himself relieved from all the previous symptoms, when he left the bathing-room, dined heartily and drank more wine than usual, without any return of the complaint. Since that time, he says that he has treated above eighty individuals who had been bitten by dogs sup- posed to be rabid; in four of whom the symptoms of hydrophobia had clearly declared themselves; and that in no case had he failed, except in that of one child, which died in the bath. In addition to the re- peated employment of the vapour bath, he recommends the practice of inducing free perspiration, by wrapping the patient in warm flannels, covering him well with blankets or even a feather bed, and giving hot drinks; because he says, that hydrophobia is confined chiefly to animals which do not sweat, such as the dog, wolf and fox. He further declares himself so confident in regard to the success of this treatment, if adopted in the early stages of the disease, that he should have no objection to be inoculated with the saliva of a rabid animal.* Now although it must be admitted that * We frequently hear of individuals being attacked with hydro- phobia several months, and even years, after the bite of a dog sup- posed to be rabid. I have an account of a case, in which the symptoms did not appear for eighteen years after the bite was in- flicted. But as it is now admitted by the ablest veterinarians, that the latent period of the disease, when communicated by inocula- tion, never exceeds twelve weeks, it is probable that all the cases PRACTICE OF M. BUISSON. 351 there is something romantic in the reason which Dr. Buisson assigns for going into the vapour bath, and even a doubt whether his disease was not owing more to fright than to the influence of the woman's saliva, the practice he adopted was unquestionably rational, and when early adopted is calculated to remove the proximate cause of nearly all spasmodic diseases, which I have shown to depend on torpor of the circulation and a vitiated state of the blood, owing chiefly to a loss or deficient supply of animal heat. which occur at longer periods after the bite are owing to some other cause, as in spontaneous hydrophobia. For it is contrary to all analogy to suppose that a poison capable of producing such fatal effects should remain latent for one or two years. The popular belief, if well founded, that individuals affected with this fearful malady bark like dogs, and even attempt to bite their attendants, must be referred to the influence of imagination and terror of the patient. When the belief in witchcraft was common, it is said that 40,000 persons suffered death in England for that offence. And it is highly probable that many cases of hydrophobia are produced, or aggravated, by the terror which arises from the belief in its con- tagious character, since it is scarcely known to exist in Turkey, where dogs are exceedingly numerous and suffered to run at large at all times without restraint. We are also informed by Shattuck, that only one death has occurred in Boston from hydrophobia in thirty-five years. CHAPTER VI. THEORY OF FEVER. "I have always thought it a greater happiness to discover a certain method of curing the slightest disease, than to accumulate the largest fortune."—Sydenham. But how is it possible to arrive at a certain method of curing even the slightest disease, without knowing the cause of vital action during health, which consists in the natural, unimpeded and pleasurable exercise of all the functions? And if it be true, that "no ge- nuine physiological principle has ever yet been disco- vered," how is it possible that pathologists should explain the phenomena of disease, which literally im- plies pain or the absence of ease, and is always the result of some departure from the natural state of the functions? The truth is, that all diseases must be referred to some derangement of the organizing prin- ciple, the natural operation of which constitutes health. And such is the simplicity which pervades the infinitely diversified operations of nature, that a complete knowledge of any one disease would afford a key by which to unfold the rationale of all the rest. For example, it may be laid down as an axiom, that fever or inflammation, whether general or local, is an essential condition of all diseases, except in those cases in which the reaction is not sufficient to induce a preterna- (352) THEORY OF FEVER. 353 tural temperature; as in syncope, apoplexy, the worst forms of cholera, cold plague, tetanus, hydrophobia and other spasmodic affections. Yet the most en- lightened authors of the present day admit, that the theory of fever is wholly unknown;* consequently, that the various methods of treating it are empirical, vacillating, inefficient and often injurious. Dr. For- dyce observes, that "it is a disease, the appearances of which have been in no way accounted for." It may also be received as a fundamental principle * Dr. James Johnson observes, in his work on Tropical Cli- mates, that the proximate cause of fever and other forms of disease is totally beyond our comprehension; and Dr. Alison regards it as " unreasonable to expect that we shall ever go far in explaining the peculiar phenomena of fever." {Outlines of Physiology and Pathology, p. 513.) He further observes, in another work, that "the adaptation of arterial blood to the maintenance of vital action in general and of circulation in particular, seems to be one of the primary laws or conditions of vitality, for which it is in vain to look for an explanation." {Cycl. of Pract. Med., part xxiv.) And Dr. Edwards observes, when treating of febrile heat: " The circum- stances are too complicated to admit of our deriving conclusions from them." {Influence of Physical Agents, part iv. c. 10.) Like all the American writers on the subject, Dr. Chapman says: "We may expect to know nothing of the essential nature of fever or of the intimate changes in the organization which constitute it." {Compend. of Practice.) Dr. George Gregory also observes, that "if we cannot unfold the nature of the healthy vital actions, it is not surprising that pathologists have failed in explaining those which occur in disease." {Theory and Pract. of Physic, p. 164.) He seems fully aware that all the phenomena of disease are imme- diately connected with some derangement of the nutritive process. But he adds, "the whole subject of the functions of the capillary system is exceedingly obscure; and that Bichat considered it alto- gether beyond our reach." 354 THEORY OF DR. S. SMITH AND CULLEN. in pathology, that every variety of constitutional dis- ease is ushered in with a loss or deficient supply of ani- mal heat. But we are informed by Dr. Southwood Smith, in his work on Fever, that physiologists know so little about the mode in which animal heat is gene- rated, that they have given no satisfactory explanation of its diminution or increase during disease. In ac- cordance with the views of Hoffman and Cullen,* he maintains that the chill and all the following symp- toms are clearly referable to some derangement of the brain and spinal cord; that the cold stage is produced by a disturbance of the respiratory arid circulatory * The celebrated theory of Cullen, as summed up by the author in his Practice of Physic, was, that "the remote causes of fever are certain sedative powers applied to the nervous system, which, diminishing the energy of the brain, thereby produce debility in the whole of the functions, and particularly in the action of the extreme vessels; but such, however, is, at the same time, the nature of the animal economy, that this debility proves an indirect stimulus to the sanguiferous system; whence, by the intervening cold stage and spasm connected with it, the action of the heart and large arteries is increased, and continues so till it has had the effect of restoring the energy of the brain, of extending this energy to the extreme vessels, of restoring therefore their action, and thereby especially overcoming the spasm affecting them; upon the removing of which the excretion of sweat and other marks of relaxation of the excre- tories take place." But he never explained how the remote causes induce debility, spasm and the cold stage; nor in what way the latter induces the,hot stage. And/what is still more difficult to comprehend, he represents both the hot and cold stages as efforts of the vis medicatrix naturae to obviate the effects of morbific agents. (See sections xlvi. lii.) The truth is, that although Cullen speaks of his theory as " a generalization of facts, from a cautious and full induction," it is now very justly regarded as a mere tissue of gratuitous assumptions, which explain nothing. BRIGHT, ADDISON AND TWEEDIE. 355 organs, which no longer receive their accustomed sup- ply of influence from the nervous system; while the hot stage is owing to some morbid action of the pul- monary and systemic capillaries. (Pages 81-84, 345.) In a recent work on the Practice of Medicine, by Bright and Addison, the authors maintain that the primary seat of fever is the ganglionic system of nerves. Yet they observe, that " as we are ignorant of the nature and operation by which heat is evolved during health, we cannot offer any satisfactory expla- nation of the cause of its increase in fever and inflam- mation, unless indeed we may suppose it to depend upon the more increased activity of the circulation, which is manifestly present in the recent form of the disease." (Page 123.) And Dr. Tweedie repeats, "we know so little about the cause of the generation of animal heat, that no satisfactory explanation of its increase or diminution has been given." (Cyclop, of Pract. Me- dicine, part viii. p. 158.) It has been long received as an axiom in medicine: Remove the cause and the effect will cease. But if all diseases depend on some departure from the natural state of the functions, and therefore a derangement of the vital forces, it follows that a knowledge of the cause of these forces is absolutely essential to a right theory of pathology and therapeutics. Nor is it enough to know that diseases depend on an altered condition of the blood, without knowing the causes of its circulation, formation, renovation and derangement. If we would merit the title of physicians, we must know how the various forms of disease originate, and the rea- son why remedies produce their effects. 356 CAUSES OF DISEASE. I have already proved in the foregoing chapters of this work, that all the remote or predisposing and ex- citing causes of disease tend to reduce the temperature of the body; that respiration is diminished by expo- sure to the high temperature of hot climates and sea- sons, impure air, imperfect nourishment, the depressing passions, intense study, narcotic and other poisons, loss of blood or excessive evacuations of any kind, concus- sion of the brain, compound fractures or whatever tends to lessen the voluntary command of the nervous system over the chemical function of the lungs; that when the vital heat of the body is abstracted by ex- posure to cold and moisture, or expended by muscular exertion faster than it is obtained by respiration, the same general effect is produced.* Pathologists have usually reduced the causes of dis- * By far the most general exciting cause of fever, even in hot climates and malarious situations, is exposure to cold and moisture, after the body has been weakened by the predisposing causes. And it maybe asserted with confidence, that in nineteen cases out of twenty, the chill might be prevented by due attention to warm clothing, aided by a light but nutritious diet and by keeping up a fire at night to expel dampness. Grant Thorburn states, in his Autobiography, that during the yellow fever in New York, he never saw a single case of the disease which was not brought on by exposure to rain, cold night air without sufficient clothing, fatigue, intemperance or some other obvious and avoidable cause that was overlooked by the Faculty, who seemed to regard only the vitiated state of the atmosphere. Many interesting cases which he relates in detail, and the judicious comments upon them, render his chapter on the subject highly important in a practical point of view. He says that whenever the epidemic made its appearance he put on his winter clothing; and that although constantly employed in attend- ance on the sick he enjoyed uninterrupted health. REMOTE, EXCITING, AND PROXIMATE CAUSES. 357 ease to three classes, which they have termed the remote, exciting and proximate. But the principal dif- ference between the two first classes is, that the one precedes the other in the order of time; while the proximate cause is the result of their action, and im- plies that immediate condition of the body in which the disease consists, or what has been called ipse mor- bus. It has been often asserted by modern authors, that no one symptom is always present at the begin- ning of fever, and without which the disease could not exist. But so far is this from being true, that if we except those cases in which some noxious agent has been suddenly introduced into the blood, there never was a general fever without a previous reduction of temperature, which is the first prominent link in the chain of morbid phenomena, and the invariable cause of all the following symptoms. In accordance with this view, it was maintained by Hippocrates, that fever is uniformly ushered in with coldness or a loss of spirit, by which the humours are thickened and determined to the internal parts of the body.* (De Flatibus, sec. * However diversified the remote and exciting causes of disease may be, they all operate in the same way, modified, however, by their intensity or duration and by the constitution of the patient. Some of them, as the narcotic and other poisons, not only diminish respiration, but disorganize the fibrin and red particles, or combine with and precipitate the albumen of the blood. That exposure to bad air also produces a morbid state of the blood long before the symptoms of disease are actually developed, would appear from some experiments of Dr. Potter, who found, during the prevalence of yellow fever in Baltimore, that the blood of individuals who lived in the infected parts of the city (although from every outward appearance and inward feeling they were in perfect health) resem- 358 THEORY OF HIPPOCRATES. iv., vii.) So far, his pathology was more clear than that of the moderns, who have repeated times without number, that "during the cold stage, from causes un- known to us, the blood leaves the surface and becomes engorged in the viscera." But as Hippocrates knew not how animal heat is obtained by respiration and transferred to the solids in combination with arterial blood during health, it is not surprising that he should have given no explanation of the manner in which the various predisposing and exciting causes bring on the cold stage, nor how the latter produces the subse- quent fever, the essence of which he vaguely enough defined to be, "the excess of heat, mixed up with noxious qualities." When the body was cold and the excretions were arrested, he employed the warm bath; but cold affusions and even iced water, when the fever was on; which was good practice. It was the opinion of Pythagoras, Plato and many other Greek philoso- phers, that all evil in nature consists simply in defi- ciency or excess, and that what is rightly proportioned or self-balanced alone is good; a doctrine which cer- tainly applies to the phenomena of health and disease. bled that of persons labouring under the worst forms of the epi- demic; the serous portion on separating was of a yellowish or orange hue, and strikingly different from that of persons residing in the pure air of the country. He further states, that hundreds who escaped any formal attack of the fever, complained at times of nausea, giddiness, headache, constipation, general languor, with pains in the back and limbs; showing that the disease existed in a latent state and required only some exciting cause, such as exposure to cold, fatigue or intemperance, to bring it into full action. And it is notorious, that the inhabitants of malarious districts are gene- rally pale or sallow, indicating an impoverished state of the blood. INFLUENCE OF THE CHILL ON THE PULSE. 359 That respiration is diminished during the chill that ushers in the various forms of fever, pneumonia, bron- chitis, influenza and every other species of constitu- tional disease, would appear from some experiments of Jurine, who found that less carbonic acid was gene- rated during the cold stage and after blood-letting, than during health. And it was found by Nysten that the same effect was produced by an obstructed or congested state of the lungs. The consequence of which is, that during the cold stage of ordinary fever, the temperature under the tongue is reduced from three to six degrees below the normal standard; while in those malignant intermittents termed algid, it some- times falls fifteen or twenty degrees below the healthy average, as in the worst cases of epidemic cholera, in which respiration is so far diminished that reaction seldom takes place, unless by the timely employment of the warm bath or the application of dry heat. But as it is a law of nature that the force and fre- quency of the heart's action, costeris paribus, are always in proportion to the temperature of the blood, they are diminished during the cold stage, as shown by the slow and feeble or irregular state of the pulse; which is attended with shuddering and a spasmodic condition of the whole body. Moreover, as the blood is formed and renovated in the lungs by respiration, it follows that whenever this important function is dimi- nished, the vital properties of the blood must be im- paired, no less certainly than by the chemical influence of the narcotic and other poisons. For example, when the function of the lungs is wholly arrested, as in cases of drowning, hanging or confinement in the mephitic 360 INFLUENCE OF THE CHILL ON THE BLOOD. gases, all the arterial blood in the body of a healthy man is changed to the venous state, and its power of carrying on the operations of life destroyed in about ninety seconds; the reason of which is, that it is no longer renovated by giving off carbon and hydrogen, nor by receiving its accustomed supply of vital heat. And as the temperature of the body is reduced below the natural standard during the cold stage of fever, the blood is not depurated, as in health, by the elimi- nation of sweat, urine and other excretions, which, being retained, must still further derange its vital pro- perties. If at this stage of the disease blood be drawn from a vein or even from the temporal artery, it is found to be unusually dark coloured, as might natu- rally be inferred from the livid hue of the surface, especially in cases of great depression, during which it is sometimes difficult to obtain a flow of blood, owing to its extreme viscidity. If, then, it be true, that animal heat is the agent by which blood is formed, converted into the different organs, and maintains them in a state of healthy ac- tivity, it is evident that whatever tends to diminish the supply of this important principle must impair the healthy properties of the blood and thus lay the foundation of disease. The essential symptoms are the same in every variety of fever, whether brought on by the abstraction of caloric from the influence of cold and moisture, its expenditure by over-exertion, or by the various causes which diminish respiration. But as they are most distinctly marked in the intermittent form of the disease, I shall proceed to show that all the morbid phenomena which characterize that type RATIO SYMPTOMATUM. 361 may be traced to a reduction of temperature and a vitiated condition of the blood, which cannot retain its healthy properties unless constantly circulated through the lungs, where it is formed, vitalized and prepared to nourish the tissues. In the first place, that the shuddering or spasmodic condition of the whole body, is not the proximate cause of ague, as maintained by Hoffman and Cullen, but a secondary effect arising from the loss or deficient supply of animal heat, is evident from the fact, that the same spasmodic condition is induced by immersion in the cold bath and by exposure to the fumes of car- bonic acid. Nor is it less certain, that the small and feeble pulse wThich marks the cold stage is induced by whatever diminishes the temperature of the blood, the circulation of which through the lungs being impeded, causes anxious and difficult respiration. The surface is pallid or livid, because the blood is imperfectly arte- rialized; while the features are shrunken and the ex- tremities diminished in bulk, because they are not duly supplied with blood, which accumulates in the central organs. The bowels are torpid, perspiration is checked, and there is a deficiency of the urinary secretion, which is pale or colourless. And as the blood is no longer depurated by the excretion of those compounds that pass off through the emunctories dur- ing health, it becomes still further vitiated. For ex- ample, as about six pounds of matter are discharged every twenty-four hours from the lungs, skin, kidneys and bowels, it is manifest that whenever this super- nous matter is retained for only a short time in the blood, its vital properties must be proportionally de- vol. ii. 23 362 RATIO SYMPTOMATUM. ranged. What then must be its condition after all or the greater part of the excretions have been locked up for several days, as in most cases of fever? In the mean time, as the brain and nervous system are no longer supplied with good arterial blood, there is a loss of sensibility, impaired memory, confusion of thought, headache and stupor, which, in some cases, approaches the condition of apoplexy. Again, that the loss of appetite, nausea and sometimes vomiting, wdiich attend the cold stage, are owing to a deficiency of good arterial blood in the capillaries of the stomach, is evident from the fact, that the very same symptoms are produced by excessive loss of blood, the influence of intense cold, the inhalation of mephitic gases or the rarefied air of high mountains, emetics, the narcotic and other poisons or whatever tends to debilitate that important organ, arrest the secretion of gastric juice and with it the process of digestion. The consequence of which is, that no chyme is formed during the cold stage of fever to unite.with bile, which accumulates in the gall-bladder and duodenum, until discharged by vomiting or in the form of bilious stools. It is there- fore obvious that the proximate cause of fever is not an excess of bile, as maintained for the last two thou- sand years; nor debility of the brain and a spasmodic state of the extreme vessels, as supposed by Cullen; nor inflammation of the stomach and bowels, as sup- posed by Broussais; but that the primary cause of these and all the other symptoms is a loss or deficient supply of all the animating principle, diminished cir- culation and a consequent vitiated state of the blood; to which may be traced the universal debility of the THE COLD AND HOT STAGES OF FEVER. 363 brain, stomach, bowels, voluntary muscles, and the general feeling of soreness, with an aching in the back and limbs. Such are the cardinal symptoms that mark the cold stage of intermittents, which are inva- riably ushered in with diminished respiration, circula- tion, sanguification, secretion, nutrition and of all the vital forces. Dr. Hodgkin refers the cold stage to diminished power of the heart and of the circulation in the systemic ca- pillaries, while he attributes the preternatural tempera- ture both to acceleration of the circulation occasioned by the heart's reaction, and to the universal suspension of sensible and insensible perspiration, by which, during health, the excess of animal heat produced is rapidly carried off. (Pages 493-5.) But he confounds cause and effect, in his explanation of the cold and hot stage, the first of which is owing to a direct loss of caloric or to a diminished supply of it by respiration, causing a diminished activity of the circulation, which is again augmented by the preternatural temperature. He thinks that the solution of the fever which marks the sweating stage may be accounted for quite as well by supposing a mere return to the ordinary state of the functions, as by the gratuitous assumption of the generation of some materies morbi during the two first stages, and their subsequent rejection during the sweat- ing stage. (Page 497.) He admits that his theory does not afford any explanation of the curious and in- teresting phenomena of periodicity and crisis. (Page 505.) He observes, that "in some healthy and in not a few morbid actions, we see that a new product, whe- ther fluid or solid, is very much influenced by the cha- 364 VIEWS OF DR. HODGKIN. racter of the surrounding parts; that in the condensed cellular membrane, in the neighbourhood of bone, it sometimes happens that masses of bony matter are deposited, but are perfectly detached; and that the numerous instances which we see of ossification at the origins or insertions of muscles are probably referable to the same cause." Again, "the natural structures in the neighbourhood of malignant tumours are apt to degenerate into a substance in some respects resem- bling that of the original tumour." (Pages 532-3.) He speaks of nutrition as resulting from the combined action of the vascular and nervous systems. (Page 534.) That farina or starch may be converted into gum, and both into sugar; and these into various acids, alcohol, ether, &c, though some of the possible links may not be always essential. (Page 537.) In the second volume of his Lectures on Morbid Anatomy, Dr. Thomas Hodgkin has offered some views on the nature of fever, which may be regarded as a slight approximation to the truth. He observes: "Fever, I imagine to depend on the suspension or at least very considerable interruption of that process by which, during health, the various parts of the system are continually undergoing a change; the old materials being removed, while others are substituted in their place." And he adds: " Of the exact mode in which these changes take place, and of the causes which affect them, we are, and probably shall long continue to be, to a great degree ignorant." (Page 490.) That the process of nutrition is interrupted in fever, has been always admitted by medical authors. But it is manifestly not true, that the process of disintegration THE TEMPERATURE AND PULSE IN DISEASE. 365 by which the old materials are removed, instead of being interrupted during fever, is augmented; as proved by the rapid emaciation which takes place. But as the process of breathing, although much im- peded, is still carried on during the cold stage; and as very little of the heat thus obtained is employed in combining the blood with the solids and in maintain- ing the various secretions, it gradually accumulates, until the temperature under the tongue rises to 104° and sometimes to 107°, according to the observations of Currie, Fordyce, Elliottson and Miiller, to 109° in those of Cheyne, and even to 111° and 112° in cases of high inflammatory fever, according to M. Coupil.* * According to the observations of Dr. A. Donne, recorded in the Archives Generates de Medecine for July, 1835, the tempera- ture and pulse in various diseases were as follows:— Temperature. Pulsations. .... 102- to 104- 152 1 ;o 166 .... 101-30 104- 84 136 .... 96-40 104- 60 102 .... 98-30 101-75 76 96 ..... 100-20 101-58 76 104 .... 96- 103-10 68 120 ..... 94-38 102-10 80 106 .... 9G-40 103-103-10 92 64 126 .... 94-40 150 ..... 99- 101-75 98-30 72 36 104 ..... 96-40 62 ..... 99-72 124 ..... 98- 99-72 76 102 ..... 96-40 97-25 78 84 But this table requires to be greatly extended, so as to embrace all the various forms of disease, during the cold and hot stages. In the Lancet of August 29, 1835, some experiments of Becquerel and Breschet are recorded, representing the temperature of pa- tients labouring under various diseases at the HOtel-Dieu, the 366 AUGMENTATION OF RESPIRATION. The immediate consequence of which is, that the ac- tion of the heart becomes more frequent and vigorous, by which the blood is propelled with increased force into all parts of the body, and the general torpor that existed during the cold stage is gradually removed. Moreover, it is worthy of special notice, that as a larger amount of blood is sent through the lungs, more carbon and hydrogen are given off to unite with atmo- spheric oxygen; so that more caloric is obtained by respiration during the hot stage and imparted to the blood, than even during health, as proved by the ex- periments of Jurine, Nysten and more recently by those of Mr. MacGregor, who found that during the climax of scarlet fever, measles and smallpox, from 20 to 50 per cent, more carbonic acid was exhaled from the lungs of patients in the Glasgow Infirmary than in a state of health.* And it is a striking results of which correspond with the above, so far as they go. In a scrofulous child during the febrile state, the thermometer in the mouth (it should always be under the tongue) stood at 98-50°; while in an inflamed tumour it rose to 104°. They also found the temperature of a hemiplegic man 98-88° on the diseased side, and 98-07° on the sound side. * There are many facts, however, which prove that the increased high temperature of the body in fever is not always owing to augmented respiration. It has been already shown, that in the healthy state of the system respiration may be increased four- fold, by exercise, without causing any considerable rise of tempera- ture under the tongue. There is also a case related in the British and Foreign Medical Review for July, 1839, p. 198, of a man in St. George's Hospital, suffering from injury of the spinal column, whose temperature was 111°, while his inspirations were only five or six per minute. Nor is it less certain, that in many cases of pulmonary congestion, such as mark the progress of winter typhus CONDITION OF THE BLOOD. 367 coincidence, that the pulsations of the heart are aug- mented in about the same ratio during the hot stage, the tendency of which is to improve the vital proper- ties of the blood, by increasing the chemical function of the lungs in which it is formed and renovated, as shown by the bright and florid hue which it assumes, the redness it imparts to the skin and its increased' power of coagulating when drawn from the body, com- pared with its dark, grumous and vitiated state during the cold stage. But as it is some time before the nutritive proper- ties of the blood are restored, even after respiration is re-established, the caloric thus obtained is imperfectly transferred to the solids; so that there is often a feel- ing of chilliness, while the patient feels preternaturally warm to another person, until the full development of the hot stage, attended with general debility and a dull pain in the head, back and limbs, not unlike that which is produced by the immediate influence of ex- ternal cold; but with this difference, that in the former case it is more permanent and difficult to remove, because owing to a radical derangement in the vital properties of the blood. The consequences of which are, that the secretions and pneumonia, the generation of carbonic acid is greatly dimi- nished where the temperature is above the natural standard. Respiration is also much diminished in phthisis, owing to the accu- mulation of tubercles in the lungs, and subsequently to an extensive loss of their substance. In consumption, the blood often exhibits a somewhat milky or oily appearance, owing to the manner in which the process of sanguification is impaired by ulceration of the lungs, in which chyle is converted into blood. 368 RATIO SYMPTOMATUM. remain for some time suspended, as shown by the clammy state of the mouth, furred tongue, dry skin and thirst. The urine is also scanty and high-coloured during the hot stage, but contains a larger proportion of uric acid, the urates of ammonia, of soda or of lime, and extractive matters. Yet it must be observed, that whatever amount of animal heat may be obtained by respiration, it is incapable of performing its healthy vital office of nourishing the tissues, and is therefore employed in converting the albumen of the blood into fibrin, which is always augmented during the preter- natural temperature of fever and inflammation, but diminished in asthenic diseases. Nor is it more strange that a diminished transfer of heat from the blood to the solids should induce general debility, tor- por of the stomach, bowels and liver, pains in the head, back and limbs, than that exposure to a March wind or sitting for some time in a cold room, should cause an aching, stiffness and numbness of the ex- tremities, or that a rapid expenditure of animal .heat by over-exertion should cause a general soreness and stiffness of the muscles. But in ordinary cases of intermittent fever, the natural tendency of the hot stage is to limit its own duration and put an end to the paroxysm. This it does by augmenting the action of the heart and the quantity of respiration, by which the vital properties of the blood are improved and sent freely into all parts of the body; when the previous torpor of the brain, stomach, intestines and voluntary muscles, is succeeded by an increased activity of all the functions. The effete matter of the system that had accumulated CAUSE OF PERIODICITY. 369 in and still further vitiated the blood during the cold stage, together with the superflous amount of caloric that marks the hot stage, are carried off through those natural sewers, the skin, kidneys and bowels, when the sweating stage comes on and puts an end to the paroxysm. Such are the leading symptoms that mark the progress of intermittent fever, which may be regarded as the type of all the other varieties. But why do the paroxysms return at nearly regular periods of twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours, as in the quotidian, tertian and quartan forms of fever? Why is the cold stage longer, while the paroxysm is shorter, in the quartan than in the ter- tian, in which the cold stage is again longer and the paroxysm shorter, than in the quotidian? Why is the chill shorter and less distinctly marked in fevers that continue, with slight remissions in the morning, for several days or even weeks, than in intermittents ? Why, in nearly all of them, should it come on more frequently in the early part of the day than after noon? And why, in continued fevers, does the remis- sion occur in the morning? So far as I am aware, none of these important questions have ever yet been answered in a satisfactory and philosophical manner by pathologists. The reason why the paroxysms of intermittent fever return at nearly regular intervals of time, must obvi- ously be sought in those general laws of periodicity which mark the revolutions of the animal economy in health, under the influence of season, changes of tem- perature, day and night, sleeping and waking; all of which modify the various functions in a regular and 370 OPINIONS OF HIPPOCRATES. uniform manner. The annual leafing and flowering of trees and plants are governed by thermal influence. All the phenomena of nature are subject to periodicity, from the revolutions of planets to those of the atmo- sphere and of the ocean, the birth, growth and decay of organized bodies. And, as there are certain periods of the year most favourable to each class of diseases, so are there certain periods of the day when the forces of life are at a minimum and the system most liable to the invasion of fever, modified by circumstances which are often overlooked. This tendency to period- icity is strikingly exemplified in many of our artificial habits, which have been termed "second nature." For instance, if an individual accustom himself to remain awake until three o'clock in the morning for several weeks or months and to rise at ten, it will be some time before he can go to sleep at an earlier hour, although he may rise at seven in the morning; and so of many other acquired habits, all of which, however, are subordinate to the revolutions of nature. In accordance with the general theory of the an- cients, that fever is owing to a redundancy of bile, it was maintained by Hippocrates, that the tertian, quo- tidian and continued forms of the disease are deter- mined by different quantities or degrees of vitiation of the biliary secretion; and that quartans are owing to an excess or viscid state of what he called black bile.* (De Naturd Hominis, v. vi. xxviii.) * He further maintained, that fever is an effort of nature to expel morbific matter from the body by vomiting, purging, sweating, diuresis, spontaneous haemorrhage, cutaneous eruptions, tumours and abscesses; or to render it harmless by a species of assimilation, OPINIONS OF HIPPOCRATES. 371 » In the treatise on Prognosis, Hippocrates observes, that the most malignant class of fevers terminate in death on or before the fourth day; another class of less malignity end on the seventh day; a third class on the eleventh; a fourth on the fourteenth; a fifth extends to the seventeeth; and the sixth to the twen- tieth day; that all acute diseases terminate in from four to twenty days, with intervals of about four days. But in his treatise on Critical Days, he observes, that some fevers terminate on the thirtieth day, and others on the fortieth; while some extend to sixty days, be- yond which the diurnal character is lost. In the same termed by him concoction. And as the paroxysms of intermittent fever return at stated intervals, he supposed that a certain definite period is required to bring about what he called the crisis, whether favourable or not. But there is reason to believe, from his own statements, that it is only the milder forms of the disease in which the tendency of nature to observe stated periods can be distinctly traced; and that even in these they are often interrupted by mal- treatment or by the operation of some violent exciting cause. For example, it was observed by that great man that in one hundred and sixty-three cases of fever, one hundred and seven terminated on one or other of the following days, the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and twentieth; that none occurred on the second nor thirteenth, and by far the greatest num- ber on the seventh, fourteenth and twentieth; that of the favour- able terminations, less than a tenth happened on non-critical days; whereas above a third of those which were fatal occurred on the non-critical days; showing even in continued fevers a tendency to periodicity, which, however, seems to be interrupted in cases of extreme malignity. After all, I am inclined to the opinion of Asclepiades and Celsus, that Hippocrates was led by the Pythago- rean doctrine of numbers to overrate the importance of critical days. 372 VIEWS OF CULLEN. treatise, the twenty-first day is said to be critical, in- stead of the twentieth, as stated in the Prognostics. But it was contended by Cullen, that "the causes of the protraction of paroxysms, and therefore of the continued form of fevers, are, that the remote causes operate by occasioning either a phlogistic diathesis or a weaker reaction." (Practice of Physic, sec. Ixv.) And he tells us, that "the phlogistic diathesis consists in an increased tone of the whole arterial system." From which it would follow, according to this theory, that the continued form of fever depends either on increased action or diminished reaction. Besides, if the phlo- gistic diathesis mean anything, it is merely a feverish disposition, and is the very thing which required ex- planation. In opposition to the opinion of nearly all the most enlightened physicians from Hippocrates down to Sydenham, that fever depends on a vitiated state of the fluids, it was further maintained by Cul- len, that it often arises from cold, the depressing emo- tions and mechanical injuries, without the introduction of any morbific matter into the blood; consequently, that it is not owing to changes in the state of the fluids, but depends chiefly on some cause acting on the nervous system or primary moving powers of the ani- mal economy, and thus producing a spasmodic state of the extreme vessels. But I have shown that what- ever tends to diminish the functions by which the blood is formed and depurated, must very soon de- range its healthy properties, whether it be cold, the depressing passions, concussion of the brain, an impo- verished diet or impure air. That all the varieties of fever are modifications of the FEVERS ARE MODIFICATIONS OF THE SAME DISEASE. 373 same disease and arise from different degrees in the in- tensity or duration of the causes which produce them, has been already suggested in a preceding chapter of this volume* and will further appear from the follow- ing general facts:— 1. That both quartans and tertians change into quo- tidians, and the latter into the continued form of fever, which assumes the typhoid or inflammatory type, according to the constitution of the patient and the more or less depressing tendency of the predisposing causes, as remarked by Sydenham, Morton and many other physicians of Europe and America. 2. That in cases of intermittent fever, the hot stage * I have shown that diseases of the respiratory organs predomi- nate in the higher latitudes, especially during the colder months; but that the various forms of fever, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea and hepatitis, prevail to the greatest extent in hot climates and seasons, owing to the operation of an high temperature and a viti- ated state of the atmosphere, both of which diminish the supply of heat by respiration. It is therefore evident, that the first class is owing to a loss, and the second to a deficient supply of the ani- mating principle. The most remarkable difference between them is, that in the former the loss of heat is generally local, superficial or of short duration; so that if soon restored by artificial warmth, a speedy recovery may be expected; whereas in diseases brought on by excessive heat and impure air, the vital properties of the blood are more seriously impaired, than by the sudden or partial abstraction of caloric. But if from exposure to external cold, the function of respiration be permanently diminished, as in pneu- monia, bronchitis, laryngitis or pleurisy, the vital properties of the blood are impaired in the same manner and often to the same ex- tent, as if produced by malaria or any other morbific agent. In short, however various the remote and exciting causes may be, the essential symptoms are the same in all diseases and are owing to a loss or deficient supply of the animating principle. i 374 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON FEVERS. is always protracted longer than usual, before passing into the type of more frequent repetition or the con- tinued form. 3. That there is a gradation in the malignity of fever and debility of the patient, from the quartan, which is the mildest of the intermittents and therefore has the longest interval, to the most deadly forms of typhus, yellow fever and plague. 4. That in temperate climates, intermittents prevail when the predisposing and exciting cause are less in- tense; remittent when they are more malign; and after the powers of life have been exhausted by long exposure to impure air of a high temperature, they become merged in the continued form of fever. 5. That the most malignant varieties of continued fever are still more prevalent in tropical and warm climates, where the predisposing causes are more in- tense and constant in their operation; but 6. That in all climates and seasons very fatal forms of continued fever are generated by constant exposure to the concentrated malaria of crowded dwellings, poor-houses, hospitals, prisons and other ill-ventilated dwellings; or from concussion of the brain, compound fractures, lacerations and other violent injuries; all of which tend to diminish respiration, impair the vital properties of the blood, and bring on a chill. 7. And lastly, that the causes of intermittents ope- rate with less intensity or for shorter periods of time, than when they produce the continued form of the disease, is demonstrated by the fact, that in the former the paroxysm runs its course in five, ten and fifteen CONDITION OF THE BLOOD IN FEVERS. 375 hours, on an average, after which there is a complete intermission of all the symptoms. But I have already shown, that all the predisposing and exciting causes of disease tend to produce a viti- ated condition of the blood. Nor is it possible that any serious and permanent deviation from health can exist so long as every part of the body is supplied with a sufficiency of good arterial blood. And that the dif- ferent forms of fever depend on the extent to which the vital properties of the blood are impaired, would appear from the following facts:— 1. That the paroxysm is shorter and the interval longer, in quartans than in tertians, in which, again, the paroxysm is shorter and the intermission longer, than in quotidians; whereas the continued form of the disease lasts for many days or weeks, with slight re- missions. 2. That in all the milder forms of fever the blood exhibits nearly the same phenomena when drawn from the body as during health, except that it coagulates more slowly, and therefore usually presents a buffy coat, or what has been called the inflammatory crust. 3. That in typhus, yellow fever, plague and all the forms of malignant continued fever, (as in blue cho- lera, tetanus, hydrophobia ^and the latter stages of pneumonia,) the blood is so far altered from its natu- ral state, that it requires from thirty minutes to an hour or longer to coagulate in a very imperfect man- ner; while in the worst cases it exhibits either a preternaturally viscid or a dissolved and putrescent state. 4. That the blood of individuals exposed to a pes- 376 CONDITION OF THE BLOOD IN THE tilential atmosphere is found to be in an highly diseased condition before any formal attack of fever, as proved by the experiments of Dr. Potter before cited, and by those of Dr. Stevens, in the marshy districts of New York. But it still remains a problem, why the duration of the cold stage is inversely as that of the hot? This ques- tion has been the gordian knot of pathology for above two thousand years. For the purpose of placing the subject in as clear a light as possible, I shall proceed to show that catarrh, which may be regarded as the mildest form of fever, the chill or stage of depression, is longer than in the quartan, and diminishes in dura- tion through the tertian and quotidian, until we arrive at the continued form of the disease. In the first place, then, if an individual in previous good health be exposed for some time to a cold wind, damp night air, a shower of rain, or a draft of air while sitting in a cold room, the temperature of his body is gradually reduced below the natural standard; by which more or less of a chill is produced, the action of the heart diminished, perspiration checked, the various secretions somewhat deranged and the vital properties of the blood to a certain extend impaired. But as the nutritive properties of the blood and its power of maintaining the secretions are diminished in a very slight degree, it is often from twelve to twenty- four or even thirty-six hours, before there is any per- ceptible fever, which goes off in a very short time after the circulation and activity of the emunctories have been restored, by which the blood is depurated; and does not return again without a repetition of the VARIOUS FORMS OF FEVER. 377 exciting cause, for the obvious reason that the blood has returned to its natural state. But if an individual be exposed for some time to malaria of sufficient intensity to impair the vital pro- perties of the blood in a mitigated degree, and then to a shower of rain or some other exciting cause calcu- lated to bring on a chill, the latter continues for a longer or shorter period, according as the vital properties of the blood have been previously more or less deranged, which depends on the duration or intensity of the pre- disposing causes. When these have been moderate, the cold stage lasts for one or two hours, because the vital heat obtained by respiration continues to unite the blood with the solids for some time after the chill has commenced; yet as the blood becomes sufficiently deranged during the stage of depression, to arrest or greatly diminish the nutritive process, whatever amount of heat is not transferred to the solids accu- mulates and brings on the hot stage, which continues until the blood is restored to its former state, when there is a complete intermission of all the symptoms. But if the patient remain exposed to the predisposing cause of the disease, the paroxysm returns at stated intervals of one, two or three days, unless prevented by the use of bark and other tonics, or by employing the hot bath two or three hours before the period of the cold stage. And as the vital properties of the blood are less impaired in quartans than in tertians, the paroxysm is shorter, while the intermission is longer in the former than in the latter. For the same reasons, the cold stage is longer in tertians than m quotidians, and longer in the latter than in the con- vol. ii. 24 378 APPARENT ANOMALIES EXPLAINED. tinued form of fever; while the paroxysms become longer and the intermissions shorter, until the latter wholly disappear. But when individuals have been exposed for a con- siderable time to the concentrated malaria of pestilen- tial districts, crowded and ill-ventilated dwellings, poor-houses, transport ships or prisons, the vital pro- perties of the blood are so far impaired, that almost immediately after the commencement of the cold stage, and often before it is completely formed, the fever comes on. And as it is impossible that it should cease before the nutritive properties of the blood are restored, it continues with only slight remissions till the termination of the disease or the death of the patient. When the exciting cause is extremely viru- lent, as in the Black Hole of Calcutta, the blood is so far vitiated in the course of a few hours or perhaps even a shorter time, that the chill is so quickly fol- lowed by fever as to be scarcely perceptible. When the streams of life have been thus vitiated, many days or weeks are required to bring about their restoration to a healthy state; and when the blood has been once thoroughly disorganized, the physician can do little more than palliate the most urgent symptoms, which generally followed by death. Thus it is evident, that there is a progressive dete- rioration of the blood, from the mildest catarrh and quartan ague, to the most malignant forms of syno- chus, typhus, yellow fever and plague. But why doe* the chill that ushers in the fevers arising from pneu- monia, concussion of the brain, compound fractures and other serious injuries, often remain from sixteen RATIONALE OF THE MORNING REMISSION. 379 to thirty-six hours? And why does the fever assume the continued form ? The most probable reason is, that before the injury was received the blood was in a healthy state; so that, although respiration is sufficiently diminished to cause a reduction of temperature, weak pulse and cold ex- tremities, it is some time before the nutritive process is sufficiently arrested to produce fever. But as the vital properties of the blood are necessarily impaired to a considerable extent during the stage of depression, it cannot be restored to its former state for several days, during which time the fever continues without any intermission and assumes the typhoid or inflammatory type, according to the constitution of the patient and the extent of the injury. It must, however, be ob- served, that if, before receiving the injury, the patient has been exposed to some of the other predisposing causes of fever, it follows the cold stage much sooner and is proportionally more difficult to resolve, because the blood is in a more vitiated state. Nor can it ever be restored to a healthy condition otherwise than by promoting its free circulation through the lungs, where it is formed, and the evacuation of whatever is superfluous or injurious from the skin, kidneys and bowels. It still remains to inquire why the cold stage of fever conies on generally in the forenoon, or far more frequently than in the afternoon; and why in the con- tinued form of the disease, there is a morning remis- sion? The solution of these queries will be found in the fact, that respiration is always very much diminished 380 INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON during sleep, and arrives at the minimum about mid- night, when all the energies of life are proportionally reduced; so that as the coldest part of the twenty-four hours is just before sunrise, if the body be not well covered or its temperature maintained by artificial warmth, the chill comes on at an early hour or some time before mid-day. In accordance with this fact, it has been observed, that in a large majority of cases the attack of epidemic cholera was during the night or early in the morning. In his letters on Cholera, as it appeared in New York, Dr. Payne says, that as remarked in other countries, the attack commenced in the night toward the approach of day, and in the morning. (Page 84.) If the healthy properties of the blood are not en- tirely restored after the first paroxysm, (which is sel- dom the case,) or if the patient be still exposed to the primary cause of the disease, it is repeated about the same time of day, at intervals of twenty-four, forty- eight or seventy-two hours, according to the intensity of the remote cause, the degree of exposure, constitu- tion of the individual, &c. And as the preternatural temperature of continued fever is always diminished for a time, if not permanently, by cold ablutions, so does it abate during the coldest part of the twenty- four hours, as in the morning remission, which is pro- moted by the stillness and darkness of the night and repose of the patient, who is still more relieved if he obtain a little sleep, however imperfect it may be. The predisposing and exciting causes of apoplexy and paralysis are generally the same as those which produce fever; with this exception, that in the former APOPLEXY AND TYPHUS. 381 they operate more immediately on the brain* For example, it was long ago observed by Dr. Heberden, that apoplexy is far more prevalent during either ex- cessively hot or cold weather than at any other time, cceteris paribus. At New York, where the extremes of temperature are greater than in Europe, the mor- tality during the severe winter of 1795 exceeded that of the following mild winter in the ratio of fifty-two to thirty-one; and it is proportionally greater during the hottest part of summer than in spring, autumn or even a mild winter. We have also seen from the * According to the best writers on pathology, the predisposing and exciting causes of apoplexy and paralysis are, whatever tends to diminish the energy of the brain; such as the depressing emo- tions of grief and anxiety, intense and long-continued study, intem- perance in the use of fermented liquors, the fumes of lead, the long use of mercury, exposure to fatigue, impure air, excessive loss of blood, disease of the heart, congestion of the lungs and abdominal viscera, the narcotic poisons and concussion of the brain; all of which diminish respiration, impair the vital properties of the blood and weaken its circulation through the brain. It is also worthy of special notice, that the symptoms of apoplexy correspond very nearly with those which mark the cold stage of cholera and the more malignant forms of intermittent fever, which are ushered in with the same congested state of the brain, viscid condition of the blood, coma and loss of sensibility. The numbness of ague must also be regarded as a mitigated and temporary species of paralysis, which is often brought on by exposure to cold alone. That apo- plexy is owing to congestion of the brain and not to an increased flow of blood to that organ, is evident from the experiments of John Hunter, who found on opening the temporal artery during a fit, that the blood was dark and viscid, as. in cases of obstructed respiration from exposure to the mephitic gases, immersion under water or strangulation; but gradually changed to a bright hue as respiration became more free. 382 TYPHUS CAUSED BY COLD ALONE. recent Reports of the Registrar-General, as digested by Mr. Farr, that the mortality from apoplexy and para- lysis has been from 30 to 50 per cent, greater in Lon- don during winter than summer, which is always comparatively mild in Great Britain, where typhus fever is also more prevalent and fatal during winter than any other season. This is more especially the case in Ireland, where, owing to the want of suitable nourishment and clothing among the poor, about one- fourth of the whole mortality is caused by typhus, which in nearly all cases is brought on by the imme- diate influence of cold, according to Dr. MacCormack. And that the most malignant typhoid fever is gene- rated by the influence of cold, without malaria, is sufficiently attested by the records of medicine; espe- cially in the United States, where, about thirty years ago, an exceedingly fatal disease, termed cold plague or pneumonia typhoides, prevailed throughout the western country and some parts of New England, during the middle and latter parts of winter.* It is * The most prominent symptom of the disease, as in the more malignant forms of typhus in Europe, was a congestion of the lungs and abdominal viscera, with a dissolved condition of the blood. In all such cases, the obvious indication is to persist in the employ- ment of fomentations, the warm bath or the application of dry heat, together with warm cordials, until the action of the heart and circulation through the lungs are roused, the vital properties of the blood improved and the secretions restored. The same observa- tions apply equally to cholera, tetanus, hydrophobia and other spasmodic diseases; all of which are prototyped in the cold stage of fever. In the Medical Gazette of July, 1837, there is an ac- count of spotted fever, attended with a livid hue of the skin and the same viscid or dark and grumous state of the blood as in ma- COUP DE SOLEIL. 383 not sufficiently understood by the community, that daily or frequent exposure to cold alone, until the general circulation is enfeebled and respiration dimi- nished, (as shown by the coldness of the extremities and blueness of the surface, in persons thinly clad,) is one of the most common predisposing and exciting causes of low and protracted fevers. For I have al- ready shown, that when the powers of life have been greatly reduced by impure air, the excessive heat of summer and that of tropical climates, exposure to cool nights, damp foggy mornings, a shower of rain or get- ting the feet wet, is the ordinary exciting cause of fever. It was truly observed by Cullen, that the con- ditions which favour the operation of cold are general debility, fasting, evacuations, fatigue, loss of sleep, the depressing emotions and previous disease. What is termed coup de soleil is only a milder form of apoplexy, brought on by over-exertion under the influence of a burning sun, when the surrounding temperature is above that of the blood; by which respiration is so far diminished and the power of the circulation reduced, that the brain is no longer duly vitalized and the patient falls down in a state of apo- plexy or prolonged syncope, until aroused by sprink- ling water in the face or by cooling ablutions, which lignant cholera. After finding (says Dr. Wilson, of Middlesex Hospital,) that the ordinary treatment failed, the warm bath, with cold applications to the head and a saline mixture composed of thirty grains carbonate of soda, twenty grains chloride of sodium and six grains chlorate of potassa were employed, when seventeen out of nineteen cases recovered; whether owing to the stimulating influence of the warm bath or to the saline mixture, must be left to the decision of the intelligent medical reader. 384 VIEWS OF HIPPOCRATES. tend to augment respiration, together with the nutri- tive process. On the other hand, when the powers of life have been reduced by age and other predisposing causes of debility, the capillaries of the lungs are paralyzed by cold, respiration and the power of the heart diminished, by which cerebral atony and conges- tion are induced, followed by apoplexy, paralysis or some other dangerous malady. It was the opinion of Hippocrates, that coma and apoplexy are owing to a frigidity and thickness of the humours in the brain; consequently, that they should be rarefied by heat, applied in the form of fomentations. Nor can there be a doubt, that the proximate cause of syncope,* coma, catalepsy, epilepsy, apoplexy and the low delirium of typhus, is a deficient supply of good arterial blood and vital heat to the brain. Morgagni, De Huen and other authors, relate cases of apoplexy * It is sometimes difficult to distinguish apoplexy from syncope, as the following case will exemplify. A clerical gentleman who had been for some time accustomed to close mental application, delivered a sermon on Sunday morning and immediately afterwards attended a funeral, by which he was much exhausted. He then took a hearty dinner and commenced the afternoon service, during which he fell backwards in the desk, in a state of syncope, from which he slowly recovered. Now if this gentleman had been fifty years of age or older, or if his brain had been weakened still more by previous habits of intemperance, the case would have been one of decided apoplexy, which is often brought on by a hearty meal. This operates in a twofold manner: first, by pressing upon the ascending vena cava, thus preventing the free passage of blood into the right side of the heart and thence into the lungs; or by divert- ing a portion of the blood which usually circulates through the brain to the stomach, for the purpose of carrying on the process of digestion. MEANING OF THE WORD NATURE. 385 in which the blood as it flowed from the veins was actually cold. (Paynes Med, and Physiolog. Comment. vol. ii. 31.) But under the erroneous impression that most of these morbid conditions are owing to an in- creased flow of blood to the brain, many practitioners resort to bleeding, which often increases the debility of the cerebral capillaries and thus causes effusion; an effect which is also frequently produced in other parts of the body by the loss of blood, without tending in the slightest degree to remove the proximate cause of the congestion. But in all cases of apoplexy and concussion of the brain, the powers of life are reduced below par and require the use of remedies adapted to arouse the nearly suspended circulation; such as hot brandy, wine or some other stimulating cordial, hot applications, alternated with cold affusions and fresh air, with a view of augmenting respiration. It was again observed by Hippocrates, that " nature is the chief physician in disease; that untaught and unlearned, she knows and does what is best." (Epidem. book vi. sec. 6.) But it is worthy of special notice, that by nature he meant the principle which animates the universe and performs all the operations of the living body.* He also maintained that the whole art of medicine consists in knowing how and when to re- * Aristotle represents nature {fvw>j.a and . t. i. p. 129. f Bemerkungen zur Volumtheorie ; Braunschweig, 1844. 430 APPENDIX. vious that their relations in density may also be disturbed or dis- guised by temperature." (Graham.) Relation of Atomic Heat to Crystalline Form.—An able and elaborate paper on this subject will be found in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, new series, vol. iii. part 2. Limited space will only allow of the introduction of the deductions of the author, these are— " 1. That no invariable connection exists between the form and ponderable atomic constitution of a body. 2. That form is immediately dependent upon peculiar axal proportions, which are themselves the results of a certain molecu- lar arrangement. 3. That the arrangement and disarrangement of atoms implies a motor agent; while the definite and constant relation between changes in aggregation, and variations in form, implies the ma- teriality of this agent and its continued presence, whether in the same or varying quantities. 4. That this agent has periods of action and periods of rest. 5. That caloric is a positive material entity—an essential ele- ment in all bodies, always present in different proportions. 6. That caloric is self-repellant and endowed with great physi- cal power. 7. That crystalline form is the visible representative of atomic volume. 8. That isomorphous bodies have visibly the same atomic heat and the same atomic volume. 9. That in elementary and compound isomorphous groups, the members indicating atonic heat and volume are simply related. 10. That two or more atoms of one element may replace one of another, and retain the same figure; and vice versa ; hence, equal numbers of atoms are not essential to isomorphism. 11. That similarity of constitution is generally, though not always, accompanied by sameness of combined heat. 12. That at certain temperatures the elements may all be made to assume the same form. 13. That variation in the atomic heat of a body is accompanied by variation in its form. APPENDIX. 431 14. That atomic heat is the cause of isomorphism and poly- morphism, consequently of crystalline form in general. Influence of Chemical Composition on the Boiling Point, (p. 146.)—A series of bodies containing carbon and hydrogen and which differ in composition by C2 H,, or a multiple thereof, is called an Homologous series. The generic term ether is given to the oxide of a supposed radical containing carbon and hydrogen, the num- ber of atoms in the former being even, in the latter odd; the hydrate of this ether is known as the alcohol of the series, and by the oxidation of this alcohol an acid is formed in which the amount of hydrogen is two equivalents less than in the original radical, and the amount of oxygen two equivalents more than in the alcohol. By the union of these acids with the ethers we have a series of compound ethers which will be in many cases metameric with each other or with other acids. The following example will illustrate these views :— Radical. Ether. Alcohol. Acid. General formula .C,nH2n4-l..C2nH2n+10..C2nH2„+10,HO.C2nn.in+103,HO Methyl series......C2H3.~.......C2H3°..........C2H30,HO.........C2H03.HO Ethyl series........C4H5.........C4H50..........C4H50,HO.........C4H303,HO Propyl series......C6H7.........C6H70..........C6H70,HO.........C6H503.HO Butyl series........C8H9.........C8H90..........C8H10O,HO........C8H703,HO Amyl series........C10Hn.......C10HuO.........C10HnO,HO......C10H9O3,HO The general results of experiment have shown that for each increment of C2 H2 the boiling point rises about 19°C. This is true of the ethers, the alcohols, the acids, and the compound ethers. Methyl Alcohol..............................................C2H30 HO boils at 69°C. Ethyl Alcohol................................................C4H50 HO boils at 78°4 Propyl Alcohol...............................................C6H70 HO boils at 96° Amyl Alcohol................................................C10HnO HO boils at 132° Formic acid:..................................................C2H303 HO boils at 98°5 Acetic acid..................................................C4H,03 HO boils at 118° Propionic acid..................,............................C6H503 HO boils at 140° Butyric acid.................................................C8H7°3HO boils at 156° Valeric acid..................................................C20H9O3 HO boils at 175° It will also be seen by the above examples that the boiling point of the acid of a series is on the average 40°C. higher than that of the corresponding alcohol. 432 APPENDIX. The following compound ethers are metameric, that is, they have the same empirical formula, while their rational formulae dif- fer :— Acetate of Methyloxide..................C2H30,C4H303=C6H604 boils at 55°C. Formate of Ethyloxide...................C^fi^Hfi^C^ifi^ boils at 55° Butyrate of Methyloxide................C2H3O,C8H7O3=C10H10O4 boils at 93° Acetate of Propyloxide...................C6H7O,C4H9O3=C10H10O4 boils at 93° Valerate of Methyloxide.................C2H3O,C10H9O3=C12H12O4 boils at 112° Butyrate of Ethyloxide..................C4H50,C8H703=Ci2H1204 boils at 112° Acetate of Butyloxide.....................C8H90,C4H303=C12H1204 boils at 112° Formate of Amyloxide....................C10HnO,C2HO3=C12H12O4 boils at 112° It will also be observed that the boiling point of a compound ether is lower by an average of 82°C. than its metameric acid. Propionic acid.....................C6II503............HO=C6H604 boils at 137°C. Acetate of Methyloxide.........C^O,....,.......C4H303=C6H604 boils at 55°C. In regard to the heat evolved by the combustion of isomeric, polymeric or metameric bodies, the researches of MM. Favre and Silbermann have led them to the following conclusions:— That for every time that the elements of the carbide C, H2 enter once more into the constitution of a new polymeric carbide the heat of combustion diminishes 67 -5 units. The unit of heat is obtained by dividing the difference of the heat of combustion of two polymeric hydrocarbons by the multiples of C2 H2 existing in this difference. The following examples will illustrate this law, which, however, does not hold good strictly; the numbers obtained by experiment being somewhat higher than those calculated, a re- sult due doubtless to the latent heat of vapourization of the gas.* Hydrocarbon. Units of Heat. Amylene..............C10H10=(C,H2)X5 .........20683-8 Pararoylene..........C20H20=(C2H2)XH)......... 20346-8=20683-8— (5 X67'?) Cetene.................C;!,H3,=(C2H2)X16.........19941-3=20083-8^-(llX67-5) Melamylene.........C40H4o=(C2H2)X20.........19671-8=20683-8—(15X67-6) The heat evolved by the combustion of isomeric bodies is not the same, in other words, isomerism does not involve equality of heat in combustion. Lardner's Hand-book of Heat, p. 175. APPENDIX. 433 Acetic Acid.........................C4H404........................6309 units of heat. Formate of Methyloxide........C4H404..................;.....7554-6 units of heat. Propionic acid....................C6H604........................8406 units of heat. Formate of Ethyloxide..........C6H604........................9502-2 units of hear. Acetate of Methyloxide.........C6H604........................9619 2 units of heat. These discrepancies are to be ascribed to differences in molecu- lar arrangement, and in the degree of condensation. Attraction and Repulsion, (p. 163.)—The theorem of Laplace is not stated by the author. According to it the form of aggrega- tion of a body depends upon the mutual relation of three forces. 1. The attraction of each particle for the other particles which sur- round it, which induces them to approach as near as possible to each other. 2. The attraction of each particle for the heat which surrounds the other particles in its neighbourhood. 3. The repul- sion between the heat which surrounds each particle and that which surrounds the neighbouring particles,—a force which tends to dis- unite the particles of bodies. When the first of these forces pre- vails, the body is solid ; if the quantity of heat augment, the second force becomes dominant, the particles then move among each other with facility, and the body is liquid. While this' is the case, the particles are still retained by the attraction for the neighbouring heat, within the limits of the space which the body formerly occu- pied, except at the surface where the heat separates them, that is to say, occasions evaporation, until the influence of some pressure prevents the separation from being effected. When the heat in- creases to such a degree that the reciprocal repulsive force prevails over the attraction of the particles for one another, they disperse in all directions as long as they meet no obstacle, and the body assumes the gaseous form. Some curious experiments were made by M. Cagniard de la Tour on the vapour from various liquids at very high temperatures and under great pressures. He filled a small glass tube in part with ether, alcohol or water, and sealed it hermetically. The tube was then exposed to heat until the liquid passed entirely into vapour. Ether became gaseous in a space scarcely double its volume at a temperature of 320° F., and the vapour exerted a pres- sure of no more than 38 atmospheres. Alcohol became gaseous in a space almost thrice its volume at a temperature of 404|° with 434 APPENDIX. a pressure of about 139 atmospheres ; water acted chemically on the glass and broke it; but after adding a little carbonate of soda to it, the water became gaseous in a space- four times its volume at the temperature at which zinc melts, or about 648°. De la Tour announced the following as the result of his experi- ments : There is for every vapourizable liquid a certain temperature and pressure at which it may be converted into the aeriform state, in the same space occupied by the liquid.* This is an important exception to Mariotte's law, (p. 81,) showing that highly compressed vapours lose a portion of their elasticity or yield more to a certain pressure than air by calculation would do. Berzeliusf suggests as an explanation of these results that as the particles have not an opportunity to recede much, the two first forces of Laplace continue always to act and oppose the tension of the gas, which does not establish itself in all its forces, unless when the particles are so dis- tant from each other as to be out of the sphere of the influence of these forces. J Electrolysis, (p. 192.)—Faraday has shown that in any voltaic arrangement the quantity of electricity evolved is proportional to the amount of chemical action in the cells, and vice versa. Thus, in an ordinary battery, for each equivalent of zinc dissolved an equivalent of water is decomposed, and an equivalent, so to speak, of electricity liberated. If the conducting wire be broken and its ends immersed in any liquid capable of conducting electricity and of being decomposed by it, (an electrolyte,) the amount of decom- position will be proportional to that going on in the cell. Thus, for every 32 grains of zinc dissolved in the battery cell, nine grains of water will be decomposed, eight grains of oxygen uniting with the 32 of zinc and one grain of hydrogen passing off at the negative plate, the electricity thus evolved will, if caused to pass through water, decompose niue grains as in the cell, but if through iodide of potassium, will decompose 166 grains, setting free 127 grains (one equivalent) of iodine and 39 grains (one equivalent) of po- tassium. Hence a cell containing an electrolyte interposed in * Silliman's Natural Philosophy, p. 403. f Traite de Chimie, t. i. p. 83. { Graham, op. cit., pp. 68, 76. APPENDIX. 435 the circuit is made an exact measure of the amount of electricity passing and of the chemical action going on in the cell. These facts show a close relation between the electrical force and chemical affinity. In regard to the electrical classification of bodies it should be borne in mind that the terms electro-positive and electro-nega- tive are relative and not absolute; we cannot conceive of one form of electro-polarity without the other. Hence the objection often urged against the Franklinian theory of electricity, that as two negatively electrified bodies mutually repel, therefore matter alone will repel matter,* is founded in error, since the repulsion of the two bodies is rather apparent than real, and may be dependent on the attraction of relatively positive surrounding bodies. It is ob- vious, therefore, that while chlorine may be electro-negative to positive hydrogen it may also be positive to a more electro-nega- tive body, oxygen. Osmose, (p. 246.)—The phenomena of endosmose and exosmose are complex. They probably depend—First, on capillary attrac- tion, the liquid which has the most adhesion to the material of the porous septum more readily forcing its way through into the less adherent liquid. But osmose is increased by heat, which dimi- nishes capillary attraction. Secondly, on the diffusive tendency of the liquids. The experiments of Mr. Graham f on this subject lead him to the following conclusions :— 1. Different salts in solutions of equal strength diffuse unequally at different times. 2. With each salt the rate of diffusion increases with the tem- perature, and at any given temperature is proportionate to the strength of the solution, at least when the quantity of salt dissolved does not exceed 4 or 5 per cent. 3. There exist classes of equidiffusive substances which coincide in many cases with the isomorphous groups, but are on the whole more comprehensive than the latter. Thus the same rate of diffu- sion is established by hydrochloric, hydrobromic and hydriodic acids; by the chlorides, iodides, and bromides of the alkali metals ; by the * Silliman's Natural Philosophy, p. 573. fPhil. Trans., 1850, pp. 1, 805.; Chem. Soc; Qu. J. ii., 60, 257.; op. cit., 743. 436 APPENDIX. nitrates of baryta, strontia and lime; the sulphates of magnesia and zinc, &c. &c. 4. In several groups of salts it is found that the squares of the times of equal diffusion from solutions of ttie same strength, stand to each other in a simple numerical relation. Mr. Graham's expe- riments* have shown that the squares of the times of equal dif- fusion of gases are to one another in the ratio of their densities Hence he infers by analogy that the molecules of these several salts, as they exist in solution, possess densities which are to one another as the squares of the times of equal diffusion. Thus the solution-densities of sulphate, nitrate and hydrate of potassa are to each other as the numbers 4, 2 and 1. These solution-densities appear to relate to a kind of molecules different from the chemical atoms, and the weights of which are either equal or bear to one another a simple numerical relation. The diffusion of a salt into a solution of another salt takes place with nearly the same velocity as into pure water; at least when the solutions are diluted. The rate of diffusion, however, is materially affected when the liquid atmosphere already contains a portion of the diffusing salt. The consideration of this case leads to the general question of the mo- tion of particles of a dissolved substance in a solution of unequal concentration. The general law which regulates such movements appears to be this: The velocity with which a soluble salt diffuses, from a stronger into a weaker solution, is proportional to the difference of concentration between two contiguous strata. Thirdly, on the chemical action of the liquids upon the septum. The very accurate experiments of Mr. Grahamf lead him to the conclusion that the phenomena of osmose depend essentially upon the chemical action of the liquid on the septum. He found that in solutions of neutral organic substances in general, such as sugar, alcohol, urea, tannin, &c, exhibited, when using a porous earthen- ware septum, very slight osmose ; so also the neutral salts of the earths and ordinary metals, with the chlorides of potassium and sodium and the nitrates of their oxides, and with chloride of mer- cury. A more sensible but still very moderate osmose is exhibited * Op. cit,, p. 89. f Phil. Trans., 1855., 177. APPENDIX. 437 by the stronger mineral acids, such as sulphuric and phosphoric, and by sulphate of potash, which are again succeeded by salts of potassa or soda, which possess a decided acid or alkaline reaction, such as binoxalate of potassa, phosphate of soda, or the carbonates of potassa and soda. The highly osmotic substances were found to act with more advantage in small proportions, producing in fact the largest osmose in the proportion of one-quarter of one per cent, dissolved. Lime and alumina were always found in the solution after osmose, and the corrosion of the septum appeared to be a necessary condition of the floor. Septa of other materials, such as pure carbonate of lime, gypsum, compressed charcoal, and tan- ners' sole leather, although not deficient in porosity, gave no osmose, apparently because they were not acted on by the saline solutions. Similar results to those obtained from the porous clay septa were found in using animal membrane. " Osmose appears to play an important part in the functions of life. We have seen that it was peculiarly excited by diluted saline solutions, such as the animal and the vegetable juices are, and that the acid or alkaline property which these juices possess is another favourable condition for their action on membrane. The natural excitation of osmose in the membranes or cell-walls dividing such solutions seems therefore almost inevitable. " In osmose there is also a remarkably direct substitution of one of the great forces of nature by its equivalent in another force, the conversion, namely, of chemical action into mechanical force. Viewed in this light, the osmotic injection of fluids may, perhaps, supply the deficient link which intervenes between chemical decom- position and muscular movement. The ascent of sap in plants appears to depend upon a similar conversion of chemicals, or at least molecular action into mechanical force. The juices of plants are constantly permeating the coatings of the superficial vessels in the leaves and other organs; and these evaporating into the air, a fresh portion of liquid is then absorbed by the membrane and eva- porates; and thus a regular upward current is established, by which the sap is transferred from the roots to the highest part of the tree. In a similar manner the evaporation constantly taking place from 438 APPENDIX. the skin and the lungs of animals, causes a continual flow of the animal juices from the interior toward the surface."* Increased Action of the Battery by Heat, (p. 361.)—This is gene- rally explained on the electro-chemical theory by the fact that heat augments chemical affinity. The action of this liquid on the posi- tive plate being thus quickened, more electricity is developed, cade- ris paribus. It is obvious that as heat and electricity are so mani- festly correlative if not essentially identical, that the explanations amount in the end to the same. Relations of Heat and Electricity, (p. 401.)—The general facts in regard to these may be thus condensed :— 1. Development of electricity by heat. Certain crystals, when heated, develope electricity. This was first noticed in the tourma- line, but has since been observed in the Brazilian topaz, silicate of zinc, oxinite, boracite, rhodizite, scolazite, titanite, prehnite, meso- lite, quartz and certain artificial crystals. Harvey has shown that there exists a remarkable relation between the form of the crystal and its pyro-electrical properties; that all such crystals are irre- gular in form, that is, that the corresponding parts opposed to each other are not alike in the number, the disposition and the form of their faces; the summit which has the most faces gives positive elec- tricity by cooling. All pyro-electric crystals have for their polar faces a form which is due to the combination of an holohedral with an hemihedral form.f This development of electricity is analogous to that noticed during the cleavage of many minerals and other crys- talline substances, as zinc, sugar, &c. The heat causes a separation of the planes of cleavage of the crystal. (Becquerel. )| If two dissimilar metals or two pieces of the same metal in differ- ent molecular condition be heated at a point of junction or con- tact, electricity is developed, which flows from the point of junction to that metal which is the poorer conductor. Other solids besides the metals, and even fluids, give rise to this species of electricity. * Graham, op. cit., p. 750. f De la Rive, Traite" d'Electricite\ t. ii. p. 470; Paris, 1856. % Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., t. xxxvii. pp. 5, 355. APPENDIX. 439 The order in which the metals stand in regard to this power is wholly unlike the voltaic series, and appears related to no other known property of these elements. The rank of the principal me- tals in the thermo-electric series is as follows, beginning with the most positive : bismuth, mercury, platinum, tin, lead, gold, silver, zinc, iron, antimony. When the junction of any pair of these is heated, the current passes from the more positive to the more nega- tive, thus bismuth and antimony will form the most powerful com- bination. 2. Development of heat by electricity. This is seen in the voltaic arch, where the temperature is the highest attainable by artificial means. The development of heat in wires carrying the electrical currents has been carefully studied, and the following law is the result of the labours of numerous experimenters. When a voltaic current traverses an homogeneous wire, the quantity of heat in an unit of time is proportional to the resistance which the wire offers to the passage of the current, multiplied by the square of the intensity (quantity ?) of the current.* When the current does not traverse an homogeneous conductor, we have first the heat due to the resistance of the conductor, and secondly heat due to the passage of electricity between two dissi- milar bodies, or the converse of the thermo-electric pile. Frank- enheim,f who has carefully investigated this subject, finds that the elevation of temperature of a thermo-electric union upon the pas- sage of the current through it is directly as the intensity (quan- tity ?) of the current, and not to the square of this intensity, as in the case of the resistance of an homogeneous conductor. It will thus be seen that in any thermo-electric arrangement, the electricity developed by change of temperature and the temperature produced by the same electrical current, are equivalent. By reversing the current, cold is produced at the junction of the positive with the negative member of the thermo-electric series. Relations of Heat and Magnetism, (p. 409.)-Heat produces magnetic phenomena indirectly by means of circulating thenno-elec- trical currents. It is indeed generally believed that the magnetism * De la Rive, op. cit., p. 177. f Ann. der Physik., t. xci.; De la Rive, op. cit., p. 440 APPENDIX. of the earth itself depends upon the circulation around the globe of thermo-electrical currents. Heat applied to a magnet, however, impairs or destroys its powers. A magnetic bar plunged into boiling water, loses a part of its magnetism, which loss increases with each subsequent immersion. A magnetic bar when raised to a red heat, not only loses its magnetism, but is as incapable of re- ceiving magnetism from any of the usual processes of magnetiza- tion as would be any substance the most incapable of magnetism. Magnetism may develope heat. 1. By inducing waves of elec- tricity in a wire (magneto-electricity) as happens when a magnet is introduced into an helix of covered wire. In order to render these continuous it is necessary to give motion to the magnet. 2. Magnetization of a bar raises its temperature and alters its con- ducting power for heat. 3. Magnetic force by producing motion may develope heat. Correlation of the Physical Forces.—This subject has, since the publication of the first edition of this work, attracted much attention, although no very definite result can be said as yet to have been attained. The leading facts bearing upon this subject may be thus very generally stated. A full discussion of the subject will be found in Mr. Grove's work, " Correlation of Physical Forces," 3d ed., London, 1855. 1. Motion, when arrested, developes heat, as in ordinary friction; conversely, heat developes motion, as in expansion and change of state. Heat and motion have been shown by the experiments of Joule, Rankin and others to be equivalent, (p. 427.) Motion ar- rested, also causes electrical excitement, as in the ordinary fric- tional electricity; it seems also to develope chemical affinity, as in Bertholet's process for the synthetic formation of the alcohols from the hydrocarbons, by prolonged agitation of the latter with mercury and sulphuric acid.* 2. Heat developes light as in incandescence, chemical action as in ordinary ignition. Its relations to electricity and magnetism have already been alluded to, (p. 438-9.) 3. Light causes chemical change, and this developes both heat and * Chemical Gazette, Feb. 1855. APPENDIX. 441 electricity, and secondarily, magnetism and motion. The magnetiza- tion of needles by the violet ray of the spectrum is not univer- Bally admitted. The greatest illuminating power resides in the yellow part of the spectrum. The heating power is almost entirely absent in the violet and the blue, where the chemical agency is the greatest, and it is greatest beyond the red, and extends a consider- able distance where no illuminating or chemical power is ordinarily manifest. 4. Electricity causes motion, developes light, heat, magnetism, chemical affinity and even the nerve force. These points are all discussed fully in the body of the work. 5. Magnetism may develope motion, heat and electricity, (p. 440.) 6. Chemical combination developes heat and electricity, and secondarily, motion, light and magnetism. As to the ultimate nature of these forces, or this force in its various modifications, we know nothing. Some physicists, as Grove, Clausius, Kronig and Joule contend that the phenomena can be explained upon the supposition of mere molecular change or vi- brations in bodies. Others refer the phenomena of light and heat to undulations in an ether as described in the text. The undu- latory theory of light alone explains satisfactorily many of its phenomena, and may be considered as having received experi- mental demonstration by the exceedingly delicate experiments of Foucault,* Fizeau, Breguetf and Nobert.J The refraction, decomposition, and polarization, both plane and circular, of heat, are phenomena which can only be well explained upon the hy- pothesis of undulations in an etherial fluid. This, however, does not necessarily conflict with the material theory so strongly advo- cated by the author. * Methode ge'ne'ral pour mesurer la vitesse de la lumiere dans Pair et les milieux transparents, par M. L. Foucault; Comptes Rendus, May 6th, 1850. f Sur la vitesse comparative de la lumiere dans Pair et dans l'eau, par MM. H. Fizeau and L. Breguet; ibid., June 17, 1850. X Journ. Frank. Instit., 3d ser. xxvi. 181. vol. II. 28 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Abernetht, on Hunter's theory of life, i. 454; his partial view of gas- tric diseases, ii. 271. Adair, Dr., on the modus operandi of tonics, ii. 304. Adonai, a Hebrew title of the Deity, and a Phcenician name of the sun, ii. 57. Adonis, statue of, represents the average stature of man in ancient Greece, ii. 40. Adrian, on the nature of the soul, ii. 177, note. iEscuLAPius, vide Esculapius. ./Ether, speculations of Sir I. Newton concerning, i. 20, 52; views of Mr. Whewell, i. 50, note; circulation of throughout the solar system, i. 54; centripetal force of, i. 56 ; regarded by the ancients as the ac- tuating principle in nature, ii. 58; represented as the spirit of life by a priest of Memphis, ii. 59; said to be Jove or Jupiter by Servius, Euripides, and Ennius, ibid.; called Pater Omnipotens by Virgil, ii. 60; views of Macrobius, ibid.; regarded by Hippocrates as spirit, and identical with heat, ii. 178. Affinity, chemical primary origin of, i. 32, 118; rationale of, i. 188. Africa, its mountains and elevated table-lands, i. 40 ; population of, ii. 19; its burning climate, ii. 20; character of its tropical inhabitants, ii. 21; how it modifies the climate of Europe, ii. 24. Agassiz, M. Louis, on the glacial period, i. 384. Age, how it modifies the vital functions ; i. 623; divisions of, by Hippo- crates, i. 623, note; general character of its diseases, ii. 124-25. Ague, a general but mitigated form of apoplexy and paralysis, ii. 381, note; the primordial type of all diseases, ii. 382, note. Air, atmospheric, its elastic force, i. 119; its composition, i. 124; ety- mology of the word, ii. 177-79. Alcohol, solidified by Bussy, i. 145; result of its combustion, i. 92; proportions of in spirits, wine and malt liquors, ii. 249 ; its effects on the animal economy, ii. 249-50, 290, note. (443) 444 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Alison, Dr., regards sensation and thought as independent of vitality, i. 546, note ; on the prevalence of scrofulous maladies in Edinburgh, ii. 117, note; on the difficulty of explaining the phenomena of fever, ii. 353, note. Am, an Hebrew and Egyptian word signifying heat and existence, i. 18. America, heights of its mountains, i. 38; coldness of its polar regions, ii. 13, note; its population and future prospects, ii. 16 ; its extremes of temperature in winter and summer, ii. 24-25; peopled from the Asiatic continent, ii. 62 ; comparatively recent origin of, ii. 63. Ampere, on electrical polarity, i. 163, note. Anaxagoras, on the source of lightning, i. 284, note ; on the source of animal heat, ii. 178, note. Ancell, Mr., on the source of animal heat, i. 587 ; on the coagulation of blood, i. 600. Andes, their elevation, i. 38. Andral, on the fatal effects of tartar emetic, ii. 293. Anima, etymology of the word, ii. 178. Animals, the complexity of their organization, i. 476; difference be- tween warm and cold blooded, i. 509; imperfect development of the lower orders of, i. 525; all of them formed after one and the same model, ii. 77-78 ; quantities of food required by carnivorous, ii. 935-36; rapid growth and great vital energy of herbivorous, ii. 239-40; do- mestic, the number of in Great Britain, ii. 246. Animating principle, the most important of all problems, i. 415; must be obtained from the air we breathe, or the food we eat, i. 418; opin- ion of Aristotle concerning, i. 492. Animation, suspended, theory of, ii. 150-62 ; methods of restoring pur- sued by nature, ii. 157; and adopted by the Royal Humane Society, ii. 159, 161; probable limits of our art in this respect, ii. 160 ; experi- ments on by Spallanzani, ii. 162. Antimony, tartarized, theory of its action, ii. 293; causes a temporary fever, ibid. Apoplexy, exciting causes of, ii. 381, note; brought on by extremes of temperature, ii. 381; greater mortality from in winter than summer in England, ii. 382 ; state of the blood in, as observed by J. Hunter, ii. 382, note; proximate cause of, ii. 384; danger of excessive bleediug in, ii. 385. Apollo, a mythological personation of the sun or solar fire, i. 18. Arago, M., on the refractive power of mercury, i. 99, note ; on the mean temperature of the earth, i. 377. Archeus, the vital principle of Paracelsus and Van Helmont, i. 446, 570. Archelaus, on motion and rest, i. 427. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 445 Aristotle, on the Pythagorean solar system, i. 47, note ; maintained that a vacuum would destroy all motion, i. 51; on the nature of the soul, i. 436 ; on the First Mover, i. 437 ; regarded the earth as the centre of the planetary system, ibid.; corrupted philosophy by over-refinements, ibid.; on the mutual convertibility of the elements into each other, i. 442 ; on the vast importance of the animating principle, i. 492 ; on the cause of the blood's coagulation, i. 589; on the unity of all animals, ii. 77. Arnott, Dr., on attraction and repulsion as ultimate phenomena, i. 32, note; his definition of a menstruum, i. 218 ; his four elementary truths, i. 256, note. Ashmun, on the difficulty of healing wounds in Central Africa, ii. 130, note. Asia, mountains of, i. 39, ii. 15, note; its extent and population, ii. 14-16 ; why warmer than America in the same latitudes, ii. 20, note. Asthma, mortality from in England and Wales, ii. 103, table ; its preva- lence during winter, ii. 105; reduction of temperature in, ii. 115, note. Astronomers, on variations in the planetary inclinations, i. 43; great discoveries of, i. 48. Atmosphere, owes its volume and elastic force to caloric, i. 79. Atoms, theory of, i. 63; electrical polarity of, i. 163, note; Kant's theory of, i. 167; specific heat of, ii. 429. Atomic volume of solid bodies, ii. 429; heat, relation of to crystalline form, ii. 430. Attraction, of caloric for ponderable matter the cause of all other at- tractions, i. 29, 32 ; regarded as an ultimate principle of action, i. 31; of cohesion, i. 32 ; capillary, theory of, i. 235; foundation of, i. 32, 190; aggregate force of, maintains the earth in the globular form, l. 33 • 'primary physical cause and rationale of, i. 118 ; chemical, views of 'by Oerstedt, Prout, and Whewell, i. 185-186; promoted by heat and arrested by cold, i. 199, 204; views of Dr. Black, i. 199; of Sir H. Davy and Berzelius, i. 205. Aurora Borealis, theory of, i. 335. Axiom of Newton, i. 252. Axis, inclination of the earth's, i. 42-43 ; Laplace on, i. 42 ; Milton on, i. 43, note; motion of the sun on his, i. 54; of the planets on their axes, i. 56. Baal, an ancient Chaldean and Phcenician name of the sun, ii. 59 Back, Captain, on the temperature of North America on the Great Slave Lake, i. 325. . . , Bacon, Lord, his definition of heat, i. 19; contradictory opinions of, 446 ANALYTICAL INDEX. ibid.; on the defects of physical science, i. 155; on the neglect of ancient wisdom, i. 159; his classification of matter, i. 160; on the elder Cupid, or attraction of the atom, ibid.; on the contraction and expansion of matter, ibid.; on living astronomy, i. 161; regards heat and cold as nature's two hands, i. 170 ; on the innate heat of different bodies, i. 180, note; on the generation and transformation of bodies, i. 186; on the ancient Pan, i. 254; on the heat of lightning, i. 295; on tornados, i. 314, 318 ; on the supposed secrets of God, i. 415 ; on the opinions of the ancients, i. 418, 437; on the power of knowledge, i. 444; on the ignorance of physicians, i. 452 ; on medicine, i. 461; on the radical errors of science, i. 508 ; on the effect of heat upon the heart of a dead man, i. 560 ; on the knowledge of things through their causes, i. 630 ; on temperaments, ii. 310 ; on the powers of nature, ii. 386. Baglivi, on the nervous fluid, i. 531. Balbi, on the population of Central Asia, ii. 15-16 ; on the revenues of different nations, ii. 18. Barclay, Captain, his great pedestrian feat, ii. 201. Barometer, successfully investigated by Dalton, i. 323; cause of its variations, i. 324; fluctuations of augment from the equator to the poles, ibid.; observations on by Dalton, i. 327, note ; theory of its de- pressions, by Mr. Daniell, ibid.; greatest during winter, i. 328; diur- nal variations of, i. 329. Barrington, Danes, on the freshness of sea-water when frozen, i. 215. Bathing, warm and cold, experiments on, ii. 168-70 ; great importance of, ii. 170; why the cold bath is invigorating, and the reverse, ii. 172-76. Baxter, Dr., on the cause of cohesion and planetary motion, i. 163, note; 460. Beale, Mr., on the sperm whale, i. 543. Beaumont, Dr., his experiments on digestion, i. 466, 573. Beccaria, on the cause of evaporation, i. 283. Beck, Dr. Lewis, his account of a tornado, i. 319. Becquerel, M., on the temperature of plants, ii. 192, note ; on the calo- ric evolved during muscular contraction, ii. 199; on pyro-electric crystals, ii. 438. Beddoes, Dr., his experiments on the respirable properties of oxygen, ii. 184. Bell, Sir Charles, refers all vital power to nervous influence, i. 539 ; on sensitive and motory nerves, i. 553. Berger, on the influence of external heat on animals, ii. 167. Bergman, on combining proportions, i. 63; on the aurora borealis, i. 339, note. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 447 Berkeley, Bishop, his celebrated theory refuted by a happy jeu d'esprit, i.22, note; resolves everything into spirit, i. 167; vindicates the ancients from the charge of atheism, i. 440. Berthollet, his experiments on heat, i. 25. Berzelius, his atomic symbols, i. 65-66; his mode of ascertaining atomic equivalents, i. 72 ; his theory of volumes and atomic weights, i. 81; on the atomic weights of hydrogen and nitrogen, i. 82; on the electrical polarity of atoms, i. 163, note ; on chemical affinity, i. 205 ; on the vital principle, i. 568. Bichat, Xavier, his definition of life, and limited views, i. 458, 462 ; in- jects oxygen into the jugular veins of the dog, i. 500 ; on the origin of muscular contractility, i. 536 ; on the action of the heart, i. 559; on animal heat, i. 587. Bile, regarded as the proximate cause of fever, ii. 300 ; yellow and black of Hippocrates, ii. 307 ; what they were, ii. 308 ; why apparently more abundant during fever than in health, ii. 362. Billing, Dr., his principles of medicine, i. 456, note; his views of cho- ' lera, ii. 136 ; attributes sleep to a plethoric state of the brain, ii. 266 ; on the modus operandi of mercury and iodine, ii. 296. Biot, M., on the evolution of caloric by percussion, i. 25. Birds, quantities of oxygen they consume, i. 511, 517, 524, note; tem- perature of, i. 511; peculiar organization of, i. 516 ; their great powers of locomotion, digestion and reproduction, i. 517-19; rapidity with which their composition is renewed, i. 518, 524, note. Black, Dr., his experiments and discovery of latent heat, i. 22 ; his im- portant omissions, i. 162 ; confounds phlogiston with carbon, i. 201; his theory of respiration, i. 453. Blagden, Dr., experiments on himself in heated air, ii. 167. Blake, Mr., on the rapid diffusion of poisons, ii. 288. Blane, Sir Gilbert, on the vital principle, i. 454, note. Blisters, their modus operandi, ii. 288. Blood, the vitality of, taught by Moses, i. 441, 492 ; what it receives and what it loses, i. 489, 491; chemical composition of arterial and venous, i. 494; temperature of arterial higher than that of venous, i. 497; substances which change venous to a scarlet hue, i. 501; experiments on by Hunter and Hassenfratz, ibid.; changes it undergoes while passing through the lungs, i. 505 ; analyses of, i. 576 ; specific gravity of, ibid.; composition of, i. 579 ; character of in different animals, i. 580 ; transfusion of, i. 580, note ; arterial contains a larger proportion of solid particles than venous, i. 585 ; the vitality of, taught by Har- vey, Willis, Hunter, Bordeu and others, i. 588; theory of its coagu- lation, i. 589; views of Hippocrates, Aristotle, Harvey and Syden- ham, ibid.; prevented from coagulating in the living body by the 448 ANALYTICAL INDEX. perpetual motion and changes it undergoes in passing through the lungs and general system, i. 589, 619; its coagulation hastened by heat, and retarded by cold, i. 591, 593, 596, 599; retarded by the in- fluence of fear and other depressing emotions, i. 597, note; cause of its speedy coagulation after violent exertion, and excessive hemor- rhage, i. 600-01; how arterial is changed into venous blood, i. 606-08; why venous will not support life, i. 608 ; on what the vital properties of arterial depend, i, 612; plus and minus conditions of arterial and venous, i. 613; the vital fountain of all the organs, i. 623; derange- ment of, the proximate cause of all maladies, i. 624; impaired by re- tention of the excretions, i. 625-26 ; ii. 394; impoverished by low diet, ii. 225 ; how purified when diseased, ii. 362, 376 ; states of in the va- rious forms of fever, ii. 378; in apoplexy, ii. 381, note ; the alpha and omega of health, ii. 397. Blumenbach, his nisus formativus, i. 454, note; on the state of the brain during sleep, ii. 266; on the influence of climate on the pulse, ii. 262, note. Boerhaave, his views of the nervous fluid, i. 532 ; on the universal catholic fluid, or anima mundi, ibid.; on the source of animal heat, ibid.; on the cause of fever and spasms, ibid., note; his theory of digestion, i. 570 ; of temperament, ii. 309. Boiling point, influence of chemical composition on, ii. 431. Borealis, aurora, observations on, by Hansteen, i. 336, 339 ; Hansteen's theory of, i. 336; observations on, by Bonnycastle, Boss, Parry, Scoresby, Field, and Bergman, i. 337-39. Boscovich, his atomic theory, i. 63. Boussingault, on the proportions of solid matter in different species of food, ii. 216, 233-34. Boyle, letter of Newton to, concerning the ether, i. 20 ; on the cohesion of liquids, i. 142 ; on the blood, i. 588. Brahm, a personation of the entire universe, i. 112, note. Brahmins, why they employed cold bathing and vegetable food, ii. 210. Brain, relative size among different kinds of animals, i. 518, note, 541, 543-44; size of in birds, i. 518, note ; size of in reptiles, i. 525-26 ; in the ostrich, i. 541; in the horse, ox and whale, i. 542-43; specific office of, i. 544-46 ; compared to the commander of an army, i. 548; its abundant supply of blood, i. 549 ; why it dies before the other or- gans, ibid. Brands, Mr., on detonating compounds, i. 136; on the proportions of solid matter in meat, ii. 211, note. Bree, Dr., on the coldness of his body during a fit of asthma, ii. 116, note. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 449 Brewster, Sir David, his experiments on the refraction of light, i. 98-99; his theory of its ultimate composition, i. 106 ; his experiments on the absorption and transmission of light, i. 108-09; his experiments on capillary attraction, i. 240. Britain, the excellence of its climate and people, ii. 23-24. Brodie, Sir Benjamin, on the source ofv animal heat, i. 486; on the heart's action, i. 559; on the effect of dividing the nervous vagus in cats, ii. 273 ; on the modus operandi of poisons, ii. 284; on the effects of alcohol, ii. 290, note ; on hydrophobia, ii. 345. Bronchitis, theory of, ii. 115. Brougham, Lord, regards mind as independent of sensation, i. 546, note ; his organization and temperament, ii. 319. Broussais, the tendency of his physiological doctrines, ii. 302. Brown, Dr. John, on his theory of excitability, i. 454, note. Brown, Dr. Thomas, his theory of causation, i. 457. Brown, Dr. Joseph, on epidemic cholera in India, ii. 135. Bruce, on varieties of colour among the Arabs, ii. 67. Bryant, Jacob, his etymology of the word heat, i. 18 ; on the derivation of the words life and animal, ii. 55 ; origin of the Greek word AtOep, ibid.; of the Greek word Bsoq, and the oriental word Baal, ii. 55-56, note; of the Greek word for sun, ii. 57 ; of the words Syria and Per- sia, ibid. Budhists, of India, why they employed cold bathing and vegetable food, ii. 44, 210. Buffon, on the primitive incandescence of the earth, i. 374. Bulwer, Sir Edward, on language as a criterion of national origin, ii. 54; on the inutility of the most revered prejudices, ii. 419. Bussy, congeals alcohol, i. 145. Byron, Lord, refutes Berkeley's theory with a pleasant satire, i. 22, note; how he lost his life in its meridian, ii. 122, note ; how he got the ague by swimming the Hellespont, ii. .174, note. Cagniard de la Tour, experiments on vapourization, ii. 433. Cairo, its mean annual temperature, ii. 22. Caldwell, Dr C, on the recent origin of America, ii. 63 ; on the varie- ties of mankind, ii. 73; examination of his views, ii. 92 ; on longevity of the negro race, ibid.; on yellow fever, ii. 124; on malaria, ii. 146 ; on the humoral pathology, ii. 312. Caldcleugh, Mr., on the dew point, i. 269 ; on a submarine volcano, i. 370. Calmet, his definition of some important words, i. 18. Caloric, the most refined and spiritual of all the elements, i. 17; the cause, and distinct from the mere sensation of, of heat, i. 18 ; regarded 450 ANALYTICAL INDEX. by the ancients as identical with existence or being, ibid.; meaning of the Greek word nop, ibid.; views of Bacon and Davy concerning, i. 119 ; of Sir I. Newton, i. 20 ; a material agent, i. 21; is not a mere quality or property, i. 23; vibratory theory of explains nothing, not even the cause of vibrations, ibid.; does not consist in motion and vibration, i. 24; not generated by pressure, friction, and percussion, without condensation, ibid.; surrounds the particles of all bodies, i. 27 ; a constituent of all bodies, i. 28 ; occupies by far the greater pro- portion of the earth's volume, ibid.; general laws of, i. 29, 30 ; a self- active principle, i. 30, 31; the prime mover, i. 31; therefore the cause of attraction and repulsion, i. 32 ; is everywhere present, ibid.; pos- sesses the attributes of a vera causa, ibid.; forces of in meteorology, i. 35; the cause of geological dynamics, i. 37; a boundless ocean of ethereal essence, i. 51 ; perpetual circulation of, i. 54; the golden everlasting chain that holds the universe together, i. 59 ; physiological and pathological laws of, i. 60 ; relative quantities of in different bodies, i. 85; difficulty of the subject, i. 86 ; experiments of Dalton on, i. 87; quantities of evolved during -the combustion of different bodies, i. 92-93, ii. 431; the cause of refraction, i. 97 ; the creator of forms, i. 100-06; the active principle in light, i. 107, note; why it repels its own particles, i. 118; more subtile than light, ibid.; not infinitely divisible, ibid., note; why its forces diminish as the squares of the distance augment, ibid.; although the cause of all action, could not act in the total absence of ponderable matter, i. 119 ; its actions modified by ponderable matter, ibid.; governed by immutable laws, and their ori- gin, ibid.; causes the elastic force of gaseous bodies, ibid.; repulsive force of counteracted by its attraction for ponderable matter, i. 121 • how it is concentrated around the molecules of ponderable matter, ibid.; causes the atoms of hydrogen to combine with those of chlorine, i. 122 ; effects of its attraction for ponderable matter and repulsion of , its own particles, i. 170 ; causes fluids to unite with solids, and the par- ticles of both to cohere, i. 171-73 ; the grand chemist of nature, i. 187; all liquids and gases, solutions of ponderable matter in, i. 200; the universal solvent, i. 211; cause of the heart's action, i. 561-64; of vital capillary circulation, i. 564-66 ; the cause of digestion, i. 572; of sanguification, i. 575, 582; of vital affinity, and of secretion, i! 608-10; of vital dynamics, i. 613; causes the particles of arterial blood to unite with the solids, i. 619; is expended in maintaining the activity of the functions, i. 618 ; ii. 200 ; produces all the mechanical, chemical and vital operations of nature, passim; is everywhere and does everything, ii. 181. Capillary attraction, its universality, i. 235 ; theory of Newton, i. 237 ; experiments of Hawkesbee, ibid.; theories of Young and Professor ANALYTICAL INDEX. 451 Sang, i. 238; of Laplace, i. 239; a modification of cohesion and chemical affinity, i. 239, 242 ; experiments of Sir David Brewster, i. 239, 245 ; of Link, i. 240 ; error of Mr. Challis, i. 240 ; illustrated by a burning candle, i. 243; a modification of endosmose and exosmose, i. 246 ; difference between that of living and dead matter, i. 246, 565 ; aggregate force of, i. 248. Carbon, the basis of all organic matter, i. 89 ; quantity of caloric its combustion affords, i. 92-93 ; quantity of, exhaled from the lungs by respiration, i. 506, ii. 216; specific heat of varieties of, ii. 428. Carlyle, Thomas, on the misery of great men, ii. 322. Catarrh, theory of, ii. 110-12. Catlin, George, on the Great Spirit of the Mandans, ii. 61; on the com- plexion of the Mandan women, ii. 70. Cause, the essential attributes of, i. 32 ; the Great First, how repre- sented in the Old and New Testaments, i. 421; ii. 181; views of the ancient Greek and Boman philosophers, i. 427-28, 437-39; of other ancient nations, ii. 55, 58, 61,177-81. Chadwick, Mr., on the sanitary condition of the working classes in Eng- land and Wales, ii. 96. Chaussat, M., on the source of animal heat, i. 487. Chemistry, vast importance of, i. 185 ; imperfect knowledge of, i. 186 ; agency of caloric in, i. 187 ; illustrations of, i. 188 ; electrical theory of, i. 190, ii. 434; views of Davy, i. 191; of Dr. Thomson, i. 194; of Becquerel, ibid.; actions of, arrested by cold, i. 199; promoted by heat, i. 196, 200 ; theory of Beecher and Stahl overthrown by Lavoisier, i. 201. Chili, elevations of, in 1822, i. 37, note; height of its mountains, i. 39. China, aggregate population of, ii. 16 ; its extremes of temperature, ii. 26 ; stature of its inhabitants, ii. 37 ; capacity of their skulls, ii. 42 ; their complexion, ii. 67 ; duration of life in, ii. 88 ; aggregate popula- tion on the square mile, ii. 247, note. Chinese history, quoted by Higgins, ii. 62. Cholera, epidemic, belongs to the same genus as fever, ii. 130; like other diseases of the stomach and bowels is an undeveloped fever, ii. 133, note; a disease of hot climates and seasons, ii. 132 ; is a modifi- cation of the black death and sweating sickness, ii. 136 ; coldness of the body which attends it, ii. 137 ; rationale of its symptoms, ii. 136-37 ; murderous treatment of, ii. 137, note ; first link in the chain of morbid phenomena, ii. 139 ; how to be counteracted, ii. 140 ; treatment of two salt boilers in Germany, ii. 141; nature of the remote cause obscure, ii. 142 ; but the proximate cause intelligible, ii. 143. Chyle, changes it undergoes in the lungs, i. 574 ; Cicero, on the views of the Stoics, i. 438 ; his summary of ancient opin- 452 ANALYTICAL INDEX. ions, ibid.; on the importance of knowing all that was known by the ancients, i. 418. Cincinnati, mean annual temperature of, ii. 25. Circulation, of caloric, i. 54; of the blood, discovery of by Harvey, i. 444; capillary, theory of, i. 564-66. Claridge, his account of hydropathy, ii. 32, 390-91, note. Clarke, Dr. Adam, on the Hebrew words ath and aur, ii. 55. Clark, Sir James, on the pathological influence of climate, ii. 107-08; on the infrequency of tubercles in infants, ii. 120; his temperate sys- tem of medication, ii 401. Clausius, on the dynamical theory of heat, ii. 421. Clift, Mr., his experiments on fishes, i. 347, 560, note. Climate, how modified by inclinations of the earth's axis, i. 42, 379 ; by ine- qualities in the amount of solar radiation, i. 56 ; regulates the distribu- tion and character of organized beings, i. 42-43 ; and the revolutions of organic life, i. 379; divisions of, into five zones, ii. 11; influence of, on the population and character of nations, ii. 14; of Siberia and Polar America, ibid.; how modified by positions and extent of sea and land, mountains, etc., ii. 14-19 ; of ancient Scythia, ii. 14; of Middle and Southern Asia, ii. 16 ; of Europe and the United States in the middle latitudes, ibid.; of Northern Europe, ii. 18; of the tropical zone, ii. 18-20 ; extremes of, unfavourable to the best development of man, ii. 21; the one most favourable to mankind, ii. 39; its influence on the laws and creeds of mankind, ii. 45, 209; on the colours of mankind, ii. 75 ; on the longevity of nations, ii. 78, 79, 93; on the diseases of the human race, ii. 98. Climates, superiority of temperate, ii. 23 ; tropical, diminish respiration, ii. 28-33 ; pathological effects of, ii. 123, 140 ; diminish the nutritive process, ii. 124; produce debility of the stomach, bowels, liver, brain and muscles, ii. 126 ; how to counteract their influence, ii. 127. Clouds, their height, i. 275 ; theory of their rapid formation, i. 278-281. Cluverius, on the number of Hebrew words found in other languages, ii. 54. Coagulation of the blood, theories of, i. 589, 602 ; leading facts, i. 590 ; prevented in the living body by continual motion and renovation, i. 591; experiments of Scudamore, Ancell and Prater, ibid., note; takes place sooner in the blood of birds than of mammalia, and sooner in the latter than in reptiles and fishes, i. 590 ; sooner in arterial than in venous blood, ibid.; sooner in strong than weak men, i. 591; retarded by cold, ibid.; experiments of Denis, ibid.; of the author, i. 592-93; of Marshall, i. 594; of Miiller and Magendie, i. 595 ; retarded by va- rious drugs, i. 595-96, note ; why slower than usual during pregnancy, i. 598; why it occurs so soon in the blood of animals exhausted by ANALYTICAL INDEX. 453 hemorrhage, or by exercise, i. 600-01; sooner in health than in disease, i. 596; and still slower during malignant diseases, i. 598. Cohesion, views of Sir H. Davy and Sir J. Herschel, i. 31-32, note; a secondary effect, i. 32 ; of liquids, i. 141,149-154; Dr. Baxter's theory of, i. 163, note; of the Rev. W. Jones, ibid.; of Epicurus, ibid.; a modification of universal attraction, i. 164, 258; therefore of gravita- tion, i. 249 ; rationale of, i. 168, 171; its relation to chemical affinity, i. 172 ; argumentum forte, i. 176 ; vital, rationale of, i. 621; views of Humboldt and Cuvier, i. 621, note ; how diminished and destroyed by disease, i. 622. Cold, how produced by evaporation, i. 144-45; fatal effects of, on the horses of Napoleon, i. 520, note ; its influence on the heart's action, i. 562-63; on diseases of the lungs, ii. 105, 123 ; how it augments respi- ration, ii. 33-34; its influence on diseases, and mortality in the French army, ii. 123, note ; how it accelerates the waste of the body, ii. 202 ; its influence in generating cutaneous diseases, ii. 389. Colman, Mr., on the cause of canine madness, ii. 346. Combe, Dr. Andrew, his views of nervous influence, ii. 272. Combustion, theory of Beecher and Stahl, i. 201; of Lavoisier, i. 201; living, the perfection of, i. 575, 615. Conduction, theory of, i. 178-184. Conolly, Dr., his prediction, ii. 98. Contractility, a property of all living tissues, i. 536; therefore inde- pendent of nervous matter, i. 538; referred to nervous influence by hosts of physiologists, i. 538-40 ; how long, and why, it continues after death, i. 602. Convulsions, theory of, i. 550-51; ii. 331; views of Billing, M. Hall and Liebig, ii. 331; proximate cause of, ii. 331-35 ; exciting causes of, in infants, ii. 336 ; in hysteria, ii. 337; in epilepsy, ii. 338 ; rationale of, ibid.; predisposing and exciting causes of, ii. 339-41; cardinal symptoms, the same in all cases, ii. 341; state of the blood in tetanus, ii. 342 ; proximate cause and general treatment of, ii. 343-44. Cooking, the initiatory process of digestion, i. 466 ; renders food more easy of digestion, ii. 248. Cooper, Sir Astley, his experiments on a kitten, ii. 176. Copernicus, revives the Pythagorean solar system, i. 48. Copland, Dr., on the annual mortality in Russia, ii. 80. Cordier, M , on the internal heat of the earth, i. 375. Cornaro, his daily allowance of nourishment, ii. 215, note. Correlation of physical forces, ii. 440. Coulomb, M., his theory of two electric fluids, i. 399, 400. Coup de Soleil, a species of apoplexy, and how produced, ii. 288. 454 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Cox, Mr. Ross, on the amount of animal food consumed by the hunters of North America, ii. 214. Crawford, Dr., his experiments on combustion, i. 87 ; on the blood of a dog placed in water at 45 degrees F., i. 503; on the influence of ex- ternal temperature on respiration, ii. 27; temperature and colour of the blood in heated air and water, ii. 167. Creeds, vary with climates, ii. 44, 210. Crosthwaite, Mr., on the height of clouds, i. 275. Crystals, different forms of, i. 101-04; theory of their formation, i. 101; classification of, i. 102, note; their action on light, ibid.; inclination of their planes altered by caloric, i. 103; pyro-electric, ii. 438. Cullen, Dr., refers all physiological and pathological phenomena to the nervous system, i. 450 ; his theory of animal heat, i. 533; ii. 197, note ; on the frequent bad effect of purging in intermittent fever, ii. 302 ; on modern theories of temperament, ii. 306 ; his theory of fever, ii. 354, note; his theory of periodicity in fever, ii. 372 ; on the bad effects of bleeding in pneumonia, ii. 417. Cuvier, Baron, his definition of life, i. 458; on the muscular power of fishes, i. 526 ; on the source of muscular contractility, i. 538 ; regards nutrition as the greatest mystery of life, i. 603; on the generation of muscular contractility, i. 621, note. Currie, Dr., on the effects of a very cold bath, i. 563 ; on the temperature of the human body in fever, ii. 365. Cycles, geological and astronomical, i. 42, 43, 381. Dalton, Dr., his atomic theory, i. 63; his experiments on combustion, i. 87; on the elastic force of steam at different temperatures, i. 120, note ; on the constitution of the atmosphere, i. 124; on attraction and repulsion, i. 163 ; on evaporation at different temperatures, i. 267 ; on the increase of evaporation by winds, i. 270 ; on the diminution of temperature on ascending above the level of the sea, i. 274, note; on atmospheric currents, i. 300 ; his important researches in regard to the barometer, i. 323, 327, note ; his theory of respiration, i. 486 ; on the amount of carbon exhaled from the lungs, i 506, note ; on the propor- tion of carbonic acid in crowded assemblies, ii. 194. Daniell, Mr., on atmospheric currents, i. 300, 304, note; on the baro- meter, i. 327, note; diurnal variations of, i. 329. Darwin, Dr., regarded electricity as the cause of evaporation, i. 279, note. Daubeny, Dr., his account of an eruption of Vesuvius, i. 368 ; his theory of volcanic action, i. 377. Davy, Sir Humphrey, his hypothesis that heat is motion, i. 19 ; on gra- vitation, cohesion, repulsion, etc., i. 27, note ; discovered the present ANALYTICAL INDEX. 455 method of condensing the gases, i. 121; liquefies sulphuretted hydro- gen, i. 127 ; on the repulsive power of heat, i. 163 ; his electro-chemi- cal theory, i. 191; his definition of electricity, i. 192 ; his theory of two electric fluids, ibid.; objections to his views, i. 192-94; on the vacuum of space, i. 19, 254; on the source of voltaic electricity, i. 350; his definition of flame, i. 408 ; his experiments on animal heat, i. 490 ; his definition of life, i. 587. Davy, Dr. John, his important experiments on animal heat, i. 497-99; proves that the temperature of arterial is higher than that of venous blood, i. 498-99 ; on the influence of external temperature on the colour of the blood, i. 504; on the sources of animal heat, i. 497 ; on the electric columns of the torpedo, i. 572, note; on the sp. gr. of arterial and venous blood, i. 576 ; on the use of the red particles, i. 586 ; his views of animal heat, i. 587 ; on coagulation of the blood, i. 590, 592, 594, 600; corrects an error of J. Hunter, i. 597 ; on the state of the blood in inflammation, i. 599 ; his experiments on leeches, ii. 158 ; on the absorption of nitrogen during respiration, ii. 230. Delaroche and Berger, on the influence of hot media oni the temperature of animals, ii. 168. De la Rive, on thermo-electricity, ii. 439. De la Rive and Marcet, on specific heat, ii. 428. De Luc, on the light of a vacuum, i. 107 ; on the origin of atmospheric electricity, i. 279. Democritus, his theory of atoms, i. 63 ; on the nature of heat and of the soul, i. 428 ; on the source of animal heat, ii. 178, note ; his views of tetanus, ii. 344. Denis, M., his analyses of the blood, i. 576, 579 ; on the radical identity of fibrin and albumen, i. 580. De Saussure, obtains electricity from aqueous vapour, i. 285-286 ; on positive and negative electricity, i. 391; on the effect of breathing the rarefied air of high mountains, ii. 186. Descartes, the author of what is called the law of inertia, i. 48 ; on the primitive state of the earth, i. 374; on the animal spirits, i. 447 ; true theory of instinct, i. 528. Despretz, M., on the elastic force of gaseous bodies, i. 81; his experi- ments on combustion, i. 92, 93 ; on animal heat, i. 487; ratio of oxy- gen expired with carbon, i. 490; on the sources of animal heat, i. 506-07. De Stael, Madame, on the poisonous influence of grief, ii. 276. Detonation, theory of, i. 130; referred by Dr. Hare to electricity, i. 197. Dew, theory of, i. 329 ; experiments of Dr. Wells on, i. 330. Dew Point, theory of, i. 270. 456 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Diet, summary of corollaries concerning, ii. 252-54. Dietrich, Dr., on the mercurial disease, ii. 296, note. Dieffenbach, Dr., on the cause of influenza, ii. 113, note. Digestion, experiments of Spallanzani and Dr. Beaumont on, i. 466 ; in warm and cold-blooded animals, i 517-25 ; theories of, i. 568-73 ; view of Hippocrates, i. 570; of Boerhaave, ibid.; independent of nervous influence, i. 570-71. Dimophism, theory of, i. 100, note ; examples of, i. 101. Diodorus, on the origin of European nations, ii. 52; on the Egyptian Jove, ii. 58. Disease, cannot exist in a sound state of the blood, i. 628; influence of climate on, ii. 78; of the respiratory organs—where most prevalent, ii. 300-06; generally rare in hot climates, ii. 100, 109; definition of, ii. 352 ; unity of, ii. 373 ; how to prevent, ii. 398 ; how to cure, ii. 399-401. Diuretics, how their operation is modified by temperature, ii. 300. Donne, Dr., his observations on the temperature and pulse in disease, ii. 365, note. Draper, Dr., on solar heat, i. 541, note. Drinks, alcoholic, their modus operandi, ii. 294-51. Droughts, explanation of, i. 271. Dufay, his theory of two electric fluids, i. 386; on the permeation of glass by electricity, i. 402. Dulong, (and Petit,) on the specific heat of atoms, i. 89; his experi- ments on combustion, i. 92 ; on the refractive power of gaseous bodies, i. 95 ; on the expansion of gases by caloric, i. 120, note ; on the sources of animal heat, i. 487, 490, 506. Dumas, on the sp. gr. of vapours, i. 79 ; on the relations of volumes and atomic weights, i. 80. Dyar, Mr., his views in regard to the cause of refraction, i. 95. Dynamical theory of heat, ii. 421. Dynamics, geological, i. 37 ; vital, i 613. Dyspepsia, proximate cause of, ii. 271-72, note. Earth, inclination of its axis, and variations of, i. 42-44; annual velocity of, round the sun, i. 46 ; great changes it has undergone, i. 42. Earthquakes, of Cutch and of Chili, i. 36, note; theory of, i. 372 ; their frequency in South America, i. 371. Earle, Mr., on the circulation of the nervous fluid, i. 540. Eden, garden of, ii. 49 ; its great extent, ii. 50 ; home of the human race, ii. 63-64. Edwards, Dr., on the sources and cause of animal heat, i. 488, ii. 199, note; supposed that animal hfeat is evolved in the general circulation, i. 489; his experiments on respiration, i. 490; on the proportion of ANALYTICAL INDEX. 457 oxygen expired as carbonic acid, i. 491; maintains that oxygen unites with carbon in the general circulation, i. 495; on the quantities of oxygen consumed by birds, i. 524, note; refers vital energy to the nervous system, i. 539 ; refers animal temperature in part to the blood corpuscles, i. 586 ; on the influence of season on the amount of respi- ration, ii. 35; his views untenable, ibid.; his theory of fever, ibid., note; on the influence of external cold in diminishing respiration, ii. Ill, note ; on the temperature most favourable to life, ii. 151; his ex- periments on batrachians, ii. 151-53; on young puppies, ii. 159; on partial cold bathing, ii. 172 ; on the effect of immersing young kittens in ice-cold water, ii. 176 ; further experiments of, ii. 231; his import- ant experiments on the absorption of nitrogen by respiration, ii 232. Egyptians, their artificial incubation, i. 585. Electricity, six various definitions of, by Faraday, Preface to first edi- tion, vii; identical with caloric, i. 29, ii. 438 ; theory of, involved in the utmost obscurity, i. 190; regarded as the cause of chemical affinity,i. 191, ii. 435; views of Sir H. Davy on, i. 191-93; of Berzelius and Becquerel, i 194; of Dr. Thomson, i. 195 ; not the most universal agent in nature, i. 196, 262 ; convertible into caloric, i. 197 ; hypothesis of Dr Hare, ibid.; general diversity of opinion in regard to the nature of, i. 262 ; views of Kirwan, De Saussure, Nollet and Jones, i. 264, 265 ; atmo- spheric, erroneous views of Franklin on the origin of, i. 266 ; Mr. Daniell's account of, ibid.; views of Dr. Thomson, ibid.; of Professor Forbes, i. 267 ; transparent aqueous vapour, the source of, i. 277 ; ob- servations of De Luc on, i. 278; opinion of Seneca on, i. 279; ob- servations of the author on, i. 280-281; of Beccaria, Franklin and Volta, i. 283, 284; caloric of aqueous vapour, the basis of, i. 283, 293; views of Anaxagoras, i. 284, note ; of Dr Hare, ibid.; experiments of Lavoisier and Laplace, i. 284, 485 ; of Mr. Read, i. 285, 289 ; of De Saussure, i. 285-86 ; its protean changes, i. 288 ; experiments of Pou- illet, i. 289-92 ; of Harris, i. 293 ; opinion of Epicurus, i. 294 ; general corollaries, i. 295 ; its connection with hurricanes, tornados, hail-storms, etc., i. 307 ; galvanic, i. 344 ; discoveries of Volta, i. 345; of Fabroni, i. 347 ; always produced by chemical action, i. 350 ; experiments of De la Rive, i. 351; theory of, i. 354; identical with caloric, i. 358, 363 ; generated by oxidation, i. 360; and other chemical actions, i. 364; its connection with volcanic action, i. 367 ; whether a single or compound fluid, i. 386 ; theory of Dufay, ibid.; of Franklin, i. 388 ; experiments of De Saussure, i. 391; views of Dr. Thomson, i. 392 ; some of its phe- nomena still obscure, i. 393; analogies of, to caloric, i. 396, ii.438; repels its own particles, and attracts those of ponderable matter, i. 399; per- meates all bodies, i. 402 ; observations of Fusinieri on the composition of the spark from, i. 404; the vast mechanical forces it exerts, i. 404- VOL. II. zy 458 ANALYTICAL INDEX. 405 ; enormous quantities of, in a grain of water, i. 406 ; miraculous results of Faraday's experiments on, i. 407 ; produces fulminary tubes in banks of sand, i. 408; expands all bodies into light, ibid.; its con- nection with magnetism, i. 409, ii. 439; supposed to be the materia vitse of J. Hunter, i. 456 ; the nervous fluid of Dr. Billing, i. 456, note ; its development by certain fishes, i. 571-72, note. Elements, theory of the ancients concerning, i. 104; their present re- puted number, ibid.; resolvable into light, i. 106-07. Ellis, Mr., on the respiration of bees, i. 496. Emanations, ancient theory of, i. 112, note; law of their diffusion, i. 118, 396. Emmert, his experiments on poisoning, ii. 285-86. English, stature of the, ii. 40, note. Epicurus, his theory of cohesion, liquidity and vacuum, i. 163, note; his rational view of lightning, i. 294. Epidemics, their remote causes obscure, ii. 144; must be sought for in more enlarged and profound views of climate, ii. 145. Esculapius, etymology of the word, ii. 398 ; an ancient prophecy of his universal conquest over diseases, (not yet fulfilled,) ii. 399. Esquimaux, their organization, ii. 30; and great voracity, ii. 31, 210, 213. Essence, igneous, origin of the word, i. 18. Essenes, their vegetable regimen, ii. 210. Ether, vide ^Ether. Europe, the superiority of its inhabitants, ii. 23; mean temperature of in different latitudes, ii. 24. Evaporation, daily amount of, throughout the earth, i 35, note; quan- tity of, at different temperatures, i. 267; and in different latitudes, i. 272 Evil, origin of, i. 435, note. Exercise augments respiration, ii. 196; always attended with an ex- penditure of the vital heat and substance of the body, ii. 201-02 ; how it diminishes vital cohesion, ii. 200, note; how it creates the necessity for sleep, ii. 203; views of Edward Johnson on, ii. 203-04, note ; pa- thological effects of, ii. 204-07. Experiments, difference between thos'e of nature and of an artificial laboratory, i. 264. Fabroni, on the chemical origin of galvanic electricity, i. 348. Faraday, his various definitions of electricity, Preface to first edition, vii; condenses some of the permanent gases, i. 120-128 ; on a defla- grating composition, i. 138 ; his theory of atmospheric electricity, i. 343, note; of voltaic electricity, i. 364, ii. 434; miraculous results of ANALYTICAL INDEX. 459 his electrical experiments, i. 407 ; his thoughts on the vital principle, ii 188. Farr, Mr., on the annual mortality of different countries, ii. 79 ; of Eng- land and Wales, ii. 103-05 ; on the greater mortality from apoplexy, paralysis, and other diseases, in winter than summer, ii. 105, 382; on the mortality from phthisis in England and Wales, ii. 119; and its greater prevalence among females than males, ibid.; an the plagues of London, ii. 128. Favre and Silbermann, on combustion, ii. 432. Fever, a key to the whole theory of, i. 624-25 ; why it depends on a de- rangement of the formative process, i. 625 ; is most fatal in hot cli- mates and seasons, ii. 100, 124, 149 ; why different in Central Africa, Egypt, the East and West Indies, ii. 130-31; general theory of, ii. 352 ; an essential condition of all constitutional maladies, ibid.; nature of hitherto unknown, ii. 353; hypothesis of Hoffman and Cullen, ii. 354, note; of Dr. Southwood Smith, ii. 354; of Bright and Addison, ii. 355 ; and of Dr. Tweedie, ibid.; remote, exciting and proximate causes of, ii. 356 ; always ushered in by a loss of vital heat, ii. 357 ; respira- tion diminished during the chill, ii. 359 ; when, and why reaction does not take place, ibid.; state of the circulation during the chill, ii. 359- 360 ; proximate cause of the shuddering, small pulse and other symp- toms of the cold stage, ii. 361-62 ; why there is an accumulation of bile, ii. 362 ; rationale of the hot stage, ii. 362-63 ; temperature of the body, ii. 365, note ; increased action of the heart explained, ii. 365-66; respiration increased, and why, during the hot stage, ii. 366-67 ; state of the secretions, ii. 368; the sweating stage, ii. 368-69; origin of periodicity, ii 369-70 ; all the varieties of, modifications of the same disease, ii. 372-74; why the paroxysm varies in duration, ii. 375 ; why the cold and hot stages are inversely in duration, ii. 376-78 ; why the chill usually comes on in the morning, ii. 379 ; and why there are morn- ing remissions of, when continued, ii. 380; often brought on by cold without malaria, ii. 382-83, 391-92 ; cannot exist while all the or- gans are supplied with good blood, ii. 392-93; recapitulation of its theory, ii. 394-95 ; primary seat of, in all parts of the body, ii. 396 ; how to prevent, ii. 397; and how to remove when formed, ii. 398-401. Finlayson, Mr., on the annual mortality of England and Wales, ii. 81 Fire, elementary, the most refined and spiritual of all the elements, i. 18; the universal adoration of, by the ancients, ii. 60;. regarded by the North American Indians as the Great Spirit, ii. 61; is everwhere, and does everything, ii. 181; the Greek, i. 138. Fishes, temperature of, i. 514; their imperfect organization, i. 526. Flourens, his vivisections of the brain of fowls, i. 545, note. 460 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Fluids, theory of their cohesion and volatility, i. 141-54; essential to all living action, i. 473-74. Fojtus, the mode in which it is nourished, i. 584. Fogs, theory of their formation, i. 332. Fontana, on the action of the heart, i. 534. Food, the object of, ii. 208 ; how dependent on climate, ii. 209-10; pro- portion of fat in animal, ii. 210-11; and of water, ii. 211; chemical composition of animal and vegetable, ii. 212; carbon and hydrogen of, ii. 213-14; ratio of nitrogen in different species of, ii. 234; quan- tities of, consumed by carnivora, ii. 235-36; nutritive properties of non- nitrogenized, ii. 237-39; the best an imitation of milk, ii. 242 ; influence of, on the physical energy and disposition of animals, ii. 245 ; animal, why forbidden by the laws of Moses, ibid.; its influence on the moral character of nations, ibid.; views of Pythagoras, Shelley and Lambe, ibid.; comparative abundance and cheapness of vegetable and animal, ii. 245-46 ; consequences of taking too much, ii. 248; more digestible when cooked than raw, ibid. Forbes, Professor, on superfluous decimals, i. 73 ; on atmospheric elec- tricity, i. 267 ; on hail-storms, i. 314; his vital statistics, ii. 40. Force, the cause of, expended in producing motion, i. 49, ii. 1.98. Forces of caloric in evaporation, i. 33; in geology, i. 36-7; centrifugal and centripetal, i. 46 ; referred by Newton to different causes, i. 51 ; owing to the same cause, i. 54; the two, equal and opposite, i. 58; volcanic, how generated, i. 371. Fordyce, Dr., experiments on himself in heated air, ii. 167. Forms, organic, on the power of producing, i. 483; vary in different climates, i. 484-85. Foster, Dr., on the precursory signs of epidemic cholera, ii. 135. Fourier, Baron, on the original state of the globe, i. 374; on the mean temperature of the earth, i. 378; and of space, ibid. Fox, Mr., on the temperature of deep mines, i. 376. Frankenheim, on thermo-electricity, ii. 439. Franklin, Dr., on the cause of evaporation, i. 283 ; on winds, i. 300-13; his theory of the aurora borealis, i. 338 ; on the attraction of electricity for ponderable matter, i. 394-99. Franklin, Captain Sir John, on the influence of food in maintaining animal temperature, ii. 32 ; on the reanimation of frozen fish, ii. 158. Galen, serious charge preferred against him by Bacon, i. 443 ; his theory of digestion, i. 570; of respiration, ii. 178, note. Galileo, his discovery of Jupiter's satellites, i. 48; on falling bodies, i. 55, note; opens a highway of communication with distant worlds, i. 444; his theory refuted by the Holy Office, ibid. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 461 Gall, Dr., great importance of his discoveries, i. 553. Galvani, on animal electricity, i. 345. Gases, their contraction and expansion, i. 74; their elastic force, i. 120; theory of their expansion and contraction, i. 122-30; mephitic, their mode of operation, ii. 188-90. Gay-Lussac, his theory of volumes, i. 70 ; on the elastic force of gases, i. 120, note; on the specific gravity of aqueous vapour, i. 326 ; his balloon ascent, ii. 187. Generation, spontaneous, examples of, ii. 480; general phenomena of, i. 584. Gentil (and Edwards,) their experiments on partial cold bathing, ii. 172. Gerard, Dr., on the fatal effects of breathing the air of very high moun- tains, ii. 186. Germany, climate and genius of its people, ii. 23. Gesner, on the recovery of breams from a frozen state, ii. 158. Gilly, Dr., on the decomposition of carbonic acid by plants, i. 500, note. Goethe, on the music of the spheres, i. 430, note; on the harmonious adaptations of nature, ii. 195; on the murderous influence of drugs, ii. 302. Good, Dr. Mason, on the vacuum of Newton, i. 442, note ; on the vital principle, i. 459 ; on the locomotive power of the ostrich, i. 517 ; his imperfect definition of respiration, i. 587; on animal temperature, ii. 166. Graham, Dr., his account of dimorphism, i. 103. Graham, Mr., on osmose, ii. 435. Granger, his experiment of removing the brain of a young puppy, i. 545, note. Grant, Dr., on the unity of organization, ii. 77. Granville, Dr., on the evolution of heat during uterine contraction, ii. 198. Gravitation, a secondary effect, i. 54; regarded as a primordial prin- ciple, i. 166 ; phenomena which cannot be referred to it, i. 250, note ; Dr. Thomas Brown on, i. 457. Gregory, Dr. George, on the reason we cannot explain the phenomena of disease, ii. 353, note ; on the exciting cause of most inflammatory diseases, ii. 405, note. Gregory, Dr James, on the nervous temperament, ii. 311. Grove, correlation of physical forces, ii. 440. Guizot, M., on the infrequency of tubercles in new-born infants, ii. 120. Guyot, M. Jules, his thermotic treatment of inflammation, ii. 415-16. 462 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Hadley, Dr., his theory of winds, i. 300. Hail, observations of Professor Forbes on, i. 314. Hall, Dr. Marshall, on the functions of the spinal marrow, i. 555; his views of life, i. 556, note; his curious theory of hybernation, ii. 150; on the seat of spasmodic diseases, ii. 331. Haller, on the vis insita and vis nervosa, i. 451; on the cause of the heart's action, i. 559. Hansteen, on the aurora borealis, i. 336-39, note. Hare, Dr., on detonation, i. 197; on atmospheric electricity, i. 284. Harrison, General, the cause of his unfortunate death, ii. 120, note. Harvey, Dr., discovers the circulation, i. 444; on calidum innatum, i. 445 ; on animal spirits, i. 447, note ; his theory of the heart's action, i. 531; on the cause of coagulation of the blood, i. 589. Hassenfratz, on the conversion of arterial into venous blood, i. 502. Hawkins, Dr. Bisset, on the longevity of the ancient Romans, ii. 83. Health, how to preserve, ii. 127, 397-98; definition of, ii. 352; ety- mology of the word, ii. 398. Heat, animal, obtained by respiration, 'passim, 2d vol.; what is the use of, i. 516; opinion of a barber, contrasted with that of medical men, ibid.; consequence of its rapid abstraction, i. 557; the cause of irritability and stimulability, i. 558; of the heart's action, i. 562-64; of the capillary circulation, i. 564-65 ; of digestion, i. 571; of sangui- fication and development of the ovum, i. 575-82 ; of secretion and nutrition, i. 608-10 ; of vital dynamics, i. 613 ; is always expended by vital action, i. 620, ii. 200; dynamical theory of, ii. 421; mechanical equivalent of, i. 24, ii. 427; specific, i. 85, ii. 427 ; relations to electricity and magnetism, ii. 438, 439. Heberden, Dr., on the extremes of heat and cold in producing apoplexy, ii. 381. Heights, of mountains and table-lands, i. 38-40; influence of, on tem- perature, i. 274. Heinekin, Dr., on the climate of Madeira, ii. 108. Heraclitus, his theory that all things are formed from fire, i. 112, note; regarded fire as omniscient and divine, i. 427. Herder, Godfrey, on the unity of the human race, ii. 47; on the black- ness of a Portuguese colony in Africa, ii. 73 ; on what the art of the physician consists in, ii. 386. Herodotus, on the origin of European nations, ii. 52. Hewson, on the red corpuscles of the blood, i. 581, note ; on the cause of coagulation, i. 589 ; on the changes blood undergoes in disease, i. 597. Higgins, Godfrey, on the affinities of all written languages, ii. 54; on the primitive meaning of the word Yeye in Hebrew and Sanskrit, ii. 59; ANALYTICAL INDEX. 463 on an ancient Chinese history, ii. 62; on pictorial representations of the horse in Mexico before that animal was introduced there from the old world, ii. 63; supposed that all mankind were originally black, ii. 65. Hippocrates, his views of a strong but invisible fire, i. 159 ; on the cause of motion and organization, i. 431; his partial knowledge of the cir- culation, i. 433, note ; his humoral pathology, i. 434; his theory of di- gestion, i. 569 ; on the temperature of the left ventricle of the heart, i. 603, note; on the colour of arterial and venous blood, ibid., note; on the seat of the mind, i. 604, note; on the seven ages of man, i. 623, note; his theory of tubercular diseases, ii. 117, note; his treatment of internal inflammations, ii. 118 ; regards heat as spirit, and describes its attributes, ii. 178; on the source of animal heat, ii. 178, note ; on ali- ment and exercise, ii. 195; on black melancholy, ii. 270; on the de- bilitating influence of strong medicines, ii. 300; on the soul and its seat in the blood, ii. 306 ; on the four cardinal humours, ibid.; and their influence on temperaments, ii. 307 ; on a case of tetanus caused by a surgical operation, ii. 340, note; his imperfect knowledge of fever, ii. 358; regards bile as the cause of fever, ii. 370 ; his theory of periodi- city, and of critical days, ii. 370-71; on coma and apoplexy, ii. 384 ; considered nature as the best physician, ii. 385; on the curative powers of nature, ii. 370, note. Hoffman, his theory of the nervous fluid, i. 450, 531; his theory of fever, ii. 354, note. Holland, Dr. C, his definition of life, i. 569; maintains that respiration is increased by a high temperature, ii. 35, note; on the influence of exercise on respiration, ii. 197, note; of tartar emetic, ii. 294. Holland, New, its climate and population, ii. 21. Homceopathy, its merits and demerits, ii. 302-03; a leading doctrine of, ii. 339. Homologous series, ii. 431. Hopkins, Mr., experiments within the hot bath, ii. 169-70. Horse, on the size of his chest, i. 522 ; his muscular power, i. 523, 616 ; not known in America before its discovery by Columbus, ii. 63. Horsefield, Dr., on the operation of the chettik of Java, ii. 287. Howard, Luke, on the mean temperature of London and Tottenham Green, ii. 131, note. Humboldt, Baron, on the theory of volumes, i. 70; his account of a tropical thunder-storm, i. 278 ; on the mean temperature of different zones, ii. 12 ; on the coldness of Polar America and Asia, ii. 13, note ; on the influence of tropical land on the temperature of climates, ii. 19; on the colour of the aboriginal Americans, ii. 69 ; on the elevation limit 464 ANALYTICAL INDEX. of yellow fever in the West Indies, ii. 124; on the temperature requisite for vegetation, ii. 13. Hume, David, on the necessity of marching up directly to the capital or centre of the sciences, i. 60; his theory of causation, (which was a march in the opposite direction,) i. 457. Hunter, John, on the materia vita?, i. 452 ; regards animal heat as a pro- duct of the vital principle, i. 453-59, ii. 163; considers heat as the principle which unlocks matter, i. 453 ; on the conversion of arterial into venous blood, i. 501; was fettered by the schools, i. 538; on the capacity of the heart and aorta of a whale, i. 542 ; his experiments on irritability, i. 560-61; demonstrates the vitality of the blood, i. 596; his experiments of freezing animals, ii. 156 ; his experiments fallacious, ii. 165-66 ; his definition of trance, ii. 280, note ; on the modus operandi of mercury, ii. 296 ; on the blackness of arterial blood in apoplexy, ii. 381, note. Hurricanes, theory of, i. 307 ; Capper on, i. 309. Hybernation, theory of, by Dr. M. Hall, ii. 150 ; experiments on, ii. 154; owing to cold alone, ii. 155 ; experiments of nature on, ii. 157 ; some close questions, ii. 157 ; experiments of Sir H. Davy and Dr. Edwards, ii. 158-59. Hydrogen, its immense elastic force, i. 119; how diminished on uniting chemically with chlorine, i. 122. Hydropathy, a brief account of its merits and demerits, ii. 389-90, note. Hydrophobia, whether a modification of tetanus, ii. 344; cruel treat- ment of, ii. 245; a remarkable case of, related by Baron Munchausen, ibid.; whether actually contagious, ii. 345—46; often spontaneous, ii. 346-47 ; a case of, related by the author, ii. 348; various exciting causes of, ii. 346-48 ; deplorable ignorance concerning, ii. 349 ; treat- ment of, by M. Bouisson, ii. 349-50. Incubation, experiments on, i. 582 ; artificial, in Egypt, i. 585. India, population of, ii. 16. Indians, of North America, stature of, ii. 39 ; complexion of, ii. 69-70. Infants, average mortality of, in Europe, ii. 85 ; augmented by cold, ii. 85-86 ; nearly all are born with a sound organization, ii. 87. Inflammation, various theories of, ii. 401-02 ; a local fever, and the latter a general inflammation, ii. 402-03; experiments of Dr. Philip on, ii. 404; is always attended with diminished circulation in the capillaries affected, ii. 405 ; symptoms of, ii. 407 ; explanation of, ii. 408-09 ; of morbid sympathy, ii. 409-11; theory of metastasis, ii. 412-13; ther- motic treatment of, ii. 414-16 ; modus operandi of blisters, ii. 416; leading indications of treatment, ii. 418. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 465 Influenza, theory of, ii. 113. Insects, temperature of, i. 514, 527 ; quantities of oxygen they consume, i. 526 ; complexity of their structure, i. 527 ; acuteness of their senses and of their sagacity, ibid ; muscular power of, i. 529. Instinct, theory of, i. 528-53. Ireland, the uniformity and excellence of its climate, ii. 94, note. Irish, their stature, weight and strength, ii. 40, note ; their fecundity, ii. 94. Irritability, experiments on, by Haller, Fontana and Philip, i. 534. Isomorphism, Mitscherlich's theory of, i. 100, note. Jannechen, Dr., on epidemic cholera at Moscow, ii. 135. Japanese, stature of the, ii. 41. Jehovah, primitive physical meaning of the word, i. 18, ii. 57-59. Jews, black, in Abyssinia and Southern India, ii. 74. Job, on the music of the stars, i. 429, note; on the breath of the Al- mighty, i. 441. Johnson, Dr. James, on diseases of hot climates, ii. 92 ; on mortality from diseases of the respiratory organs, ii. 100; on the sudden and fatal effects of exposure to animal effluvia, ii. 147, note ; on the causes of nervous maladies, ii. 269, note ; his views of nervous energy, ii. 272 ; prescribes mercurial salivation in fever, ii. 297, note; on the excessive and ignorant employment of drugs, ii. 302, note; on the proximate cause of fever, ii. 353, note. Johnson, Edward, refers all vital energy to nervous influence, i. 540 ; on the first cause of life, ibid.; his views of exercise, ii. 203, note; and of sleep, ii. 258. Johnston, Professor, on Dimorphism, i. 104. Jones, Rev. W., his theory of cohesion, i. 163, note; on the identity of heat and electricity, i. 265. Jones, Sir William, on the Hindoo worship of the sun, i. 112, note, 419 ; on the traces of affinity between the Egyptians, Hindoos and Chinese, ii. 53. Jonnes, M. Moreau, on the annual mortality of different countries, ii. 78. Joule, on the mechanical equivalent of heat, ii. 427. Jove, a personification of the celestial solar fire, ii. 58-59. Jupiter, a personification of the celestial solar fire, ii. 59. Jurine, on the diminution of respiration during the cold stage of fever, ii. 359 ; and its increase during the hot state, ii. 366. Kant, Emanuel, denies the extension and solidity of atoms, i. 167 ; re- solves heat, light, electricity and magnetism into attraction and repulsion, ibid.; his definition of life, i. 479 ; his metaphysics, ii. 181. 466 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Kepler, his great astronomical discoveries, i. 48; referred to by Mr. Whewell, i. 461. Kielmeyer, on the difference between organic and inorganic bodies, i. 471. Kingsborough, Lord, on the Hebrew origin of Mexican words, ii. 61. Knox, Dr., his observations on the pulse, ii. 262. Kopp, atomic volume of solid bodies, ii. 429. Kronig, dynamical theory of heat, ii. 421. Lamarck, on the vital principle, i. 456 ; on the unity of organization, ii. 77. Lancet, (a " little instrument of mighty mischief,") rule for the employ- ment of, ii. 417. Lang, Mr., on the maximum temperature of New Holland, ii. 20, 66. Language, a criterion of national origin and kindred, ii. 54. Laplace, on variations of the planetary inclinations, i. 42 ; on capillary attraction, i. 239, 242, 245; on state of aggregation, ii. 433. Lardner, Dr., on the temperature at which bodies become luminous, i. 207 ; on the cohesive force of solutions, i. 219. Lavoisier, his theory of combustion and fermentation, i. 200 ; overturns the phlogistic theory of Stahl, i. 202 ; defects of his theory, ibid.; ex- periments on electricity, i. 285 ; on respiration, i. 490 ; on the influence of exercise on respiration, ii. 196. Lawrence, Mr., on the ultimate objects of philosophical research, i. 462 ; on the means of perfecting medical science, ii. 9; on the average height of five negroes, ii. 36 ; on the different races of mankind, ii. 48 ; on the influence of bad institutions, ii. 45; on inflammation, ii. 403, note. Laws, of caloric, i. 29-30 ; of meteorology, i. 33-36 ; of volcanic forces, i. 37, and note ; of mountain elevations, i. 38-40; of variations in the planetary inclinations, i. 42-44; of planetary motion, i. 45, 46; of Kepler and Newton, i. 48 ; of physiology and pathology, i. 60; how they are to be discovered, ii. 11, note ; of nature the foundation of all other laws, ii. 44; of diffusion of liquids, ii. 43-6. Lead, its influence on the animal economy, ii. 291. Leander, how he lost his life, ii. 174, note. Leblanc, M., on the ratio of carbonic acid in the air of different places, ii. 195. Le Canu, M., his analyses of blood, i. 576-79. Leslie, on the radiating powers of different bodies, i. 182-84; on animal heat, i. 201; denounces Coulomb's theory of two electric fluids, i. 400. Liebig, Dr. Justus, on the vital principle, i. 568; on the decomposition of dead organic matter, i. 580, note; on the nourishment of plants, ii. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 467 193; on the decomposition of water by plants, ii. 194, note; on the daily rations of German soldiers, ii. 216-17; on the amount of animal heat daily evolved by the respiration of man, ii. 218 ; his imperfect theory of respiration, ii. 218-20; his erroneous views of waste, and of fever, ii. 220-23 ; of the circulation, and of pulmonary diseases, ii. 223, note ; his contradictory views in regard to the cause of animal motion, ii. 225-26 ; represents heat, light, electricity and magnetism, as im- material agents, ii. 227 ; his unsatisfactory theory of chemical action, ii. 228, note; denies that nitrogen is absorbed during respiration, ii. 229 ; his classification of aliments, ibid.; asserts that non-nitrogenized food is not convertible into blood and nourishment, ii. 229-30, 241, note; on the modus operandi of alcohol and the neutral salts, ii1. 298. Life, revolutions of organic, i. 44, 379-81; the problem of problems, i. 417; animal, the cause of, obtained from the atmosphere, i. 441, 418, et multis aliis locis ; phenomena of, regarded as wholly different from those of dead matter, i. 462, 464; subject to the logic of quantity, i. 505, 508; an important law of, i. 550 ; how suddenly extinguished, i. 557; conditions essential to, i. 605, 614; the result of combustion, i. 613; dynamical effects of, i. 616 ; affinities of, superior to those of dead matter, i. 619-20; aggregate forces of, in proportion to the amount of respiration, ii. 28 ; etymology of the word, ii. 55 ; the prin- ciple of, a universal remedy when fully understood, ii. 182, 397. Light, on the cause of refraction, reflexion and inflexion of, i. 94; re- fractive power of, a measure of the relative quantities of caloric in dif- ferent bodies, i. 95-99 ; how modified in passing through crystals and other transparent media, i. 99, 100, note; identical with the ultimate atoms of ponderable matter, i. 106 ; generated by the volatilization of ponderable matter, ibid.; colours of, depend on the species of pondera- ble matter employed, ibid.; cannot be generated without ponderable matter, i. 107 ; caloric the active principle in, but not identical with, ibid., note; chemical effects of, i. 108; decomposition of, by Sir D. Brewster, ibid.; ornamental effect of its decomposition on a grand scale, i. 109, note; all the elements of ponderable matter compounds of, i. 110 ; cosmical phenomena of, i. 111-13 ; a revelation of all that is beautiful in the outward universe, i. Ill; a key to the ultimate mechanism and laws of nature, ibid.; existed before the sun, moon and stars, i. 112, note; the basis of all material existence, i. 114; vibratory theory of, explains nothing fully, not even the cause of vibra- tions, i. 114; chemical affinities of, i. 109, 118; electric, feeble in an exhausted receiver, i. 107; important experiments of Fusinieri on, i. 404. Lightning, cardinal facts connected with its theory, i. 276; its connec- tion with hurricanes, tornados, hail-storms, etc., i. 307, 322; atmo- 468 ANALYTICAL INDEX. spheric aqueous vapour the source of, i. 277-78; regarded by Seneca as identical with caloric, i. 280; an important observation of the author on, i. 281; views of Anaxagoras and Dr. Hare, i. 284, note; of Epi- curus, i. 294; cause of its zigzag and forked appearance, i. 312 ; its identity with the cause of evaporation, i. 283, 293 ; mechanical effects of, i. 404-05; suddenly forms glass tubes or fulgorites in banks of sand, i. 408. Lime, carbonate of, assumes different crystalline forms, i. 103; the daz- zling light it affords when ignited, i. 207. Liquids, constitution of, i. 140; Boyle and Newton on the cause of their viscidity, i. 141; theory of their volatility, i. 142 ; of their co- hesion, i. 149-54. Locke, John, on the origin of all ideas, ii. 181. Long, Major, on the colours of the North American Indians, ii. 70. Longevity, among the different nations of Europe, ii. 78-80; in the United States, ii. 82 ; in ancient Greece and Rome, ii. 83-84; in town and country, ii. 84-85; in India and China, ii. 88; in hot climates) ii. 89-92 ; of men belonging to the learned and liberal professions, ii. 95-96 ; among different classes in England and Wales, ii. 96-97; of slaves in the United States, ii. 82. LuCretius, his theory of transparency and opacity, i. 141, note; on the Epicurean theory of cohesion, i. 163, note; on the vacuum, i. 254; on the nature of lightning, i. 294; on the circulation of elementary fire, i. 442, note; on the vital principle, i. 438. Lungs, the real source of animal heat, i. 497 ; have a higher temperature than other parts of the body, i. 498-99, 501; size of, a measure of vital energy, i. 519, 524; developed by exercise, i 520, note; and by cold climates, ii. 31, note; imperfect in reptiles, fishes, and testacea, i. 525-26 ; distributed throughout the whole body of the more active in- sects, i. 527 ; diminished in size by a high temperature, ii. 33, 101; diseases of, more prevalent in cold than hot climates, ii. 100-02 ; in winter than summer, ii. 105-06; rationale of, ii. 110-23. Lyell, Mr., his account of earthquakes in Chili, i. 37, note; on the hot springs of San Filippo, i. 212 ; refers their solvent power to carbonic acid, i. 213 ; rejects the doctrine of a central fire, i. 377 ; on the num- ber of volcanic eruptions per century, i. 378 ; refers the great climatic changes which the earth has undergone to geological causes, i. 381. Lyonet, on the number of muscles of the cossus, i. 529. Macartney, Dr., on the thermotic treatment of inflammation, ii. 414-15. MacCormack, Dr., on typhus fever in Ireland, ii. 382. Macrobius, on the origin of the Greek word for life, ii. 55 ; his views of the Deity, ii. 60. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 469 M'Culloch, Dr., regards medicine as a principal cause of disease, ii 302, note. M'Grigor, Mr., on the state of respiration during fever, ii. 366. Madden, on the longevity of the learned and liberal professions, ii. 95-96. Madeira, mean temperature of, ii. 108. Magendie, refers muscular motion to the nervous system, i. 539; his vivisection of the brain of a hedge-hog, i. 545, note; his experiments on sensitive and motor nerves, i. 553; on coagulation of the blood, i. 589, 595 ; on the modus operandi of medicines on the blood, i. 595, note, ii. 299; his very important experiments on the blood, i 595-96, note ; his experiments on non-nitrogenized foods, ii. 242 ; on the modus operandi of the upas ticuti, ii. 286 ; of tartar emetic, ii. 292. Magnetism, relations of heat and, ii. 409, 439. Magnus, on the gases found in arterial and venous blood, i. 497. Malaria, a profound mystery, ii. 142 ; must be something capable of analysis, ibid.; modus operandi of all bad airs, ii. 143; generated in all seasons in confined places, ii. 143^4; composed chiefly of carbonic acid, ii. 145—47. Mammalia, temperatures of, i. 512-14. Man, stature of in different climates, ii. 36^1; size of the head among different nations, ii. 41-42 ; Mandans of North America, their tradition of a deluge, and of a Messiah, ii. 61; their views of the Great Spirit, ii. 61; primitive colour of, ii. 65; where perfectly black, ii. 65-66 ; where of a dark-brown colour, ii. 66-67; everywhere painted by the sun, ii. 68 ; complexion of, ii. 69-71; Prichard, Lawrence and Cald- well say not, ii. 72-73. Mariotte's law, i. 81, ii. 420, 434. Marshall, John, his analysis of blood, i. 576-77, 594; experiments on the heart's action, i. 560-61, note. Materia Vit^e, John Hunter's theory of, i. 456. Mathematics, their legitimate object, i. 255. Matter, whatever operates upon the senses, i. 22, note; existence of, denied by Berkeley, ibid.; two descriptions of. i. 31, 118, 158, 439; organic, chemical elements of, i. 468. Mayo, Mr., on animal heat, i. 487; on sensitive and motor nerves, i. 553. Mechanical equivalent of heat, i. 24, ii. 427. Medicine, in what it must consist when perfect, ii. 182 ; modus operandi of, ii. 283-84, 293, 299-300; the whole theory of, must be founded on a knowledge of the vital principle, ii. 397. Meigs, Prof. J. A., relation of atomic heat to crystalline form, ii. 430. Menander, on sleep, ii. 257. 470 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Menzel, on the great importance of animal magnetism, ii. 280, note. Mercury, theory of its operation, ii. 296-97; its utility overrated in the treatment of inflammations, ii. 417, note. Mesmerism, theory of, ii. 280-81, note. Metameric bodies, ii. 432. Mexicans, had pictorial representations of the horse before that animal was known in America, ii. 63 ; were ignorant of letters and the use of iron, ibid. Michaelis, on the chemical composition of arterial and venous blood, i. 494, ii. 219. Milk, composition of, ii. 243. Milton, on changes in the inclination of the earth's axis, i. 43, note; on planetary motion, i. 60 ; on the music of the spheres, i. 430, note. Mind, its influence on health, ii. 268; how the passions of, modify res- piration, circulation and digestion, ii. 269-70; rationale of, ii. 273; fatal effects of over-exertion, ii. 274-76 ; impelled on by the ardour of discovery, ii. 276 ; views of Madame De Stael, ibid.; despondency of, predisposes to attacks of epidemics, ii. 278; powerful emotions of, induce trance in feeble constitutions, ii. 279. Mitscherlich. on the specific gravity of carbon vapour, i. 71, note; on isomorphism, i. 100 ; on the influence of heat in modifying the crystal- line form of bodies, i. 103 ; on the specific gravity of different vapours, i. 79 ; of sulphur vapour, i. 126. Mixtures, freezing, theory of, i. 220. Molech, an ancient name of the sun, or solar fire, i. 420. Moore, Thomas, on the blinding influence of prejudice and custom, i. 569. More, Dr. Henry, on the spirit of matter, i. 447, note. Morgan, Sir Charles, on respiration and animal heat, i. 489; on the origin and nature of heat, ibid.; on the conversion of arterial into venous blood, i. 603; on the expenditure, of caloric in supporting life in cold climates, ii. 34, note; on the food of different climates, ibid.; his views of sympathy, ii. 409. Morgan, Mr. J., on our ignorance of tetanus, ii. 331; on the exciting cause of tetanus, ii. 340. Mortality, annual aggregate of Europe, ii. 85; ratio per 1000 under five years, ibid.; greatest among infants during winter, ii. 86; of tropical climates, ii. 90-93, 100; at Lima, ii. 91, note; in Central Africa, ii. 91; in Iceland, ii. 93; augmented by an habitually wicked life, ii. 95, note; from diseases of the respiratory organs in England and Wales, ii. 104; in English work-houses, infirmaries and hospitals, ii. 97; greatest in winter from all diseases in Britain, ii. 105; through- out Europe, ii. 122. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 471 Morton, Dr., his Crania Americana, ii. 41, 42. Morveau, Guyton, his views of cohesion and chemical affinity, i. 164. Moschus, his theory of atoms, i. 62, 442. Moses, on the vitality of the blood, i. 441; on the manner in which life is obtained, i. 492 ; his laws of diet, ii. 44. Motion, opinion of Bacon and Davy, that it is identical with heat, i. 19 ; definition of, i. 24; opinion of Rumford that heat is motion, i. 24, note ; laws of, i. 29, 30 ; relations of to heat, ii. 427, 440; animal, the cause of, i. 448, 532, et multis aliis locis. Motion, planetary, i. 45, 46 ; Kepler's third law of, i. 48 ; Newton's first law of, ibid.; does not apply to the planetary revolutions, i. 51; pri- mary origin of, in the sun, i. 54; of satellites, i. 56 ; Milton on plane- tary, i. 60. Mountains, relative heights of, in different latitudes, i. 38; in America, i. 38, 39; in the old world, i. 39, 40; compared with the height of plateaus, i. 40, 41; of the planet Venus, i. 41; influence of on climate, ii. 15, note. Mulder, on organic equivalents, i. 580. Muller, Dr. J., on the vital principle, i. 463; on the cause of organic combinations, i. 477; on the source of animal heat, i. 487 ; on the colour of arterial blood, i. 491; on the respiration of frogs in azotic gases, i. 496 ; on the object of respiration, i. 499 ; maintains that oxygen ex- cites the tissues, i. 583 ; maintains that carbonic acid is formed in the systemic capillaries, i. 499 ; regards the ganglionic nerves as the cen- tres of organic life, i. 538; on sensitive and motor nerves, i. 553; on the modus operandi of poisons, ii. 236; and their rapid diffusion throughout the system, ii. 288. Munchausen, Baron, his remarkable case of hydrophobia, ii. 345. Murray, Captain, his method of preserving the health of his men in hot climates, ii. 127-28, note. Music, of the spheres, Pythagorean theory of, i. 429; consecrated by the poetry of Job, Shakspeare, Milton and Goethe, i. 429-30, note. Nations, all of one blood, and descended from the same stock, (there- fore all brothers,) ii. 64; longevity of, ii. 85-97. Nature, the laws of, permanently uniform, i. 224-25 ; simplicity of its mechanism, i. 257 ; ignorance of, the principal source of physical and moral evil, i. 435-36, note; curative powers of, i. 524, ii. 386-87 ; laws of, inverted, i. 586 ; the art of God, i. 615 ; regarded by Hippocrates as the animating principle, ii. 385; and as the best physician in dis- ease, ibid.; the source of all true practical knowledge, passim. Negroes, their peculiar organization, ii. 21, 36,43 ; changes of colour in, produced by changes of climate, ii. 75 ; short-lived in Central Africa, 472 ANALYTICAL INDEX. ii. 92; but long-lived in the United States, ii. 82 ; their colour and whole physical character climatic, see supra. Newton, Sir Isaac, his views of the ether, i. 20-21; on its mode of operation, i. 52 ; maintains that attraction and repulsion are ultimate phenomena, i. 31, note; his law of gravity, i. 48 ; his first law of mo- tion, i. 49; maintains the vacuum of space, i. 49; on the pores of bodies, i. 28; on the cause of opacity and transparency, ibid., note; his theory of atoms, i. 62, 158; on the cause of refraction and reflec- tion, i. 94, 184; resolves all the phenomena of nature into attraction and repulsion, i. 161; imperfect comprehension of his physical views, i. 162 ; refers the centrifugal force of particles to an inherent repulsive property, i. 32; and that of planets to the immediate agency of the Deity, i. 51; his excellent axiom, i. 252 ; his own views of what he had accomplished, i. 254; his comprehensive generalizations, i. 255, 261; on two ethers, i. 359, note ; on the vis inertice of matter, i. 256, note; on the cause of animal motion, i. 448, 582 ; on the materiality of the First Cause, i. 458, note; extensive influence of his views, i. 457. Niagara, falls of, i. 251. Nitrogen, its refractive power, i. 95 ; and probable atomic weight i. 97; its expansive force in detonating compounds, ibid.; is absorbed from the atmosphere during respiration, i. 495, ii. 230. Nutrition, regarded by Cuvier as the greatest mystery of life, i. 603; views of Sir Ch. Morgan, ibid.; rationale of, i. 607-13; a right know- ledge of, a key to the true theory of all diseases, i. 623-24; cessation of, the proximate cause of death, i. 619. Nysten, on the effect of introducing oxygen into the blood, i. 500; on the state of respiration during fever and other maladies, ii. 359, 366. Oils, theory of their viscidity and volatility, i. 149-154. Orfila, on the effect of injecting alcohol into the blood, ii. 290, note; on the fatal effect of introducing iodide of potassium into the veins of a dog, ii. 297, note; and on the influence of the liquor ammoniae, ii. 298. Organization, progress of, from the oldest geological formations to the present time, ii. 77 ; unity of, ii. 76-77. Organized bodies, difference between them and inorganic compounds, i. 467, 473; complexity of their proximate particles, i. 470-71. Orton, Mr., on epidemic cholera, ii. 134-39. Osmose, ii. 435. Ostrich, its great swiftness as a runner, i. 517 ; smallness of its brain, and want of intelligence, i. 541. Owen, Mr., on the agency of oxygen in incubation, i. 582, note; on the ANALYTICAL INDEX. 473 radical identity of the primitive vesicular tissues in plants and animals, (as proved by Chantrans, Treviranus, Borey St. Vincent, Raspail and Edwards,) ii. 77. Oxide, nitrous, its mode of operation on the animal economy, ii. 185. Oxygen, its great abundance, i. 88; how it supports life, i. 492; pro- portions of, absorbed and expired in combination with carbon, i. 490, 506; relative quantities of, consumed by different animals, i. 511; erroneously regarded as the cause of vital action, ii. 183; on its power of supporting the life of birds, ii. 183-84; and other animals, ii. 184. Pallas, on the Mongolian Tartars, ii. 29, note. Paracelsus, his views of the Archeus, i. 446, 460. Paradise, the terrestrial, where situated, ii. 48-49. Paris, Dr., his account of Spalding's experiments on diet, ii. 250; on the proportion of nourishment in fat, ii. 241, note; on medical super- stition, ii. 280, note. Parkhurst, Dr., his etymology of the word heat or fire, i. 18; on the signification of the Hebrew Aur, ii. 56; on the celestial fluid in its threefold conditions of light, fire and spirit, operating jointly in every effect, ii. 58; on the words Jove, Ether and Al or El, ibid.; his ac- count of the Hebrew word Eloi, ii. 179; his etymology of the old Greek word e«. to be, ibid.; on the Hebrew Ruah, and the Greek words signifying soul or spirit, ii. 179-80, note. Payen, M., on the proportions of starch and gluten in the potato, ii. 211. Pekin, mean temperature of, ii. 25. Percival, Dr., his case of fever caused by the fumes of charcoal, ii. 147. Perkins, on the elastic force of air and steam, i. 120. Philip, Dr., maintains that animal heat is a secretion, i. 487, 535, note; refers digestion to nervous influence, i. 571; his experiments on con- tractility, i. 535, note. Philo, preserved a fragment of Hippocrates on the Seven Ages of Man, i. 623, note. Phlogiston, confounded with carbon by Black, i. 201; with oxygen by Scheele, ibid.; with hydrogen by Kirwan, ibid. Phthisis, tubercular, whether hereditary, ii. 106; Sir J. Clark on its prevalence in the West Indies, ii. 107; rare in India and Africa, ii. 100; its prevalence among negroes in the West Indies explained, ii. 101-02 ; mortality from, in England and Wales, ii. 103, (see tabU;) in the United States and in Europe, ii. 107; proximate cause of, ii. VOL. II. 30 474 ANALYTICAL INDEX. 110,117 ; prevention and treatment of, ii. 118; rarely occurs among new-born infants, ii. 120 ; and how afterwards acquired, ibid. Physician, etymology of the word, ii. 398. Plague, its frequent occurrence in London, ii. 128 ; mortality from, in Cairo, ii. 129; has always prevailed in summer in temperate climates, ii. 129 ; that of the East a modification of yellow fever, ii. 132. Plants, they have no breathing apparatus, ii. 191; are nourished by binary compounds, ii. 192 ; by carbonic acid, and thus preserve the atmosphere in a state of purity, ii. 193; views of Liebig, ibid; how affected by poisons, ii. 286, note ; the primary source of all animal nourishment, ii. 13. Plato, on the circulation of the blood, i. 433, note; regarded fire as the soul of the world, i. 435. Pleurisy, theory of, ii. 115. Plutarch, on the radical meaning of Osiris and Isis, ii. 60. Pneumonia, theory of, ii. 115-16. Poisons, their modus operandi, ii. 284-86; act on the nervous system through the blood, ii. 287 ; rapidity of their diffusion, ii. 288 ; their in- fluence on respiration, temperature, pulse, brain, stomach, muscles and coagulating power of the blood, ii. 289-90; influence of some metallic salts on the blood, ii. 291-92. Population, how controlled by climate, ii. 13-19; increase of, in dif- ferent countries, ii. 94. Pores, of bodies, i. 28 ; of the universe, i. 258. Portuguese, a colony of, in Africa, ii. 73. Potatoes, daily consumption of, by the Irish labourers, ii. 215. Potter, Dr., on the state of the blood in yellow fever districts, ii. 357-58, note. Pouillet, on the source of atmospheric electricity, i. 290, 293. Prevost, his theory of the equilibrium of temperature, i. 181. Prichard, Dr., on the vital principle, i. 460 ; on the unity of the human race, ii. 51; on the origin of the Scythians, Saxons, Getae, Thracians, Goths and Sarmatians, ii. 52-53; on the affinities of different languages, ii. 53 ; on Sanskrit names of the sun, ii. 56, note, and 57 ; on the mean duration of life in different climates, ii. 90, note; thinks that climate has very little influence on the complexion of mankind, ii. 66,72 ; that the natives of Van Diemen's Land came from New Guinea, ii. 68 ; on the organic constitution of the negro race, ii. 328. Priessnitz, the diet of his patients, ii. 32; establishes a great pa- thological principle, ii. 390, note; his theory of disease, and often murderous treatment, ibid. Priestley, imitates the auroral lights, i. 338, note; his experiments on respiration, i. 490. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 475 Prout, Dr., on the theory of volumes, i. 71; supposes that the laws of nature have changed, i. 224; on the elastic force of the atmosphere, i. 268, note; on the objects of physiological inquiry, i. 568 ; maintains that the phenomena of life are wholly removed from the logic of quantity, i. 505. Pyramids, monuments of the ancient pagan fire worship, ii. 61, note. Pythagoras, his theory of the solar system, i. 47, note; his theory of atoms, i. 62 ; on the self-moving principle of all things, and on his physical trinity, i. 429 ; on the music of the spheres, ibid.; its influence on the mind of Kepler, i. 430. Quadrupeds, not common to the old and new worlds, except north of the Baltic and of Canada, ii. 62. Quetelet, on the average stature of students at Cambridge, ii. 40, note; on the relative strength of males and females, i. 577, note; on the fecundity of nations, ii. 94; longevity of town and country, ii. 84; mortality of infants in Belgium in winter, ii. 86; on the existence of different primitive races, ii. 48; on the failure of all methods in the treatment of epidemics, ii. 142. Races, relative capacity of the skull in, according to Dr. Morton, ii. 42; classification of, ii. 47-48 ; Quetelet on the varieties of, ii. 48 ; origin of, ii. 51-52, 64. Rain, average quantity of, in different latitudes, i. 33-34, 272-73; pe- riodical returns of, within the tropies explained, ii 18-19, note. Rau, Prof., on the increase of population, ii. 94. Read, on the electricity of aqueous vapour, i. 283. Redi, extracted the brain of a tortoise, i. 544, note. Rees, Dr. G. 0., on the venous blood, i. 503, note. Refraction, Sir I. Newton's theory of, i. 94; experiments on, by M. Du- long, i. 95-96 ; by Sir D. Brewster, i. 98-99 ; a measure of the relative quantities of caloric in bodies, i. 97-99; single and double, i. 100; how modified by caloric, i. 99, note. Regnault, on specific heat, ii. 428-29. Remedies, heroic, like some other heroes, destroy many lives, ii. 397. Reptiles, temperature of, i. 513 ; their imperfect development, i. 525. Respiration, how modified by external temperature, ii. 27 ; experiments on, by Crawford and Lavoisier, ii. 29 ; increased by cold, iL 28-29 ; di- minished by a high temperature, ii. 28, 33 ; of birds, ii. 35 ; diminished in the lower animals by external cold, ii. 154-55; diminished in a rarefied atmosphere, as found by De Saussure, Gerard and Gay-Lussac, ii 186-87; how modified by exercise and aliments, ii. 196-97; di- minished after fatigue, iL 198, note; theory of, i. 486 ; on what becomes 476 ANALYTICAL INDEX. of the oxygen inspired, i. 489-90, 495; its influence on the tempera- ture and vital energy of animals, i. 508 ; experiments on, by Priestley, Spallanzani, Humboldt, Provencal, Davy, Henderson and Pfaff, ii. 230 ; by Dulong, Despretz, Nysten and Edwards, ii. 230-32 ; excited by pleasurable emotions, ii. 269 ; diminished during sleep, ii. 260-61; by the depressing emotions, ii. 270-71; by severe injuries and painful surgical operations, ii. 281-82 ; during the cold stage of fever, ii. 359 ; augmented during fever, ii. 367. Richerand, on the leaping power of the grasshopper, i. 529 ; thinks that life has the power of generating cold, ii. 166; on temperaments, ii. 317. Rigidity, after death, i. 601-02. Roberts, Cornelius, his account of a hurricane in Cuba, i. 321. Roget, Dr., his definition of life, i. 587; on secretion, nutrition and animal temperature, i. 610; on hybernation, ii. 150; on the mean temperature of man, ii. 166. Rose, Gustav., his classification of crystals, i. 102, note; on dimorphism, i. 103. Ross, Sir John, on the use of fat meats in the polar regions, ii. 31. Rudolphi, on the brain of the Greenland whale, i. 542. Rcmford, his experiments on heat, i. 24, note ; on the cooling of bodies, i. 181. Sabine, Captain, on the dew point, i. 269. Saint Austin, on the organizing principle, i. 457. Saint Hilaire, on the unity of animal organization, ii. 78. Sanatorium, for chronic diseases of the lungs, ii. 109. Sanguification, theory of, i. 575, 582. Scheele, confounds phlogiston with oxygen, i. 201. Schwann, Dr. Theodore, his experiments on incubation, i. 582. Scorsby, on the different forms of crystallized water, i. 101; on the aurora borealis, i. 340, note. Scotch, stature of the, ii. 40, note. Secretion, how increased and diminished, i. 608-10; independent of nervous influence, i. 610. Seneca, on atmospheric electricity, i. 280. Sewell, Mr., his experiments on a horse afflicted with locked-jaw, ii. 285. Shakspeare, on the stillness that often precedes a storm, i. 308, note; on the music of the spheres, i. 430 ; on sleep, ii. 255. Siberia, extent and population of, ii. 14; stature of its inhabitants, ii. 30. Sigmond, Dr., his mesmeric experiments, ii. 279. Sinclair, Sir John, on the mortality of Russia, ii. 81. Skull, relative capacity of in different races, iL 42. ANALYTICAL INDEX. 477 Sleep, proximate cause of, ii. 256 ; the specific office of, ibid.; its thera- peutic agency, ii. 256-57 ; contrasted with exercise, ii. 259 ; its influ- ence on respiration, ii. 260; on perspiration, ibid.; on the action of the heart, ii. 261-62; experiments of Dr. Knox, ibid.; increases the temperature of the body, ii. 262; of the lower animals, ii. 263; why diminished in old age, ibid.; how modified by diet, spirits and mono- tonous discourse, ii. 264; by external temperature and by fever, ii. 265; by over-activity of the nervous system, ibid.; by tea and coffee, ii. 266; when most sound, ibid.; different parts of the brain sleep in succession, ibid.; sleep-walking, ibid.; impaired by the intemperate use of spirits, ii. 267; why plants do not require it, ibid.; different from lethargy, or the stupor of disease, ibid.; mesmeric, (owing to ex- haustion of the brain, by attention to the monotonous movements of the operator.) Smith, Dr. Archibald, on the fever of cattle in South America, ii. 129, note. Smith, Dr. Southwood, regards oxygen as the vital principle, i. 455 ; on the sources of animal heat, i. 487 ; on the influence of respiration on the blood, i. 489 ; on secretion and nutrition, i. 611; on the excessive perspiration in gas works, i. 609, note; overlooks the most important fact in physiology, i. 612; on our ignorance of fever, ii. 353-54. Socrates, on the danger of prying into the mysteries of nature, i. 418. Solution, vast importance of, i. 209; theory of, i. 212 ; of rocks in hot springs, i. 213, 214, 219; Lardner on, i. 219; essential to chemical action, i. 222; promoted by caloric, i. 225; immense aggregate force of, i. 227. Spallanzani, on the oxygen consumed by a caterpillar, i. 527 ; on the slow digestion of serpents, i. 525, note; on coagulation of the blood, i. 589 ; and the absorption of nitrogen during respiration, ii. 230. Spasms, imperfect knowledge of, ii. 330-31; theories of Boerhaave, Bichat, Billing, M. Hall and Liebeg, ii. 331; proximate cause of, ii. 331-35; predisposing and exciting causes of, ii. 339-41; state of the circulation in, ii. 342 ; Abernethy's case of tetanus, ii. 343 ; indications of treatment, ibid. Specific Heat, i. 85 ; varies in the same body, ii. 427; of varieties of carbon, ii. 428; of water at different temperatures, ii. 428; of atoms, ii. 429. Stahl, on phlogiston, i. 201; regards it as the cause of heat, ibid.; on the Anima, i. 431. Stimulants, their mode of operation, ii. 299-300. Stoics, their views of the organizing principle, i. 438. Sultzer, his experiments, i. 344. Sun, ancient titles and worship of, i. 112, note, ii. 55-61,180-82. 478 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Sydenham, on the happiness of discovering a certain method of curing disease, ii. 352 ; on the curative powers of nature, ii. 386 ; on the duty of assisting mankind, however ungrateful for it, ii. 419. Tables, representing the distance, times, velocities and diameters of the heavenly bodies, i. 46-47; the atomic weights of bodies, i. 67-68; specific gravity of gases, i. 74-75; contraction and expansion of gases, i. 76-77 ; specific heat of atoms, i. 90-91; the quantities of ca- loric evolved by combustion, i. 92-93; the refractive power of gases, i. 95-96; of.liquids and solids, i. 98-99; the atomic composition, specific gravity and boiling points of various liquids, i. 147-48, ii. 431-2; relative quantities of rain in different latitudes, i. 272 ; chemical com. position of food, ii. 212-13; mortality of British troops in different parts of the world, ii. 99 ; of England and Wales, ii. 103-04, 106 ; propor- tions of nitrogen in different species of food, ii. 234; the composition of milk, ii. 243 ; productive powers of the soil, ii. 247 ; temperature of the body in different diseases, ii. 365; mortality of hot climates, ii. 89-90; of mortality in Europe, ii. 78-79; temperature of different animals, i. 512-15 ; of the chemical composition of arterial and venous blood, i. 494; analyses of the blood, i. 578-79. Tartars, stature and muscular strength of, ii. 30. Taylor, Isaac, on the cause of animal motion, i. 446, note. Temperaments, views of Hippocrates, ii. 306; of Boerhaave and Rich- erand, ii 309; of Bacon and Cullen, ii. 310; of Dr. J. Gregory and Dr. Thomas, ii. 311; of Dr. Caldwell, ii. 312; comments on their theories, ii. 313-15, 317 ; illustrations of, ii. 317, 322; origin of, ii. 315 ; division of into dynamic and adynamic, ii. 316; rationale of power, ii. 323-24; views of Dr. Prichard, ii. 328; influenced by climate, ibid.; erroneous theory of Menzel, ii. 328-29. Temperature, of different animals, i. 503, 506 ; of Polar Asia and Ame- rica, ii. 13-14; of Tartary, ii. 15 ; of Middle and Southern Asia, ii. 16 ; of Europe and the United States, ii. 17 ; of the torrid zone, ii. 18-19; its influence on respiration, ii. 27, 33, 154; on the character of the human race, ii. 21, 23, 38, 75 ; higher in man in the tropical than in the middle latitudes, i. 515; higher during summer than in any other season, i. 515; and higher on first awaking in the morning than at any other time of day, ibid.; mean, of different years, ii. 131, note. Thales, his doctrine of a first cause, i. 427. Theologians, live longer than any other class in Prussia, ii. 96. Thilorier solidifies carbonic acid, i. 145. Thomas, Dr., his new classification of temperaments, ii. 311; defects of his theory, ii. 313-15. Thomson, Dr. John, his thermotic treatment of inflammation, ii. 414; on ANALYTICAL INDEX. 479 the specific heat of atoms, i. 90-91; on the specific gravity of carbon vapour, i. 71; maintains that all atomic weights are even multiples of the lowest, i. 72 ; on the absolute weight of the atom of lead, i. 84; on the caloric evolved during the combustion of hydrogen, i. 87; on the constitution of the atmosphere, i. 124; his reason why some bodies feel warmer than others, i. 180, note; on atmospheric electricity, i. 266 ; his theory of two electric fluids, i. 392. Thorax, size of, a measure of vital energy in temperate climates, i. 519, 524. Tiedemann, on the final cause of vital force, i. 463; refers it to nervous influence, i. 539 ; on the relative size of the brain in men and women. i. 524; found the brain of idiots very small, i. 544; on the cause of the heart's action, i. 559; his electrical theory of secretion, i. 611. Tonics, their mode of operation, ii. 304-05. Tornados, theory of, i. 307, 321. Tortoise, brain of extracted by Redi, i. 544, note. Towne, Mr., on incubation, i. 582. Trance, theory and treatment of, ii. 279. Treviranus, on the relative quantities of oxygen consumed by different animals, i. 510 ; smears insects over with varnish, i. 549, note. Trinity, the Pythagorean, i. 429; the Platonic, i. 435. Tulloch, Major, his reports, ii. 96, 99,100 ; on cutaneous diseases, ii. 123, note. Typhus, more prevalent during winter than summer, ii. 143, 382 ; most fatal in crowded and confined dwellings, ii. 148; symptoms of, ibid.; often generated by exposure to cold without malaria, ii. 382; treat- ment of, ibid., note. Ulcers, treatment of, ii. 418. Unity, of all physical causation, i. 29-32, passim, ii. 440; of organiza- tion, ii. 75-77 ; of fever, ii. 130 ; of all diseases, ii. 373, note. Universe, a knowledge of the physical and moral laws of, the true remedy for physical and moral evil, ii. 182. Vacuum, denied by Aristotle, i. 48; asserted by Newton, i. 49, note; disproved by the author, i. 49, 258. Vallancy, General, on the affinities of ancient languages, ii. 54; on the ancient Celtic language of Ireland, ibid. Van Helmont, his theory of digestion, i. 570 ; thought the art of medi- cine a mere juggle, ii. 150 ; his views of the Archeus, i. 446. Vans Kenedy, on the number of Sanskrit words found in the Persian, Greek, Latin, German and English languages, ii. 54. 480 ANALYTICAL INDEX. Vapour, atmospheric, elastic force of, at different temperatures, i. 268; the source of lightning, i. 276-278, 283. Varro, on the etymology of the Latin word aurum, ii. 56, note; on the Egyptian Jove, ii. 58. Vegetation, how modified by climate and season, i. 60, ii. 13 ; regarded as a natural thermometer, on a grand scale, ibid. Velocity, of the heavenly bodies, i. 46, 47. Venesection, should never be employed in health, and rarely in dis- ease, ii. 417; often causes effusion, dropsy, delirium, paralysis and convulsions, ibid. Venus, observations of Schroeter on the height of her mountains, i. 41. Vera Causa, essential character of, i. 53. Vespasian, longevity of the Romans during his reign, ii. 83. Vesta, a mystical personation of the sacred fire, i. 18, 439. Viborg applies prussic acid to the brain of a horse, ii. 286. Virgil, his philosophy, i. 439; on the ether, ii. 60. Vis Inertle, a philosophical fiction, i. 258; identical with vis insita, i. 51. Vix Medicatrix Nature, in what it consists, i. 627, ii. 388, 397 ; cures all diseases, ii. 388 ; how misunderstood by Parry and others, ii. 387, 392; the principle of life itself, ii. 397. Volcanos, their geographical distribution, i. 37, 38 ; their relative num- ber in different latitudes, i. 38; the great laboratories of the earth, i. 37, note; irruptions of, described by Scrope and Sir W. Hamilton, i. 367-368; of Cosiguina, i. 368; two hundred situated on dry land within the vicinity of the ocean, i. 369; submarine, i. 369-370; nu- merous in South America, i. 371; extinct in North America, ibid.; not owing to a central fire, i. 375 ; number of irruptions throughout the earth in a century, i. 378; great numbers of, beneath the sea, i. 383; indispensable to the well-being of our planet, i. 384. Volkman, his experiments on frogs, i. 545, note. Volney, on Egyptian symbols, ii. 61, note. Volta, his theory of atmospheric electricity, i. 284; his theory of the pile, i. 346. Voltaire, on the cause of animal motion, i. 418; on the varieties of mankind, ii. 47. Volumes, theory of, i. 70, 82 ; their relations to atomic weights, i. 75-77; how connected with caloric, i. 78-79; atomic, of solid bodies, ii. 409. Wagner, on incubation, i. 583, note. Washington, General, the cause of his death, ii. 120, note. Water, its composition and importance, i. 88 ; the different crystalline ANALYTICAL INDEX. 481 forms which it assumes, i. 101; specific heat of, at different temperatures, ii. 428. Water-spouts, i. 307 ; observed by Captain Lawrence, i. 311, note; de- scribed by Dr. Franklin, ibid. Wedemeyer finds the capillary circulation retarded by injections of alcohol and vinegar, i. 564, note; applies prussic acid to the brain of a horse, ii. 285-86. Wells, Dr., on the radiating power of different bodies, i. 181; his theory of dew, i. 330-31. Whale, size of its brain, i. 542 ; peculiarity of its organization, i. 543, note; its temperature and blanket of fat, ii. 210, note. Whewell, Rev. W., on the present state of knowledge in regard to heat, Preface to first edition, vi.; on our ignorance of natural laws, i. 185-86, 461; on the attraction of masses, i. 253; on Newton's first law of motion, i. 50, note, 25 ; on the vacuum, i. 51; on the luminous ether, i. 50, note; on the nervous fluid, i. 546, note; on prospects of the future, i. 568. Wickstead, Thomas, on the steam power generated from burning 100 pounds of coal, i. 616. Wilford, on pulsations of the heart of the boa, i. 562, note. Willis, his theory of the nervous system, i. 532. Wilson, Dr., bis treatment of typhus, ii. 383, note. Winds, theory of, i. 35-36, 299-300; promote evaporation, i. 271; westerly in the higher latitudes, i. 303, note; westerly, moderate the climate of Europe and America, ii. 14, note. Wollaston, on the chemical effects of light, i. 108; his theory of sea- sickness, ii. 281. Woodcock, her long confinement under a bank of snow, ii. 159. Yah, primitive signification of, among the ancients, i. 18. Year, great astronomical, i. 44. Youatt, Mr., his experiments on hydrophobia, ii. 345. Youpiter, the genetic fire that embraces and sustains the universe, ii. 59. Zeno regarded fire as the animating principle or soul of nature, i. 438. Zoe, the Greek word for life, and its etymology, ii. 55. Zones, climatic divisions of the earth, ii. 12. Zoon, an Egyptian and Phoenician name of the sun, u. 55. ^END OF VOL. II. OF VALUABLE BOOKS, PUBLISHED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., (LATE LIPPLNCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.) Nos. 22 & 24 NORTH FOURTH ST., PHILADELPHIA; CONSISTING OP A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF Bibles, Prayer-Books, Commentaries, Standard Poets, MEDICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS, ETC., PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES. FOR SALE BY BOOKSELLERS AND COUNTRY MERCHANTS GENERALLY THROUGH- OUT THE UNITED STATES. THE BEST & MOST COMPLETE FAMILY COMMENTARY. The Comprehensive Commentary on the Holy Bible; CONTAINING THE TEXT ACCORDING TO THE AUTHORIZED VERSION, SCOTT'S MARGINAL REFERENCES; MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTARY, CONDENSED, BUT RETAINING EVERY USEFUL THOUGHT; THE PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS OF REV. THOMAS SCOTT, D. D.; WITH EXTENSIVE EXPLANATORY, CRITICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL NOTES, Selected from Scott, Doddridge, Gill, Adam Clarke, Patrick, Poole, Lowth, Burder, Harmer, Calmet, Rosenmueller, Bloomfield, Stuart, Bush, Dwight, and many other writers on the Scriptures. The whole designed to be a digest and combination of the advantages of the best Bible Commentaries, and embracing nearly all that is valuable in HENRY, SCOTT, AND DODDRIDGE. Conveniently arranged for family and private reading, and, at the same time, particularly adapted to the wants of Sabbath-School Teachers and Bible Classes; with numerous useful tables, and a neatly engraved Family Record. Edited by Rev. William Jenks, D. D., PASTOR OF GREEN STREET CHURCH, BOSTON. Embellished with five portraits, and other elegant engravings, from steel plates; with several maps and many wood-cuts, illustrative of Scripture Manners, Customs, Antiquities, &c. In 6 vols, super-royal 8vo. Including Supplement, bound in cloth, sheep, calf, &c, varying in Price from $10 to $15. The whole forming the most valuable as well as the cheapest Commentary published in the world. ------------------------------j J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.'S PUBLICATION'S. NOTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTARY. The Publishers select the following from the testimonials they have received as to the value of the work: We, the subscribers, having examined the Comprehensive Commentary, issued from the press of Messrs. L., G. & Co., and highly approving its character, would cheerfully and confidently recom- mend it as containing more matter and more advantages than any other with which we are acquainted; and considering the expense incurred, and the excellent manner of its mechanical execution, we believe it to be one of the cheapest works ever issued from the press. We hope the publishers will be sustained by a liberal patronage, in their expensive and useful undertakir?. We should be pleased to leam that every family in the United States had procured a copy. B. B. WISN ER, D. D., Secretary of Am. Board of Com. for For. Missions. WM. COGSWELL, D. D., " " Education Society. JOHN CODMAN, D. D., Pastor of Congregational Church, Dorchester. Rev. HUBBARD WINSLOW, " « Bowdoin street, Dorche«ter. Rev. SEW ALL HARDING, Pastor of T. C. Church, Waltham. Rev. J. H. FAIRCH1LD, Pastor of Congregational Church, South Boston. GARDINER SPRING, D. D., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New York city. CYRUS MASON, D. D., " " " " " THOS. M'AULEY, D. D., « " - " " JOHN WOODBRIDGE, D. D., " " " " THOS. DEWITT, D. D., « Dutch Ref. " » « E. W. BALDWIN, D. D., " " " , " » Rev. J. M. M'KREBS, • Presbyterian " " Rev. ERSKINE MASON, " " " " " Rev. J. S. SPENCER, " " « Brooklyn. EZRA STILES ELY, D. D., Stated Clerk rf Gen. Assem. of Presbyterian Church. JOHN M'DOWELL, D. D., Permanent " " « JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, Corresponding Secretary of Assembly's Board of Education. SAMUEL B. WYLIE, D. D., Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. N. LORD, D. D., President of Dartmouth College. JOSHUA BATES, D. D., President of Middlebury College. H HUMPHREY, D. D., " Amherst College. E. D. GRIFFIN, D. D., " Williamstown College. J. WHEELER, D. D., " University of Vermont, at Burlington. J. M. MATTHEWS, D. D., " New York City University. GEORGE E. PIERCE, D. D., " Western Reserve College, Ohio. Rev. Dr. BROWN, « Jefferson College, Penn. LEONARD WOODS, D. D., Professor of Theology, Andover Seminary. THOS. H. SKINNER, D. D., " Sac. Rhet. " Rev. RALPH EMERSON, « Eccl. Hist. " - Rev. JOEL PARKER, Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New Orleans. JOEL HA WES, D. D., M Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn. N. S. S. BEAMAN, D. D., " Presbyterian Church, Troy, N. Y. MARK TUCKER, D. D.," « " Rev. E. N. KIRK, " » » Albany, N. Y. Rev. E. B. EDWARDS, Editor of Quarterly Observer. Rev. STEPHEN MASON, Pastor First Congregational Church, Nantucket. Rev. ORIN FOWLER, « " " " Fall River. GEORGE W. BETHUNE, D. D., Pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church, Philada. Rev. LYMAN BEECHER, D. D., Cincinnati, Ohio. Rev C. D. MALLORY, Pastor Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga. Rev. S. M. NOEL, « » «' Frankfort, Ky. Prom the Professors at Princeton Theological Seminary. The Comprehensive Commentary contains the whole of Henry's Exposition in a condensed form, Scott's Practical Observations and Marginal References, and a large number of very valuable philo- logical and critical notes, selected from various authors. The work appears to be executed with judgment, fidelity, and care; and will furnish a rich treasure of scriptural knowledge to the Biblical student, and to the teachers of Sabbath-Schools and Bible Classes. A. ALEXANDER, D. D. SAMUEL MILLER, D. D. CHARLES HODGE, D. D. J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. i Companion to \\i Sfiiblt In one super-royal volume. DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY THE FAMILY BIBLE, OR HENRY'S, SCOTT'S, CLARKE'S, GILL'S, OR OTHER COMMENTARIES: CONTAINING 1. A new, full, and complete Concordance; Illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental engravings, founded on Butterworth's, with Cruden's definitions; forming, it is believed, on many accounts, a more valuable work than either Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in the language. The value of a Concordance is now generally understood; and those who have used one, con- sider it indispensable in connection with the Eible. 2. A Guide to the Reading and Study of the Bible ; being Carpenter's valuable Biblical Companion, lately published in London, containing a complete history of the Bible, and forming a most excellent introduction to its study. It embraces the evi- dences of Christianity, Jewish antiquities, manners, customs, arts, natural history, &c, of the Bible! with notes and engravings added. 3. Complete Biographies of Henry, by Williams; Scott, by his son; Doddridge, by Orton j with sketches of the lives and characters, and notices of the works, of the writers on the Scriptures who are quoted in the Commentary, living and dead, American and foreign. This part of the volume not only affords a large quantity of interesting and useful reading for pious families, but will also be a source of gratification to all those who are in the habit of consult- ing the Commentary; every one naturally feeling a desire to know some particulars of the lives and characters of those whose opinions he seeks. Appended to this part, will be a BIBLIOTHECA BIBLICA, or list of the best works on the Bible, of all kinds, arranged under their appropriate heads. 4. A complete Index of the Matter contained in the Bible Text. 5. A Symbolical Dictionary. A very comprehensive and valuable Dictionary of Scripture Symbols, (occupying about fifty-sa closely printed pages,) by Thomas Wemyss, (author of " Biblical Gleanings," own large ^rar.es and cannot fad to be an invaluable help to every reader of the Bible. ^ rf c^^^^^^ermont. The above work can be had in several styles of binding. Price varying from $1 75 to $5 00. J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, In one super-royal volume. DERIVED PRINCIPALLY FROM THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ANTIQUITIES, TRADITIONS, AND FORMS OF SPEECH, RITES, CLIMATE, WORKS OF ART, AND LITERATURE OF THE EASTERN NATIONS: EMBODYING ALL THAT IS VALUABLE IN THE WORKS OF ROBERTS, HARDIER, BTJRDER, PAXTON, CHANDLER, And the most celebrated oriental travellers. Embracing also the subject of the Fulfilment of Prophecy, as exhibited by Keith and others; with descriptions of the present state of countries and places mentioned in the Sacred Writings. ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS LANDSCAPE ENGRAVINGS, FROM SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT. Edited by Rev. George Bush, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the New York City University. The importance of this work must be obvious, and, being altogether illustrative, without reference to doctrines, or other points in which Christians differ, it is hoped it will meet with favour from all who love the sacred volume, and that it will be sufficiently interesting and attractive to recommend itself, not only to professed Christians of all denominations, but also to the general reader. The arrangement of the texts illustrated with the notes, in the order of the chapters and verses of the authorized version of the Bible, will render it convenient for reference to particular passages; while the copious Index at the end will at once enable the reader to turn to every subject discussed in the volume. This volume is not designed to take the place of Commentaries, but is a distinct department of biblical instruction, and may be used as a companion to the Comprehensive or any other Commentary, or the Holy Bible. THE ENGRAVINGS in this volume, it is believed, will form no small part of its attractions. No pains have been spared to procure such as should embellish the work, and, at the same time, illustrate the text. Objec- tions that have been made to the pictures commonly introduced into the Bible,as being mere crea- tions of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conveying false impressions, cannot be urged against the pictorial illustrations of this volume. Here the fine arts are made subservient to utility, the landscape views being, without an exception, matter-of-fact views of places mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the present day; thus in many instances exhibiting, in the most forcible manner, to the eye, the strict and literal fulfilment of the remarkable prophecies; " the present ruined and desolate condition of the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Selah, &c, and the coun- tries of Edom and Egypt, are astonishing examples, and so completely exemplify, in the most minute particulars, every thing which was foretold of them in the height of their prosperity, that no better description can now be given of them than a simple quotation from a chapter and verse of the Bible written nearly two or three thousand years ago." The publishers are enabled to select from several collections lately published in London, the proprietor of one of which says that " seve- ral distinguished travellers have afforded him the use of nearly Three Hundred Original Sketches" of Scripture places, made upon the spot. "The land of Palestine, it is well known, abounds in scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Syria comprehends the snowy heights of Lebanon, and the majestic ruins of Tadmor and Baalbec." The above work can be had in various styles of binding. Price from $1 50 to $5 00. THE ILLUSTRATED CONCORDANCE, In one volume, royal 8vo. A new, full, and complete Concordance; illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental engravings, founded on Butterworth's, with Cruden's definitions; forming, it is believed, on many accounts, a more valuable work than either Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in the language. The value of a Concordance is now generally understood; and those who have used one, con- sider it indispensable in connection with the Bible. Some of the many advantages the Illustrated Concordance has over all the others, are, that it contains near two hundred appropriate engravings : it is printed on fine white paper, with beautiful large type. Price One Dollar. J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF BAGSTER'S COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE. In order to develope the peculiar nature of the Comprehensive Bible, it will only be necessary to embrace its more prominent features. 1st. The SACRED TEXT is that of the Authorized Version, and is printed from the edition cor- rected and improved by Dr. Blaney, which, from its accuracy, is considered the standard edition. 2d. The VARIOUS READINGS are faithfully printed from the edition of Dr. Blaney, inclusive of the translation of the proper names, without the addition or diminution of one. 3d. In the CHRONOLOGY, great care has been taken to fix the date of the particular transac- tions, which has seldom been done with any degree of exactness in any former edition of the Bible. 4th. The NOTES are exclusively philological and explanatory, and are not tinctured with senti- ments of any sect or party. They are selected from the most eminent Biblical critics and com- mentators. It is hoped that this edition of the Holy Bible will be found to contain the essence of Biblical research and criticism, that lies dispersed through an immense number of volumes. Such is the nature and design of this edition of the Sacred Volume, which, from the various objects it embraces, the freedom of its pages from all sectarian peculiarities, and the beauty, plain- ness, and correctness of the typography, that it cannot fail of proving acceptable and useful to Christians of every denomination. In addition to the usual references to parallel passages, which are quite full and numerous, the student has all the marginal readings, together with a rich selection of Philological, Critical, Histo- rical, Geographical, and other valuable notes and remarks, which explain and illustrate the sacred text. Besides the general introduction, containing valuable essays on the genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and other topics of interest, there are introductory and con- cluding remarks to each book—a table of the contents of the Bible, by which the different portions are so arranged as to read in an historical order. Arranged at the top of each page is the period in which the prominent events of sacred history took place. The calculations are made for the year of the world before and after Christ, Julian Period, the year of the Olympiad, the year of the building of Rome, and other notations of time. At the close is inserted a Chronological Index of the Bible, according to the computation of Arch- bishop Ussher. Also, a full and valuable index of the subjects contained in the Old and New Testa- ments, with a careful analysis and arrangement of texts under their appropriate subjects. Mr Greenfield, the editor of this work, and for some time previous to his death the superintend- ent of the editorial department of the British and Foreign Bible Society, was a most extraordinary man In editing the Comprehensive Bible, his varied and extensive learning was called into suc- cessful exercise, and appears in happy combination with sincere piety and a sound judgment. T he Edito- of the Christian Observer, alluding to tins work, in an obituary notice of its author, speaks of it as a work of "prodigious labour and research, at once exhibiting his varied talents and pro- found erudition." LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF THE OXFORD QUARTO BIBLE. The Publishers have spared neither care nor expense in their edition of the Bible; it is printed on the finest white vellum paper, with large and beautiful type, and bound in the most substantial and splendid manner, in the following styles: Velvet, with richly gilt ornaments; Turkey super extra, w.th gilt clasps; and m numerous others, to suit the taste of the most fasUdious. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. ■ „ ,u rhrietinn nublic eenerally will feel under great obligations to the publishers -In our opinion^^^^^ZJt, and delicate neatness with which they have got ^f ' VS Th^ntrinstc mer of tlfe Bible rlcommends itself; it needs no tinsel ornament to adorn SlSnft*^ "* "»— an/°U,lay th6y "aVe neCBSSa- ^^^J^^&s^^t^XXtco., No. 20 North Fourth street, Philadel- phia." — Bap list Record. -A beautiful quarto edition of theiBil*^^^.t^^^ ^<^^P^f^ ..ess and beauty; the paperis of the nnert text ^e"™ fer a B|ble executed m perfect sim- K" ye"'ei^an^oTslXwiXuradorrment, will probably never find one more to their taste." — M. Magasine. J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. LIPPINCOTT'S EDITIONS OF THE HOLY BIBLE. SIX DIFFERENT SIZES, Printed in the best manner, with beautiful type, on the finest sized paper, and bound in the most splendid and substantial styles. Warranted to be correct, and equal to the best English editions, at much less price. To be had with or without plates; the publishers having supplied themselves with over fifty steel engravings, by the first artists. Baxter's Comprehensive Bible, Royal quarto, containing the various readings and marginal notes; disquisitions on the genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures; introductory and concluding remarks to each book; philological and explanatory notes j table of contents, arranged in historical order; a chro- nological index, and various other matter; forming a suitable book for the study of clergymen, Sabbath-school teachers, and students. In neat plain binding, from $4 00 to $5 00. —In Turkey morocco, extra, gilt edges, from $8 00 to 112 00. — In do., with splendid plates. $10 00 to $15 00. — In do., bevelled side, gilt clasps and illu- minations, $15 00 to $25 00. The Oxford Quarto Bible, Without note or comment, universally admitted to be the most beautiful Bible extant. In neat plain binding, from $4 00 to $5 00. — In Turkey morocco, extra, gilt edges, $8 00 to $12 00. — In do., with steel engravings, $10 00 to $15 00. —In do., clasps, &c, with plates and illumina- tions, $15 00 to $25 00. — In rich velvet, with gilt ornaments, $25 00 to $50 00. Crown Octavo Bible, Printed with large clear type, making a most convenient hand Bible for family use. In neat plain binding, from 75 cents to $1 50. — In English Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $1 00 to $2 00. —In do., imitation, &c, $1 50 to $3 00. —In do., clasps, ltch Ritchie. GRANDMAMMA'S POCKETS. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. LITTLE ROBINSON, and other Tales. MORAL COURAGE, and other Tales. OLD ENGLAND, A TALE OF. By Thomas Miller. ORLANDINO, A TALE. By Miss Edgeworth. POEMS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. SCOTLAND, HISTORY OF. By Frederica Rowan. SELF-DENIAL, JACOPO, and other Tales. STEADFAST GABRIEL, A TALE. By Mary Howltt SWANN'S EGG, THE. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. TRUE HEROISM, and other Stories. TRUTH AND TRUST. UNCLE SAM'S MONEY-BOX. By Mrs. S. C. Han. WHISPERER, THE. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. Chambers's Instructive and Entertaining Library. History of the French Revolutions from 1789 to 1849. BY T. W. REDHEAD. THREE VOLUMES. % I. S. Stal S&tronomital