I03W JO AaViail 1VNOI1VN J N I 3 I 0 3 W JO A 0 V I a I 1 1VNOUVN JNIDId IQ!W JO AaV*8ll IVNOIIVN 3NI3IQ3W JO AH'llll 1 V N 0 I J. V N 3NI3IC 1NI3I0 ONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATION \My ~ I'm iiojw jo Anvaaii ivnoiivn indioiw jo n«ain ivnoiivn jnoio #>«./ o x-i^ D ^kn/ 9 ^- err H ^¥ ONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATION IQiW JO AaV&ail IVNOIIVN 3 N I 3 I 0 3 W JO AUVMail IVNOIIVN 3 N I 3 I Q ^X^-1 ONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE N ATI OK §8kV dr*m* i *~r an ivnoiivn iNDiaaw jo abv»bii ivnoiivn indioivi JO Jitnn aan ivnouvn 1NI3K13W jo Aavaan ivnoiivn 3 n i 3 i a jv* jo a» v aa n «Y OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY O 1NI3I03W JO nvmn IVNOIiVN i v^-p 7 i x ^fer/ • fear / l x RY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY 0 vaan IVNOIiVN jNisiasw jo A.v.an ivnoiivn 3 n i 3 1 a 3 w jo a» v aa 1 > t \ TO. CONSUMPTIVES. - INFORMATION RESPECTING THE PRACTICE OF F. H. R A MADGE, M. D., FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, SENIOR PHYSICIAN TO THE INFIRMARY FOR ASTHMA, CONSUMPTION, AND OTHER DISEASES OF THE CHEST, ETC., LONDON. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL CASES IN RELATION TO THIS PRACTICE, IN WHICH IT HAS BEEN BENEFICIAL IN THIS COUNTRY, WITH OTHER CORROBORATIVE TESTIMONY. \ BY J. M. HOWE, M. D. NEW-YORK : PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 309 GRAND STREET, THREE DOORS WEST OF BOWERV, 1816. This pamphlet, Dr. Ramadge's work, and tubes properly con- structed, with directions for their use, and other instructions, may be had of Dr. Howe, 209 Grand-street, New-York. All persons are cautioned against purchasing of traveling pedlers. Information has been received of impositions being practiced in some instances. Those who wish to obtain the benefit of this practice should see Dr. Howe, or send to him, and avail themselves of,his directions. Without this necessary information, the patient may find himself in difficulty, from which a little instruction might have saved him. In Bome instances persons have returned to Dr. H. after two or three months, stating that they had used the tube, but were not benefited ; and upon inquiry it was ascertained that they had not used it once as it should have been used. Dr. Howe has had more than seven years' experience in relation to this method of treating consumption, during which he has seen many persons whose lives might have been preserved if the tube had been employed. He has also known some instances in which it has been resorted to in so advanced a stage of the disease as to prove rather an injury than a benefit. Persons who may wish to use this instrument would do well to have Dr. H.'s opinion ; and in no case will he recommend it unless he sincerely believes its use will be beneficial. As various impositions have been practiced by persons abroad, he would state that the price at which he furnishes the tube, with instructions for its use, is $5. Dr. Ramadge's work on consumption, separate, is $1 25. The tube and book together are $6. Persons purchasing the tube of Dr. II. may avail themselves of his instructions without additional expense. All letters must be post-paid. Dr. Howe may be seen, at his office, from ten A. M. till five P. M. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1846, by J. M. Howe, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New.York. TO CONSUMPTIVES. "Let no man's heart fail" him. The following remarks are respectfully addressed to persons who are predisposed to consumption from a bad state of the system, mal-formation of the chest, or who have inherited it from their parents ^ or who are in danger of falling into the disease from any cause or causes; and to persons afflicted with tubercular phthisis, or pulmonary consumption, bronchitis, asthma in its incipient state, or any disease in the chest or throat. The writer, having been restored from a state of health, in which he was considered, by eminent physicians of this city, past recovery, wishes, for the benefit of others, to state a few particulars relative to his own history, and other interesting facts, sincerely believing that the practice by which he has been restored is the best extant:—and that if this be not a remedy for the prevention and cure of tubercular phthisis, or pulmonary consumption, it may be pronounced incurable. From a low state of health, of many years' standing, produced by disarrangement of the digestive organs, and a want of cheerfulness of mind, I had been gradually de- clining ; and for the last ten years, having pursued a very sedentary course of life, with considerable mental effort, and frequent attempts at public speaking, although I used many cautionary and preventive means, my whole system was reduced to much weakness. In the month of December, 1837, while performing my duties as chaplain in the New- York City Hospital, I took a severe cold, which soon set- tled into a chronic bronchitis ; and within a few months, notwithstanding the bdst medical aid of the country, it was too clearly ascertained that my lungs were tubercu- lated, and that I was laboring under tubercular phthisis,* or pulmonary consumption. The various remedies pre- scribed by regular practitioners were resorted to, which * Phthisis Pulmonale is the technical name for consumption of the lungs, strictly applied to the tuberculous variety. 4 INTERESTING INFORMATION rather increased than relieved my complaint, and then recourse was had to the popular nostrums of the day. These too were unavailing; and my physicians agreed that the only possible means of recovery would be a sea voyage and traveling. Accordingly, after having previ- ously made such arrangements as every prudent man in such a state of health would make, on the 7th of June, 1838, I sailed for Liverpool. As to the voyage, I will only remark, that the sea sickness, which was continual, doubtless greatly aggravated my disease, and I arrived in Liverpool in a very enfeebled state. I consulted several physicians in various parts of England, but, so far as I could judge, the practice pursued was the same as in this country; and, instead of being benefited, every means only tended to make me worse. The fatigue of traveling, and the ever-variable climate of England, also tended greatly to increase my sufferings. I then crossed to the continent, hoping to get temporary relief from the more genial climate of France. I passed a few days in Paris, and designed, Providence permitting, to go into the south of France; but being very unwell in Paris, and confined for about three days to my room, I obtained medical advice again, and was informed that it would be highly improper to travel further, and that I must stop; but fearing lest I should die there, I resolved with all the re- maining strength I had to make an effort to get home, fully assured that medical advice was useless, and that climate and a sea voyage, whatever they had done for others, would not save me. I moderately retraced my steps to England. On my return, while in London, I was so indisposed that \ was again confined to my room. Here I obtained the advice of Dr. Davids, one of the most celebrated physi- cians of London, who advised a blister, which made me much worse, and resulted in great weakness of the chest. In this state, while in continual prayer to God to interpose his strong arm to save me, a young man entered my room, and stated that there was a minister in Manchester who had been in a low state of consumption, and who was given up by the faculty, but who obtained a book, the title of which is " Consumption Curable," and had followed the directions therein laid down ; " and," said he, " he is now well, and preaching." By this young man I was led TO CONSUMPTIVES. 5 to obtain the book," Consumption Curable," and by it, and the advice of a lady, was induced to consult F. H. Ramadge, M. D., the author, who, at his first interview, said to the lady, " He is very ill, but he has come just in time to save his life." Upon examination of my chest, he remarked, " You have tubercles in both lungs." I then, in a whisper, (for I could not speak above a whisper,) put the following interrogatories :—" Doctor, can I live, or must I die ? Be honest with me." He replied, " You will perfectly recover." " Shall I ever be able to speak loud ?' " O yes." " Shall I ever be able to sing?" "Yes." "Shall I, sir, ever be able to preach again'?" " Yes, I see no- thing to hinder." "How long, sir, will it be before all this takes place ?" " In about four or six months you will be quite well, but you will attain a strength about the chest that you have not had for years." " Ah, doctor," said I, "I am afraid to believe you." He answered warmly, " I would insure it by my right arm, were it possible." To this man, under God, I owe my life. He gave me instructions concerning what I should do and what I should avoid, by the observance of which I have been restored to good health, as far as the chest is con- cerned, although I am occasionally dyspeptic. The principal means he directed me to use was a tube,* five feet in length, and half an inch in diameter, prepared with a suitable mouth piece, through which I was to breathe, for the purpose of expanding, airing, and exer- cising the lungs, by which exercise they would become enlarged, the sores be absorbed, and the surfaces brought in apposition, and healed. This tube, with his instruc- tions, gave me relief at once ; and from the day I got it, to the present time, I have been gradually improving in health, and now consider my chest quite well. After having tarried with Dr. R. as long as he wished, and it * Dr. Ramadge has since invented a short tube, with a small valve, which Dr. Rose, of Philadelphia, advertises under the name of the Whistle for curing Consumption. Dr. Howe has on hand all the latest improvements: the various kinds of tube, the Whistle, with Dr. Ramadge's work on consumption, showing the causes and the cure of consumption, with remarks on the use and abuse of the various medicines, sirups, &c, used in this disease—also on diet and climate. This book should be in the hands of every intelligent consumptive. It maybe obtained at Dr. Howe's office. 1* 6 INTERESTING INFORMATION being the time that I purposed to return home, I was led to ask Dr. R. for advice as to climate, supposing, that as I would arrive in New-York (my native city) in the month of October, it would be death for me to think of passing the winter at homer and that I should have to go to the south. " But," said Dr. R., " go home, and stay at home.', " Then," replied I, " I shall have to shut myself in the house all winter." " By no means,'r he replied, " go out every day." " But," said I, " ours is a dreadful climate \ it snows, and hails, and blows." " Well," said he, "choose the best time in the day, and go out every day." Well, thought I, it is death to follow the old beaten path, and it can be but to die if I do as directed; andr considering the high character of Dr. Ramadge,* I re- solved implicitely to follow his directions. The returning sea voyage reduced me much, but I reached home in bet- ter health than one could have expected. Upon my arri- val I began to speak of the remedy I had found j and feeling desirous to benefit others, I published a few letters * Dr. Ramadge is the senior physician to the London Lung Infir- mary, an office which he has held for nearly thirty years. This is a public institution, and under the patronage of the nobility and gen- try of England. Its president, for many years pastr was the venerable Duke of Sussex, uncle to her majesty the Queen. And m this insti- tution Dr. R. has had greater opportunity to make observations on consumption, and to try the various experiments in Buch diseases, than perhaps any man living. From the numerous consumptive patients that I saw while there, both at his private dwelling and at the infirmary, who applied to him for advice, I should think he has more consumptive cases in one month than any physician in the United States in one year. " The following statement is copied from the Royal Kalender, and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies, for the year 1839. Infirmary for Asthma, Consumption, and other Diseases of the Lungs, 10 Artillery.street, Bishopgate. President, Duke of Stosex. Vice Presidents, Marquis Camden, Marquis of Hertford, Mar- quis of Anglesea, Eari, of Ripon, Lord Calthorp, Lord Ellenborough. Treasurer,------------. Physicians, F. H. Ramadge, M. D., Thomas Davies, M. D. Apothecary, Mr. William Herring. Honorary Secretary, Samuel Amory, Esq. Assistant Sec. and Col., Ma. William Eddrup, 51 Houndsditch. Matron, Mrs. Jane Hine." TO COXSUMPTIVES. 7 in the New-York Observer, Christian Intelligencer, and Christian Advocate, which were extensively copied into other papers. These letters brought many to see me, among whom were some of the most respectable physi- cians, who requested the privilege of seeing the tube, and examining my chest: " For," said they, " there is much that passes for consumption that is not." I acquiesced ; and the result of such examinations was, in the language of Dr. W—ton, "I have no more doubt of the tuberculated state of your lungs than if I could see them;" and Dr. C-x said," The right lung is hepatized;" that is, changed by disease, resembling liver in appearance; and said another, " Half of the right Jung is gone." I received many letters from various parts of the United States, to answer which consumed much of my time, and subjected me to some expense ; but, being desirous to spread the information, I abridged Dr. Ramadge's work on consump- tion, and published one thousand copies, which I prin- cipally distributed gratuitously, and nine months after put his large work to press. Of this I have sold a number of copies. I have also procured a number of tubes, and instructed persons in the use of them ; and am now happy to state that many have been greatly benefited, and others restored to health. It has, however, been objected by some physicians, who have no personal knowledge of me, that I could not have been fairly in consumption, or I could not possibly, by any means, have recovered. To this objection I will only reply, that distinguished physicians pronounced my case to be tubercular phthisis, and further stated that it was impossible that I could live; that no means could save me ; and the symptoms were such as fully to corroborate their testimony. These were—slight soreness in the chest, which was increased, particularly by the sea sick- ness, and which spread itself throughout the lungs; a hacking cough at times ; loss of voice, so as to be unable to converse much above a whisper, and then with the greatest exertion, accompanied by much hoarseness; night sweats, followed by great chilliness along the spine in the morning, hectic fever in the afternoon, and with wasting of flesh and sallowness of complexion; and, upon some occasions, when under the effects of a cold, the expecto- 8 INTERESTING INFORMATION ration of mucus, and some purulent matter, with a growing contraction of the chest for several years. These were my symptoms; but, by following Dr. Ramadge's directions, I have now none of them: my chest is astonishingly altered in shape and enlarged in size; the sinking under the clavi- cles, or collar bones, which was full an inch in depth, is now so filled up as to leave no indentation at all; and my strength of lungs has returned to me to such a degree (though I am, and always will be, a slender man) that I have been able to perform, since my recovery, one years' service as chaplain in the New-York Hospital, in visiting the sick, and preaching on the sabbath ;* and for several years past I have usually, sabbath after sabbath, preached once, and sometimes twice, in different churches. I consider my recovery as one among thousands, and attribute it entirely to my being providentially directed to Dr. Ramadge. It is now nearly eight years since I was first made ac- quainted with this method of treating consumption, during which time I have had ample opportunity to test its efficacy in my own case, and in the case of a great number of per- sons ; and, as the result of this experience, I do not hesi- tate to say that I as much believe the practice herein recommended to be a remedy for pulmonary consumption, if it be employed when any human means can reach the case, as I believe the gospel to be a remedy for sin and its consequences. So convinced was I of its utility, from the first of my becoming acquainted with it, that one of the principal desires which led me to hope that my life might be prolonged was, to see it introduced exten- sively ; and one of the chief sources of my pleasure now growing out of past reminiscences is, that I have been the honored instrument in introducing this remedy into my own country, and of seeing it adopted successfully by many reputable physicians in different parts of the United States. Many persons, too, through my instrumentality, have been recovered to good health, who now cherish toward me similar feelings of gratitude to those I entertain for Dr. Ramadge, several of whom, had they not followed my advice, would long since, in all probability, have been numbered with the dead Intelligent gentlemen throucrh- * I resigned my office in the New-York City Hospital 1st nf March, 1840. 01 TO CONSUMPTIVES. 9 out the United States are giving attention to this practice, among whom are several members of Congress, to whom I have forwarded the tube and the doctor's work on consumption ; and I live in hopes that the time is not far distant, when the prejudices of those who are opposed to giving this practice a fair and candid investigation maybe removed, and that facts may be permitted to speak for themselves. But in this practice, as in other innovations, the community must lead the van ; and as facts multiply, and persons are raised up to speak in such terms of com- mendation as this subject demands, (and it is of no small importance,) inhalation for pulmonary consumption will be generally introduced. Who that reflects upon the great number of persons that are daily falling victims to this dire disease throughout our country, and among these some of the brightest ornaments of society, but must feel interested to learn some particulars about a remedy that is comparatively little known, which has been the means of rescuing many persons from death 1 By a parity of reasoning, if it be beneficial in some cases, why not in others ? But great regard should be had to its applicabi- lity to proper cases. I have seen many persons who, I felt perfectly confident, might be saved by this means, but who were unwilling to try it, because some of their friends could not understand how the lungs could be benefited by breathing through a tube. I have seen others also who have been recommended to use it, when their general symptoms were such as to render it impossible for them to recover—the lungs having been previously wasted away—yet, as they had known a case in which it had been beneficial, they were not willing to be advised not to use it, not considering that they were more diseased. Some, too, are ready to conclude, because they have seen the tube used, and the patient has died, that therefore it is useless, and consequently exert their influence against this practice, not considering that the patient was one of those in whose case the tube should not have been em- ployed at all, and that he was so diseased previously to using it as to render his case not only doubtful as to recovery, but certain that it would terminate fatally whether the tube were used or not. A case occurred some time since:— A gentleman, who had been sick for some length of time 1* 10 INTERESTING INFORMATION with consumption, and had been treated by several eminent physicians without relief being afforded him, was desirous to have my opinion ; but his wife feared to invite me to see him, lest I should predict his death. A lady, however, called on me, and stated his case. I at once informed her that the tube would not be proper in his case, and that in all probability he would not live, feeling assured, at the same time, that he would certainly die. Subsequently a physician advised the use of the tube, and promised him that it would restore his health. It was procured ; I in- sisting at the time that it was improper. He used it, and for a few weeks grew better. lie was encouraged, and the family were gratified; but I knew full well that their hopes were elated but to be disappointed—a change fol- lowed, and he died. Now this was a case in which the use of the tube was highly improper. A time will come, however, when this practice will be understood, and when the intelligent physician will cheerfully direct the attention of his consumptive patient to the tube, keeping him at the same time under his own care, and following out the direc- tions laid down by Dr. Ramadge, not to inhale vapors, &c, but the common air, to exercise, strengthen, and enlarge the lungs. One of the oldest and most respectable physi- cians of this city, who called on me to obtain a tube for one of his patients, (he had had two previously for other patients,) remarked, " I am not particular by what means my patients are benefited, if I can only cure them. I have lived long enough to know that it is best to ascertain the real merits of a case before I pass judgment upon it." Dr. Fitch, of Philadelphia, was so forcibly struck with the importance of Dr. Ramadge's theory and practice, that he was induced to visit England to see the doctor, to obtain additional information; and upon his return home he made several experiments with the tube, which resulted in the restoration of the patient to health. In 1841 he published a work entitled, Diseases of the Chest, &c. A Treatise on the Causes and Cure of Pulmonary Con- sumption, designed for general as well as professional readers. "A time may come when consumption will be classed with curable diseases."—Bute, 1832. "Consump- tion is a curable disease."—Fitch, 1841. Philadelphia. The work is addressed to Samuel Jackson, M. D. The TO CONSUMPTIVES. 11 doctor has inserted a large number of cases taken from Dr. Ramadge's work, and has also given several highly interesting cases which have been successfully treated by himself, in which inhalation was employed. Dr. Rose, of Philadelphia, has also adopted this practice, and pub- lished a work, in which he highly recommends inhalation for pulmonary diseases. Dr. Morris Mattson, of Boston, in a late work on medi- cal practice, containing more than seven hundred, pages, octavo, appropriates nearly three pages to Dr. Ramadge's practice. He remarks, " I have made a few experiments with Dr. R.'s tube in pulmonary consumption in my own practice, and was highly pleased with the result. I am disposed to consider it a very important instrument in the treatment of consumption." The physician who would adopt this practice should make himself familiar with Dr. Ramadge's work on con- sumption, so as to understand how and when inhalation should be employed, and when discontinued;—and so of medical treatment and diet. I am positive, from the experience I have had of the use of the tube in my own case, and in a large number of cases that have come under my observation, that the principal means upon which de- pendence is to be placed is the use of the tube. Any physician who adopts inhalation in his practice for tuber- cular consumption will be likely to be as successful as Dr. Mattson, of Boston, or Drs. Fitch and Rose, of Philadelphia. I am aware of the existing opinion among physician.s, that when tubercular phthisis, or pulmonary consumption, is once seated, it cannot be cured; and as all medical means have failed hitherto, it is not to be wondered at that such an opinion should prevail. Hence, as far as my knowledge goes, physicians do not attempt or profess to cure tubercular consumption; nay, they affirm that it cannot be cured; therefore they only direct their atten- tion to the alleviating of symptoms, and not to the disease itself. But admitting that means have hitherto failed, docs it follow, that in this age of research, and improve- ment in arts and sciences generally, no improvement is to be made for the treatment of this, the most common of diseases ' If medical science has advanced in some departments, why may there not be a means for the 12 INTERESTING INFORMATION prevention and cure of pulmonary consumption ? It has long ago been admitted, by the most distinguished medical writers and practitioners, that although consumption ought to be cured, yet no medical treatment, however judicious, can cure it,when once seated; hence the frequent advice of sea voyages, travel by land, and change of climate, which not unfrequently result in the most serious conse- quences. How often does the patient come to the con- clusion of honest Touchstone, when thousands of miles from his home, "Ay, now am I in Arden ; the more fool I; when I was at home I was in a better place !" or, to use the language of Stenie, be had done better had he " remained dry shod at home." I apprehend consumptives are often greatly injured, and their disease permanently confirmed, by being secluded too much from atmospheric changes in the early stages of the disease, while all their dependence for recovery is placed upon medicinal treatment; and in this condition they are kept until their case is hopeless, and then they are advised to take a sea voyage as a last resource, which not unfrequently results in their dying in a strange land. Changes of climate, and sea voyages, under certain circum- stances, are doubtless calculated to result favorably to con- sumptives, inasmuch as they breathe a more stimulating atmosphere, their inspirations are deeper, and their general health is frequently promoted. "All the advantages, how- ever," says Dr. Forry, in his excellent work on the climate of the United States and its endemic influences, "tobe ex- pected from change of air, depend upon the just adapta- tion of the remedy to the individual case." " Phthisis," says the same author, "prevails less in hot, and in very cold climates, than in temperate countries. Persons most liable to the disease are not those *who are exposed in the open air, but those who suffer the least exposure to cli- matic variations : confirmatory of this opinion is the ob- servation of Dr. Rush, that among our Indians, and the frontier inhabitants, phthisis is very uncommon." " It is found that phthisis, as in the middle regions of the United States, is much more frequent in the temperate regions of Europe, comprised between the fifty-fifth and forty-fifth degree of latitude, than it is further to the north. While in London it is calculated that two hundred and TO CONSUMPTIVES. 13 thirty-six of every thousand deaths are caused by pulmo- nary phthisis, in Sweden the ratio is only sixty-three. At St. Petersburg and Stockholm it is much less destruct- ive than throughout Germany, and more especially at Berlin, Munich, Vienna, and Paris; and, by Sir William Crichton, it is stated, that consumption is infinitely more frequent in Great Britain and Ireland, in comparison with their population, than in the northern parts of Russia. In the southern parts of Europe, from the forty-fifth to the thirty-fifth parallel, it is still found to be a very common disease." " It is altogether a mistake,'1 says a correspondent of mine, residing in Sumpter co., Alabama, " to suppose that a southern climate is good for a consumptive. I do not believe it; but, on the contrary, think a cold climate preferable. In my opinion, the reason why some are benefited by coming south, is on account of the change, and the exercise of traveling: a change to a cold climate would have the same effect." The number of deaths in the city of New-York during the year 1845 was 10,983; of which 1659 died of pul- monary consumption, and about 642 of inflammation of the lungs, amounting to 2301 deaths by diseased lungs in the city, being nearly one-fifth of the whole number. In the city of Boston, the number of deaths in 1844 was 2241; of which number 305 died of consumption and inflammation of the lungs :—from Jan. 1st, 1845, to Jan. 1st, 1846, the whole number of deaths was 2585 ; of which number 426 died of consumption. In the city of Baltimore, in 1844, 2879 died ; of which 510 died of consumption, and 21 of inflammation of the lungs :—in 1845, whole num- ber 3107, 523 of consumption and of inflammation of the lungs. Consumption throughout what may be termed the middle latitudes is committing its ravages: nor are the extreme north and south exempt; and I doubt not that if the fact could be ascertained, the disease would be found greatly on the increase. The growing effeminacy of the habits of multitudes of our population may be a sufficient reason why it is so. The causes of consumption may be classed into two, viz., direct and indirect. Of the direct causes,—in addition 14 INTERESTING INFORMATION to individuals being confined within doors, and preventing the exercising and airing of the pulmonary muscles, and expansion of the chest, by improper dress and imperfect breathing,—unhealthy apartments, especially in the incle- ment season of the year, are most promotive of consump- tion. Throughout our widely-extended land, how few sleeping apartments are anything more than boxes into which persons shut themselves, there to remain from seven to ten hours, breathing almost the same air over and over again; to awake in the morning with the tongue coated, and the whole system feverish and exhausted ! And during the inclement season, among the more wealthy class of our citizens, (to say nothing of the badly ventilated apartments of the poor,) many of the dwellings are kept so intolerably healed by furnaces, or stoves in the hall, and a large fire in the grate, of anthracite coal, in the same room in which several of the family sleep, as to consume a large portion of the vitality of the air: while all the physical exercise taken by the ladies is that of a fashionable walk of a few blocks, at a snail's pace, with ribs compressed by fashion- able attire; and the gentlemen ride or walk to their places of business, there to remain, frequently in over-heated offices, to spend the day in mental pursuits, with occasional sudden exposures. As it regards remedies used in this disease, it has been admitted that medicine has no power to heal the excava- tions formed in the lungs by tuberculous phthisis. Never- theless, that multitudes should be so easily induced to hope for relief by the use of medicines, is not at all strange when we consider the desire for health and life which is so natural to every human being. Dr. Young, of St. George's Hospital, London, writes thus: " It is probable that without assistance not one case in a thousand of the disease would recover ; and with the utmost power of art perhaps not more than one in a hundred will be found curable." This opinion, however correct it may be when applied to cases in which the usual remedial agents are employed, Dr. Ramadge has proved to be unfounded as respects his practice, since he has employed inhalation; and that in a vast majority of cases patients may be entirely restored by the employment of this means, if it be not left to too late a period. TO CONSUMPTIVES. 15 " The subject," says an English practitioner, who had adopted Dr. Ramadge's practice for consumption, " is not only inexhaustible, but so important, and of such magni- tude, that it requires to be examined in all its bearings, for only by the test of scrutiny can it become established as it deserves. The finger of nature has been pointing to it for ages, yet no eye has followed the sign. In vain had science asserted that there is no bane without an antidote: the fact, as it regarded consumption, was denied; and, until Dr. Ramadge made the discovery, the hearts of all who were afflicted with that terrible disease were left to sink in despair. " In all cases of consumption, the grand law which effects its cure is the prevention of contraction of the chest. The localities in which this prevention appears are, as I shall have occasion to point out, various. Yet, in every variation, the antagonism to consumption is estab- lished by one ruling principle, viz., the re-adjustment of the deranged relation or balance between the organs of in- spiration and expiration, through the agency of something obstructing more or less the exit of the air in the act of expiration. Here let it be observed, by the way, that nature, in her operations under this law, rarely does her work perfectly ; and, in many instances, runs from one extreme to another. The forces which represent the powers of inspiration are stronger than those forces which represent the powers of expiration ; consequently, when the impediment mentioned exists, owing to the weaker expiration, and the imprisonment of air, in some degree, an enlargement of the lungs takes place, and the cure of the disease is brought about. " No sooner does consumption occur, than it is earlier or later marked by contraction of the chest. The wind- pipe, by retaining its original size, becomes comparatively too large for this reduced compass ; the exit of the air is too free to offer antagonism to the advance of the disease, which would be attended by the occurrence of new crops of tubercles, and their presence and subsequent liquefac- tion in the lower lobes of the lungs. It is pleasing to ob- serve that when nature or art interrupts the daily contrac- tion of the lungs, before the invasion of the tubercles in the lower lobes, we find little or no disposition in the larynx 16 INTERESTING INFORMATION or intestines to fall into diseased action. The following exhibits a hasty and imperfect catalogue of the admirable, yet simple and accidental processes by which the benefi- cial interruptions alluded to are brought about, and which I shall comprise under the head of " Different means by which consumption is arrested by nature.—Enlargement of the tonsils. Diseases of the heart. Tumors of any sort on the windpipe, or its division. Hysteria. Asthma. Catarrh, symptomatic or idiopathic. Polypus in the nose, or, indeed, any mucous intumescence in the same part, or nasal fossae. Uterine hemorrhage, or profuse or too frequent bleedings from any part of the body. Disease in the vertebrae of the neck has, in more than one instance, been noticed by my preceptor to point beneath the pharynx, and constitute a tumor standing in the way of the expired air. " I now proceed, to recapitulate the modus operandi of these agents. " Enlargement of the tonsils.—The great rarity of mani- fest consumption in children is owing to the enlargement of the tonsils, so commonly observable in them. The same strumous habit that gives rise to the foregoing state, antecedently or concomitantly, deposits tubercles in the lungs : in the majority of cases we have no opportunity of seeing these, when, after a lapse of years, death follows, from disease wholly unconnected with any chest affection, owing to their absorption ; but we not unfrequently witness the black stains or indurations in the summits of the lungs, where they have been. It may be here mentioned that even the greater number of adults who are seen with any degree of enlarged tonsils, can recollect, when only su- perficially questioned, that they had suffered under some antecedent affection, displaying all the constitutional symp- toms of consumption. " As the greater power of the inspiratory muscles will, even under this state of enlarged tonsils, draw in the air with more freedom than it-can escape, the preponderating action will, of course, expand the lungs, and, assisted by the weakness of the expiratory powers, imprison air sufficient to increase that expansion, and thus enlarge the thorax • and, what is remarkable, by making the patient short- breathed or asthmatic, so completely alter the scrofulous TO CONSUMPTIVES. 17 habit as to remove the very impediment (i. e., the enlarged tonsils) which has the capability of defeating any contrac- tion of the lungs that would lead to unmasked tuberculous phthisis. Still more extraordinary, the enlargement of the tonsils alone is sufficient to render the lungs voluminous, and to close up a cavity resulting from liquefied tubercles. Dr. Ramadge considers enlarged tonsils as indications of a scrofulous habit, and that the lungs are, or have been, tuberculated ; but this enlargement is, at the same time, a sign of the non-liability of the patient to sink under phthisi- cal disease, of which it is an indication." The following cases, proving the power which pul- monary expansion exercises over consumption, are taken from The Medical Times, London, Feb. 25, 1843 :— " M. Lebeau, physician to the King of the Belgian?, and principal physician to the military hospital at Brussels, in the preface to his translation of Dr. Ramadge's work on consumption, mentions, that having long devoted his attention to this disease, he has been himself struck with the conviction that asthma has the power of arresting, as well as preventing it, and that he could cite a considerable number of facts to illustrate this statement, but confines himself to one of recent date, and complete in its details. M.-------, aged forty-eight, a cap. lain of an infantry regiment, presented himself, April 26,1836, at the military hospital at Brussels, with a view to obtain a certificate to exempt him from active service, in consequence of habitual dyspnoea. He complained of no other ailment, and was of full habit; his chest of remarkable amplitude, respiration wheezing, the sibilant rale was heard throughout, the heart's action regular and moderate, the pulse calm and natural, and the face exhibiting no signs of venous conges- tion. He gave the following account of his case, in the presence of Dr. Coombe, of Edinburgh, who happened to be there at the time, Drs. Limaugue and Biefve, of Brussels, and several pupils:—'In 1816, after severe fatigue, I was attacked with cough and copious expectoration, wasted away rapidly, and was subject to shiverings in the daytime, and perspirations at night, with wandering pains below the collar bones. My medical attendants repeatedly assured me I was consumptive, and could not long survive. While matters were in this state I was seized with a difficulty of breathing, to such a degree that I was obliged to get out of bed at night, and repair to the window to breathe fresh air. From this period my Ptrength began to return, the perspirations ceased, and I soon became of as full habit as you now see me. My chest, which was flat and contracted, enlarged in an extraordinary manner, and I was completely cured, save the difficulty of breathing, for which I could obtain no remedy.' « M Lebeau adds, that Dr. Canstatt, a young physician of great merit had related to him a similar and strikingly illustrative case which had occurred in his own family. Among other remarks worthy ofattentioninhis preface, he makes the following very interesting 18 INTERESTING INFORMATION and curious one :—< Taking into consideration all the circumstances preceding and accompanying this disease, and the appearances after death, I have had the most satisfactory evidence that the compression on the upper part of the chest of young soldiers, caused by the weight of the arms and accoutrements, has contributed very much to the oc currence of phthisis.' " The subjoined cases are submitted as examples of the benefits derivable from pulmonary expansion by measured mechanical respi- ration :— « Miss------, aged twenty-three, the daughter of a member of parliament, was attacked by consumption, displaying itself in the usual manner by cough, expectoration, night sweats, and gradual emaciation. A few months after its commencement, one of her tonsils acquired considerable size, and coincidently her symptoms showed signs of amendment. This tonsil, after a short interval, suppurated, and the signs of amendment soon disappeared. Her relatives now began to entertain serious apprehensions, more es- pecially as she had lost a brother and two sisters by consumption within a few months. Dr. Ramadge was called in, and felt satisfied, upon examination and inquiry, that disease had commenced in the right lung, and been interrupted by the enlargement of the tonsil. He also ascertained that it now existed in the summit of the left lung. The chest was flat and contracted, both the collar bones very prominent, and the infra-clavicular depression on the left side remark- able. The constitutional disturbance and preternatural heat of the chest were reduced by the application of a few leeches occasionally between the second and third ribs of the affected side, and the ad- ministration of nitre and tartarized antimony, &c. Tonics and se- datives were also prescribed, to support the system and allay irritation. The patient, however, was taught to place her chief reliance on the artificial respiration, and not expect results sooner than a month, that is, in a very sensible degree. By perseverance in the use of the in- haling apparatus, her strength gradually returned, the appetite im- proved, the nocturnal perspirations ceased, the quality of the matter expectorated was amended, a satisfactory respiratory murmur became audible, the frequency of the pulse abated, the countenance resumed its former animation, the chest expanded, and she increased in flesh and the entire constitution was renovated. Before these desirable results were gained, she had twice or thrice, within six months fresh liquefactions of pre-existing tubercles, attended, of course, with'more or less renewal of the constitutional symptoms, during which the ex. pectoration showed the softened opaque tuberculous matter minutely subdivided and suspended in the muco-purulent sputa. With the exception of these changes, the cure went steadily on, till recovery took place. The great augmentation of flesh, and enlargement of the chest that followed, were particularly noticed by the respectable cir- cles in which she moved, to whom she is in the habit of explainine the improvement that has taken place, by throwing her shoulders up! ward and forward, thus bringing the clavicles greatly in advance of the upper ribs, in imitation of the appearance of the chest in its pre- vious state, that they may judge by contrast. This patient had used" the tube for the space of about twelve months, three times a day, as TO CONSUMPTIVES. 19 directed, and her symptoms had disappeared some months before she left it off. " Hohnbaum, the distinguished German pathologist, who has translated Dr. Ramadge's work into his native language, strongly re- commends this extension of the term of its use for the sake of security. About two years afterward, at the close of the gay season in London, Dr. Ramadge was again called in to see her. She com- plained of cough and pain in the lower scapular region, which he attributed to fresh softenings of old tuberculous nodules. Appropriate medicinal treatment, with the use of the tube, soon removed these symptoms of relapse, and she has not since required any medical advice. The mechanical respiration in this case has prevented the deposit of fresh tubercles, and altered that peculiar habit which generates it. "Her eldest sister, with whom she had been in the habit of sleeping, a few months previous to her attack exhibited unequivocal signs of consumption ; and, though having the advantage of the most dis- tinguished advice, experienced no relief till she removed to Hastings. The bracing sea air, and horse-exercise, which she here enjoyed, brought about an amelioration, so far as to check the most distressing symptoms, and do away with the cough, but still she remained in a very delicate state. The satisfactory result of her sister's treatment induced her mother to draw Dr. Ramadge's attention to her case also. He found her chest very much contracted, the middle of the collar bones standing out nearly three-fourths of an inch in advance of the upper ribs, which were, of course, greatly depressed, particularly those on the right side. Auscultation discovered in the summit of the right lung clear indications that consumption existed in a latent form, attended with an insensible excavation. For the improvement of her general health, tonics, chiefly quinine, with preparations of iron, were occasionally prescribed, and for the local affection the artificial respi- ration was steadily employed. The result was, that under this treat- ment she rapidly improved, the chest expanded, her complexion, from very pale, became somewhat florid, and the functions of the system, which had been deranged by the constitutional debility, were restored to their normal action. She was subsequently married to an individual of noble rank, by whom she has had two children, and her general health has not since been interrupted by any phthisical manifestations. " In examining the chests of the remaining members of the family, Dr. Ramadge's attention was directed to that of a younger sister, which was preternaturally full and large, forming a remarkable con- trast to the two preceding. Her general appearance was that of robust health, the complexion florid, and her size and growth beyond her years. From the conformation of the chest, he at once suspected that there was some physical impediment to the respiration, which, on inspecting the throat, proved to be the case, the tonsils being so large as almost to meet. This enlargement at times interfered with the voice. There was nothing remarkable in the respiration, except that it was puerile. He explained to her family and her father, who was pr< -eiit, the connection between the tonsils and the highly-developed chest; and added, that although he could not by the car detect the signs of tuberculous disease, yet he had no doubt the peculiar habit which had 20 INTERESTING INFORMATION given rise to this unusual tonsillary enlargement, had also led to the deposition of tubercles, and that they existed in a scattered fon^ in the lungs. With a view to lessen the susceptibility of mucous irrita- tion in the throat, he suggested the propriety of diminishing the tonsils, by a leech applied occasionally below each ear, to be succeeded at times by moveable blisters. Sarsaparilla to improve the general habit, and iodide of potassium to promote absorption were also re- commended. This treatment was adopted, and the tonsils were reduced in size. The young lady was sent to a school at Brighton, where the tonsils became still more diminished, from the sea air; and her chest, after some time, began to flatten, and other signs of phthisical disease betrayed themselves. She had been forewarned to use the tube, to make up by art the loss of protection derived from the lessening of the tonsils, but neglected it. She returned to London for advice. Dr. Ramadge, who was called in, pointed out that the reduc- tion of the tonsils, coupled with the operation of some exciting cause, had brought on the softening of the tubercles previously suspected, and that the flattening of the chest, with the other symptoms, would have been prevented, had his directions relative to the tube been observed. Finding her constitutional symptoms urgent, he advised the abstraction of blood from the upper part of the chest by leeches, attention to medicinal remedies, alleviating and preparatory, and the regular employment of the artificial respiration. These were fol- lowed up some months at Brighton, to which place she after a short time returned, and finally got quite well, in the identical locality where the disease had first declared itself in a manifest form. " The eldest son of this family had* recently returned from a con- tinental tour, undertaken to improve his general health, which was delicate. On examination, no evidence of disease was detected by the ear, but his chest was very much contracted, and his general ap- pearance by no means healthy. He had spent some time among the mountains of Switzerland, where the climbing of ascents was well calculated to excite hi3 lungs to deep inspirations. But the flatness of the thorax, the tuberculous diathesis prevalent in the family, the absence of tonsillary enlargement, disease of the heart, or any other protective, led to the conclusion that his lungs were extremely liable to tuberculous invasion, if not already tuberculated. He had just ob- tained a commission in a light regiment, and was about to join it a course which could not fail to be approved of, as the exercise which includes a great deal of running, would prove highly favorable to the proper expansion of his lungs. The service agreed with him remarkably well, he liked it much, and was exceedingly active: his chest ex- panded, and his general health considerably improved. After some months he married, and about a year subsequently, the regiment to which he belonged was ordered to hold itself in readiness for foreign service, on the breaking out of the war in Syria. Being the pre- sumptive heir to a peerage, and by the particular desire of the noble! man whose daughter he had married, he retired from the army very much against his own wish. This change from an active to a'com- paratively inactive life was followed by an impaired state of his general health, and a cough. Four months from its commencement, he came up to town and had the advice of one of her Majesty's TO CONSUMPTIVES. 21 physicians in ordinary, who considered his case decidedly phthisical, and exceedingly serious, and directed him to proceed immediately to Tonbridge, giving him the name of a medical man under whom he was to place himself. This was in the middle of summer, and in the early part of autumn he was to leave for Nice. He had applied to this physician for advice in the first instance, by the particular request of two noble relatives; but before acting on it, consulted Dr. Ramadge, whose treatment of the other members of the family had proved so successful, and who found, on examination, that the right lung was diseased, and that the difference between the semidiameter of this side of the chest and the other amounted to nearly an inch and a half. The usual symptoms, cough, nocturnal perspirations, &c, were present. Considering that it would be highly improper to send him away in such critical circumstances, from the very place where it might be expected he could procure the best attention, that it would be, in fact, a virtual abandonment of the case, he dissuaded him from his proposed journey, and apartments were in consequence taken for him near the residence of his parents, a short distance from Hyde Park. Due attention having been now premised for the relief of the constitutional symptoms, he was placed under a course of mechanical respiration, and shortly began to show evident signs of amend- ment, which ended in recovery, and thus superseded all necessity for leaving town, or going abroad. Two winters have elapsed, and he still enjoys immunity from any return of the symptoms. " The above cases are not the less interesting from the circumstance of having occurred in one family, shortly after three of its members had been cut off by consumption; and it is not going beyond my own conviction to say, that but for the use of the mechanical respiration, these in all probability would have shared the same fate. In none of the cases did the mechanical treatment operate injuriously ; and the cures have so far proved themselves permanent, that after a lapse of a considerable time they all enjoy excellent ordinary health. As a proof of the satisfaction this highly-respectable family derived from the success of the treatment, Dr. Ramadge has been indebted to their expressions of approval for the confidence reposed in him by some of their friends, who have since applied to him for advice under similar affections. It is not a little remarkable that all its members attacked with consumption who had not adopted this peculiar treatment died ; and the remainder (seven in number) who availed themselves of it, are now living, and in excellent health. The conjoint features in their history afford at once negative and positive evidence of the soundness of the principles assumed in the preceding arguments. Some of these details are worthy of remark. In the first case, the pulmonary affection showed itself originally in the right lung ; and here we see it retarded, and driven back as it were, by the accidental enlargement of the left tonsil: on the return of this gland to its former size, we find the consumptive indications reappearing, the site of the disease having changed from the right to the left lung. " I may here incidentally remark, that the greatest amount of dis- ease is almost invariably recognizable before and after death in the left lung. I have heard this accounted for by Dr. Ramadge, as well as I can rccoll» ct, in the following manner. When tuberculous deposition 22 INTERESTING INFORMATION first commences, it is generally in the summit of both lungs, but greater in the right than the left, and therefore solution is first dis. covered in the former. After this, it will often happen that some ac- cidental circumstance interrupts its progress by expanding the pul- monary tissue in the neighborhood of the disease, and this expansion will be greater where the tuberculous deposit is more extensive, i. e., on the right side. The more this tissue is expanded, the less suscep- tibility does it retain of new tubercularization, and hence the disease, if not subdued, as it advances, spreads more on the left side,—makes its first reappearance there, and its most extensive ravages in that lung. " The effect of tonsillary enlargement is also seen in a very marked and unequivocal manner in the third case, where the chest was pre- maturely full, and well-developed during its presence, but sunk into an opposite state of contraction upon its removal. The whole family, indeed, evinced a predisposition to the malady. Tubercles had formed in all their lungs, but in the cases adduced, their liquefaction had been kept back, and controlled partially and temporarily by natural antagonistic causes, and ultimately in a permanent way by art, which stepped in with aid more certain and decisive than nature. Some credit was, no doubt, dpe to the medicinal treatment, both preparatory and accompanying; but the complete failure of mere medicinal treatment in similar cases, or its very modified and un- satisfactory results, argue strongly that the mechanical respirator had to bear the brunt of the action, and may with justice lay claim to the credit of success. " The fourth case exemplifies the absence of the necessity for removal from town, either to the country or abroad, under manifest phthisis. The practice of sending patients away from their friends and their country in this disease appears to me incapable of being defended. The chief argument in its favor would seem to be precedent. The fashion has so long prevailed, that the propriety of it has ceased to be questioned. No good could have resulted from the patient's removal in this case. He would have been separated from his friends and relatives at a time, and under circumstances, that most call for their attention and sympathy, also from the opportunities of procuring the best medical advice, which it may be presumed are much more numerous in this metropolis than abroad. He recovered without removal, and was thus spared the inconvenience and peril to which a long journey would have exposed him. Liquefactions are of constant occurrence. While they are going forward, patients require all die medical skill and care they can have, to watch and control the symp- toms as they arise. Traveling, by land or sea, places these, in most instances, beyond their reach ; and when located in the place of their destination, they run the serious risk of falling into the hands of un- skillful practitioners, who too frequently by the administration of improper medicines—as, for instance, mercury—cut short the work of decay. These considerations are serious drawbacks to the hypo- thetical benefits of warm climates. Some of our high medical au- thorities, however, still sanction this practice, by recommending migration to many of their patients. When benefit appears to be derived, and the patient has returned alive, I have always been able TO CONSUMPTIVES. 23 to trace the cause to some natural protection, such as a contraction of the trachea, disease of the heart, &c, existing before he left home, or to pulmonary expansion, brought about by accidental catarrh caught in the prosecution of his journey, or, when the disease has been in- cipient, to the deeper and more energetic inspirations which change of air and increased exercise occasion." Did the limits of this pamphlet admit, it would afford me pleasure to extend remarks upon each opposing influence to the progress of the disease ; but I must forbear. Dr. Ramadge informs us, in the preface to the first edi- tion of his work on consumption, that at the commence- ment of his professional career his attention was directed to that tremendous disease, which, from its wasting effects on the human frame, too truly and appropriately bears the name of consumption. " I found those to whose experience I looked to direct and guide me, themselves walking in the dark. Books only displayed to me a mass of crude, ill-arranged, unrea- soned-upon facts, or the fanciful chimeras of medical visionaries. I saw that those branches of knowledge which had been redeemed from the wastes of empiricism, and brought within the pale of art, had been indebted for this successful issue to the system of induction which owns Bacon as its father. The assemblage of facts without classification, and this last without careful investigation of specific differences, might, and did, I perceived, pass for labor and observation, but was certainly not science. I felt mortified and degraded at the utter inefficacy of medicine, and of medical art, in this the most common of diseases ; and I was soon convinced that the only means of rescuing my profession from this ' darkness visible ' was to make the physician subordinate to the anatomist. I had yet a higher object in view, that of mitigating human suffering. I have toiled to this end, and what I felt to be my duty has been my reward. In no boastful spirit do I speak, but in a thankful one. I have proved that there is a cure for what has hitherto been deemed incurable; and this by no drug known but to its compounder, but by a simple mechanical process, available to all. That which has been as yet confused is, I would hope, rendered clear: and I trust that modes of treatment resulting up to this period from conjecture, and leading but too often to con- firm the disease they were intended to cure, will soon 24 INTERESTING INFORMATION pass away, with other exploded practice, that now moves but our pity or our disgust." That improvements are to be expected in all sciences will be admitted by everyone, and who so likely to make improvements as those men who give up their whole at- tention to one particular subject ? It is an axiom admitted by all, that if one would shine in his profession, his ener- gies must be concentrated : thus has it been with Dr. Ramadge. For nearly twenty years his attention, almost exclusively, has been directed to asthma, consumption, and diseases of the chest, during which time he has had ample opportunities to observe the effects of the various modes of medical treatment, and their entire inefficiency in the prevention and cure of these diseases, and also the general inefficiency of a removal to warm climates. Hav- ing made these observations, it is but natural to suppose that he would be led to try some other methods. To have continued on in the old course, year after year, and to have witnessed the results, and yet to have labored for no better practice, would have been stupidity of the worst kind; but such was not the course of Dr. R. Possessing ample opportunity, aided by the post-mortem examinations of more than three thousand bodies, upon which he made many interesting and practically useful observations, he was led by a train of providences, or rather circumstances, which I shall not here state,* to adopt the practice of an inhaling tube, through which the patient was to breathe, to exercise, air, expand, and permanently enlarge the lungs and chest; by which means they would become strength- ened, and throw off all tendency to disease. Several practitioners who have adopted this practice are now gaining for themselves considerable reputation, whom I sincerely wish prosperity ; but it is not a little amusing to observe the disposition there is on the part of some physicians to adopt all Dr. Ramadge's theory and practice, and send it out to the world as the result of their own experience. This seems to me ungenerous and un- gentlemanly. Such individuals may succeed in building up a fame among the unlearned for a season; but the * For the particulars by which Dr. R. was induced to alter his practice, the reader is referred to the work on consumption, republished in this country by Dr. Howe. TO CONSUMPTIVES. 25 time is not far distant when not only intelligent physicians throughout the length and breadth of our country will know what Dr. Ramadge's theory and practice for the cure of consumption is, but the community generally will be made acquainted with the fact that Dr. Ramadge many years ago made important discoveries in relation to pul- monary consumption, which discoveries were the result of years of experiment and patient investigation; and more than twenty years ago published a work entitled " Con- sumption Curable," which has since passed through a third edition in England, and has been republished in several languages on the continent of Europe, and was republished by the writer in the city of New-York in 1839. In the work alluded to the following positions are laid down :— 1. That consumption is scarcely known at all among wild men, (except the licentious and the intemperate,) or men who are actively employed and much exposed in the open air. 2. That there are a number of diseases which counter- act pulmonary consumption, for an account of which, see page 16. 3. That however unsuccessful medical treatment is of itself in this disease, it is a powerful auxiliary as a palliative, or in reducing the inflammation which at times exists. 4. That the free use of balsams and blisters is not only useless, but frequently tends to weaken the patient. 5. That inhalation of air (not fumes of iodine, tur- pentine, &c.) through a tube, properly constructed, for the purpose of airing the lungs, and exercising and permanently enlarging the pulmonary muscles, is the main thing to be depended on to effect a cure in cases of tubercular phthisis, or pulmonary consumption. 6. That a warm climate is more injurious to the con- sumptive than a cold one, and that heated or warm rooms should be avoided, and that the patient should daily exer- cise in the open air. 7. That a more generous diet than has formerly been allowed tends greatly to keep up the strength of the pa- tient, regard being had of course to febrile symptoms. These are some of the prominent points hud down bv 2 26 INTERESTING INFORMATION Dr. Ramadge, and are clearly elucidated in l"s work ; which, until the writer visited England in 1838, was scarcely known in this country, or, if known at all, preju- dice had placed it before the faculty in a most unfavor- able light. Subsequently to my return, and not prior to it, several physicians adopted this practice, and in some instances have written on the subject; and I live in hopes that it may come very generally into use, because it will do more to prevent and cure pulmonary consumption than any, or all other means together. " Render unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's "—" One who cannot flatter." The benefits of inhaling, I would remark, are :— First. To air the lungs and blood. Many and extended remarks might be made to show the great importance to life and health of a sufficient quantity of air being taken into the body. For want of this alone, many sedentary persons, I am fully persuaded, drag out a miserable exist- ence. By the action of the air, the blood is changed from venous to arterial, or from a black and impure state to a red or purified condition, rendering it thereby suitable to nourish the body. It is by the action of the air, too, that heat is imparted to the system, and the diaphragm is sti- mulated to a healthy motion, by which the stomach and whole abdominal viscera are kept in a healthy state ; and without healthy, vigorous breathing, it is impossible for the system to be nourished, or kept healthy. I am per- suaded, that for want of healthy breathing numerous dis- eases, both of body and mind, are entailed upon thousands of persons in refined society, as well as upon those of sedentary occupations. The external pressure of the at- mosphere upon the human body is immense; and if there be not a sufficient quantity of internal air to resist it, it follows, as a matter of course, that the vessels must col- lapse. The muscles, which are of an elastic texture, be- come tightened, the abdomen flattened, and it is impossi- ble for the stomach, kidneys, liver, and lungs, to be pre- served long from disease. " The weight of the atmosphere," says Sturm, " is very considerable; every square inch of the surface of the globe is pressed by a column of air of fifteen pounds' weight; every square foot by one of two thousand one hundred and TO -co X S U x.i i! IT VE s. 27 saxvy pounds; and a middle-sized man, whose surface is about fourteen square feet, carries a load of atmospheric air equal to thirty thousand two hundred and forty pounds' weight. This may appear -incredible; but the resistance of the air that is within our bodies prevents us from feeling the pressure of the external air; for the air which is pent up in our bodies maintains an equilibrium with that which acts upon us in all directions." But it is asked, Do not all breathe who live ? I answer, Yes ; but very many persons in sedentary life—as clerks, merchants, ministers, &c, &c, dyspeptics and consump- tives, to say nothing of the ladies, whose ribs are com- pressed so as to render it almost impossible for them to take a full inspiration from one year's end to that of another—know not what it is -to inflate the luags fully, or to have the full benefit of healthy, vigorous breathing. Now, by the use of the tube, the lungs are fully inflated, and so gradually that -the air remains in them for a considerable length of time ere it can pass out of the small aperture at the end of the instrument, A second benefit of inhalation is, that of the exercise and expansion of the chest. It will not be necessary for me to make many remarks upon the benefit of exercise, as it is obvious to all; and I will only add, that among wild men, who live by the chase, (except the licentious and in- temperate,) consumption is scarcely known at all: while (he contrary will hold good in reference to sluggish or in- active animals. The race-horse's lungs are never tuber- culated, nor the lungs of the wild hare; while those of the swine and the tame hare are proverbially so. The healthy exercise of running so calls the lungs into action as to cause a deep inspiration, and consequently full action and expan- sion of the chest and lungs, which throw off all tendency to disease. By the use of the tube, for half an hour, a person will get greater benefit to the chest, even sitting in his chair, than he would get by an hour's ride on horseback, or the vigorous exercise of sawing or chopping wood; and this without the weariness accompanying those physical exertions, which invalids are frequently unable to per- form. Another great benefit arising from inhalation is, the per- manent enlargement of the chest and lungs. Not only is 28 INTERESTING INFORMATION the whole thorax called into action, the upper as well as the lower ribs, but by a few months' inhalation the chest of the invalid will assume a different formation, and a per- manent enlargement of from one to four inches. This is true in my own case, and is proved in the case of others under my immediate observation. The lungs themselves are also enlarged, so that a person will, at the expiration of two or three months, be enabled to take in double, or threefold, the quantity of air that" he did at first. The cists, or tuberculous deposits, by the action of the air, are liquefied and absorbed, and scabbing over, or cicatrization, takes places. In lungs where cavities exist, by ulceration, &c, if they appear in the upper lobes, their surfaces are brought in apposition and healed, by the enlargement which takes place by inhalation; and where one lung was quite gone by disease, Dr. R. gives instances in his work in which inhalation has not only kept up the respiration, by the forcing of the air through the cells of the lungs, but in which persons have enjoyed tolerably comfortable health for years. Such are some of the benefits of inhalation. " The effects of prolonged expiration are the same, whether pro- duced by natural or mechanical impediments. I shall briefly re- capitulate them, viz., imprisonment of the air in the lungs ; distension of all the permiable air-cells ; increase of the pulmonary volume ; en, largement of the cavity of the thorax, from the pushing out of its walls in every direction by the expanded lungs; approximation of the surfaces of cavities, from pressure on all sides by the pulmonary tissue external to them; union of these surfaces, if early, by a soft membrane, if late, by a semi-cartilaginous intervention, &c.; arrest of the ten- dency to fresh tuberculous deposition from exercise and full expansion of the pulmonary tissue, and a state of dormancy or quiescence more or less complete of the tubercles already formed and uneliminated, they being surrounded by black secretion, isolating and often rendering them innocuous. Such are the effects of prolonged expiration in favorable cases. The great comparative advantage of the tube over nature lies in the following circumstances:—It is capable of being so made that we have neither more nor less prolongation of expiration than is exactly necessary; it can be taken up and laid aside at plea- sure, so that the lungs when fatigued with this anormal exercise may have repose ; it can be persevered in for any desired length of time and abandoned when no longer necessary, or when contra-indicated by the supervention of some accidental malady or symptoms • and finally, from its proper use no evil consequences will be found to result. It is, in short, an instrument completely at our command Pimple in its mode of operation, certain and safe in its effects. ft 10 CONSUMPTIVES. 29 may be properly called a surgical or mechanical means of treating phthisis. No medicated vapors are required. The simple atmos- pheric air is the great medicinal agency, and elasticity its essential ingredient. We have no occasion for the fumes of tar or iodine, of chlorine, hemlock, or turpentine. With the value of these medicated vapors I have nothing to do. The principle of the treatment I advo- cate is essentially different, as has already been seen. " Simple as this instrument is, its power is greater than can be ap- predated by those who have not used it. Let it not be despised on account of its apparent simplicity being so incommensurate with its pretensions. " When Naaman, the favorite minister of the Syrian monarch, ap. plied to the wonder-working prophet of Israel for the cure of his leprosy, he was ordered to bathe in the waters of Jordan, but he indig- nantly exclaimed,«Are not Arbana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than Jordan's contemptible stream V His servants judiciously reminded him that it was but a little thing the prophet commanded. He bathed in the prescribed waters, and his leprosy was removed. " Thus would I counsel those who at first may treat this simple instrumentality with the haughty disdain that sits so lordly on the brow of more complicated science, and imposing agencies. Is it not a little thing? The difficulty in making the experiment is little; try it; and though I have no pretensions to the gift of prophecy, or the working of miracles, I promise you success, exceeding, if such may be, the sanguine expectations I have endeavored to create. " There are, however, certain rules which should regulate its use and stages, symptoms and complications of consumption in which it is either inefficient, inadmissible, or for intervals longer or shorter to be suspended."—{London) Medical Times, Feb, 4, 1843. The beneficial effects of this regulated respiration are not confined to the pulmonary organs. I cannot point out the collateral advantages better than by quoting Dr. Ramadge's own remarks on the subject. He says, in the chapter on treatment:— " It may be advisable to explain in what manner the simple process of inhalation, while it expands the pulmonary apparatus, at the same time regulates the most important of the visceral functions. The mere expansion of the lungs, in the first instance, tends indirectly to remove congestion of the liver and also of the stomach, spleen, pan- creas, and intestinal canal, all depending on the more free circulation of the blood in the former. The biliary, as well as the great salivary secretion, is hereby promoted to a healthy activity, such morbid irritability of the mucous membrane of the stomach as may be present, productive of indigestion, is removed; the chyliferous absorption belonging to the small intestines, so indispensable to life, is actively carried on, and the injurious retention of excrementitious matter in the larger intestines is obviated by increased mucous moisture and ac- celerated peristaltic motion. It were easy, did I deem it essential, to 30 INTERESTING INFORMATION point out at length the beneficial effects produced on other secretions,, and to explain the mode by which inhalation acts on the kidneys j' but sufficient has been stated to enable the medical man to draw his-' own deductions in these particulars." It musf.nof, however, be supposed, that when inhalation is employed in pulmonary affections, medical treatment is to be rejected. It is to be used to- reduce the in- flammatory symptoms, as an auxiliary, while the tube is mainly relied upon to efl'ect a permanent enlargement of the pulmonary muscles, and to perform the cure. Neither that the use of the tube will effect a cure in all stages of consumption—as when the lungs are a complete mass of ulceration, or when ulceration has taken place in the lower parts, or when they are extensively tuberculated.. Then all means will be found unavailing. But if the tu- bercular deposits, or ulceration, be in- the upper lobes of the lungs, in which parts the disease usually commences, on account of there being less exercise in those lobes than in the lower ones, and where the disease is often confined- for many months, or sometimes years, even when the patient has all the well-marked symptoms of consumption, a steady course of inhalation for a year or two, or even for several months, assisted by proper medical treatment, will not fail perfectly to restore the chest and lungs to a sound and healthy state. In asthma, the use of the tube will be found fnvaluable ;. but it should only be used when the patient is free from any paroxysm or difficulty of breathing, to exercise and aic the lungs for the purpose of contracting their looseness and flabbiness, to prevent the recurrence of the paroxysms. If its use be steadily persevered in for a long period, when the patient is free and unoppressed for breath, the return? of the difficulty of breathing will not only be less frequent, but. in many instances the patient will be entirely relieved' For these innovations in practice, Dr. Ramadge has in- curred the displeasure of several of his medical brethren who have denounced him in- severe terms : but, notwith- standing opposition, he holds one of the most respectable medical stations in England, to which place he was elected more than twenty years ago, upon the resignation of Dr. Buxton. Let men denounce him as they may, / do not Hesitate to say, that by the blessing of God upon his diree*- TO CONSUMPTIVES. 31 tions he has saved my life, and the lives of many useful men, who, but for the skill of Dr. R., would have been no longer in the land of the living; and several since my return from Europe, to whom I have been the instrument of imparting his treatment, have been rescued from a gaping grave. I write knowingly, when I assert that the high office he sustains in London, as senior physician to the Lung Hos- pital, his years of untiring labor, and his very extensive private practice, together with his gentlemanly address and amiability of disposition, have won for him a reputa- tion to which but few physicians in this country would aspire, and not one out of a thousand would attain in a whole lifetime. The consumptive must not suppose that he is to com- mence and pursue a course of inhalation without expe- riencing a variety of difficulties. He will meet with op- position from some persons, who will laugh at his credulity, and from others who would reason him out of it; and also from some physicians, who are unwilling to counte- nance an innovation of which they themselves are not the author, and which disperses all the fog in which the treat- ment of consumption has so long been enveloped. For want of information, some, through discouragement, have laid the tube aside ; others, who have partially examined the subject, or pretended to have examined the utility of the use of the tube, have concluded that if heavy breathing, or exercise and air, be all the benefits derivable from its use, these can be had as well without the tube as with it. This is not true. The tube is so constructed that the air is admitted into the lungs gradually, and they are slowly expanded and aired, while it is not permitted to rush out at once, but is retained, and slowly emitted again, by which process the lungs and blood are fully aired. Since I commenced inhaling, I have been assailed with various arguments to prove its fallacy ; but being fully convinced, from personal experience, and from years of observation, that to follow the usual course prescribed for consumption was but to hasten one's dissolution, when Dr. Ramadge's work on consumption came to my hands, upon an examination of its theory and practice, I was prepared to embrace them; and so rational did they appear to me, that I at once concluded to give them a fair trial. 32 INTERESTING INFORMATION This resolution was based upon the consideration that my death was inevitable if this means failed me. I have also heard of one or two remarks made prejudicial to Dr. Ramadge; and some time since, being called upon by Mr. Murray, one of the most respectable mer- chants of this city, wHb had been recommended to me by F. Willson, Esq., an extensive banker in London, of the firm of T. Willson and Co., for the purpose of procuring a tube for the Rev. Mr. -----, Mr. Murray stated that Mr. Willson was then stopping at the Globe Hotel, and that he had given him a very favorable account of Dr. Ramadge and his practice. Accordingly, I waited on Mr. Willson, to get what information I could respecting Dr. Ramadge. To my interrogatories he replied, " Were you in London, you could get any kind of character you pleased for him : his professional opponents heap upon him opprobrious names ; while, on the other hand, his friends are warm in his praise. All that I know of him, sir, is, that under his treatment my friend Colonel-------, of the Grenadier regiment, was raised from a very low state of consumption, with which he had been afflicted for some length of time, with repeated hemorrhage of the lungs. He had been under the care of the most eminent physicians, both in England and on the continent, without benefit. Dr. Ramadge restored him to perfect health by the use of the tube." He also gave an interesting account of the cure of a lady of his acquaintance by Dr. R., and added, "He has directed his whole attention, for many years, to the study of diseases of the chest; and you may depend upon it he is a very clever man." In the preface to the second edition of " Consumption Curable," Dr. R. remarks :— " I feel a sincere pleasure in stating the reception which the first edition of ' Consumption Curable' has met with from the liberal portion of my profession. The let- ters I have received from intelligent practitioners in every part of the United Kingdom have gratified me in more than a selfish point of view. They have proved to me, that however interested motives may bias some there is an active and honorable spirit abroad in the profession at large, which induces a frank and manly openness to conviction. The owls, who shut their eyes to the light TO CONSUMPTIVES. 33 of truth, because it would bear others through the ' pal- pable obscure,' are likely soon to be left alone in their blindness. An amended medical education will rectify all these." But there are other difficulties more formidable than the afore-mentioned: these are the bad feelings in the chest and lungs. Where the lungs are diseased, the exercise, expansion, and the action of the air may cause them to be sorer for a time than they have been before : and there may be a great deal of local initation for some months, which may excite alarm; and also, upon the softening down of the tuberculous deposits, a larger and more free expectoration ; this will arise from the liquefying of the old tubercles, and not from an actual increase of the disease. After a person has inhaled for full three months steadily, as directed, all tendency to the formation of any fresh tuberculous deposits will be removed, and whatever irritation or uneasiness of any kind may exist—and it may be considerable—will be in the old diseased part. A leech or two under each clavicle, or collar bone, or the use of homeopathic remedies, will greatly assist to relieve it; and by steadily pursuing the inhalation, time and the powers of absorption will remove the difficulty. The patient must also expect the return of the consump- tive symptoms for months, at intervals. At these he must not be discouraged : they must be met as directed, and he must steadily pursue the inhalation. To those who are not prepared to encounter these difficulties, I would remark, They are too faint-hearted to get the better of consumption. If one would live, he must resolutely move on, bad feelings notwithstanding, for month after month, with untiring perseverance. If one were to ask, For what particular length of time? I would answer, Until all soreness is removed. So long as any uneasiness exists, so long the tube should be used : when the lungs are healed up, the soreness will gradually be diminished, until perfect soundness be restored; and time and the powers of absorption will do it. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the patient will be growing stronger and stronger in the chest, save temporary relapses, and the changes in the weather will have but little effect. The voice will be improving, the lungs will grow stronger, the 34 INTERESTING INFORMATION chest will be materially altered in shape, and permanently enlarged in size, while the appetite will be increased. It will gradually effect a happy change. Let the courageous try it, and they shall prove to their great benefit that these remarks are true. In a letter to Dr. Ramadge, in answer to certain in- quiries relative to my own case, he wrote :— "After using the tube for two months, you lost all ten- dency to have fresh tubercles. Whatever changes you have had under seeming attacks of cold, arose, I am satis- fied, from a change in some previously formed tuberculous matter. Sometimes, where the summits are the seats of several tuberculous nodules, they occasionally, from some cause or other, perhaps by cold, soften in succession, and create for no inconsiderable period a good deal of alarm, a good deal of local as well as general irritation. The steady process of expanding the lungs, by inhalation, speedily obliterates the cists thus produced; and every time you have a change for the worse, and think some old tubercle has liquefied, you ought soon afterward to be doubly attentive in pursuing the inhaling system. The observance of this, with the other directions, cannot fail to make you a sound man." But for these directions and encouragements I should have despaired. In conclusion I would add, that persons in every situa- tion who lead a sedentary life—merchants, clerks, mecha- nics, &c, and particularly public speakers, lawyers, and ministers of the gospel; those who have weak voices, or who are afflicted with bronchitis, or inflammation of rtle throat, accompanied with hoarseness and loss of voice at times, or those who are liable to take cold in the throat or upper part of the chest upon every change in the weather, &c.—will find the tube a sure remedy, if they will perse- vere in its use. The exercise produced by" it, and the action of the air upon the throat, will so' toughen the parts, that the changes of the weather and exposure to the air, under any circumstances, will not affect the throat or the bronchial tubes in the least. Delicate females, who do not get the necessary exercise in the chest for health, will find it very pleasant and health- ful to use it, on the same principle that they would calis- thenics, or any muscular exercise. Those whose chests 10 CONSUMPTIVES. od or lungs are at all weak, or contracted, will find that the tube will accomplish great things for them: it will improve the voice, and increase its powers and compass. To all who are in danger of becoming consumptive from any cause, a few months of its use will entirely check the predisposition; and consumptives will be restored to health by it, if any human means can effect a cure. It will do more than a sea-voyage, traveling, and change of climate ; and that too without the necessity of leaving home, or neglecting one's regular business. The benefit derived from this means is not a temporary one, but of permanent duration; but with many it is so novel, and so unlike the old remedies, and it is so much easier to swallow medicines than to take exercise and air, that they prefer the drugs. Consumptives who use the tube, however, risk nothing. In my case, I felt assured that death was inevitable with- out it, and more than death could not result from its use. To be benefited by inhalation, persons should not wait until they are actually in consumption ; but so soon as they are convinced there is any liability to it they should begin at once, and cheerfully pursue it. Some who have commenced the use of the tube, and been benefited by it, but who have felt considerable irritation in the chest, for want of proper instruction concerning its use, have been induced to discontinue it. Many such persons have been permanently benefited; their disease has been brought to a stand, and its progress arrested; and had they persevered they would have been perfectly restored to health. Consumption is a flattering disease ; it commences and progresses so insidiously, that, ere the patient is aware of it. the lungs are a mass of sores : then a sudden ex- posure or change from heat to cold produces an inflamma- tion, and in a few days or weeks it is said he died of a hasty consumption ; whereas, in truth, the disease had been progressing in the lungs for years ; and for lack of an acquaintance with consumptive symptoms, by which the disease might have been detected, he ascertains that he is consumptive only when fairly in the jaws of death. Many who are conscious that they are seriously indis- posed in the chest, and have all the well-marked symp- toms of disease, cannot tell what the indisposition is under which they labor. They know consumption is sweeping 36 INTERESTING INFORMATION off its victims daily, but they have no idea that they arc afflicted with it: hence they go from one physician to another; and although they get advice here and there, and swallow medicines by the wholesale, they are about as wise when they set out, as to the nature of their disease, as when they end their exertions. They are gradually sinking into the grave ; life is ebbing out its last sands; they are dying; but they are kept in the most profound ignorance of their disease,lest its well-known fatality should alarm them. For the information of such I would state, that consumption is attended by a gradual contraction of the chest, which may have been going on for months or years, and develops itself by the following symptoms:— First there will be a difficulty low down in the throat, and a hoarseness on waking in the morning, sometimes a little cough and expectoration of whitish phlegm; as it progresses there will be some soreness in the chest, most generally in the upper part first; then slight pains in the shoulder, and through one or both lungs, and a sense of pain some- times on the top of the shoulders. At other times the disease will make rapid progress without development by any of these symptoms ; and the first intimation will be an inflammation proceeding from a cold ; a slight cough will follow, and there may be hemorrhage ; then consider- able uneasiness in the chest. The patient will have night sweats occasionally; hot hands and flushed cheeks in the afternoon; a sense of chilliness creeping up the spine or back in the morning ; some difficulty inbreathing, particularly in ascending any elevation, or in going up stairs ; and as the disease progresses, there will be a gradual diminution of strength and emaciation of bodv, and in its advanced state much cough, hoarseness, and expec- toration. The expectoration at the commencement of the disease is usually of a whitish phlegm, or mucus ; when ulceration or suppuration takes place, it is usually of a yellow or darkish appearance, and is called pus. The distinguishing test is, whether what is expectorated sinks in water or not. If it sinks in water after standing, it js pus ; if it floats, it is mucus. When some of these symp- toms are established in a person, he may reasonably fear that his disease is consumption ; but if he have all of them there is not the slightest ground for doubt—consumption TO CONSUMPTIVES. 37 is seated upon him. Some of the above symptoms do not occur until the person is beyond the reach of all human means. But with any or all of them the patient cannot too soon commence inhaling; and if he defer it from any cause, save to reduce an inflammatory state, he will realize, when too late, that he has rejected the only remedy that afforded any rational ground of hope. To all the objections urged against this method of treat- ing pulmonary consumption, I would answer, Present a better, and, as far as my influence goes, I will support it. But as a philanthropist, or one who wishes well to his countrymen, and particularly the consumptive portion of them, I cannot conscientiously refrain from any exertion to inform them that there is yet a hope, a rational hope, left them of living, and enjoying good health. All other practices, of wruch I have any knowledge, have been re- peatedly tried : let the effects produced by them decide as to their merits. Dr. Ramadge's practice is new in this country, and, so far as it has been tested, it has been successful. Instances have occurred, it is true, of an improper use of the tube ; as in the cases of those whose lungs were a complete mass of ulceration, or disease, be- fore they obtained it. Such persons have died. Others, who have obtained it in season, have recovered: among these I count myself. But Dr. Ramadge has tried the tube for many years in his practice ; and so beneficial has he found it, that it is his chief dependence. Medicines are used by him, but not to cure the disease ; for he positively asserts that no medicines can do it, however judiciously administered; hence he uses them only.as the physicians of this country do, merely as palliatives. From my own case, and what I have observed in the cases of others, I am confident that if a proper case of tubercular phthisis or bronchitis be presented, and if Dr. Ramadge's directions be implicitly followed, the patient is certain of recovery. But it should be explicitly understood that the tube ought not to be used in the last stages of consumption, or in hypertrophy, or disease of the heart: in all other chest diseases it will be of service. From the afore-mentioned symptoms one may form a tolerably correct opinion whether he is consumptive or Ja INTERESTING INFORMATION not. But by many it is asserted, that when one is really consumptive he cannot be made to believe it- I a-m aware that in many instances this remark is true. One is loth to conclude that he has a deadly disease upon him : life is so sweet, that he is unwilling to believe it; and physicians hesitate to inform their patients of it. I frankly confess, did I not most sincerely believe that Dr. Ramadge's practice was a remedy for the disease, they might enjoy all the comfort of ignorance ere I would use one single effort to alarm them. But while I would inform a consumptive that he is consumptive, I am happy also to direct him to a remedy that may, if he have moral courage to use it faithfully, restore him to perfect soundness, if any human means can do it. But those who would be bene- fited must avail themselves of it at once : the case admits of no delay : what is done should be done quickly. To conclude one is better because the symptoms are a little abated, only betrays ignorance as to the nature of the disease. How often has the consumptive remarked, " I am getting better fast, I shall soon be well," when on the very verge of life ! Hope flatters but to deceive. It is well to know the worst of one's case as soon as possible, and then resolutely set to work to overcome it, but not by swallowing drugs. By delay the only chance of life may be lost. But in recommending any new system or method, par- ticularly in medical science, one is ready to inquire, What distinguished persons or physicians believe in it, or re- commend it in their practice ? In this case I answer, Several; and were it not that it explodes the views enter- tained by the majority of medicaj writers and practitioners respecting the medical treatment to be pursued—diet and climate—recommending a more generous diet, and a cold climate instead of a warm one, as the latter superinduces two paroxysms in consumption greatly to be dreaded the hot, or the hectic, and the sweating—very many would openly embrace its practice. Still, many liberal-minded men do approve of and recommend it. Some modern authors too, of much celebrity, advance similar views as to the importance of vigorous exercise and air in the lungs, to preserve them in health. Amona these we notice Dr. Holland, of England, who, in a late TO CONSUMPTIVES. 39 work, appropriates twelve pages octavo to the subject of healthy respiration, and its importance to the lungs; but he does not inform one how to get this healthy respiration. Dr. Combe, the celebrated physiologist, has also written at considerable length on this subject. The following extracts are from his pen :— "The substance of the lungs consists of bronchial tubes, air-cells, blood vessels, nerves, and cellular membrane, or parenchyma. The first are merely continuations and sub- divisions of the windpipe, and serve to convey the external air to the air-cells of the lungs. The air-cells constitute the chief part of the pulmonary tissue, and are in one sense the termination of the smaller branches of the bronchial tubes. When fully distended, they are so nu- merous as in appearance to constitute almost the whole lung. They are of various sizes, from the 20th to the 100th of an inch in diameter, and are lined with an ex- ceedingly fine, thin membrane, on which the minute capillary branches of the pulmonary arteries and veins are copiously ramified ; and it is while circulating in the small vessels of this membrane, and there exposed to the air, that the blood undergoes the change from the venous to the arterial state. So prodigiously numerous are these air-cells that the aggregate extent of their lining membrane in man has been computed to exceed a surface of 20,000 square inches. " It may be thought that the interposition of such a membrane must have the effect of preventing any action of the air upon the blood. But, in addition to the proof to the contrary, drawn from observation, it has been ascer- tained by experiment that even the thick and firm texture of the bladder is insufficient to prevent the occurrence of the change ; venous blood confined in a bladder speedily becoming of a florid red, like arterial blood. " The free and easy expansion of the chest is obviously indispensable to the full play and dilatation of the lungs ; whatever impedes it, either in dress or in position, is pre- judicial to health ; and, on the other hand, whatever favors the free expansion of the chest equally promotes the healthy fulfillment of the respiratory functions. Stays, corsets, and tight waistbands, operate most injuriously, by compressing the thoracic cavity and impeding the due 40 INTERESTING INFORMATION dilatation of the lungs; and in many instances they give rise to consumption. I have seen one case, in which the liver was actually indented by the excessive pressure, and long-continued bad health and ultimately death were the results. In allusion to this subject, Mr. Thackrah men- tions, that men can exhale, at one effort, from six to ten pints of air, whereas in women the average is only from two to four pints. In ten females, free from disease, whom he examined, about the age of eighteen and a half, the quantity of air thrown out averaged three and a half pints ; while in young men, of the same age, he found it amount to six pints. Some allowance is to be made for natural differences in the two sexes, but enough remains to show a great diminution of capacity, which can be ascribed to no other cause than the use of stays. " Judicious exercise of the lungs is one of the most efficacious means which we can employ for promoting their development and warding off their diseases. In this respect the organs of respiration closely resemble the muscles and all other organized parts. They are made to be used; and if they are left in habitual inactivity, their strength and health are unavoidably impaired. "When the chest is expanded by a full inspiration, the bowels are pushed downward and forward to make way for the lungs; when the air is again expelled, and the cavity of the chest diminished, the very muscles which effect this by pulling down the ribs contract upon the bowels also, and push them upward and inward, as can plainly be perceived by any one who attends to his own breathing. By this contrivance a gentle and constant impulse is given to the stomach and bowels, which is of great importance to them in contributing to digestion, and in propelling their contents." He remarks further upon respiration and animal heat:__ " The relation between the production of animal heat and the condition of the respiratory functions, is the most direct and remarkable. In general, other conditions beino- alike, heat is generated more or less freely in proportion to the size and vigor of the lungs ; and when these are impaired, the production of heat is diminished. Hence many persons with imperfectly-developed lungs, and a predisposition to consumption, complain habitually of TO CONSUMPTIVES. 41 coldness of the surface and feet; and many who were previously in good health become more and more sensible to cold, in proportion as the approach of disease weakens the functions of the lungs. I have noticed this increased sensibility to cold as a precursor of chronic pulmonary disease, both in myself and others, before any other very ostensible symptom had appeared; and think I have seen its further progress arrested by the timely use of proper means, where much greater difficulty would have been experienced had the warning not been attended to. " The generation of heat in the living system being so immediately connected with the lungs, we find the tem- perature highest in those animals who possess them in the greatest perfection, viz., birds. In many species, the internal heat exceeds that of man by twenty or thirty degrees ; while that of man exceeds, to as great an ex- tent, the heat of such of the inferior animals as are remark- able for imperfect organs of respiration." Beneficial, however, as is correct breathing, and neces- sary as it is to the enjoyment of health, yet I well know that it is exceedingly difficult for a person in a low state of health to perform it so as to give a healthy and vigorous exercise to the pulmonary muscles and digestive organs, without some contrivance to assist. I know of nothing so well calculated to afford this exercise, expansion, and full development of the lungs, as the use of the tube ; a few months' trial of it by the invalid will so call the chest into action as to enable him to breathe well without it. The late Talmadge Sutherland, M. D., of this city, taught that the principal cause of dyspepsia was the lack of healthy, vigorous breathing, and that it frequently eventu- ated in consumption. Hence he directed his attention to teaching the importance of fully inflating the lungs ; and by this method, to my certain knowledge, many persons, from a very low state, were restored to good health. But it must commend itself to the common sense of every re- flecting, unprejudiced mind—for what can possibly be more beneficial than exercise and air—the full inflation and expansion of the chest ? and by the inhaling tube all their benefits may be secured. The reader is further directed to a London periodical— the Polytechnic Journal, for June, 1843—for an interesting 42 INTERESTING INFORMATION article in praise of Dr. Ramadge's practice for chest dis- eases. I am also enabled to state that his work, " Con- sumption Curable," has been translated into French, and published in Paris and Brussels, by P. Lebeau, phy- sician to the king of the Belgians, and chief physician to the military hospital at Brussels. The following remarks, confirmatory of Dr. Ramadge's views, are copied from a foreign paper :— " When we breathe, we take into the chest, or inhale, and give out a certain quantity of air, which can be mea- sured by breathing through a curved tube into a bell glass of water, inverted over a pneumatic tub. Dr. Herbst, of Gottengen, has lately been performing some curious ex- periments in relation to the quantity of air that is breathed. Now, a person of any understanding will appreciate from them the comfort of full and unrestrained breathing. Dr. Herbst says, that a middle-sized man, twenty years old, after a natural expiration or emission of air, inspired or took in eighty cubic inches when dressed, and one hundred and sixty when his tight dress was loosened. After a full dilatation of the chest, he inhaled one hundred and twenty- six cubic inches when dressed, and one hundred and eighty- six when undressed. Another young man, aged twenty- one, after a natural expiration, took in fifty while dressed, and ninety-six when undressed. Had Dr. Herbst made his observations on some of the ladies who carry the use of corsets to extremes, we apprehend he would have obtained results of a nature really alarming. " At the Hotel Dieu, the great hospital at Paris, a young girl of eighteen lately presented herself to Breschet for his advice. On the right side of her throat she had a tumor of variable size, but never larger "than one's fist. It reached from the collar bone as high as the thyroid cartilage, (called, in common language, Adam's apple :) when pressed downward, it wholly disappeared; but re- turned as soon as the pressure was removed : it was indo- lent, soft, and elastic. It was observed to be largest when the chest was tightly laced in corsets. In short, by plac- ing the ear on it, the murmur of respiration could be heard in the tumor, which proves that a protrusion of the lungs had taken place, or, in other words, that the poor girl had been laced so tightly that her lungs, having no i'O CONSUMPTIVES. 43 longer sufficient space in their natural position, were squeezed out of it, and were forcing their way up along the neck." The reader is directed for further testimony, and fuller explanations, to Dr. Ramadge's work, as yet but little known in this country. It explains the causes,* symp- toms, and morbid appearances of consumption, and the manner in which nature as well as remedial art operates in effecting a healing process, illustrated by numerous re- markable and interesting cases ; to which is added a mode of treatment by which the development of tubercles may be prevented in persons liable thereto, from hereditary predisposition, or a bad state of the system, induced by various causes ; also an explanation of the uses and abuses of cathartics, emetics, sudorifics, narcotics, and demul- cents, astringents, and tonics. Dr.R. remarks, in reference (o balsams, " I hold it totally unworthy time or paper to waste many words on this very futile description of medi- cine, at least as applied in consumptive cases." He also disapproves of a too free use of counter irritants, as tartar emetic applications, blisters, &c. " In removing fixed pain in the chest," he observes, " I find them very useful. In general, however, they are too indiscriminately em- ployed, since their use at an improper period tends to bring on and accelerate the hot stages of hectic paroxysms." His remarks on diet are valuable ; and in regard to cli- mate, he prefers a cold one. He adds: " So far from sending a consumptive patient to the south of France or Italy, I should, if change be requisite, deem the climate of St. Petersburg a thousand times more beneficial." The following recommendation is from M. L. North, M. D., of Saratoga, author of " The Invalid at Saratoga," a physician of much celebrity and reputation :— * The mind has a powerful influence upon the body, and without cheerfulness it is impossible to enjoy health. Among- the causes of dyspepsia and consumption we notice the influence of depressing- passions dejection of mind, grief, undue anxiety, arising from losses, disappointment", &c., which derange the whole abdominal viscera, producing an unnatural action of the diaphragm, and ultimately dis. eaf-r of the lungs. (.See Johnson on the 1'assions, and Combe's Phy- sk>h>gy.y 11 INTERESTING INFORMATION A CARD. The subscriber, having somewhat cursorily perused the work of Dr. Ramadge, and received particular statements from Dr. Howe, begs leave to recommend to his medical brethren a careful perusal and thorough examination of the doctrines contained in the work. He believes Dr. Ramadge's sentiments respecting the effect of warm and cold climates are correct, and can easily be substantiated by many cases in our country of radical benefit received by patients bursting away from all the assiduities of nurs- ing, hot rooms, and other enervating treatment, and ex- posing themselves to the air and storms, which to the common observer would promise anything but recovery. There seems something very desirable, too, in accustoming the lungs to deep inspirations, while the process is cau- tiously guarded by Dr. Ramadge's judicious directions to avoid any inflammation that may occur. Is it not wise for the fraternity to search everywhere for truth, and for remedies against this destroyer of the human family? And from Dr. Ramadge's respectable talents, and his peculiarly favorable position for observa- tion, may we not hope that his treatment, faithfully applied, may be instrumental in rescuing consumptives from the hands of death 1 M. L. North, M. D. Saratoga Springs, Oct. 26, 1839. From D. G. Johnson, Engraver, 139 Nassau-Street. Copious Hemorrhages. Inefficacy of spending Six Winters successively in a Warm Climate. Benefit of persevering in the Use of the Tube. New-Tork, April, 1846. When I first heard of the tube I had been very unwell for about six years with my chest and lungs. I had not known what it was to have a comfortable night during the whole of this period. If by chance I placed myself in a horizontal position, I was seized with violent coughing for twenty or thirty minutes, which would recur again at intervals through the night. If the following symptoms are evidence of ulcerated lungs, then mine were ulcerated. I had a con tinual cough day and night, with excessive expectoration of heavy" thick, yellowish, purulent matter, frequently streaked or mixed with blood; weakness, loss of flesh, spirits, and energies, contraction of the TO CONSUMPTIVES. 45 chest, and finally hemorrhages from the lungs, with fever and sweats. I put myself at an early period nnder the care of a physician of reputation, but without any permanent relief. As the fall of the year approached, succeeding my first attack, I was informed that it would be death for me to stay in this climate, and it was decided that I Bhould go to Cuba ; and to Cuba I went, leaving every friend on earth behind, all fearing I should never return. I have since been South six successive winters, but each time returned with little or no per- manent benefit. In the mean time I have taken, to please my friends, all kinds of syrups, balsams, teas, &c, which I now consider useless, in fact worse than nothing. While in New-Orleans, in the year 1840,1 had six hemorrhages in two days, amounting in all to perhaps over a quart of clear blood, which reduced me to the very lowest extreme, from which I only recovered by the most judicious manage. ment, and the being kept sitting erect in bed for three successive nighta and days. This was the last winter I spent at the South. I recovered more in six months, by using the tube, than in the whole previous six years. In fact it is the only thing from which I have derived the least permanent benefit. The expectoration of bloody and purulent matter and mucus entirely subsided within the first six months' use of the tube. My improve. ment was gradual up till within a year past, since which my cough and all my pulmonary symptoms have entirely left me; and I consider my lungs perfectly sound, and my general health recovered. For nearly five years I have exposed myself to all kinds of weather, and been enabled to attend to my business. Had I been directed to Dr. Howe, and the tube, I doubt not that a few months' use of it at an early period would have restored me to perfect health, and saved me the six years of constant suffering day and night, with the anxiety, vexation, &c, attendant on this vagabond life, of going away from all friends, and nearly all one's comforts, in this useless business of going South every winter, to say nothing of the breaking up of my business, and the expense of some thousandsof dollars, which I could badlyspare. The improvements in my health I know have been produced solely from the use of the tube. I have encouraged many consumptives to use the tube, but the great difficulty in the way of receiving permanent benefit is the lack of continued perseverance in inhaling until all the difficulties arising are fully overcome: this I have done, although I have toiled during day after day, amid discouragements, for several years; but the result is, I now have a healthy and an expanded chest. But perhaps some will say that my lungs could not have been diseased, or they would have been incurable, as it has always been supposed that diseased lungs could not be healed. I endeavored to doubt that my lungs were not diseased as long as possible, but it was useless: it was too true and apparent to be resisted, and I gave up all hopes of recovery, until I saw Dr. Howe, who convinced me that I might yet recover. I am, in fact, another man in spirits, energies, health, comfort, and of course happiness. I am sure that Dr. H. should be highly esteemed by our fellow. citizens for his efforts in introducing Dr. Ramadge's practice in this country, and for the republication of the doctor's work on consump- tion. Had I not been providentially directed to thi= mean*, I must in 46 INTERESTING INFORMATION alFprobability have been a wanderer from my family every winter» if I had not ere this been in my grave. With the sincere desire that it may be useful to many, I remain, dear Sir, with gratitude, truly your friend, D. G. Johnson, Engraver, 139 Nassau-street. From Mr. P. S. Carpenter, No. 29 Wall-Street. Increase in the Size of ths Chest of Four Inches, and a Gain of Twenty Pounds of Flesh in Three Months. My attention was called to Dr. Howe and the use of the tube by Mr. T. D. Camp, superintendent of the Sunday school attached to the M. E. Church in Eighteenth-street, in the month of May, 1845, who had known of beneficial results from the use of the tube, and to whom I shall continue ever to feel grateful. At the rime Mr. Camp called my attention to this remedy, I was much reduced in strength, and confined to my room. I had had hemorrhage of the lungs, and was laboring under fever, the pulse being on an average one hundred per minute. I was induced to discharge my former physician, and by the advice of my friends, to trust my life upon the tube, and the treatment of Dr. Howe, they fearing that if I did not I might not recover. I ventured to do so, and began immediately to improve in health. I was soon enabled to walk out. My chest expanded, or enlarged, within three months, about four inches, and I gained about twenty pounds of flesh in the same period of time. It is now nearly a year since I obtained the tube; and during the past winter I have encountered all kinds of weather without experiencing any inconve- nience. My appetite is good, and my system regular. I cheerfully recommend the use of the tube to those who are in like circumstances, sincerely believing it to be an excellent and in- valuable remedy, founded on philosophical principles, for certain stages of diseased lungs, and the contraction of the chest,—greatly desiring that the salutary effects of this remedy may be more gene- rally known. The above are my sentiments respecting the tube, and I send them to you as an acknowledgment of my gratitude to you for having introduced into this country a system which has proved so valuable to myself and others. Yours truly, P. S. Carpenter. 29 Wall-street, and 134 Christopher-street. From Orrin Swift, Esq., Brooklyn, L. I. Dr. J. M. Howe: Dear Sir,—After much persuasion, I was in- duced to make a trial of your breathing tube for exercising the lun°-s • and after using it about six months, I became fully convinced that'all you had said to me in favor of it was true. I had been troubled with a cough, which had been of some years standing, and which had be. come quite alarming, being attended with considerable expectoration! I also suffered much from great weakness, soreness, and pain in the TO CONSUMPTIVES. 47 chest, attended frequently with tightness across the upper part of the chest, causing at times, particularly nights, a difficulty in breathing, sometimes amounting almost to suffocation. After continuing the use of the tube for a few weeks, I began to experience relief; and before the expiration of the year, all the above complaints had nearly disap- peared, nor have any of them seriously troubled me since, though nearly five years have elapsed. I still continue to use the tube occasionally, and find it quite useful. As a preventive to taking cold it is invaluable ; and did it effect no other good, this of itself would be enough to recommend it. Very respectfully yours, 0**™ SwIFT- Brooklyn, July 28, 1845. From Rev. E. Withey, Pastor of the Jane-Street M. E. Church, New-York. In 1836 I was appointed to labor in the Maine Conference, as a Methodist traveling preacher. In consequence of the severity of the climate, my arduous labors, and my frequent exposures, my lungs became seriously affected. I suffered much from a hard cough, stricture of chest, with much soreness in the lungs; great debility, with almost entire prostration of voice. My disease increased on me to such a degree, that I was obliged to locate at the end of two years. This was exceedingly painful to me, as I was yet a young man, and felt the work of God much at heart. My only alternative was, to return to ray friends, and see what retirement and medical treatment would do for me. I applied to various physicians, and used the means providentially put in my way; but all this profited nothing, for I was continually growing worse, until I concluded my public work was done. I therefore proceeded to adjust my affairs, and set my house in order temporally as well as spiritually, for I expected very soon a call to come up higher. In the mean time, while visiting some friends in New-York, I very pro- videntially heard of the inhaling tube, and that it was for sale by Dr. J. M. Howe, who could give every needful instruction concerning it. When I first heard of it, I having tried so many things which promised much but which proved of no use, I was little disposed to try anything further. I had no faith even to call and make inquiries about it; but lest I should appear obstinate in the opinion of my friends, who still appeared anxious for me, I yielded merely to gratify them. I called on Dr. Howe, who gave it as his opinion that I was a proper person to use the tube, and that its use, if persevered in, would perfectly restore me. I commenced a faithful use of it according to the direc- tion he gave me ; and notwithstanding all my prejudices against the tube, in less than two weeks I was in truth obliged to own myself much better, and in a few weeks I ventured to preach m the City Hospital, and experienced no injury. Soon after I commenced preaching in the large churches in this city, as Providence opened '"in*about *ix months I received an appointment on a circuit which required me to travel three hundred miles to get round it, where I acted n* preacher in charge ; and at the end of the year my health 48 INTERESTING INFORMATION was much better than in the beginning. I have now labored ardu- ously seven years since my recovery, and was never more able than at the present to do the work of an effective minister in the vineyard of the Lord. I now render unfeigned thanks to Almighty God, who, in the order of his mysterious providence, brought me to become acquainted with my highly-esteemed and much-beloved brother, John M. Howe; and feel it a duty incumbent upon me to recommend the use of the inhaling tube to all whose lungs are not too far gone to be benefited by it, believing it the best means that can be used to give permanent relief in lung and throat diseases. Ezra Withey. From A. D. Matthews, Merchant, 93 Main-Street, Brooklyn, L. I. Recovery from Bronchital Affection. Brooklyn, June 18, 1841. Dear Sir,—A sense of duty induces me to acquaint you that the tube, which I purchased of you about a year ago, has had the desired effect to cure my wife of the bronchitis. For four years previous to the use of the tube she had been much of the time under the care of our family physician : during the winter seasons especially her sufferings have been severe in the extreme ; confining her almost entirely to the house, and much of her time to her room. The disease had become so severe at the time when she began to use the tube that we had much cause for alarm; assured, as we were, that the disease was a very near approach to consump. tion, if it had not become so already. From the day that she began to use the tube no other remedies have been tried; and for months past she has considered herself cured. During the past winter she has been able to go out in all kinds of weather, and her health has been uniformly good ; and as all other treatment of the complaint, such as blistering, leeching, &c, only gave temporary relief, we are forced to conclude that the use of the tube alone has produced this result. I take the greatest pleasure in being able to make public the above statement, (though unsolicited by you,) knowing that many ministers of the gospel and others are afflicted with this distressing disease. Yours, &c, A. D. Matthews, 93 Main-street, Brooklyn, L. I. Brooklyn, November 1, 1840. Dear Sir,—Will yousend me a dozen copies of your new edition of pamphlets," Consumption Curable," (I wish to send a part of them to Massachusetts,) and oblige yours, A. D. Matthews P. S. The last tube I had of you has performed a great cure in this city. A D M Additional Statement from Mr. A. D. Matthews tu. t ivr tj *• t . u Bror°ilyn' APril Wth' 1846- Dr. J. M. Howe : Sir,—I most cheerfully state that in the case of my wife, although her health is not generally good, she has not since TO CONSUMPTIVES. 49 the first six months of the use of the tube had a return of that com- plaint I desire also to add that I have recommended the use of your tube in many cases, and have never known one of what was supposed to be incipient consumption that was not benefited by its use ■ while two or three cases which I and others supposed were confirmed con- sumption, and apparently in the last stages, have been cured, or very much relieved, by it. A case of the latter kind I will mention. The wife of Mr. Elijah Wentworth, of Hinsdale, Mass., had been long afflicted with a very severe cough, and she, with two of her sisters, living in different places, appeared to be rapidly sinking with con- sumption. It was at times thought Mrs. W. would be the first victim. She being a relative of mine, I was there some three years Bince on a visit, and spent a day, and proposed on my return to send her a tube as a last resort. I accordingly did so. I visited her last summer, and found her enjoying (with naturally a very slender con- stitution) comfortable health: her cough had nearly subsided, her countenance was bright, and she was able to do the domestic work of her family. She attributed her recovery to the use of the tube. Her sisters died not far from the time when she commenced using it. 1 also would mention the case of Mrs. Throckmorton, formerly of this city, to whom I recommended the use of the tube about five years ago. For many years she had been a great sufferer with lung com- plaints, but, after using the tube a few months, she told me that the benefit she had derived from it was truly astonishing; and her hus- band, speaking to me of her case, more than a year after this, said that it seemed to him more like a miracle than any cure that he ever witnessed. I recently heard that she enjoyed comfortable health. I could mention several other cases similar to the above, all of which have confirmed me in the belief that by the timely use of the tube consumption is curable. I am, dear sir, your obliged and sincere ,ricnd» A. D. Matthews, 93 Main-street. From Peter Pinckney, Esq., President of the Bowery Fire Insurance Company. My general health had been declining for some months; and during the last fall my symptoms assumed a pulmonary character. I had a very distressing cough, and was troubled with night sweats. I expectorated considerably : my flesh wasted away, and my strength failed me much: my countenance was very languid. I used various remedies, without relief; and I had about made up my mind that if I survived the winter, it must be by going to a warmer climate. I was on the eve of setting out, when Dr. Howe called my attention to the continued and persevering use of the tube, assuring me that it was quite unnecessary to go away from home. I was induced to follow hia advice. It is now about eight months since I commenced using it; my improvement has been gradual, and my pulmonary symptoms have given way. In about three months I gained nine pounds of flesh. I attribute my improvement to the tube, as I have used nothing else ; and although mv health is not fullv confirmed, I am encouraged 3 50 INTERESTING INFORMATION to believe, that if I persevere, I shall entirely recover. I c'^* recommend the use of the tube to be the best remedy for puim° y consumption that I have any knowledge of. I am led to^ve^n had I continued the taking of the nostrums of the day, by tnis umc should not have been alive. Peter PinckneY. From Mr. Reuben C Barnes, No. 255 Bleecker-Street. In July and August last I was in a miserable state of health. I had a cough that distressed me much if I went out m the damp «r. I sometimes coughed so violently as to have to stop and hold on to a nost to keep me from falling. I had hectic fever every afternoon, and sweat a great deal at nights. I commenced raising in April, and from that time my expectoration became very copious. I lost flesh; and my whole appearance indicated that, unless rehevedI I_would soon be beyond the reach of all means. Mr. Tate, of No. 134 Eighth- avenue, who had known of the tube benefiting two or three persons, called my attention to its use, and went with me to see Dr. Howe, who did not give me much encouragement, but ventured finally to recommend the tube to me ; and by its use I have so recovered as to astonish my friends. I have increased in flesh, and my appearance has altogether improved. The tube I believe has saved my life; and I cheerfully recommend it to others in a like condition, believing it worth more than all the balsams and blisters in the land. Reuben C Barnes. New- York, March 17th, 1846. Extract of a Letter from Rev. Robert M'Nutt, a Memeer of i 'the Kentucky Annual Conference of the M. E. Church. To Dr. J. M. Howe : Dear Sir,—In the year 1841 I obtained an inhaling tube from you; and I take pleasure in informing you, that, by the divine blessing on its use, it had the desired effect. I have more than realized my anticipations before using it In September, 1844, I was licensed to preach, and in the same month joined the Kentucky Annual Conference, in which I still remain, and am endeavoring to do something in my Master's vineyard. Last year, through my feeble efforts, I was instrumental in adding fifty-three souls to the church, and this year my prospects thus far are flattering. And but for the use of the tube, with the divine blessing, my career of usefulness, (small as it has J>een, or may be,) I verily believe would long since have closed. The object of writing to you is to obtain a tube for a gentleman here. Please accept my respects, and the gratitude of my heart. Inclosed I send you five dollars for the tube, which you will please forward by mail. Yours respectfully, R. M'Nutt. Smithland, Kentucky. Nov. 5, 1845. TO CONSUMPTIVES. 51 Trom Rev. D. P. Kidder, No. 200 Mulberry-Street. Dr. J.M.Howe-: Dear Sir,—I am happy to have occasion to say to you that from the experience of two members of my own family in the use of the inhaling tube, I have the strongest reasons for believing that simple instrument to be of great, if not of indispen- sable, importance to persons sifbject to pulmonary affections. D. P. Kidder, Editor of Sunday-School Advocate. ; New-York, March 20, 184G. From Selvy Kidder, Esq. Dr. John M. Howe : Dear Sir,—About two months since, I com- menced using the breathing tube. >For more than a year previously, I had been suffering from the effects of a violent cold, which seated on my lungs, and caused great inflammation, attended with a fearful cough. I had immediate recourse to such domestic remedies as upon similar occasions had afforded relief. All were unavailing. My cough continued; with tightness of breathing, a great loss of flesh, and an almost entire prostration of strength. I applied to physicians, and was for more than six months ■under medical treat- ment, besides resorting, when other hopes failed, to most of the patent medicines now in use for the cure of coughs, consumptions, &c. My pulse had increased to about one hundred and twenty-six jier minute. My tongue was generally coated, accompanied by an almost constant raising of a frothy mucm . •I am not aMo to say that I ever received any benefit from the use of medicine, or the many applications that were, I have no doubt, made with skill, and from the best of motives. In fact, I was con- vtantly running down, and had almost despaired of getting relief. Under such circumstance?, I commenced the use of the inhaling tube; and to that alone, under God, I attribute my present improved health. From the commencement of its use my cough became less frequent: respiration ia now quite easy, tongue clean, my pulsfe reduced to "ninety, and I also daily gain strength, and am now able to do a light business. I have good reason to hope, by the blessing of the Lord, and the use of your invaluable tube, in the course of a few months to enjoy good health. I feel under great obligation to you for recommending the tube to me. I wish its benefits were more generally known, ■believing that by its use thousands of valuable lives might be saved, which otherwise would fall a prey to that dreadful disease, " the consumption." Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Selvy Kidder, 14$ Crosby-Street, N. Y. November 27, 184".. From S. Kidder, Esq., to Dr. Wm. Blackston, of Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. Wm. Blackston : Dear Sir,—You will recollect attending upon me, as physician, in July and August, 1845, at my brother's, in Darien. FV>r more than one year previous I had been suffering from f>2 INTERESTING INFORMATION most, if not all, the symptoms of pulmonary consumption. I had re- course at the commencement to such remedies as had proved salutary in removing inflammation of the lungs, coughs, &c, on former like occasions. From these I found no relief. Next was to send for the doctor. I was treated by two physicians of the old school nearly one year previous to my sending for you; and though they were eminenJ and good practitioners, they failed to afford me the relief they and my- self so much desired. I was at that time residing in Licking county, Ohio. My physicians, despairing of helping me, advised me to take a sea voyage, as the only alternative to save life. Accordingly I left home last July, accompanied by my wife ; but was unable to get any further than Darien, where I was eonfined a number of weeks, under your daily administration. Although I was benefited by your medicine so as to resume my journey, I cannot say that I got any permanent relief. On arriving in New-York, I applied to a popular and regular physician. By him I was advised to abandon a sea voyage. I therefore abandoned my previous plan of going to sea, and again sought relief from the faculty in the city, for about six weeks, but found none. About the first of October, 1845, I was introduced to Dr. John M. Howe, of our city. He told me there was hope in my case ; that he had been raised from the supposed last stages of consumption by the use of the " inhaling or breathing tube." I procured one from him, and commenced its use, leaving all other forms of medicine. For more than one year previous to commencing the use of the in. haling tube, I had been constantly afflicted with a distressing cough, inflammation of the lungs, bronchitis, &c, inward fever, tongue con- stantly coated, my pulse commonly one hundred and twenty per minute, great difficulty in breathing, constant pain in and about the ' lungs, attended with great loss of flesh, and almost an entire prostration i of strength. In less than three weeks from the commencement of the use of the tube, I was able to commence an active business in the city. I have now been in the daily use of the tube four months. I left the city the first of December, much improved in health. I have since been in Darien traveling and doing a light business every day. I am now quite well, having gained twenty pounds in flesh the last forty-five days. I attribute my recovery wholly (under God) to the use of the breathing tube and the advice of Dr. John M. Howe, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude* I rejoice that you have introduced this remedy into your practice. I have no doubt but that most, if not all, of the many pulmonary patiente in your charge will get permanent relief from this treatment when all else would fail. Most sincerely, I remain your obedient and humble servant, Selvy Kidder, Formerly of Darien, Genesee co., N. Y., now of Ne'w-York city. ; Dr. Blackston subsequently adopted Dr. Ramadge's practice__T M H. From Rev. John Dempster. Dr. Howe: Dear Sir,—Constrained by a sense of duty, I cannot longer refrain from acknowledging to you the special benefit I have realized from your breathing tube. Under the divine blessin* it TO CONSUMPTIVES. 53 relieved my shortness of breath, increased the volume of my voice, and much aided my digestive organs. My conviction that this im- provement is the result of that agency is strengthened by several instances similar to my own that have fallen under my notice. Yours as ever, Nov. 25,1845. John Dempster. From Rev. Bishop Janes, of the M. E. Church. New. York, March 28, 1846. From a limited acquaintance with the use of the inhaling tube, I am persuaded that a judicious and persevering employment of it is a healthful exercise for persons afflicted with a weak chest, or the dyspepsia, or for persons of sedentary habits. Edmund S. Janes. From Rev. Wm. Roberts, Jersey City. To John M. Howe, M. D.: Dear Sir,—After having used the tube occasionally for nearly seven years, and witnessed its beneficial effects on many others during that time, my confidence in its excellence remains unchanged. I think it a most valuable remedy for persons suffering with pulmonary affections. Yours respectfully, Jersey City, March 26, 1846. William Roberts. From Rev. Alonzo Wheelock, Pastor of the Sixteenth-Street Baptist Church. Mrs. Wheelock, about a year ago, was laboring under symptoms of pulmonary consumption of an alarming character. We provi- dentially heard of the inhaling tube, and concluded to make trial of it; and by the blessing of God upon this means, and the attention of good medical advice, all her pulmonary symptoms have given way, and her health is now very good. My conviction is, that the tube is invaluable for throat and lung affections ; and believe if it were em- ployed in the early stages of disease, it would result in lessening human suffering. Alonzo Wheelock. New-York, April, 1846. From Mr. James Davis, Merchant, No. 134 Pearl-Street, * New-York. New-York, January 20rA, 1843. Dr. John M. Howe : Dear Sir,—I feel it to bo a duty to apprise you of the benefit I have received from the use of the inhaling tube I obtained from you in June, 1841. I have deferred doing so until now from a desire to be well assured that the benefit is permanent; and being well satisfied on that point, I feel great pleasure in certifying that I have derived great advantage from its use. 54 INTERESTING INFORMATION In the latter part of the previous winter I contracted a severe cold, which in the month of March settled on my lungs, with strong indica- tions that they were permamently affected. The symptoms, as weQ as I can recollect, were a violent pain in the chest, a quick palpita- tion of the heart, greatly accelerated by the least exercise, or even by walking up stairs,,a prostration of strength, and other symptoms, which were evidently premonitory of consumption. My pulse generally ranged from ninety to one hundred and twenty. The usual remedies were resorted to\ but my health continued to fail. In- June I pro- cured the tube ; and commenced using it three times a day. I soon felt better. My breathingv which before appeared to come from the upper part of the chest, is now corrected. I was able to take ibng breaths with ease, which before was difficult; and my respiration was much more free. In the course of a few weeks my chest had ex- panded about two inches. The pain in my lungs, however, con- tinued ; and notwithstanding that I gained strength, the other symp- toms would occasionally discourage me, and make me at times dis- posed to relinquish the use of the tube. I however continued to use it regularly, being welf satisfied that unless it could effect a cure no earthLy means could ; and I have now reason to thank God that through his blessing I have been so far restored to health that I am as able to attend to business as I ever was. Indeed L think I can safely say that I am well i but as I do not wish to speak too positively, I will only say that nothwithstanding my exposure to all kinds of weather, my health has not been affected, either by colds or otherwise, more than before the attack which brought on the disease. I however continue the use of the tube occasionally, as I find the exercise bene- ficial, especially when I feel a tightness in the chest. In conclusion I would say that I attribute my recovery from the pre- monitory symptoms of consumption to the use of your tube ; and desire to return my thanks to God for directing my attention to- the remedy, and to you for your kindness in the encouragement and advice received from you. Very respectfully yours, James Davis- From the Rev. C P, Bragdon. Auburn, March 20,1846, Rev. John M. Howe, M. D.: My Very Dear Brother,—Please ac- cept these few facts in relation to my use of your inhaling tube. In the month of June, 1843, I bad an alarming hemorrhage from my lungs, which prostrated me for months. Late in the fall of that year, as I was going South, (where none ought to go from the North, except for asthmatic lung affections,) I called on you, and obtained a tube. I used it during the winter, and was so far restored as to preach thirteen times before March. I have continued to use it much of the time to this day—have had two very slight hemonhages since. One in April, 1844, and the other in August, 1845. Have preached oc- casionally up to this last winter. My chest is enlarged, and I now breathe more fully, and as freely as I ever did. Such, however is the complication of ditcascs upon me, that I am. not, and never ehaQ be, a well man. TO CO.NbUMPTIVES. 55 But were my lungs alone affected, with my tube in my mouth I would bid defiance to pulmonary consumption, such is my perfect con- fidence in its powerful instrumentality. I can most heartily recommend its use to all in any degree inclined to, or at all afflicted with, lung affections, as either a preventive or cure the most certain and safe of any one thing ever yet known. A friend writing to me from the South says, " How have you kept out of the grave so long ?" It is mostly, with the blessing of God, by the use of my tube. Yours affectionately, C. P. Bragdon. October, 1842. Capt. J. D. Williamson, of the U. S. Navy, called on Dr. Howe to procure a tube for his wife, to whom it had been recommended by an intelligent physician of this city. After he had stated the case of his wife. Dr. H. discouraged him, thinking her too much diseased to use it; but he persisted in having it, adding as a reason that a friend of his, Mr. Janes, broker, No. 16 Wall-street, had received great benefit from its use. " About three months ago," said Capt. W., " I called in to see Mr. Janes. He was then emaciated in body, lips thin, &c. —coughing violently, and expectorating freely. The conviction which fastened on my mind was, that he could not live long. When I called on him a few days ago, he was so altered that I did not know him, and I inquired of him for Mr. Janes. He replied, 'lam the person.' He had grown fleshy, ard his countenance was healthy. I could scarcely believe my eyes. Mr. Janes attributed the change entirely to the use of the tube, and recommended me to procure it for my wife." From the Hon. George M'Duffie. Washington, March 2, 1843. Having been afflicted for many years with a nervous dyspepsia producing a constant stricture, extending from the spine around the breast and abdomen, I was induced, a few weeks since, to try the effect of breathing through Dr. Ramadge's tube, during which time I have found the stricture obviously diminished, and my breast and abdomen expanded. I should think, therefore, it would prove ex- tremely beneficial in pulmonary complaints, having something like a specific operation. George M'Duffie. From the Rev. J. P. Donelan, Rector of St. Matthew's Chukch» Washington, D. C. Washington, March 6, 1843. I most cheerfully express my decided opinion in favor of Ramadge's tube and treatment in pulmonary disease, having candidly examined the claims to public patronage set forth in the treatise. I have tested, during the last month, the useful qualities of the tube, and I unhesi. tatin^Iy declare that I have been benefited by its use. The more strictly I have complied with the directions given, the more evident 56 INTERESTING INFORMATION has been the improvement. It is my determination to continue the use of this means, and if I continue to improve, shall take pleasure in recommending all, who, like myself, are troubled with contraction of chest and weak lungs, to try its beneficial effects. John P. Donelan, Rector of St. Matthew's Church. Case of a Young Lady who obtained the Tube under Circumstances which led Dr. Howe to conclude there was but a mere Chance for her Life. Miss Gould, a young lady of delicate frame, narrow chest, light complexion, and aged about twenty-three, whose parents had died years ago with consumption, came to Dr. Howe, about the month of December, of 1842, to obtain some professional services in relation to her teeth. She was laboring under a hacking cough, with other consumptive symptoms; while her whole appearance led Dr. H. to conclude that she was marked as an early victim for consump- tion. He called her attention to the use of the tube, adding, that he wished she could be prevailed upon to use it She replied that she was under the care of Dr.------, and she hoped to get better. In April following she returned to Dr. H. for a similar purpose as before. She was, however, greatly altered: her lips, ears, and nose were compressed, her eyes bright and sparkling, and her whole body greatly wasted away. She was coughing and raising incessantly, and she informed Dr. H. that she had been expectorating a yellowish matter (as she termed it) for some months ; that she was much troubled with coldness in the morning, heat in the afternoon, and sweat at night. Upon examination of the pulse, it was found to be one hundred and twenty per minute. Dr. H. expressed his regrets to her that she had not taken hi3 advice, and added that he much feared she had left it too long; that in all probability no earthly means could now save her; but feeling greatly interested in her case, he presented her with a tube and the directions, and urged her to use it faithfully, as she valued her life. She went away, and returned in about one month; but her appearance and symptoms continued the same: her pulse remained at one hundred and twenty per minute. Dr. H.'s fears still remained ; but he encouraged her to persevere faithfully in using it, believing that unless an enlargement of the remaining portion of the pulmonary muscles ensued, nothing could save her. She went away, and again returned in the latter part of June. She was wonderfully altered: her countenance was animated, her face had assumed the appearance of health, her ears, nose, and lips were no longer thin and livid, her eye had lost its sparkling lustre, while her whole ap- pearance bespoke returning health. Dr. H. was astonished and delighted at the change in her appearance: which, upon an exami- nation of her pulse, was clearly demonstrated to be a real change for the better, her pulse numbering but seventy per minute. Her cough and expectoration had subsided, and all her consumptive symptoms were removed. Dr. H. put this question to her, " What have you been doing ?" She replied,"I have been using the tube, and I have TO CONSUMPTIVES. 57 done nothing else. Now," said sh«, •« m pay you for the tube." She was reminded that it was given her; but she insisted on paying for it. 6 The writer need hardly add that this occurrence gave him un- speakable pleasure, and presented additional evidence of the benefit of inhalation. Miss Gould is a resident of this city, and her case can be well authenticated. New- York, September, 1843. William H. Huggins, M. D., of West Hartland, Conn., writes thus:— " I have felt much interest in relation to the success of Dr. Ra- madge's treatment in cases of phthisis pulmonale, or pulmonary consumption ; but fearful that this, like other modes of treating that insidious disease, might prove fruitless, I have delayed expressing my opinion until confirmed by observation. I am ready to say, that the practice has more than answered my expectations." This gentleman has experimented in six or seven cases. And in a subsequent letter, dated Nov. 7, 1839, he remarks :— " You apologize for extracting from my letters, but unnecessarily, for had I known that I could be in any degree useful, I would have furnished something more to the purpose." John L. Sullivan, M. D., late of New-Haven, after perusing Dr. R.'s abridged work, wrote me thus, in a private letter:— *' Permit mc, in thus commencing my acquaintance with you, which I shall hope to do personally when I first come to New-York, to congratulate you on the good providence of God, who not only sent you abroad in suffering to find the remedy, but made you the instru- ment of the inUoduction into your country of the means of restoring many to health. We and the public have much reason to be thank- ful to the merciful and beneficent Disposer of events for this method. " The invention i6 philosophical and consistent. The discovery was arrived at by the cautious gradations of observation and experi- ment to establish its principle?., and it claims no more than reason warrants." This gentleman has fully adopted Dr. R.'s practice of inhalation in connection with his own, and has published a pamphlet recom- mending it Sut scquentlv, in a letter dated April 8, 1840, he furnished me with some fac t~, from which 1 select the following :— "Dr. J. M. Howe : Dear Sir,—I with pleasure comply with your request to describe the few cases of pulmonary disease that have come within my practice, in which the inhaling tube of Dr. Rmnadge has been used. You are aware, howev. i, that my opinion is that its principal uso is in tubercular phthi; is. 58 INTERESTING INFORMATION •' Mrs. Howell, aged about forty years, had, in the course of ths two years before I saw her, turns of bleeding from the lungs. In February of last year, her cough was heavy, with a copious expec- toration of purulent matter; night sweats continually; pain deep in the right side. The symptoms had all abated when in the spring she had begun to use the tube, and her feelings were so much im. proved by it that she continued its use from choice, and the medicines were nearly discontinued. Her friends considered her quite well in October ensuing, when I left the place. " The only cdse I have had in New-York has been rather m iked for its favorable result at an early day, and a decidedly favorable turn soon after the use of the tube. This was the case of Mrs. Seward, aged about forty, a widow. Her mother and sister had died of con- sumption, and to all appearance her turn had come. She had applied to Dr. Hull, a homcepathic physician, in consequence of his having cured1 a neighbor, a laboring man. It was about six weeks after this, that, being very much engaged, he requested me to take charge of this case. On the 23d of Jnnuary last I did so, and found her pulse one hundred and thirty-four; bowels constipated; head painful throughout on the least motion ; eyes also painful; soreness low in the throat, to the right; right lobe of the lungs painful; aching lame- ness, increased by coughing, the pain extending through to the space between the shoulder blades, and then rising up to the neck; pain eutting and shooting across the chest; cough attended with copious discharge of yellow sputa, with which some dark blood mingled ; night cough still more distressing than in the day ; stomach so irritable as not to retain food of any kind long." [The doctor hi-re mention* the medicines given.] "Allowing the inference that tubercular cavities existed, I proposed to Dr. Hull the use of the tube. He expressed the opinion that if she recovered, her recovery might well be attributed to its efficacy. He thought she must die early in the spring, in the common course of the disease. The use of the tube was commenced, at first one minute, twice a day, and increased to five, gradually." [The patient at the same time was under medical treatment from Dr. S.] " I then found the pulse eighty-eight, the pain in the region of the liver gone, but there remained the pain in the upper part of the right lobe shooting from the back, and this morning she had coughed hard, and raised very much, some blood-streaked, and breathing labored." [He again states the medicine given.] " Through the remainder of February and the month of March very little medicine was given, and inhalation was continued. At this time she was enabled to attend church, and soon after walked out, and resumed business, (that of a taitoress,) and on the 7th inst. was enabled to walk four miles. Her countenance is healthful, and voice strong." From Rev. G. D. Sutton, of New-York. Dear Sir,—I take much pleasure in informing you that since I commenced the use of Dr. Ramadge's inhaling tube my health has slowly, yet constantly, improved to the present time. When I ob- tainel the tube of you my health wa« very poor, as you will recollect TO CONSUMPTIVES. 59 and my difficulty in breathing was very great. This was attended with inflammation of the left lung, and an almost unceasing pain in the left breast and side. These symptoms, however, are being gradually overcome, insomuch that I am strongly inclined to believe that, with the blessing of a good Providence, a final restoration will yet take place. As to the propriety of the tube in cases of bronchial and pulmonary affections I can have no doubt; faith has been inspired in me by its philosophy and its use. Furthermore, I have obtained the tube for several intimate friends, to whom I recommended it, and who are now being benefited by it. The in- crease in the size of my chest since I first obtained the tube has been two inches. I am, most affectionately, your brother, George D. Sutton. New-York, September 4, 1839. From Gilbert T. Sewell, Esq., New-York City. New-York, August 10, 1841. Dear Sir,—I write this to add my testimony to the great benefit derived from the use of the breathing tube. In the summer of 1839 I was attacked with the usual symptoms of consumption—spitting of blood, accompanied with general debility. I heard of the method of curing consumption invented by Dr. Ramadge, of London, and practiced by yourself—applied to you, and purchased a tube. Without using any other remedy I found imme- diate relief, and now enjoy as good health as any one could wish. With pleasure I remain yours, &c. Gilbert T. Sewell, 58 Nassau-street. To Dr. John M. Howe. The following Statement is from the Rev. John A. Sellick, a t Member of the New-York Annual Conference. New. York, July 5, 1843. Mr. Sellick stated that the Rev. Clark Fuller, a member of die New-York Annual Conference, while stationed some time since at Stratford, Conn., was taken very unwell with bronchitis, or an affection of the throat and lungs. His voice failed him, and his lungs were diseased, so that he was necessitated to retire from his duties as a minister. After being laid aside a year, during which he tried a great many remedies without receiving the desired relief, his attention was directed to the tube by a friend, and after he had used it six months, according to the directions, his throat and lungs recovered their usual strength, and he again resumed his public duties, and is now laboring in the Troy Conference, of which he is a member. In a letter from Jacob Glutze, Esq., V. M., Lancaster county, Pn., November 23, 1840, he writes as follows:—" I concur with Dr. Ramadge as to the effects of confinement in warm rooms being in- jurious to consumptives. I never feel better than when I am knocking about, and pay no attention to the state of the weather." fJU INTERESTING INFORMATION June, 1841. About five years since, Mr. M. W. Fox, teacher in Thirteenth-street Public School, procured of me a tube for a young lad aged about fourteen years, of delicate frame and constitution, whose general health had been greatly impaired by his application to books. His physician and friends had serious apprehensions that he would have to discontinue his studies, and unless some relief could be obtained he would soon become a confirmed consumptive. After trying various other means he sent for the tube, and in the month of June he wrote to a friend that his chest was perfectly recovered, and that he was enabled to prosecute his studies as formerly. In a letter to Miss H. T. Williams, of this city, he wrote as follows :— Hudson, May, 1841. You wish to know how the use of the tube affects me. I answer, with pleasure, that I have been greatly benefited by it. I used it only one month: but such were its beneficial effects in that short period, that I have since been able to pursue my studies with comfort. Heretofore the pain in my chest prevented my application to study; but, by the use of this valuable instrument, this inconvenience has been obviated, which I ascribe wholly to the use of the tube. Seymour L. Stebbins. The Rev. Mr. Garrett, of Lower Canada, writes me thus:— Dear Sir,—Last June I arrived in this city from Hatley, Lower Canada. For several months previous, I was incapable of discharging the ordinary duties of an itinerant preacher, in consequence of a severe cold I received during last winter, producing almost constant pain in my chest from right to left, great pain and difficulty in speaking, together with frequent discharges of blood from my mouth. I had been recommended by my medical friends to abstain in toto from public speaking, and if possible to take a sea voyage. In attending to these directions, I came from the province of Lower Canada to this city; and shortly after my arrival was introduced to you, by the kindness of my friend, Mr. S. Dando Having carefully perused your pamphlet entitled "Consumption Curable," I determined to procure a tube from you, and try its effects upon myself. I com- menced by regularly breathing, backward and forward, through the tube, according to your directions ; and, through divine mercy, have since then been constantly increasing in inward strength, so much so that yesterday I was enabled to comply with an invitation from my excellent friend, the Rev. Mr. Trippett, Wesleyan minister of Seventh- street chapel, to officiate in his pulpit. I can now breathe much deeper, and with less pain than formerly. I have also had but one return of blood-spitting since I commenced using the tube. I find after an exact measurement of my chest, that I have gained rather more than three quarters of an inch. I still continue to use the tube and confidently hope that through the divine blessing I shall be restored to my former health and strength. You are, allow me to say, at perfect liberty to make any use of the above simple and unvarnished statement of facts you think proper I am, dear sir, respectfully yours, &c, Richard Garrett New-York, July 29, 1839. TO CONSUMPTIVES. 61 Letter from J. M. Titus. " ~ 0. T, . New-York, October 29, 1841. Dear Sir,—I have just arrived in this city from the island of Jamaica, W. I. Having in that island met with facts strikingly illustrative of the benefits which may be confidently expected in the early stages of tuberculous diseases from pursuing the practice of F. H. Ramadge M. D., I hasten to lay them before you. Allow me to place two cases of different result side by side, by which I hope the truth will be more clearly seen. In the fall of 1840 an elder brother became ill, and in'a short time afforded conclusive evidence of a diseased state of his lungs. He was prevailed upon to commence a course of inhalation, but not until his strength was so far wasted as scarcely to permit him to leave the house. He then commenced, but with no hope, frequently saying it could do him no good. From the lateness of the period when he commenced inhaling, and the despondency with which he pursued it, the result was as we anticipated—he died in May last. Almost immediately after the death of this brother, another brother was attacked with the same disease. His physician, Dr. M'Fayden, of Kingston, examined his lungs repeatedly, and did not conceal from him his belief that they were ulcerated. My own physician, Geo. P. M. Downer, M. D., who often made my brother a friendly call, repeatedly said most decidedly, " He is far gone with consumption." The usual symptoms were attendant: soreness of his lungs, and fre- quently much pain in his side—exhausting night sweats, hectic fever, a severe cough, and expectoration of colored mucus, or pus, so dense as to sink instantly when thrown into water, were among the alarm- ing evidences of ulcerated lungs. My brother had thoroughly read Dr. Ramadge's work, and being convinced by his reasoning and ex- periments—notwithstanding the ill success in our dear brother's case, he commenced a course of inhalation, fully believing he should be benefited thereby. Anxious friends had already mourned over him as lost to them, and no physician whom he consulted believed he could recover. He had not, however, used the tube six weeks before there were evidences of improvement On the 29th of Sept. I left him in the enjoyment of such health as permitted him to attend to business with activity, and affording almost indubitable evidence of speedy restoration to complete health. My brother is perfectly sure his lungs were ulcerated, and that he owes his life and present health (under God) solely to an observance of the practice of Dr. Ramadge. Dr. Downer, one of the gentlemen mentioned, after examining Dr. Ramadge's work, said he had not derived so much information from all other sources on consumption as from the doctor's work, and when he saw the effects of the use of the tube in my brother's case, he urged me to forward him several copies of the work and the tubes. He added, that he intended that his children should use the tube, and expressed himself as confident that its use would result in the more healthy development of the lungs, as well as be of incalculable benefit to those afflicted with tubercular consumption. With much esteem, I remain, very dear sir, very truly yours, J. M. Titus. 62 INTERESTING INFORMATION The following Interesting Fact is from Rev. E. E. Griswold, a Member of the New-York Annual Conference, and was re- LATED TO HIM BY Dr. W., IN BROOKLYN, L. I., SHOWING THE BENE- FICIAL Effects of the Tube, and of a Removal to a Cold Climate, in curing Consumption. Miss----— had been laboring under a diseased chest for several months, with all the well-marked symptoms of consumption. In the month of------I advised the use of the tube, and after she had in- haled for a few months, with evident benefit, to ascertain further the effects of Dr. Ramadge's theory upon climate, &c, I advised a remo- val to a cold climate. On her way to the north she was exposed to a heavy shower of rain, and upon her return, three months after, she was in good health. He attributes her recovery to the use of the tube, and the beneficial effects of exposure and change of climate. The following Lines were written by Mr. Henshaw, a Respect- able Merchant, of Boston, to Mr. Hunt, No. 61 Liberty-street, New-York. Dr. J. M. Howe has republished in this country Dr. Ramadge's work on pulmonary consumption, showing the beneficial effects of inhalation. My friend Cutler thinks very favorably of it. Dr. Hull has recommended Dr. Ramadge's inhaler, and one or two have con- sidered themselves cured of tubercular consumption by the use of this instrument, and have spoken to me of it with enthusiasm. The writer of the following extracts is a young lady about eighteen years of age, of a very delicate frame, and evidently predisposed to consumption. A mother and sister have both died of it, and she haa been drooping for the last two or three years, notwithstanding all the aid that wealth could procure. Her friends had begun to manifest considerable alarm on her account, as she had once or twice raised a little blood, and was greatly afflicted, upon every change of the weather, with hoarseness, and a great weakness of the chest. After she had used the tube a few weeks she wrote as follows :—" I use the tube three times a day, twenty.five minutes at a time, and do not feel as much inconvenience or fatigue as at first I did. The first week after using it I felt almost exhausted for a few minutes, but now I only feel a little tired. I have not had quite so much pain in my chest as I had before I begun to use the tube, and I can now read aloud for some time, which I have not been able to do before for some years past. Upon an exact measurement of my chest I find there is nearly half an inch enlargement. I think it is benefiting me, and I like it much. I had almost forgotten to tell you that I am not troubled with the soreness in my chest that I had so long complained of." This young lady has recovered very good health. TO CONSUMPTIVES. 63 A Case illustrating the Use of the Tube in a Throat and Lung Affection, from a Lady. Dear Sir,—I have been using your tube for the last seven or eight weeks, and am happy to say, with the blessing of a kind Providence, the means has been blessed thus far. The ulcers in my throat, which discharged considerable blood and very offensive matter, have ceased to discharge, and there are no ulcers. to be seen m the top of my throat; but the lower part at times feels quite sore, and at other times feels as though my palate was down. Before I used the tube, at times I could not speak a load word, and it was very difficult for me to breathe ; but after using it about three weeks I was not again attacked with such extreme weakness of voice and difficulty of breath- ing. I am acquainted with two ladies who are using your tubes, who have received great benefit from them: one resides at Newburg, the other in this place. Yours respectfully, Shawangunk, August 23. Caroline Gregory. From William H. Huggins, M. D., of West IIartland, Connecticut. I wish you to forward another tube, book, &c, to Hartford, as soon as Friday, the 18th, without fail. I herewith inclose the amount. I have several patients under my care who are using the tube, and at present seem to be materially benefited by it. Yours, &c. Willlam W. Huggins. Oct. 11, 1839. The following Statement is from the Rev. Peter Snyder, a Congregational Clergyman in New-Jersey, showing the Beneficial Efficts of Inhalation, in altering the Sternum, enlarging the Chest, and improving the Voice. Dr Howe: Dear Sir,—You are aware that I did not commence a course of inhalation because I considered my lungs diseased, but on account of a sinking of the sternum, and a very contracted chest. I have now used the tube about two months, and, upon an exact measurement, find my chest enlarged one inch; the shape of the sternum is altered, and the ribs play with more ease in breathing, and mv voice is improved. I find, also, that when I am deprived of taking mv usual exercise in the open air, the use of the tube answers all mirDOses I have recommended it in one or two cases with benefit. That it may be useful to many is the desire of your obedient servant, Piter Snyder. 64 INTERESTING INFORMATION Facts stated by Mr. John Gore, Machinist, of Brattleborough, Vermont. Beneficial Effects of the Use of the Tube in Asthma. He informed me that he had been afflicted for a long time with an asthmatic affection of the chest, and that he had tried the various remedies prescribed by the regular practitioners, without benefit. He then applied to the Thomsonian doctors, but still his disease was not mitigated. His affliction was so great, that after obtaining advice of three physicians in the place of his residence, neither of whom gave him any hope of recovery, he relinquished his business and went abroad, hoping that change of climate would benefit him; but in this he was disappointed. He then heard of the inhaling tube, and obtained it; and by a few months' use of it has recovered his health, and has resumed his former business. He also obtained a tube last summer for a young woman about eighteen years of age. Her physician con- sidered her a decided case of consumption. She had been restored to health, and attributed her restoration to the use of the tube. He likewise gave me an account of another woman, also a consumptive, who was perfecdy restored to health by it. In reference to one of the above cases, he stated that in his opinion the woman could not have lived three months longer had she not obtained the tube. On the 20th of July, 1843, he called on me, and purchased three tubes and six books to take home with him. Mr. Wm. S. Burk, of Broadway. About two years ago, Mr. Wm. S. Burk, merchant tailor, of No. 439 Broadway, called on me to obtain advice in relation to his using the tube. His frame naturally was light, and his form delicate and slender; his chest narrow and contracted ; the tightness and emacia- tion of the facile muscles, with his sallow appearance, gave indication almost at a glance that he was laboring under pulmonary disease. Upon examination, I found that ulceration had taken place to some extent in one lung at least, and that his state of health was critical, he having all the usual symptoms accompanying consumption. The pulse was rapid. I, however, concluded there was a possibility of his recovery, and accordingly recommended the tube to him; by which means, together with jaunting about, and being more in the open air, he has greatly improved; and Mr. James Bayless, his former partner, No 439 Bowery, informs me that he attributes his restoration to tho tube, and expresses strong confidence in this remedy. April 10th, 1846. Interesting Case of Recovery of a Young Lady. The attention of Dr. Howe, about three years ago, was culled to Miss M'W., a young lady of about twenty-two years of age, and of delicate constitution, with a narrow and contracted chest,' by Mr. Ashel Jones, of 263 Broadway. At the time when Dr. II. first visited TO CONSUMPTIVES. 65 Miss M'W. he found her cheeks highly tinged with the hectic flush, andiher pulse very rapid: she was also laboring under a severe cough, with night sweats and her strength was greatly prostrated. She had within a few weeks buried a sister, who had died of consumption ; and her symptoms were such that her physician had informed the family that she would inevitably fall a victim too. Her mind was about made up that no earthly means could reach her case. As her expectoration had not been copious, Dr. H. gave her much encouragement that she would entirely recover if she would follow his directions. He directed a more free ventilation of her apartments, and a wood instead of an anthracite-coal fire. He then, by medicinal treatment, reduced the action about the chest, and directed a steady and persevering use of the tube, by which means she soon began to improve in health, and to venture to walk out. Occasionally her symptoms returned, and her fears were excited as to the result; but she steadily mended, and now enjoys good health. She called on Dr. Howe to obtain his pro- fessional services for a sister a few months since, when she remarked, " My health for the last year has been good; my lungs are well; and I have had no occasion to use the tube for a year past." . April 10th, 1846. I have received information, through several disinterested persons) of benefit being received by various individuals by the use of the tube: some of these I will state, giving my authority. A Mrs. Wright, of Utica, whose husband is a merchant, called on me to obtain a tube, &c. She was laboring under all the symptoms of consumption. She appeared to me so much indisposed, that the propriety of the use of the tube in her case was doubtful. Her voice was gone, and she conversed with great effort. My own opinion was, that she could not recover. But in November, 1839, Mrs. Ingram, of 13 Vandam-street, who came with her when she obtained the tube, called on me to obtain a tube for the Rev. Henry Martyn, of Mass., and informed me that Mrs. Wright had recovered, and was in good health, and, for her own amusement, was occupying her evenings in instructing a class of domestics. She attributed her recovery to the tube. Harvey Baldwin, Esq., of Syracuse, N. Y., informed me of a lady in Owego who had been benefited by it in bronchitis. A gentleman of veracity informed me that Mr. Weld, of Hartford, Conn., had been greatly benefited by it. A lady of one of the most distinguished families in the city of New- York, who had been afflicted with a throat affection for some years, and who had traveled extensively in Europe to obtain benefit, but who returned in much the same state of health, was induced by my statements to her husband to use it; and he informed me a few months after that she had fully recovered, and attributed her recovery to the use of the tube. 66 INTERESTING INFORMATION The Rev. D. B. Randall, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Annual Conference, in Maine, who had used the tube about six or eight weeks, was so much benefited that he rose in the conference, in the presence of about two hundred ministers, to express his gratitude to God, and to recommend it to others. He has since informed me that he has recommended it in several instances where it has been bene- ficial, and that he will give it his influence, because it will save life. Mrs. Sarah Colt, of No. 156 Spring-street, New-York, had been afflicted with a distressing affection of the throat and lungs for about thirteen years, and for eleven years had almost every winter been obliged to confine herself within doors. Her symptoms were those of consumption. She had tried every means of which she could avail herself, with only temporary relief; and although she lived, she was a great sufferer. Shortly after my return from Europe she obtained the tube, and a few months' use of it restored her to good health. The changes of the weather, which used to afflict her beyond language to describe, since she obtained the tube gave her no inconvenience; and she ljas exposed herself to all weathers during several winters past. Her son also has been greatly benefited by its use for a throat affection. Edward Corning, Esq., merchant, No. 10 Old Slip, has used the tube with benefit, and has recommended it to some of his friends, who have also been benefited. Mr. C. can be consulted, as to his opinion of its utility, &c, and in reference to his own case. R. Vanpelt, Esq., merchant, No. 45 Cedar-street, obtained a tube for Ins lady, by the advice of his physician. Her disease was tuber- cular phthisis. The physician stated that one lung was extensively diseased, and that her case was a very doubtful one. By the use of the tube, her chest, which was very contracted, has become much enlarged, and her general health greatly improved. This benefit she attributes to the use of the tube, and a residence in the country. Some interesting articles in favor of Dr. Ramadge's practice may be found in The Medical Times, published in London, England, vol. vii, Nos. 171,172, and 176, 1843. Interesting Account of P. Hoofman, Esq., Merchant, late of the Firm of Hoofman, Vrebland, and Co., of Pearl-Street. In the fall of 1842 Mr. Hoofman called on me to consult me in relation to his health. He had been laboring under pulmonary symp- toms for some time, and had had the advice of able physicians, who, after they had exhausted their medical skill without affording him any benefit, informed him that the only hope of recovery left him was to remove to a warm climate, and as the winter was approaching he must soon get away. For this purpose he had purchased for himself a horse and carriage, and was on the eve of setting out, when some of his friends suggested to him the propriety of obtaining the opinion Part of page missing p. 67-68 TO CONSUMPTIVES. 67 of Dr. Howe, and being governed by it. Mr. Hoofman said to Dr. Howe, «< 1 have made all my arrangements to leave, but I now come to obtain your advice, and I will be governed by it. If you say go, I go : if stay, I stay." With my knowledge of climate, its advantages and disadvantages, and the great value of the tube, I could not do otherwise than to advise him to abandon the idea of going abroad, and to stay at home ; to reside in his own dwelling on Brooklyn Heights, to attend to his business, and to use the tube faithfully and pcrscveringly, promising him entire recovery. Mr. Hoofman aban- doned his journey, and recovered his health. His brother, D. Hoofman, Esq., merchant,- of Hudson,-N. Y.^ eaiied on me the 26th of April, 1846, to obtain a tube for a friend, and stated that Mr. Hoofman's health was good, and that he often remarked, "I owe my life to the use of the tube." New-York, April 30th, 1846. Further Testimony. Cases have occurred to our own knowledge, where individuals have been raised to comparative health, when everything'else had failed. Portland, Me., Feb., 1840. Day, Lyon, & Co. I am indebted for the followiag facts to Mr. Lystra, No. 1 Theolo- gical Seminary, University Place. Mr. Lystra states that a young man of his acquaintance, who was very much indisposed with a Jung affection, and was obliged to dis- continue the practice of singing, &c, had, by the use of the tube, £"■ as symptoms are concerned, his disease "-wned me of a reputable physiciaa 68 INTERESTING INFORMATION- In conclusion I would remark, that these are some of the cases which have come to my knowledge since my re- turn from Europe. To publish them all would swell this work much beyond the size intended. Sincerely believing that the publication of these facts will be a blessing to the community, I herewith submit them to the candid con- sideration of my fellow-citizens, praying that they may induce many to avail themselves of the means of rescue from that most fatal of diseases—the consumption. John M. Howe. New-York, April, 1846. NEW WORK BY DR. RAMADGE. The public will be happy to learn that Dr. Ramadge's new work on Chest Diseases will soon be issued from the press. In a letter from the doctor, to Dr. Howe, dated 10th April, 1846, he makes the following remarks :— " I have been very much engap^d ;" suits, and among others ^ LETTER TO DR. RAMADGE. Tenby, (Eng.,) Oct. 26, 1834. Dear Sir,—I trust you will be pleased to hear of the success of a course of six months' inhalation in my case. In order to bring to your recollection the circumstances under which I waited upon you for advice, I beg to refer you to your note book, in which, if I recollect aright, you will find the 29th of last March specified as the date of my first visit. But as you may have kept no memorandum, I may remind you that mine was a case of sinking in of the sternum so as to press on the right ventricle of the heart; you likewise described the arch as being under compression, and the ribs fixed. The attendant symptoms I need not detail. I commenced inhaling on the 30th of March. You directed me to inhale three times a day; but being under great suffering at night when I assumed a reclining pos- ture*, 1 thought it desirable to inhale four times daily, which I followed up for the first four months. Finding myself greatly relieved at the expiration of this period, I have inhaled for the last two months only three times a day. It was not until the 22d of April that I could manage to inhale continuously half an hour at a time ; and on that day ray girth was taken immediately under the nipples of the breast, by Mr. Shaw, our medical attendant. May 22d, Increase the 1st month, five-eighths of an inch. June 22d, " 2d " three-eighths July 22d, " 3d " one-half " Aug. 22d, " 4th " three-eighths " Sept. 22d, " 5th " one-fourth " Oct. 22d, " 6th " three-eighths " Whole increase, two and a half inches. In the first measurement, my girth was two feet ten and a half inches ; Oct. 22d it was three feet one inch 70 INTERESTING INFORMATION. In June I took six inspirations and six expirations per minute while inhaling. In August I took only five inspi- rations and five expirations during the same time. This month I have taken only five inspirations and four expi- rations, or the reverse—showing, I presume, the increased volume of the lungs. This increase is, I think, great at my time of life, as I am forty-six years of age. The benefit I have derived is necessarily very great. My ribs, judging from the heav- ing of my breast when I breathe, have, I should conclude, come into tolerable play. My lungs are amazingly strengthened: I can now sing at the very top of my voice, but not long together. I sleep in general well, but I am not able to lie on my left side. The sinking of the sternum, however, remains exactly the same, and occa- sionally my pulse intermits—generally whenever I stoop to do anything. Nevertheless I can walk at a great rate without inconvenience, and do walk from three to five miles every day. I have gained considerable flesh, and my appetite is always good. I do not hesitate to say that I think inhaling has done me more good than all the blue pills I ever took for bilious attacks. If this communication will tend to illustrate any point of practice, you are quite at liberty to use my name and reference. I am happy also to inform you that Mr. Shaw has made a cure of consumption in this neighborhood by following your system. I visited the individual when he was thought to be in a dying state, and he is now about pursu- ing his usual avocations. I remain, dear sir. Your obliged, J. Greaves. CAUSES OF BRONCHIAL AND THROAT AFFECTIONS AMONG CLERGYMEN. Whatever tends to prostrate the general system renders the clergyman liable to a bronchial or lung affection, inasmuch as these organs are almost the only ones con- stantly in use. It would be so with any member of the body. Let a debilitated man incessantly use one arm, to the exclusion of the rest of the body, and prostration, if not a worse evil, will be the result. Preaching, if properly performed, is a mTjst healthful exercise for the throat and lungs; and if the speaker speak well, these organs will be strengthened, instead of injurious consequences following. But in order that they may be protected, much care should be taken. 1. To preserve the general health, to counteract the continual drain upon the system by intellectual and clerical employments; and for this purpose vigorous exercise should be taken in the open air, at least once in every twenty-four hours, to such a degree, if practicable, as to bring the blood upon the surface of the system. 2. Attention should be given to the proper ventilation of sleeping rooms, and other apartments. To breathe the same air in a tight room all night produces the most deleterious consequences. Preaching places, too, are often badly constructed to preserve the health of the preacher: the atmosphere will be almost insupportable, by being at times too much heated, and by the breath of the number of persons in the house, at other times for lack of proper warmth, especially in rainy or chilly weather. And, after service, exposure to the night air, and a walk or a ride for a mile or two, frequently lay the foundation for disease in persons who have not robust constitutions. 3. Proper regard to diet is of no small importance in the V 72 INTERESTING INFORMATION. preservation of health'; and as within a few years the at- tention of the public has been so frequently directed to a vegetable diet, I feel it my duty to say, that however valu- able such a diet may be in some cases, my opinion is, that a mixed diet of vegetables and flesh will be found most conducive to health for persons generally—while for per- sons of a scrofulous or consumptive habit, a generous diet, such as roast beef once a day, or something equal to it, is decidedly the best calculated to produce the greatest amount of health. 4. But what tends more directly to produce bronchial and lung affections among clergymen is a bad style of delivery: speaking is frequently too rapid, time is not taken to breathe, or to take in a proper inspiration ; the lungs are acted upon as by an air-pump, the throat and lungs are strained to perform what could easily be accom- plished if moderation were used in delivery, and care taken to breathe well; the intonations and modulation of the voice are of vast importance. By neglecting to cultivate a proper style of delivery, many a valuable minister is laid aside ; and by due regard to it, many a slender, delicate man, has been enabled to wear well, and to perform effect- ive service in the church for many years, and to improve his voice and lungs in preaching. "It's all preach with you," said a learned professor one day to a young preacher. " If you quote Scripture, or illustrate it, or relate an inci- dent, you preach it all. Now would you not do better to talk more, and preach less ?" Let clergymen then take care of their general health, and let them cultivate a proper style of preaching, and throat and lung affections will become less prevalent. But to those who are thus affected, I unhesitatingly state, that I believe the use of the tube will be the best remedy that can be procured. r> >r lOliVN 1NDI01W JO A 1 V II I II IVNOIIVN 1NDI0IW JO A a V * • II 1VNO YOI1VN INDI09W JO ADVBBI1 IVNOIIVN 3NI3I03W JO A V V « • I 1 1VNO / '#■ la—' * * DICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDI L *V ;, ? ^*ssr r*\ , NOIiVN 3NI3I03W JO iiVllll IVNOIIVN INIDIQ3H JO AaVBBM 1VN0 ■r^ I -or DICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDI OI1VN 3N I 3 10 3W JO AaVBBM 1 VNOIiV N 3 N I 3 I a 3 V» J o a a v a a n 1 V N o ni e 'o IQ ^ I DICINE NATIONAL I I B « r M*To F MEDICINE NATIONAL LIB RARY OF MEDI NLM032772154