COLUMBIA LIBRARIES OFFSITE HEALTH SCIENCES STANpARD HX64063470 f R A776 . J28 1 891 Selections from essa RECAP ^^1% SThe Sanitary Woolen System. sMN^'G. JAEGER. M.D *m:: ''The f irsl.Wealth is Health" ^' EMERSDM. w^kr^ 4^ \ \% % HEALin SCIIT'CES SELECTIONS FROM ESSAYS ON MEALTH -CULTURE And the Sanitary Woolen System, BY GUSTAV JAEGER, M.D., Stuttgart, PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY. {TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.) TRADE ^^^V^^^Pilr>'^^!^^ MARK. PUBLISHED BY DR. JAEGER'S SANITARY WOOLEN SYSTEM CO., Nos. 827 AND 829 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 1891. Second Edition^ revised and enlarged *♦ The first Wealth is Health." —Emerson. I 776 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by 1)K. JAEGER'S SANITARY WOOLEN SYSTE3I CO. in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D C I'ress of F. 8. & C. 13. Hartram, V-i6 William Street, New York. PEE FACE. BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. THE proprietors of Dr. Gustav Jaeger's Sanitary Woolen System, have met with so unexampled success in introducing it into England and on the Continent, during the four years in which it has been on trial there, that they feel confident of having an improved system of Sanatory Clothing to offer to the American people which will not only meet the necessities incident to the conditions of the iSTorth American climate, but will also supply a want long felt and intelligently realized by a large portion of this great community. A people fertile in the invention of devices, and in the contrivance of means for meeting the exigencies of a varied climate, and the demands of an advanced stage of civilization, will not be slow to appreciate the merits, and avail themselves of the benefits of the inventions and discoveries of their transatlantic neighbors. This Sanitary System of Clothing appeals at once to the American practical common sense, and will undoubtedly find a hearty welcome and a speedy adoption. It is in this conviction that arrangements have been made for opening a spacious wholesale and re- tail mercantile establishment in New York; and it is iv Preface. with a view to enlightening the public as to the scientific claims of the New System, that the sub- stance of Dr. Jaeger's European publications have been compiled, with but the fewest and slightest modifications, in his own popular language, and of- fered to American readers in this compact, but com- prehensive and intelligible form. Dr. Jaeger's own preface is presented with this. The cordial indorsement of Dr. Jaeger's Sanitarj^ System, by some of the most eminent physicians of England and the Continent, will surely commend it to a fair hearing and the candid consideration of the Public. New York, 1886. PREFACE. rr^HE scientific and technical discussion of my re- Jl searches in the direction of Health-culture, will be found in works previously published by me on allied topics, such as Die menscTiliche Arheitskraft (Munich : R. Oldenburg, 1878), Seuchfjifestigheit unci Konstitutionskraft (Leipzig : Ernst Giinther, 1878), and Die Mitdeckung der Seele (Leipzig : Ernst Giin- ther, 1880). In writing the essays contained in this volume, I have aimed at the practical applica- tion and diffusion of my views, and have consequently striven to adopt the plainest mode of popular exposi- tion. Next to the soundness of my sanitary doc- trines — which, indeed, will speak for themselves at once upon trial — I am chiefly indebted to the pop- ular form of my compositions for the extraordinary rapidity, assuredly unsurpassed in its way, with which the Sanitary Woolen System has borne down every obstruction. I am anxious here to caution my readers, before- hand, against erroneous impressions with respect to the Sanitary Woolen System. Dress has hitherto been generally regarded as a means of protection to the body merely. This restricted view is correct when clothing is manufactured partly from vegetable and partly from animal fibres ; but it falls far short of the whole truth, when applied to the Sanatory Woolen Clothing. The latter supplies a decidedly nearer perfect and more effectual protection than vi Preface. is afforded b}^ ordinary '' mixed " clothing ; it has, moreover, the most important effect of rendering the body hardy. This operation is gradual but certain. The wearer is not at once made proof against influ- ences of weather, infection, etc. ; various disturbances of health may occur, but their short duration will be j)roof that the right course has been taken to secure " a sound mind in a sound body." Perceiving the difficulty of inducing any consider- able portion of the public to adopt a reformed System of clothing, unless practically aided by a supply of garments made in accordance with my System, I have made arrangements for the manufacture of such gar- ments, under my supervision and control. With the experience obtained of the vitiation of woolen fabrics by the admixture of cotton, and in view of the luireacUness with which manufacturers and tradesmen at first took up the matter, I feel sat- isfied that by adopting this practical course I greatly assisted the extension of the reform. In the Sanitary Woolen System, woolen fabrics adulterated by the addition of vegetable fibre, bear to the genuine article a relation analogous to that which wine, tainted with fusel-oil, bears to pure wine, because the cotton threads fix and retain the " noxious " emanations cor- responding to the vapors of fusel-oil. If, therefore, for the sake of a possible saving in price or on the score of convenience, people are induced to deal in doubtful quarters, and to forego tlie advantage of thorough investigation, I beg that any untoward experience may not be laid to the charge of the System. G. JAEGER. Stttttoart. COJTTENTS. Summary of Dr Gustav Jaeger's Clothing Reform AND Sanitary Woolen System . Effects of Excess of Fat and Water in the Tissues The Causes of Disease, and Disease Germs The Specific Gravity of the Body The Sourcs of the Emotions .... The Nature of Disease . . . ... The Crisis of Disease , . . . . The Deodorization of the Body Sanatory Woolen Clothing . . ... Undervests The Sanatory Coat . . . . . The German Gymnastic Suit .... The Atmosphere of Schoolrooms Summer and Winter Clothing Inhalation of Dust Catarrh The Shirt, the Trousers, and the Hat Normal Duration of Human Life Diphtheria Cleanliness of the Sanitary Woolen Clothing System The Collar Silk Is Woolen Clothing Weakening t . . . PAGE Vlll i'onti iitK. The Curative Power of Wool The Sanatory Woolen Clothing I^efmum Variations of Temperature, and SrNfsTHOKE The Woolen Glove, and Stings Patents The Open Bedroom Window Woolen Clothing Fihe-Proof The Sanatory Woolen Handkerchief, and Ca- tarrhal Infection ... The Adllteration of Wool with Cotton The Air in Rooms .... Cold Baths The Sock or Stocking The Sanatory Woolen Bed The Platinum Lamp Deodorizer Writer's Cramp The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes— 1. The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes — II The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes— III Girded Loins The Corset 'I' HE Sanatory Boot .... Thk Cleansing of the Outer Cloihing .\nd Bed- ding ...... The Treatment of Infants Vegetarianism The Positive and Negative Effects of the Sani- tary Woolen System .... Vegetable Fibre, When and Why Unhanatoi About Shrink age Washing "The Fraud Detected" .... SUMMARY OF * DR. GUSTAV JAEGER'S Clothing Rekorm AND SANITARY WOOLEN SYSTEM. THE, INDISPUTABLY, PERNICIOUS EF- FECTS, upon health, due to the material and form of the ordinary clothing of the present day, were hardly suspected until Dr. Gustay Jaegee, of Stuttgart, began to publish the results of his investi- gation on the subject. This distinguished German physician has estab- lished the fact, that most bodily derangements may be prevented or cured, or greatly alleviated, by the adoption of proper clothing ; and he has constructed a system based on the principle of pare, animal fibre, for clothing and bedding. This is known as " De. Jaegee's Sanitaey Woolen System." It af- fords to the body the greatest protection against Cold, Heat and Dampness, with the least obstruction to the body's exhalations. These conditions are in- •J. !Sujnmary. ^tinctively felt to be better fulfilled by woolen, than by linen or cotton fabrics. Hence the very general use of flannel garments by athletes and by members of cricket, boating, and other sporting clubs, who are called upon to engage in vigorous, physical exercise likely to cause profuse perspiration, which is simply an intensification of the action of the skin, incessantly going on, with more or less activity, and ceasing oi^ with life itself. Dr. Jaeger reasons as follows : If this action of the skin be imperfect, impeded, or re- pressed by any cause, fat and water accumulate in the tissues, the functional powers of which are lowered and weakened ; and the flesh, which should feel elastic, firm and hard, becomes soft and flabbj'', resulting in a general derangement of the physical organization ; and the evil effect on the body is ex- perienced in the form of many disorders which are erroneously considered to be more or less inevitable and ineradicable, — such as corpulence, asthma, pul- monary complaints, diseases of the digestive organs, gout, rheumatism, etc. All fabrics manufactured of, or adulterated with, vegetable fibre, (Imen or cotton,) or silk, are imper- vious to the body's exhalations, which are arrested and turned to water on the skin, if, at any point underclothing or lining of such fibre, intervene, be- tween the body and the outer atmosphere Linen and cotton are, moreover, good conductors of heat, and thus, especially when damp, readily cause a chill. Further, dead vegetable fibre has the same property that the living plant has, of absorbing noxious gases; but it cannot, like the plant, digest or assimilatt- them. tSutmnary. 3 In view, therefore, of the importance of maintain- ing a healthy and normal action of the skin, not onlj for persons of active habits and pursuits, but espe- cially for those engaged in sedentary occupations, Dr. Jaeger selects Animal wool as the proper sub- stance for his " Sanatory Clothing," and rejects all linen, cotton and silk for underwear aiid for bedding^ as obstructive of the natural processes of absorption and evaporation. The advantages of this material seem obvious, as, when woven into tissues, wool pos- sesses above all textile fabrics — 1. A 2)eculiar power of absorption and transmis- sion^ 2. The properties of a non-conductor of heat — so essential to the preservation of an equable temperature of the body; 3. The property ofpjromoting the elimination, from the tissues, of all excess of fat and %oater, thus making the flesh firm, and hardening and toughening the muscles. As hitherto woven, woolen fabrics are objection- able to many, because they irritate the skin and cause a feeling of intense discomfort, by preventing the proper escape of the exudations of the skin ; and, as a rule, they are so heavy as to be intolerable for summer wear. To remove these objectionable feat- ures, and to make woolen clothing truly sanatory, and suitable for all seasons — protecting from oppres- sive heat in summer and maintaining a proper degree of warmth in winter — Dr. Jaeger has materially modified the usual processes of weaving woolen fab- rics, and adopted a method which produces a much less closely -woven texture than the ordinary flannel ; 4 iSHinmary. and all underwear for ladies, gentlemen and children, IS made of " Stockinet," undyed or natural gray, very porous, agreeable and durable. From these conditions, together with the conform- ity in construction of the garments, to the human anatomy, arise what Dr. Jaeger specifically claims as THE SANITARY ADVANTAGES OF PURE ANIMAL WOOL. I. Wool " gently stimulates the skin ;" L e., to that degree necessary to excite and maintain its normal activity in secreting and extruding the waste matter, and surplus fat and water of the body. II. Wool, relatively to linen and cotton, is a non- conductor of heat and electricity, and, therefore, tends to preserve to the animal body its normal measure of these vital energies. III. Wool, woven and made up according to the Jaeger methods, by reason of its permeability to moisture, (the vaporous exhalations of the skin,) pro- motes the elimination of the effete matters, and the reduction of the abnormal or excessive heat of the animal body; and this is the reason why the body, even when freely perspiring^ remains dry in woolen clothing J while in linen or cotton, it becomes wet — a fact of common experience with all who engage in athletic exercises. IV. Woo] thus co-operates with the skin to regu- late, by its exhalations, the temperature of the body, the wool supplementing the efforts of the skin to dis- pose of excess of heat, whether proceeding from in- bwnrnary. 5 ternal or external sources, thus maintaining tliat equable state which is the true condition of health and comfort. Hence it is, that wool is better than linen or cotton as a preventive of the overheating of the blood, through internal heat; and that woolen clothing is less oppressively hot than linen or cotton in summer, and, therefore, more agreeable and health- ful in the hottest climates. V. Wool is electrical, while linen and cotton are not; i. e., wool generates electricity, but does not conduct it. It follows, therefore, that a body clothed in wool loses less of its animal electricity, while fresh electricity is produced on the surface. Most people are familiar with the facility with which the human body conducts electricity. Cotton ranks next to it as a conductor, while wool is classed with non-con- conductors and insulators, and, for that reason, is called an electric, or generator of electricity. When the air is clear and dry, place a person upon a stool or chair, the legs of which are supported from the floor by glass tumblers, and beat him gently on the back with a woolen or camel-hair shawl, and sparks may be drawn from his nose, or fingers, from one- fourth to three-fourths of an inch long — or large enough to light the gas of a burner, or to charge a Ley den jar. Probably every reader has seen and heard electric sparks on withdrawing a woolen stock- ing — never from taking off a cotton one. There is no manifest electricity, in the latter case, because the cotton fibre conducts it away — dissipates it. The Sanitary Woolen System is, therefore, salutary for those whose bodies are deficient in animal heat or electricity. With persons leading sedentary lives, (3 Siminiary. the action of the skin is deficient, and it requires tho stimulating aid of the woolen clothing, which ma- terially assists in eliminating from the tissues the excess of water and fatty matter always tending to accumulate when insufficient exercise is taken. Chills caused by draughts, or colds, damp clothes or bedding, are very dangerous, because the sudden suppression of the cutaneous exudations, interferes with the circulation of the blood, thus disturbing the action of the lungs, the liver, the stomach, etc., and set- ting up conditions favorable to inflammation and fever. Their modus operarLdi may be summarized as fol- lows: The exhalations which are " mal-odorous " and noxious by reason of defective excretory action, are generated in the body during and after the digestion of food, during all vital action in fact, or when the body is invaded by disease, or the mind is at work, or disturbed by worry, gloom, anger or fear, or in- deed by any violent passion or strong emotion. For every act of mind or body, is attended with destruc- tion of tissue, constituting so much waste matter, which becomes poisonous and potent for mischief, if not duly eliminated from the body. This elimina- tion it is the function of the skin, in an eminent de- gree, to do. The sudorific or sweat glands, and their ducts, are charged with this important oftice. There are about 7,000,000 of these little scavengers opening at the surface of the skin of an average-sized man, throwing off from the surface from 28 to 32 ounces of refuse matter every 24 liours. The action of even a small portion of them, cannot be suspended without disturbance and danger. Sit7nmary. 7 The body not only gives off its exhalations to the surrounding air, but also communicates them to all objects with which it and its atmosphere come in contact. Metallic substances, glass, and wood of which the pores are closed b}^ paint, varnish, etc., are practi- cally impervious to the exhalations, while the two classes of material next mentioned absorb them, but in a very different degree. I. All vegetable fibres, such as linen, cotton, hemp, jute, paper, unvarnished and unpainted wood; silk, and unsanitarily dyed or dressed wool and leather, attract and absorb these " noxious," " self -poisoning " exhalations, and become, when in contact with human beings, gradually offensive and even poisonous in their effect. Clothing, (including linings and pad- ding,) and bedding made from such fibres, are agree- able and wholesome only when quite new and just washed, but soon become saturated with the "nox- ious " exhalations, producing discomfort, and, if wet, when the vapors are set free, becoming especially dangerous. II. All kinds of animal wool and hair, leather, (un- dressed, or sanitarily dressed and dyed,) feathers, horn, readily absorb all the excretions of the skin, but they do not retain them, but transmit, and disperse them at their outer surfaces, by a repulsive energy to which the self-cleansing properties of hair and wool fabrics are properly due. The value of this feature of the woolen system, more particularly with refer- ence to its surgical uses, -is hardly to be exaggerated. To secure its full benefits, the System should be adopted in its entirety. A beginning may be made b ^uiiunari/. with underclotliiiig, wliicli is of the tirst importance. The outer clothing should be constructed after the Sanitary styles. The upper and lower coverings of the bed should be woolen or camel-hair. The sleep- ing suit should be a stockine't night-shirt, long, light, soft and elastic; or a woolen shirt with a combination consisting of drawers and socks. EFFECTS OF EXCESS OF FAT AND WATER IN THE TISSUES. (1878.) THE Englisli word " condition " is the only ade- quate term wherewith to express that state of mind and body in which the health and the working power leave nothing to be desired. Let us first see to what this state, or " condition," is chiefly due. Briefly stated, it is the result of a correct proportion of the most important bodily constituents, and of certain physical properties and processes of the living tissues. As regards a correct proportion of the bodily con- stituents, we may restrict our examination to three of these — albumen, fat, and water. The first is the chief constituent of muscle, nerve, blood, etc.; in fact, the principal contributor to the existence of the body. Relatively to this substance, water and fat, although indispensable, may be viewed as auxil- iaries merely. A proper condition of the body re- quires that these three constituents shall be present in certain proportions; and the more strictly these proportions are mantained in it, the sounder it will be and the fitter for work; on the other hand, any ex- cess of water or of fat will lessen its energies, and its power of resisting influences likely to generate disease. 10 Effects of Excess of Touching the physical properties, we have first to consider the degree of excitability of the life-conduct- ors of the body; chief among which are the nerves and the muscles; for upon this quality depend energy, speed, and capacity for action in bodily and mental work, as well as in those processes of adjustment, which protect the body against external, disturbing influences. The second point relates to the conditions of elasticity in the sinews, ligaments, vessels, lung-tissues, etc. Any diminution in their flexibility and firmness lessens the energy and the resisting power of the bod}-. Imperfect action of the skin will induce, with vary- ing rapidity, certain changes in the proportions of the constituents and in the physical properties of the sub- stance of the body. These changes must be considered separately. Foremost I place the increase of fat, which al- most invariably supervenes upon sedentary habits of life, when there is no lack of food. The injurious effects of an accumulation of fat, as verified by care- ful experiments, are as follows: Fat people, other conditions being the same, pos- sess considerably less blood than the lean; and it is a mistake to suppose that obese people are neces- sarily full-blooded. On the contrary, they are poor- blooded, a condition which, in itself, is a malady made manifest by a never-ending series of minor disorders of the general economy; and there is a variety of diseases to which fat people fall a prey, and succumb, much sooner than the lean— notably all those whicli are determined by the quantity of blood in tlio system. With reference to vital energy, it is notori- ous that persons suffering from poorness of blood are Fat and Water in the. Tissues. 11 incapable of doing so much work as those who pos- sess a full measure of blood; because the working power of an organ depends upon the store of blood in it. Another consequence of obesity is, the en- croachment of the fat upon the spaces necessary for the circulation of the blood and the play of the res- piratory organs. The first of these evils brings about an abnormal distribution of the blood in the system, which is not apparent when the body is at rest, but which shows itself as soon as the circulation of the blood is quickened; when the rapid flushing of the face indicates an excessive rush of blood to the head, likely to cause dizziness or apoplexy. Another irreg- ularity in the distribution of the blood occurs when its return from the lower parts of the body towards the heart is hindered by the reduction of the space in the abdominal canity. This causes lassitude and a sense of heaviness in the legs, and a tendency to the forma- tion of varicose veins; while, if the elimination of water from the.system be impeded, dropsical swelling of the legs will ensue. The obstruction of the return of blood from the abdominal organs, causes the ex- tremely troublesome, and, in their latter stages of development, even dangerous, hemorrhoidal com- plaints which almost invariably afflict the obese. An impeded circulation is also one of the reasons why fat people are less capable of work than the lean. If an organ be required to do work, it requires 80 per cent more blood than when at rest. Every exertion there- fore necessitates an alteration in the distribution of the blood, to which fat stands as a hindrance, block- ing the way so that the blood cannot flow in sufficient quantity to the part that requires it. 12 Effects of Excess of The accumulation of fat in the thoracic cavities' (chest,) is also mischievous from its interference with the free play of the lungs. On this point I myself took measurements, which went to show, that, among men forty years of age, the lung, or breathing capac- ity, of the obese, was, with a full inspiration, 18 cubic centimetres of air only, to every kilogramme of weight of body; while the lean could inhale from 40 to 50 cubic centimetres, or about three times as much. It follows that the obese are disqualified for exceptional exertion necessitating greater breathing than usual, and a more copious flow of blood through the lungs, which have space sufficient for neither the air nor the blood. The obstruction caused by fat is shown by the rapidity with which an obese person becomes heated by exertion; but, even in rejiose, this interfer- ence with the free play of the respiratory apparatus is injurious, and renders the body sluggish, because it checks the excretion and dispersion of the substances (carbonic acid, water, and lactic acid) which hinder the proper functional processes of the body. With regard to the greater liability to attacks of disease in cases of obesity, I may particularly refer to the danger of pulmonary affections. If any such malady renders one portion of the lungs unservice- able, life will be further shortened by the reduced working capacity of the remnant which may be still available for use. Fat people are also far more sus- ceptible to such maladies as gout, dropsy, emphyse- matous lesions, etc. The effect of fatty deposits upon tlie physical prop- erties of the living tissues, and especially upon the measure of their activity, may be easily \y3rified by Fat and Water in the Tissues. 13 exj^eriments. If a nerve be severed in a living ani- mal, so that the brain can no longer transmit its en- ergy, and the brain be thus reduced to a condition of rest, globules of fatty matter will gradually be de- posited in it, and in proportion as this proceeds, the activity of the brain will decrease. A similar change takes place in the muscles when their nerves have been cut. Their power to contract, and the energy of the contractions diminish in the same proportion as the granules of fat increase in number and size. Since, therefore, the degree of excitability in nerve and muscle, measures the power and energy, not only of bodily, but also of mental work, it will be easily understood why cori^ulent persons become inert and limp both in body and mind. As regards the mind, I may add that fatty degeneration of the brain is one of the most frequent causes of imbecility and mental aberration. From the foregoing, it will be seen, that any one predisposed to obesity, and wishing to preserve the integrity of his health and working capacity, should be ever on his guard against any superfluous deposit of fat in his body. Any sign of such a deposit may be regarded as an evidence of wrong methods of liv- ing, and an admonition to adopt such measures as will prevent the further accumulation of fat, and dis- pose of any excess already deposited. To either of these ends there are no better means than such as will ensure an increased action of the skin. Against the well-known BANTING cure — the greatest possible abstinence from fatty or farinaceous food — I would caution all persons with whom the deposit of fat has attained to any considerable proportions, because. 14 Effects of Mccess of under such circumstances, such abstinence may be- come dangerous ; and even though it bring no peril with it in particular cases, the efficacy of the Banting cure is infinitely inferior to the agency of an active skin in restoring a healthy condition to mind and body. An inordinate increase of the percentage of water is not so apparent as an excessive deposit of fatty matter — if the two morbid conditions do not manifest themselves concurrently, which is generally the case — yet it makes itself distinctly felt ; the flesh is flabby, and doughy, Avhereas under normal conditions it would be elastic and firm. An accumulation of water in the system directly tends to increase the percentage of water in the blood, which means poor- ness of blood, and a consequent lowering of the powers of all parts of the body ; for their nutrition is lessened, and the water in them increases, lowering the vital forces, or, in other words, diminishing the normal activity of nerve and muscle, and eventually suspending it altogether. This is shown, on the one hand, by the phenom- ena attendant on dropsy proper; and, on the other, by the effect of the diminution of water in the tissues, upon the rate of nerve transmission. I had evidence of this in an experiment made upon myself and a few thoroughly healthy subjects, among whom were two of our local, medical men. In this experiment I en- deavored to express by figures how far the loss of water in the tissues, caused by the action of a Turk- ish bath, would affect the speed of nerve transmission, not only in the sensory and motor nerves, but also in the cranial nerves. The experiment was conducted in the following manner : Fat and Water in the Tissues. 15 A stop-watch is used, the index-hand of which, by simple pressure exerted upon two separate knobs, can be disconnected and reconnected at pleasure with the clock-work, which continues to run ; and the stop- watch is so graduated as to indicate spaces of time as short as two two-thousandths of a second. The operator holds the knob that sets the index-hand in motion, while upon the stoppage-knob rests the finger of the person undergoing the test. At the com- mencement of the trial the index-hand stands still, and its position is noted. As soon as the operator starts the index-hand, by pressing the knob under his control, the other person must arrest it by pressing the second knob. The difference between the two readings or positions of the index, will then accurately indicate, on a scale of one two-thousandth part of a second, the time taken by the above excitation to run its course through the eye, the optic nerves, the brain, the nerves of the arm, and finally reach the muscles actuating the finger that presses against the knob. I made another experiment. The stop-watch was connected with an electric bell, which indicated to the subject of the test, the starting of the index- hand. This gave the time of transmission of the ner- vous impulse from the ear to the finger. Thirdly : to test the activity of the brain, two bells were con- nected with the clock-work, one on the right hand and the other on the left of the subject of the test, in each of whose hands was placed a knob with which to stop the index. The operator held in his grasp two other knobs, enabling him to ring the bell on either side at will, when the index-hand was set a- going. The subject of the test was required to press 16 Effects of Excess of the knobs right or left, according to the right or left ringing of the bell. The intervals of time, as ascer- tained in this last trial, were constantly longer than those recorded in the second experiment, when only one bell had been used ; and the deduction of the interval of time, involved in the second experiment, from that required in the third experiment, will give the duration of the psychical operation upon which depends the act of discrimination between right and left. Of course such tests need repetition at least half a dozen times, and the average will give the result. In the series of experiments above described, the tests were applied in the afternoon of the day previous to the persons' taking a Turkish bath, and repeated the following day at the same hour, but after a Turkish bath taken in the morning. In each case there was increased rapidity of action, the average amounting to 13 j^er cent. This is the numerical ex- pression of an important enhancement in the caj^acity of the nervous and mental energy. Before I had instituted these stop-watch experi- ments, I had become aware, in the following manner, of the great influence exercised by the relative pro- portion of water in the body upon the working powers of the mind. Towards the end of last winter, and, without signs of any particular sickening, I experi- enced so notable a diminution of my working capa- city, while engaged in tlie preparation of a book on The Workltig Power of Man^ that I could at most accomplish but eiglit manuscript j)ages a day, while I found I required a very unusual period of sleep. Contemporaneously with this, I had increased in girth very considerably. It occurred to me at the time Fat and Water in the Tissues. . 17 that the cause of this diminished capacity for work might be attributable to increase, not only of fatty matter, but of water also ; and I resolved to seek a remedy, commencing with a few Turkish baths, and continuing with a regular course of exercise. Ere I had reached the latter stage of my training, my capacity for mental work had so far improved, after five Turkish baths, that I could accomplish nearly double the amount of manuscript in the course of the day. In considering how far an increased percentage of water in the system, enhances the liability to sick- •ness, the fact may be instanced, that decay sets in much sooner after death in dropsical cases than in others ; showing that an excess of water accelerates the decomposition of the b.>dily substance. To this may be added, that, when the blood is watery, and, therefore, in a more fluid state, the tendency to in- jurious irregularities in its distribution, is greatly aug- mented ; and I would, at least partly, ascribe sensi- tiveness to so-called colds and chills to an excess of water in the system, upon the following grounds : From the teachers' attendance-books at the two Stutt- gart High Schools, I made a note of all cases of non-attendance in the first class, taking the totals for the winter months from the year 1857 down to 1874, and the figures are : For October, 159 ; November, 532 ; December, 391 ; (but considering the Christmas holidays, a corrected estimate should bring it up to at least 500 ;) January, 682 ; February, 896 ; and March, 730. As non-attendances at school are mainly referable to chest affections, colds, and similar complaints, these figures show that liability to colds 18 Eff'ects of Excess of in the course of the winter, is gradually augmented, and reaches its highest point toward the end of the season. In winter time there is a variety of circum- stances likely to operate in increasing the percentage of water in the system ; there is less bodily exercise ; the thicker clothing is less pervious to the water given off from the skin ; the indoor life in the stagnant at- mosphere of rooms, arrests evaporation ; and there is little or no sensible perspiration. This and other in- quiries have led me to the conclusion that predisposi- tion to colds and chills is due to excess of water in the system, and that the term to " harden" the body is very significant. The bodily substance must be made hard by draining from it the superfluous water, if it is effectually to resist the exciting causes of colds and chills. I have had an instrument made which will enable me to verify statistically, and by actual experi- ment with living persons, whether my surmise on this head be correct.* In addition to the change in the due proportions of the bodily constituents just de- scribed, there supervenes a change in their physical constitution. The most vital of physical properties is the excitability of nerve and muscle. Upon this depend the rapidity of bodily and mental labor, the efficiency of the organs of sense, and the activity of all the bodily functions in relation to change of substance, and the phenomena of motion. We have already seen that the energy of the bodily tissues is lessened by the lodgment of water and fat, which is generally the direct consequence of a sedentary life ; because the greater part of the body remains inert. '* See " The Specific Gravity of the Body," page 33. Fat and Water in the Tissues. 19 That disuse decreases the measure of excitability, or the faculty of responding to a stimulus, is shown in cases of severed nerves and paralyzed muscles. Another physical property impaired and changed for the worse by insufficient action of the skin, is the elasticity of those parts of the body which are moved by the nerves and the muscles. The effect on the working capacity shows itself (to borrow an ex- ample from the lower animals) in the shape of stiff- ness, which is very noticeable in animals kept too long in the stable. But a greater evil is the loss of elasticity in the blood-vessels and the lungs, diminish- ing the capacity for work and the power to withstand the causes of disease. Just as, from long disuse, a gutta-percha hose will lose its elasticity, turn hard, and become brittle; so, also, will it fare with the blood-vessels if their activity be not maintained by the free exhalations of the skin. They can no longer adequately respond to the varying necessities of the blood-distribution, required to protect against the causes of disease, or called for by changes in the em- ployment of the body; and if, in the end, the vessels become so deteriorated as easily to break, predispo- sition to apoplexy is established. Diminished func- tional activity of the vascular system, and of the lungs, moreover, is mischievous in its effects upon the proportions of the constituents of the body. There is lessened activity in the interchange and restoration of matter, leading to the accumulation of water and fat, in the elimination of which the above-named or- gans of the body play a very important part. 20 The Cause of Ulsease, and Disease Germs. THE CAUSES OF DISEASE, AND DISEASE GERMS. (1878.) I HAVE for some time studied the subjects indi- cated in the heading of the present paper, par- ticularly with a view to ascertain the cause of the liability of the human body to disease, and the means by which it may be steeled effectually to withstand external, unhealthy influences. In pro- fessional parlance, the result of this power of resist- ance goes by the name of " immunity," and in the following remarks I shall make occasional use of this word in the above sense. My inducement to revert to these studies is a re- markable coincidence between the latest outcome of my researches and the investigations prosecuted by Professor Naegeli, the Munich botanist, on the sub- ject of the most important group of the external causes of disease; namely, the poisons of infection — on which he has published a book entitled Die niederen Pilze in Hirer Bezieliung zu den Ivfektions- krankheiten* I will begin with an account of my own discover- ies, to be followed by an exposition of those of Professor Naegeli. My attention has for years been especially directed to that particular change in the condition of the body, which is popularly called ♦ "The Subordinate Fungi or Germs in their relation to Infectious Diseases." The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. 2 1 training, or hardening. The problems for solution were as follows: In what does this change consist? what are its causes, and what its uses ? Professional works supply but scanty information on these points. The first result of my studies was, that, in the process of hardening the, body, I recognized such a change in the relative proportions of the three most important, constituent parts of the tissues — albumen, fat, and water — as clearly pointed to the conclusion that the hardening is mainly brought about by the elimination of fat and water. I also contrived to obtain, by taking the specific weight of the body, numerical values expressing in figures the hitherto undefined notion embodied in the term " hardened," or " in good condition." As water and fat are lighter substances than albumen, it follows that a man in good condition must be specifically heavier than one in a weaker condition, and this has been determined beyond doubt by measurement and weight.* Another outcome of my studies, was a clearer per- ception of the circumstances favoring the process of hardening the body. The misconception that this consists in simply inuring the body to cold, has wrought much evil to the general public. I have succeeded in determining that a system of clothing, which admits of the free escape of the watery vapor, given off by the skin, tends to harden the body, while clothing, which impedes the elimination of water from the tissues, is enervating. The process of hardening the body results in the gain of firmer and more compact flesh, — richer in * See " The Specific Gravity of the Body," page 33. 22 The Cause of Disease, and Disease Germs. albumen, and freer from fat and water. I believe it to admit of no further doubt that this is equivalent to an increase of the power of the body to withstand the action of morbific influences, and that, conse- quently, the current conception of florid, exuberant health is altogether erroneous. The healthiest people are endowed with tough, wiry, firm flesh, and well- knit frames, and such subjects withstand much better not only climatic changes, but also those inflammatory affections which are engendered by the intrusion of living disease germs into the human body. Shortly before I had thoroughly possessed myself of these facts, there appeared the above-named work by Professor Naegeli, containing disclosures so note- worthy on the subject of the so-called infectious diseases, that I at once formed the design of com- municating some of its leading features to my read- ers, without, however, then suspecting into what intimate relation Naegeli's researches might come with my own. To Professor Pettexkofee, of Munich, belongs the merit of the discovery that the germs of infection in cholera and typhus (nervous fever) find a dwelling- j)lace in the underground water-passages into which wells are sunk ; that, in such localities, they will not only exist, but multiply ; and that from this base of operations they carry out the work of infection by finding ways to reach the human body. He was the first to promulgate the fact, since extensively con- firmed by others, that tlie danger of infection in- creases when the level of underground water is lowered, and conversely that the danger diminishes as the water rises. This harmonizes with the fact The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. 23 that intermittent fever, which is generated in marshy surfaces, makes its appearance with aug- mented frequency when the sinking of the water level lays bare more extended tracts of marshy sur- face, thus allowing the unquestionably animate germs to rise in the air. On this so-called underground-water theory of Pettenkofer's, Naegeli grafts his observations. From a series of experiments, carried on for a period of nine years, with the subordinate fungi, or germs, he is led not only to adopt, but to enforce with fresh and convincing arguments, the opinion long ago ex- pressed by other observers, that the germs of infec- tion in the above-named maladies belong to the samo group of living organisms as the familiar ferment of putrescence — that is, to the group of bacteria which are so exceedingly minute that, according to Nae- GELi, 30,000 milliards of them make up the weight of one gramme. That certain soils, such as that of Munich, are espe- cially productive of typhus, is explained by Naegeli, taking PETTE]sns:orER's views into account, in this wise : ^* The first condition of a malarious soil, breeding endemic and epidemic maladies, is underground water, lying not too far from the surface, with alternate rise and subsidence of level, resulting in alternations of wet and dry strata. When these strata become dry, the germs cling to the earth, and where the soil is light and the air follows the subsiding level of underground water, the germs pervade this under- ground atmosphere, and if there be an issue towards the surface, they will rise througli it intg the open air." 24 TJiii Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. He shows very clearly that this underground air is attracted into houses by the suction of the fires -- the kitchen and other rooms ; and he adds thr best- warmed rooms are the most dangerous, x . fessor Naegeli, therefore, sets his face against heated bedrooms at night, and even suggests that by heating some other unoccupied room at night the course of the germs may be diverted from the sleep- ing-rooms. But it appears that the germs cannot rise with the underground air whenever the stratum of earth con- taining them has again become wet, either by a fall of rain from above or by the elevation of the under- ground water-level. The germs will then cling to the ground so firmly that not even a powerful cur- rent of air avails to detach them. Two remedies are suggested for this chief cause of an epidemic soil : the complete removal of the under- ground water, or at any rate its relegation into lower depths ; or, if this be impracticable, the maintenance of a constantly uniform surface-level of the under- ground water. To guard against the penetration of air ascending from epidemic soil. Professor Naegeli recommends cementing the cellar floors and walls, and the ground floor ; and, as the ur lerground air not only rises into the interior of houses, but makes its way through the walls as well, he further suggests an air-tight outer casing for the foundation walls. Finally ; with regard to the constitution of the soil, the danger will increase with the degree of its porosity or capac- ity for holding underground air, and of its readiness to dry. Hence firm, clay soils are exempt from in- The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. 25 fectioD, while the most unhealthy soils are those con- "«ting of gravel and coarse sand intermingled, like "■uinich soil, c .l: Tofessor Naegeli's experiments, which extended over a period of years, on the conditions of the gen- eration and growth of the subordinate fungi, or germs, have led him to the conclusion that these fungi require, as nutrient elements of existence, cer- tain substances which are soluble in water. But they can live only on condition that the pabulum so formed shall consist of certain proportions of water and food materials — in other words, provided that the solution has the required degree of cencentra- tion. Here we need only consider the effect of an augmentation of this degree; and I shall adduce a few familiar examples by way of illustration. The fermentation of wine must, fruit-juices, brew- ers' mash, etc., is effected by means of the fungus familiarly known as " barm," or " yeast." This process of fermentation may be checked by simply withdrawing some of the water from these juices, — that is, by thickening the liquor, — when (if the ab- straction be sufficient) fermentation will cease, be- cause the germs cannot subsist in this excessive proportion of the nutrient material — in this case, the sugar. A similar effect is produced if, in stead of drawing off water, the quantity of sugar be in- creased. The same method applies to the germs of putres- cence. To prevent the tainting or putrefaction of meat, some of the water is withdrawn from the juices, which are thereby thickened. The degree of concentration under which the gv^rms lose their 26 The Cause of Disease, and Disease Germs. potentiality for decomposition and dissemination, is not equally high with all the species. Professor Naegeli divides them into three classes in this re- spect : the bacteria, to which belong the ferment of putrescence and the germs of 'disease ; the yeast fungi, the most familiar among which are the brew- ers' yeast and the vinous ferment ; and the fungi which produce what is called mildew. Now, between these three cases it should be noticed that, while the yeast fungi need and bear a higher degree of concentration than the bacteria, they are in this particular far surpassed by the mildew fungi. For instance, a moderate drying will stay putre- faction of meat; but to prevent mildew, a much higher degree of desiccation is necessary. A comparison between the germs which cause mildew, and those which cause fermentation, may be instituted by refer- ence to fruit-juices and preserved fruits. Moderate thickening will suffice to check fermentation, but to guard absolutely against mildew, the thickening process must be carried much further. Any substance which germs are unable to use as aliment, becomes inimical to their existence when it has attained a certain degree of concentration. This point is of great importance in its application to what is called disinfection, and Naegeli points out that in- sufficient disinfection, as of cesspools, for instance, in- volves much more risk than the total neglect of it. He says: "If germs derived from cholera, dj'sen- tery, and typhus cases find their way into cesspools, they will retain their specific nature for a sjjort time only; thereafter tliey either die or lose their infec- tious properties. On the other hand, tbc consequence The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. 27 of insufficient disinfection; ^. e., of disinfection shoil of the degree of concentration that kills — is, that morbific fungi will continue to germinate and fer- ment, while, at the same time, and for that very rea- son, they will preserve their specific nature of infec- tion. Such inadequate disinfection, therefore, is tantamount to preserving the germs, whose infectious quality is revived when they, through insufficient dis- infection, emei'ge into the upper air, and make their way into the human body." The most interesting of Professor ISTaegeli's ob- servations, is that there occurs a struggle for existence between the different species of the germs when they come into contact in a nutrient solution. This ex- plains, not only the connection between the process of bodily hardening, and the power of resisting epidemic attacks, but also many phenomena attending the fer- mentation of liquors; and on that account, I am in- duced to dwell at somewhat greater length upon the subject, quoting IsTaegeli's own words : "It was formerly assumed that any plant will be found wherever climate and soil favor growth, pro- vided that that seed had previously reached such spots. ISToWj however, we know that this plant-growth depends quite as much upon its surrounding fellow- plants, as upon climate and soil, and that, in particular, the most closely allied species will exert a more deci- sive influence. Many species can grow in certain localities only if others, ranking in the same genus, be wanting. For instance, the rusty-looking Alpen- rose thrives well in calcareous soil, but only when the hairy Alpenrose is absent. If the latter be pres- ent, it will utterly exterminate the former. The same 28 The Cause of Disease, and Disease Germs. law holds as to the two primrose species found upon more or less damp grounds." (I may add that the most familiar amongst these plant-struggles, are those occurring between useful growths and weeds.) " The same law governs the lower fungi. One genus, which under given circumstances will thrive well, is exterminated by another genus which here ap- pears the more favored plant; whereas, the former, under differing conditions, is strong enough to expel the latter. Inattention to this fact has given rise to many erroneous assertions respecting antiseptics." To render these phenomena more intelligible, I will adduce an example. If germs of putrefaction, or fer- mentation, and of mildew be placed in certain saccha- rine solutions having a neutral reaction, (that is, neither acid nor alkaline,) only the first-named will multiply, setting up lacteous fermentation. But, if to the same solution be added a half per cent, of acetic acid, the germs of fermentation alone will multiply and cause vinous fermentation; whence it comes that must, containing too little acid, will turn sour; and, if, finally, 4 or 5 per cent, of tartaric acid be put into the same solution, only mildew fungi will be produced. It would be wrong to conclude from these facts, which invariably recur on every occasion, that a half- per-cent. of acid prevents putrefaction, and 4 to 5 per cent, prevents fermentation; for the germs of putre- faction will actively multij)ly in the same nutrient solution with an additional \^ per cent, of tartaric acid, provided they he not exterminated hy the ycrms of fermentation. I may explain that must, or unfermented new wine, The Cause of Disease, and Disease Germs. 29 without acid, would unquestionably turn sour, and : rather large proj^ortion of acid would be needed to pre vent the souring of the wine; but if, on the other hand^ vinous ferment be added, the latter will gain the ad- vantage, even with a low percentage of acid. Professor I^aegeli then goes on to show, that the strength of individual numbers also exercises a deci- sive influence in the struggle. It would appear that when one kind of germs takes possession of a solu- tion in great numerical strength, they will vanquish their adversaries, (if the latter be in a minority,) under conditions that would insure their own defeat were they deficient in numbers. This we see in unfer- mented wine, and in brewers' mash; to prevent them from souring, yeast is needed in such quantity that it may retain the mastery over the ever-intruding germs of the acetous ferment. With a knowleds^e of these facts, we can explain the relation of the body to the germs of disease. The following is the fourth instructive discovery of Professor Naegeli, respecting the subordinate, fer- menting fungi. Each species excretes certain ele- ments, which, as a rule, are entirely characteristic of the species. Thus, vinous ferment and brewers' yeast, throw oif, as a special excretion, tartaric acid; the "mother of vinegar," vinegar; the rennet or lactous ferments, lactic acid; other ferments butyric acid, and the ferment of putrescence, the well-known offensive effluvia. It may be observed of these excretions, that they imperil the existence of the germs themselves when- ever they accumulate beyond a certain percentage in the solution which the latter inhabit. 30 The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. Thus, for instance, fermentation will cease in must- liquor very highly charged with sugar, when the per- centage of alcohol has attained to certain given limits, even though there should still be a sufficiency of fer- menting material — that is to say, of sugar — unless, by exposing the solution to the air, the notoriously vola- tile tartaric acid is allowed to escape. The same applies to decomposition. In open cess- pools, putrefaction proceeds until all the material is consumed, because the offensive excretions of the fungi escape; but when a cesspool, fosse, or ditch is kept closely shut down, the process of decomposition is completely arrested, as fermentation would be in a well-corked bottle. I have had abundant evidence of this in my own experience with putrescent sea-water and decaying carcasses. Naegeli especially addresses himself, in his book, to the task of determining from his experiments what preventive measures should be adopted with reference to the morbific germs existing elsewhere than in the body; but of this question I shall not speak now. He explains a part only of the phenomena of the relations of these germs to the living body, although he might certainly have elucidated the whole problem from his experience of them in inert solutions. What Naegeli correctly apprehended is shown when he gives, as an illustration of the relation of these germs to the living body, the case in which, in his experiments, two different kinds of germs came into conflict in one nutrient solution. This bears directly upon the contest between the germs and the living tissues of the human body; a contest which begins in a nutrient solution suited t<^ The Cause of Disease^ and Disease Germs. 31 both the combatants alike; and very important ii Naegeli's assertion that the contest turns upon numbers. Therefore, since the number of the bodily tissues concerned is a fixed quantity, it will depend upon the numerical strength of the germs whether they will set up disease or not. The assault may be so overwhelming that the body will inevitably succumb; but even the most danger- ous germs of infection are powerless for evil if the attack be commenced by an insuflScient number. Naegeli rightly says, that, until he made this dis- covery, he had altogether doubted whether the in- fecting matter could consist of live organisms; for he reasoned as follows:. " One such germ in a sufficiently nutrient solution, which the human body usually affords, can propagate 100,000 individuals within seven or eight hours, and would thus invariably induce disease. Yet this can- not be the case, or we should be driven to the im- possible conclusion that, during an epidemic of cholera or typhus fever, those that sickened had alone inhaled or swallowed these tiny microscopic germs, while all other members of the community had not." The fact that, during the prevalence of an epi- demic, one section of the inhabitants enjoys good health, another feels but slightly affected, a third sickens more seriously, while a fourth section dies, some speedily, others after protracted illness, is ascribed by Professor Naegeli to the varying strength of the infection; but he does not take into account that it must also depend upon the condition of the body and its juices, as to which of the two 32 The Cause of Disease, and Disease Germs. combatants in tlie struggle shall gain the victory. In this direction he touches upon the familiar experience that a person once attacked by small-pox, scarlet fever, typhus, etc., will for a greater or -less subse- quent interval of time enjoy immunity from those disorders. In this, as we shall see, he is correct, without, however, hitting the mark as accurately as he might have done from the knowledge gained in his experiments with germs elsewhere than in the body. Researches prosecuted for many years, having long ago convinced me that an inordinate percentage of water in the body will enhance the liability to sick- ness, I at once recognized in Naegeli's discoveries, the true explanation of the fact ascertained by me, that seasoned soldiers enjoy greater immunity from infection than men less far advanced in the term of army service. Strong and sustained bodily exercise stimulates the activity of the skin, draining the water out of the body— that is, it reduces or thickens the mass of the bodily juices. In times of infection this increased density of the mass is, of itself, an advantage to the living tissues of the body, because the firmer these are set, the greater will be the energy of the vital forces for their struggle with the germs of infection, which are weakened in proportion as the degree of concentra- tion of the bodily juices is raised. Hence, a compar- atively small difference, in the percentage of water in the bod}', may decide the issue in the struggle of the latter against the germs of infection. What, then, may be learnt from these discoveries as applicable to infectious diseases? At least, this: The Specific Gravity of the Body. 33 That the latter take root in that effete bodil}^ con- dition which is the consequence of an irrational nian- ner of living. I have examined from this point of view, whatever is known respecting all kinds of epi- demics, and everything confirms this view. Were it customary to live according to the dictates of reason ; to steel, harden, and temper the body; we should be as exempt from epidemic disease as are those animals that live in the open air. Destructive infantile disorders, like scarlatina, measles, and quinsy, are emphatically maladies of enervation and enfeeblement. The prevalent irra- tional treatment of children, not only in their infancy, but also during their school years, is mainly respon- sible for these disorders. THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE BODY. (1878.) THE discovery that a superfluity of tissue water in the body, materially increases its liability to sicken from infectious disease, became the keynote to my studies on "Strength of Constitution;" a term which includes the question of greater or less liability to sickness, as well as that of the working capacity. ISTot only did it then clearly appear upon what strength of constitution is based, and by what means it may be enhanced, but also that it can, with a large degree of certainty, be estimated by measurement. In compiling a tabulated statement of measure- ments of soldiers, for the purpose of calculating the average of health for each of the three years of army 34 The Specific Gravity of the Body. service, I had at first no suspicion of the astounding result to be obtained by the computation of tlie weight per liter (quart) volume of the individual soldier; indeed I feel satisfied that no professional man would have expected to find so great a variation. The smallest liter-weight among the sixty-five men measured, amounted to 764 grams, the highest to 1,000 grams;* a difference of almost 40 per cent. If, in these two extreme cases, the men had been equally tall and stout — that is, of quite the same bulk, say 70 liters — the light man would have weighed 118 lbs., the heavy man 159 J lbs., so that the latter would have been heavier by 41^ lbs. The difference is the more surprising, if we take into account that these two men were almost of the same age, varying only by one year; that the light man was by no means a sickly, feeble subject, but apparently so healthy and strong that no objection had been raised to his admis- sion into the army. Still greater differences will be found if the specific gravity of people of the lowest constitutional vigor could be measured. If the differences in the weight of the liter volume of the strong and the weak amounted merely to a fractional percentage, they might be regarded as a curious scientific discovery of no practical importance. 13ut the case stands otherwise. An instrument is required which shall determine, at least with approximate accuracy, the bodily bulk. A method of testing the bodil}'' condition would then be supplied, which in point of accuracy, and diversity of a{)plication, would far surpass any that has hitherto ♦ 1,000 grams = 1 kilo = abo.it 21 lbs. The Specific Gravity of the Body, 35 been devised. ISTow, such an instrument can cer- tainly be constructed, but not by a scientific man without the necessary means, unless at the public cost. The simplest way of ascertaining the bulk of the body is by its immersion in Avater, but this method is cumbersome and inconvenient, and is im- practicable with invalids, females, etc. As a substi- tute for the above method, the following apparatus is worthy of consideration. It consists of an inclosed air-tight chamber, connected on the one hand with an air-gauge, and on the other with a second chamber, the air in which can be forced into the first-named chamber. If the first chamber contains nothing but air, the air forced into it from the second chamber will raise the column of mercury in the gauge up to a certain point. By introducing a compact body into the first chamber, and thus displacing the air, the mercury will be made to rise above the level previ- ously attained, in proportion to the greater bulk of the body intruded. Consequently the bulk can be correctly estimated from the height of the column of mercury. Then weigh the body, and divide the weight by the number of volumes, and the quotient will denote the weight of each litre. Small instruments of this kmd already exist, but the problem is to make one large enough to admit an adult. The cost would not be great, and the money would be well expended. The question now arises as to what properties of the body, will the determination of the body's weight, per unit of capacity, (liter,) afford information. The answer must be sought in a consideration of the parts which the various bodily constituents that 30 The Specific Gravity of the Body. are weighed, play in the production of vital phe- nomena. The lightest bodily substance, except air, is fat, with a liter- weight of 937 grams. Important as an element of nutrition, it becomes injurious when pres- ent in excess, causing a diminution in the quantity of blood, and impeding the circulation, while its de- composition evolves an abnormal quantity of heat. Corpulent persons are incapacitated for strenuous work, because they so rapidly become heated; and, if overtaken with illness, they readily develop marked feverish symptoms. Next to fat, water has the lowest liter-weight, namely, 1,000 grams. Some of the injurious effects of an excess of water in the body, have alread}'^ been explained; but I will recapitulate the most important points: 1. Superfluous water renders all the tissues flabby, and diminishes their power of resisting meclianical strain. They become more brittle, as regards the bones; are more easily lacerated and distended, and the natural connection of the organs suffers. Thus bone fractures, dislocations, bruises, lacerations, in- tussusception, (intestinal invagination,) etc.; and the intrusion into the system of alien matters, including the germs of infection, from the coarsest to the most minute, will more readily take place ; the ability for strenuous exertion is diminished, and the liability to sickness increased. Tlirough this relaxation of the blood-vessels, most nutabk' in the veins, originate those troublesome, hanl-to-be-cured vein-enlarge- ments known as hemorrhoides and varix, or varicose veins. The Specific Gravity of the Body. S*? 2. Excess of water in the muscles has a disabling effect, inducing a feeling of lassitude. A watery muscle is feeble, and tires quickly. 3. Excess of water in the tissues is particularly in- jurious to the nervous system. It heightens the sen- sibility of the nerves, so that trifling influences pro- duce painful and morbid excitement. Persons thus affected easily catch cold, suffer from nervous irrita- bility, and, in short, are especially exposed to all sorts of nervous disturbances. Moreover, excess of water in the nerves becomes a hindrance to the transmission of their excitation, a state which is bad in every way; for it increases the liability to sickness, while lessen- ing the capacity for work, particularly mental work. The flow of thought in the brain is obstructed, re- flection becomes difficult, sluggish, less comprehen- sive; and the memory fails. There is a form of idiocy, in which the brain cavities hold abnormal quantities of free water. An excess of water per- meating the brain substance, will of itself induce dullness. 4. The injurious effects of an excess of water in the blood and other bodily juices, may be inferred from what has been stated m a preceding essay on the sub- ject of liability to infection from disease germs. A watery condition of the stomach and of the bowels, favors the propagation of the seeds of infection in the primoe vice, or alimentary canal, so that the germs of cholera, or of dysentery, or, probably, of mucous fever, are enabled to make a general attack against the body, and will more readily ferment if the bodily juices be watery. While certain quantities of water and fat are neces 38 The Specific Gravity of the Body. saiy to the existence of the human body, any excess above the indispensable quantity, is detrimental. But since every other constituent of the human body is specifically heavier than the water, and the fat, a body which possesses these in an excessive quantity must be specifically lighter than one normally con- stituted; so that a man of inferior specific gravity will be less fit for work, both phj'^sical and mental, and less capable of withstanding morbific influences of every kind. The conclusion, based upon the nature and influ- ence of the lighter bodily constituents, (water and fat,) that the low liter-volume of the living body is an unfavorable sign of its condition, is confirmed when the heavier elements are considered. I have ascertained by experiment that thoroughly dried muscular flesh has a liter-volume of 1,357 grams — water 1,000, and fat 937. Now we know, beyond a doubt, that the actual working substances in every living tissue, are those which remain after drying ; i.e., the so-called albuminous substances, and the salts always found in combination with them. The more plentiful the supply of such substances in the living tissue, the more energetic are its vital man- ifestations. A muscle, for instance, will be firmer and more powerful in proportion to its solid, consti- tuent j)arts, and the same law applies to the energy and rapidity of its contractions. The larger the amount of solid constituents in the brain and general nervous sytem, the more energetic will be their man- ifestations. The same may be said of the intestines, etc. Chemical experiments show that the mass of solid residue in the tissues may present a very consid- The Specific Gravity of the Body. 39 erable divergence, (as much as 32 per cent.,) and hence it is quite intelligible that a strong person, thorough- ly fit for work, should exhibit a much higher specific gravity than a weak, sickly person. Lastly, a cardinal point is the quantity of bone- earth, or phosphate of lime. Of all the elements largely entering into the constitution of the body, this is the heaviest, being equal to 3,180 grams per liter-volume. It is well known that the robust pos- sess strong, compact bones, while the weak have delicate and light ones. The more energetically a man works, the more powerful become his bones — that is; first, they increase in length and thickness; secondly, the protuberances to which the muscles grow become enlarged; lastly, not only does the bone substance accumulate material, but it hardens and acquires a higher specific gravity. We see this in animals; the bones of the domesticated hog or cow, which takes little exercise, are spongy and brittle, while the bones of the same animals in a wild state are extraordinarily hard, compact, and heavy. The following illustration will make this easier to be un- derstood. If coal or wood be consumed in a stove, the products of the fuel will be of two kinds — the gases that escape through the chimney, and the ashes which drop into the ash-box. The quantity of ashes collected will show what amount of work the fire has done. The process in the body is analogous : the more the body works, the more nourishment will it use up, giving rise to substances (such as carbonic acid, water, and urea) that quit the body, leaving ashes, which the body retains, in the form of bone- earth. The bones collect the ashes, and the larger 40 The Specific Gravity of the Body. their store, tlic greater has been the amount of work performed by the body. Hence old people have a larger store of bone-earth than young persons; but, if of two individuals of equal age one possesses more bone-earth than the other, it will be an unmistakable sign that the former has done more work than the latter, either from superior diligence or the force of circumstances. Thus the specific gravity of a man shows whether he is active and accustomed to labor or not. These considerations are of importance in their application, both to the practice of medicine and to health-culture. On the latter point they lend addi- tional weight to the arguments with which I have repeatedly sought to enforce my sense of the value of hardening the body by the promotion of the ac- tivity of the skin, the thorough ventilation of rooms, etc. ; because it is now obvious that these measures not merely afford protection against colds and chest complaints, but also operate as preventives against epidemic contagion. In this discovery there is much that is reassuring; for, having regard to the enormous difficulty of warding off the attacks of these invisible germs of infection, and of evicting them when in possession; considering, moreover, tliat the range of infectious diseases continually widens with the extension of facilities of communication, an anxious temperament might give way to despondency. My researches remove the main ground for discouragement. If the body be adequately hardened, infection need be no more apprehended than colds and chest complaints; and the method which I have explained of ascertain- The Source of the Emotions. 41 ing, by determining the specific gravity, whether the requisite degree of hardening has been obtained, should give additional ground for this sense of se- curity. Hence, the whole rule of health may be summed up in the simple maxim: Procure, and maintain, the highest possible specific gravity — that is; fi^rst, pre- vent the deposit of fat; and secondly, promote the elimination of water from the tissues, avoiding every- thing calculated to check it. THE SOURCE OF THE EMOTIONS. [In his chapter on " The Source of the Emotions," the Doctor treats of all the emotions under two dif- ferent and opposite classes, the essential distinction of which is, painful and pleasant; agreeable and dis- agreeable; cheerful and gloomy; hopeful and de- spondent; exalting and depressing; encouraging and disheartening; invigorating and enervating; exhila- rating and dispiriting; sorrowing and rejoicing, each of which classes he makes dependent upon certain physical states or principles, designated respectively the "salutary principle," or "essence," and the "nox- ious principle," or " essence." The prime condition of the predominance of the salutary principle^ is health ; of the noxious principle^ disease. These principles have physical properties recognizable, chiefly, by their "odors"; the salutary, by agree- able; the noxious, by offensive odors. The predom- 42 The Source of the Emotions. inance of the salutary principle signifies health, good humor, cheerfulness, vivacity, courage, energy, hope- fulness, freedom from offensive odors, a good appe- tite, and power to resist infection. The predomin- ance of the noxious principle implies the opposite of all these states and their consequences, prominent among which is liability to infection. In case of anger, dread, grief, excessive worr}^, the noxious principle " permeates all the bodily juices, and affects them like a poison."] The Doctor proceeds as follows: It is well known to physicians and to others, that great terror, great dread, alone, often causes the most serious derangements of health, even sudden death. Also, that illness is attended with much greater risk when accompanied with worry, grief, or depression; while it will augur well for the issue if the patient be relieved from ajjprehension, and a state of cheerful confidence, or, at any rate, of composure be estab- lished. Further, that terror, dread, grief, and care, materially lessen the power of resisting certain dis- orders, foremost among which are epidemic diseases, sucli as the plague, cholera, dj'^sentery, and small-])ox. Of cholera, for instance, it is well known that a man thrown into a state of intense dread at sight of the dead body of a cholera patient, will almost certainly sicken, and often witli such speed that within a few hours he may pass from a state of sound lieallh to collapse and death. Similarly, in time of war, armies defeated and pursued, present a far more favorable opportunity for the ravages of epidemic disease than The Source of the Emotions. 43 their pursuers, flushed with victory, even though the defeated and the conquerors have occupied the same camping grounds in succession. For all such phenomena there has hitherto been no satisfactory explanation; they have been ascribed to nervous agencies, the real cause being entirely over- looked; namely, a peculiar volatile essence, the "nox- ious" principle, which permeates all the bodily juices and affects them in the manner of a poison. That some such influence must be in operation, might have been inferred from the fact of hair turning white as a consequence of dread, grief, or care; this has been known to take place in a single night, when persons have been exposed to great dread or sorrow. Here the nervous system cannot be the agent, for the nerves do not reach into the hairs. My discoveries make these phenomena clearly in- telligible. The volatile, ''noxious" principle, when re- leased from the brain, enters the blood, by which it is conveyed to all parts of the body, acting upon each particle of living substance as a paralyzing poison. Any reader who has once experienced it, knows how terror and dread affect the organs which are moved and controlled by the will. The limbs refuse to act, the voice is choked in the throat, all the muscles are enfeebled and relaxed. Moreover, the trouble does not end there, for the other organs present similar phe- nomena. The sensory, nervous system is disabled. In the alimentary canal, the paralyzing action occa- sions an exudation of water, as shown by the evac- uations. Other signs are, outbreaks of perspiration upon the epidermis, and augumented renal excretions. As regards epidemics; if an infectious disease pre- 44 The Source of the Emotions, vail in any place, and the germs of it be disseminated in the air, and drinking-water, there must be num- bers of people into whose system they will gain ad- mittance through the vehicles of food and drink, without necessarily inducing sickness. Sickness will be developed only when the condition of the body is favorable to the germs. Such a condition requires, first, that the bodily juices shall contain a certain percentage of water, for, if that be insufficient, the infection cannot take effect. This is the reason why, as shown in the essay on " The Causes of Disease," the process of hardening (water elimination) protects the body from infection. Secondly, the degree of vital energy in the tissues, especially in those of the walls of the intestines, which are first attacked by the disease germs, is an important factor. It will readily be understood that if the emotion or dread will set free within the body a noxious element, having power, as shown above, to paralyze all the living tissues, in- cluding the walls of the intestines, the same cause might suddenly annihilate the body's faculty of with- standing the poison of infection. In describing the third condition — hitherto partly unrecognized — under which infection may be spread l>y epidemics, I am compelled to touch upon some un- inviting themes. Tliis is unavoidable, however, when writing on the subject of health-culture ; for tlie source of many diseases will be found to lie in filth and other repulsive things, as to which an accurate knowledge is necessary if the diseases arc to be cfTcctually guarded against. Phj'sicians, and, indeed, some portions of the gen- eral public, have long been cognizant of the fact that TJie Source of the JEmotions. 45 the effluvia emanating from water-closets, privies and, cesspools, are dangerous to health, and that people who inhale such effluvia are very liable to take in- fectious diseases. Hence, at the outbreak of an epidemic, it has latterly been customary to make a thorough examination of these places, and to get them disinfected. But the lack of a clear under- standing of the question has caused many to go astray in their measures of precaution. For instance, it is generally supposed, (since in- fection has been known to proceed from living organisms,) that the offensive effluvia of w^ater-closets and privies are not in themselves dangerous, but become so only when they contain these germs. That is an error. The mere inhaling of such effluvia will not produce cholera, typhus, or dysentery, but, if with the breath the effluvia enter the bodily juices, and thus pervade the entire system, their action will be identical with that of the mal-odorous, " noxious" principle. Liability to infection is thereby increased; and all that is needed for infection to ensue, is that the living organisms, however originating, should make their way into the body with the air, food or drink, which, during the prevalence of epidemics, may very easily occur. These germs might not have worked harm, had not the way for them been pre- pared by inhaling the effluvia. The reason why, I will give presently, but I must first explain one other circumstance, which has hitherto remained unnoticed. The alimentary canal is the real source of the efflu- via in question. Being extremely volatile, these em- anations, while yet in the body, penetrate from the intestine into the bodily juices — a fact shown in every 46 The Source of the Eiaotio7ts. ^post-mortem examination — and thence they issue hy means of tlie cutaneous excretions. Their effect on the bodily juices in reference to epidemics, is the same as if they had been inhaled, and as that of the mal-odorous, "noxious" principle. The essence of the foregoing statements is, that, between the effluvia engendered within the body and the seeds of infection, there is a definite relation; which relation I will now endeavor to explain. Although every animal, and every plant, carries within itself every element that pertains to the nutri- tion of every living being, yet each individual will feed upon a special kind of nutriment, and in some cases upon a particular plant or animal only. This peculiarly applies to parasites; for instance, a dog- flea might find in the human blood whatever is re- quired for its nutriment, but it has no relish for it; in fact, all vermin and parasites have their special ap- petites, and where these cannot be indulged, they will not thrive, nor even settle. This is equally true of the germs of infection. They are parasites which in two respects have their special tastes. They settle upon one kind of animals onlj-, or, at most, upon but few kinds. The cholera germs thrive upon man; but they are attracted by the mal- odorous, "noxious" elements of the body only, tlie opposite, fragrant, " salutary " elements not being to their taste. Note. — The salutary principle, as here expounded by Dr. Jaeger, may bo regarded as corresponding to, or as an explanation of, that state of the body which is the result of a well-balanced constitution, and that excellent condition of good lieaUh consequent upon The Source of the Emotions. 47 living in accordance with the laws of life. Cheerful- ness, good humor, vital energy, vivacity, mental and physical vigor and robustness; activity, endurance of hardship, power to withstand climatic and weather influences, and to resist infection, are all comprehended in the one word health. Whatever difference there may be in terms or theory, the essential facts as stated by Dr. Jaeger, especially those relating to infectious diseases, are strikingly verified and illustrated by the following lines of Dr. A. JSF. JBellj editor of The San- itaria7i, New York: " T?ie Role of Infective Microbes is to battle with the physiological powers of the system which they enter, and to put it on the defensive immediately that they are distributed to the tissues of the body by means of the blood, which carries them to every part. If the system they enter be weak from any cause, constitutionally so, or feeble from recent disease; by reason of unhealthful surroundings, such as foul at- mosphere, sudden exposure to excessive heat or cold without sufficient protection; deprivation of sleep; deranged digestion, or mental disturbance; above all, by debauch; in short, if by anything which disturbs bodily vigor, the microbes have the advantage — and they never fail to avail themselves of it — and gener- ally overcome the power of resistance. It is not be- cause they are cowards and only attack the weak; they attack the strong and the weak alike on every opportunity, but the strong — with all the functions of the body maintained in a state of vigorous health — are able to cope with the microbes and overcome them. The feeble, on the other hand, are taken at a disad- vantage, and the more if the circumstances of their enfeeblement are in any degree maintained. " * The future of preventive medicine,' said Profes- sor Ray Lankester, in a lecture which he delivered at the London institution recently, * is the education of 48 The Source of the Emotions. the wliite blood corpuscle.' A corpuscle is a minute cell of protoplasm which floats in the human blood. *Tiiis minute creature eats, and lives, and flourishes, and dies almost like a human being. Its special func- tion,' said the lecturer, ' is to eat up the poisonous element which finds its way into the blood.' When a wound heals it is because these indefatigable cor- puscles have found their way to the sore and have eaten awa}'' the injured part. When bacteria get into the system the duty of the corpuscles is to go for them and eat them up. If they succeed, the patient recov- ers. If they are out of appetite, or the bacteria too tough a morsel for them to attack, the patient dies. Sometimes, with unconscious heroism worthy of Marcus Curtius, they purify the bodies in w^iich they live by eating up poisonous particles and then eject- ing themselves, thus sacrificing their own lives. But such heroic self-immolation is not necessary, if you educate your corpuscle. His education proceeds b3'' inoculation. By accustoming your protoplasmic cell to a low diet of mildly poisonous matter, such as the vaccine lymj^h, it becomes acclimatized, as it were, and is strong enough to eat up without inconvenience the germs of small-pox, which would otherwise prove fatal. It is these invaluable corpuscles which enable confirmed arsenic eaters to swallow with impunity a dose suflicient to kill six ordinary men.' Professor Lankester is of the opinion that tiiey can be trained so as to digest the most virulent poisons and deal with a great number of diseases. "With the foregoing suggestions, it is apparent that the indications in dealing with the microbe (in- fectious disease) are to strengthen the power of re- sistance to and combat with it in conjunction with the use of every available means of preventing and destroying the conditions favorable to its existence both within and without the human body." What gives special value to these views of Dr. Bell, is the fact that they were written to illustrate and The Nature of Disease. 49 emphasize the writer's opinion that woolen clothing is one of the most effectual means of securing and maintaining that condition of the body upon which health and all its attendant blessings depend. The moral effects of these opposite states, are no less pronounced and conspicuous than the physical. The substance of this is thus given by Dr. Jaeger, in the closing paragraph of this chapter: Every increase of the " noxious " principle in the body — no matter how and whence arising — creates a sense of dread, apprehension, discomfort, and oppres- sion, or induces that condition in which the impres- sions of things and events, which would otherwise be indifferent, become a source of annoyance. Whereas, conversely, the lower the proportion of the " noxious " principle within the body, the more cheerful and joy- ous is the mood and the nearer perfect the equanimity. If anything arises to disturb the composure, the promptitude with which equanimity is restored will be according to the rapidity of the emanation of the " noxious " principle from the tissues, as I will ex- Dlain further on. THE l^ATURE OF DISEASE. (1881.) IN many cases, of the most various description, the cause of the disease will be found in the non- sanatory clothing and bedding, rather than in the body of the patient. It is an important fact that not only the so-called infectious diseases, that origi- nate through germs, may be conveyed in the cloth- 50 TJte Nature of Disease. ing, but also diseases with whicli germs certainly have nothing to do. Clearly, when the cause of the disease is in the clothing or bedding, all medical treatment applied to the body only, is useless. There are cases which often seem desperate of cure; such as, to mention the simplest of them, the numerous nervous complaints, especially of women; the not less numerous diseases of the digestive organs, and chronic catarrh in the breathing passages. The cures, which the adoption of the Sanitary Woolen System works in these dis- orders, are sometimes called miraculous; but the only matter for astonishment is that these simple diseases have hitherto defied successful treatment. A consideration of great practical importance, is that the faculty of conveying the whole class of diseases in question, extends even to subsidiary arti- cles of clothing, such as handkerchiefs, chemisettes, aprons, etc., when the material is of vegetable fibre. In assisting my readers to a deeper insight into the nature of these disease-poisons, and to the practic- ability of their being conveyed through the clothing, I assume their acquaintance with what I have else- where pointed out. Vegetable fibre has the faculty of retaining disease-poisons, which, however, do not remain in animal wool. I also assume that my read- ers remember my distinction between the " noxious," malodorous exhalations of the body which vegetable fibres absorb, and the " salutarj-," fragrant exhala- tions which animal wool attracts. In order to understand the nature of disease, it will be well to inquire, In what does poison consist? The answer is, that every thinr/, even the salt which we Tlie Nature of Disease. 51 consume daily, and which is an important constituent of our bodies, can become poisonous. The question whether any substance is a poison or not, is simply one of quantity or concentration ; and the reason why certain substances are especially termed "poi- son," is that such are poisonous in very small, while others are only so in very large, quantities. Whatever the nature of this poisonous action, the ultimate consequence is, of course, the destruction of life; but the practical question is, how to tell whether a substance, if its action be unimpeded, will destroy life; in other words, what are the first effects of a poison ? The final effect of poison is death; le., cessation of the voluntary (as well as of involuntary) movements. The first effect is the retardation of the voluntary movements in the body. Therefore, in order to know whether any thing is poisonous, it is sufficient to measure the rapidity of the simplest accustomed voluntary movement (for instance, the time required to effect a pressure with the finger several times in succession) at regular intervals of time; then the odor of the object under examination should be in- haled during ten to fifteen minutes, measuring mean- while the rapidity of the finger-pressure every ten seconds. If the substance be a poison, the rapidity of the movement, either immediately, or after a pre- liminary increase of short duration, diminishes with a quickness in proportion to the dangerous nature of the poison. ISTow arises another question : There is no doubt that wild animals distinguish things which are poisonous from those which are not, 52 The Nature of Disease. without the aid of a nerve-measure. How do they accomplish this ? By smell. Here I must agaiu. diverge. If from any substance soluble in water or spirits of wine, a series of solutions of different degrees of dilution be prepared, the test of the nerve-measure will show that some one of these solutions leaves the rapidity of the finger-measure unaffected. This may be termed an " indifferent " concentration. All more concentrated solutions, in proportion as they are more strongly concentrated, protract the finger-pressure,, thus showing a poisonous effect. On the other hand, the more diluted solutions, in proportion to their dilution, quicken the finger-pressure ; this may be described as an animating effect, which may be en- hanced to a remarkable extent by continued diluting. If the odor of each of these solutions be inhaled, that of the " indifferent " concentration will be found effectless one way or the other ; the odor of the stronger concentrations, however, will be more or less repulsive, while the odor of the weaker prepara- tions will be pleasant and fresh in proportion to the degree to which they are diluted. Or another experiment may be tried. If a pleasant odor be concentrated, as by filling a room with strongly-scented flowers, before long the perfume will become repulsive. For this reason, flowers should not be kept in bedrooms. The sleeping per- son not only absorbs the oxygen of the air, but also its odorous elements; and the juices of the body will thus gradually be permeated by flower-perfume until a poisonous degree of concentration is reached. If, on the other hanut in several cases which have come to my knowl- edge, it has been attended wiUi the appearance of The Sanatory Woolen Clothing Reform. 109 what may be termed a " crisis," * which is the effort of nature to expel from the body any disease located in it. Under the stimulus of the Sanatory Woolen Clothing, the skin copiously exudes "noxious" per- spiration, which again subsides, leaving behind a most pleasant sense of health and comfort. The practice of sleeping with the window open in all weathers, a practice which should never be relaxed, is especially salutary during a " crisis," as it promotes the free dispersion of the " noxious " emanations which the body exhales. In short, the Sanatory Woolen Clothing is a cura- tive agency as powerful and effectual as any of the so-called constitutional methods of treatment. In cases of dyscrasia, where distempered humors have to be dispersed, crises of a more important character may take place, as in other methods of cure. But it would be folly to be discouraged on this account, and to relinquish a remedy which will effect a permanent cure if the System be adhered to. PROGRESS OF THE SA:N^AT0RY WOOLEN CLOTHING REFORM. (1880.) IN the prosecution of this far-reaching reform, it is necessary to be ever on the watch to combat and refute prejudices, rooted in the hitherto sanc- tioned modes of dress and hygienic tenets; to turn the assaults of an opposition which proceeds from persons interested in the linen and cotton industries; and to correct constantly -recurring mistakes made by * See " The Crisis of Disease," page §7. 110 T]u-lSSttngs. daughter, Avho had been in the habit of wearing cot ton gloves in summer, assured me that a gadfly or gnat, stinging through a cotton glove, inflicts very great pain indeed. This reminded rae that I had also suffered greatly when stung through the white linen trousers of former days. On another occasion I struck my hand against a stinging-nettle, and as this, too, causes me very great annoyance, I resorted to my woolen gloves, with the same excellent result. Gnats paid us a visit on two nights during our travels; several of us heard them buzzing, felt the sting, and found the swelling in the morning. I had six lumps on the legs, which were very troublesome and much swollen; but scarcely had I put on my closely-fitting woolen breeches when lumps and itching had gone. Such close-fitting breeches, made of stockinet, are quite as good a rem- edy and protection against stings as woolen gloves. Loose trousers, made of cloth or buckskin, cannot act in the same way, in spite of the woolen material, be- cause they move backwards and forwards, and thus irritate the wound. Stockinet cloth breeches, on the contrary, cling tightly, and therefore do not rub against the part which has been stung. (To the foregoing may be added that bee-keepers have testified to the protection afforded by woolen gloves in cases of stinging.) Thus, in a field of observation which I should never have imagined would repay the trouble of thought or study, is again clearly revealed, on the one hand, the ])rotocting and remedial virtue of wool, and on the other, the baneful effects of cotton. Now, too, I wa& reminded of something which had always been a mys- Patents. 117 teiy to me. Whereas gadfly stings raise great bumps on human beings, which itch and smart for days; upon cattle, that are at times stung by swarms of these flies so as to be covered with blood-drops, no bumps are seen, nor movements denoting itching or a desire to rub themselves; as soon as the gadflies are gone the stung animal is perfectly quiet. Various explanations may be suggested, but the facts are there to speak for themselves. An extension of the clothing reform to the gloves will confer a very distinct benefit; and the use of the Sanatory Woolen gloves may be recommended to every one who is dissatisfied with the condition of the hands. PATENTS. (1880.) THE first condition imposed by manufacturers in taking up specialties, is protection by patents or registered designs. It is only under such protec- tion that a man of business will feel encouraged to incur the initial loss involved in the make and intro- duction of new articles, and subsequently to consti- tute them an exclusive feature of his trade. Without patents, competitors will at once begin to make and sell goods for which an opening has been secured, and the originator will be damaged, if not ruined. Inventors who present their discoveries free, ben- efit no one, but do harm to everybody concerned. First: the cause sustains damage, for it cannot be properly advanced; secondly, consumers suffer, since 118 llic Open Bedroom Window. they can never procure the articles on reasonable terms — if due regard be had to quality and workman- ship; thirdly, manufacturers lose, because their earn- ings are diminished by the difficulties attendant upon a new process of manufacture. Plence it is as a mat- ter of public policy, and not in the interest of individ- ual inventors, that civilized States have very wisely enacted patent laws. It was on the urgent and repeated recommendation of his Excellency Dr. von Steinbeis, a gentleman who, greatly to the benefit of the community, has for many years occupied the distinguished post of Presi- dent of the Royal Central Board of Trade and Indus- trj" in Wiirtemberg, that X, too, resorted to this effec- tual means of protecting my designs; and the sequel showed me that my adviser had counseled well. THE OPEN BEDROOM WINDOW. (1879.) A BOOK might easily be written on the numerous benefits to be derived from the practice of (dioays sleeping with the bedroom window oj)en, and the deleterious effects of neglecting the practice; and on the progress which has been made in the treatment of disease since it has been recognized, as a prime ne- cessity of life and health, that the atmosphere imme- diately surrounding the body should freely mingle with the 0])en air. It cannot be too often insisted upon that the body will not be hardened or enabled to resist the attacks of disease, unless there be thorough ventilation of the Tlie Oxjcn Bedroom Window. 119 bedroom. To insure this, in miid and quiet weather, two windows should be open at the top, when more than one person is sleeping in a room. But, however cold or severe the weather, one window should always be open at the top, as it may be with safety, since the air can be prevented from blowing on the sleeper by the interposition of a blind or a curtain. To endeavor to ventilate a bedroom by an open window in an ad- joining room, is useless, as may readily be ascertained by the sense of smell, which is the best test as to whether a room is properly ventilated or not. If, on returning to a bedroom, in the morning, from the fresh air, it is found to be in the least fusty, it is certain that the ventilation is insufficient. Nor is this fustiness merely a sign that the air is impure; the odorous matters the presence of which the fustiness indicates, are the "noxious" elements of the body's ex- halations, and they have an injurious effect when they are inhaled with the atmosphere which they pervade. Various unfounded objections have been urged, tend- ing to countenance a notion that the night air is laden with qualities injurious to sleepers. For instance, it is stated that the night air is vitiated with carbonic acid, which is dangerous to the breathing passages when inhaled. In making this assertion the fact is overlooked that the breathing passages invariably contain air charged w^ith 4 per cent, of carbonic acid, while the proportion in the night air is at most but four parts in a thouscmd. I myself have made the experiment of charging the atmosphere with carbonic acid up to 1 per cent., (two-and-a-half times as much,) without in the least affecting my breathing. On the other hand, if the water that streams down insidu 120 Woolen Clothing Fire- Proof. the window of a closed sleeping-room be collected, one droj) of this liquid, impregnated as it is with the " noxious " exhalations given off by the sleej^el'S, will suffice to poison a rabbit, as has been shown by actual experiment. Those who have adopted the Sanitary Woolen System, are free from night sweats, and are not subject to the chills of which persons clad in linen, and sleeping in sheets, are so greatly in dread. The woolen clothing and bedding afford ample pro- tection; and if the head, from baldness, or the thin- ness of the hair, be especially sensitive, some extra light woolen covering may be provided for it. The difference in the effect on the spirits, and in the re- freshed, instead of jaded, feeling, on rising from bed, when, by means of the Sanatory Woolen Clothing and Bedding, and the open window, the "noxious" exhalations of the body are allowed to pass freely away, instead of being inhaled over and over again, can onl}'- be appreciated by those who have tried it. Children no longer toss about in their beds and throw off the clothes, leaving the lower limbs exposed, while the face and hair are clammy with perspiration. In the hottest nights they lie comfortably, just as they went off to sleep. WOOLEN- CLOTHING FIRE-PROOF. (188L) THE great difference in this respect between woolen and vegetable fibre is worth noticing. Cases often occur in which the hair takes fire, but it ;icver l)urns down to tlx' skin, as would certainly Woolen Clothing Fire-Proof, 121 happen with vegetable fibre. If a piece of linen or cotton be held over a lighted candle, it ignites in- stantly, and burns rapidly away, with a white, clear flame, leaving nothing bat a light-gray ash. If a similar experiment be made with woolen material, a considerable time will pass before it will ignite at all, and then the flame is extinguished as soon as the material is removed from the lighted candle. Thus, people are fire-proof in wool; i.e., their clothing or bedding cannot take fire ; while, when clothed in woven material of vegetable fibre, they are prac- tically torches ready for the lighting. [Dr. Jaeger here disposes, in a few lines, of one of the most important facts connected with his whole system. There are but few persons who have not had painful opportunity to observe the almost gun- cotton velocity with which cotton clothing flashes into flame, to the utter destruction of one or more victims, and often to the injury of several others. A stray match on the floor or sidewalk; a burning fragment of a cigarette or cigar; too close approach to an over-heated stove or fireplace, is the simple cause of many a horrible death to persons, women and children, clothed in cotton or linen fabrics. No such calamity could befall a person clothed in woolen. Long before the fabric could be heated to the point of ignition, the smell of scorching woolen would give ample warning of the impending danger. For night- dresses, nothing else should ever be worn, especially l-.'2 TIlc iStuiatorij Woolen Handkerchief] by children. The nou-combustibility of the woolen fibre, in the protection it affords against one of the most common as well as dreadful accidents, is the only property needed to complete the proof of supreme wisdom in its construction, and adajJtation to the purpose of clothing the human body.] THE SANATORY WOOLEN HANDKERCHIEF, AND CATARRHAL INFECTION. (1881.) LAST winter, when the severe cold weather sud- denly set in, and windows and doors in the living rooms were kept closely shut; the diminished ventilation and heated atmosphere caused all things of vegetable fibre in the rooms to exhale the " noxious" odors which they previously absorbed; and whoever, like myself, was compelled by his occupation to re- main continually indoors, contracted what is fre- quently mistaken for a cold, but in reality resembles the disease called " strangles," with which horses, kept in stables, are affected; in other words, we did not catch cold, but we were " poisoned " by the at- mosphere of the rooms in which we lived. (I may here remark that I have been reproached fur repeatedly comparing the condition of human beings to that of animals. I am compelled to this by the necessity of keeping before my readers' notice the fact that the Sanitary Woolen System does not piomise absolutely jtcrfect health, or perpetual rxist- Tli6 tSa)iat07'y Woolen Handkerchief. 123 ence, but only that degree of stability of health which is possessed by the domestic animals.) I was guided to the above conclusion by the fol- owing circumstances, which existed in my own case and in all similar ones that came under my observation : I never coughed out of doors, however cold it might be, nor at night, when sleeping with the window open; the irritation in the throat was only felt when in the living rooms. It was evident from the begin- ning that the cough originated in the stomach; as a fit of coughing would set in about two or three hours after taking a meal, without any apparant cause. This period coincided with that of the change in the nature of the emanations proceeding from the food in the process of digestion. My sons, who skated a great deal, and went twice a day to school, were entirely exempt from the dis- order in question ; and the case of my youngest daughter, who went to school in the forenoon only, was milder than that of my grown-up daughters, who sat at home at their needlework. But the chief suiferer was .myself ; for while my family betake themselves at from 10 to 11 p.m. to the pure air of the bedrooms, I remain until 2 a.m. in a study filled with books, papers, and other objects, which alter- nately absorb and exhale the noxious matters in the atmosphere. I find that the remedy for this disorder consists in: (1) Thorough ventilation of the living-rooms. (2) The use of a handkerchief that does not propa- gate infection. It is an old rule that catarrh will more readily be cured if the handkerchief be changed as often as practicable. This must be due to the 12-i The Sanatory Woolen Handkerchief. presence, in the used handkerchief, of an infectious agent which renews the catarrhal complaint ; and herein lies a striking confirmation of my theory re- specting the effects of the " noxious " emanations. I reasoned that this infectious agent must be the well-known characteristic, odorous matter of hand- kerchiefs used by catarrhal patients; further, that this " noxious " emanation would be absorbed by vegetable, but not by woolen fibre. In order, there- fore, to obtain relief from the disorder, after it had annoyed me for four weeks, I resolved to try the woolen handkerchief, which had already been intro- duced by adherents of my Sanitary Woolen System, although I had hitherto objected to it as imprac- ticable. This objection I withdraw, and I acknowl- edge my error. In three days I was freed from the nasal catarrh, and by the fourth day the cough had disappeared ; only the mucous membrane of the throat was not completely in order. I may add, that, so far as I could learn, no " hardened " wool-wearers, thus attacked, experienced feverish symptoms, or were interrupted in their ordinary vacations. For instance, when the disorder was at its height I was able, on one occasion, to dictate for seven hours at a time; on another, to lecture and discuss continuously from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. in a thick atinosi^here of to- bacco-smoke. Since I have adopted the woolen handkerchief, the nasal secretion lias become quite normal ; but the catarrhal affection of the throat and larynx remained almost unchanged, until one day when a light dawned upon me. 1 had for years smoked a pipe consisting of a clay IkjwI and a simple reed stem; and it occur- The Adulteration of Wool with Cotton, 125 red to me that, just as the handkerchief of vegetable tibre preserves the infection of nasal catarrh, so the pipe stem of vegetable fibre might retain the infec- tion of throat catarrh. Therefore, if thj theory were correct, by substituting a horn mouthpiece for the reed stem the continuous self-infection would cease. This surmise was completely justified by the result. A few days after the change from the wooden to the horn mouthpiece, the catarrh disappeare'd from my throat, and the voice was restored. Various tests have further tended to establish the fact of the noxious quality of the wooden mouthpiece. Inhala- tion from it distinctly retarded the rapidity of the movements of the nerves, as measured by the stop- watch; (see page 15;) and I have several times made the experiment of smoking through it since, and with the result invariably of an irritating effect on the throat. This effect, however, passed off again at once, an important indication that the infection does not arise from disease germs, but from odorous matter. THE ADULTERATION OF WOOL WITH COTTON. (1881.) THE surest way in which to detect the adultera- tion of wool with cotton, is by microscopic examination. With a thirty-fold magnifier the least admixture can easily be recognized. The woolen thread appears as a cylindrical body of almost circu- lar shape, with wavy outline; the cotton thread ap- pears flat and ribbon-like, with angular folds, as if crumpled. 12G The Air hi Hooms. A second test, wliicli any one can apply, is to hoM the separated warp and wool to a flame. Pure woolen thread exposed to a flame, fuses to an irregu- lar mass before it is consumed, leaving a shapeless ash; and it ceases to burn when removed from the flame; cotton or linen thread burns steadily on after its removal from the flame, and the form of the thread is distinctly preserved in the ash. If a thread be an admixture of wool and cotton, it will burn irresfularlv. o THE AIR IN ROOMS (1881.) THE injurious effects of air confined in rooms, upon health, is one of the oldest and best known themes of sanitary science. Writers on health abound with advice as to ventilation ; to keep as much as possible in fresh air, and so on; and my readers know the importance of sleeping at night with the window open. Therefore, in making tlie following suggestions with reference to the air in rooms, I am only pursuing and extending the ancient track. I have now (autumn, 1881) had three years' experience with the Sanitary Woolen Sj'stem, and I can safely say that it lias answered all my expecta- tions. It is a powerful remedy; and, when the body is hardened, maintains those who adopt it in as sound health as, for instance, the horse, or the house- dog. More than tliis cannot be required of any S3'-s- tem, by those who dwell under artificial conditions, within four walls. But the improvement im})lied by the above comparison, will be patent to every one Til a Air in Rooms. 127 who knows how mucli less often the dog is ill than its owner. To laymen, at the beginning, the Sanitary Woolen System may have seemed as if it would accomplish even more than this, but medical men know that all systems of cure and rules of health, such as the use of special baths, change of air, change of diet, etc., work much more energetically at the commencement than when the body becomes accustomed to the altered conditions. The reason is that the bodily machine at once seeks to restore the equilibrium thus disturbed, and to this end works more rapidly, caus- ing freer and more abundant exhalation of the "noxious" vapors. The consequent improvement in health, at the commencement, should not be allowed to mislead, as the value of a rule of health can be estimated only when the body is accustomed to it. This stage in the Sanitary Woolen System has now been reached by many, and the conclusion ar= rived at is, that the System procures that addition of health for which man has hitherto had every reason to envy the domestic animals; but the wool-wearer shares with the domestic animals those diseases which are the raison (jfetre of veterinary surgeons. The question now^ to be asked is, Can matters be carried any further ? Again the animals supply the answer, and most plainly. I describe the wool-wearer as being as healthy as a horse or a dog, or more precisely, as housed cattle; a higher degree of health is attained by grazing- cattle — for example, by sheep. These are much less subject to disease due to the personal, "noxious" exhalations; for instance, wool-wearers do occasion- 128 The Air in Rooms. ally catch cold in the same way and for the same reason as housed cattle, while grazing-cattle are ab- solutely weather-proof ; but the latter are not proof against infectious diseases, although the fact that sheep are more so than oxen, was impressed upon the soldiers in the Franco-German war, who had, for that reason, to subsist on mutton. That sheep are in- fected with very dangerous parasites, does not affect the argument, for all wild animals have parasites. To what is the higher degree of health of grazing- cattle due ? Simply to the cause that makes our soldiers healthier during the month of the manoeuvres than they are when penned in barracks. Grazing- cattle constantly bivouac, at least in summer, and are not poisoned by the air of their stable. Yet a degree higher in health than grazing-cattle, are ground-game, (hares, foxes, deer, partridges, pheasants, etc.,) which also bivouac in the winter. These animals are not only weather-proof, but much less subject to epidemics than grazing-cattle. Still, however, such diseases do occur, and it would be interesting to consider the rea- sons, which will be explained by the following two facts : 1. Animals that live on the ground are nearer proof against epidemics than animals that live imder the ground; for instance, field-mice are subject to violent epidemics, which will destroy nearly all of them in a district; and this occurs when the mice are so numer- ous that the whole ground smells of their excrement, and is therefore saturated with poison proceeding from the mice themselves. 2. The birds in the air are absolutely infection- proof. I have never heard of nor seen an epidemic The Air in Rooms. 129 among crows, jackdaws, sparrows, starlings, swallows. The only diseases to which they are subject are caused by lice and w^orms; and they sometimes suffer from predatory animals, frost, hail, etc. Their '' self- poison " is mainly contained in their excrement, and with this they hardly ever come in contact, while they are removed from every kind of miasma of the ground. Now comes the question, to what degree of health man may hope to attain, having regard to existing circumstances and customs, and without heavy ex- penditure; in other words, without building castles in the air, or inhabiting balloons, as he would need do to become as healthy as the birds. This condition is, therefore, unattainable; and here, as everywhere, to demand perfection, generally leads to realizing little or nothing. Those who have followed my sug- gestions as to Sanatory Woolen Clothing and Bed- ding, and sleeping with open window, have reached a degree of health equal to that of the horse. The next degree, and the only one practicable for discus- sion, would be health equal to that of sheep. The experiences of this winter (1881-2) give me the firm assurance that this is tolerably easy of attainment; for, it is merely a question of pure air in our houses and workrooms; respecting which I am in a position to say something more radically helpful than any- thing my predecessors have said on the subject of ventilation. Before coming to the practical side of the question, I must again institute a comparison between man and domestic animals. If animals be classified accordincr to the facility with which they contract disease, the 1.30 The Air in Hoonis. lowest place must be assigned to stalled cattle, the horse, and the ox, wlio live in the same compartments in which they deposit their excrement. Why does the dog possess a higher power of resistance to dis- ease ? Because the dog is cleanly indoors, and does not, like stalled cattle, subject itself to the injurious influence of the odor of its excrement; while even chained dogs are not confined in close rooms. The greatest strength of resistance, and the toughest nature of all, has the cat, which carefully buries its excrement, and is not confined to the atmosphere of rooms, or chained to miasmatic ground, as dogs fre- quently are, but seeks the airy and lofty parts of dwellings. These considerations show that the worst enemy to the health of e;^ery being is found in the malodorous portion of its own exhalations. This is most clearly apparent with respect to sewage; and the attention of sanitary authorities has been rightl}'" directed, in the first place, to the removal of this notorious ''self-poison." I may, however, point out that the habit of the cat, which buries its excre- ment immedicUehj, is better than that of allowing it to ferment and distill, so as to give out a maximum of odor. That the atmosphere in rooms which are inhabited, even when no air from drains, etc., forces its way in, soon becomes loaded with "self-poison," has, of course, long been recognized; but, indeed, too little attention has been paid to the fact that these exhalations are not only dispersed in the surrounding air, but are also caught up and retained by the objects in the room, to be again, on occasion, given out. So long as a dwell- ing-room is abundantly ventilated there is no danger; The Air in Rooms. ini and followers of the Sanitary Woolen Sj^stcm are in this respect much better off than those who are mis- clothed; for they can not only sleep with open win- dow, but also, as they are not afraid of draught, and have less need of external warmth, can work with open windows and doors. I may here remark that while the air in a room remains, through ventilation, free from poison, its temperature may, without be- coming too cold, sink much lower than when, in the absence of ventilation, it contains poisonous matter. "Self -poison," in fact, chills; but I know wool-wearers who work in winter by open windows, which, for them, is the right thing to do, as they run no risk of being chilled. The difficulty begins when the cold necessitates the warming of the rooms; proper ventilation then be- comes expensive; for the warmth goes out simultane- ously with the vitiated air, so that most people resign themselves to the inevitable ; keep their windows shut, and live in a fusty atmosphere. I believe that the danger thus incurred would be greatly lessened if all those objects, which absorb the noxious exhalations, were removed from the room. If such absorbents would retain the exhalations, their presence would be a benefit; but warmth and moisture cause them to give these exhalations out again, and they are therefore malodorous and continue so. After a close examination of the subject, I am in a position to affirm the unwholesomeness of dust in rooms. It is only necessary to inhale the odor from under a piece of furniture, from which the dust is not regularly removed, to be convinced of this; or to compare the very different smell of the atmosj^here of 132 The Air in Rooms. a room before and after it has been thorouirhlv cleaned and dusted out. Further consideration of what constitutes the dust in rooms, shows that this offensive smell is less that of the dust particles jt?6r «are wool-stuffed mattresses, (although inclosed in a linen ticking,) as completely and lastingly elastic as the best horse-hair mattresses. This stuffing was made The Sanatory Woolen Bed. 143 up of tailors' clippings, (therefore, of unworn clean material,) coarsely shredded. By forming this mate- rial into balls, placing them close together and sur- rounding them with carbonized wool, an excellent elas- tic stuffing is produced. Before I entered into relations with this manufacturer, tailors' clij)pings of mixed materials, as well as those of all-wool, were used in- discriminately as stuffing for mattresses. At that time I had a clear perception of the sanatory effects of wool, but I was not so well informed with respect to the unsanatory nature of linen. I knew of the merits of wool, but had not fathomed the pernicious qualities of vegetable fibre. I considered it sufficient, if (1) the coverings, (2) the mattress-ticking, (3) the upper layer of mattress-stuffing, were of pure wool; and I saw no objection to mingling vegetable fibre with the innermost stuffing of the mattress. As soon, however, as I was led to recognize the injurious effects of vegetable fibre, even when not actually in contact with the body, I insisted that such of the tailors' clippings as were not of pure wool, should be carefully sorted out. To this the manu- facturer agreed, premising, however, that it was impossible absolutely to insure that no clipping adulterated with cotton, or with tailors' thread sewed in it, would escape the attention of the sorters. These clippings cannot be carbonized; as the process is only practicable with half-woolen material, in which one thread is all wool and the other all cotton; the destruction of the latter, b}^ carbonization, leav- ing only the separate woolen threads^ which easily dry. But when cotton is mixed with each thread of the material, carbonization does not cause the web to 144 Hie Platlnuia Lamp Dtodorizer. fall to pieces, and the consequent difficulty of drying the material, makes the process too costly and trouble- some. It is obviously of more importance that the stuffing of the pillows should be absolutely pure, than that that of the mattress should be so; and it is to be hoped that so much, at least, can be secured. THE PLATINUM LAMP DEODORIZER. (1882.) I HAVE long felt that the difficulty of properly ventilating the rooms of our dwelling houses in winter, presents the principal obstacle to the practical carrying-out of my system, which, in addition to its title of " Sanitary Woolen," may be termed a " Pure Air," or "Anti-offensive Odors System." I was, therefore, anxious on account of the approaching winter, as, hitherto, during that season, the confine- ment indoors had invariably led to my being troubled with a cough, but every j'-ear in a lesser degree since I adopted the Sanitary Woolen Sj^stem. This winter the cough made no sign until Christmas Eve, when I read aloud from a new book, to my family, uninter- reptedly, for nearly three hours. Towards the end of the reading, I became hoarse, and the next morning the old trouble in the throat had reappeared. There was nothing very remarkable in my having become hoarse after reading aloud for three hours, but for my experience of a fortnight previous, when I had lectured on two consecutive days, at Miilhausen and Basel, respecting the Sanitary Woolen System. On the first day, the conversation, lecture, and discus- The Platinum Larap Deodorizer. 145 sion, lasted almost without interruption from 2 p.m. to 3 A.M., or thirteen hours; on the second day from 11 A.M. to 1 A.M., or fourteen hours; yet I was in no way rendered hoarse by these exertions. It was therefore clear that there must be some other cause for the hoarseness on Christmas Eve, than the mere mechanical exertion of the organs of speech. When I referred to the circumstance the next day, my daughter, who attends a weekly meeting for the pur- pose of reading aloud, remarked that hoarseness sets in much sooner when reading aloud than in ordinary speaking, and she attributed this to the smell of the paper. This observation served to explain to me the sadden affection of my throat, and to afford another confirmation of the injurious influence of vegetable fibres upon health. I was thus led to consider in what manner I could improve the unwholesome at- mosphere engendered by the mass of papers and books with which my study was and is crowded; and my glance fell on a small object which had stood in my room unused for nearly two years — the spirit lamp, with platinum spiral, constructed by the well- known DOBEEEINER. The lamp was recommended to me some time ago, as a contrivance for continuing the diffusion of per- fumes into the air of rooms; and I intended when I purchased it that it should diffuse odors by which I might illustrate some points in my lectures ; but I never happened to make the experiment. I now, however, determined to use the lamp in order to diffuse ozogen throughout the room, that admirable agent for destroying odors; and the result quite ex- ceeded my expectations. 146 TliG Platinum Lamp Deodorizer. Tlie instrument in question is an ordinary glass, spirit lamp, with a spiral-shaped thread of platinum encircling the upper end of the wick. When the lamp is lighted, it burns with a flame, but as soon as the platinum spiral glows and the metal holder of the wick is sufliciently warm, the flame will either expire, or, if this be delayed too long, may be extinguished by quickly popping the glass cover on and off again, when the platinum spiral will remain in a glow until all the spirit in the lamp has evaporated; for plati- num has this remarkable peculiarity of continuing to glow in warm spirit-vapor. The practical effect of this is, that, as the air im- mediately surrounding the spiral becomes heated, it rises, and is replaced by air drawn in from all sides under the glowing spiral, through which it is com- pelled to pass, causing all combustible matter con- tained in the passing air to be consumed. If half a dozen smokers were to endeavor to fill an ordinary- sized room, in which such a lamp is burning, with tobacco smoke, they would not succeed. The fumes would be continuously drawn through the lamp and consumed. The same thing happens to all odorous matters in the air of the room. If the platinum lamp be lighted in a room after dinner, however strongly the atmosphere may be charged with odors, in a few minutes all trace of them will vanish. This effect of the lamp in purifying the air, was already known to others, and was, therefore, not dis- covered by me. What I did discover is, that if a Hmall quanty of ozogen be mixed with the spirit, it is not at once consumed, but continuously mingles with the atmosphere in very fine ^proportions. Its action The Platinum Lamp Deodorizer. 147 is then twofold: it destroys all offensive smells in the atmosphere; and it is inhaled into the body, where it develops this deodorizing faculty in an extraordinary degree. Drawing on my own experience for a guide for others, I may state that I was formerly greatly troubled with indigestion. Under the Sanitary Woolen System, the daily recurrence of flatulence and heartburn had nearly ceased ; but they were, occasionally, still felt, especially in w^inter, although in a much milder form. My suffering from wind in the intestines had not, however, undergone so radical a change; I was much less troubled, but still it made itself felt daily. In the last seven weeks, during which I have allowed the platinum lamp to burn in my study and sitting-room throughout each day, a very great alteration has taken place. Of flatulence and heartburn there has not been the least trace, while the trouble from wind has been reduced to a mini- mum. The deodorizing influence of the platinum lamp, has extended to the evacuations, which are much less offensive ; and they have been delayed for several hours without any detrimental effect. This last cii-- cumstance is strong evidence of the correctness of my doctrine of the ordinarj^ sensations — that they are all, without exception, produced by odorous matters. This special sensation is locally felt, jiist as is the opposite sensation of hunger, but is actually due to a certain concentration in the body, of the odorous emanations from the digested food. The subse- quent relief is not merel}^ mechanical, but it is caused by the removal of these " noxious " emana- 148 The Platinum Lamp Deodorizer. tions, with their depressing and enervating influence on the whole system. The concentration is retarded by the deodorizing effect of the ozogen diffused by the platinum lamp. It is a common experience that in traveling, and generally with change of air, the sensation above referred to is absent, even for days ; the reason being that the impulse given by the change of air, to the exhalation of the skin, prevents the necessary concentration of the odorous matter. If we consider the great influence, upon health, of the gases which accumulate in the intestines, and which must be abnormal, inasmuch as healthy wild animals are free from them, the experience described above is highly significant. The lamp, however, is open to one objection, which should not be too lightly estimated. When I began to burn it, I was warned that minute quantities of platinum would evaporate, and induce headache. This result made itself felt after the lamp had been burning for several weeks, and its use had to be dis- continued for some days, until the headache ceased. This fixes a limit to the use of the lamp. Some per- sons will not be able to endure it very long ; while those who are less sensitive should employ it only when ordinary means of ventilation are not at hand, and even then not for too long, extinguishing the lamp as soon as their head is unpleasantly affected. While I was quite unprepared to find that the platinum lamp would accomplish all that I have described, I was also struck with what it failed to accomplish. I had hoped that its effect on the air of the rooms would be the removal of the disturbance in my tliroat, but sucli was not the case. The complaint. Tlie Platinum Lamp' Deodorizer. 149 however, assumed so mild a form that I was ahle, on the occasion of a lecture which I gave at Basel, to speak for twenty-eight out of the sixty hours of my entire absence from home ; twenty-four hours being spent on the railway, and five in sleep ; yet my throat was rather better than worse afterwards ; but it became hoarser a week later, when I lectured and spoke for a period of seven hours. It improved, how- ever, when the barometer fell, and there was more stir in the outside atmosphere, to the stagnation of which the affection in the throat was due, and not to the air in the rooms, which had been purified and deodorized by the platinum lamp and ozogen. I recommend the use of the lamp in badly venti- lated rooms, such as workrooms, offices, schoolrooms, and in cases in which the ventilation is inevitably insufficient. Persons who believe that they cannot sleep with their window open, whether on account of cold, or of chronic illness, or because of the vicinity of some ill-smelling locality, should deodorize the air of their rooms with this lamp, bearing in mind that, when it is allowed to burn too long in a room of moderate dimensions, it may induce headache. Lastly, all sufferers from the disorders which I have indicated as arising during the period of digestion, will find great relief by using this lamp. DiEECTIONS FOE USE OF THE PlATINUM LaMP. The spirits of wine must have a strength of 96^ " Tralles," or the platinum spiral will not glow, and be perfectly free from fusel-oil, which, otherwise, would be diffused in the air of the room. Disappoint- 150 Tlte Platitnim I^amp J>(:odorixtr. ment frequently results from the use of a too-low grade of alcohol. Before lighting the wick for the first time, both wick and sjnral should be well sprinkled with spirit, and the circular rim of the metal wick-holder should be filled. The flame should burn three or four minutes, (or half that time for a wick already in use,) in order to draw up sufficient spirit into the wick to keep the platinum glowing. When the flame has burned sufliciently long, the glass cover should be popped quickly on and off again, extinguishing the flame, when the platinum spiral will continue to glow until the spirits in the lamp are consumed. Great care should be taken to prevent the wick from touching the spiral at any point. The turns of the spiral must not be too close, or ashes and dirt (taken from the air) will accumulate, and obstruct the passage of the air. When the platinum is glowing, the distances between the spirals may easily be ad- justed, if necessary, with the help of a needle. By pushing the wick up or down, more or fewer of the turns in the spiral can be made to glow, but three or four are sufficient. 'J'lie lamp should be screened from draught ; but, if a lierht current of air causes the flame to revive, the turns are too far apart, and should be gently com- pressed downwards. To extinguish the glow, the glass cover is placed over it, and should be left until the lamp is again required, as, otherwise, the spirit will evaporate. If the spiral is kept glowing until all the spirit is consumed, the wick will char. If this happens, the charred portion must be removed, and the wick tied Writers^ Cramp. 151 round with thin thread, and trimmed with scissors, so that it may be isolated from the platinum. A few drops of eau de Cologne or other perfume, added to the spirit, will be continuously imparted to the atmosphere. The important, deodorizing effect of mixing ozogen with the spirit has already been ex- plained. The usual proportion of ozogen to one fill- ing of the lamp, is 15 to 20 drops ; but this may be varied according to the size of the room and the num- ber of persons in it. For very large rooms, and theaters, tw^o or more lamps are necessary. If the spiral be so dirty as to interfere with its glowing, it may be removed, carefully rolled into a coil, and polished bright ; it should then be re- twisted on the glass tube furnished for the purpose into a spiral shape, and applied once or twice round the bottom end of the wick-holder, to which it will then cling. WRITERS' CRAMR (1882.) A FRIEND, who is over 60 years of age, and who has not yet adopted the Sanitary Woolen Sys- tem in its entirety, writes to me: "Your account of the effect on your throat, of the smell of the paper from which you were reading aloud, set me thinking, as I write daily for several hours, and have always much occupied myself with paper. You may perhaps remember that I have complained to you respecting cold in the hands, especially in the fingers. Partic- ularly when writing, even in a warm room, the cold 152 71 le Sat diary Effects of Colors or J)i/es. seemed to penetrate to the bone. My attention hav- ing been aroused by your remarks respecting paper, I laid a piece of woolen cloth on my writing paper, so that the latter no longer came into direct contact with the fingers. I immediately experienced a re- markable improvement, and now, after trying this device for several weeks, I am completely freed from the inconvenience referred to." This communication led me to suggest that the ex- ceedingly troublesome complaint of writers' cramp, by which many have been deprived of the means of earning their living, and with which medical science has hitherto found it so difficult to deal, is due to the influence of the vegetable fibre of paper, and may be cured by the use of a strip of woolen material under the hand. The correctness of this conjecture has been strikingly confirmed by the well-known scholar and author, Fr. v. IIellwald, who informs me that he has acted on my suggestion, and has since been entirely free from writers' cramp. Others have writ- ten me to a similar effect. THE SANITARY EFFECTS OF COLORS OR DYES.— I. (1882.) TTIE difficulties which surround the investigation of this subject, whether from a scientific or a ])ractical point of view, are considerable. In the first place, many different chemical substances and combinations of substances have to be taken into account; secondly, the matter is embarrassed by the The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 153 difficulty of ascertaining with what dye a material has been treated; for, in the division of labor involved in the production, the material may have passed through several hands after it has left the dyer, who, moreover, often regards his method of procedure as a business secret. Notwithstanding these obstacles, I have arrived at a point where I can lay down certain principles, accompanied by the needful explanation ; and I can do this the more easily because there is a remarkable analogy between these principles and those on which the Sanitary Woolen System is based. Although, in the essay on " The Nature of Disease," I have already stated the following fundamental truths, they cannot be too deeply inculcated, and I therefore recapitulate them. If a strongly concentrated odor be inhaled, or a strongly concentrated fluid be swallowed, the smell or taste is repulsive; the rapidity of the voluntary movements, as measured by the stop-watch, (see page T,) is retarded; the limbs feel heavy, as if fatigued; the breathing is more difficult, particularly when an odor is inhaled; the flesh becomes soft; the body is distended; the heart beats more quickly and less regularly ; the mood is depressed. In other words, matters so concentrated induce feelings of weariness, weakness, languor, and depression; and if the degree of concentration be intensified to a certain point, death will result. Rarefied or diluted matters have a pleasant smell or taste, and are appropriately termed "fine." The rapidity of the voluntary movements when measured, as before stated, is enhanced; there is a sense of light- ness and vigor in the limbs; the breathing is easy; 154 The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. the heart beats, strongly but slowly; the mood is cheerful; in short, those rarefied or diluted matters have a cheering, freshening, invigorating, and whole- some effect. They are, therefore, conducive to health and life, while concentrated matters are poisonous and cause illness. On these fundamental facts, are based the follow- ing principles respecting the sanitary importance of colors: It is well known that dark colors are less healthy than light ones. Coloring matter in a concen- trated condition is dark, and, in a rarefied condition, light. When evaporation from coloring matter is inhaled, the odor from the dark color is concentrated, and from the light color is rarefied. The distinction is especially noticeable in summer, because, in the sun, dark colors absorb more heat, and therefore evaporate more freely than light colors. This explains why darkly dyed clothing is particularly disagreeable in summer, rendering the atmosphere hot, oppressive, and exhausting. It is clear from the foregoing that the greater or less readiness with which a coloring matter evapo- rates, constitutes an important difference. From this, two deductions may be made. 1. Natural colors are preferable to artificial. When- ever natural coloring matter is present in hair or wool it is not situated on the surface; either the inner pith of the hair is colored, or, when the outer stratum of the hair, which consists of numerous very minute Bpindle-sha])ed cells, is colored, the coloring matter is found in the centre of each cell, while the rind of the cell is colorless. This may be verified by examin- ing, through the microscope, black horse-hair resolved The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 155 by sulphuric acid into separate cells. With dyed hair, the coloring matter is, at best, but equally dis- tributed in the hair, and will clearly evaporate more easily than natural coloring matter, as it lies partly on the surface, while the latter is completely in- closed. 2. "Fast" dyes; ie., those which do not fade — . are more wholesome than dyes which fade readily. The fading is generally, although not always, caused by evaporation. A dye which fades rapidly, there- fore, gives off a concentrated vapor, and is thus in- jurious. A dye which fades or evaporates little, or slowly, gives off a rarefied vapor, and is therefore wholesome. Whether a color will fade quickly or slowly will depend partly upon the volatility of the coloring matter, and partly upon the degree to which it penetrates the fibre. The foregoing explains the important difference between indigo-black and other black dyes; the former, as a much "faster" dye, is considerably less injurious than the rapidly-fading logwood dyes. Among the lighter coloring matters, cochineal is well-known to be the " fastest," and ac- cordingly the most wholesome. Of the foregoing propositions, the leading one is corroborated by the following fact. Coloring mat- ters, not only affect the health directly through their own nature, but also by their relation to the exhala- tions of the body. Such coloring matters as attract the " noxious " exhalations, are inferior to those which attract the " salutary " exhalations. The precise quantity of odorous matter which a solid body (in this case a coloring matter) will attract, depends, when other conditions are equal, on 156 The ISanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. its own bulk; in other words, on the degree of its concentration: a concentrated; i.e., dark — coloring matter attracts more odorous matter (because it rep- resents a greater bulk) than the same coloring matter will when rarefied; i.e., when of a lighter shade. Another well-established fact is, that all matter, when concentrated to a certain degree, becomes injurious; some reaching this degree sooner, and some later. The difference between the " salutary," and the " noxious " matters of the exhalations of the body, is merely in the degree of concentration at which they become injurious. Hence it follows that whether a coloring matter attracts by preference, the "salu- tary " or the " noxious " matters, it will be wholesome in inverse proportion to the quantity of odor which it takes up; and this again depends upon its own de- gree of concentration — that is to say, upon whether it is employed to produce a light or a dark dye. Thus, light colors are, directly and indirectly, more wholesome than dark colors. I am certain that those readers who have been in the habit of observing for themselves, and of reflect- ing on this subject, will be able to supply confirma- tion of what I have stated. They are doubtless familiar with the fact that black clotlies are less comfortable than light-colored clothes, and that they have a more disagreeable odor. The effect of various colored clothing on the nerves, was strikingly confirmed by numerous nerve- measurements, which I made on several days in suc- cession between 8 and 9 a.m. I wore the same underclothing in eacli case. In a brown suit the average interval of time on The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 157 ten occasions, required for the finger to stop the watch, was yffxr P^^^ts of a second; in an almost black, indigo-dyed suit the average on eight occasions was yVWj i^ ^ logwood-dyed, black suit the average on twenty occasions was y\nr\. Thus the indigo suit was 25 per cent, and the logwood suit 80 per cent, worse than the brown; indigo being, however, 55 per cent, better than logwood. Further observations which I made, as to the effect of colors on the powers of physical endurance, confirmed the foregoing. THE SANITARY EFFECTS 3F COLORS OR DYES.— 11. (1882.) TO the proper understanding of this subject, it is necessary to bear constantly in mind that each person has an individual constitution, and that, con- sequently, all people are not affected alike by one and the same substance or matter. This may be illustrated by the well-known differ- ence of taste which exists respecting even those foods, which would be expected to please and suit everybody; as milk, for instance. Many thoroughly healthy people cannot endure milk; in nearly every large household will be found one person at least who not only dislikes milk, but to whom it is a cause of stomach-ache and diarrhoea. Others, again, who are fond of cow's milk, have an insuperable aversion to the milk of goats or asses. This like or dislike for certain foods, is apt to run to extremes — that is to say; one class of people will 158 The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. be exceedingly fond of them, while the other will be equally averse to them; I refer to mutton, onions, garlic, cheese, craw-fish, strawberries, etc. The latter two delicacies have to bear the opprobrium of pro- ducing, in certain constitutions, eruptions of the skin, inflammation of the throat, and similar disorders. I myself suffer from inflammation of the throat if I eat strawberries; and this idiosyncrasy began with the setting-in of puberty, and therefore with a so-called chancre in the constitution. Differences in constitutions are also stumbling- blocks to the physician in the medical treatment of sick persons: a medicine which has done good service in ten cases, may possibly, in the eleventh, not only fail, but do positive harm; and doubtless many per- sons have been thus unintentionally poisoned by the medicines administered to them. This consideration has brought treatment with medicine, especially in big, so-called allopathic doses, into such discredit, not only with the public, but also with the medical pro- fession itself, that the modern allopath is very reluc- tant to prescribe medicines. The ill-effects of larg* doses have given rise to homojopathy, or the system of minute doses, whereby the danger of causing in- jury through a wrong remed}'-, is greatly diminished. J3ut the diversities of constitution, which again con- stantly vary, even in one and the same person, accord- ing to the disposition, genius epidemicus^ etc., also constitute the main difticulty in homoeopathy, which fails to cure if the remedy applied be " individually" wrong. Returning to the question of colors: the diversity of taste in the choice of the colors of clothings is suf- The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 159 ficient to show that no color affects all persons alike. Certainly, inasmuch as science ignores that of which instinct and feeling really consist, the eye alone is assumed to be responsible for the diversity of taste in the matter of colors. This assumption, however, is shown to be incorrect by the actual discomfort, or, at least, diminution in comfort, which most people feel in black clothing. Other cases may be cited which arise from time to time, especially since the introduction of aniline dyes, of severe and dangerous poisonings caused by the dyes in articles of clothing. That I am able to throw x^q^ light on this subject, is partly due to my discovery, in the " neural-analy- sis," * of a method of testing the noxious or salutary quality of any given object, by accurately measuring the effect of the inhalation of its odor, in retarding or accelerating the rapidity of the nervous action; and partly to the fact that I have derived informa- tion on the subject from experience with the Sani- tary Woolen System. When a white linen shirt is worn between the almost universally dyed outerclothing and the body, the action of the dye on the health cannot be so powerful as when the underclothing is dyed, which is very commonly the case with woolen shirts and vests. Moreover, the Sanitary Woolen System causes the skin to develop much greater activity, and, there- fore, more warmth in the wearer of woolen than in the wearer of linen; and it is the warmth of the skin which brings into action the dye of the woolen shirt. I will here mention two cases, which have come ♦See page 15. IGO The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. under ray observation, respecting dyes hitherto con- sidered harmless — logwood and cochineal. A lady writes to me, that, on October 16, she put on a gray "combination^' garment before going to bed, and awoke after an interval of one hour with strong feverish symptoms, and with such pains, especially in the region of the stomach, that she thought she must have unwittingly taken poison. This condition lasted until the morning of October 18th, when it occurred to my correspondent that the cause of her trouble might lie in the garment, which she accordingly changed; whereupon the relief was complete and the fever and the pains subsided. I found that the garment, which was forwarded to me for examination, was dyed with logwood; and on applying the " neural-analysis " test, I found that its effect on the nervous action was a retardation of 34 ])QY cent. My first insight into this subject, obtained from personal observation, was on a recent occasion when I had to wear mourning. Under my black clothes I wore a cochineal-dyed shirt. About this time an Italian physician had remarked to me that the Savoy- ards wear wool ahnost exclusively, (as, indeed, the common practice is throughout Italy,) but that they suffer much from ischias — pain in the liips. Not long afterwards, I felt occasional drawing and burn- ing j)ains in the neighborhood of the hips and loins, and I was reminded of the foregoing remark, which I admit caused me considerable alarm. I found, however, as I went on, that at night I was free from the pain, wliich I felt more keenly in a sitting posture, when the trousers were drawn tighter, caus- The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 161 ing a partial numbness with a sense of uncomfortable heat over the entire region. A rapid walk on a warm spring day, solved the j^roblem over which I had for some time puzzled in vain. The exercise induced perspiration, followed by a sensation, in the region of the hips and loins, like that produced by a mustard plaster. It then first occurred to me that the black trousers might be the cause of the annoyance, which, indeed, rapidly subsided as soon as I changed the trousers for a brown pair. In this case the " neural- analysis " of the cause of offense showed the nervous action to be retarded 75 per cent. In another instance, a friend reported to me that a numbness or loss of feeling in the skin of the chest had caused him serious alarm, until he found that the feeling was restored on his putting- off of the gray woolen shirt, which, like my black trousers, had been dyed with logwood. An interesting commentary on the effect of log- wood, was supplied to me by a hat manufacturer, to whom I related the foregoing incidents, and who re- marked that the effect of logwood in depriving the skin of the sense of feeling was well known in the trade. As a practical illustration he pressed the burning end of his cigar in the hollow of his hand without any sign of pain until the odor of scorching skin was perceptible. As regards the effect of cochineal on certain con- stitutions, I may say, that I have heard of several cases in which the wearers of shirts thus dyed, have suffered from rheumatic and other pains, which have disappeared as soon as the shirts were cast aside. Cochineal dye may be compared, from a sanitarj^ 162 The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. j)t)int of view, to craw-fish or strawberries; to some constitutions it is agreeable, while to others it is poisonous. The proverb says, " What is one man's meat is another man's poison." THE SANITARY EFFECTS OF COLORS OR DYES.— III. (1883.) AMONG the researches into the effects of color- ing matters on the health, a leading place must be accorded to those instituted by the homoeo- pathic body, whose inquiries, however, have not been directed to the action set up by the dyes in clothing, but to their action when taken internally in the form of medicines. For the instruction of those of my readers who are unacquainted with the homoeopathic doctrine, I append the following summary of its principles. Every substance, when swallowed in sufficient quantity, develops conditions of illness, or, in fact, of ])oisoning, which are peculiar to each special substance, and consist of a certain combination of symptoms. Homoeopathy teaches, that, if a disease be indi- cated by a comi)lication of symptoms similar to those which are induced by swallowing a large dose of a medicinal substance, a homccopathic dilution of the latter is the proper remedy. It is necessary to the comprehension of this position, that regard should be paid to what I have })reviously written on the sub- ject; especially where I have jiointed out (on page The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyes. 1G3 153) that the action, on the body, of any substance that is swallowed or inhaled, is of two entirely op- posite natures: in a large, or poisonous quantity, it disables, and causes illness; conversely, in small, so- called homcEopathic doses, it animates, arouses, and exerts a healing influence. In treating of the action of dyes in clothing, the foregoing consideration is of the highest importance; if the dye is fixed so fast in the clothing that, even when the body is heated, only minute; le., homoeo- pathic — quantities mingle with the atmosphere of the clothes, and thence with the atmosphere which is breathed, their effect is, as a rule, that of the homoeo- pathic dose, and it is then favorable, provided that there be no special individual antipathy (or so-called idiosyncratic aversion) to the substance in question. If, however, the dye adheres loosely, or is "spurious;" i.e., readily fades; or if, when the dye is genuine and " fast," there is, in consequence of insufficient rinsing after the dyeing process, a surplus of loose coloring matter, (perceptible by its rubbing off,) the poisonous, deleterious effect will be ap- parent. A further consideration is, that the evaporation of dye from clothes is largely dependent on the tempera- ture and humidity of the atmosphere; being less under conditions of cold and dryness, and greater under those of warmth and moisture. Thus the effect of a dyed garment in winter, or in dry weather, or when the body is in repose and the skin is cool, may be nul, or even agreeable; while in summer, in hot rooms, or when the body is heated, deleterious effects (discomfort, languor, local pains, etc.) may be felt, 1(J1 The Sanitary Effects of Colors or Dyts. especially when to these conditions are added a d:unp atmosphere and perspiration. The principles of my system of coloring matters, are the necessary deductions from the foregoing considerations, and I will here briefly recapitulate them: 1. For summer clothing, working, and every-day costume, especially for any kind of athletic sport, and for wear in hot climates, the material should be entirely free from dye; i.e.^ natural white or natural brown. 2. Dyed materials are least injurious in winter, in cold climates, when the body is in repose, and for Sunday, visiting, and holiday attire; but are not suit- able for dancing exercise, which is a species of athletic sport. 3. All dyes that readily fade are to be rejected. The assertion that aniline dyes are injurious only when they contain arsenic, is entirely erroneous; they are chiefly noxious because of their volatility. 4. "Fast;" i.e.^ non-volatile — dyes are not objec- tionable when no residue or surplus of loose, unrinsed dye is left in the garment: any such surplus is readily detected by the " color coming off." As the rinsing can be complete only when the wool is dyed before being worked up, all fabrics that have been dyed in the piece, or printed with dyes, should be rejected. 5. The less coloring matter a garment contains; e.e., the lighter it is dyed — the less will be the danger from the coloring matter. In carrying out a system of sanitarily colored clothing, it would be impracticable to discard all artificial dyes, and I have therefore adopted some of Girded Loins. 165 them, especially indigo and cochineal. Indigo, cochi- neal, and logwood are all capable, under certain condi- tions, of acting as poisons; but practically, indigo and cochineal, as '^fast" dyes, never evaporate from the clothing in such quantity as to produce injurious effects in persons of normal constitution. The con- trary, however, is true of the "spurious," logwood dye, which has also the faculty of attracting the "noxious" exhalations of the body. GIRDED LOINS. (1882.) A CORRESPONDENT who has adopted the San- itary Woolen System writes: "I cannot be- come reconciled to wearing a belt, notwithstanding that this was generally practiced in the Middle Ages, and is still customary with the military, and among the inhabitants of southern countries, although noth- ing similar obtains among any of the four-footed creation. To wear a belt, seems contrary to nature, as it checks the processes of breathing and digesting; especially the former, in the case of the male sex, whose respiration brings the abdominal region more into play, while the female sex breathe chiefly in the region of the chest. The man's breathing-muscles are attached to the cervical vertebra, the collar-bone and shoulders, and the ribs, which latter they extend and widen. So that, if a belt be worn, only the upper part of the chest is capable of the proper undulatory motion incidental to respiration." In reply to this, I have to say that my experience 166 Girded Loins. in wearing a belt covers different periods of my life. As seminarist and student — a period during which my health was good — I regularly wore an ordinary gymnastic belt, and found that it agreed with me very well, excepting this fact, that, if I took off the belt when I was perspiring freely, I readily caught cold in the part which the belt had covered. The cold m- duced pains in the region of the navel, (such as are caused by cramp or colic,) which were very trouble- some for two or three days, without, however, affect- in ir the bowels. I consider this disturbance to have been an affection of the peritoneum, caused by ener- vation of the skin of the abdomen ; for, of course, at that time I was not clothed in wool. In the second period of my life — from the age of 27 years to 46 — during which I suffered from indi- gestion, as I have elsewhere stated, I wore no belt, and could not bear to have anything tight round the loins, because the circumference of the abdomen con- tinually varied; and, after meals, when my dyspepsy became painful, I was obliged to loosen the trousers, although they were made to fit very easy. The pain in the region of the navel, described above, frequently made itself felt, especially in summer. About the time I introduced the Sanitary Woolen System, I was reading the well-known gourmand Brillat-Savarix, who writes amusingly and even instructively, but whose book has as little claim to the title of The Phijdology of the Se?ise of Taste as a cook would have to that of " physiologist," I was much struck, however, by the remark, that in cases of tendency to corpulence, the wearing of a belt, not only in the daytime but also at night, was to be Girded Loins, 167 strongly recommended. I was aware of the fact that corpulence v/as injurious, and that the body, when constrained, possessed great capacity of self-help. Simultaneously, therefore, with adopting the Sanitary Woolen System, I began to wear, during the day only, an ordinary leather belt, about two inches wide. I found that I could bear it very well, and as the Sani- tary Woolen System caused my dyspepsia, and the puffed-out condition incidental thereto after meals, to subside, I could maintain the belt at the same ten- sion throughout the day without inconvenience. Certain other evils^ however, were brought to notice. I felt that a leather belt was unsuitable, espe- cially when I perspired; and there gradually arose a disagreeable sensation in the skin wherever pressed by the belt. The test of nerve-measurement (see page 15) by inhalation of the odor of the belt after it had been some time m use, explained this sensa- tion, as the result was a diminution of 38 per cent, in the rapidity of the nervous action. I consequently tried a woolen belt of similar width, but it afforded too little resistance, and was soon useless, rolling up, and cutting like a rope. My hope that the body would accommodate itself to the pressure of the belt was not realized as I desired ; the circumference under the belt continually lessened, so that I had to keep tightening the strain to prevent the trousers from slipping ; but above the belt, and to some extent below it, the protuberance was proportionately increased. It was thus clear that this form of woolen belt did little or nothing to hinder corpulence. In spite, however, of the inconvenience mentioned, I considered that the belt had distinct advantages, as 1U8 Girded Loins. somehow I felt comfortable with it, and during this period, which lasted till within a year of the time of this writing, I was free from the jiain over the navel, previously referred to. My experiments entered on a new phase in the last excessively hot summer. I must premise that I formerly suffered considerably from difficulty of breathing and from great corpulence — measuring 42j inches round the body. The relief afforded by the Sanitary Woolen System has exceeded all my hopes and expectations; but still, I am not entirely satis- fied. The normal measurement round the body should be 75 per cent, of that round the chest. The latter, in my case, is 39 1 inches, and the measure- ment round the body should therefore be 29^ inches; whereas it fluctuates between 31 J inches and 34 inches, according to my condition and the season of the year. It is thus still about 4 inches too great, and I know that in proportion as it is less or greater, I ^m more or less healthy. The difficulty in breathmg, had also greatly dimin- ished, but I was unable to account for the circum- stance that, when I walked somewhat quickl}'- up hill, I felt — especially in hot weather — a pain at the lower'end of the breast-bone, shooting right and left. I was often puzzled as to the origin of this pain, and had long accepted a mistaken theory, that it arose from some old-standing distortion of the lungs and chest, which Mould accompany me through life, when light was at last thrown upon it in the follow- ing manner: I was panting w\) the southern slope of a valley at the hottest period (between 4 and 5 r.M.) of one of the Girded Loins. 169 hottest days of last summer, the path being entirely without shade, and the sun burning pitilessly down upon me, when I suddenly perceived that the pam arose exactly at the junction of the diaphragm with the anterior verge of the chest, and was the natural consequence of the vehement action of the diaphragm. On further observation of my movements in breath- ing, I remarked that I breathed exclusively in the region of the diaphragm and lower ribs, and that the upper ribs remained almost entirely inactive. I then remembered the well-known fact that difficulty in breathing (asthma — in horses, broken-windedness) is caused by a wasting of the lungs, which always com- mences in the tissues of the upper portions of the lungs; and I had long felt that this affection was due to insufficient use of the lungs. When I further con- sidered that men are much more subject to asthma than women, I had a clear perce^^tion of the wHole case, which may be stated as follows: Two modes of breathing must be distinguished: (1) Quiet breathing, when we are lying down, sit- ting, or walking slowly, is differently performed by men and by women; at least, this is the case in our state of civilization, although 1 doubt whether it is so everywhere. Men breathe only in the region of the diaphragm, whereby merely the lower portions of the lungs alternately are filled and emptied, while the upper portions are inactive. Women, on the other hand — chiefly because the diaphragm is hampered by the corset, or by the clothing tied round the hijos — breathe in the region of the upper ribs^ and, theie- fore, with the tips of the lungs ; and this is the reason why women are attacked by asthma rela- 170 Girded Loins. tively less frequently than men. (2) When the breathing is accelerated by strenuous exertion, the difference in this respect between ordinary men and women disappears, and the whole of the lungs is called into play. It is thus clear, that when a man leads a sedentary life, and -is seldom or never compelled by strenuous bodily movement to breathe violently, two things Avill happen : The inactive tips of the lungs will waste away, begetting a subsequent difficulty in breathing ; and he will become so accustomed to breathing soleh'' in the region of the diaphragm as to lose all facility of breathing in the region of the upper ribs. If an occasion then occurs for more abundant respiration, the bod\' will fall, from habit, into the error of endeavoring to meet this extra de- mand by increased activity of the diaphragm, instead of obtaining assistance from the region of the upper ribs. The twofold consequences are: (1) Inadequate respiration, because only the lower lobes, instead of the entire lungs, are worked; (2) the pain which I have mentioned above, produced by the vehement movement of the diaphragm. In considering how this might be remedied, the circumstance tliat tlie climbing of ascents induces enhanced activity of breathing, led me to think of people who inhabit mountainous districts; and before my mind's eye stood the German Tyrolese, (whom I have long respected for their simple and health}'- manner of living,) with their belt of nearly two hands' width in front, I reasoned that the wearing of 80 broad a belt limits the range of breathing: in the region of the diaphragm, and so, whenever the Girded Loins. 171 need for breatti increases, compels recourse to the region of the upper ribs, thus preventing (1) the wasting away of the tips of the lungs through dis- use; (2) the habituation of the body to dispense with breathing in the region of the upper ribs; (3) exces- sive and painful breathing in the region of the dia- phragm. I at once caused a belt, as broad as that of the Tyrolese, to be made of strong woolen material; and the result surpassed my expectations. The effort of breathing, when climbing ascents, was greatly less- ened, and I was at once entirely freed from the pain in the diaphragm. What, of course, could not at once be remedied, was the wasting-away, which had, undoubtedly, af- fected the tips of my lungs. How far this loss, in the case of a man in his fifty-first year, can be re- covered I am unable to judge; and I do not suppose that, especially with my sedentary mode of life, I shall ever become an active mountaineer. But the fact remains that I have occasion weekly to make an ascent of 705 feet, in a distance of 1^ miles. I do this without effort in twenty-five minutes; and, if I exert myself, in twenty minutes. When I also con- sider that I can trot \\ miles on a slight descent, I feel, that, as an asthmatic subject of many years' standing, I have reason to be satisfied; and I ascribe these results chiefly to the Sanitary Woolen System, and partly to the Tyrolese belt. The belt must be 6 inches broad in front, narrow- ing on each side towards the hips. The chief diffi- culty of constructing such a belt of woolen material, was the tendency of the broad band to fold together^ 172 Tlte Corset. — The Sanatory Boot. and thus defeat its p^irpose. This has been overcome by inserting pieces of whalebone or steel; and I can now strongly recommend the wearing of this broad belt, especially by those who suffer from corpulence and difficulty of breathing. THE CORSET. (1882.) rriHE substance of Dr. Jaeger's chapter on the cor- -*- set, is that, until recently, at least, the leading authorities had but little to say upon the subject of clothing for women, beyond a sweeping condemnation of the corset, giving cases and illustrations of its per- nicious effects. The Doctor takes the ground, that, except for the exceedingly tight lacing, so much in vogue, the material of the corset has more to do with the mischief wrought than the form or fact of the corset itself. The tight lacing is generally induced by a " feeling of want of support," resulting from the enervating influence of unsanatory clothing; and by a desire to prevent an " unshapely increase of bulk." The force applied for these purposes, fre- quently causes derangement and disease of the in- ternal organs. — Editor. THE SANATORY BOOT. (1882.) A SANITARY construction of boot requires that, as far as possible, all itnpediment to evapora- tion should be removed, and tliat perspiration sliould The Sanatory Boot. 173 be prevented from accumulating. The unpleasant odor which stockings or socks acquire in the ordinary boots, should thus be prevented, and the foot should be kept comfortable, warm, and dry. To design a boot capable of meeting these requirements, was a problem full of difficulties, which, however, were mainly overcome by acting on the principles pro- pounded in the Sanitary Woolen System; that was, to substitute, as far as is practicable, woolen material for leather, which is nearly impervious to vapor. The difference between the Sanatory Woolen, and the ordinary leather boot, is equal to that between the Sanatory and ordinary coats; as will be found on recurring to the use of the latter kind of boot after wearing the other for some time. The best form of boot, on sanitary grounds, is one made, with the exception of the sole, entirely of woolen cloth, without any addition of leather. An- other form, better calculated for muddy and very rough walking, has a narrow leather border all round, and a narrow piece of leather over the toes. This toe-piece should not reach back beyond the front part of the toes. The perspiration is most abundant between the toes, and at the angles of junction it is most injurious. The hinder extremities of the division between the toes, therefore, especially need ventilation. The penetration of water from without, can do no harm when the feet are thus clad. On a fortnight's pedestrian tour, our party of eight persons wore thor- oughly wet Sanatory Woolen boots for hours at a time, and we felt no inconvenience or discomfort; nor was there the least injury to the health of any 174 The fSanatory Boot. one in consequence of the wetting. In fact, if, after a long walk, the feet are swollen and fatigued, — by stepping into water, the sense of discomfort is quickly dispelled, and the vigor of the feet is renewed. The socks and interior woolen soles, which prolonged walking renders hard and stiif, become elastic again with the water, and feel like velvet to the feet. The capacity of endurance of the feet, is much en- hanced by encasing them in woolen instead of in the ordinary leather material. Of the eight members of the pedestrian party already referred to, not one be- came in the least footsore, although we frequently walked upwards of twenty miles a day during the fortnight. In another case, an acquaintance walked for fifteen hours in Sanatory Woolen boots without blistering his feet. As the boots should fit quite closely at the ankle, and as " side springs " are objectionable, from causing perspiration and impeding evaporation, — the " lace- up" form is chosen, reaching to the calf of the leg. With a little practice, lacing-up soon becomes easy to those who are not already accustomed to it, and it is the only correct method of making the boot fit c!osel3\ Another material for boots which possesses great sanitary advantages, is leather made from undyed buckskin. I have tried tliis, now, for some time, both in dry and wet weather, and I can state that in point of durability it considerably surpasses ordinary slioe leather. Buckskin leather is, of course, not ini- ])erviou8 to water; but the feet remain, even when the boots are wet, not only as warm as in wet woolen boots, but perceptibly warmer, probably because the The Sanatory Boot. 175 cloth of the latter has been dyed. This is so notably the case that it is positively pleasant to put on the buckskin leather boots when they have been freshly washed and are still wet. I can therefore recommend buckskin leather for the feet nearly as strongly as woolen material, especially for ladies' ball- toilet. The ladies of my family are greatly pleased with their buckskin leather dancing-shoes. A few decades since, such shoes were the fashion. Another important point is, that the impregnation of tanned leather with a proper composition of min- eral grease, prevents it from being tainted with the perspiration of the feet, and renders it soft, pliable, and perfectly water-tight. This last is a doubtful advantage; but I have arrived at the conclusion, after wearing high boots made of leather thus impregnated, but lined with undyed woolen material, for some time, that the objection is of less importance than I had previously supposed. At all events, if water-proof boots are required, those impregnated with mineral grease, which will not become rancid, are far prefer- able to such as are treated with animal grease, which does become rancid. An important question in connection with this sub- ject, is the material that should be used for blacking the leather. By mixing indigo with mineral grease, a blacking is obtained which gives the leather an ex- cellent appearance without injuring its sanitary qual- ities. The dust, however, is more apt to cling to the leather than when ordinary polish is used; but this objection is minimized by the consideiation that in dusty weather Sanatory Woolen boots without a bor- dering of leather should be used. The leather border ITO Cleansing of Outer Clothing and Bedding. is only for dirty weather. Moreover, if the boot, about ten minutes after the blacking has been rubbed into the leather, be brushed up, the tendency of the dust to cling is lessened, and the general effect is excellent. As regards the sole of the Sanatory boot, — the in- ner surface must be of leather, to give the requisite consistency. This, therefore, together with the leather stiffening at the back of the boot, which preserves its shape, is impregnated with mineral grease, to prevent taint from perspiration. Furthermore: holes can be drilled through both these portions of the boot, and between the leather surface at the bottom of the boot and the outside sole, a layer of felt inserted, into which the perspiration from the sole of the foot passes through the drilled holes. An outlet from the layer of felt to the open air is provided in the heel of the boot. The loose, woolen sole, which can be changed and washed when there is much perspiration from the feet, presses into the apertures drilled through the leather surface at the bottom of the boot, and thus obtains a better hold.* THE CLEANSING OF THE OUTER CLOTH- ING AND BEDDING. (1882.) IT is not claimed that the Sanatory Woolen System reform has reached, or will reach, a stage of absolute perfection; the object kept steadily in view, ♦In the latest, and by far the best pattern of the Jaeger shoe, the leather insole is discarded altogether, and a second, felt insole substituted, which, in every way, adds to the value of the shoe. — Editou. Cleansing of Outer Clothing and Bedding. Ill is to replace what is bad by "good," what is good by "better," and what is better by " better still." This becomes apparent when the subject of the above heading comes to be considered. The endeavor to Drovide clothing and bedding, which will not retain the " noxious " portions of the body's exhalations, cannot entirely succeed, whatever progress may be made. The linen or cotton shirt becomes unwholesome in two or three days, or, after copious perspiration, in as many hours, and the feeling of discomfort and aversion which it causes warns the wearer that the shirt must be washed. It must not be supposed, however, that, apart from other considerations, the Sanatory Woolen shirt could be worn unwashed indefinitely without a similar sense of discomfort setting in; this must come at last, although the pe- riod which would elapse before it would be felt is considerably longer than it would be with a linen or cotton shirt. As regards the outer clothing, — whoever, like my- self, has worn such of linen or cotton, knows that, after a few days, it requires washing. Ordinary woolen outer clothing is made externally of wool, and internally is lined with vegetable fibre. The outer, woolen surface is much less liable to attract dirt than is vegetable fibre; and as most people are chiefly con- cerned for their exterior, they seldom or never cause the outer clothing to be cleansed; not considering that a regular Augean stable of offensive odors, dangerous to health, collects in the linen and cotton linings. This condition of thino-s has been greatly amelio- 178 (JUanslnfj of Outer Clothing and Bedding. rated by the Sanitary Woolen System, which discards the offensive, vegetable fibre. But, even so, perfec- tion has not been attained; and there comes a time when the degree of concentration of the accumulated odor of the body's exhalations in the Sanatory Woolen outer clothing, makes it necessary that it should undergo a cleansing process. I refer the reader to my remarks on the concentration of odor, in the essay on " The Nature of Disease," page 49. The only difference between outer clothing and under-clothing in this respect is that the latter re- quires cleansing sooner than the former. The relation which this question bears to that of the effect of colors on health, which I discuss else- where, is simple. The color of the outer clothing is not the sole factor, but an essential one, in determin- ing the necessity for the cleansing process; and my investigations leave no room for doubt that, from a hygienic point of view, the necessity is greatest with black color or dye, and least with wool which is com- pletely free from dye. As natural wool is white, and brown, and white wool appears sooner to require cleansing than the brown does, the highest rank must be awarded to natural brown wool. The practical question for present consideration is, when and how should the outer clothing and bedding be cleansed ? As to when: I answer, so soon as there is the slightest intimation of disturbance in the health or general condition; whether it be in the form of head- ache, toothache, heartburn, rheumatism, catarrh, sleeplessness, or disinclination to work. As to how : if the clothing or bedding be dirty, it should be The Treatment of Infants. 179 washed. If, liowever, it be free from apparent dirt, deodorization with ozogen (or effectually and more cheaply Avith camphor) will suffice. The process is the simplest conceivable. The bedding can be placed, in the morning, in a chest in which camphor has been deposited, or ozogen has been sprinkled. Two hours before bedtime, the bedding should be taken out, to allow the smell of camphor or ozogen to evaporate, and the process is finished. The clothing may be placed in a receptacle over night with cam- phor, and in the morning it will be cleansed. THE TREATMENT OF INFANTS. (1882.) THE subject of bathing in connection with the Sanitary Woolen System, which is treated of in the essay headed "Cold Baths," (see page 137,) has been raised in another form, by a lady who ad- dresses me from Helsingfors, (Finland,) with refer- ence to her eight-months-old child, whom she has brought up under the Sanitary Woolen System since its third month. I will enumerate my correspond- ent's inquiries, and append my replies in a similar sequence. 1. May the child, when in health, be bathed more than once a week ? 2. Must the child be wrapped, after the bath, in damp, warm, woolen clothes ? How long should it be kept in them, and what is the effect ? Should the child be first loell dried before the clothes are ap- plied? 180 The Treatment of Infants. 3. The child's sleep appears frequently to be dis- turbed by dreams, so that it groans, (as after a fit of crying,) or laughs aloud. Is there any remedy for this ? 4. I am told that the child will be enervated by the woolen clothing, and not sufficiently hardened against catching cold. There have certainly, from time to time, been attacks of cough and cold, but these have always been light, and have quickly passed away. Answers. 1. In health-culture there should be no rule of thumb. Everything should be decided by the con- sideration of what is necessary. A child should be bathed when it really requires a general cleansing, and in summer when it suffers from heat. 2. With infants, as with adults, it usually suffices to place the dry woolen cloths, or clothing, over the dripping wet bod3^ Only when the air is hot and dry should the woolen cloths, or underclothing, be directly wetted. It is simply a question of reproduc- ing as nearly as possible the conditions under which the mammiferous animals bathe. Their coats take up little water because they are not felted, as are, unfortunately, the materials of our clothing; and their hair is freely lubricated with fatty matter. A dog, on leaving the water, shakes itself, and in the course of half an hour to an hour is dry. Dogs can there- fore bathe at any season, but in the cold of winter they require a sufficient amount of violent exercise to dry the coat in proper time, since, to remain wet too long is unhealthy for animals also. Man should be TJie Treatment of Infants. 181 guided by these considerations, and manage so that, after bathing, there shall be as much water in the under-clothing as will dry in the course of half an hour to an hour, not more and not less. Practice soon makes this easy. In Finland, where the climate is affected by the propinquity of the sea, the placing of the dry shirt and outer clothing on the dripping- wet body, would, probably, at all seasons be suffi- cient; while in Vienna, Pesth, or in the interior of Russia, where the air is hot and dry, the clothing should be directly wetted, in order to secure the full enjoyment of the bath without detrimental con- sequences. 3. The child's sleep will cease to be restless when its health is no longer disturbed by excessive bath- ing- 4. If nothing worse has ailed a child, from its third to its eighth month, than light and evanescent attacks of cough and cold, notwithstanding the mistakes made in bathing it; and if, as is stated, the child's health be normal, what more can be desired ? It should be remembered that thirty to forty per cent, of children die in the first year, and that an equal percentage suffer severe illnesses. Here may be inserted a communication received by Dr. G. Jaeger, some months after the foregoing was first printed : " The writer, feeling convinced of the value of the Sanitary Woolen System, procured, in anticipation of the approaching birth of a child, an entire woolen outfit for the newly -born baby, which from its first existence has never worn a particle of linen. The appearance of the child, now six months old, is all 182 The Treatment of Infants. that could be wished; its limbs are affile and strong, the body is round, the flesh firm, and, in short, the child is as healthy as it can possibly be. " As to the practical w'^orth of the Sanitary Woolen System, the writer has noted down the opinions of the monthly nurse, a woman of twenty years' experi- ence, as of more value than a great deal of theorizing one way or the other. At first the whole thing appeared to her ridiculous, and she used the various woolen articles with reluctance; but after some time she expressed herself as follows: " ' Although I am poor, and have brought up six children in linen, I would not hesitate to clothe the next in wool, for it gives only half the trouble of linen. The colds which babies so frequently catch are completely prevented by the equable and sus- tained warmth of the woolen clothing, which is of the greatest importance, since so little heat is generated in the body itself; this particularly applies to the wet clothes which, when of linen, grow cold on the body, while the woolen ones remain warm. Another advantage is the time and labor saved in ironing. The washing of the clothes is simpler and quicker, and that of the frocks and shifts is not required so often, and it is surprising how long they keep clean and free from smell. I also notice that daily bathing and soaping do a child more harm than good. This child was best when simply washed, without soap, each day, and afterwards lightly rubbed with a wool- en rag, soaked in olive oil; it was only bathed once a week. I intend to recommend the bringing-up of children in wool wherever I can. "To this may be added, that when the child was Vegetarianism. 183 out of doors for some time the cloths which it wetted frequently dried on the way, a proof of the rapid evaporation; moreover, they were free from odor. "In conclusion, the cost was about the same as of a linen outfit, having regard to the fact that only half the usual number of articles was necessary." VEGETARIANISM. (1882.) THAT whatever is practically good and true finds its greatest enemy in doctrinism, (over which, however, it invariably triumphs in the end,) is an old story that recurs to me with especial vividness in connection with this subject. My first acquaintance with vegetarianism was in the form of the following doctrine: " According to the construction of his teeth, the nature of his digestive organs, and his systematic conformation, man belongs to the genus ape, especially to that of the so-called man-ape. As these animals are frugivora (fruit-eating), the fruits of the earth must be the natural nourishment of man, for whom meat is unnatural food." I have always opposed this doctrine, on the ground of practical experience, a part of which I will here briefly relate. I was for nearly five years the technical and scien- tific director of a zoological garden, and I found that few animals presented so many difficulties, in respect to frailty of health, as the apes. When I entered on my duties I found that the apes were treated as fru- 184 Vegetarianism. givora; i. c, were fed with vegetables, onions, carrots, rice, potatoes, etc.; but milk also was given to them. The result of this diet was, as stated in the journal of the Frankfort Zoological Garden, an annual mortality of 50 per cent.! The chief, and, indeed, exclusive, cause of death was pulmonary consumption. The following observation induced me to adopt an- other method: I had two mandrills, which soon after their arrival showed every symptom of consumption, phthisis. As I was watching them one day, a man- drill quickly seized a mouse that came through a hole into the cage, and devoured it with extraordinary avidity. I was reminded by this incident (1) of the success which I had had in treating two tuberculous patients with the so-called " cold preparation " of Liebig's ex- tract of meat; i.e., a solution of meat in joVo ^^ muri- atic acid — by no means to be confounded with the Liebig's extract ordinarily sold; (2) that the cravings of the sick are nature's hints, to which the physician should always attend. From that time I treated all my apes as omnivora, or general eaters; and the result was remarkable. Of the mandrills — one, indeed, died after a few weeks, full of tubercules, but the. other recovered and sur- vived for over a year. An examination after its death, showed that the growth of the tubercles had been arrested, and that the cause of death was heart disease. The main point, however, was that the total mortality of the apes was reduced from 50 per cent, to 20 per cent, (^ii my recommendation, my colleagues in the other zoological gardens in Germany, adopted the same system, with a similar result. To this, may Vegetarianism, 185 be added that apes in a wild state are by no means exclusively frugivorous, but eager and alert to devour all kinds of insects, worms, snails, birds' eggs, young birds, mice, etc. I was therefore firmly convinced that the vegeta- rian doctrine is erroneous; and I was strengthened in this view by the fact that my chronic dyspepsia appreciably improved when I began to avoid pota- toes, and farinaceous and leguminous foods, (from which I suffer most inconvenience,) and to keep more strictly to a meat diet. This was my position on the question of Vegeta- rianism at the time that I made my researches into the action of odorous matters, and published my theory of the Sanitary Woolen System. Here, again, intrusive doctrinism at once showed its hostility to what is practically good. The Sanitary Woolen Sys- tem was vehemently attacked by the doctrinists of vegetarianism. The attack, however, availed as little as did the doctrinary assaults which were made from other quarters. The practical value of the sys- tem forced recognition, and not from the " omni- vora " alone, but especially from vegetarians, in spite of the opposition of their doctrinary leaders; so that, a year ago, the admission was made in the vege- tarian journal, the JSFaturarzt, that the Sanitary Woolen System had become a power which must be taken into account. I have, since, been continually in communication, both personally and by correspondence, with vegeta- rians; luckily not with the doctrinarians, but with common-sense, rational people, whose maxim is, "Ex- amine everything and retain the best." From the 18o V^eyetarlanism. communications I thus received, detailing personal, practical experience, which I value higher than any doctrine, I arrived at the conclusion that the doctrinal and the practical aspects of vegetarianism are not in congruity — that is to say, — the vegetarian mode of life can show great practical results, although the doctrinal foundation on which it rests is erroneous. These communications, together with my progress in knowledge respecting the nature of disease, and cure, and the practical experience, (now first fully compre- hended,) which I had had, as medical superintendent, with animals, at the zoological gardens, greatly changed my attitude towards vegetarianism; and assisted me to a different and, I believe, a more scien- tifically'- correct, fundamental reason for the vegeta- rian mode of life. My readers are familiar with my maxim, " Disease is stench; " ^. e., everything malodorous either causes or disposes to disease; and this tendency is enhanced in proportion to the offensiveness of the odor.* The cages in any zoological garden or menagerie afford ready proof that the excrement of the carnivora is more offensive than that of the frugivora. The gen- eral experience with dogs shows that this difference * TIic pithiness of the epii^ram is somewliat at the cost of scieutitic accuracy, as the succeeding "/. f," partly discloses. Disease is not strictly stench, nor is stench disease, or even, except mediately, the cause of disease, b\it onl}' an indica- tion of the presence of substances possessing morbific pro})- erties. It seems proper to state this explicitly, since the shadow of the Doctor's maxim rests upon otlier passages in his book. Neither is it in entire accord with the Doctor's own language in the fifth i)aragraph of his chapter on the Deodorizatiou of the body. — Editor. Vegetarian ism. 187 does not proceed from the specifically diverse natures of carnivora and frugivora, but from their different kinds of food. The exhalations from dogs, espe- cially big dogs, that are fed with meat, are so offensive that the animals cannot be endured in a room; and it is an almost universal rule to feed watch-dogs only with meat, and to confine house-dogs to a vegetarian diet, although such is not their natural food. It might be supposed that this unnatural nutriment would disagree with house-dogs, but precisely the contrary is the case: those dogs (chiefly the little ones, the exhalations of which are less pungent) fed with meat are in no way healthier than those that are compulsory vegetarians; on the contrary, the former have a disposition to eruptive diseases, digestive com- plaints, inflammatory disorders, hemorrhoids, etc. The popular expression for these well-known facts is that " meat is too heating for dogs ;" and yet no one will disj^ute that dogs, as appertaining to the fox and wolf species, with similar formation of the teeth, intestines, etc., are naturally carnivorous. The ex- planation of this apparent contradiction is, that every creature has its so-called natural food; but as soon as it is withdrawn from its natural surroundings, and placed in a condition which is not natural to it, a change of diet is necessary. This is especially true of the carnivora, but it is also true of the frugivora. For instance, it is well known to cattle-breeders, that hay is more wholesome for stalled cattle than green food, and yet the latter is their natural nutriment. To man's physical nature the same laws apply as to that of the lower animals, as any one who is not al- ready convinced can prove by personal observation. 188 Vegetarianism. The odor of the evacuations, as well as of the exhala- tions, is much less pungent when the diet is vegeta- rian than when the body is nourished on meat. This greater exemption from offensive matter I consider to be the cause of tlie undeniable benefits of the vegetarian mode of living in numerous cases of ill- ness; and it is this fact which gives it (vegetarian- ism) its hygienic importance; for, as with the house- dog, so with most civilized men, they live within four walls, and are thus liable to be injuriously affected by their own exhalations in proportion to their mal- odorousness. Vegetarianism, therefore, contends, (although this has not hitherto been clearly perceived,) with the same enemy that is assailed by the Sanitary Woolen System; and it is for this reason, in the natural order of things, that among vegetarians the system at once found enthusiastic adherents. The " noxious " emanations of the body were the primary cause of vegetarianism; and some sufferers found therein a remedy for their complaints; while others, when the external and internal conditions were less favorable, experienced only alleviation; and these latter, with an unerring instinct, adopted the Sanitary Woolen System as a means of completing their cure. To the question whether, on the foregoing grounds, I recommend vegetarianism, I can reply neither in the affirmative nor the negative, for the following reasons : The suitability of a particular form of nutriment to man, cannot be decided solely by the nature of the emanations which it evolves; the degree of its diges- tibility, and of its nutritious quality, must be taken Vegetarianism. 189 into account. In these respects flesh foods, as a class, are distinctly superior to vegetable foods; although very fat meat is more difficult of digestion than many kinds of fruit, and, in point of nutritiousness, legumes are very little inferior to meat; but, on the whole, the above statement (as to the greater nutritiousness of flesh foods) holds good. When, therefore, the conditions of time or space require that the nutri- ment should be intensive, meat is distinctly more effectual than a purely vegetable diet; and the ma- jority of vegetarians have practically admitted the inadequacy of the latter, by adopting two of the most nourishing and easily digested animal foods — milk and eggs. I, therefore, go thus far with vegetarianism : For those who suffer from the evolution of the " noxious " emanations, two courses are open — the Sanitary Woolen System, and vegetarianism. Either or both may be chosen. I consider that vegetarianism is es- pecially suited to the constitutions of people who lead indoor lives, and the lightness of whose occupation, creates in the body a relatively small need of nourish- ment; in short, people whose calling compels them to be idle indoors — as, for instance, persons who have frequently to wait in a condition of complete inac- tivity for orders from their chiefs; or those who have only a light, unvaried occupation, as copying, sewing, knitting, reading, etc. On the other hand, I should dissuade those who work hard, physically or mentally, or who, on other grounds, require easily digested, intensive nutri- ment, — both, from a purely vegetarian mode of liv- ing, and from confining themselves to an exclusively 190 Positive and Negative Kffects. meat diet; such persons require a mixed diet, and tlic ivgimen of the Sanitary Woolen System. J^etween the extremes of hard, and light workers, there will be many cases in which I can give the ad- vice onl}^, both as to vegetarianism and the Sanitar}^ Woolen System, which I myself have always followed to advantage, *' Examine everything and retain the best." I have been reproached with riding an excel- lent principle to death; but my only principle is the foregoing maxim, and I admit that I am willing to ride this at all times. My practice, as a public teacher and adviser, is not to recommend that which I and many others have recognized as the best, with a de- mand for unconditional acceptance, and submission to my authority; I simply say, *' Here is something which many have approved, and which is, therefore, worthy of trial by others." I ask only that the trial shall be correct and thorough. This is ray position in reference to the Sanitary Woolen System, and from this standpoint I have discussed vegetarianism. THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE SANITARY WOOLEN SYSTEM. (1883.) WHOEVER has read my publications on the Sanitary Woolen System, must be aware of the fact that I have never claimed for it that it is a universal remedy, or tliat it j)rotects against ever}'- 3. 76. M. 86. 87. 90. 100. Sanitary "Woolen System, no protec- tion, 191 : note, 192: positive and negative effects of, 190: remedial power svuumed up, 192. 193. Savoyards, wear wool, 1(30. Scalp, perspiration of, 93. Scarlet fever, 32: scarlatina, 'H. School-rooms, 148. 149 : atmosphere of, 81. Schussenried, 114. Science, sanitary, 126. Sea- water putrescent, 30. Secretions, 192: copious, 63: critical, 58. Seeds of disease in furniture, 135. Sense of taste, 166. Fericine, 103. Sewage, 130. Sheep, 127. 128. 129. Shirt, double thickness, 92: linen or cotton, 75. 100. 104: ordinary. 91: relation to dyes, 159 : shirts, cot- ton. 74. 75. 99. 138 : linen, 99: sana- tory woolen, 74. 75. 76. 78. 99. 101. 106: woolen, 71: when to be washed, 177: how to be wa.shed, 198. Shoe sanatory woolen, 140: construc- tion of. 140. Shrinkage of woolen fabrics, 197. 198. Sickness, 36. 37. Silk, 102: consists of, 103. Sinews 10. Skin, 18. 19: action of, 10. 13. 19: ac- tivity of, 40: function of, 6: blood supply of, 68 : capillaries of, 196: cleansing of. 70: effects of exercise on, 32: eruptions of, 158: enerva- tion of, 166: excretions of, 75: ex- halations of, 4. 7. 19: exudations of. 3. 7: in-itation of. 61. 63: odorous matters of, 54: regulator of animal heat, 112 : scales of, 75 : sense of feeling in, 101. 167: warmth of, 159. 161: of felt, offensive, 140. Sleep, 47. Sleeping-rooms, 24. 54. 70. Sleeplessness, 178. Small-pox, 32. 42. 48. 64. 65. 98. 99. 132: clothes free from, 182: of cam- phor, 179. Smell, smells, 42. 52. 64. 99. i:«. Smokers, 140. Soap, ammonia, 198. Sock, 139. 141: divided toe, 141. 173: glove-toed, 140. Soil, calcareous, 27 : soils, clay, ex emption from infection, 21. 25: con- stitution of, 24 : epidemic, 24: ma- larious, 23: Munich, 25. Soldiers, 103. Soles, woolen, 173. 174. 176. Solution, 29. 30: nutrient, 27. 30. 31 : saccharine, 28: solutions, 52: offen- sive, 53. Spasms, 196. Specific gi-avity, personal, 39. Specific weight, 96. Spirit lamp, vapor of, 140. Spirits, evil, 136: of wine, 149, Sport, athletic, 164. Stays, linen, 73. Steinbeis, Dr. von. 111?. Stocking, 139. 1 10 : stockings, 173 : pure wool, 73: silk, cotton, 73. Stomach. 37. &8. :i. 77. 78. 160: ach»v 159 : disorders of, 92 : measui-- round. 78: vitality of, OS. Stop-watch, 15 : practical value of, 182. Straw, 142. Strawberries, 158. 162. " Strangles,'' 122. Stuttgart high school, 17: gyntnastic. 79. Suit, German gymna.stic. 79. Sugar, 25. 30. Sununer and winter clothing, 83. Index. 215 Sunstroke, 83. 94. 112. 113. Surgeons, veterinary, 131. Sweat-glands, 6. T Tailor's clippings, 143. Tartaric acid, 28. Taste, physiology of, ICG. Teachers, 83. Temperament, 40. 58. Temperature, 54. 65. 94. 112. 113. 163. 191. 196. 199: changes of, 103. 104. 112. 113. The adulteration of wool with cot- ton, 125. The air in rooms, 126. The atmosphere of school-rooms, 81 . The causes of disease and disease germs, 20. The cleansing of the outer clothing, 176. The collar, lOD. The corset, 172. The curative power of wool, 106. The deodorization of the body, 62. The German gj-mnastic suit, 79. The natm'e of disease, 49. The opeu bed-room window, 118. The platuium lamp, 144. 147. 14S. 149. The positive and negative effects of the S W. S., 190. The sanatory coat, 76: woolen bed, 141 : handkerchief and catarrhal infections, 122. The sanitary effects of colors and dyes, I, 1.52: II, 157: HI, 182. The shirt, the trousers and the hat, 91. The sock or stocking, 139. The specific gravity of the body. 33. The source of the emotions, 41. The treatment of infants, 179. The woolen glove and stings, 115. Thread, spider's, 103. Throat, 43. 66. 91. 97. 93. 100. 108: catarrh of, 125 : disorders of, 102 : inflammation of, 1^. 194. Tissues, 20. 21. 31. 32. 38. 47. 49. 58. 59; flabby, 36: tissue-water, 33. 65. 69: water from. 41. Tight-lacing, 172. Tobacco-smoke, 124. Toe, toes, 140. 141: perspiration of, 173, Tonsils, 194 : inflammation of, 193. 194. Toothache, 179. Trousers, 71. 92. 166. 167: black, brown, 161: loose, 116. Tubercles, 134. Turkish baths, 78. Typhus, (nervous fever,) 22. 26. 31. 32. 45. 84. 191. U Underclothing, 98. 156. 180. 181: dyed, 159. Undervests, 74: flannel, 74. 75 : net- work, 76. Urea, 39. V Vapor, watery, 20. 70. 74. 77. 104. 173: concentrated, 155 : cutaneous, 76: rarined, 155: vapors, 57 : noxioxis, 127: poisonous, 191. Variations, temperature, and sun- stroke, 112. Varicose veins, 36. Vascular system, functional activity of, 19. Vegetable fibre, 50. 54. 55. 56. 61. 70. 84. 89. 91. 99. 100. 103. 105. 112. 120. 121. 124. 132. 134. 1:35. 142. 143. 145 : dead, 195: effect of on the skin, 27: cold, 196: when and why unsana- tory, 195: living, 196. Vegetarians, 185. 188. 189. Vegetarianism, 183. 185. 186. 188. 189. 190. Veins, varicose, 11. 36. Ventilation, 83. 121. 123. 131. 141. 148. 149. 173: rooms, 40. Vermin, 46. . ■Jlii l7ide.i'. Vienna Zoological Gardens, 85. Vital forces, 14. ?y2. Vocation. 125. Voice, 101. 102. 194. Volatile essence, 43. ."39. 60: matters, 54. W Waistcoat, 10.5. Washing directions, 198. 199. Water, 11. 12. 17. 25. 32. 38. 39. 55. 59: absorbs poisonous exhalations, 54. 55: accumulation of, 14. 20: closets, 45. 63: cold. 138: drinking, 44: ex- cess of, 17. 37: exudation of , 43: and fat, 9. 18: immei"sion in, 35. 36: in blood, 37 : in system, 18 : in tis- sues, 37 : specific weight of, 20 ; superfluous, 70: xmderground pas- sages, 23: watery vapor, 86. Water and fat neces.sary, 37. 38. Webs, stockinet, 92. Weeds, 28. Whooping cough, 67. Wind, draught of, 133. Wine 112: new, 28. 29. Wolf, species, 187. Wood, 39. Wool, 71: absorptive power of. 3. 7: adulteration of. 125: animal, 50. 71. 73: a non-conductor, 3. 4 : an elec- tric, 5: a skin-stimulant, 4: carbon- ized, 142, 14^3: curative power of, 106: double layer, 141: "enervated by," 1"^: influence on animal tem- perature, 4: merits of, 142. IT- new process of weaving, 3 ; prop- erties of, 3: pure, 143 : remedin' virtue of, 116: sanitary advantages of, 4: wearer, 131. 139. Woolen clothing, fire-proof, 120. 121. 122. 204: time saved in wsishiiig. 182 : warmth of, 182 : wet, harm- less, 139. Woolen fibre, structure of, 197. 198. Woolen System, principle of, 1. Wools, short staple, 112. Work, 9. 11. 36. 39. 40: mental, 10. 13. 37. 38 : physical, 38 : rooms, 129. 149. Working capacity, 16. 17. 19. 33. 39: power, 9. 11. 12. 13. 16. 17. World, animal, 86. Wrappers, 102. Writere' cramp, 151. 152, Writing paper. 152. Wiirtemburg Regiments, 77. "Yeast," 25. 29: fungi, 26. Zoological gardens, 183. 184. 186. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES (hsLstx) RA 776 J28 1891 C.1 Selections from essays on health-culture 2002234173