REMARKS ON THE EXTENT OF SWAMP LANDS IN THE UNITED STATES, ; Health Oue with AND THEIR RECLAMATION AS A SANITARY AND ECONOMIC MEASURE. DELIVERED AT THE OPENING OF THE THIRD ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION\ BALTIMORE, MD, NOVEMBER 9, 1875, J. M. TONER, M. D. President of the Association. [Reprinted from Vol. II. Public Health Papers of the American Public Health Association.! CAMBRIDGE: Printed at tfjc flitters tdc press. 1876 61+.7 T6± A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING PUBLIC HEALTH QUES¬ TIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS BEFORE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION AT ITS THIRD ANNUAL. MEETING. BALTIMORE, NOVEMBER 9, 1875. By JOSEPH M. TONER, M. D., President of the Association. To-day we open the Third Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, although in fact, it is the sixth meeting of its friends. 1 I congratulate you on the large attendance of members from all parts of our country, as well as upon the evidences we receive from every source, of the great interest which the public are taking in our labors. This move¬ ment for the prevention of disease has enlisted in its cause not only the medical but also the clerical profession, as well as scientific and thinking men of all classes. In the interest of the great purposes of this Associa¬ tion, I welcome all present to our deliberations, whether members of this body or not. This occasion does not require of me to enlarge on either the history or importance of State Medicine. The one is well known and the other is generally admitted ; but while the intelligent citizen recognizes his duty, the full obligation of the Government, State and National, to protect the public health, has neither been assumed nor generally conceded by our law makers. This trust on the part of governments is beginning to be bet¬ ter understood, and I am confident future legislations will supply the omis¬ sion and correct the errors of the past. 2 I will, therefore, take this occa- 1 The preliminary meeting which led to the organization of the American Public Health Association was held in New York, April 18, 1872. The Committee then appointed to perfect a plan for organization, called a second meet¬ ing at Long Branch, N. J., September 12, 1872, at which a constitution was adopted and officers elected. The third meeting convened at Cincinnati, Ohio, May 1, 1873. The fourth meeting was held in New York, November 11, 1873. The fifth meeting was held in the city of Philadelphia, November 10-12, 1874. 2 The following very just remarks were made by Dr. Benjamin Rush in his inquiry into the Sources of Summer and Autumnal Fevers of the United States (vol. iv. p. 139) : — “ To every natural evil, the Author of Nature has kindly prepared an antidote. Pesti¬ lential fevers furnish no exception to this remark. The means of preventing them are as much under the power of human reason and industry as preventing the evils of lightning 1 * Vizvb 2 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING sion, which courtesy has assigned me, for presenting some views on sanitary measures, which I -conceive to be important and of general interest to the whole country, premising that the transactions at our meetings have not an exclusively scientific purpose, nor are they designed to give systematic in¬ struction in hygiene. We fully recognize, however, the fact, that efficient sanitary work requires the aid of both science and art, and while giving every attention to these, we further aim by affording information upon mat¬ ters of sanitary relations to assist in educating the public mind ta an appre¬ ciation of the importance of preventive medicine. It is also within our province to encourage the organization of State and local boards of health having a uniform nomenclature of diseases and systematic methods of regis¬ tration of vital statistics. We hope to see the purposes of this Association and the study of hygiene receive the active support of all intelligent men ; and we trust its labors and publications may encourage the discussion of preventive medicine in every locality, and foster a disposition to observe and note the causes that deteriorate, or in any way affect the public health. Our mission is to impart and encourage throughout the United States correct views on all that re¬ lates to man’s physical well-being. In the language of Dr. Parkes, hygiene aims at “ rendering growth more perfect, decay less rapid, life more vigor¬ ous, and death more remote.” Sanitary science, in its application to the necessities of modern society for the preservation of health, constitutes one of the most important advances and reforms of this or of any age. I am convinced that there is no subject of greater importance and interest to the people than that of the cleanliness of cities and towns, and the careful in¬ vestigation of the causes of disease. A matter so vital to the welfare of the inhabitants cannot be safely ignored by the authorities of a state or nation \ scientific investigation and appropriate legislation must be had. The masses should be taught to understand that filth and the neglect of hygienic precautions enfeeble health, breed disease, encourage vice, and shorten life. The sanitary policing of cities thus becomes an imperative necessity. Experience teaches all who investigate the possibilities of pre¬ ventive medicine, how utterly indifferent the body of the people are to con¬ ditions that deteriorate health, and how certainly the ignorant will throw ob¬ stacles in the way of public officers in the execution of even the simplest sanitary regulations. In our efforts for reform, we should remember that the time is not remote when diseases were believed to be direct visitations of Divine Providence, and when it was deemed impious to attempt to avert their consequences. Indeed, this view is still held by ignorant and super¬ stitious people in different parts of the world. 1 Besides this, there exists with many a false conception of personal and domiciliary rights. The power to do, to neglect, and to maintain — upon their own premises — whatever their cupidity, their ignorance and debasing and common fire. I am so satisfied of the truth of this opinion, that I look for a time when our courts of law shall punish cities and villages for permitting any of the sources of bilious and malignant fevers to exist within their jurisdiction.” 1 This was recently exhibited in Canada in the riotous proceedings against general vac¬ cination. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 3 habits or laziness may elect, without molestation and without question, by neighbors or the municipal authorities, is everywhere abrogated by the uned¬ ucated, and this assumption has greatly retarded the progress and efficiency of State Medicine. To what extent, during past ages, the ruling classes were responsible'for the very general neglect of civic cleanliness among the helpless and ignorant, and the prevalence of the belief that all man’s ills were due to an avenging Providence, I am not prepared to say. The gen¬ eral diffusion of knowledge in the present age, the consequent wonderful advance in personal freedom, liberty of opinion, and the demand of all to have a voice in framing laws, -^-laws which are to bear equally upon every individual, and are to work in consonance with the wants of an advancing civilization, —justify us in assuming that intelligence has been nearly eman¬ cipated from that intolerant, dogmatic authority which has been the out¬ growth of superstitious ignorance and arrogant misrule. It is indeed an encouraging evidence in confirmation of the assumed increase of informa¬ tion among the people, that multitudes in every community now accept the doctrine that many diseases are preventable. I am persuaded the number is rapidly augmenting in all classes of society, who fully believe in the ability of the chemist and microscopist to detect adulterations and poisons in food, and discover organic and other deleterious matters in drinking-water. This fact, simple as it is, is a triumph of science, and strikes the unlettered with amazement. When once the mind is convinced that science can detect poisons in water and articles of diet, — however minutely disseminated,— -it becomes an easy matter for it to accept the additional fact, that sanitary inspectors can discover in the want of cleanliness and the accumulation of filth, in and around dwellings and badly-ventilated tenements, conditions which not only taint the air with their emanations, but penetrate the cloth¬ ing, furniture, and food, destroy health, and actually breed disease. In the future, or as long as education shall be general, truth alone will control the earnest, scientific inquirer, and only definite, consistent, and de¬ monstrable results will receive general acquiescence. Science deals with realities, and must act upon what it knows and can prove, and is unlike faith, which is based upon what is desired or believed. Should science ever become dogmatic, its errors will be on the side of actual knowledge. To the possible influence for good, which lies within the legitimate domain of a voluntary association of this kind, composed of competent, earnest laborers for the prevention of disease and the preservation of the public health, we can assign no limit. Sanitary observances of some sort, though often crude and meagre, are a kind of instinct. To elevate this perception in man to the position of an actual science, is the duty of an advancing civilization. Hygienic regula¬ tions are older than the Christian Era, and were made a part of the religious dispensation promulgated by the inspired law-giver of Israel. It is, there¬ fore, a neglected, rather than a new, or an unknown science. Hygienic blessings are not the property of any people or age, of one clime or nation; they belong to mankind of both high and low condition — the rich and the poor, the intelligent and the ignorant — at all seasons and in all places, 4 A VIE W OF SOME OF THE LEADING wherever man travels by land or by water, whether he tarries in tents, palaces, crowded cities, or in the open country. To make the knowledge of sanitary science possessed by the educated, serviceable for the protection of the people, requires great discretion, perseverance, and fortitude on the part of those charged with the duty. While there remains with the many a rooted ignorance, and a sensitive antagonism to reform, we believe that, except in extreme cases, more rapid progress can be made by developing, educating, and leading public sentiment, than by attempting too soon to en¬ force compliance with sanitary laws. The growing necessities for increased hygienic precautions, created by an advancing civilization, are fortunately being understood and provided for at every point, as rapidly as could rea¬ sonably be expected. The accumulated knowledge of the science is devel¬ oping resources for the enforcement of its dictates, and the highest skill of the architect, the chemist, the engineer, and the physician is employed in its service. The scientist and the expert are now called on for their opinion by courts of justice, and their judgments relied upon by capitalists and merchants. But perhaps in no department of civil polity has there been greater progress made than in the development of a sentiment that encour¬ ages the organization, in nearly all American cities, of efficient boards of health, and the practical application of sanitary agencies in the prevention of disease. Great, however, as has been the improvement in this direction, there still remains much to be done, both to educate the public mind to a full appreciation of the importance of hygienic observance, and to bring into practice the needed reforms. The value of sanitary knowledge has fre¬ quently been put fairly upon trial, and the application of scientific measures confidently resorted to for the protection of the public health. In great emergencies, health officers have staked their reputation on the pledge to arrest the spread or mitigate the severity of infectious diseases, by ven¬ tilation, by the removal of filth, by the separation of the sick from the healthy, and by the free use of disinfectants, vaccination, and other rational agencies. Such tests have often been forced upon the medical profession, and that too in communities determined not otherwise to be convinced, either of the necessity or efficiency of sanitary measures, but always with good results, which, if not acknowledged by the masses, were felt and ap¬ preciated by the more intelligent citizens. We must study the antecedent habits and conditions of the sick, the surroundings of disease, and the salu¬ brity of localities. The discovery and recognition of evils must precede their removal. The repeated demonstration of the invariable relation of cause and effect will finally convince the most obdurate. It is in the neg¬ lected localities, and among the poorer classes of society that sanitary regulations and appliances have won their greatest triumphs. We hope yet to see hygienic principles become a part of primary education, and we trust that active co-workers will arise in every community and assist in a reform, from which the poor must reap the greatest benefits. As evidencing the progress that preventive medicine is making in Europe, I may mention the fact that the Queen of Great Britain, in her speech, August 13 , 1875 , on the occasion of the prorogation of Parliament, paid a deserved and handsome PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 5 compliment to the influence that sanitary regulations have exerted in secur¬ ing better dwellings for the poor, and the better protection of the public health. This recognition, by the head of the most enlightened court in Europe, is encouraging to the cause, when we consider that the first sani¬ tary survey of the large cities of Great Britain was made in 1843, and the first general Public Health Act was only passed August 31, 1848. France, as early as 1802, established a Council of Health for Paris, and in 1851 ex¬ tended it to the whole country. 1 The progress of public sentiment concerning State Medicine in the United States is illustrated by the fact that nine States have now organized State Boards of Health ; 2 some of them publish annually reports of great practical value. Many special inquiries, instituted under the supervision of these Boards, are” thorough scientific examinations of the sanitary conditions affecting the health of large communities. The plan adopted by some of the State Boards, and indeed by some City Boards, of intrusting the investigation of the causes producing particular diseases to gentlemen of scientific attainments and practical ability, though not officially connected with the respective organizations, has led to the preparation of very able papers. 3 1 The Queen, in her speech, on the occasion of the prorogation of Parliament, says : “ I have with pleasure given my assent to an Act for facilitating the improvement of the dwell¬ ings of the working classes in large towns, which will, I trust, lead to the decrease of many of the principal causes of disease, misery, and crime. I feel sure that this legislation, to¬ gether with that relating to the consolidation and amendment of the sanitary laws relating to friendly societies, will greatly promote the moral and physical welfare of the people.” — London Times , August 13, 1875. 2 The following are the States that have State Boards of Health, with the year when es¬ tablished. Those marked with a star (*) publish reports annually. Alabama 1875. Massachusetts * . 1869. California * . . 1870. Michigan * • 1873 . Georgia 1874. Minnesota* . 1872. Louisiana * Maryland . . 1870. 1874. Virginia 1872. 3 The following are the titles of some of the leading papers in the Massachusetts State Board of Health, — reports written chiefly by gentlemen not connected officially with the Health Department: “ Ventilation of School-houses,” by A. C. Martin, Architect, 1871 ; “Arsenic in certain Green Colors,” by Frank W. Draper, M. D., 1872 ; “The Effect of Sewing Machines on Health,” by A. H. Nichols, M. D., 1872 ; “ Vegetable Parasites, and the Diseases caused by their Growth,” by J. C. White, M. D., 1872 ; “ Drainage for Health,” by H. F. French, 1873 > “ Infant Mortality,” by Edward Jarvis, M. D., 1873 J “The Food of the People of Massachusetts,” by George Darby, M. D., 1873 ; “Causes Antecedent to Consumption,” by H. I. Bowditch, M. D., 1873 J “ Adulteration, and Impu¬ rities of Food,” by H. B. Hill, 1873 > “ Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis in Massachusetts,” by J. B. Upham, M. D., 1874; “Political Economy of Health,” by Edward Jarvis, M. D., 1874 ; “ School Hygiene,” by F. Winslow, M. D., 1874 ; J. F. A. Adams, M. D., on the “ Health of Farmers of Massachusetts,” 1874. Additional papers might be named both in the Massachusetts reports and in those of California, Michigan, and Louisiana, and others of much practical value. Alabama should perhaps be mentioned ; her contributions are to be found in the transactions of the Alabama State Medical Association. The special study by Dr. Baker, of the Michigan State Board of Health, on the causes of Spinal Meningitis, was admirable and thorough. It is probable that it has not settled any point in dispute ; nevertheless, the inquiry was original and specific, as to certain sup- 6 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING No doubt all have observed with satisfaction, that more contributions to the literature of State Medicine have been made since our last meeting by American sanitarians, than have been published in any preceding year. 1 From a correspondence with influential physicians who keep abreast of the most advanced medical views and discoveries, and who are familiar with the sentiments and wants of the people in States that have not yet organized State Boards of Health , 2 1 am justified in saying that in nearly every State posed factors, the only plan that ever leads to any real advancement or increase of knowl¬ edge. 1 Among the publications of value may be named, The Sanitarian, an ably con¬ ducted and permanently established journal devoted to the interests of State Medicine. The volume of Vital Statistics accompanying the last United States Census has had so limited a circulation, that the number of valuable facts it contains have scarcely yet come to be appreciated. It richly deserves to be studied. Notably as a work of great merit is the publication by the Surgeon-general, entitled, Hygiene of the United States Army. This work has done for all the posts of the army what I hope to see accomplished for every part of our country. In it all factors of clim¬ ate, location, and the like have been duly considered in their effect upon health. Fol¬ lowing the publication named and from the same department is an admirable and exhaus¬ tive report on a plan for transporting sick and wounded soldiers by railroad in time of war, by Dr. G. A. Otis, Surgeon United States Army. The very excellent report on the Chol¬ era of 1873, by Dr. Ely McClellan, has already been referred to in another part of this paper, as have other valuable articles on sanitary subjects in the different State Boards of Health. The reports of the Board of Health of the City of New York are most impor¬ tant contributions to our knowledge of sanitary laws and the efficiency of the art in protect¬ ing public health. Philadelphia and other cities have also published reports of their sani¬ tary condition and the operations of their health departments during the year, all of which show great advancement in the hygiene regulations of our large cities. The report on the small-pox epidemic at Mobile in 1874-75, by Jerome Cochran, M. D., is a contribution of much interest to the practical sanitarian. There also have been many special studies of much interest, notably Dr. Minor’s “ Scar¬ latina Statistics of the United States.” Admirable articles relating to Preventive Medi¬ cine have appeared in the Popular Science Monthly , and in other publications, which evince the interest the public takes in these subjects. 2 The following are the States whose legislatures have not yet authorized the organization of State Boards of Health and the registration of vital statistics. But two States — Mas¬ sachusetts and Rhode Island — have methods of registration that give satisfactory results. States where the question of organizing such boards has been before the legislature, and is likely to come before the next assembly, are marked with a star (*). States marked with a dagger, (t) have or have had in the past some system of registration of vital statistics of births, marriages, and deaths. Arkansas.* Connecticut.* Delaware. Florida.* Illinois. Indiana.* Iowa. Kansas. Kentucky.* t Maine.* Mississippi. Missouri.* N ebraska.* Nevada. New rlampshire.* t New Jersey.* New York.* North Carolina. Ohio* Oregon.* Pennsylvania.* t Rhode Island.! South Carolina. Tennessee.* Texas.* Vermont.* West Virginia.*! Wisconsin.* PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 7 the medical profession, and the leading citizens of all classes, are con¬ vinced of the utility of such boards, and also of the propriety of the adop¬ tion of a proper system of registration of vital statistics ; and they are mak¬ ing such representations to the several legislatures as will secure their estab¬ lishment in all the States within a few years. The friends of State Medicine everywhere recognize the valuable aid that has been given to the cause by the labors of this Association in popularizing its purposes, and in making evident its economic and sanitary advantages. It is earnestly hoped that the predictions of the friends of hygiene may be speedily realized, and that every State may have its Board of Health and registration of yital statistics; and that every city and county within the several States may also have their health organization all working harmoniously together. The Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1849, passed a law for the appoint¬ ment of three commissioners to make a “ Sanitary Survey of the State.” This commission consisted of three physicians, who made patient and thor¬ ough inquiry into the causes affecting the health of the cities and other lo¬ calities, including the various manufacturing establishments throughout the Commonwealth. 1 It is to be regretted that all the States do not, from time to time, order medical surveys, comprehensive enough to embrace all the important factors that affect the health of their citizens. It is scarcely necessary to repeat what has been so often suggested, that Boards of Health— State and municipal — ought to have at least one mem¬ ber who is a competent civil engineer. The duties of sanitary inspector are second to those of no official con¬ nected with the preservation of the health of a city. His examination, if timely and thoroughly performed, and his sanitary injunctions enforced, will often prevent the necessity for calling in the clinical physician, and certainly “ prevention is better than cure.” To the unceasing efforts of the guar¬ dians of health is due the fair degree of salubrity enjoyed by cities. It seems that great aggregations of human beings in central marts are a neces¬ sity to our form of civilization. It is our aim to keep the city as salubrious as the country. Sanitary science and its appliances must meet these re¬ quirements, and preserve both to the palace and the tenement-house as favorable hygienic conditions as are enjoyed by the farm-house and rural cottage. This can never be done except by daily sanitary inspection, and a rigid enforcement of the requisite hygienic regulations. This work of the health inspector, like that of the housewife, is never done. Pure water for potable use is essential to the health of a people. As water is sometimes rendered unfit for domestic use by the soil and rock strata through which it percolates, so, too, may it be rendered dangerous to 1 This commission made a very comprehensive report, which was printed in 1850. It is a great storehouse of valuable information concerning the actual condition of the public health of Massachusetts at that time, and embraces all that could be collected to elucidate the application of sanitary science to the protection of health. Although it is more than a quarter of a century since Massachusetts made this report on her sanitary condition, not one State has imitated her example. 8 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING health by becoming the vehicle of the germs of disease negligently strewn or exposed in the vicinity of springs and wells. Streams of pure water may also be contaminated by sewerage and offal from establishments and fac¬ tories emptying into them along their course. By the laws of the several States, and of the General Government, streams should everywhere be pro¬ tected from contamination. No defilement ought to be permitted that will injure the fish in them, or render the water unfit for domestic use. The principle must be recognized by persons living along water-courses, that while they have a right to use the water, they must do so in a manner not to destroy the right of their neighbors. Precautions of this order are particularly called for along streams that furnish water for domestic use. Some of the oldest and best preserved architectural monuments of the human race are those connected with the furnishing water to cities, and with establishments intended for the promotion of the public health. 1 The water supply of a city is of the highest importance, and its free use, though not its waste, ought to be encouraged. We frequently see in water registers’ reports the complaint that too much water is used or wasted, and the admonition to the community of the threatened scarcity in consequence. Inspectors ought to be charged with detecting unreasonable waste. But fresh water ought to be as free as air, and provided in great abundance. No city ought to consider its water supply satisfactory, that cannot afford to have fifty times as much water wasted as is required for strict domestic use. Closets left part of the time without water, or with but insufficient flow to flush them, must of necessity become foul, and defeat the best sanitary ar¬ rangements. The more water that can be allowed to pass through closets, and other house connections to the sewers, the better it will clear both the pipes and the sewers, and thereby prevent the formation of dangerous gases. The various factories and arts conducted in cities, requiring water, ought to supply themselves by boring artesian wells. Every housekeeper within a city corporation is entitled to an adequate amount of pure potable water. A manufacturing establishment , however , has no such claim. Among the many suggestions which may be made in furtherance of the collection of facts that are of interest to the medical profession, I venture to mention that in regard to the manner of taking meteorological observa- 1 Some of the finest and most ancient engineering monuments of the human race, are those that were connected with sewerage, drainage, irrigation, ayd water supplies to cities, and with establishments intended for the promotion of the public health. The Aqueduct known as the “ Pont du Gard,” near Nismes in France, and the ruins of the superb Nym- phseum or baths are among the most imposing remains of ancient architecture. They are of Roman construction, but of what date is unknown. An aqueduct built by Quintus Sertorius seventy-five years b. c., at Evora or Ebora, Portugal, is, or was in good condition but a few years since. 1 It is probable that it has been permitted to get out of repair, as the beautiful circular castellum or tower which terminated the aqueduct has, according to the accounts of recent travellers, been demolished, that a public market might occupy the site. Thus has been destroyed within our own time one of the most beautiful relics of Roman architecture that remained in the world. But what of sentiment could be expected of a people who, in the same city, permitted the beautiful Temple of Diana to be used as a slaughter-house. 1 James Murphy, Travels in Portugal. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 9 tions. Men live and carry on all their various avocations in an atmosphere only a few feet above the earth. A more important and comprehensive record of the actual meteorological phenomena occurring in the limited belt or sphere of man’s activities, might be obtained, if all observations of temperature, moisture, rainfall, electricity, etc., were taken close to the earth. I allude to the subject with a view to encourage an exact uniformity of elevation and exposure of instruments in making observations. We are particularly in¬ terested in the conditions of the atmosphere we breathe, and should desire to know its exact conditions and extremes of variations. It is a well-ascer¬ tained fact, that the rain-gauge registers in the same locality more at the earth’s surface than when placed at a considerable height. Changes of temperature, too, are effected by elevation, by radiation from the earth ac¬ cording to the seasons, and during the different hours of day and night. The thermometer ought, in my opinion, to be placed close to the earth, and never more than five feet above it, and be remote from buildings shaded from the direct rays of the sun ; but exposed to the free currents of air, though cut off from the radiated heat from the ground. We are gratified to observe that the importance of hygiene and sanitary inquiries engaged the attention of the last Congress of the United States, which passed an act authorizing the Surgeon-general of the Army, and the chief of the Marine Hospital Service, to investigate the history and cause of the cholera epidemic of 1873, anc ^ °f the yellow fever epidemic during the same year — the first named to report on cholera, and the latter on yellow fever. 1 The researches of these departments have resulted in the publica¬ tion of valuable reports, which have added much to our knowledge of the history and characteristics of these diseases. Congress, too, with an awak¬ ening sense of its duties and responsibilities, is beginning to consider the subject of the food supply of the people. This indeed is a most important question to every government. An Act of Congress of 1873, authorized the organization of a “ United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries;” the labors of this commission are chiefly directed to an investigation of the food fishes of the American coast and rivers. 2 1 Dr. Ely McClellan, of the United States Army, was assigned to this duty by the Sur¬ geon-general. His report has just been given to the public, and is, in my opinion, the most careful and exhaustive clinical history of an epidemic of cholera ever published. The bibliography of cholera, which accompanies the report, furnished by Dr. J. S. Billings, will prove of great value to all students and writers upon this disease. Dr. Frank W. Reily, of the Marine Hospital Service, has made a comprehensive report on the yellow fever of 1873, which has been published by the Marine Hospital Depart¬ ment. 2 Professor Spencer F. Baird was appointed Commissioner, and has made a most valu¬ able report on the “ Condition of the Sea Fisheries of the South Coast of New England.” This report touches upon almost every question relating to the food fishes of America, and shows their economic value to the nation and their importance to the people. Our govern¬ ment is from time to time founding new departments in the interest of its citizens. Thus, the Interior Department was established by law, March 3, 1849. The Secretary of the In¬ terior has a seat in the Cabinet and is the head of all the home departments, such as the Land, the Pension, and Patent offices. The Agricultural Department was made independ¬ ent May 15, 1862. The Bureau of Education was created by law, March 2, 1867, and sim¬ ilar institutions followed in regular sequence. It is believed by many that a Bureau of Vital Statistics ought now to be established. 10 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING This action of the government suggests an extension of the principle to other matters intimately connected with the obligation to consider all the conditions that relate to feeding, clothing, housing, and the general well¬ being of the people. The meteorological observations being collected so systematically, and from all parts of our country, by the United States Signal Office, present a vast field for the study of the influence of climate, storms, and the like, upon health. The facts collected by this department are yearly coming to be more sought after by the physician. There is no occupation or mode of life that does not deserve to be investigated as to its influence upon health. Man’s surroundings, his domicile, his clothing, his food, his habits, in child¬ hood, in mature years, and in old age, all should be observed, with a view to discover the conditions which develop the highest vigor of body and mind, and secure the greatest longevity. We assume that life is a blessing. To preserve it is a duty, if not a virtue. No circumstance is, therefore, trivial, that can unfavorably affect health or shorten our existence. Man’s social instinct and moral nature in a measure make him “ his brother’s keeper.” It is surely, therefore, a natural, if not a Christian duty, resting upon all per¬ sons possessing the knowledge, — to point out the physical evils which flow from bad habits, and from the neglect of hygiene. The statement is often made, and is generally believed, that residents of rural districts enjoy a higher average degree of health, physical strength, and a greater longevity than those who live in cities. If this opinion be correct, what are the conditions that secure such results ? I am inclined to think that regular habits, as well as fresh food and pure air, have much to do in the attainment of this higher degree of vitality which common belief assigns to a rural life. A philosopher says : “ Habits make the man.” One of the most notable differences in the habits of the two is in the hours chosen for retiring. Country people undoubtedly sleep more, and have fewer disturbances during the night than the residents of cities. Can it be that peaceful lives, with abundance of sleep, are the chief factors in securing vigor, good health, and longevity? It seems probable that such is the case. Examples in confirmation of this view, will, I believe, occur to every one. The want of sufficient sleep at the proper time is, in my opinion, a fruitful cause of disordered functions and impaired health. It is not likely that any suggestions of mine will lead to reform in this particular, but it is not, therefore, the less a duty t© point out what contrib¬ utes to vicious habits, and indicate the causes that are probably involved in the deterioration of the vital forces. As conducing to an amendment in this regard, I would suggest that in cities all licensed restaurants and bars should be required by law to close at ten o’clock, and that theatres, and other places of amusement, commence at seven o’clock, so as to close at ten, or eleven at the latest. If it were pos¬ sible to add one hour each night to the sleep of the residents of cities, I feel persuaded it would do much to elevate morals and preserve health. A great American statesman is reported to have said that large cities are the plague spots of nations. Whether this be true or not in a political sense, PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. II there are many who believe that cities are in clanger of becoming amenable to the charge in a sanitary point of view. The overcrowding that always takes place is to be deplored, and deserves the attention of statesmen and legislators. Large aggregations of people are constantly in a condition to be surprised by some contagious disease. Is it not reasonable that health organizations should in some way favor cheap transportation from cities into the country, so as to relieve the crowding of tenement houses. 1 2 A measure of this kind, with a homestead exemption law, which would secure a cheap home, even thirty miles from the city, with a lot for a garden to the head of a family, might do something to encourage a considerable number to live in the country, who now crowd into all sorts of abodes in large cities. A homestead exemption law would probably give great encouragement to the poor of economic disposition, and who would take advantage of it for the sake of a home where they might hope to raise their children to adult life, to do which is next to impossible in crowded cities. A law of this nature, or any other measure that would multiply small homes, and encour¬ age rural life and garden culture, ought to be welcomed, since it is a recog¬ nized principle in political economy that the greater the number of small land-owners, the greater the strength and stability of a nation. Among the multitude of questions that press for consideration, there is one upon which I wish to say a word, as I understand it to be a usage, in some localities, and which I am sure all will agree in condemning as heart¬ less and inhuman, namely, the practice of not removing a drowned person from the water immediately on discovery. Man’s better instincts revolt at so barbarous a custom. I am informed that the opinion prevails, that in¬ dividuals render themselves liable to prosecution if they meddle with a drowned body, even to attempt resuscitation, until the coroner arrives and assumes control. Such delay and inference as to any law upon the subject ought not to be sanctioned by our silence, as it is contrary both to the dictates of humanity and public policy. In cases of recent drowning, not a moment should be lost in removing the body from the water. It is well known that many lives have been saved even in cases of apparently complete drowning, by prompt, intelligent, and persistent efforts at resuscita¬ tion. When a body that has not been longer than thirty or forty minutes under water can be recovered, attempts to effect a revival should be imme¬ diately commenced, by all such manipulations as will imitate natural breath¬ ing, whether in a boat or on shore, and they should be continued for more than half an hour. Any neglect of this duty ought to be esteemed highly reprehensible. 3 1 The running of trains at cheap rates of fare, morning and evening, was begun as an experiment in Boston in November, 1872. The trains run at hours to suit the laboring classes finding employment in the city, — the fare being but five cents each way, as far as Lynn, which is twelve miles. From the pages of the Sanitarian of July, 1875, I learn that the project is encouraging many to live in comfort in the country with their families, that hitherto had been crowded in a single room in a city. I trust that other large centres of population will imitate this example, and that, added to cheap fare may be some legislation that will secure a homestead, free from levy and execution, to heads of families. 2 I have alluded to this matter, because several distressing cases of drowning have oc- 12 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING If the health and police regulations of cities having water fronts, do not contain laws in accordance with these principles, they must, I think, be con¬ sidered defective, and should at once be amended. The sentiment, too, ought to be widely inculcated among all classes that it is man’s imperative duty in every case of recent drowning to instantly remove the body from the water and to make every endeavor to induce resuscitation. A Commission on Forestry for the United States was discussed at the last Congress, but failed to become a law, though the expediency of establishing some means to preserve the natural forests from wanton or negligent de¬ struction, as well as the foundation of a systematic and comprehensive plan for planting trees, was fully brought before the public, in the discussion in the House of Representatives, and particularly in the report upon the sub¬ ject made by the “Committee on the Public Lands,” 1 which recommended the enactment of a law for the appointment of a commission. It is generally conceded that the rapid exhaustion of the great forests of our country has wrought important changes in our climate, disturbing the regular and equal distribution of rain. Too much importance cannot be attached to the planting and preserva¬ tion of trees, not only in the country but along all streets, and in every prac¬ ticable locality in cities. Their vigorous growth along streets will shield from the glare of the sun, and if numerous, preserve by their refrigeration a slightly lower temperature in summer, and lessen the amount of dust on thoroughfares, and thus add to comfort and health during the heated term. The question of the importance of preserving timber for climatic, economic, and hygienic purposes will, it is understood, be presented to.this Associa¬ tion by a gentleman who has given great attention to the subject. 2 curred during the summer when all such effort seems to have been neglected. In the case of the drowning at the New Jersey Ferry wharf in the city of New York, August 16, 1875, °f Robert C. Belville, Esq., of Trenton, N. J., the New York papers stated the body was se¬ cured “within twenty or twenty-five minutes after immersion.” Instead of being taken out of the water, it was tied to the wharf, and remained in the water for several hours. Even when the friends of the unfortunate man had identified the body, it was not given up to them until the coroner could be found to give directions. The drowning of the Rev. Dr. Porteus of “ All Soul’s ” Church, Brooklyn, who, while sailing, was capsized and drowned near shore, at Sea Cliff, L. I., is another case in point. According to the New York Herald , the senseless body of the Rev. Dr. Porteus was secured by parties in a yawl. Instead of lifting it into their boat, they towed it ashore, and even then, the superstition or ignorance of the people prevented them from taking it out of the water , and no efforts were made to¬ wards resuscitation ! In this instance the body had been recovered within ten or fifteen minutes after the upsetting of the boat, and when it was still quite probable that life could have been saved. Another case is that of the death of W. C. Ralston of California. His body was recovered, and, I believe, taken out of the water within a very brief time after exhaustion or apparent death had taken place, but I have failed to learn that any efforts at resuscitation were made. 1 Mr. Dunnell made a most comprehensive and valuable report (being No. 259, 1st Session 43d Congress), covering the whole question of the quantity of timber in the United States, the rapidity with which it is disappearing, its importance to the economic enter¬ prises of the country, and, incidentally, the question of the influence of its disappearance on our climatology. The testimony of the pioneers of our western territory, as well as facts gathered from the history of other countries, goes to show that the rainfall in a region without timber is much less than after forests have been planted and cared for by man. 2 Dr. Franklin B. Hough, of Lewis Co., N. Y. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 13 Our country during the past year has been free from severe epidemics. Yellow fever appeared in some of our seaport cities. At Key West, and at Pensacola, Fla., where the government maintains both a military and a naval station, this disease appeared ; also at Milton, Fla., at West Pasca¬ goula, Miss., and at Howell’s Station, twenty-five miles above Pensacola; and at Mobile, Ala., and at New Orleans, La. It was also taken to Brook¬ lyn, N. Y., but by energetic measures of quarantine, and other hygienic and sanitary measures, the scourge of the Gulf seaports was suppressed wherever it appeared, not, however, until a number of deaths had occurred. 1 The Marine Hospital Service, and the local government authorities in the South, have been working harmoniously and efficiently together during the past season under an old law of the United States, requiring the coopera¬ tion of the revenue and military forces with the State health or quarantine officers for the protection of the public health. Among the preventable diseases, diphtheria has been fatal to a degree that attracts special attention in the mortuary reports 2 of the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Boston. Small¬ pox, too, has persisted in claiming an excessive percentage of deaths in the cities of New York, Brooklyn, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and other places. Next to sewerage and drainage in its importance to health, we may place the lighting and ventilation of dwellings. Few others than physicians and health inspectors, who are called upon to attend the poor of large cities, crowded into tenement-houses, cellars, and garrets, can realize to what ex¬ tent the breath, perspiration, and other excretions from the human body, detained in clothing or apartments, poison the atmosphere in which these people live. Often people of this class are so crowded together, that they are slowly but surely becoming their own executioners, and with poisons excreted from their own bodies. It is not generally realized that the ex¬ creta from the lungs and skin are greater in weight, for the twenty-four hours, than those from the kidneys and bowels. 3 This, I apprehend, is contrary to the popular belief, yet it is nevertheless 1 Dr. J. A. Bradford, of Pascagoula, Miss., died August 12, 1875. Surgeon G. M. Stein¬ berg, of the U. S. A., was attacked, but recovered. The whole number of attacks amounted to about three hundred. 2 See monthly synopsis of monthly mortality in our large cities, in the Sanitarian. 3 The Lungs. — From an examination of the results of eighteen experiments of the quan¬ tity by weight of matter thrown off by the lungs in twenty-four hours, I find the average to be 787.178-]-grammes,"equivalent to 25.3 1+ ounces. The Skin. — The average weight of rfiatter excreted by the skin in twenty-four hours, as given by twenty experiments, is 1,074.811+grammes, equivalent t'o 34.56+ ounces. The Kidneys. — The average weight of matter excreted by the kidneys in twenty-four hours, in twenty-five experiments, is 1,298.76+grammes, equivalent to 45.89+ounces — fluid. The Alimentary Canal. — The average weight of matter excreted by the bowels in twenty-four hours, as given by fifteen experiments, is 151.48+grammes, equivalent to 4.87+ ounces. The average amount of food taken in twenty-four hours, as given by twelve experiments, is 2,590.758+grammes, equivalent to 80.30+ounces. The experiments are too few to establish a law. The whole weight is less than the average amount excreted. The total average weight of the excreta from the human body in twenty-four hours, as ascertained from fifty-five experiments, is 3,312.229 grammes, equal to 106.502+ounces. 14 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING true. The excretions first named, too, are very minutely divided, and there¬ fore become at once disseminated through the air of confined rooms, — and the poor of whom I speak, in cities have no other, — which is again taken into the lungs with every breath, and thus slowly but surely infuses a debili¬ tating, or may be a deadly poison into the system. Every apartment, when occupied by a number of persons for ten or a dozen hours, requires its vacation for rest and recovery from the exhaustion of its pure air. All sleeping as well as working rooms ought to have their period of regular daily free ventilation, so as to fully drive out all deterio¬ rated or foul air. To make more apparent the necessity for free airing of clothing, and ven¬ tilation of all rooms occupied by man, I have compiled a table of the amount in weight of the excreta from the human body in twenty-four hours, as ascertained by fifty-five experimenters. The lungs and skin throw off an average of 1.88i-j- grammes, and the kidneys and bowels average 1.449-)- grammes. The Table is presented on pages 16-21. A knowledge of these facts may assist the mind to comprehend the sources of danger, and the necessity for free and complete ventilation of apartments where men dwell or labor. Rooms that have much old furniture, clothing, or bedding require not only free air, but sunshine, and soap and water to cleanse them and dispel the odors acquired from filthy bodies and untidy hab¬ its in confined apartments. Indeed, there are in the quarters of the poor, often bed-clothing, garments, and furniture that are actually dangerous to health, and that ought to be declared a nuisance because of the foul odors that emanate from them. But as ventilation will be discussed at this meeting by several able sanita¬ rians, I feel justified in passing the subject with these few remarks. Drainage must always be one of the most important of sanitary measures. The best means to effect the sewerage of cities is the great problem in san¬ itary science, and has engaged the attention of the most eminent engineers in Europe and America. Much progress has undoubtedly been made in both sewerage and drainage, but the question of the character, location, and construction of works of this kind which in the past so largely engaged the attention of the sanitary physician, is with propriety and advantage now mainly remanded to the practical engineer. But as the sewerage of cities is among the questions which will probably be presented by others, and will, I have no doubt, be treated much more ably than I could hope to do, I shall confine my remarks to the general question of the drainage of rural districts, and the reclaiming of the marsh and swamp lands of our country. The extent of this class of lands is much greater than is generally supposed, and their unfavorable influence on health as well as their tendency to check the advance of population and limit the amount of productive soil, more positive. The possibility of increasing the areas of cultivable lands, and cheapening the value of fertile soil for small homesteads, adding thereby to the abundance, and lessening the cost of table supplies, deserves attention. There must exist a relation between tidy homes, industrious habits, and the cheapness and abundance of food con- PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 15 sumed by a people, and their moral and physical condition. Neither in¬ sufficient nor inferior food, nor filthy habitations, will develop physical vigor, good morals, noble instincts, or inspire to brave deeds. Much of the land in question, and capable of reclamation, lies along the shores of the Atlantic. Although geologists say the eastern coast of the continent is subsiding at a rate of perhaps one foot in a hundred years, yet the encroachment of the sea upon the land has in historical times not been appreciable to the ordinary observer. But even if this action be going on, the invasion of the land by water will not be sufficient to disturb coast improvements for thousands of years to come. The shore of the Atlantic coast along the northeastern States is formed by the native and undisturbed rock. But southward from the harbor of Boston much of the shore is lined with alluvial deposits varying from ioo to 900 feet in depth. Here the shore lines are subject to change from abrasion by the waves and by the formation or disappearance of sand reefs. Long Branch, and the New Jersey coast in the vicinity has suffered from this circumstance a loss of two hundred feet in breadth of its shore land in the course of forty years. Sand reefs are constantly forming and changing in certain localities, and generally in parallel lines with the shore. Cobb’s Island, off the southern coast of Virginia, is enlarging some twenty feet a year. These formations are also growing and enlarging on the North Caro¬ lina coast and other localities. In some places the reefs are gradually ele¬ vated above tide by deposits of drift washed in from the sea, and by material brought down from more elevated lands in the vicinity. Sand dunes are formed in favorable localities by the winds on the Atlantic coast, from New England as far south as Florida and Texas. They are also found at San Fran¬ cisco and other places on the Pacific. The remarkable projections into the sea of Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast are alluvial or drift, probably the result of glacial action on the high mountains in the vicinity. 1 The soil of Florida, resting chiefly upon coral reefs, has gained much from the erosion of the lofty mountains in Northern Georgia. Many of the lagoons and swamps enclosed between these accretions and the main land are for a time partially land-locked bodies of brackish water. They gradually become shallow, and form reedy swamps, which in such condition are usually unhealthy; but when they are filled up or drained, they become arable and salubrious. Hon. George P. Marsh, in a note to his work, “ The Earth as Modified by Man” (p. 533), states that the Val de Chiana in Tuscany was once a large marsh, which remained for many years so unhealthy that the swallows did not visit it. These marshes have, however, by draining been largely re¬ claimed to agriculture and salubrity. Through the kindness of P. C. Patterson, Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, I am enabled to present the following estimated areas of overflowed lands in the several States along the Atlantic a?id Gulf coasts. These statements are to be considered as approximate, because surveys 1 The White Mountains of N. H., and the Bald Mountain of N. C. 16 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING Tables of the Weights of the Excretions from the Human Body giving the original weight, Experimenter. Abernathy, John. Todd’s Cyclop., vol. iv., pt. ii., p. 842. Allen & Pepys. Muller’s Phys., vol. i., p. 325- Andral & Gavarret. Longet, Traite de Phys., vol. i., p. 532. Becquerel. Lehman’s Phys. Chem., vol. ii., P- 157- Becquerel & Rodier. Traite de Chim. Path., p. 273. Blumenbach. Phys., p.113. Carpenter, Wm. B. Phys., p. 578. Cruikshank. Todd’s Cyclop. ,vol. iv., pt. ii., p. 842. Dalton. Valentin’s Phys., vol. i., p. 725... Dalton, J. C. Jr. Phys., p. 370. Davy. Muller’s Phys., vol. i., p. 325. Dodart. Todd’s Cyclop., vol. iv., pt. ii., p. 842. Draper, John C. Draper’s Anat. Phys. and Hyg., p. 113. Dumas. Marshall’s Outlines of Phys., p. 827 Edwards, Milne H. Lemons sur la Phys., vol. ii., p. 504. Grehant, Nestor. Robin’s Jour, de 1 ’ Anat. et de la Phys., July, 1864, p 523, et seq. Hammond, Wm. A. Flint’s Phys., vol. ii., P- 395- Hammond, Wm. A. Am. Jour. Med. Sc., vol. lxii., 1856, p. 330. Hammond, Wm. A. Am. Jour. Med. Sc., loc. cit. Hammond, Wm. A. Am. Jour. Med. Sc., loc. cit. Hammond, Wm. A. Am. Jour. Med. Sc., loc. cit. Hammond, Wm. A. Am. Jour. Med. Sc. Lungs. .w> p S .> Sc& [8,612 gr. 16 to 20 oz. h 2 o. .630 lbs. co 2 . .115 lbs. H, 0 . 17,811 gr. 9,800 gr. O S a ^ | s (A m 8 ,206.38 984 497.6+ to 622.0+ 608.99+ co 2 . 418.14+ H, 0 . t,153-44 464 635-28 746.4 1,108.5 Skin. « ~ >,c W) c £ *5 • £ Me £ 2,157 lbs, 36.55 oz. 43.56 oz. 31.18 oz. 34-78 oz. -o £ p CD ~ (A &8 ',267.3 ',371-7 ',337-489 '•227.779 1,446.0 1)535 ° 1,448.0 804.99+ [,106 1,136.785 1,354.716 999-554 969.698 1,081.967 PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 17 in Twenty-four Hours , as determined by different Experimenters , and same reduced to grammes} Alimentary Canal. Weight of Body. Quantity of Food Taken. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. 149 30 191 , 132.60-I- 2,714.0 2,877.0 2,924.0 2,698.25 .358 lb. 140 lbs. 7.230 lbs. 159 2,373 5.24 oz. 162.964-J- 205 lbs. 205 lbs. 205 lbs. 205 lbs. 205 lbs. 71 oz. 71 oz. 71 oz. 71 oz. 71 oz. 2,208.1 2,208.1 2,208.1 2,208.1 2,208.1 Remarks descriptive of the conditions under which the experiments were made, given as nearly as possible in the language of the Ex¬ perimenter. Experiment continued six hours on hand, which was assumed equal to i-6oth of whole body. Experiment on thirty-seven men and twenty- six women. Mean of observations on four men. Mean of observations on four women. Experiment on a woman, the average being 1282.634 grammes in twenty-four hours. Experiment on a man. In a well-grown adult, the integument estimated at fifteen square feet. Experiment on hand, continued one hour. Experiments in March. Experiments in June. Experiments in September. The quantity of food taken was, oxygen, 1.470 lbs.; H 2 0, 4.535 lbs.; albuminous matter, .305 lb., starch, .660 lb.; fats, .220 lb.; salt, .040 lb. A quantity of matter equal to the weight of the body passes through the system in twenty days. During summer months. During winter months. “In my experiments,” Prof. D. says, “all sources of error have been carefully avoided. The body has always been in the normal con¬ dition, during the day employed in the usual avocations, at night at rest in bed. For an adult man of medium size, not engaged in any special exercise or labor. The quantity given by the experimenter is 31.1 grms. in one hour, and has been calculated for twenty-four hours. The expired matter consisted of exhaled air, 551.5 grms., and watery vapor, 557 grms. The quantity of food taken, potatoes, 8 oz., bread, 12 oz.; beef, 16 oz.; butter, 1 oz.; salt, 2 drms.; water, 32 oz. Experiments upon himself for ten days; age, 27 years ; aver¬ age temperature, 84° Fahr.; sleep, 8 hours; study, 7 hours; recreation, 6 hours; eating, etc., 3 hours. The quantity of food same as above; hours of mental exercise doubled by taking three from sleep and four from recreation. Average temp., 82° Fahr. Continued ten days. The quantity of food as above; mental exer¬ cise as slight as possible ; seven hours devoted to amusement, light reading, etc. Average temp., 77 0 Fahr.; continued ten days. Quality of food altered by substituting thirty-two oz. of strong black tea for water. The same conditions observed as in first experiment. Mean temp., 70 0 Fahr.; continued ten days. Quality of food altered by substituting thirty- two oz. of strong coffee for water. The same conditions observed as in first experiment. Mean temperature, 71 0 Fahr.; continued ten days. 1 N. B. — All experiments have been by calculation brought to a standard of twenty-four hours, and where no specific weight has been mentioned the Troy pound has been assumed as a basis of calculation. 2 i8 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING Tables of the Weights of the Excretions from the Human Body giving the original weight , Lungs. Skin. Kidneys. Experimenter. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Hammond, Wm. A. Md. & Va. Med. Jour., vol. xv., p. 456 45 to 65 oz. 30 oz. i> 399-5 to 1,430.6 933*0 Hartman. Todd’s Cyclop., vol. iv., pt. ii., P- 8 43 * Keil, James. Quincy Medicina Statica, p. 321. 2 lbs. Q7 *1 .O 6 oz. 7JJ ,u I . T 70 Krause & Valentin. Flint’s Phys., vol. iii., p. i 37 - Lecanu. Valentin’s Phys., vol. i., p. 655 .. Lecanu. Lehmann’s Phys. Chem., vol. iii., P- 7 * 30 oz. 933 1,268 522 to 2,271 1,057.8 Lehmann. Valentin’s Phys., vol. i., p. 655. Lavoisier & Seguin. Flint’s Phys., vol. iii., p. 13 . 9 - Lavoisier & Seguin. Blumenbach’s Phys., p. 114. 933 466.5 i lb. 4 oz. 933 Lavoisier & Seguin. Muller’s Phys., vol. i., .P\ 325 - Lining, Dr. John. Chalmer's Climate and Dis. of So. Carolina, vol. i., p. 223. 8.C74 STS. 553-07 1,680.333 U JJJT to 1 S4..03 OZ. 58.29 oz. 1,812.18+ JT J V£ '* Ncubciiisr Si Vogel* On the UrinCj London, 1.322 8ll 1843, P- 355 - 1,600 cc. to 1,511.905 Parkes Dr Flings Phys vol iii p 188.— 52J f. oz. 1,488.37+ Pettenkofer, Max, Dr. Robins’s Jour, del’ Anat. et del’ Phys., vol. i., p. 429. Regnault & Reisset. Flint’s Phys., vol. i., pp. 430 to 451. 600 to 860 C 0 2 . 960.99 27 to 30 OZ. 839.7 to 933 1,244-0 1,866.0 Robinson. Todd’s Cyclop., vol. iv., pt. ii., p. 842. Sanctorius of Venice. Quincy, John, M. D. Medicina Statica, Aphorisms of Sancto¬ rius Translated, 1720, p. 48. Sanctorius. Quincy Med. Stat., p. 47; Todd’s Cyclop., vol. iv., pt. 2, p. 842 . 40 oz. 5 lbs. 16 oz. 69 oz. 497.6 2,I4^.Q Oninry St3t-, p* 77. 3 lbs. 1,119.6 Sanctonns T F)\iipry TVTedt Stat-, p t 45. Jib. 186.6 820.608 Scharling. Valentin’s Phys., vol. i., p. 604. Seguin, in 1797. Longet Traite de Phys., vol. i., p. 532. 627.720 co 2 . PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 19 in Twenty-four Hours , as determined by different Experimenters , and same reduced to grammes. (Continued,.) Alimentary Canal. Weight of Body. Quantity of Food Taken. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. 1,102.11 c. c. 165 lbs. . 5 oz. 155*5 149 2,252 3.91 oz. 121.601 116.28 oz. 3,616.308 4 oz. 124.4 8 lbs. 2,985.6 • 57-75 hil =127.33? lbs. i Remarks descriptive of the conditions under which the experiments were made, given as nearly as possible in the language of the Ex¬ perimenter. The food consisted of animal and vegetable sub¬ stances; experiments on healthy males be¬ tween twenty-three and twenty-five years. Experiments conducted in the same manner as those of Sanctorius, condition of health, liv¬ ing, and temperature being normal. The dis¬ crepancies between his and Sanctorius’s ob¬ servations, Dr. K. referred to the difference in the humidity of the atmosphere of Venice and that of Northampton, England. Experiment upon a robust soldier aged 33 years. The quantity of urine varies from 743 to 2,271 grms. in twenty-four hours, the quantity given in the table being the mean. Result of observations upon sixteen persons of various ages and sexes, a due quantity of mixed food having been taken by them. Experiments upon himself, being under normal conditions, the quantity varying from 909 to 1,202.5 grms., while using a diet of one kind. Man put in a silk bag, varnished with gum elastic, and opening only for the mouth, so that by weighing previously and subsequently he had been able to ascertain what had been lost by vapor, and by subtracting this from the perspired contents of the bag, he esti¬ mates the amount passed off by the lungs. Excretions from lungs not estimated, but sup¬ posed to be included in perspiration. The experiment was conducted throughout the en¬ tire year, the quantity given in the table being the mean. By well-nourished persons who drink freely. If we calculate the mean quantity of the urine by the weight of the body, we find that in an adult an average of one cc. per hour is passed for every two pounds (one kilogramme) of the weight of the body. With ordinary food. When undergoing ali¬ mentation with succulent food. Carbon estimated from laboring classes, quan¬ tity less in non-laboring classes, organic mat¬ ter, nitrogen, and ammonia not estimated. During summer season. During winter months. This experiment was made in order to determine the amount lost by excretion in one night. Experiment was made in the warm humid air of Venice. The perspiration as understood by experimenter includes exhalations from the lungs and cutaneous surface. He used a bal¬ ance of his own construction, weighing before and after meals and evacuations. Perspiration during sleep. Perspiration by the mouth in one day as deter¬ mined by breathing upon a glass. Eight observations on a full-grown man, giving 34.192 grms. of C 0 2 per hour. The quantity as given by the experimenter is 26.155 grms. of C 0 2 in one hour. 20 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING have not been finished in most of the States, and even when finished, they do not always extend to the head of the marsh region. Maine contains 12 square miles. New Hampshire contains 10 square miles. Massachusetts contains 46 square miles. Rhode Island contains 25 square miles. New York contains 86 square miles. This is principally the marsh land along the southern coast of Long Island. Some fresh water swamp land in the interior of the States has been reclaimed by drainage. New Jersey, 360 square miles, comprising the marshes of the Hacken¬ sack, the Delaware, and the sea-coast. Much land in this State has also been reclaimed. Pennsylvania has eleven square miles, marshes, below Philadelphia. Delaware has eighty-eight square miles. A good deal of land along the Delaware has been reclaimed by the construction of dykes. The preceding figures give the present, and not the original extent of marsh land. Maryland, 210 square miles. Virginia, 500 square miles. This includes the Dismal Swamp region, covering about 190 square miles. North Carolina, 3,540 square miles, of which about 3,000 is to be classed as swamp land. Tables of the Weights of the Excretions from the Human Body giving the original weight, Experimenters. Lungs. Skin. Kidneys. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by. Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Smith, Dr. Edward. Philos. Trans., 1857, p. 681. Todd & Bowman. Todd & Bowman’s Phys, p.159. Valentin. Valentin’s Phys., vol. i.. 26.193 oz. co 2 . , 814.60-)- 1,125.621 1,041.8 1,387.8 W 3-5 h I 47 - 2 Valentin, G. Valentin’s Phys., p. 727, xst day 2d day 3d day Valentin, G. Valentin’s Phys., p. 730..... Valentin, G. Flint’s Phys., vol. i., p. 430- 45 1 Vierodt, Karl. Vierodt’s Phys., p. 216.... Way, Prof. Med. and Surg. Rep., vol. iv., p. 278. Wehrsarg. Flint’s Phys., vol. n., p. 395•• • • 30.9 oz. 960.99 1,229.9 669.8 933 -o 1,766.0 1,492.8 2\ lbs. 3 lbs. Wundt, Wilhelm. Wundt’s Phys., p. 373.. Average... 500 1,074.811-1- 787.178-f- 1,298.76-)- PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 21 South Carolina, 2,400 square miles. This includes 2,000 miles of swamp land, mostly under cultivation as rice land. Georgia, 1,375 square miles, of which 425 miles consists of salt marsh. Florida, 18,422 * square miles. 1 Alabama, 750* square miles. Louisiana, 17,718 * square miles. Mississippi, 4,798* square miles. Texas, 8,800 square miles, including about 400 miles of salt marsh. This last figure is but a rough estimate, because no surveys for about two thirds of the coast have been made. The total area embraced within this esti¬ mate, but which does not claim to be accurate, is 59,156 square miles, or 37,859,840 acres. While the actual amount of swamp lands thus stated is great, it does not include immense bodies existing in the interior of our country, where the swamps do not communicate with the tide. I am informed by the honora¬ ble Commissioner of the United States Land Office, S. S. Burdette, Esq., that the whole amount of swamps and overflowed lands that have been certified to the several States, under acts of Congress since the passage of the law in 1850 to July 1, 1875, is 64,011,786 acres. 2 1 The star indicates that these estimates are from the Land Office. 2 With a view to ascertain the quantity of swamp land that has been surveyed and certi¬ fied by the United States, I addressed a note to the Hon. S. S. Burdette, Commissioner of the Land Office, requesting such information as he could furnish upon the subject. From in Twenty-four Hours, as determined by different Experimenters , and same reduced to grammes. (Continued .) Alimentary Canal. Weight of Body. Quantity of Food Taken. Remarks descriptive of the conditions under which the experiments were made, given as nearly as possible in the language of the Ex¬ perimenter. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Weight as given by Ex¬ perimenter. Reduced to grammes for comparison. Experiment conducted eighteen hours, the re¬ maining six hours calculated for. Deductions made from eight sets of inquiries in four adult males in a state of rest. Experiment upon a healthy man. Experiment continued fourteen days, using a mixed diet. Experiments upon himself, using Glardon’s scale, weighing in a state of nudity fifteen times a day, taking into consideration that we lose one half gramme of perspiration per min¬ ute. The urine was measured by its volume and specific gravity. Average quantity of food taken per hour being 121.80 grammes. Organic matter, nitrogen, and ammonia not estimated. This experiment was made upon a well-fed man. The man was put in a vapor bath in a metallic vessel, and again a certain part of the body was placed in an air-tight bag, and the per¬ spiration thus collected. 5 to 6oz. 155-5 to 186.6 Assum’g 35 oz. 1,088.5 214.5 153 204.7 189.6 3 ,* 99-9 2,778.7 2 , 794-3 2,923.20 172.0 124.4 143-06 4 oz. 4.6 oz. 151.48+ 2 , 590 . 758 + 22 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING Wet lands and saturated soils are not only unremunerative, but if the area is considerable, they prove a source of enervation and disease to the section in which they exist. Although individuals may neglect swamp lands, or find their reclamation and drainage too expensive, the State cannot afford to be indifferent to their continuance, because they check production, limit popu¬ lation, and reduce the standard of vigor and health. Their value, too, when reclaimed, in an economic view will be greatly enhanced. It is well known to physicians, and it ought to be appreciated by states¬ men, that conditions of insalubrity which enfeeble the vitality of a people are much more to be dreaded by a nation than even wars or great epidemics. A region or country noted for unhealthfulness, will increase neither in wealth nor in population. The elements which constitute the greatness of a nation are physical vigor, health, and enterprise in its population. To have these, the rulers must secure good sanitary conditions. While prosecuting inquiries as to the swamp lands of our country, and desiring to ascertain what efforts are being made for their reclamation by the several States, I have been permitted to examine a correspondence on the subject between the Hon. Fred. Watts, Commissioner of Agriculture, and the governors of the differ- a lack of statistical data, the extent of actual swamps existing in the different States is not known, nor can it be learned what amount of such lands has been reclaimed. Yet as his communication furnishes the best information available I give it in full. Department of the Interior, General Land Office. J. M. Toner, M. D. : — Sir: In reply to that portion of your letter of the 18th instant requesting to be fur¬ nished with the amount of swamp lands in the different States, I have to inform you that the following statement will show the quantity of land selected as swamp and over¬ flowed for the several states entitled thereto, from the date of the swamp grant, Septem¬ ber 28, 1850, to July 1, 1875. Ohio.54438.14 acres. Indiana. I ) 354 > 73 2 - 5 ° acres. Illinois.3,267,470.65 acres. Missouri.4,604,448.75 acres. Alabama.479,514.44 acres. Mississippi.3,070,645.29 acres. Louisiana. 1 i > 339)546-83 acres. Michigan ..7,273,724.72 acres. Arkansas. 8,652,432.93 acres. Florida.12,690,415.23 acres. Wisconsin. 4,200,669.58 acres. Iowa.3,449,720.18 acres. California.1)653,936.74 acres. Minnesota.• 1,914,311.81 acres. 64,006,007.79 acres. In Oregon only a few tracts have been officially reported as swamp land, but from cor¬ respondence with the State authorities, I have no doubt that at least 500,000 acres, proba¬ bly more, will be claimed in that State as swamp. I would state that it is impossible for me to furnish you with the amount of swamp lands in those States in which the United States government had no control of the lands. This includes the original thirteen States, also Vermont, Maine, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas, and there are no records in this office in regard to the lands in those States. The grant has not been extended to Kansas, Nebraska, or Nevada, and does not extend to the Territories.— S. S. Burdett. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 23 ent States. This correspondence was commenced by the Commissioner at my request, and although some have not yet replied, excerpts of data, as far as received, will be found in a note . 1 Two tunnels, one of them four miles long, the other somewhat shorter, cut through the solid limestone rocks, were made as early probably as the 1 Arizona Territory. — No survey of the swamp and overflowed lands of this Territory has been made. The quantity of such lands is not known, but it is certain that there are no large swamps. The water-soaked lands are in the valleys along or adjacent to streams. A few such tracts have been reclaimed by ditching, and removing obstacles to the flow of water; and such lands prove very productive, “ as they require but little or no irrigation.” Swamp lands are considered very prejudicial to health, because they are believed to cause chills and fever in the fall. Draining and cultivation render these sections entirely salu¬ brious. There has been no legislation on the subject of drainage.—A. K. S afford, Governor. Arkansas. — There has been no survey by the State of the swamp, overflowed or boggy lands ; and the only means of approximating the quantity of swamp lands is to accept the survey of the General Land Office. It is estimated, however, that, originally, one third of the whole of the State was liable to overflow, and was actually water-soaked; but there is comparatively little that is deserving of the title of boggy. The system of reclaiming lands by levees and drainage was well under way, and much had been reclaimed to agricul¬ ture, when the war between the States began. Since then but little has been done, and many of the old levees and drains have been neglected. The conviction is general that drainage makes the region more salubrious, while it also enhances the value of the lands. All the reclaimed lands are very productive. Before the war, the State had adopted a method of encouraging the draining and reclaiming of wet lands by giving the title to the person who would actually drain and cultivate it. Perhaps one tenth of the wet and over¬ flowed lands of the State of Arkansas has been reclaimed, and thus remains the most produc¬ tive land to be found within her territory, and produces all the crops cultivated in the South. Even that portion which might be boggy is capable of being cultivated for rice. When this grain is cultivated in Arkansas, it proves to be of very fine quality, and is remunerative to the producer. The reclamation of the wet lands throughout the State, with the excep¬ tion of the deeply overflowed section near the mouths of the White and Arkansas rivers is quite practicable, and will be of moderate cost. The reclamation of the latter localities will require stupendous levees; yet such can be built, and will completely effect their pur¬ pose. These lands would then sell at once for from twenty to fifty dollars per acre, which now are not only entirely valueless, but prevent occupation of the good lands in the vicinity. There is a growing desire to have the wet lands of the State reclaimed, but private enter¬ prise is not equal to the task. In 1851, the State passed a law giving lands in payment to persons who would reclaim them. But at present the lands are not in demand on even these terms.— D. W. Lear, Department of State Land Office. California. — Although citizens of the State have in some respects taken the lead in systematic and extensive measures for the reclamation of her swamp land, yet she has made no comprehensive survey of the lands of this character. The whole extent of the swamp lands is estimated by the grants from the United States, and is given in another part of this paper. Some considerable areas of lands have been reclaimed. The soil here is so porous, and of such slight tenacity, that the banks of the streams do not stand currents or floods, and often give way. Says E. W. Maslin, Secretary to the Governor, these reclaimed lands are wonderfully rich and productive, — almost beyond belief. The popu¬ lation, except in a few localities, is not dense enough to suffer from these swamps, yet they no doubt lower the standard of health. The public press speaks encouragingly of the progress made in the reclamation of swamp and “ Tide lands ” in this State, but I have not the exact data from which to give results, but they exceed 2,000,000 acres. Connecticut. — Bordering the small streams that enter the Sound are a few salt marshes of one or two miles in extent, and in almost all towns there are what are denominated “bog swamps,” “ alder swamp,” “black-ash swamp,” “tamarack swamp,” or “peat beds.” These occur wherever there is a depression in uplands from which there is no drainage, or 24 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING period of the Trojan war, to drain the lake Copais in Boeotia for economic and hygienic purposes. They existed and were repaired in the time of Al- where a sluggish stream has been obstructed from any cause; but few of these are a mile in extent, and are included within adjoining farms. No survey of this class of lands has been made by the State, but it is estimated that one half of them have been wholly or in part reclaimed by drainage or by filling them up from the hills. Some of these recovered lands are very rich and productive where they are composed of earth, decayed vegetable matter, or the soil washed from the uplands. The swamps are so limited in extent as to but slightly affect health, although they are recognized as being prejudicial. Farmers on their own account are gradually recovering this class of lands for meadows, pasture, or tillage. A general law on the subject of reclaiming swamp lands in Connecticut gives a right to drain across adjoining property if necessary. — T. S Gold, for the Governor. Florida. — The quantity of swamp and boggy lands of this State can only be approxi¬ mated, as no special survey has been made. The U. S. Land Office Surveys show about 4,000,000 acres. From a letter of M. A. Williams, an experienced surveyor in this State, to the Commissioner of Agriculture, I obtain the following facts : — The swamp lands are distributed over almost all parts of the State. The largest body is the “ Everglades,” and the adjacent submerged savannas, containing possibly one half of the quantity estimated. The next largest areas are the prairies and swamp lands lying on either side of the Kissimmee River, and lands of like character lying at the head waters of the St. John’s River. The San Pedro swamp, in Madison and Taylor counties, has about 35,000 acres. Swamps of smaller extent exist in almost every county of the State, aggre¬ gating a large amount. Almost all the rivers and water-courses are fringed with what are denominated “ river swamp.” In addition to these are the salt marshes, an estimate of which has been given in the text. No effort has been made by the State to reclaim these swamp lands, but the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund have made some effort in this direction, but without any de¬ cided success. It will require good engineers, and a comprehensive system to be devised, to secure satisfactory results. A few small tracts have been reclaimed by private enterprise, and the land found to be very productive. The sugar cane is found to be the most profitable crop for this kind of land. When such lands lie far enough south, they produce the banana, and other tropical fruits. The “ Everglades ” cover a larger portion of the southern part of the peninsula, and em¬ brace within their limits if they can be reclaimed, the richest land in the State. It may be proper to state that their reclamation is deemed possible, because they lie in a basin with a rocky rim, and are constantly above the sea level, as is proven by the rapid currents in the streams that flow from the whole area. The popular belief in Florida is that the swamp, and boggy and water-soaked lands are prejudicial to health, but the salt marshes are not so included. I suspect that the lat¬ ter should not be excluded The evidence is abundant that the salubrity of the whole State has greatly improved under the improved modes of cultivating the soil, the opening of drains, and the removing of obstructions to the water-courses and streams. Vast quan¬ tities of the lands are undoubtedly reclaimable, and it is thought would thereby greatly serve the interest of the public health, and thus deserve the attention and aid of the State. — A. M. Williams and Dr. Egan, Commissioners of Lands. Dakota Territory. — There has been no complete survey of the lands of this territory, nor has there been any survey of the swamp lands. Some limited marsh basins exist in the unsettled parts of the territory, and along the Missouri River. It is claimed that mi¬ asmatic fevers do not exist here. Ditching, to protect the bottom lands along the Missouri, has been practiced to a limited extent by the owners residing there, and with good results. — A. W. Barber, for the Governor. Georgia. — It may be stated in a general way that there is a large extent of swamp, water-soaked, and overflowed lands in Georgia, equal in extent probably to the area of the kingdom of Holland. These lands lie chiefly along the course of the following rivers, to wit : the Ocmulgee, the Altamaha, the Savannah, Ogeechee, Oconee, and also along the PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2 5 exander the Great, in the fourth century b. c. A tunnel of one mile in length, made through rock for the drainage of Lake Albano, fourteen miles Flint. These lands have at present little, if any, market value ; and yet, if they could be reclaimed, would be the most valuable in the State. The influence of the swamp lands upon the health of the adjacent districts is decidedly unfavorable. It is possible that in the future a system of levees may reclaim much of this rich and productive land to produc¬ tion and agriculture, influencing the salubrity, and.increasing the wealth of the State. — P. W. Alexander, Secretary to Executive Department. Idaho Territory. — This territory has no swamp lands, except a few hundred acres around Bear Lake, in Bear Lake County. This region is all high table land, which re¬ quires irrigation to produce crops. — J. Curtis, Secretary of Territory. Indiana. — This State has made no special survey of the swamp, water-soaked, and boggy lands. The United States, under the Swamp Land Grant, gave Indiana 1,256,288 acres. These lands lie along the Kankakee, the Calumet, and the Wabash rivers ; scatter¬ ing tracts exist from west of the centre to the boundary of the State. It is estimated that a large part of the swamp lands have been either partially or completely reclaimed by straightening channels, confining streams, and drainage. The lands of the Calumet, a large amount of the northern part of the Kankakee, and most of the scattering tracts, have been drained, and are under successful cultivation. The soil is very productive, ex¬ cept in wet seasons when the drainage is insufficient; malarial fevers prevail in the region of these swamps, but decrease as they are drained and the lands cultivated. The lands themselves, as well as the surrounding tracts, are greatly enhanced in value, perhaps to the extent of one hundred per cent., or even more. Intelligent farmers, and many capitalists, are turning their attention to the reclamation of swamp lands, when they lie on public high¬ ways. Large owners of lands pay but little attention to drainage. But the subject is be¬ ginning to attract attention from an economic and sanitary point of view, and measures are from time to time introduced into the Legislature looking to a more complete and perfect drainage of the swamp and water-soaked lands of the State, to secure more profitable crops, and a higher standard of public health. — Thomas A. Hendricks, Governor. Iowa. — The extent of swamp, water-soaked, boggy, and overflowed land of this State is not accurately known. The amounts received by patents from the United States Land Of¬ fice now aggregate perhaps 1,200,000 acres. There are but few specially swampy localities in the State, except those along the rivers. But so far, no surveys of this class of lands have been made. Much of the river swamp lands adjacent to cultivated soil, have been re¬ claimed by private enterprise. These reclaimed lands have been found among the most productive in the State, and agriculturalists expect similar results of lands yet to be re¬ claimed. When water-soaked and swampy lands, and sloughs, lie near cities and large towns, they are deemed prejudicial to health, although no complaints have yet come from the rural districts. Acts of the legislature invest the different counties with power to drain lands, at the request of proprietors of such lands, giving also the right to cross other lands to effect the purpose. Much land has been successfully reclaimed in Muscatine and Louisa counties, and there is no question among the farmers as to the practical success of systematic efforts at reclaiming nearly all the lands of the State to productive agriculture and that it will at the same time promote the public health. — W. H. Henning, Private Secretary to Gov¬ ernor. Kansas. — There are but few swamps in this State. There are, however, some lakes of from one to two hundred acres in extent, usually with well-defined bounds on one or two sides. The water is usually filled with fish. The shallow parts of these lakes are filled with vegetation : notable everywhere is the water-lily. A number of these lakes are found in tfie bottoms along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. The overflows which were occasional in the early settlement of the State, have nearly ceased since the lands have been cultivated. The soil under tillage retains the moisture longer, and yields it more gradually, thus pre¬ venting overflows, and enlarged water-soaked areas. There has been no survey of this class of lands, though they are known to be of limited extent. Malarial diseases exist, but it is believed cultivation of the lands renders the attacks of such diseases less frequent and severe. When the wet or swampy lands have been drained and rendered arable, they have proven to be very productive. — Alfred Gray, for the Governor. 2 6 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING from Rome, was constructed in the year 397 before the Christian era, and is still in good condition. A remarkable work of this kind was partly com- Kentucky. — The extent of swamp lands in this State is limited, the main body being in Hickman and Fulton counties, bordering on the Mississippi River in the southwest part of the State. This is the section known as the “Jackson purchase,” and lies west of the Tennessee River and is the only portion of the State surveyed by the United States gov¬ ernment. These lands are subject to overflow from the Mississippi River, and are com¬ prised within a limited area. The State has not inaugurated any system of drainage or re¬ demption of land from swamp. Many levees have been constructed by private enterprise, and some by joint-stock companies under State charters. The latter measure is of recent date, but promises good results, both in the land reclaimed and in its enhanced value. The other body of swamp land, embracing some 1.5,000 acres, is in Jefferson County, about ten miles south of Louisville. A joint-stock company is ditching and draining these lands, and already much has been reclaimed, and found to be very productive. There is an evi¬ dent improvement in the salubrity of the region, — malarial diseases being less frequent, and less severe. — J. S. Johnston. Louisiana. — There has been no special survey of the swamp lands of this State, but there are known to be more than 3,000,000 acres. I should judge from an examination of S. H. Lockett’s Topographical Map of the State, published in 1872, that quite one-tenth of the area of the State is subject to overflow. The system of levees inaugurated at an early period, was before the war measurably successful as a defense from the annual floods of the Mississippi, but no adequate or systematic method of reclaiming the swamp lands of Louisiana has been adopted. There is no State in the Union where the swamp lands are naturally so productive, and which would repay better for draining than those of this State. The levee system is perhaps the only one that gives any promise of their reclamation, and if this is ever accomplished it must be by the General Government. The many reports to Congress, and to the different States bordering on the Mississippi, point to this. These lands are all fertile and capable of producing when drained, any of the crops grown in the Southern States. A large quantity of the sea marsh land, too, is capable of reclamation for rice culture, and small areas are now under cultivation. The salubrity is unquestionably improved by draining, and the value of lands thereby greatly enhanced. — John Ray, Registrar. Maryland. — The area of swamp lands in this State is about 100,000 acres of water- soaked, swamp, and boggy lands, lying chiefly along the Elk, Choptank, Nanticoke, Poco- moke, Patuxent, and Potomac, and about the mouth of the small streams entering the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. To these may be added the tide-water marshes. Perhaps the largest area of marsh land is in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore. No survey of the marsh and swamp lands has been made by the State. It is estimated that about 1,000 acres of this class of lands have been recovered by drainage, but owing to the insufficient methods adopted, the experiment has not proved remunerative. The tide-water has been shut out by embankments in which are gates through which the drainage of the ditches is discharged at low tide, but as the rise and fall of the tide is only from twenty to thirty inches, the fall is not sufficient to effectually drain the low lands. The swamps above tide are effectually drained by ditching, and such lands are found to be very produc¬ tive. In the summer, the swamp lands are believed to cause malarial diseases. The ef¬ forts at redemption have been so limited that it is difficult to state the influence exerted on the value of lands in the vicinity, but it is believed that it has enhanced their value, and rendered them more salubrious. The subject of draining has not engaged the attention of the people to any considerable extent. There has been no report from the State Board of Health, on the influence these swamp lands have upon health, but physicians generally es¬ teem them to be the cause of malarial fevers. Where the swamp lands of Maryland have been reclaimed, they have been found very favorable for the production of corn, vegetables, and grass. — R. C. Holliday, Secretary of State (for the Governor). Michigan. — The quantity of swamp, boggy, and overflowed lands is not definitely known, as no survey of them has been made by the State. They are scattered throughout the State, and are estimated at about 8,570 square miles, of which about 500 have been re- PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2 J pleted by the Emperor Claudius to drain Lake Fucinus, nowLago di Celano, about fifty miles east of Rome. This lake is 2,200 feet above tide, and its claimed, and about 800 more partially reclaimed to agriculture. It is believed that nearly all the swamp and wet lands of the State are susceptible of drainage. The usual method has been straightening streams, removing obstacles, deepening channels, digging large drains as main conduits, with lateral drains of smaller size, underdraining, etc. Such lands, when thoroughly drained, are quite productive, and much enhanced in value; and when adjoining cultivated farms, private enterprise reduces them to an arable state. There is still much unoccupied upland of fine quality in market at a moderate price, so that swamp lands are not sought after as an investment. As early as 1857 the State passed “ an Act for the draining of swamps, marshes, and other low lands.” This law was amended in 1869, and further amended in 1871, so that now every county is empowered to drain its lands, and, for the expense, to levy an equable tax on the property benefited. Dr. Kidze esti¬ mates that there was only one acre of wet or swampy land to nine of dry land. The legis¬ lation upon swamp lands has been based on the theory that draining of the wet lands would promote health, and experience serves to corroborate this view. The State Medi¬ cal Association, and the State Board of Health, are each investigating the influence of swampy and wet lands upon health and mortality. The judgment of the people, and of the rural practitioners, is, that they cause malarial fevers, and their reclamation lessens the percentage of such diseases about seventy-five per cent., though they do not prevent set¬ tlers from occupying them as the better lands become cultivated. It is estimated that in the last ten years over 20,000 miles of ditching have been dug in the State, and that no law of the State has been more promotive of the general prosperity of the people than the drainage laws. — S. A. Clapp, Census of Land Office ; and H. B. Baker, M. D., Super¬ intendent State Board of Health. Minnesota. —There has been no survey of the swamp and water-soaked lands of this State, and therefore the amount is undetermined. In the extreme northern central portions which have not been surveyed by the United States Land Office, explorers say there are large areas of uncultivable grass swamps, through which at present horses cannot pass. The State is the recipient of the General Government bounty of the Swamp Land Grant, and has received patents for 1,142,453 acres. This amount does not comprise all the swamp area that the State is entitled to under the grant. From the fact that there are immense areas of fine arable lands unoccupied, and to be obtained at very moderate prices, no special efforts, except in particular cases, have been made to reclaim swamp lands. The reclamation of swamp lands undoubtedly improves their salubrity, and enhances their value. General acts, looking to the recovery of this class of lands, were passed by the Legislature, March, 1873, ar >d further enactments in 1875. — W. P. Jewett, Land Office. Mississippi. — “ There are large tracts of land that are swampy, or subject to overflow — millions of acres, I presume — no exact data obtainable.”— James Hill, Secretary of State. Missouri. — It is impossible at present to give the exact quantity of swamp and water- soaked or boggy lands in this State, because they are scattered over nearly all parts, and are in small areas, disconnected, from twenty to two hundred or three hundred acres. In other places there are connected swamps covering many thousand acres. The largest bodies of these are in southern Missouri. In northwestern Missouri are found some of the most noted connected swamps. Lake Torkia, containing about 3,150 acres, is in Township 60 N. of base line. The most prominent swamps in southeastern Missouri are those known as the “ Overflow of Little River,” covering somewhere about 60,000 acres. “ Eastward Lake,” “ Lake St. John,” “ Ten-mile and Four-mile Ponds,” “ The overflow of the Chilli- taceaux,” “Lake Nic Coony,” “Negro Wool Swamp,” “Big Lake,” “Cooper Lake,” “Big Water Lake,” and others. Parts of these swamps, to the extent of perhaps 75,000 acres, are being surveyed, but the work can only be prosecuted in the dry season, or in the winter. Many small areas of swamp have been reclaimed by drainage through individua.’ enterprise. The most noted of these was Marais Tenio Clair, in Township 48. This tract, comprising 10,000 acres, was totally covered with water. A drain was cut in the winter and spring, and a good crop of 90m raised the following summer of eighty bushels to the 28 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING occasional overflow created pestilential exhalations, and caused epidemic diseases which almost depopulated the fine agricultural region between the acre, and the land produces a good crop every season. A stock company has been formed to drain the swamp known as the Overflow of Little River. This one flow extends about eighty miles in length, with a breadth of from one half to five miles, through the counties of New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Dunklin, all in the southeastern part of the State. This com¬ pany propose to cut through this a small canal, which shall be navigable for small vessels. The project of draining is entirely feasible, as the fall is thirteen inches to the mile. It is a fact worthy of note that this swamp did not exist prior to the earthquake of 1811, and was caused by the upheaval at some point in the bed of Little River, and thus backing of the water over the adjacent lands. The belief at the time among the settlers was that the land had sunk, but this has been disproven by geological and other scientific examinations. This great body of some of the finest lands in the State is submerged for above three months in the year, and is covered by a dense growth of wild grass, cane, etc., which decays upon the ground. The land, if reclaimed, will make the section valuable, and furnish a soil that will produce one hundred bushels of corn, or a bale and a half of cotton to the acre. When the swamp lands are reclaimed, they are greatly enhanced .in value, and also improve the value of land in the vicinity. Public opinion now favors the reclamation of swamp lands both for health and for profit, and legislation gives ample power to the counties where swamps exist, to authorize their drainage and the levying of a tax upon all persons benefit¬ ed, to cover the cost. — Register of Lands , Mo. Montana Territory. — The quantity of swamp or wet lands in this territory is not known; but they are so small in extent and so widely scattered as to be insignificant. They have attracted little or no attention, consequently there has been no survey or legislation upon the subject. No ill health is suspected as flowing from wet lands in this territory.— A. J. Smith, Surveyor-gen. of Territory (for the Governor ). New Jersey. — There are 295,000 acres of tide-water marsh lands in this State, bordering on the Newark Bay, Staten Island Sound, Raritan River and Bay; the sea-shore from Sandy Hook to Cape May, and the border of Delaware Bay and river as far as Camden. There are 10,000 acres of wet land, or land liable to overflow in freshets on the Walkill in Sussex County; 5,500 acres on the Pequest in Warren County; 25,000 acres on the Passaic in Somerset, Morris, Essex, and Passaic counties; 1,600 acres on the Pauluskill in Sussex County, and many tracts of smaller area in other parts of the State. These data have been drawn from the geological surveys; but a special survey of this class of lands has been ordered by the State. Perhaps 25,000 acres of tide marsh have been reclaimed, and sections of variable extent of overflowed lands have been partially reclaimed along the rivers. The marshes in the vicinity of Salem were drained as early as 1700, and from that time to the present have been profitably managed by diking and other measures; 15,000 acres in Salem County alone have been reclaimed. Thus, by straightening of streams, ditching, and banking, nearly the whole area of marsh and overflowed lands can be reclaimed, and the cost of this work will probably not average two dollars per acre ! Such lands, when reclaimed, are more productive than uplands. Settlers are found along the borders of the swamps; but strangers generally fear them on account of the malaria, and in some localities their insalubrity is fully recognized. The reclaimed lands are always enhanced in value, often as much as tenfold. The lands adjacent are also made more valuable on account of improved healthfulness of the neighborhood. It is confidently believed that nearly all the swamp lands of the State can be reclaimed. The Health Commission, that was created by the Legislature, reported in 1874 strongly in favor of the State taking action for the reclamation of swamp and water-soaked lands in the interest of the public health. Many special acts relative to drainage have been passed; but this work is now being done under the law “to provide for the drainage of lands,” passed in 1871. The great number of owners, and the difficulty of obtaining harmonious action, along with property rights to water-power and privileges, are found to be retarding the improvements, and thus perpetuate the evils of swamp land, even in thickly settled localities. By the amended law, five property holders desiring to have their lands drained, on petition to the court a commission is constituted to survey and act in conjunction with the State Geologist, PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 2 g lake and the coast. The construction of a tunnel to lower the level of this lake was proposed as early as the time of Julius Caesar, but the work was not and if they consider it feasible the work is ordered to be done, and the cost equally applied to all parties benefited. The interest of the public must control that of the individual, and the State must act as umpire. The individual cannot be permitted to maintain a mill-dam, or carry on a business that abridges or injures the rights of his neighbor. Much interest is now being manifested by the citizens on the question of the reclamation of swamp and water-soaked lands, both from a sanitary and an economic standpoint; and much good is sure to be achieved for the public health in the prompt execution of the work of reclamation of some of the richest lands in the State of New Jersey. — Geo. H. Cook, State Geologist . New Mexico. —This Territory, from its elevation above sea level and ample drainage, has no considerable tracts of land which deserve to be classed as swampy, boggy, or water- soaked. At a few places in the vicinity of springs there are spots of wet land called “ cienegas,” but they do not possess much commercial or sanitary importance. New York. — No survey of swamp or water-soaked and bog lands has been made by this State, consequently the area of such lands is unknown. Legislation has been had in reference to such lands. An attempt has been made, but as yet with partial success, though it is believed to be entirely feasible, to drain the Montezuma marshes by the lower¬ ing of the outlet of Geneva Lake. In many instances drainage of wet lands has been ac¬ complished by private enterprise, on a limited scale, but no record or statistics of these results exist. The State owns no swamp lands except those in the Adirondac region. Nu¬ merous special acts of the Legislature have been passed to enable private enterprise to drain land. A general Act was passed in 1869 to enable owners to drain through adjoining property. This Act was amended in 1870, and again in 1872 and 1873. — T. E. Harri¬ son, Agricultural Secretary. For farther facts see Dr. Elisha Harris’s Report on Systematic Drainage for Health in the State of New York, to New York State Medical Society, 1861. [Long Island (and counties), Staten Island, Manhattan Island, and Westchester County, have an aggregate of 120 square miles of salt marsh and water soaked lands, now nearly useless and generally insalubrious. The Oneida swamp contains 20,000 acres, the Cayuga and Montezuma contains 60,000, the Madison County swamp about 10,000, the Tonawanda swamps 22,000. These are all lowland swamps and marshes. The summit or high-land swamps cover nearly 100 square miles. I count the 15,000 acres of Orange County drowned lands in the latter. Thus we find in the beautiful State of New York 390 square miles of swamp and marshes, nearly every acre of which may be completely reclaimed and made useful to man. — Dr. E. Harris.] Oregon. — There has been but a partial survey of the swamp and water-soaked lands of this State. It is estimated, however, that their extent will reach a million and a half acres. These lands lie chiefly along the Columbia River. Wappatoo and La Bish .Lakes in Grand Rinde Valley and about the Klamath and Goose Lakes in Southern Oregon, including Klamath Marsh, Thompson’s Valley, Sum¬ mer and Silver Lakes, Warner Valley and Lakes, and Chewanean Marsh. There are also marsh and swamp lands in the vicinity of the sea-coast. There has been no official publi¬ cation relative to these lands in Oregon. The quantity of swamp lands as yet reclaimed is limited, but such lands are very pro¬ ductive, and as most of this class of lands lie above tide, are susceptible of drainage. No complaints are made of the unhealthfulness of these swamps, chiefly because these water- soaked and swamp areas are fed by abundant fresh springs. But it has been found that the value of lands in the neighborhood is enhanced when they are well drained. The at¬ tention of farmers and speculators is now actively directed to this question of drainage for profit. Every crop and all kinds of pasture are produced profitably on such reclaimed lands. The Legislature, October 26, 1870, passed an act which refers to the purchase and rec¬ lamation of overflowed lands, with a view to encourage enterprise and capital in this di¬ rection. The successful reclamation of this class of lands in Oregon is entirely feasible, 30 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING begun until the time of Claudius, and it was only made a practical success by Hadrian. Prince Tolanea, at a cost of nearly six million dollars, is bringing and will add to or insure salubrity, and will give greater area of good cultivable land, and do much to encourage and support a large agricultural population. — L. F. Grover, Gov¬ ernor of Oregon. Rhode Island. — No accurate survey of the swamp, water-soaked, and boggy lands of the State has been made. The State census of 1865 shows that the salt marshes of the State contain 3,531 acres. Nearly every township in the State contains more or less water- soaked, swampy lands. The largest swamp in the State is known as the “ Great Swamp ” in South Kensington, which is said to contain about 1,500 acres. The reclamation of the swamp lands has been carried on to some extent, and with measurably good results. The quantity of such reclaimed lands cannot be given; it is probably small. The fact that the reservoirs of water are of importance to the mill interests, controls even the question of drainage. But fortunately malarial fevers are not traced to these swamps, nor does popu¬ lar opinion assign to them any unfavorable influence upon health. Experiments for the rec¬ lamation of these lands have been made and reports of the results have been published in the Transactions of the Society for Domestic Industry for 1850, 1851, and 1855. The reclaimed lands so far, have been found to be very productive, and the redemption undoubt¬ edly enhances their value, and that of the adjacent lands. An Act was passed by the Leg¬ islature in 1874, looking to the redemption of all or any of this class of lands in the State. The whole area of the swamp lands of Rhode Island would probably not exceed 20,000 acres. — J. S. Pittman, Secretary. Pennsylvania. — This great State has not furnished any data upon which to form an es¬ timate of the extent of swamp and boggy lands within her territory. The Hon. William McCandless writes for the governor that the Department of State does not possess the in¬ formation. It is known that in some of the counties considerable tracts of this character of lands exist, which if reclaimed would improve the value and conserve the public health. As these notes are all made up from briefing or correspondence on the subject with the governors of the States and the Agricultural Department, I shall not supply facts from other sources available to all students. South Carolina. — As no survey of this class of lands has been made, no exact data exist in any of the departments of the State; the information furnished by Gov. D. H. Cham¬ berlain will give an approximate estimate derived from those best informed on the sub¬ ject. The area of swamp lands is estimated to be between five and six millions of acres. Many of the swamps are designated by local names. There has been perhaps 35,000 acres of this land reclaimed to cultivation, with success where the methods pursued were suitable and properly executed. Individual efforts only have been evoked in this enterprise. No general or State system has been devised; —embanking and ditching, such as each farmer thought proper to exe¬ cute, and looking only to his own interest. The swamp lands are esteemed unfavorable to health. Reclamation by draining is considered to improve the salubrity and increase the value of the lands in both a commercial and productive way. Attention is being drawn to the subject of drainage, but it has not yet assumed a practical form. Obstructions and dams to the courses of streams have been removed, with a view to improve the public health. The reclaimed lands are best suited for the production of rice and corn. — D. H. Chamberlain, Governor. Tennessee. — No survey of the swamp, water-soaked, and boggy lands of the State has been made. It is estimated (there are no statistics) that there are about 185,000 acres of swamp and boggy lands, independent of the permanent lakes fed by springs which do not become stagnant. Reelfoot Lake in Obion County is eighteen miles long, and has a width of from a half a mile to three miles, and abounds in a variety of fish. This lake did not exist previous to the earthquake of 1811-12. Its existence is due to the filling up of a por¬ tion of the channel of Reelfoot Creek by the convulsion of the earth at that time damming up the water, and preventing its free exit to the Mississippi. Haywood County also has a number of lakes well stocked with fish. Perhaps one tenth of the water-soaked and boggy PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 3 I this engineering project to a successful completion. The land he has already reclaimed to salubrity and agriculture affords a livelihood for sixteen thou¬ sand persons, and it is said when the work is completed the lands recovered lands, given in the above estimate, have been reclaimed by private enterprise. There has been no special legislation looking to the reclamation of this class of lands. Chills and fevers prevail in the vicinity of such swamps. And it is well established that the salubrity and value of lands is enhanced when thoroughly drained, though good lands are so abundant that the influence of drainage on surrounding property is not apparent. The largest body of overflowed lands lies along the Mississippi River, in the counties of Lake, Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, and Shelby. These embrace about four hundred thousand acres, about one fourth of which lies about ten to eighteen miles back from the river, and is in a boggy and marshy condition. Here, as elsewhere in the Mississippi River Valley, the lands just along the streams are higher than those a little further back. This is notably the fact along the moderately large-sized streams, — the Forked Deer, the Obion, the Big Hatchie, the Wolf, and the tributaries all running southeast, and emp¬ tying into the Mississippi River. Although there are overflows from all of these streams, still the great want is a levee of the Mississippi River, of sufficient strength to protect the country along its course. The beds of the smaller streams generally are lower than the swamps, and, therefore, drainage of the wet lands along these is entirely feasible. The gum-swamps, where the soil is of an ashy color, are not found to be productive ; but in the cypress-swamps, and where the soil is of a dark hue, the reclaimed lands prove very produc¬ tive of the grasses and small crops. From the Lower Tennessee River to the Cumberland table-lands, the country is well drained; perhaps in all this extent there are not more than ten thousand acres unfit for cultivation, and these are elevated, and can be drained at slight expense. At the junction of the Emory River with the Clinch, south of the first and west of the latter, there is a swamp of about four miles in length, and from one fourth to a half in width. This can readily be reclaimed by ditching. On Lick Creek, in Green County, 'exists much swamp land, partly wet in winter. The soil has a bluish-yellow appearance, upon which herd’s-grass grows luxuriantly. Here some of the farmers have made open ditches, which greatly assist in carrying off the superabundant water. This swamp has, perhaps, four thousand acres. In the swamps of Tennessee, when first drained, the soil is found to be surcharged with acids, probably pyroligneous and humic, but exposure and tillage soon remove these. Some small swamps in the vicinity of the Kentucky line, in the counties of Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, and Macon, have a soil largely intermixed wdth a small, hard, black gravel; this soil, when drained, is not found to be sufficiently productive to requite for the cost and labor; but this is of very limited area. The drained lands gener¬ ally are very productive, and reward the farmer handsomely. In all of what is known as the Cumberland table-lands, there are not more than 15,000 acres of wet and swampy lands. In East Tennessee, there are no swamps worth mention. The farmers of this State are, of late, giving more attention to draining their lands; and there is a growing confidence in its influence upon salubrity, as well as increased produc¬ tiveness.— J. B. Killebrew, Com. of Agriculture. Vermont. — No separate survey of the swamp and boggy lands of this State has been made. The State Geologist, Hiram A. Cutting, who is quite familiar with the subject, estimates the whole area entitled to be embraced in this class as aggregating 37,500 acres. There are no large swamps. The same person estimates that about 6,250 acres have been reclaimed, which make good meadow land. The modes of reclamation resorted to have been ditching, and changing water-courses. This class of lands is not found to be produc¬ tive, except for grass. The value of lands is enhanced by the draining of swamps ; but this increase of value does not often extend to the adjacent lands. Governor Peck writes that this character of lands, though not existing in any considerable quantity, have attracted some attention, and efforts from time to time have been made for their reclamation. Hence a law was passed, bearing upon the subject, in 1868, and an amended law with increased pro¬ visions was passed in 1874. As there is but little stagnant water in the swamps of this State, their reclamation is chiefly with a view to profit rather than to benefit health, although 32 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING will give homes and employment to over forty thousand. Its sanitary im¬ portance cannot be estimated, though its immense economic value to the state is at once apparent. In the United States we have given as yet less attention to the subject of drainage of water-soaked, alluvial, and over¬ flowed lands than we should, and chiefly because good, dry lands were cheap and abundant. The lands requiring drainage, as we will show, lie chiefly along the coast and in the vicinity of our lakes and at the heads of bays, and along the courses of our larger rivers. The success that has attended engineering in this department of hydraulics in other countries, suggests that we only need earnest and able engineers to insure similar results in the re¬ demption of immense areas of the richest lands in America, and at the same time to promote salubrity and conserve the public health. The elements — it is observed — air, frost, and running water, are con¬ stantly disintegrating and washing down from the mountains, hills, and up¬ lands not only the productive soil, but rock and earth strata, and depositing them in the low lands, or forming deltas and alluvial lands at the mouths of rivers, in lakes, or along the sea-shore. There is not a harbor or seaport city at the mouth of a great river that would not in a few years be filled up so that ships could not reach its wharves except for the constant dredging which is done to remove the fluviatile deposits and the washings from the streets and sewers of the city. Indeed, the tendency of the elevated lands is toward the deep sea. This movement is indicated by the existence of immense alluvial plains and deltas formed from the soil and disintegrated rocks which have been transported to, and have encroached upon the sea at the mouths of the great rivers in different parts of the world. 1 I have no doubt they do to some extent affect the latter. — Hiram A. Cutting, State Geologist. Virginia. — The reply received from the Governor of this State, to the application for information relative to the area of undrained lands, was that “ no data exist in any de¬ partment of the State that would enable him to approximate the area.” — James L. Kemper. West Virginia. — This State is almost entirely mountainous or rolling, and is well drained by streams of rapid current. The few swamps that exist are so small in area as to attract but little attention, and are not known to have any deleterious influence upon health. Private interests, and individual owners of such lands are gradually draining them for pasture lands. — John J. Jacobs, Governor. 1 Delta of the Mississippi. — The Mississippi River, with its principal affluent, the Mis¬ souri, is the longest river (4,350 miles) in the world, but not the largest. It drains the vast area between the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains. The headwaters of the Missis¬ sippi proper have their origin about 1,680 feet above the sea, on the divide between the Red River of the North and the streams which flow 3,160 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. The sources of the Missouri are among the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and from points north of the forty-ninth degree of north latitude. The average descent of the Mississippi is six inches and a fraction to the mile. The average depth of this river, below the mouth of the Ohio, varies from ninety to one hundred and ninety feet, and the breadth from six hundred to twelve hundred yards. The mean velocity, between the Gulf and the junction of the Missouri, is from sixty to seventy miles a day. The delta of the Mississippi, as given by Lyell, is about two hundred miles in length, with a mean width of seventy-five miles, comprising an area of fifteen thousand square miles. Col. C. G. Forshey includes, in his description of the delta, the alluvial land, the two making 38,706 square miles. The sediment annually brought down by the Mississippi and its tributaries has been estimated to be equal to a deposit of a foot in thickness over twelve square miles. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 33 The examination of this question has led me to collect some data as to the situation, extension, and rate of increase of the principal deltas. Lands Messrs. Humphrey and Abbott estimate the annual prolongation of the delta at six yards. The whole southern border of the State of Louisiana, says McCulloch, consists either of sea marsh or vast plains, which occupy one fifth of the surface of the State. The whole region about the mouth of the river is one continued swamp. From lat. 32 0 to 31 0 , the average width of overflowed land is twenty miles. From lat. 31 0 to the efflux of La Fourche, the width is forty miles. Colonel Forshey estimates that 3,616 square miles are irre¬ claimable, but that the reclaimable delta has an area of 35,813 square miles, or about 22,920,320 acres. The following resolution was passed July 23, 1874, by the Commission of Engineers appointed by Congress “ to investigate and report a permanent plan for the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mississippi River subject to inundation.” “ Resolved , That heretofore all cultivation of the Mississippi bottom lands owes its suc¬ cess to the construction of levees, and that this Commission has confidence that the system, properly applied, is adequate to the protection of the country against floods. Whether it should be exclusively trusted, or be combined with outlets, is a matter to be decided by economical considerations ” (p. 148, Report). Delta of the Nile . — That Egypt was the “ Gift of the Nile,” was the opinion of her priests before the time of Herodotus. He observes that the country around Memphis seemed formerly to have been an arm of the sea, gradually filled up by the Nile. Egypt, therefore, he says, like the Red Sea, was once a long narrow bay, and both gulfs were sep¬ arated by a small neck of land (Lyell). This celebrated river, taking its rise in the moun¬ tains of the Moon at an elevation of 15,000 feet, flows through two main streams, the Blue and the White rivers. The former has its source in lat. 15 0 37' N., long. 36° 50' E., and the latter is said to rise on the Gomberat Mountains. After running through intermediate marshes, jungles, and desert waste for 3,000 miles, it discharges its waters and sediment into the Mediterranean by two mouths, the Rosetta and Damietta. The average ve¬ locity of the Nile, in Egypt, is, from Asswan to the sea, three miles per hour. For about six hundred miles the region is subject to overflow, the average fall being three inches per mile, and the current slower. The delta in its greatest breadth is eighty-five miles from east to west, and the distance from its apex to the sea is rather more than ninety miles, and includes an area of 8,600 square miles. Great changes have taken place along the delta in the lapse of ages ; the soil has not only been elevated many feet by alluvial deposits, but its accretion has altered the coast line within the historic period. If the advance of the al¬ luvial deposits was not more rapid during past ages than it is at present, it must have taken the Nile no less than 74,253 years to deposit, grain by grain, its triangular plain or delta, comprising an area of 8,610 square miles. The advance of the shore line, it is estimated, averages two feet annually. The whole delta is exceedingly productive, and, strange as it may seem, although subject to overflow, still, during the dry season, it requires irrigation to secure a crop. The Delta of the Ganges. — The River Ganges has its sources in the central chain of the Himalayas at an elevation of from 13,000 to 18,000 feet above the sea; but from Hurdwar, nearly at the foot of the Himalayas, — a distance of about 1,200 miles, — the fall of the river to the mouth is only one thousand feet. The total length of the river is estimated at 1,960 miles. The delta begins two hundred miles from the sea, and is from eighty to two hundred miles in breadth. That part of the delta bordering on the sea, known as the Sun- derbunds, is a dreary, unhealthy region, covered with wood, and broken up by numerous creeks and rivers, all of which are salt, except those that immediately communicate with the principal arm of the Ganges. After the rains have become general, the river rises to a height of thirty-two feet above its ordinary level; and by the end of July all the flat coun¬ try of Bengal, contiguous to the Ganges and Brahmapootra, is overflowed to an extent in breadth of one hundred miles. The quantity of water discharged into the ocean by the Ganges is computed to be 500,000 cubic feet per second, in the four months of the flood season, and 100,000 for the remainder of the year. The quantity of mud brought down an¬ nually is computed to be 235,521,387 cubic yards, and it discolors the sea to a distance of 3 34 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING formed in this way are almost everywhere fertile when above high tides, or when reclaimed from semi-overflowed swamps and water-soaked conditions. sixty miles from the coast. Major R. H. Colebrook, cited by Lyell, states that such is the looseness of the soil that the Ganges, in excavating a new channel, in one instance, carried away forty square miles in the course of a few years. The Delta of the Euphrates .—The Euphrates, the most considerable river of Western Asia, rises in the table-land of Armenia, and flows generally parallel to the Tigris in a southeasterly direction. In lat. 31 0 o' 28" N., and long. 47 0 40" E., it unites with the latter to form the Shat-el-Arab (River of Arabia), which discharges its waters into the head of the Persian Gulf. The basin of the Euphrates, exclusive of that of the Tigris, is sup¬ posed to comprise about 109,000 square miles. The river is formed by the junction of the Frat and Morad. The former, the most northern, has its principal sources in the Tcheldir Mountains, about 5,000 feet above the sea ; the latter has its sources on the northern de¬ clivity of the Arghidagh Mountains. The united stream flows southwest, and forces a pas¬ sage through the main range of the Taurus mountains. The length of the Euphrates, esti¬ mating from the source of the Morad, is 1,800 miles; its average breadth is about two hundred yards, and its depth from twelve to thirty feet. The extent of land covered by the deposits of the Euphrates and Tigris is about 32,000 square miles. The velocity of the cur¬ rent of the Euphrates is from two to four miles per hour, and the amount of water dis¬ charged from its mouth is 236,907 cubic feet per second. The increment of land about the delta has been found to be a mile in thirty years, — about double the increase of any other delta in the world. Delta of the Amazojt. — The Amazon, the principal river in South America, and probably the largest, though not the longest river in the world, has its origin in the Andes in Peru, flowing 4,000 miles. It drains an area estimated at 2,500,000 square miles, and empties into the Atlantic 130,000 cubic yards per second. It flows from Jaen, which is 1,240 feet above tide-level, with a current varying from 1 to 3.7 miles per hour. When the river over¬ flows, it covers the marshes on its banks, forming a perfect sea of one hundred and eighty miles in width. The tide is perceptible at Abidos at the full of the moon, four hundred miles inland. The phenomena of the bore tides or waves occur in this region. Such is the volume and impetus of this stream, that it carries all its waters unmixed into the sea to the distance of above eighty leagues (Lippincott). The breadth of the largest mouth, accord¬ ing to the Imperial Gazette , is ninety-six miles; but the two arms, with the island in¬ cluded, cover a width of perhaps two hundred and fifty miles. Although the delta has not encroached much on the coast line, the area of alluvial deposits is large, and it is very fer¬ tile. The Delta of the Orinoco has its apex one hundred and thirty miles from the sea. It is a large river rising in the Sierra Venezuela and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Paria through many mouths. It has a navigable channel communicating with the Rio Negro, and also with the Amazon. The tide reaches to Angostura, two hundred and fifty miles from the sea, and has a width here of four miles. For five hundred miles before emptying into the sea, there are extensive swamps with much rich pasturage. At certain seasons, the floods cover the flats for many miles in all directions. The Delta of the Fo. — The River Po has its sources in the Alps, and carries down to the Adriatic the earthy matter poured into it by a multitude of tributaries, loaded with the denudation from the high lands. The deposit of this fluviatile material has effected great changes in the plains of Italy since the time of the Roman Republic. Along the shores of the Adriatic, from the northern part of the Gulf of Trieste, where the Isenzo enters, down to the south of Ravenna, more than one hundred miles there is an uninterrupted ac¬ cretion of land, which, within the last two thousand years, has increased from two to twenty miles in breadth. It is calculated that the mean annual rate of advance of the delta of the Po upon the Gulf was, from the years 1200 to 1600, about twenty-five yards. From 1600 to 1804, it averaged, according to Lyell, seventy-six yards annually. The city of Adria, now over twenty Italian miles from the Gulf, was, in the time of Augustus, a seaport of much importance. The city of Ravenna, once a seaport, is now, owing to the accretions of the land, four miles from the sea. This is also true of the ancient city of Spina, and other PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 35 Whether or not the American people recognize at this time the necessity or importance of reclaiming the swamp lands of the United States to agriculture places, once seaports but now far inland. In order to check the inroads made upon the alluvial lands by the rivers along their course, a system of embankments were erected along the Po, Adige, and most of their tributaries, and they have been kept in repair for many centuries. The Delta of the Danube. — The Danube originates in two small streams, which rise on the eastern declivity of the Black Forest and Carpathian Mountains, at an elevation of 2,850 feet above sea level. The distance from its source to its mouth is about 1,800 miles, and including its windings 2,423 miles. It is navigable at Ulm for small boats. The delta of the Danube is a vast, swampy flat, interspersed with lagoons encroaching slowly upon the sea, and which are gradually filling up and becoming reclaimable (McC.). The river discharges itself through five mouths into the Black Sea, and its water is distinguishable in the latter at a distance of forty-six miles. Delta of the Rhine. — The Rhine rises on the north side of the Alps, and flowing through Switzerland and Germany falls into the North Sea or German Ocean. It is nine hundred and sixty miles long, and has an area of basin or drainage, including tributaries, of 83,298 square miles. The sources of the Rhine are near those of the Rhone in the Alps, at an elevation of 6,581 feet above the sea. The delta is the largest in Europe, indeed, the rich alluvial lands of the whole of Holland are the gift of this stream, whose mouths extend, with their ramifications, one hundred miles along the coast, from the eastern shore of the Zuyder Zee to the south branch of the Maas; the distance from the base to the apex of the delta being seventy-two miles, and the total area within its limits 4,150 square miles. The mean descent of the river from Strasburg is estimated at one and three-tenths feet per mile, and the current may average somewhat more than three miles an hour. Delta of the Volga. —The Volga, the largest river in Europe, rises in Lake Seligher on the plateau of Valdai, in lat. 57 0 N., long. 33 0 io' E., at an elevation of five hundred and fifty feet above the sea. The extent of its basin, including tributaries, is estimated at four hundred thousand square miles, and, including its windings, its course is 2,500 miles, during which its entire fall, where it empties into the Caspian Sea, is 633 feet. The head of the delta is one hundred miles from the sea. It discharges itself by sixty or seventy mouths. The Caspian Sea is eighty-three feet below the level of the Indian Ocean (Lipp.). Delta of the Rhone. — The Rhone rises in the Pennine Alps, the highest source being on the west side of Mt. St. Gothard, at an elevation of 5,780 feet above the sea. It is five hundred and ninety miles long. The river passes through Lake Lehman, and enters France through the Jura mountains. Its fluviatile matter is filling up Lake Geneva. The esti¬ mated area of its basin is 37,300 square miles. The Rhone enters the Mediterranean by four mouths, the first separation occurring at Arles, where two branches are formed, the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone, enclosing the alluvial island of Camargue, which has an area of 1,900 square miles. The Rhone has a rapid course, and brings down a whitish sediment, discoloring the Mediterranean to a distance of six or seven miles. Della of the Indus. — The Indus rises on the north side of the Cailas (of the Hima¬ layas). Its total length is estimated at 1,650 miles. The Indus enters the sea by a great number of mouths. The head of the delta is near Tatta, and extends from there to the ocean at Hyderabad and Kurrachee, being about one hundred and thirty miles in length and breadth. The source of the Indus, in the Himalaya range, is supposed to be 18,000 feet above the sea. At Attock, 940 miles from its mouth, where it is 1,000 feet above the ocean level, it is 800 feet across, 60 feet in depth, and has a current of six miles an hour. Delta of the Niger. — The Delta of the Niger is in the Gulf of Benin, and commences about eighty miles from the sea, and is two hundred and forty miles in extent along the coast. The whole surface is low, flat, and swampy, but affords good pasturage for cattle, and is tilled for rice, millet, and maize. The tide extends up the river about one hundred and thirty miles. Delta of the Hoang Ho. —The river Hoang Ho rises on the table lands of Central Asia, flows 2,000 miles, and empties into the Yellow Sea, through ten or more mouths, forming a delta, which is estimated to extend over at least 96,000 square miles. This area of alluvial 3^ A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING as an economic measure, if not for sanitary reasons, there is certainly a time approaching in the near future when such lands will be required to support the rapidly increasing population of our country. History teaches that the cultivated uplands in all parts of the world are constantly becoming impov¬ erished and yearly less productive, or are kept fertile only by an enormous expenditure of labor and means. I believe it would be in the true interest of the whole country—and I therefore suggest that the Legislatures of the several States be asked — to authorize commissions to make accurate sur¬ veys within their respective territories of all marsh and occasionally over¬ flowed and water-soaked lands along the Atlantic and Gulf coast, as well as those along our lakes, and particularly throughout the Mississippi Valley, with a view to the establishment of a comprehensive system of efficient drainage and the reclamation of the land to salubrity and occupation. 1 The alluvial lands of the Mississippi are the most remarkable and valu¬ able in the world both for extent and richness. They are at present almost worthless, on account of the frequent overflow from defective levees and land constitutes one of the most important agricultural provinces in China. The depth of the Yellow Sea, it is stated, has very sensibly diminished about the mouth of the Hoang Ho River, from the annual alluvial deposits. The delta of this river is composed entirely of river sediment. Delta of the Tiber. — The Tiber, rising in the Tuscan Appenines, after flowing one hun¬ dred and eighty-five miles, enters the Mediterranean, seventeen miles below Rome, by two mouths, which inclose a small delta partly reclaimed for agricultural purposes. This was the Insula Sacra of the ancients, described as a pestiferous tract. The Tiber at Rome is but about three hundred feet wide ; the waters during flood tides carry with them great quantities of mud, which is deposited at the mouth of the river. Delta of the River de la Plata. — The Rio de la Plata is a great river of South America, or an estuary into which pour its gigantic tributaries the Parana and the Uraguay. It is more than 2,500 miles in length, and in many places more than six miles in width. It measures at the outlet 170 miles across, and occupies an area of 15,400 square miles. The muddy waters of the river can be traced in the ocean two hundred miles from its mouth, gradually filling up the Gulf of Buenos Ayres with alluvial deposits. 1 The Zuyder Zee. — The question of draining the Zuyder Zee has been mooted, and it is probable it may yet be accomplished by the engineering skill of the future, as the demand for cultivable land increases. In 1853, the Government of the Netherlands finished the draining of Lake Haarlem, which formerly covered an area of 45,000 acres. Much swamp land in Hungary has been drained within the last hundred years, and more than half a million acres of swamp has been converted into fertile land by this work. New Jersey is remarkable for its cedar swamps. They occur in all the counties south of Monmouth, but are most extensive in Cape May and the adjoining counties, — Atlantic and Cumberland. Prof. G. H. Cook, State Geologist, says, a swamp of sixty years’ growth will yield from four thousand to seven thousand split rails, — halves and quarters, — and also states that between one and two million acres of land are unimproved in consequence of soil-saturation, and only awaiting the investment of capital in drainage. Millions of dollars have already been — according to Professor Cook — invested in reclaiming and improving the swamp lands of New Jersey. Prof. J. C. Booth, in his geological survey of the State of Delaware, 1844, stated that there were about one hundred thousand acres of Delaware marshes; but a large portion of this area has since been reclaimed by diking. In Ireland, extensive peat bogs have been drained and converted thereby into arable territory. Much alluvial land along the rivers and shores of the estuaries of southern Ireland has been rendered cultivable by art. PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 3 7 from the pestilential miasmas these floods create. Even in sections where the high waters have not destroyed the improvements, the lands are often rendered so unhealthy by adjacent swamps that they cannot be cultivated or inhabited. The extent of these lands from Cape Girardeau in Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico is, in a straight line, about 600 miles, with a variable width of from thirty to ninety miles, thus giving for the whole length an average width of sixty miles. 1 If it is possible for engineering skill to drain these lands and protect them from overflow I believe it will yet be done. This accomplished, their salubrity will follow, and their fertility, which is unequaled in the world, will attract to them a dense population. And thus their sanitary condition, their economic value, and their producing capacity will all be established. The reclamation of wet and boggy lands by drain¬ age has doubtless been practiced from very early ages, and it is probable that the measure will ere long assume economic, geographical, and sanitary importance in our country. It is held to be one of the first duties of rulers to so administer the affairs of state as to preserve the soil of the country in a salubrious and productive condition, and if possible to increase the area of their cultivable land. The necessity for drainage can be pointed out by the hygienist, and its successful execution and effectiveness can be approved, or its failure condemned by the sanitarian. But the methods and the art of drainage and irrigation properly belong to the engineer. The mode of drainage by means of the straightening of channels, building dikes, cutting canals, planting trees, and by other means, will suggest itself to all of us, but each particular marsh, swamp, and boggy locality requires special combinations of new and old methods that will at times tax the abil¬ ity of the ablest engineers. Mr. Marsh, in his work already referred to, says that within the past cen¬ tury more than half a million acres of swamp land have been recovered by drainage in Hungary, and that many thousands of acres have been reclaimed in Italy, Holland, and China and other countries. The United States Agri¬ cultural Report for 1872 gives very encouraging accounts of the reclamation of swamp lands in California 2 by the construction of levees and by other methods. 1 Delta of the Mississippi , by Colonel C. G. Forshey. 2 The efforts of the people of ancient times to reclaim swamp lands must have been numerous and successful. The inhabitants of Ancient Rome, Greece, Phoenicia, and Tyre, created many works for the protection of the coasts from overflow from the sea. In our own country, when the city of New Orleans was laid out in 1717, levees were immediately commenced, which were extended in ten years afterwards fifteen or twenty miles up the river; and thus the plan of the levee system of Lower Louisiana was inaugurated. The whole of the embankments of the Mississippi River, and its tributaries, must altogether reach a total length of at least 2,500 miles. At the beginning of the war, on the right bank of the river, from Cape Girardeau to Point-a-la Hacha, below New Orleans, the embankments formed a wall 1,125 m il es i n length, only interrupted by the mouths of rivers and a few spots of rising ground. In 1828, the levees of the Mississippi were continuous from New Orleans to Red River, and, by 1844, they were complete as far as Napoleon, Ark. After the swamp-land grants of 1849-50, these works were nearly completed from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Point-a-la Hacha, below New Orleans. From neglect, and the frequent crevasses, much of the territory which had been reclaimed 38 A VIEW OF SOME OF THE LEADING Water-soaked lands are refrigerating in their nature through the evapora¬ tion that is constantly taking place, while well-drained lands are warmer on account of their great absorption and retention of heat. The latter will, in consequence, produce better matured fruits and crops than if damp and moist. Drainage, both for sanitary purposes as well as for agriculture, ought to be deep enough to be below the point affected by the ordinary variations of temperature, and that to which the roots of plants extend. Fortunately, in many places improved modes of agriculture are doing much for health. It is well known to farmers that dry uplands escape the late spring and early autumnal frosts, while the low and wet lands suffer. Closely connected with drainage, for agricultural purposes, is irrigation. 1 has again passed into swamp, and neither the people nor the States along the river are now able to bear the expense of repairing and keeping the levees in order. In England, as many as 680,000 acres of the fen or marsh country have been reclaimed, and the works for this purpose rival those of Holland. A great part of the county of Lin¬ colnshire, England, lies below the level of the sea, from which it is defended by embank¬ ments, and thus rendered arable. Since the occupation of the county by the Romans, large tracts have from time to time been reclaimed. The soil of these lands is the finest in England. In the third century the Emperor Severus built a road from Peterborough to Denver, which was sixty feet wide and three feet deep. It is now covered by from three to five feet of soil, and is protected from the sea by an embankment. There is much feason to believe that Bedford Level, a district of England having an approximate area of 400,000 acres, was formerly much lower than at present, and was covered by a vast forest. The Lowlanders are believed to have secured some coast and bay islands by ring-dikes, and to have embanked some fresh-water channels, as early as the eighth or ninth century ; but it does n'ot appear that sea dikes, important enough to be noticed hi historical records, were constructed on the main land before the thirteenth century. The practice of draining inland accumulations of water, whether fresh or salt, for the purpose of bringing under cul¬ tivation the ground they cover, is of later origin, and is said not to have been adopted until after the middle of the fifteenth century. (Marsh refers to Staring, p. 407.) The dike system of Holland is perhaps the most remarkable and perfect in the world. It has redeemed to agriculture an immense area of rich alluvial land. The works are con¬ structed to reclaim the deltas and alluvial deposits of the Scheldt, Meuse, and Rhine, and are kept in repair at an annual expense to the government of from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. Staring estimates the whole surface gained to agriculture in the Netherlands at 877,240 acres, which was accomplished by diking against the sea, and by drainage. Between 1815 and 1858 more than a hundred thousand acres were added to the agricultural industries. Denmark is a low, flat country, and some parts of its northern portion are below the level of the sea. The whole western coast of Holstein Sleswick is defended, as in Holland, by dikes or mounds, erected against the waves of the Baltic Sea. Zealand is protected by dikes 250 miles long, maintained at an annual cost of over $400,000. The island of Pelworm, on the coast of Sleswick, (laving an area of 10,000 acres, expends annually $30,000 for the maintenance of its dikes. The Adour, which, however, does not carry down such large quantities of alluvium as the Mississippi and the Rhone, is one of the few rivers where engineers have obtained at least favorable results from the system of em¬ bankment. Commenced as early as 1694, the labors of the engineers have continued up to the present time. To check the rivers of Italy from deviating from their courses and invad¬ ing the lowlands, a system of artificial embankments has been adopted. The Po, Adige, and almost all their tributaries, are now confined between high artificial banks. This practice, Lyell says, was adopted in Italy as early as the thirteenth century. New¬ ark Meadows, in the State .of New Jersey, have been to some extent embanked, and will yet, I have no doubt, be drained, and become arable and salubrious. 1 The art of irrigation, it would seem, was known and extensively practiced by the an¬ cients. The earlier operations of this nature, of which there are remains, are found on the PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 39 Both of these are very ancient. It is stated that since the completion of the Suez Canal the amount of rainfall in the isthmus has increased. This result is also claimed by the Mormons in Utah, as the consequence of the planting of trees, and irrigation for agricultural purposes. The introduction of the eucalyptus has raised the hope that this tree will grow upon our western plains, and on what have been denominated the American deserts. The belief is entertained, whether based on scientific principles or not, that if the great American plains were clothed with timber, a more abundant and equable precipitation would follow, and 4 hat this would lead to the profitable occupation and cultivation of this immense region. The apprehension that sufficient water for agriculture and domestic uses cannot be had on the plains, except along the spurs of mountains, scientific investigations have nearly dispelled. Artesian wells, when sunk in this region, furnish abundance of water at a depth of less than 1,000 feet. In¬ deed, it is found that the great water currents and rivers under the earth are comparatively near the surface, or* within a few thousand feet. Borings have been successful at a greater depth, but this does not invalidate the rule. I ought perhaps to say a word in apology for the extended remarks I have made on drainage in, the interests of sanitary science, and its economic and geographic advantage to the nation. I look upon a proper encouragement of agricultural pursuits, and their regulation and advancement by the fostering care of the government, as of vital importance to the whole people. Indeed, I regard this branch of industry as the fundamental promoter of both the individual and public health, as well as of national prosperity. My judgment is that improvement would follow both in the moral and physical condition of a multitude of our people, if they could be induced by favorable legisla¬ tion, or other means, to acquire and live in their own houses, and have a garden to cultivate. We regret the contempt or dissatisfaction with which plains of Central Asia, in that region to which tradition points as the cradle of the human race ! In the deserts of Assyria, Mesopotamia, and indeed almost throughout Asia Minor, in Mongolia, Hindostan, and on the banks of the Nile, the remains of these ancient, crude en¬ gineering operations are found. In the dawn of the Middle Ages, when the barbaric hosts overran Europe, they, too, brought the arid lands under cultivation by means of irrigation. In the days of King Solomon, on account of the custom being general, Judsea was a fruitful land, and no doubt presented a very different aspect from what it does at the present time, as far as productiveness is concerned. In Lombardy, in the summer, Marsh states, that there are 1,375,000 acres irrigated, requiring daily 60,000,000 cubic yards of water. In 1856, in the former kingdom of Sardinia, including Savoy, 600,000 acres were irrigated dur¬ ing the summer season. The irrigated lands of France are about 247,000 acres. In Italy 2,000,000 acres are irrigated, one half of which is effected by canals. Irrigation is a necessity in the Oriental countries, where numerous remains of this class of improvements are yet to be seen. In British India it is estimated that there are 6,000,000 acres annually irrigated, and canals are being constructed, that will, when com¬ pleted, irrigate as much more. In Egypt, the cultivated soil that is annually irrigated amounts to 7,000 square miles,—about 4,500,000 acres. Irrigation for agriculture is not much practiced in the United States, except in the rice fields of the South, and to a limited extent in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and California. It is practiced, however, by truck gardens near all our large cities in all the States, and is the only means of producing with certainty first-class garden vegetables in quantities sufficient to render the business profita¬ ble. 40 PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. the small farmer is regarded by a very large portion of our people, who seem disposed to fly from the slow but sure development of the wealth which has been hidden in the soil, in order to attempt the accumulation of rapid fortunes in the marts of manufacture and commerce. The domain of Preventive Medicine which invites attention is so exten¬ sive, that it is quite possible, out of the multitude of points deserving re¬ view, that I have not selected either the most important or entertaining. Yet, whatever may be my shortcomings in this regard, I am quite confident they will be compensated by the great treasures which have been stored up, and are now about to be opened to us by the Nestors of sanitary science whom I see around me. My judgment and all my sympathies are earnestly enlisted in the success of this Association, and its efforts to increase the com¬ forts, to improve the vigor and physical condition, and to insure the lon¬ gevity of our people. Whatever we can do will always be cheerfully done for giving full effect to measures for the preservation of the public health. Gentlemen, I must plead the importance of my theme in extenuation for the time thus occupied, and in conclusion I feel justified in pledging health, vigor, and long life to the true followers of the Gospel Hygiene.