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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre filmto d des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il ost film6 d partir de I'angle sup6risur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 mmm m ,f' Wm OUTLINES ov CHEMICO- HYGIENE AND MEDICINE; OR THE APPLICATION OF CHEMICAL RESULTS TO THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH, AND CURE OF DISEASE ; BY A. DALLAS, C. n., CM. "Qu(«madmodumBanita8omiilam ronun pretiuni oxcedit, omnisque fi-Ucltatla fanda- nieutam eat, ita Bcientia vitie ae sanltatis tuendn; omnium nobillgBiinit, omnibusque hnminibuH commendatigsima esse debet."— Hoffman. TORONTO: PRINTED FOl^^TIIK AUTUOn, BY MACf-EAR & CO., Airo SOLD BT THE BOOKBELLEM. 18G0. t Bible I yXL OUTLINES OF CHEMICO -HYGIENE AND MEDICINE; oa THE APPLICATION OF CHEMICAL RESULTS TO THK PRESERVATION OF HEALTH, AND CURE OF DISEASE ; BY A. DALLAS, C.H., CM "Quoemadmoiuir Fslnitos oronlui" roni.i. pte^-ium ciX'M!d''t omnlsqus fclicltatls funda- nieutum est, ita scidntia Viub ac sasdittatis tjisuc' '^mpiuiu nobilisHiniu, omuibusqua bominibag cjni.Tiei»dati£jiira esf:3 debe,t."^-HoBPMAy. TORONTO : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY MACLEAR 4 CO., AND SOLD BT THE BOOEaELLEilS. 18C0. MACLEAR Sl CO., PRINTERS, KINO STREET BAST, TORONTO. Cb Cb Cb «*«• .«««••• 4 * 1 ft « Ib.q.rI CONTENTS. Chap. I.— Identity, p. 23. Elements of the Food, of the Organs, and of the Excre- tions, p. 2G. The Ultimate Compounds of Organized bodies, p. 33. Nutrition, p. 35. Waste, p. 41. Chap. II. — Equilibrium, p. 50. Oxidation, p. 53. Ventilation, p. 62. Temperature, p. 72. Chap. III. — Displacement, p. 82. Ghap. IV Concluding Remarks, p. 100. 56316 Th cular of hu days ( Men been quest of tb that \ It ma we c\ the studii luani: Th profe ment antiq and t Greci pond sified with byth pond that have the r tion corre statu ands INTRODUCTION. The progress of modern improvement is distinguished, in a parti- cular manner, by the strictly scientific character of every department of human industry. To satisfy the reason, is as imperative, in these days of freedom of thought and of speech, as to satisfy the conscience. Men do not now rest contented with the naked formula, which has been handed down from a preceding generation; but are prone to question every one of its purposes and adaptations, in the true spirit of the Baconian philosophy, and with a perseverance and exactitude that would astonish the older and most devout followers of Aristotle. It matters not, in which one of the many avenues of industrial lifej we choose to cast an enquiring glance ; whether it be the modeling of the optical lens, or the construction of a suspension bridge ; the same studious observance of natural principles, as a rule and as a guide, is manifested in every individual act of the expert mechanician. The fine arts too, and also the more intellectual traits of certain professions, participate in this advancement. In particular depart- ments, much, no doubt, has been handed down, to us, from a remote antiquity, that is perfect both in the conception of true principles and the design of construction. Such, for example, are those oldest Grecian types of the male and female forms, which indicate corres- ponding mental characteristics. Among the voluminous and diver- sified treasures of ancient learning, there is nothing to be compared: with the truthfulness of the conception of the human figure, possessed by the earlier Greeks ; a truthfulness consisting, in the exact corres- pondence of the productions of ar^^ with the real objects in nature that they were intended to represent. Our sculptors and painters have received from them the rules of art, so perfect as to be beyond the reach of criticism. The contrast between the sexes, the opposi- tion of the masculine and feminine, is beautifully exemplified in the correspondence of their corporeal with their mental aspects. In stature, the male being large, the female small j the breadth of chest and shoulders of the first, their narrowness in the second ; the narrow ' i 6 pelvis of the one, its breadth in the other; the largo bones, large muscles, largo head and foot of the stronger sex, while the corres- ponding mombors of tho weaker are small ;— on the one hand, the angular and coarsely developed, but symmetrical limbs of the male body; on the other, the smooth and rounded outline of every feature of the female;— and finally, the stern, resolute and unflinching coun- tenance of tho masculine typo, indicating a sense of duty and the responsibilities of manhood; contrasted with which, tho half-opened mouth and involuntary smile of female beauty, tho wistful look, and yet retiring attitude, as if conscious of her feminine nature, denote the most tender emotions, sensitiveness and dependence. When Zeuxis was applied to by the Crttonians for a fine painting, to adorrv the temple of Juno, and he proposed a picture of Helen to bo painted from the finest specimens of tho Crotonian women, they brought to the artirit five of their most beautiful virgins, so that ho niight°soIect the one most perfectly formed, from which to copy. Zeuxis, how- ever, retained the whole five; because, as ho stated, the Helenic type of female beauty was not represented in any me, individually; and would therefore have to be made up from tho finer points of each, selected by tho artist himself * In this we perceive the exquisite nicety of Grecian art. It is not sufficient that tho living copy be the finest and most beautiful that Crotona could produce; il must come up to the conception, in the mind of the artist, of what beauty really consists. And then this conception is in accordance, not with the caprices of tho human imagination, but with tho prin- ciples of the natural law ; and expresses the natural requisites of female beauty. For notwithstanding that, in rare and exceptional cases, a concentration of perfect parts may possibly exist in one subject; still, as the most symmetrical tree does not always bear (he choicest fruit; and excellence, in many of the more important requi- sites, is seldom found unall'^yed with properties that detract from tho unexceptiouableness of tho whole; so the province of art is to select and combine, from natural varieties, those parts only which represent the hardness or softness of the psychical life which they envelope ; at the same tire that it rejects every external feature that does not harmonize with its natural standard of correspondence. * Nequo enim putavit, omnia, quae quaereret ad venusfatem, uno in corpore se repenre posse ; ideo quod niliil simplici in genere omnibus ex partibus perfectum natura expolivit. Itaque, tanquam caeteris non sit Ijabitura quel largiatur, si uni cuncta concesserit, aliud alii commodi aliquo adjuucto mcommodo muneratur.— C/cero. Frocem Lib. 11. De Invenlione t But notwithatanding such excellence, attained in particular and isulated departments of art, in the civilization of the Greeks, of whitih the preceding is one example j and also among the modern Italians, who, by colonization, are the legitimate inheritors of Grecian genius; tho distinguishing feature of the present age, compared with those artistic achievements, is the universal application of "'cienco to every industrial pursuit. It is no longer to sculpture, to painting, to the mathematics, to metaphysics, to rhetoric, to conquest and civil polity, that the unsatisfied activity of living masses of human beings is now exclusively directed. Kvery process in the factory, in tho print-field, in the bleaching and dye house, in the machine shop, in glass and porcelain manufacture, in ship building, and in mining, has a scientific reason to justify its use. Tho mathematics and Euclid, hydrostatics and aerostatics, have much to do in the con- struction and working of machinery ; chemistry also, in most of our manufactures. Even in the making of a needle or a thimble, the knowledge of chemical principles is indispensable. The maleability of the metal and its subsequent hardening, are both chemical pro- cesses. The superintending workman must have a knowledge of the natural law, necessary to be observed, in preserving the purity of maleablo iron ; and also that for its subsequent conversion into a carburet. So intimately is success, in a mechanical or manufactur- ing occupation, dependent on the scientific application of means, that we find the managing head of every manufacturing establish- ment, more or less, a scientific personage, who is able to explain the natural principles which constitute the basis of his scientific skill. Tho same proficiency might reasonably be looked for in the depart- ment of medicine J for no satisfactory cause can be adduced, to justify a contrary result. With respect to scholastic acquirements, and the prestige of social position, the medical profession has possessed advantages of no ordinary kind ; and why it should constitute an exception to the general rule is, in some sense, difficult to under- stand. Yet, its more eminent and distinguished members have not been backward, in expressing their dissatisfaction with the actual state of medicine. It would be superfluous to cite quotations, to prove the candid avowals of old and respectable practitioners. Indeed there is scarcely a medical writer of any repute, who has not expressed sentiments of derision, mingled with regret, at the anomalous condition of the healing art. Great difliculty seems to have been experienced, in accounting for the cause ; which, hov7- ever, can be easily perceived, if we only compare the method of 8 ti •procedure, in medicine, with the method pursued, in the industrial •departments already noticed. Here, the widest contrast is percep- 'tible, in one particular j namely, the rule of guidance The glass manufacturer knows the invariable chemical properties of the mate- rials, on which he is to operate. He knows the proportions in which the silicates of potash and soda, exposed to a red heat, combine to form glass in a state of fusion ; — and also that if the alkali predomi- nates, the glass is exceedingly soluble in water ; whereas, if the acid is in excess, the glass is then insoluble. In like manner, the soap- boiler comprehends, beforehand, the scientific principles of his profes- sion. Without this preconceived, or previously acquired knowledge, of the affinity of caustic alkalies for fatty matters, and their exact combining proportions, he would not be able to practise his calling with success. Now, the practice of medicine does not pretend to take this scien- tific course. The medical practitioner does not assume a knowledge of the aflBinity which exists between quinine, arsenic, or calomel, and the constituents of the blood or of any secretion of the human body. But, notwithstanding this absence of the necessary scientific data, he proceeds to administer these substances, depending on chance for the results. Need we wonder then, that the designation of science is denied to medicine; and that medical men themselves admit the justice of the verdict. It is evident, that if the glass manufacturer or the soap boiler should attempt, thus, to act independently of the natural laws of chemical affinity, his labors would be futile, and bankruptcy would soon determine his fate ; for, there is, in glass making and soap boiling, no professional monopoly, to compel the public to pay for bad glass and bad soap, as they have to do, equally, for good or bad medical treatment. A professional monopoly, resting on no scientific foundation, may well be considered a stumbling block and impediment to the pro- gressive improvement of the profession itself. Rely'ng too much on an exclusive privilege of little comparative value, men of educa- tion and genius have neglected to exert their talents, in the way that a free competition would have rendered imperative. It besides aifords no real protection either to the respectability or emoluments of that class of practitioners, whose claims to public confidence and credentials of competency, are founded on the thoroughness of thtir scholastic curriculum, as well as on an extensive hospitrl and clinical ■practice. For, if we regard, on the one hand, the numbers who claim 9 to be licentiates, and who constitute a large and increasing majority of mere emp/rics; and, on the other, the swarm of illiterate patent medicine doctors ; there is certainly little cause to congratulate the profession, on having secured that efficiency and respectability, con- templated by the legislative acts of incorporation. The real cause why medicine occupies a position so low, is, that it possesses no scientific basis. Had chemistry received that attention and support which have been accorded to anatomy and physiology, the result which is so much to be regretted could not, in all proba- bility, have occurred ; for the study of organic chemistry must, in that case, have become a necessity ; and must have been prosecuted with a success equal, at least, to that which has been attained in the field of surgery. "What organic chemistry is accomplishing now, would have been achieved before. There is no doubt whatever, that the backward state of medicine has been caused entirely, by its neg- lect of organic chemistry. Important as surgery must ever continue to be, as one branch of the healing art, it is incapable of rendering any service, either to promote or retard the change of the tissues, or even to modify the nature of a secretion. And with respect to pharmacy, when, by the application of an intended medicinal agent, a secretion becomes changed, the collateral effects produced are not appreciable ; are therefore not perceived ; and may, in all likelihood, be more injurious ultimately to the patient, than if the original dis- order which it was intended to remove, had been allowed to continue. The importance of organic chemistry is now, however, fully ad- mitted by the leading physicians both in Europe and America. Wherever a disinclination has been shown to make an open and candid avowal of its necessity, tlie reason may be easily traced, to the apparent difficulty, of incorporating a new system with an old estab- lished practice. On this head, however, there exists a good deal of misapprehension. The advice of Mr. Wakely and others, to medi- cal students, given without qualification, has had some share in exciting this feeling. As far back as 1844, during the publication of Liebig's lectures in the Lancet, Mr. Wakely recommended in very impressive terms, the importance of organic chemistry to medicine ; but, apparently, not perceiving the facility with which the results of the new discoveries, in chemistry, could be used by the old practi- tioners, his advice was directed exclusively to young students. Such advice, without qualification, was virtually to ostracise the whole existing body of practitioners. In this sense, it seems to have been received; and, notwithstanding that no demurrer was ostensibly 10 imade, on their part, it has continued to stand in the way, and to prevent that countenance to organic chemistry, hy the medical pro- fession, that otherwise would have been practically manifested. The importance of organic chemistry being admitted, it does not necessarily follow that, before it can be made available for the cure •of disease, the medical practitioner must enter the laboratory and serve an apprenticeship to a new art. This would be a discouraging position to assume. The discoveries that have been made are too recent, to be generally applicable to the institution of an appropriate curriculum of chemical study, for medical practice. Such a curri- culum will undoubtedly be established, so soon as the mode of •experimenting, now in progess, shall have been sufficiently matured, and the results be available, as a guide, to the requirements of a course of chemico-medical study. Even then, however, it is not to be supposed, that the exact calculations of the practised chemist will not continue to take precedence, in all medical formulae. Many experiments, particularly in organic chemistry, are of a complicated and tedious nature, for which the general practitioner could neither find time nor convenience. In such cases, he must be satisfied to borrow the ascertained facts of the professional chemist; for the pur- pose of using them in his medical practice. If so, there is no reason why these ascertained facts should not be made available now, as well as afterwards. It is a great mistake, to think, that nothing can be done to place medicine on a scientific basis, before that a new generation of practitioners, with chemical certificates, shall have taken the place of the present. It is a misfortune that such a mis- understanding should have occurred j the more so, on account of its universal prevalence. If viewed in a proper light, the erroneous impression, thus formed, could be easily removed. And the sooner •'this is done the better it will be for the credit of the profession. There is little comfort, in being reminded, by every circumstance connected with the administration of physic, that the man of educa- tion who can boast of fellowship with one or more chartered Faculties, ds, after all, to a certain extent, on a par with the vendor of patent nostrums ; and that the pilula hydrargyria as a specific, is suseep- tible of no more satisfactory explanation, than the universal draught, which is warranted to be infallibly efficacious, in every possible case of disease, without distinction. It is mortifying to reflect, that a ooble art should, thus, be degraded to a level with the vilest system of deception and commercial dealing. But there is no use continu- ing to cxposc dofcsts and to cxpFCSS regrets, unless suitable mcuus 11 be suggested and simultaneously adopted, to remedy the evil com- plained of. It is well to understand, at the same time, the full im- port of the diflSculties which surround the whole question j because it is only by becoming sensible of the magnitude of the obstacles which oppose a beginning to the progress of medical reform, that the proper means, by which to remove them, can be devised aud successfully undertaken. In regard to the prejudices of many of the old practitioners, and also of the more numwous body, whose chief qualification consists, in being able to follow unscrupulously and to the letter, the empirical routine of the existing schools, it is reasonable to assume that they could be easily overcome, by the example of those more gifted medical authorities who, by their writings, determine the law and give a shape and tone to the popu- lar medical tenets of the day. It h evident, that the general belief imputes to established and deep rooted prejudice, the difficulty of innovation on the present system. And this prejudice certainly exists. But if properly regarded, cannot be considered to sfand in the way of a reformatory change. If, from the presentation of the subject in its proper light, the conviction can once be produced, of the disparaging contrast, between a system of practice having a scientific foundation, and that, at present existing, which has no theory, and is incapable of being defended, the issue will soon be determined. The chief point is, to set forth prominently the radical cause of the evil — that which underlies and constitutes its substra- tum. The conviction must be brought home to the mind of every member of the profession, that it is the exclusively empirical charac- ter of medicine which constitutes its radical defect ; in which empi- ricism there exists not only a want of correspondence, but an actual opposition between professional practice and natural principles. The presentation of this fact, the proofs of its truth, and the illus- trations requisite to impress it deeply and permanently on the good sense of the great body of medical practitioners, are, in my opinion, all that are wanted, to secure an immediate recognition of the claims of science, and an abandonment of the unsatisfactory foundatio a on which medicine has hitherto rested. The time has besides arrived, when a change of system has become unavoidable.; and can no longer be delayed, despite of the disposition to concede or withhold what the circumstances so urgently demand. The principles of organic chemistry, affirmed by the most ample experimental proofs, within the last twenty years, are directly opposed to the system of medica- tion now in general use. Those principles, as hag been before statedy 12 m . are now recognized by leading physicians who have tamed their attention to the subject; and the reader of medical periodical publi- cations, cannot fail, to observe, a growing tendency, to subordinate the rules of medicine to the principles of chemistry. The perfect and systematic application of the latter to the former, must no doubt be a work of time ; as organic chemistry is only yet in its primary and germinating stato. Enough, however, has been accomplished to define the relation of chemistry to medicine ; and to satisfy the most competent professional authoriiies, that it is only under the guidance of chemical tests, that anything can be known, of the nature of the secretions and the change of the fluids ; or that the action of medica- ments can be definitely ascertained. So far, the importance of organic chemistry has been admitted ; and, as a consequence, its principles are already applied, though partially in both private and hospital practice. The way, however, which has been taken to make chemistry serviceable to medicine, is by no means likely to be attended with success. On the contrary, it will appear, on examination, to be really objectionable; and, more- over, that it is not in accordance with those principles of secience which ought, in all cases, to be our standard of authority. I make this admission with considerable reluctance; because I owe what knowledge I possess, on this subject, to tho writings of some of the principal actors in the great ^vork of chemico-medical reform; know the value of their discoveries ; and can foresee the amount of good which society is about to derive, from their labors. The occasion, however, is one which concerns the future prospects of medicine, as a science; and the right or wrong principles acted on, now that a change is in progress, will assuredly decide the shape which the transitional system will assume, for a considerable time to come; during one epoch, at least, of its future history. I, therefore, feel less reserve, in stating my views, of what I consider the right application of the principles of organic chemistry; at the same time that I wish it to be understood, and as I shall endeavor to show, that my appli- cation of those principles, is in unison with the theory and doctrines of Liebig, as a whole ; and is the only legitimate mode by which, consistently with those doctrines, they can be practically enforced. In studying organic chemistry, much depends on the direction and scope which is conceived, at the outset, with regard to the compre- hensiveness of the subject. It will not do to follow the restricted curriculum of the old regimen, for the detection, by analysis, of gases, acids and poisons, ev«u with the addition of the organio 13 I elements ; for this would be only dealing with the dry bones and subsidiary manipulations of what properly constitutes the science. Neither should it be supposed, that the object is to form an extended and intimate acquaintance with the uje of pharmaceutical reagents, and the changes they produce on the living tissues. Yet I am sorry to confess that, with the exception of a more rigid observance of the old rules of hygiene, the whole bent of the ntw chemico-medicinal practice, is confined to this reactionary application of external sub- stances. We have a recent example of this, in Dr. Churchill's specific of hypophosphatds of lime and soda for tuberculosis; which is more remarkable, in consequence of its having been officially and favorably reported upon, in Paris, by a committee of the Academic de M4decine. A reference to the current medical reports will show, what appears very strange, that this system of practice has been gaining ground, wherever it has been attempted to make organic chemistry the basis of medicine. The cause of this error may be imputed, and no doubt is due, to some suggestions by Prof. Liebig, while experimenting on the action, within the body, of alloxan,* iron, phosphates of lime, and other substances; and, on the conversion of benzoic into hippuric acid, f Since these sugges- tions were first made, we have witnessed the preparation, from the stomach of the ox, of a compound called pepsin ; and more recently, of a compound of iron, under the name of blood-food; besides many other preparations equally irrational. Dr. Cburchill's is, however, a more conspicuous example of the tendency to which I have referred, for two reasons; first, because it has received the official sanction of a corporate body of eminent savans ; and second, because it is of recent occurrence. * " It would be most interesting to investigate the action of alloxan on th« human body. Two or three drachms, in crystals, had no injurious action oQ rabbits, to which it was given. In man, a large dose appeared to act only on the kidneys. In certain diseases of the liver, alloxan would very probably be found a most powerful remedy." — Animal Chemistry. •\ "To the evidence produced by A. Ure, of the conversion of benzoic acid into hippuric acid, in the human body, M. Kaller has added some very deci- sive proofs, which I append to this work, on account of their physiological importance. The experiments of M Keller were made in the laboratory of Professor Wohler, at Gottingen ; and they place beyond all doubt the fact that a non-azotized substance taken in the food can take a share, by means of its elements, in the act of transformation of the animal tissues, and in the formation of a secretion. This fact throws a clear light on the mode of action of the greater number of remedies; and if the influence of caffeine on the formation of urea or uric acid should admit of being demonstrated in a simi- lar way, we shall then possess the key to the action of quinine, and of the other vegetable alkalies." — Animal Clicmistry. 14 '1 1 .1 Professor Liebig did no more than simply recommend tBe perfor- mance of isolated experiments, for the purpose of testing the truth or falsehood of certain opinions, which could not be satisfactorily determined in any other way. And it matters not whether we con- sider these suggestions at varience with his general theory or not. It was necessary that disputed questions should be settled by tangible experiments, and by this means be settled forever ; for experiments are the only proofs of the validity of theories. But, to assume thai suggestions to experiment amounted to an approval of a certain course of practice, is a very grave error. We cannot conceive, that there is any other way, of accounting for the prevalent tendency of distinguished members of the profession, thus, to misapply chemistry. Every attempt to graft the old routine of medical practice on organic chemistry, is only an additional proof that the principles of science are misapprehanded. In place of continuing to look into the human body, for the reactionary changes, f roduced by the adminis- tration of foreign substances, this system of procedure must be abandoned in toto. It has been too long tried ; and has resulted in nothing but discredit ; becn.use it is a system of guessing. It pro- ceeds on no preascertained data; and, further than an experiment to demonstrate its falacy, should be altogether discountenanced. The groundwork, and in fact the whole scope of chemico-medicine, Kes in a clear perception of the analogy between the nutritive and healing processes in man, compared with those of the lower animals and of plants. The limitation of our observations to the action of this or that individual substance, and the mere classification of results, is a narrow and discreditable employment of our faculties. The worm which crawls on the ground can discriminate, by actual contact^ which one, of many substances, is best adapted to suit its immediate wants ; but, for man, whose Promethean spirit is able to draw down fire from heaven, to be engrossed only with considerations that ascend no higher than the sensuous perception of the material objects which lie directly in iiis path, is unworthy of a being gifted with reason, and endowed with faculties that, if properly directed, should enable him to fathom the occult causes and scan the purposes and intentions of all earthly phenomena. The analogy of the elemental functions, in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, between plants and animals, and between the lower animals and man, is the fulcrum on which the truth of chemico-medicine ultimately rests. Without analofv. no cenGralization can be formed • and without a process of generalization, the truth, in this as in all parallel cases^ 15 must ever continue to be a mystery. In this analogy of the functions of the elements, what, in the first place, is chiefly to be observed, is the unalterable character of each class of primary elements, under all circumstances, whether in or out of the organism ; and, in the second, our ability to trace it, and to demonstrate its identity, what- ever forms it may assume, or under whatever arrangement it may appear, first, in the air or in the soil, second, in plants, third, in animals, and, finally, after passing from the organism through the process of eremacausis or decomposition, appearing again in the air or soil. As the human body is a congeries of primary elements, having diff"erent forms of arrangement, and derived from vegetabh and animal organizations, it is only by tracing, in this manner, the elemental functions, that wo can arrive at a correct knowledge of the nature of a secretion ; and as our ability to change a secretion must in all cases depend on a knowledge of the conditions of change, therefore is it necessary that an acquaintance with the conditions of change should take precedence of any attempt to act upon a secre- tory organ. This, it will be observed, is a controversion of the mode of procedure commonly adopted. A knowledge of the rationale of the process of change, is made to take precedence of any attempt to perform the act;— that is, in professional practice; for, as I have already stated, isolated experimental attempts merely, are always required to test the validity of theoretical conclusions. What constitutes science is the conception of the modus operandi of the natural law. Nothing can be scientific which has not its foundation in a principle of nature. When Denys and Emerez, as related by Magendi, transfused the blood of a calf into the veins of an idiot, and reported that the idiot seemed to recover his reason, the proceeding was contrary to the dictates of science; because at vari- ance, with that law of natu-e, which associates certain functions with specific structures of the organs. The exercise of reasou, could not be predicated, where the organ of reason was wanting; and on that ground alone, the experiment was uncalled for and absurd; a conclu- sion which IS borne out by the fact that, on subsequent repetitions of the same experiment, the idiot first became frantic, and afterwards died. The curing of symptoms, though an error of a different class from that committed by Prs. Denys and Emerez, is equally irrational and unscientific. There can be no greater proof of the obliquity of mental vision, than to imagine that by cutting off our means of knowledge, the thing known may cease to exist. Yet this is exactly 16 ^ i U I !1 Hi what takes place, when a practitioner is satisfied if lie can only suc- ceed in obliterating the external signs by which an internal disease is made apparent. For quick pulse, accompanied with pain in the region of the chest, Dr. A. abstracts blood. The pulse is reduced, aud the pain has ceased. Thereon, the patient and the doctor con- gratulate each other, on the efficacy of the treatment. But soon after, the pain returns, and also the quick pulse; and because the former bleeding had operated to dispel both symptoms, it is resorted to again, and another volume of blood is abstracted. A temporary relief, as before, may follow the second operation; and sometimes even the third; till, gradually, the returning symptoms become alarm- ing, and the patient has become too weak to submit again to the same operation. Other treatment is then employed, by ph3;sicing; directed still, however, to allay the pain and reduce the pulse; that is, to cure the symptoms. Again, Dr. B. has got a patient who is aflfected with dropsy; that is, with water lodged in the cellular tissues, as anasarca; or in the cavity of the chest, as hydrothorax; or in the cavity of the abdomen, as ascites. Of course, the kidneys do not perform their accustomed functions; therefore, the kidneys must be acted on ; and, for this purpose, diuretics are administered. But the fluid still remaining in the cellular t' me or cavities of the body, and increasing in quantity, hydragogues are then added to the diuretics, and an additional action is thereby excited in the alimen- tary canal. Here also, all that is aimed at by the treatment is to dr£iW off the liquid. But the accumulation of liquid is not the dis- ease; it is only a symptom of derangement of certain secreting organs ;— therefore, to cure dropsy. Dr. B., in place of grappling with phantoms, ought to have directed his attention to the cure of the diseased organs. But, how .seldom is the proper method even thought of! The fashion is, by diuretics and hydragogues, to attack the symptoms ; that is, the water lodged in the body. As a systematic mode of treatment, the curing of symptoms is particularly conspicuous in what is called homa^opathic practice. The peculiar system of this medical school prescribes a different specific for every variety of symptoms. Though the internal disease is the same, each external indication is visited with a different treat- ment. An example from Dr. J. II. Pulte's book, which is acknow- ledged as a standard authority, will illustrate this. The di.scase which takes the first place in the " Homoeopathic Domestic Physician," is rheumatism. Under this head, are comprised no less than nineteen classes of symptoms; each of which has a specific treatment, different 17 from the others. Aconite ia applied to the symptonjs of one class, bryonia to those in another; and so on with belladona, chamomile, arnica, niixvomica, pulsatilla, mercury, dulcamara, rhus, ignatia, thuja, china, veratrum, arsenic, phosphorus, caustic, sulphur, sepia, NoTT, rheumatism proper, is an affection of the muscles and joints, chiefly of the shoulders, hips and knees. The pains are the same in all cases; differing only in intensity; and being either temporary and shifting, or permanent. A difference of intensity, or of temporary or permanent continuance of pain, is a difference miy of symptoms. These symptoms are not the disease, and therefore should not consti- tute the object of treatment. Yet, Dr. Pulte prescribes for each symptom, as for a separate disorder. As a climax, he adds a pro- vision that overturns the whole fabric of specifics, reared with such a degree of minuteness. It is as follows : " After a remedy has been tried for ten or fourteen days, another may be chosen, if no improve- ment has appeared." The question that arises here, is this: Which other is to be chosen ? If aconite has been tried for ten or fourteen days, and has failed, what other specific will answer the symptoms for which aconite has been prescribed ? Will any of the other eighteen do ? If so, and if the same liberty is allowed in the other eighteen cases, when, in a similar way, each specific fails to cure the symptoms to which it is said to be specifically applicable, what use can there be in assigning one specific to one class of symptoms more than to another ? Why not allow these specifics to be guessed at, in the first instance, as well as afterwards ? If aconite has failed, and belladona is next to be tried, what is the reason that belladona is not prescribed first ; or, in other words, why is aconite made to take precedence of belladona ? That provision is a virtual acknowledgment that the finely adjusted arrangement of symptoms and their specifics, i3 fallacious and decep- tive. One addition only is wanting, to place the homoeopathic system of curing symytoms in its true light. But Dr. Pulte, less candid than the famous ehronothermalist, Dr. Dickson, suppresses what Dr. Dickson, under similar circumstances, frankly admits. Writing also under the head "rheumatism," Dr. Dickson says: "Like the gout, it is a remittent disorder; and Dr. Haygarth, long ago» ■wrote a work illustrative of the value of bark in its treatment. My own practise is to premise an emetic ; this I follow up with a combination of quinine and colchicura. If that mode of treatment fail, I have recourse to opium, arsenic, guiaic, mercury, silver, turpentine, copaiba, arnica montana, aconite or sulphur, or combinations .'>f thcrr^ ; all of wbicb remedies havo succeeded and failed, in ague as well as rheumatism. In most instances of 18 acute rheumatiBtu, the first combination will be found to answer perfectly, though in cases of long standing you may have to run from one medicine to another, before being able to bring about this desirable termination ; and it is my duty to confess to you that, in some cases, particularly where either much depletion, or much mercury, or both, have been employed — as I grieve to say they too often are in the primary treatment — you may fail with every means you may devise." It would bo futile to ask the horaceopathist or chronothermalist, what chemical relation there is between aconite or mercury and the symptoms of rheumatism ; for there is not one sentence in either Dr. Pulte's or Dr. Dickson's book, to indicate, that either of them ever thought, that chemistry has anything to do with curing rheuma- tism or any other disease j — so completely is science excluded from those two systems of practice also. In connection with the bearings of science on the sanatory condi- tion of society and the health of individuals, it would scarcely be doing justice ti our subject, if we neglected its moral considerations. These are comprised, in the obligation, imposed on each of us, in the first place, to know, and, after knowing, to conform to the laws or- c'ained for the government of our material being. However neces- sary it is that medical institutions should form part of our social system, individuals are not thereby released from the obligation to study and to understand the precepts of natural revealation. For, inasmuch, as intelligence or the power of reasoning is a constituent part of man's nature, therefore, is the exercise of that reasoning power a duty, which cannot be disregarded without, at the same time, discountenancing the purpose for which it is given. What chiefly distinguishes the highest from the lower animals, and one man from another, is the capacity to comprehend, either by intuition or induction, the occult causes of the nature of things. '< Omnis homines, qui sese student praestare ceteris animalibus, summa ope niti decet vitam silentio ne transeant, veluti pecora, quae natura prona, atque ventri obedientia, finxit. Sed nostra omnis vis in unimo et corpore sita : animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur : altorum nobis cum dis, alterura cum belluis commune est."* He ^\rho is able, is, in duty, bound to exercise his faculties, Tor his own good and for that of his fellow creatures. With the proper exercise of those faculties, it is impossible not to perceive the wisdom of the arrangement which associates, with good or bad bodily functions, corresponding consequences. The moral influence capable of being I * Sallust. 19 exercised, throngli the knowledge of the fact tliat no indulgence in excesses of any kind can take place, without being followed imme- diately by consequences of a penal nature, can scarcely be over-esti- mated. It is customary, however, at the present day, to impute, to the divine dispensation, all bodily infirmities and domestic afflic- tions, without regard to the separate application which distinguishes the natural dispensation from the christian. In the prospect of u future state of happiness or misery, the public mind is, thus, made to lose sight of the measure of good or evil which every individual, by his particular conduct, causes to himself, in this world. The two dispensations are so blended, by official authority both secular and religious, that the distinction between them, if not completely ob- literated, is, at least, scarcely discernible. Indeed, I know of no cause more calculated to produce individual omissions of personal and domestic duty, than the belief that the penalty is distant and uncer- tain. But no two things can be more distinct, in their consera, and also in the process of endosmosis. Like many collateral branches of science, hydrostatics and pneumatics are indispensable to the student of chemico-medicine. In this department. Professor Liebig has done great service, no less to general philosophy than to chemistry, by his treatise on the analogy of the causes of the motion of the sap in plants, and the fluids in animal bodies. These hydrostatic and pneumatic branches open up a new and wide field, from the further cultivation of which the most important results may be anticipated. They are too comprehensive, however, for a woik like this, which is designed to give simply an outline of the leading principles of the chemi;fcry of health and disease; and, therefore, are not included in the present treatise. The analogy between the chemistry of plants and of animals, which is more immediately indispensable to the elucidation of our subject, relates to the unchangeableness of the primary elements, and the equilibrium of the chemical functions of organized bodies. Under the two heads, identity and equilibrium, what is said in the following pages has reference, accordingly, as much to the vegetable as to the animal kingdom. The additional chapter, on displace- ment, as it relates to the action of the nerves exclusively, is applicable only to animals. 4\ CHAPTER I. IDENTITY. The word "identity" denotes the sameness or unaltered state of a thing, under different circumstances and relations. When a living person becomes drowned, and a dead body is afterwards found in the water, the proof that the body so found is the same as of the person who was known to have been alive, is said to be the proof of its identity. Or, the identity may be of whole species ; as, in gather- ing apples from the trees in an orchard, the pippins, russets, snows and crabs, may be mixed in one heap, and each species be after- wards identified, as having been taken from trees of that species. The identity of the elements or ultimate constituent parts of organ- ized bodies, under various circumstances, forms the starting point of the chemico-medicinal system of practice. It assumes that each element which forms part of the food of a plant or animal, preserves the same size, the same shape, and the same chemical affinities, in every situation in which it may be placed. For example, a particle of carbon is of the same size and form, whether existing in carbonic acid, in alcohol, in the fat of the body, or in the diamond ; conse- quently, the elements of the food preserve their elementary charac- teristics in the stomach, blood, tissues, excretions, and, finally, in the soil or air. On this view is founded the objection to all sub- stances as medicaments, whose constituent elements arc different from those of the food ; as well as of all substances, as food, whose constituents are difierent from those of the body. Seeing the impor- tant bearing which this principle of the identity of the elements exercises, on both hygiene and medicine, it therefore claims a minute and careful exposition. To the contrary and prevalent belief, that the elements of the food become changed in the body, by the vital force, is to be Imputed the erroneous views which have been entertained, with respect to the use of the deleterious and poisonous preparations of the pharmaco- poeia. The nature of the changes which have, thus, been .suppo.sed f^<. 24 to take place being inexplicable, no rule, having a universal appli- cation, has ever been known to obtain. The belief that the elements of the food, as of vegctjibles and milk, become changed in their essential properties, before that bone, flesh and brain can be pro- duced, has precluded the idea of tracing these elementary constitu- ents ; for to identify the carbon of milk in the blood ur tissues, could not have been conceived to be possible, while the impression existed that the carbon lost its purely carbonaceous properties by digestion and assimilation. Not only medicine, but hygiene, .came thus to be established also on u purely empirical foundation. The comparative usefulness of gluten and starch could not be perceived. The different purposes of albumen and fat were as little known as if these substances themselves were beyond our cognizance. Even at the present day, there is no stronger proof of the false empirical notions, with respect to diet, than is evidenced in the rules for using butcher meat, vegetables, alcoholic beverages, &c. Though these rules are various, and notwithstanding the progress which has been made in organic chemistry, it seems not to be known that beef has a specific use altogether distinct from vegetables, and serves a sepa- rate purpose in the animal economy. There are thus erroneous and indefinite rules for hygiene, as there are contradiotoiy modes of practice in medicine, — inconsistencies that are altogether attributa- ble to the notion, so generally prevalent, that, in the processes of digestion and assimilation, the elementary constituents of the food lose their original properties. In considering the subject of identity, it would be improper to overlook the doctrines of ancient philosophers and modern thinkers, in relation to it. These doctrines will be recognized under the appellation of the atomic theory. So early as the fifth century before the Christian era, two philosophical schools or sects flourished in the Greek colonies of Ionia, in Asia Minor. They were distin- guished chiefly by the notions, which they respectively held, con- cerning the unchangeableness of the primary elements, or, what they termed, the atoms of matter. One sect, being necessarily pantheistic in its views of creation, held the belief that the universe existed by virtue of a power within itself, which was forthforming and progres- sive ; and consequently, as there was no motive power distinct from matter, that the power of motion and generation was possessed by each atom ; the aggregate power of the whole being a unity, com- prising the powers of the several parts. Each atom was therefore supposed to have a power within itself of generation and mutability, 25 V by the action of which the properties of the atom were continually underfj^oing change. On account of placing the power of motion in the material atoms, the members of this sect, the most prominent of whom were Thales, Anaximenes, Diogen«s and Heraclitus, were called Dynamicists, from dovata^, which signifies force or power. The other sect, of whom Anaxagoras was the most perfect type, distinguished between the moved matter of. the universe and the moving power; that is, between God and the creation. It waa maintained by this sect that each atom of matter had been impressed, at its original creation, with a certain form, certain size, and certain combining properties; and was not capable of acting in any other way, or of assuming any other form, than what was peculiar to it at its original inception. As the atoms were thus supposed to perform mechanical functions, in obedience to a power impressed on them from without, the members of this other sect were known under the appellation of Mechanicists. About the same time, the atomio theory was inculcated by another school of Grecian philosophers, called Sophists, at Abdera, in Thrace. The most prominent of this school was Democritus ; and the chief peculiarity of its doctrine, was the existence of a vacuum, surrounding every atom of matter. Coming down to the beginning of the last century, Boscovitch, an Italian mathematician, advanced the hypothesis, that the primary atoms are mathematical points, without extension, but possessed of the properties of attraction and repulsion. This singular doctrine found an advocate, no later than 1844, in the person of Dr. Faraday. Tiie atomic theory has, however, received its most complete development from the English chemist and mathematician Dalton ; whose views, may be said, to be generally predominant among Euro- pean and American scholars, at the present day. Dalton assumed, that each atom is surrounded by a space or atmosphere ; and that, ill a composite body, which is an aggrc-xation of atoms and their surrounding spaces, contraction and expansion are simply a diminu- tion and increase of the intervening spaces : — for example, that in the freezing of water, the spaces become smaller; and when water evaporates, the spaces become larger; at the same time, that the atoms of hydrogen ajid oxygon, of which water is composed, retain their original sizes, being themselves incapable of increase or dimi- nution. Now, in tra iing the identity of the elements of the food, as they appear consecutively in the fluids, solids and secretions of an organ- ,% h 26 ized body, all that concerns us, is the ability to distinguish one clas* of elements from another, without regard to the intervening spaces,, or the divisibility of what are considered as atoms. These latter are debatable points, and fortunately, it happens, they are not compre- hended in the researches of chemico-medicine. All that we have to do with, is the identity of the elements — the proof of their unchange- ableness under every variety of circumstances. Whether each element of a compound has or has not a surrounding space, capable of contraction and expansion, and is capable or incapable of division^ are .questions altogether irrelevant to our subject. Therefore, we readily set aside the views of Democritus, Boscovitch and Dalton. With Anaxagoras, however, the case is different. His doctrine con- tains nothing which is not demonstrable, by the ordinary methods of proof; and, moreover, corresponds with the doctrine of identity as it is understood by the modern organic chemist. Accordingly, we find that Anaxagoras, reasoning from the premises that the primary elements, whether in the organism or out of the organism, are iden- tical in shape and size, and arc in no way whatever changed, inferred that all the parts of an organized being must have existed previously in its food. * He promulgated this inference ; but, in that age, it did not admit of proof, for experimental science was then in its earliest infancy. Its verification was not possible, before that che- mistry should have become so far advanced as to be applicable to the analysis of organized bodies. It is remarkable, notwithstanding, that in the long interval of two thousand two hundred years since his time, the important truth comprehended in this inference, should not only have borne no fruit, but should have lain concealed among the hidden treasures of the past, as the relict of a dead and obsolete philosophy. ELEMENTS OP THE FOOD, OF THE ORGANS, AND OF TUB EXCRETIONS. What are meant by elements are the different classes of simple substances, which are respectively composed of homogenous parts. An element, in this sense, is different from an atom which denotes * riut. de n. Ph. 1, t3. Kni U rarrrig rrjg Tpn(t>ii(; Tps'tirai 6piK,^\f^, aprppia, vtvpa, otrra, kui rci \oind popia. tui'itwv oiii> yiintfiti'W)' ufioXuytiTtwtr ItTTi'.', on tv ry rpnf^ ry TrfMfTffr.nitrvjj -rrciVTa hrl -(t'uyr'n. — Arist. -'J'7 4.23 Playfair & Bocckmann. 95.58 4.42 «' 95.58 4.42 Liebig. 92.4 7.6 Boussingault. 91.40 8.54 Schrader. 91 9 Liebig. 84.5 15.5 n. Davy. It will be seen by this, that the great difference in the quantity, of the two cla,s.ses of elements, justifies our applying the term jmw ci;pal dements, to carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. And, OBt* ^:4 * ■;! 28 the other hand, the circumstance of the other ten being a residue in all cases of incineration and decomposition, makes elements of the nshcx, an appropriate appellation. The following, are the two classes of elements : PRINCIPAL ElEMENTS. ElIMENTS OF THE ASHES. 1. Carbon. 5. Phosphorus. 11. Calcium. 2. Hydrogen. 6. Sulphur. 12. Potassium. 3. Nitrogen. 7. Iron. 12. Magnesium. 4. Oxygen. 8. Chlorine. 13. Fluorine. 9. Sodium. 14. Silicon. These are the elements of all organized bodies ; of plants as well as of animals. As whatever constitutes the elements of the food, constitutes also the elements of the organs and of the excrements ; so, we find, that the fourteen elements mentioned here, exist in all three of these different circumstances or forms. First, in plants, which derive their food from the air and the soil. The last ten of the above fourteen elements, being found in the soil, in the form of salts. And the first four, partly in the air and partly in the soil, in the form of carbonic acid and ammonia. Second, in the graminivora, which subsist exclusively on plants, such as hay, clover, grasses and herbs; the constituents of which are exactly the fourteen elements here enumerated. Boussingault's analysis of oats, dried at 212 F., gives 50.7 per cent, carbon, G.4 hydrogen, 2.2 nitrogen, 3G.7 oxygen, and 4. ashes. By the analysis ■of Dr. Will, oaten straw which is eaten readily by cattle, yielded, when dried at 212° F., 4G.3 carbon, 5.68 hydrogen, 43.93 oxygen, and 4 02 ashes. These ashes, by Berthier's analysis, contained, in 100 parts, the following : Carbonic acid a trace. Sulphuric do 1. Phosphoric do .60 Muriatic do , G.50 Silica 55. Lime 2.90 Oxide of iron and charcoal 5. Potash and soda 29. 100. Third, in the carnivora, which feed on the bodies of the gramini- vora; and, therefore, consume and appropriate the same fourteen elements. The following analyses of the chief parts of the ox, which are eaten us food will exemplify this : 29 ox BLOOD. OX FLESH. (Boeckmann ) Carbon 51.96 Carbon 51.89 Hydrogen 7.33 Nitrogen 15.08 Oxygen 21.21 Ashes 4.42 Hydrogen 7.59 Nitrogen 15.05 Oxygen 21.24 Ashes 4.23 100. 100. BONB. (Berzelius.) Cartilage 32.17 Bloodvessels 1.13 Phosphate of lime.. 51.04 Carbonate do. .. 11.30 Fluate do. .. 2. Phos. of Magnecia.. I.IG Soda, Chloride of Sodium 1.20 100. The bodies of the carnivora, in their constituent elements, are neces- sarily the same as those of the graniiuivora. The above analysis of the blood, flesh and bone of the ox, are also those of the same parts of the carnivora. Fourth, in man, who is said to be omnivorous, on account of his varied appetite, for the numerous products of both the vegetable and animal kingdoms. But, notwithstanding the many and divers sources from which he draws his food, its constituent elements do not exceed, in number or variety, those which are common to the food of plants and the lower animals : a proof of the identity of the constituents of the food of every thing which has life. For the human body itself, either in life or when, after death, it is decom- pose], presents no other constituents than of the fourteen elements already enumerated. Of the animal substances, besides the flesh of the ox, which supply nutriment to the human body, eggs an-I milk may be noticed, as among the principal ; from the circuuuitance also, that they form the only nutriment of many species of animals, during the earlier periods of their existence. Kggs, by the analyses of Jones and Scherer, contain, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine; potash, soda and their carbonates; and lime and magnesia, and their carbonates. By the anala?>is of Schwartz, cow's milk contains, besides carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, also soda combined with lactic acid, chloride of potassium, and the phosphates of soda, lime, magnesia and iron. Among fi.sh, Morin furnishes an analysis of the flesh of the smelt; by which we find that, besides the principal constituents it contains sal ammoniac, phosplmtes of potash, lime, iron and magnesia, chlo- ride of potassium, carbonate of lime, and lactate of soda. The food of plants and animals is, thus, soon to be derived from the soil and atmosphere; and to consist of fourteen elements, all of 30 wliidi are traced in the various forms of vcfrctablc and animal or"-an- ization. These analyses are a verification of the a fortiori argument of Anaxagoras, that all the parts of an organized being must have existed previously in its food. It may seem superfluous, to under- take the proof of what is self-evident the moment it is presented to our reason ; for, wo cannot conceive of any other source or means, by which an organized body can become possessed of any part of its substance, than through its food. And if the truth of the a fortiori proposition was all that was intended to be proved, there might be some reasonable ground for seeming to think that these analyses are unnecessary. They serve an impcaant purpose, however, which, it is proper, we should clearly understand. The value of the experi- ments which have been made consists, in their furnishing the proof, that the elements of the animal body are the same that existed pre- viously in plants; and that the elements of plants are the same that existed formerly in the air and soil. The purpose which these analyses serve is, therefore, the proof of identity; a most important object, when we consider that the prevalent belief imputes, to the vital for3e, the power of generating, in the organism, elements not primarily derived from the food. It is to demonstrate the falsity of this prevalent belief, and thereby to do away with the evil conse- quences aitending it, in hygiene and medicine, that the proof of identity requiies to be firmly and indisputably established. When it is proved that, under no circumstances whatever, docs antimony, iodine, calomel or arsenic exist in the normal state of the organism of a plant or animal, an argument is adduced why neither of these aubstances should ever be administered artiiicially to a plant or animal. The argument is conclusive, unless we are prepared to find fault with the order of nature, and presume to set the artifices of man above it. Following still, the natural indications, there is no auch thing as plants and the lower animals being supplied with powerful stimulants and narcotics. The constituents of plants and of the bodies of the lower animals are definitely known, and it is therefore an as tainnd fact, that they do not contain f-uch powerful Bubstances, which are never supplied in their natural food. But tlie constituents of the huniau body are no less definitely ascertained ; and, as under no normal conditions, do they comprise stimulants or narcotics, the natural law forbids in this case also, the administra- tion of such substances. Let it bo observed that the rule is derived from a knowledge of the natural constituents of the food, of the body, and of the excrements. And that the proof of identity of the 31 ■constituents, is a proof tliat stimulants and narcotics, &c. &c. &c., are foreign substances, whose presence in plants and in the bodies of the lower animals and man, is unnatural ; and, therefore, injurious. The settlement of the question of identity is, therefore, intended not only to eradicate from medicine the employment of deleterious substances ; but likewise to restrain, from general hygiene, the use of unwholesome articles of diet. The chain of identity, through animals and vegetables, to the air and soil, is implied, though not expressed, in the proposition of Anaxagoras. For, if the parts of an organized being existed previ- ously in its food; and plants are the food of animals; and consti- tuents of the air and soil are the food of plants ; therefore, the parts of an animal are the same parts which existed formerly in the air and soil. Keeping in view, that the atomic elements of the mecha- nical philosophy were incapable of transmutation, either of size or form or chemical affinities, this is the legitimate conclusion, from the proposition of Anaxagoras, inductively carried out. The fourteen elements are identified in the excretiona. Human excremen'ts consist of the faeces, urine, breath and perspiration. Whatever enters the body, as food, passes from it afterwards in one or other of these forms ; and ia the same quantity, as in the food received. Faeces, besides the principal elements, contains, by the analysis of Playfair, 13.58 per cent, of ashes; according to Berze- lius, 15 per cent. The variation is accounted for by the difference in the degree of concentration of the food. The following analyses of one thousand parts of human urine, and one hundred parts of -"•uano, will convey an idea of the elementary constituents of liquid and solid excrements : HUMAN URINE. (BerzeUus.) Urea • 30.10 Free lactic acid, lactate of am- monia, ami animal matter not separable from them 17.14 Uric acid 1. Mucus of the bladder 82 Sulphate of potash 3.71 Snlohatc of soda 3.10 Phosphate of Eoda 2.94 rhospliiit! of ammonia 1.05 ■Chloride of sodium 4 4.5 Muriate of ammonia 1.50 Phos. of magnesia and lime ... 1. Siliceous earth 03 Watar 933. 1000. aUANO. i^Volckel.) Urate of ammonia 9. Oxalate of ammonia 10,6 Oxalate of lime 7. Phosphate of ammonia 6. Phos. magnesia and ammonia, 2.6 Sulphate of potash 5.5 Sulphate of soda 3.8 Sal-ammoniac ^. ... 4.2 Phosphate of lime 14.3 Clay and sand 4.7 Organic substances not estima- ted, containing 12 per tient. of matter not soluble in wa- ter. Soluble salts of iron in small quantity. Water 32.3 100, 32 Analyses are, often, not porfectj because those maJe, hy ciriToreiit chemists, do not exactly correspond. If the methods of experiment- ing were not defective, each operator should be able to detect, in each secretion, all the elements which properly belong to it, and which are present in it. Sometimes one or more elements may be overlooked, by one experimenter, that may be detected by another. Or the quantity of each class of elements may not be e(iuaily the same. These variations may be occasioned by dissimilar articles of diet, as well as by defects or differences in the methods of experi- menting. Under tliese circumstances, the proper course is to take the averages of all properly authenticated reports; and, in this way, we are satisfied that the analytical reports, furnished from differeni sources, however incomplete they may be in their details, are, upon the whole, perfectly reliable. For example, in the above analysis of urine, twelve only of the fourteen elements are stated. Fluorine and iron are wanting. An oxide of iron appears in the perspiration. Uut it should appear also in the urine. Fluorine also, which is a consti- tuent of the bones, should appear in the urine. Again, the differ- ence between 13.58, the per ceutage of Playfair, and 15, the per centage of Berzelius, in one hundred parts of faeces, does not affect the accuracy of either analysis. They are supposed to be both cor- rect. Finally, the poisonous substance picrotoxine, a constituent of cocculus '-.dicus was, at first, supposed to contain no nitrogen; because, in all the experiments that had been made, nitrogen had not been detected; though it was discovered afterwards, that nitrogen is a constituent of cocculus indicus. Theernr, in the previous analyses, was occasioned by the smallness of the quantity of nitrogen, and consequently, its inappreciableness, by the 'tests employed. ^Taking, however, the averages, the reports show that the fourteen elements are detected in the excrements which pass from the body; that is, in the faeces, urine, breath and perspiration. They are also identified afterwards in the air and soil. This is the case with the excrements of all animals; and also with the decom- posed constituents of their bodies after death. As has been stated when wood, flesh and solid excrements are burned thoroughly, their principal elements become volatile and ascend. The residue', con- sistmg of the ten elements of the ashes, remains on the ground And so it is also, with plants and animal bodies, when in place of bemg burnt, they become dissolved by the natural process of decom- position. Thus, we poronlve, that what were derived from the air and the soil, xn the first instance, to form and nourish the bodies of phint,^ 33 and animals, return finally to the air and soil a^'ain, after having served the purposes of organizf^d life : A beautiful example of the simplicity and exactitude of the order of creation ; by which 'i few elements appear successively under the most different aspects; and move in a circle, from the inanimate noil and atmosphere, through every phase of organized vitality, back again to the soil and air; thence to repeat, through thousands of generations, and throughout all time, the saJic invariable routine. THE ULTIMATE .COMPOUNDS OF ORGAXIZEL BODIES. Though, as we have seen, by what has been said in the preceding section, that the fourteen elements are capable of being f iced and identified in their different organic forms; still they are not found existing, severally, in a state of isolation from each other ; but, on the contrary, are met with as compounds. It is in their compound forms that they are recognized ; first, in the air and soil ; afterwards, in the structure of plants and animals; and finally, in the excre- ments, and in bodies undergoing decomposition. It is observable that, in the capacity of compounds, limited in number, they perform a circuit similar to what has been already described. The four principal elements exist, in their compound states, as carbonic acid, ammonia and water. The first of these compounds, carbonic acid, is composed of one part, by weight, of carbon, and two of oxygen. It is accordingly represented by the symbol C 0^. The second compound, ammonia, comprises one part, by weight, of nitrogen and three of hydrogen. Its symbol is accordingly N II.^. The third, water, has one part hydrogen and one oxygen ; its sym- bol being H 0. On the other hand, the ten elements of the ashes are compounded among themselves, with oxygen, variously ; and the compounds are named after their constituent elements ; as, phosphate of lime (phos- - phoric acid and the oxide of calcium ; or phosphorus and oxygen and calcium and oxygen). In like manner, phosphates of magnesia, soda and ammonia ; sulphates of lime, ammonia, soda and potash ; fluoride of calcium ; chloride of sodium ; and silicates of potash and lime. These two classes of compounds ; the one, of the principal ele- ments ; and the other, of the elements of the a?hes; are called ultimate compounds. Because all otbor compound forms, whether 34 of tlie stem, juices or fruit of plants, or of the b'ooti, tissues, bile or urine of tlic ntiiiiial body, are reduced to these ; as, originally, they are derived from them. And, as carbonic acid C 0^, ammonia N IIj,, and water II 0, are the only three forms in which the prin- cipal elements, as ultimate organic compounds, exist, primarily ia the air; and are also the only three forms, in which they return to the air again, after having served in the living organism; so, it is their identity that we are now concerned in tracing, throughout their various transpositions, in vegetables and animals. The compounds, as they exist in the fluids and tissues, are, how- ever, more complicated than these. For example, albumen, which has the formula C^,, 11^^, N^ Oj^, is the principal compound of nutri- tive food, and also of blood. But, inasmuch as it is reducible to the ultimate compounds, by the addition of oxygen, which is always present in the air; and inasmuch as it is ultimately resolved into *hesc three compound forms by decomposition ; they are for these reasons, the proper criteria for the proof of identity. The following, will show how albumen is reducible, to the thre ultimate compounds* by the addition of oxygen : 48 part.Car, Acid, C 0^ =€4 <, 0„ 6 " AmmoniajNIIg = 18 " Water, 110 = Alhum. C,,II„,N, 0,, Add 100 II, o '98 On Albumen is here converted into carbonic acid, ammonia, and water, by simply adding 100 equivalents of oxygen— an addition which takes place in the ordinary process of respiration, when a person inhales pure air. This change takes place also when albu- men, in a state of putrefoetion, is exposed to the air. For the work of oxidation then goes on most vigorously ; the oxygen of the atmosphere, with the conditions of warmth and moisture, being the only agent, which produces the decomposition. In a similar man- ner, the other more complicated compounds of organized bodies, are all convertible, into these ultimate compounds. Blood and flesh, if the ten elements of the ashes are excepted, are, with the addition of oxygen, composed exclusively of carbonic acid, ammonia, and water. In short, these ultimate compounds, originally of the atmos- phere, interveningly of all plants and animals, as well as of their excrements and decomposed bodies, and finally of the atmosphere again, are what we are able to trace ; and, in tracing which, are able to identify, as the last products of the decomposition of all or- ganized substances. 85 0,3 NUTRITION, " The nutriment taken by a plant, is intended, to supply it with the constituents of its stem, branches, leaves and fruit. An animal takes food also, for the purpose of furnishing its body with the ele- nients necessary to form bones, membranes, flesh, cerebral and other matters which enter into its composition. The way to find out what food is proper for any particular spcciea of organized being, such as an oak tree or an ox, is to ascertam the constituents of its body. Therefore, when we know that the roots, stem, branches, leaves and juices of -a oak tree are composed of carbon, water and certain organic salts, we possess a knowledge of the constituents of which its food should consist. The food of an oak tree is, accordingly, carbon, water and certain organic salts. No other nutriment is required ; no other would answer ; and should any other be substituted, in its stead, the tree would wither and die. Animals similarly circumstanced would share the same fate. The body of an ox consists of nitrogen, carbon, water and certain organic salts. Its proper food is, thereby indicated, to be exactly these same constituents ; which, moreover, should be compounded, in the exact proportions, in which they exist in the tissues of the animal. Any deviation from their natural combining proportions, cannot take place without being followed by an equal amount of detriment, which is soon perceptible in *he condition of its body. The simplest way to determine the constituent elements and their proportions in the solids of the body, would be by examining the fluids ; for the solid parts of a tree are formed from its juices, as are all the solid parts of an animal from its blood. But this is not practicable; because our means of experimenting, by chemical analysis, are not sufficiently refined to enable us to detect, in the fluids, the proportions of the minuter constituents. The custom, therefore, is to analyze each of the solid parts separately. This round about method, however clumsy it may seem, is necessary under the circumstances. Substances which are used, by animals, as food, are distinguished by the presence or absence of nitrogen. Those containing nitrogen, are the most nutritious; such as the seeds of grass and corn, legu- minous seeds, fruits, vegetables, fish and the flesh of animals. Non-nitrogenous substances, arc such as sugar, starch and fat. The former exist in the body, as compounds of nitrogen, the latter as compounds of carbon. 36 The nutritious compounds of nitroginized food, arc known as albumen, fibrino and caseine. Each of these compounds contains the same elements, and in the same proportions; with the exception of the elements of the ashes, phosphorus and sulphur, which vary in (juantity. This will be seen, by comparing their formulie : Albumen, C,, 11^^ N, 0,, + S^ + Ph. Fibrino, C,s II„, N« 0,^ + 8 + Ph. Caseine, C,, II3, N^ 0,, + S ^ Mulder, who made the discovery that albumen, fibrine and cas- eine, contain the same principal elements and in the same proportions discovered also that there is no difference between the vegetable and animal forms of these compounds. To the formula of the principal constituents, which is the same in all three, he gave the name protein (from -i,oTzi^,w, T hold before, or I hold the first place). He also adopted the following formulae, which are more convenient : VEGETABLE. ANIMAL. Albumen = Protein + S.f Ph. Albumen = Protein + S +Ph Fibrine = Protein + S+Ph. Fibrine = Protein + S+Ph ' Caseine = Protein + S Caseine = Protein + S Articles of diet, which contain the principal elements, in the pro- portions in which they exist in protein, are the most nutritious ; provided they contain also the elements of the ashes, which are in- dispensable. All nutritious substances, such as butchers' meat fowl, fish, grain and vegetables, in short, all nitrogenous products' intended for our food, existing in a natural state, and used by us' contain protein and the necessary elements of the ashes. That is' they contain albumen, fibrine or caseine. When it is required to as- certain the nutritive properties of an article of food, enquiry is directed to the quantity of protein and the elements of the ashes or of albumen, fibrine or caseine. The amount of nutrition, is in the direct ratio, of the quantity of either of these. With respect to the propriety of using butchers' meat, or animal flesh of any kind, there has been a difference of opinion. A com paratively few maintaining that, by the indications of nature, it was designed that the human species should subsist on vegetables alone Thus question adnut. of two lines of argument. A physiolo-ncal' in favor of vegetable diet only ; and a chemical, in favor of '"both vegetable and aniu.ul food. If the structure of the te.th and h.wer jaw alone, is considered, it would seem that, analogically, they are designed to macerate granular snl •' ^ ibstanccs only. The duubl e verti- 37 cal and horizontal action of the lower jaw, and the molar structure, of the lateral teeth, clearly demonstrate this purpose. And if, from the structure, the rule permits us to infer the functions, then is it "vidcut that man dues not belong to the beef-eating species, and is not a carnivorous animal. So far, the argument is conclusive, on one side. But, on the other, organic chemistry demonstrates, just as conclusively, that the muscular tissue of beef and pork and other animal meats, when used as food by man, becomes assiu)ilated in his body as muscular tissue also. And, moreover, that these meats contain, severally, the same constituent elements, and in the same proportions ; that they exist in the human body. Not only are the blood and muscle of man composed of elements the same as those of the lower animals which constitute his food, and in the same proportions, but the constituents of his blood and muscle cor- respond, qualitatively and proportionately, even with the elements of the plants on which those lower animals subsist. Animal and vegetable fibrine. albumen and caseine, containing the same classes of elements and in the same proportions. Practically, the preponderance of a beef diet, as among the Eng- lish ; or of vegetable food, as with the Chinese, is dependent for its suitableness, in each separate case, more on climate and the amount of bodily labor, than on any abstract principle, applicable unconditionally to the whole human species. Health and longevity are not peculiar to the Chinese, who feed on rice, more than to the North American Indians, who live almost exclusively on the flesh of the deer ; or of the Esquimaux, who subsist on flesh and blubber, and never taste vegetable food. Rice exclusively, is wholesome and appropriate food, in a tropical climate ; but, the Esquimaux would not .arvive long, on such diet. So, with th" inhabitants of China, a constant diet of the flesh of the deer or walrus, could sustain life, only for a comparatively short time. These facts clearly demon- strate, that animal and vegetable diet are both proper ; and that the proportions in which they should preponderate, is determined by the temperature of the climate, and the amount of waste, by labor, which the body is accustomed to undergo. Vegetable flbrine is the gelatinous precipitate observable, when the juice of a plant is pressed out, and allowed to stand for a short time. It is not soluble in water. In the soluble liquid which remains, when heated to the boiling point, is found a coagulated mass, which is ve.'otuble albumen. Vegetable caseine, is obtained chiefly from the expressed juice of leguminous seeds, such as peas, beans, and 38 lentils. It is soluble in water, but not coagulable by heat. It is coagulable however by the action of an acid; and, when heated, a Bkin forms on its surface, such as takes phice on milk that has been boiled. These are the forms, in which the nutritive constituents exist in all nitrogenous nutritious plants. Animal fibrine exists in blood, lymph and chyle. Tt is the cms Bamentum or clot that forms in blood, when drawn from the body The lean of beef is chiefly fibrine. It is insoluble in water, .\nimal albume.^ is the floculent substance which appears in the serum of blood or the white of egg, when neutralized by ascetic acid, with the addition of a sufficient supply of water. The watery or serous part of blood, and the white of egg are both, therefore, albuminous sub- stances. _ Like vegetable albumen they are soluble in water. Animal caseine, is the curd of milk, neutralized by an acid. In the milk it preserves its solubility, by means of the potash which milk contains It IS not soluble in water. The nitrogenous nutritious parts of animal substances, consist, thus, of animal albumen, fibrine and caseine, ' The non-nitrogenous compounds which are used as food, such as sugar, starch, butter, fat and oil, are composed exclusively of three of the principal elements; namely, cdrbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Ihey do not contain any uf the elements of the ashes. The differ- ence between them is occasioned by the different proportions in which the same elements are combined. This will be seen in the following formuUo of equivalents : CANB SUGAtt. {Berzelius.) C.2 11,, 0., STARCn FltOM THE LWiUM.NAE. {Strecker.) C<. 11,0 0,0 MUTTON FAT, (C/ievreul.) Cn 11,0 on. OP niTTKR AIMOMJS, (Liebiff.) C,4 He 0, stand ttr. "''' '' ''' '" ""'"="' '^ "^^S^^^ ^^^ ^--"'- -" STARCIt FIIOM THE LKGUXl.VAK. MUTTOX FAT. OIL fir lilTTBR ALMuNDS. CA.NE SrOAR. (Berzelius.) (Strecker.) (Chcvnun t r ■ k- ^ C-bon 4.' 225 Carbon ..,44 91 cJon /H OOr r ^ ''^ Hydrogen. G.600 Hvarogen CI Hi ?'- ^"■^°" "^'^^ Oxygen.... 51.175 0™ 4' ^^J^ogon. 11.700 Hydrogen... 5.56 1 i^^:ysea..^% Oxygen.... 0..304 Oxygen 14,88 100. 100. 10(>- 100. As with the nitrogenous compounds, it was shown at n-urn -U water, ,so, „iil, Ihosc non.n,tr„goQ„us substancoa, the ,ul,Jiti„„ 'il 9k' ^h 39 of oxygen makes tliem yield the ultimate compounds, carbonic acid and water. The following is an example : Cane sugar C, 2 H, , Oj , Add 24 12 eq. o( carb. acid COj = Cj^ 11 " water — 11 1 1 Oo., On '1 i 11,, OS Cj2 Hj , O35 These two classes of compounds, nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous, serve two distinct purposes, in plants and animals. The former, exist, in nutritious fruits and seeds, and in fleshy tissues and muscle. The latter, in ligneous or woody fibre, and in fat and oleagenous formations. In the selection of food, attention should be paid to the purpose which it is intended to serve. If the object is to produce seeds or fruits, or muscular tissue, care must be taken that nitrogenous substances are supplied. But if the intention is to pro- duce woody fibre,* sugar, starch or animal fat, the proper fuod is the non-nitrogenous. The agriculturist who neglects this distinction, will be sure to meet with constantly recurring disappointments, in the unproductiveness and failure of his crops. And the breeder of cattle, who is ignorant of the rule, cannot expect any other fate than the loss and waste of the means, which otherwise could be made productive, to the fullest extent. Keeping in view the comparison, between the analized consti- tuents of organized bodies and the analized constituents of their food, let us now consider the process of nutrition. Plants draw in their nutriment by two diff'areut channels. Their carbon, as carbonic acid, is absorbed, by the leaves, from the air. Their nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, together v/ith organic salts and water, are imbibed from the soil. The carbonic acid enters the leaves chiefly during the night, at which time they become perfectly saturated with the gas. So soon, however, as the sun's rays strike on the plant, in the mor- ning ; and in the day time also, during the action of the solar rays ; the carbonic acid becomes decomposed. The carbon, in combination with the salts obtained from the soil by the roots, becomes assimi- lated, as woody fibie, and forms a permanent deposit. At the same time, the oxygen is eliminated by the leaves, as an excrement ; and is returned to the air, to serve afterwards for the respiration of ani- mals and for combustion. The deposition of woody fibre, necessarily presupposes two continuous currents, in the stem and branches of a plant, one descending the other ascending, for the conveyance of the * ^e Liebig on Forest CvL\imc.—A(;rmdivral Chemistry. 'I • 1 'IS 181 40 soluble nutriment to all parts, from the leaves and roots; and for the carrying away of substances, to be expelled, as excrementitiuus. The ammonia enters by the roots, together with the organic salts and water. This ammonia is one of the volatilized products of putrefac- tion. When, for example, vegetable or animal substances, con- taining nitrogen, become decomposed, by rotting, their nitrogen combines with the l^drogen of water; and, in this state, the com- bination of nitrogen with hydrogen, in the proportions of one equi- valent of the former to three of the latter, forms ammonia, which evaporates and passes oif into the air. But, unlike carbonic acid, it does not remain there. It returns to the earth, in every shower of rain and snow ; and is the source, whence the cereals of grass and corn, the fruits of trees and leguminous seeds receive their nitrogen. In the process of nutrition, this nitrogen, imbibed as ammonia along with the organic salts and water, is carried from the roots to the heads of corn and grass, and to the buds of fruit trees; and is there deposited, in albuminous or other compound forms. The process, in animals, may be summed up in a few words. From the mouth, where it is ma^cerated, the food passes along the oesophagus into the stomach; in which, acted on by the hydrochloric solvent of that organ, it becomes digested. From the stomach, it passes, as a chymous mass, into the intestines ; mixes there with the bile and pancreatic juice; is constantly turned and compressed, in a vermicular manner, so that its soluble parts may be brought in con- tact with the parietes or sides of the intestinal canal; and thereby become absorbed, by the innumerable absorbent vessels which open into it, at every point. A separation, however, takes place in the intestinal canal, between the soluble and insoluble parts of the food. The insoluble parts are borne along and straightway expelled from the body. On the other hand, the soluble portion is taken up, by the small vessels referred to, which communicate with the interior surface of the intestines. These vessels are called lacteals, from the Latin Inr, which signifies milk ; because the soluble food absorbed, and with which they are filled, is white like milk. The lacteals, in their course, after leaving the intestinal canal and ramifying the secretory glands of the mesentery, converge and terminate in the thoracic duct, which receives all this white soluble food. It is then carried by the thoracic duct up to the left side of the neck, and emptied into the large vein leading directly to the heart. The nutri- tious part of the food has now entered the general circulation, and is mixed with the venous blood. So mixed, it enters the right divi- 41 sioa of the heart ; which, acting as a force-pump, sends it to the lungs. From the lungs it is returned to the left division of the heart, forming now red arterial blood* and is now prepared and fitted to perform its destined purpose j that is, to form new parts of living organs. By the contraction of the left division of the heart, it is forced into the arteries, which carry it to all parts of the body ; ramifying the minutest structures. When it reaches the hairlike extremities of the arteries, called the capillaries, the work of deposi- tion begins. The fibrine and albumen which, as food, entered the body, in the form of bread, butchers' meat, fish and vegetables, after having passed into the state of blood, are now deposited as the fibrine and albumen of living organs ; that is, they form now parts of the body itself So too, the carbon and hydrogen of non-nitrogenized food, passing, through the same process, into the blood, are now deposited as cellular fat. The discovery of Mulder, that vegetable and animal fibrine con- tain exactly the same constituents, and in the same proportions, and do not vary in any respect whatever ; and that the same equality exists between vegetable and animal albumen; enables us to identify the proteinaceous compounds of the food, in the chymous mass, as it leaves the stomach ; thence, in the lacteals and thoracic duct, next in the biood, and finally in the living tissues, as vital compiunds of fibrine and albumen. WASTE. Under this head, are understood all decompositions, and secretions of the tissues, which are expelled from the body. The agent which eifects this waste, is the oxygen of the air. Oxygen, the most abundant element in nature, is a universal solvent. It exerts the most powerful afiinity for most of the other elements ; whereby they are loosened from the compounds in which they occur, and are set free. A simple and familiar form, in which this affinity is visible, is the action of oxygen on the carbon of coal or dry wood, when ignited. The compound of coal or wood becomes completely dis- solved, leaving no visible product of the combustion, except a few ashes. What carbon and hydrogen it contained, have gone off as carbonic acid and water. The dissolution of the compound is, thus, most thoroughly effected, by means of the oxygen. A similar action takesi place, in the animal body, through the processes of decomposi- I 42 tion and secretion. The oxygen, employed in performing these changes, enters the body by the lungs, which communicate with the external air. All the blood, in the body, passes through the lungs; and by means of its iron globules becomes saturated with the oxygen of the inspired air. This oxidized iron, called peroxide, because in its highest state of oxidation, being carried to the capillaries, gives off its oxygen, in consequence of the more powerful affinity which the oxygen has for the carbon and hydrogen of the effete tissues, than for the iron. The compounds of the effete tissues are thereby immediately dissolved ; and, carried along in the venous blood, pro- ceed to the proper secretory organs, for the purpose of being expelled from the body. Now these compounds are the fibrinous and albu- minous deposits, and also the non-nitrogenous cellular fatty deposits, which, under the head of nutrition, in a preceding page, were stated to be formed in the capillaries. They are, therefore, dissolved nitro- genous and non-nitrogenous compounds. As such, they have sepa- rate means of egress from the body. Their carbon, in combination with oxygen, as carbonic acid, reaches the lungs, from which it is expelled. The nitrogenous compound, including the organic salts, is conveyed to the kidneys; is there separated from the blood, and carried away to the bladder; to be thence thrown out from the system. The lungs and the kidneys are the two principal outlets, for the debris of the effete tissues. The lungs send off the ultimate gaseous compound, carbonic acid. The kidneys part with the other ultimate compounds, ammonia, carbonic acid, water, and soluble selts. By the analysis of urine at page 31, the products yielded are those mentioned above. Besides the soluble salts and water, urine is composed of urea, lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, and uric acid. The sum of the constituents of which, it will be seen, by the follow- ing calculation, with 30 equivalents of oxygen, represent the ulti- mate compounds, carbonic acid and ammonia. Urea, Lactic Acid, C„ Lactate of Am. Cg Uric Acid, C, Add, Cj H^ Nj 0. 24 eq, Carb. acid, C^^ lis II. 0, N Og 7 " Ammonia, II^, N^ O4, 0„ Ci4H,.N,0„ 30 C,, IIj, N, 48 Liebig gives the mean of two analyses of the composition of the chief constituents of the urine of man and the lower animals; one by himself and the other by Mitscherlich, at Cio II4 N4 Oq . The dif- 43 anne O4S dif= fcrence, between it and the product of the above statement, besides the proportions of each compound which they have included, lies in the different forms of the compounds found in the urine of the lower animals. As, in either case, the product is reducible to carbonic acid and aramon"a exclusively, it does not signify what proportions we assume or comprehend in our calculations. The object aimed at, being simply to show, that the ultimate principal compounds are, in this case, carbonic acid and ammonia. In the vegetable kingdom, the sources and modes of admission of carbon and nitrogen, are the same in all plants. The carbon enters by the leaves, as carbonic acid ; and the nitrogen, by the roots, in the form of ammonia. They are, both, the products of the decora- position of vegetable and animal bodies. They formed, previously, the constituents of living organs; but afterwards, during decay and decomposition, they return to the air and to the soil, to become again, in a new generation, constituents of similar living organs. The carbon performs a circuit. From the air, as carbonic acid, we trace it to the organism of the living plant ; then to the decayed plant, combining with oxygen ; and finally, to the air again, as carbonic acid. The nitrogen, likewise, we find, existing, as ammonia, in the atmosphere ; next, in the soil, having descended, with rain and snow ; then in the cereals and fruits ; afterwards in decayed cereals and fruits, combining with hydrogen to form ammo- nia; and lastly, as ammonia, existing again in the atmosphere. Now throughout all their combining and decomposing processes, whether in the air, in the soil, in the living or decayed plant, the proportions in which carbon and oxygen form carbonic acid, and nitrogen and hydrogen form ammonia, are the same and invariable. All other compounds of vegetable substances, hold their constituents also, in definite and invariable quantities. When these compounds are chemically separated, the determinate quantity of each separated class of elements, is exactly the same as existed in the compound. And notwithstanding that in the compound forms, the elemental distinctions seem to be lost, such is not the case ; for by analysis, the proportions of the elements are identical with those brought together, in the first instance, to form the compound. In the case of more varied compounds, the chemist obtains the same result, as in the minor one of carbonic acid. One atom of carbon and two of oxygen, brought together, form carbonic acid. Then, by analysis, the carbonic acid is separated, into one atom of carbon and two of oxy"'on. The quantities of the elements separated, are equal to 44 •I'll what they were before being combined, and during their state of combination j and have undergone no change. And this takes place- equally, in more complex bodies, as in those which are less so. la the wheat plant, we know precisely the quantity of each class of elements ; we know that they are all imbibed from the soil and the air • we know that they existed in the soil and the air before they entered the plant; and finally, we know that the proportions in which they exist in the plant, are the identical proportions, which the air and the soil shall again receive, from its perfect decom- position. Turning to the animal kingdom, the experiments made, have pro- duced results, corresponding with those obtained from the analysis of plants. The constituents of eveiy part of the human body have, in a similar manner, been identified in its food. The nitrogcnized constituents, of which all the organs are composed, having been first identified in the food, have then been traced as forming part of the blood; next, as forming the organs and tissues of the body ; after- wards, when they had served their purpose in the organism, they are found passing through the kidneys and bladder, for expulsion. Simi- larly, the carbon of the food is seen, successively, in the blood, in the tissues and organs; in the liver, undergoing secretion; and, ulti- mately, passing from the lungs in combination with oxygen, as carbonic acid. The iron of the blood, the phosphates and sulphates, &c., of the organs are all identified, first in the food, and afterward* in the excretions. And, as in vegetables, in whatever combinations, their constituents are found, they exist, governed, at all times, by the same chemical affinities, and possessing the same forms and dimensionr This proof of the unchangeableness of the elements, under all circumstances, whether in a separate or organized state, establishes conclusively, the truth of the mechanical theory of atoms; and thereby, supplies a scientific basis for the culture of both vegetable and animal physiology. This basis had been entirely wanting ; for, while the dynamical theory prevailed, the belief that the elements in an organic body lost their original propertieSj through the action of the vital force, precluded all data on which to calculate the law of their operation. It was only by determining the mechanical action of the elements in all circumstances, that the law by which they operate could be ascertained. Previous to the discovery of that law, the relation between the constituents of the plant and the constituents of the soil, was unknown. The practice of agriculture 45 was exceedingly defective. All kindi of manures, without discri- mination, were heaped on every description of soil. And the farmer depended upon the rotation of crops, to get from the soil and the manure what virtue they might possess. The practice of agriculture was entirely carried on, without a scientific theory as its basis. It was, in short, a system of guessing. The wrong seed, the wrong manure, and the wrong soil were most often brought together. And when they happened to be right, it was purely by chance. The benefit conferred on agriculture, by the discovery of the mechanical action of atoms, is indeed incalculable. With the aid of this discovery, when a farmer now sets about to grow wheat, he selects a soil containing the organic salts contained in wheat j namely, silicate of potash, and phosphates of magnesia, lime and ammonia. If the soil does not contain them, he knows in what kind of manure they are contained; and accordingly supplies it to the land, together with manures containing the principal constituent, nitrogen, such as night soil. But, on the other hand, beans, peas and lentils require scarcely any silicate of potash or phosphates. They want, however, a large supply of nitrogen. Then again, potatoes, turnips and cabbage, are diiferent. While they require scarcely any silicate of potash, the quantity of nitrogen required is also very small. What soil and manure plants require, are ascer- tained, in all cases, by knowing the elements of which they, the plants, are composed. Agriculture is, thus, reduced to a science. Its theory is perfect. And the practice, founded on that theory, is evidenced, in the comparatively immense returns realized from land, as it is now scientifically treated, in Great Britain and on the conti- nent of Europe. The application of science to the raising, fattening and dairy pro- perties of cattle, since the proof of the mechanical theory of atoms, has been equally successful. But, to the culture of the human body, little of a practical nature has, as yet, been accomplished ; notwith- standing, that the definite laws of the chemical organization of the human body, are as correctly ascertained, as those of plants. Cottages for working men, and public baths and wash-houses for the poorer classes, are steps in the right direction, certainly. But the theory and practice of chemico-hygiene, though applied to the growth of plants and the raising of cattle are, as yet, almost unrecognized, ia their application to the human subject. When a plant ia stinted or droops, the gardener imputes the cause to a want of some necessary condition of its normal Btate. It may I I 46 be too nmch shaded from the son. It may want watering, in conse- quence of the absence of rain, during a dry season. Or, the soiF may be stiff, so as to exclude oxygen, which is necessary, for the decomposition and solution of various substances surrounding the roots, and required for nutrition. In either case, he looks to the normal state of growth, for the rule on which he is to act. If it is too much shading, he removes the cauise. If it is the want of water, he supplies it. Or, if it is the exclusion of oxygen from the roots^ and from the nutritive compounds surrounding them, he digs round the plant and loosens the earth; so as to admit oxygen, and allow the decomposition to proceed. He knows the chemical constituents of the plant, and of the soil and atmosphere ; and, in seeking and applying a remedy, he supplies that which is wanting, and which, he knows, other plants of the same kind, in a healthy state, have. The rule being, invariably, that nothing is to be upjilicd ichich doci nut constitute its food, or does not act like light or heat to decompose and assimilate its juices. If, for example, it is water it wants, the water applied must not be hot water, nor salt water. The reason of this exclusion is, that neither hot nor salt water is its natural food. For the same reason, whc^ the plant is in its early stage, just shoot- ing above the ground, and its vegetation appears slow, the scieiitiGc gardener would never think of administering paragoric, or Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup, for the purpose of assisting its develop- ment. Nor, when it attained larger dimensions, without, at the same time, bearing the indications of a completely healthy condition, would he smear the outside bark with unguentum potassii iodidi, or with Perry Davis's Pain Killer. A deficiency of leaves would not justify the use of either quinine or Blood Food. Neither would its want of the absorbing function, as in dry weather, indicate the pro- priety of calomel, or of Dr. Churchill's hypophosphates of lime and soda. The time was, when equally irrational proceedings were common, in the rearing of vegetable products. But, among professional agri- culturists, this is no longer the case. In this department of human industry and of art, science now reigns preeminent. But if such a barbarous system has been discarded from the culture of plants, and the management of cattle, how does it happen that this same system is still retained, in the treatment of the human body? Why ia ecieace employed in vegetation and the breeding of live stock, and not in the preservation of the health and lives of mankind ? The laws of chemistry, which regulate the birth, life and death of a plant^ i 47 are the same laws which regulate the birth, life and death of a human being. In order to exemplify thia equality of subordination to the mecha- nical operation of the chemical law of nature, let us compare the facts and exhibit the parallelism. The germ in the cereal is said to be in embryo. Aficr^the seed is sown, and while germinating, its nutriment is derived from the constituents of the seed itself. The seed contains all that is rermired to produce the young sprout, and to sustain it till it puts forth fibrous roots, and, at length, appears above the surface of the ground. So soon as the roots are formed, a new source of nourishment is obtained; for the roots imbibe the constituents of the soil. And, when the sprout finds its way above ground, it begins to perform a new function. It breathes. It res- pires. It inspires and expires air, in the same way as the human lungs; and continues afterwards to do so during the whole period of its Ufe. In like manner, the chick, in the egg, is nourished by the contents of the egg itself. The egg contains the constituents of the flesh, the bones, the brain, the feathers, the claws, &c. Every part of the chick exists within the shell. As with the cereal, the chick no sooner leaves the shell, than it begins to receive nourishment from a different source. It begins to pick solid food, from the ground, and to drink water. The respiratory organs, likewise, commence to act; inhaling oxygen, from the air, and giving out, carbonic acid. So, with the human embryo, and its appendage the placenta ; which latter holds within itself, derived from the blood and constantly renewable, every constituent of the human body. The placenta, in this respect, contains the substance of the bones, the brain, tiie muscles and tissues, the hair, nails, &c. So soon as the infant is born, it also draws its nourishment from another source. It feeds then on milk. Milk is its only food, for some time. At birth, the lungs too become inflated; and the process of respiration commences. There is, thus, we perceive, a parallelism established, between the nutrition and respiration of plants and animals. The germ in the grain of wheat, the chick in the egg, and the human embryo with its appendage the placenta, all take their first nourishment from within. When, afterwards, they come forth into the world, the source of their nourishment is changed ; and. at the same time, they begin to breathe. These three distinct processes are common to all organized beings, in both the vegetable and animal kingdoms. It is not the grain of wheat, the egg, and human embryo, alone, that exhibit this parallelism. It is observable in every thing that has 48 i ■bSt ..i.i. life; and, therefore, is evidence of a universal law, which brings down the chemistry of the liunian body, to a level with that of^a vegetable product; and, verifying the mechanical theory of atoms, demonstrates that the human body is governed, in its inception' birth, growth, maturity, decay and death, by the chemical relation existing between the constituents of itself, and the constituents of the external elements. In fact, that the body itself is a chemical compound; that all its changes are chemical changes, performed, at all times and all places, and under all circumstances, in strict con- formity with the ordinary chemical laws, as they are understood by the professional chemist. But the parallelism does l-^ rtop here. A comparison of the food of the germ of wheat, of the chick in the egg, and of the human embryo, has led to the important discovery, that its nutritive constituents are the same in all three. That is, the wheat contains the same principal constituents as the egg ; and each of these the same as the human embryo and placenta. As has been stated the merit of this discovery is due to iMulder of Utrechet, one of the most eminent chemists of the present day. It has already been shown, that while the carbon absorbed by the leaves, from the air forms the woody fibre of trees, and of corn and grass, the nitro-e! nous compounds imbibed by the roots, go to form the fruit. Now the cereals of wheat are the fruit, and consequently are nitroo-cnoua compounds. Un\d?v discovered that the elements of these nkro-e- nous compounds exist, in certain invariable proportions, in vegeta- bles and animals. That these elements and their proportions^are, according to the formula given by Liebig, C^^ UNO. And' on account of the universal presence of this compound^'in these proportions, in all nitrogenous substances which serve as food he gave It the name protein. Vegetable protein being the same as animal protein, we expect to find it existing, under different circum- stances, with similar characteristics. Such is the case. And herein IS another of the most beautiful provisions, in the order of creation' The cereals of wheat, barley, or oats, whose principal nutritive con- stituents consist of protein, are eaten by the barn fowl; the flesh of which and the eggs also, are composed of protein. In its turn, the barn fowl constitutes the food of man ; whose blood and flesh, and the organs of whose body, are composed of protein. The ox in the pasture, consumes protein ; which goes to form the lean or fleshy part of beef; which is itself protein. And, when man eats the flesh of the ox, he eats protein; the very same substance of which his body is 49 composed. If wc go a step farther, and add a connecting link to the two extreme ends of the seriea;; man dies ; hia body becomes decomposed by the chemical action of the external elements; the nitrogen and hydrogen of the protein of his body form ammonia; the carbon and oxygen of the same protein, with additional oxygen from the air, forming carbonic acid ; which ammonia and carbonio acid, arc imbibed by the roots, and absorbed by the leaves of succeed- ing grasses and herbs. The process of nutrition is, thus, in a circle. Vegetable and animal nutrition, being mutual and equally dependent upon each other. '< All are but parts of one stupendous whole, AVhose body nature is, and God the soul ; That, changed through all, and yet in all the same ; Great in the earth, as in the ethereal frame ; Warms in the aun, refreshes in the breeze. Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees. Lives through all life, extends through all extent ; Spreads undivided, operates unspent ; Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part, As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart." Now the facts enumerated, and which have been established of late years, by the discoveries in organic chemistry, constitute the primary data of the law of identity ; from which we deduce chemieo- hyc'iene and the practice of chemico-medicine. These primary d:ita are" as follows : First, that all the constituents of an organized being existed previously in its food. Second, that the particles of each class of elements have, individually, the same form, dimensions, and chemical properties, in the body, that they had previously, in the food ; their arrangement only being different. Third, that the pro- per food of every organized being, is matter containing constituents similar to those of its own body. And fourth, as nothing enters the body of a plant, which is not identical with the constituents of the plant ; and nothing enters the body of an ox, or inferior animal, which is not identical with the constituents of its body; so, nothing should be allowed to enter the body of a human being, either as a nutriment or medicament, which is not a constituent of the human body. I I CHAPTER II. « a EQUILIBRIUM. -aer the „eoe.i., of ..aiZZZt^T' " "^ ""^ '° -- eqmI,bri„M. The .aii„g „f fo™^Jj /.^ '" P™"««. '" " »tate of ^-c,•p,.ocal beari„g on^oach oth , The'r"'? f "^«="' ""^ "tol'ty- A laboring mau who „!m, ^ ? "' ''°* '=°"<'i'i™» of "-. -d h suppiielwith'; "' '"""S '^' ""^i" the open oannot be otherwise thJ^.lZfuZuT"''''' "' "'"faor^e food, -d the s„pp,, of food fr.r:''':''''^, ^'^ ^'^ °f '- fc»% "^ed, are a eonstant renll o/tZr ", v™'"'"» "'"' >» >«„ ="'J co-sequenel,, of .he eon i io'' .."t ' ^^ """' «1""ib™m; a» excess of nntrition or of wa "f .• ^^ "" "'= o"'''- '•^-d A»d, aecording,,, we find t a ' whTe "' '" "™"" -- ^".oantof „,or.alityisoceaionedbvthe ' l"' ^'' " ^™' "■«"l; the reverse is the ease wflh ,1 f '"' "' "'"^ °™' "«lri. -cess of „„tri,e„t and delien l™,'' "t ^""^^ »»' f'"m «■« dasproportion between w e 1/ ■'■ ''"°"' '" '''>'* -d n.orta,it,, is no. appreo" j Mo7f'l "/ «'-« "' "isease ;°>P"t=d to other eansef ean be e^silv ''^ '"«»»'. whieh are "■the disproportion her^ referred t^ ""'" '"'"^ ""^Hneeption, -Ui^ase, in general, is referable .„ .' let-n the supp,, if nl' ;:;:""' °"''' " "'^P^P-'ion, other, a disproportion, .e.ween .ho , ™" "^ *' '««'?; the - of .he bod, and .he int n^^^r;'"" "^ the e..ern^,' sur! to two eauses, ma, oeeasion some ZZ '"°"'"'°" "f disease «us.emed .0 o„„,ij„ ,^ 7 „! 'Z°' '° "'°" "'° '»- k-" "ow. But, wi.h the aid of „ '. " " "on-chemieal „oi„i „r ferebj furnished of . , , f "'= "''»""-^, "»d the expla'^tls station, ,.,b„ eonsde d J™"'''' °' "'° -'"-' 'aw h Joa^th, the ren.ed, must T o'^h. tf ? ""V '"'"" -"» »' The treatment of „ si„,p,o „,,„;5''"*°^"0W' health, eonditions. otgaslrie derangement, or of consti. 51 pation of the bowels, occasioned by excessive indulgence, or by the nature of the food, is an example of this. The conditions of a healthy state of the stomach, caeteris paribus, are moderation in the quantity and quality of the food, and the avoidance of all articles of diet which are of a decidedly stimulating nature. Therefore, for gastric derangement, the remedy should consist of the conditions of health ; which, we know, are temperance and moderation in the use of food, and abstinence from whatever has a stimulating tendency. This is the natural course, recommended by our knowledge of the conditions of the natural law. It is not, however, the course which is generally followed. Sulphate of magnesia, effervessing bicarbo- nate of soda with brandy, or brandy alone, is more commonly employed ; and, sometimes, aromatics. Again, we know that the softness of the mass which is passing along the intestines, is a condi- tion of their healthy functions; and that the consistency of this mass is regulated, by the degree of concentration of the food. Therefore, to remove a state of constipation, the natural and proper means is, to modify the articles of diet. A cathartic will empty the intestinal canal; and thereby produce a depleting effect; which may seem to benefit the whole system. But, however customary its adoption, it is an artificial and clumsy way of doing that which can be r.onc bctte^ by natural means ; setting aside the consequences, under a bad habi* thus contracted, of repeatedly recurring to a practice which, like all other unnatural practises, cannot fliil to produce ultimately pernicious eflFects. These are simple cases, in which the causes and eiFects are readily visible; and, on this account, may be considered exceptions to the generality of cases requiring medical treatment. Such is not, how- ever, the fact. The reason why, in many diseases, the intimate connection between their causes and effects, are not perceived is, because their rationale is not understood. This is exemplified by, what may be supposed, an abstruse case. Tuberculosis is a disease, of which the cause, is presumed, to be involved in mystery; and, in accordance with this impression, the treatment is not determinate, so as to exclude contradictory modes of practice. By some, it is said to be a peculiar morbid growth in the lungs. Others consider it, as the development of a scrofulous constitution. While, not a few, make it hereditary ; tracing it, from the children to consumptive parents. When, however, the constitutional efiects of imperfect oxidation, and the local developments arising therefrom, are fully perceived, tubercles will then be seen, to bo a consequence of a con- I ■Ml -if 41! 52 timed patrcsoent condition of the blood of the effote tisaaes, which have l,co„ decomposed, but cannot find egrcs3 from the lun-a Prolonged congestion, occasioned bj improper treatment, is also" a fre,„ent cause of the formation of ulcer, in the lungs. Bu ho small g^nnlar formations, which receive the name of tubercles, have the,r bcg.n„,„g „ an imperfect oxidation of the blood, and a onse- of the effete tissues aro earned out of the body. When the nature of oxidation is thus, properly understood, the means for the proven! tion of tubercles at once becomes apparent; not only this, but the remedy, for .heir removal is, at the same time, plainl/indica.ed In tl exercise of cither prevention or cure, the first requisite is a Uowlcdge of the normal conditions of health. The heakhy on ditions are ho guide. We can only measure the degree of depir ure ■s ncuiicd, the remedy indicated is manifestly the adoption of the rule, or a return to the normal conditions. In tubercles, the p even ve mie ,s oxidation. Therefore, the remedy is oxidat on. 'c 1 . teral agencies or aids are, of course, requisite; the chief of wlii h when tubercles have been formed, is displacement, by the revnU vo cZ;!; ' "T , ^"^ '"' ''' "-^ ■"°^' =ffective'means for th removal of pus and ulcerous deposits, from their lodgment in the oe u ar tIio principal remedial agent, however, is th o y! gen of tiie atmosphere; because the disease has occurred in coni queuec of the ah,enee of sufBeient oxidation, and not iu consequenTj of the absence of the process of displacement. Remedies take rank .n accordance with their rank, as normal conditions of a h al hy stat' Food, exercise and rest are all neces.,ary conditions of health but re™;,.... ''™™''™- •'"»' M » mechanic, who undertakes to 0, of "'" "?'°°' " °'"'=°' "■ '^'"P '" "■'" """O " vivid impre! pairs sW,rT""/." P°*"' "°"''"'"' -'i»'"vcs that'hs iepurs shall conform to the structure of the perfect tvne- s„ ;. ,', igatory .hat the medical practitioner should k^p co„ "i t'ly be ^ times, in his labomoT . P'^'vation ; and strive, at all labora of reparation, to copy from the natural type; and 53 to subordinate tis views, to the unvarying dictates of this, the only true standard of authority, in medical science. He should always remember, that the formation of new tissues, from the assimilation of the nutritious matters of the food, and the destruction of the effete tissues by oxidation, are both processes of healthy transformation j that the state in which the amount of new tissues so formed, equals the amount of effete tissues so carried away, is a state of healthy equilibrium between the amount of supply and the amount of waste } that the continuance of the equilibrium, is a continuation of the conditions on which health is dependent ; that every cause of the disturbance of the equilibrium is a cause of disease; and that the explanation of the transformations and of the equilibrium, is an explanation of the rules to be observed, both for the preservation of health and its restoration when impaired. Hygiene and medicine rest, in short, on the same scientific basis. The requisites for a proper understanding of the one, being identically those which are required for a right apprehension of the other. On this account, they cannot well be treated separately ; which will appear, in what is contained, under the three following important heads, of Oxida- tion, Ventilation, and Temperature. OXIDATION. The air which enters the trachea in respiration, is composed of two gases ; nitrogen gas, and oxygen gas ; in the proportions of two parts, by weight, of the former, to one of the latter. On reaching the lungs, the nitrogen is rejected, and is thrown out into the atmosphere again, along with the carbonic acid which is eliminated at every expiration. The oxygen, on the contrary, enters the lungs ; and, combining with the blood, is carried to all parts of the body. The distinguishing properties of the two gases, consists in the oxygen being a powerful supporter of combustion; while nitrogen is incapable of sustaining flume, for one moment. But, notwithstand- ing the combustible power of oxygen, it is not able, in a pure state, to sustain life. Neither is nitrogen. But when the two are mixed, in the proportions above stated, the quantity of oxygen contained in the volume of air which reaches the lungs, is such, as can be received with benefit. Any other proportions of these two gases would be injurious. An increase of oxygen, would occasion more Nil I 54 tjf that element to enter the blood, at each inspiration, than the pro- per quantity. And, on the other hand, a decrease of the amount, would deprive the blood of the quantity required for the due perfor' mance of the vital functions. The proportions in which they are combined in the atmosphere, are exactly such as are adapted to our wants A few experiments, to illustrate this, will be more impres- sive than a mere verbal treatment of the subject ; at the same time, that a vivid and lasting impression, so produced, is better calculated to waken the m.nd, to the importance, of conforming to the simple indications of nature. ^ iJ^'i llTn ^'' ^' '"''P'^^' °^ '"^*^^°^"S ^''^'' "^^y t« illus- trated by the following experiment : Take a deep dinner plate, and put as much water in it as will float a small saucer • into which put a piece of phosphorus about the size of a pea. The phosphorus is then to be ignited, by touching it with a piece of wire heated to redness It will burn freely, emitting a clear light. It is now to be covered with a stoppered bell glass; which will extinguish the light, as soon as the air in the glass becomes completely neutralized, by the union of its oxygen with the phosphorus. This new combination of oxygen and phosphorus IS phosphoric acid; which appears as a white fie at first, but soon settles down and dissolves in the water T ' nothing in the glass except invisible nitrogen gas ' ''"'"^ Ihe plate, with its contents, is then to be lifted and placed in a shallow tub containing some water. ^^ ' - ^ the bell glass under water, detach the plate and saucer from it; and sink it, till the height of the water in the glass corresponds with that on the outside. The stopper may now be removed, and a light be introduced, which will be instantly extinguished. A fly or a mouse, being put in, would expire in one moment. Showing that one of the elements of the atmos- CpoI;',:t''' " ""' """'"=' ""■» ""^ '-SS, is incapable of The other clement of the atmcphcre, mmclv, the oxjccd laa, iea„,flc>all„.oduced, i„ the foiI„„i„g ^.,J' rJZ'ouZ Keeping the bottom part of i 55 of the binoxide of mercury (red precipitate) into the bulb of a two ounce green glass retort; which is to be fixed in a stand, and having a spirit lamp below. The beak of the retort is to dip into a tub of water, as in the annexed sketch. The heat, from the spirit lamp, causes bubbles to pass along the beak of the retort, and into the water. They will very soon, however, cease. Other bubbles will be seen escaping, when the retort becomes more heated, and a grey fiU will be observed adhering to the arch or large part of the neck; which are signs that oxygen gas has begun to be gene- rated. A pint glass bottle, with a ground stopper, which is to be taken out and laid aside, is then to be filled with water ; and, inverted, is to be held over the beak of the retort, to receive the bubbles of oxygen gas which, passing along the beak, ascend into the bottle j whi?e the water, in it, descends gradually into the tub. The bulb of the retort must now be kept nearly red hot. The grey film adhering to its arch, will increase and run down into the tub, in the form of "bright globules of mercury. In this way, the binoxide of mercury, being decomposed by intense heat, its mercury descends into the tub, while its oxygen passes up into the bottle. Keeping the neck of the bottle still under water, the stopper, which should be rubbed with pomatum, may be now inserted; after ^vhich the bottle is to be removed. If the stopper be ^aken out and a lighted paper match be plunged in, it will burn brilliantly. The raat°ch may then be withdrawn and extinguished, leaving only a red spark. In this state, if dipped in again, the spark will kindle into a blaze, and burn as before. An insect, placed in the bottle, could exist only for a very short time. Pure oxygen alone is, therefore, not capable of supporting life; however admirably adapted it is to serve this purpose, when mixed with nitrogen, as in the atmosphere. Herein, we observe, how nicely the nitrogen and oxygen are adjusted, with the design of establishing a state of harmony, between the gaseous compound and beings possessed of life They form a compound, in which, each element is neutral in its effects. That is, the non-vital or inimical properties of nitrogen and oxygen, in their separated state, are completely neutralized. The object could not imMt. M ' mm JIB 56 be accomplished, by mixing them ia any other proportions. Air, such as exists in the atmosphere, can easily be produced by simply mixiug two parts by weight, or four volumes of nitrogen, with one of oxygen, in a graduated glass bottle. By this synthetical method, the air so produced is capable of supporting life and flame, just as they are sustained in the atmosphere. But, in no other proportions can this be done. The most carefully conducted experiments for testing its practicability, have resulted in the conviction, that the slightest deviation, from the natural proportions of the mixture, is attended with appreciable consequences of an unfavourable nature. The equilibrium established between the elements, for the pur- pose of sustaining life, may be beautifully illustrated by the burning of a wax candle ; in which, the flame may be supposed to represent vitality; the wax, the nutriment; and the oxygen of the air, the agent by which the waste is pro- duced. Wax is a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, in the proportions, by weight, of 81 per cent, carbon, 13 hydrogen, and 5 oxygen. As the oxjgen of the atmosphere exerts a strong affinity for the carbon and hydrogen, the candle will continue to burn so long as the nutriment is supplied, by the wax, and the agen't of waste by the external air. On examining a lighted candle, with a microscope, it will be seen, that as the wax melts it ascends from all sides to the top of the wick; while a chemical action, IS observed, going on in all that part of the wick which is enveloped in flame. This action is the union of the oxy-en with the carbon, producing carbonic acid; and, of the oxygen with the hydrogen, producing vapor; both of which pass oflf into the air un- perceived. There are several methods by which these products can be detected and measured. The most simple, how- ever, is to hold a cold deep tumbler, inverted, over the flame of the candle, as here represented. The ascending carbonic acid being lighter than air, when heated, as in this case, will displace the air and fill the tumbler; at the same time that the vapor will condense into water on its interior surface. The tumbler may bo now removed ; and if the carbonic acid be prevented from escaping, by placing a thick soft card tightly across the mouth i)i i of the tumbler, it may then bo turned, mouth ^^^ upwards, in its usual position. ^*^=====^ 57 The test for carbonic acid is now •to be applied. Push the card aside, as here shown, and pour in a little clear lime water.* Then place the <;ard tightly over the mouth of the tumbler as before. Shake it gently so as to mix the carbonic acid with the lime water, which will become white, like milk. On standing for a short time, a precipitate will show itself, at the bottom of the tumbler. This is carbonate of lime. The products of waste by the burning of a wax candle are, there- fore, carbonic acid and water. The cold tumbler is the test for the water; and the lime water, that for the carbonic acid. The flame can be kept alive, so long as it is supplied with the means of nutri- ment from the candle, and of waste from the air; but no longer. If either of these means of supply and waste is defective, or is not in exact equilibrium, the flame will not burn so bright. To exem- plify this, reduce the amount of nutriment by paring the wax off the candle, all round, till little more is left than about the thickness of the wick itself, as in the annexed sketch. The flame will be long, thick and dim ; because the smoke of the burning wick preponderates over the amount of the burning carbon and hydrogen of the wax. The wick will burn down quickly, through the action of the oxygen which is as powerful as everj but the flame will not be bright. On the other hand, lower the tum- bler a little, over the candle, as in experiment page 56, The flame will then become more dim, for an opposite reason, namely, the deficiency of oxygen. The equili- brium is again impaired, by the excess of nutrition over the amount of waste. And the efi'ect is, a dark flame, as if strug- gling to keep itself in existence. Now, what we observe in these experiments, is precisely what takes place in the human body, by a series of chemical actions of the same kind. For the vital force in a human being is as much * Lime water may be prepared, by poui ing water gently on about two ounces of quick lime, till it crumbles down into a powder; when it is to be placed in a quart bottle, and well shaken. The iuittlo is then to be allowed to stand, till the lime settles at the bottom, and the water appears perfectly clear. Then pour the clear lime water into another bottle, carefully ; and cork it well. 58 Si, dependent on a supply of nutriment and on waste, for its existenssy. as the flame of a candle on the supply of wax and oxygen. Not only this, but the degree of derangement, occasioned by variations from the equilibrium, is the same, in each case. It makes no dif- ercnce, that the one process is carried on within an organized body, in life ; whereas the other is the independent action of the natural elements in the open air. Oxygen and carbon, and oxygen and hydrogen, retain their affinity for each other, as forcibly, in the organism, as out of it. And what takes place, as we have seen,, between the oxygen of the air, and the carbon and hydrogen of the wax candle, corresponds, in every respect, with the action of the inspired oxygen, on the carbon and hydrogen of the eifete tissues within the human body. The decomposition of the effete tissues, may properly be regarded as a process of combustion. Heat is given off, while it goes on ; at the same time, that carbonic acid and water are formed in large quantity. The manner, in which the tissues become decomposed, is this : Being in a worn out state, in consequence of having performed their destined functions in the body, their carbon and hydrogen bearing a powerful attraction for the oxygen of the inspired air, which has been carried in the iron globules to the capillaries, combine with it, on the first contact. This chemical combination, causes the entire resolution of the tissues into a liquid mass j by which their nitrogen and organic salts are liberated. On new formed tissues the oxygen exercises no influence, so long as there is old tissue to be acted on. In like manner, if there is an excess of concentrated carbon and hydrogen introduced to the blood, through the use of alcohol or fat, the oxygen will combine with them first, before combining with the elements of the tissues. The dissolution of the tissues is then pre- vented or retarded ; the waste of matter does not take place ; and the equilibrium becomes interrupted. The constant tendency of alcohol and fat meats is to prevent waste. And setting aside, in the mean time, the enervating effects of alcohol ; its interruption of the uecessary change of the tissues, should be a sufficient reason of itself, against the use of that pernicious stimulant. But when the oxygen is permitted to act freely on tho old tissues^ iheir constituents become as completely dissolved and carried away, as the constituents of tho wax candle, in the preceding experiments. In both cases, the waste is effected by the oxygen of the air acting on similar classes of elements, for which it has an affinity. An equally familiar illustration of the manner in which the effete 5d tissues are decomposed, is furnished, when a piece of beef is exposed to a warm and moist atmosphere. There is this additional advan- tage, in this illustration, that nitrogen is present and also the organic salts; constituting all the elements comprised in the effete tissues of the living body. A piece of ox flesh is composed of exactly similar constituents to human flesh. The change which takes place in a piece of beef, when exposed to moisture and warmth, is one of rapid decomposition. The new compounds formed during the pro- cess, are the ultimate products into which all organized bodies are reduced, after vitality has become extinct. They are carbonic acid, ammonia, water, and organic salts. As the carbon of the piece of beef, combining with the atmospheric oxygen, passes into the air; and its hydrogen, uniting, in like manner with oxygen escapes as vapor; the fibre of the beef gradually loosens; and, as this last change advances, the nitrogen combines with hydrogen and also passes off. The chemical action going on, in the mean time, is intense; and continues so, till nothing is left, except the ashes. Now the equilibrium between the supply and waste, in the candle, in the piece of beef, and in the tissue of the human body, is the state best adapted for the exercise of the normal functions. As the candle burns dimly, when the wax is deficient, as in experiment page 57, or when the oxygen is deficient, as in experiment page 65, so is the state of the vital powers in man, influenced disadvantageously by either the deficiency of food or deficiency of oxidation. It may safely be said that, at least, one half of the diseases of mankind is occasioned by these two causes ; but more particularly, by the latter. It is scarcely possible to estimate the number of disorders which spring from the latter cause alone. Yet the connection between cause and effect, in this case, is a thing which is virtually excluded from the mind, and therefore itf very rarely] perceived. Indeed, there is an insensibility and absolute unconsciousness regarding the value of pure air; and still more so as to the fearful amount of mor- tality, and widely spread devastation, to the health and happiness of millions, in consequence of its neglect. Let us suppose that the oxygen is not sufficient. The waste car- bon cannot then be carried off; nor can the waste salts of the nitro. ggnous compound be kept in a state of solution. The venous blood, in passing through the lungs, is not then properly oxidized ; and, consequently, the arterial blood partakes of a venous character. The equilibrium is so far lost; and the function of the organs becomes, in a certain measure, impaired. This cannot continue, 60 for .„j, lc„g,h of time, without produci,,;; more .eriou, effect, Cerhun »,n,pto™ soon become „,„„ife,t; ,„oh as heart-nche Jo of appet,te, and const.patioa ; and a person so affected is slid ^1, b. ous. A conple of what are called anti-bilions (o „, "n tl' acng on the bowels, „,ay remove the symptom,. 1 enrt„e of pace success^ely, without much apparent inconvenie nee 'E„t -7 -.- artiaii ::it,7trs:"if ^sttr Lr; perform ,ts work without the aid of stimulants ; and the orl ilelf .s then sa,J to be affee.oj. The bile aeoumu ates „ «^s,JLm :pi:C«-r;x:;,-'=:-.£5 in a t lof ^ ' ""-^'■'' '''''''"'^ ^'^'^ ^«t-'»«d venous blood n a state of decomposifoa verging on putridity, ,„ay become aff ctod xn the.r texture, and asthma or tubercules or both Z follow. A person, affected in either of these wavs is nV 1 / account for his disorder. He is satisfipd wwt T-^ ' • ""'' *° 1,^ 1, u ,• . "^ ^'^ ^^^"^"ed, within his own mnd finf he has been hvino- a Te^rahr i;f« o„ i .i 1 1. i ' ^* viug a icguiar lite, and that he has rfrn n,.],, tr,h„^ *i p'r"t" iirrs °"'/" :""'"" "-"'"^^ an-d'r'p^rit ! \'e h ,w J ' ""'""""'""'iing, be the subject of disease thLttTor:;^ ■■"' """"""- "-^^«^' "■■»» pCt Imperfect oxidation in the violation of a natural law T, „,„ not be vtolated with impunity. No artificial tpe Lt' can com pensate for our ignorance of a law which it is our duty o under tand nd understand ng which, we are bound to obey, ta obTcr „ee i attended with heahh Tfa r,^», i . (Ji^^ervance, is diseases It J'T "^^bservance, with a complication of B n hil- ^ i""-'' "" '''''''^'''^' ^^''^'P'^^' jaundice, liver com- plaint, b. lary and urinary calculi, asthma, consumption, nd an end rurTee"do7f n""^'^'"'^ -' eommonly'imp'uted to ht same iimo 1 \ "^"^''^ '" '^' '''''' ''^^i''^'' -* one and the rt d" 'd :t """' '' " "'^'P''^«^^^ forms' of disease A .at deal depends on constitutional peculiarities; and, where cal constitution, without exciting suspicion that there is anything mate! Gl rially wrong. A person may complain of occasional indigestion or want of appetite, slight headaches and bilious sensations; which are not usually regarded in any other light, than natural casualties, from which no one is supposed to be exempted, whatever may bo the pre. cautions used, to avoid them. Years may elapse in this way, and an advanced stage of life may bo even reached, before that the indi. cations are considered sufficient to excite apprehension of what is going on. But the crisis is sure to come. The longer it is delayedi the worse it will be when it does arrive j for the slower and more continuous the progress of a disorder, the more extended its opera- tion, and the more deeply rooted its hold on the general constitution. From being, in its first stages, nothing more than local derangement of some particular function, it gets to be a complication of bodily infirmities, that sets at defiance all remedial means, when, at last and too late, such are applied, in unlimited profusion and corresponding variety. In adjusting the equilibrium between the food and the waste, it is necessary to keep in view the mode of life, and the climate or season of the year. In a cold climate or season, the air is dense, and, con- sequently, there is a large amount of oxygen in a comparatively small space. On the other hand, the air is rarified when the climate or season is warm ; and a small amount of oxygen has, therefore, a comparatively large volume. Now, the character of the food stands in a direct ratio to the climate or season of the year. Concentrated food ii proper in a cold or concentrated atmosphere ; and food that is not concentrated is best, when the air is warm and therefore is not concentrated. This rule is in conformity with the equilibrium of waste and supply. As the carbon of the food, after having served its purpose in the body, passes off by the lungs, and a dense atmos- phere consumes more carbon than a rarified atmosphere, it is, there- fore, necessary, in winter, to make use of food containing concen- trated carbon, such as the fat of bacon. Where there is exposure to the air, there is no food so wholesome or so serviceable, in winter, as fat pork or bacon. Chemically, it produces a large amount of animal heat, and, thereby, protects the body from the increased action of the oxygen of the air. In summer, on the contrary, the oxygen being less operative, on account of its great rarity, food containing non-concentrated carbon, such as potatoes, rice, fish, gelatinous parts of butcher's meat, such as shanks of veal and calf's head, and vegeta. bles, and ripe fruit of all kinds, are what ought to be chiefly eaten. i 62 The use of beef and the lean of other meats, known as concentra- ted n.trogen./.cd food, has loss relation to the clhnate or season of the jear, than to the nature of the eniploynient. The rule which pre scribes the circumstances, under which, beef and the lean of butcher's meat generally, are to be used, should be carefully noted by the hygienist and medician. A man who is employed ten hours of the day, at arduous bodily labour, as a carpenter, a mason, a miner or common laborer, and whose lady undergoes emaciation by waste requires such food as can be converted, in the shortest space of time.' into the tissues of his own body. Such food is known as concen- ateanurogenized compounds ; of which, none is more concentrated han the fleshy or lean part of beef. And, therefore, beef is suitable food for a man whose employment occasions great waste of the body A sma 1 quantity of beef will compensate, where a large and incon: vcnient bulk of non-nitrogenous food, such as potatoes or rice aid bo required. On the other hand, persons employed witMn oi. and not exposed to waste of body, should eat very little animal food' and indeed little concentrated food of any kind, whether coi loui d^ of nitrogen or carbon. The rule, for diet, is easily applied ivo keep in view the equilibrium of waste and supply, between t'he two processes of nutrition and oxidation which areU';stantIy g- i ^ oT When exposed to cold, we want concentrated carbon, sudi -^ ft bacon. M hen exposed to heat, we want then non-concentrated caibon, such as the gelatinous parts of butcher's meat, rice and ve^o ables. On he other hand, if the body suffers inordinate waste by arduous bodily labor, concentrated nitrogenized food, such as beef h required. But if there is no such inordinate waste then very i 'tie of such concentrated nitrogenized food is to be used. The applic tion of the rule is, thus, very simple and very easy ^^ I i^^. VENTILATION. The vonlilation of houses, is ,l,o means employed for the «„,„„.„ of adm.ttmg p„e air. lo hjgice, there is „l,th „. which ,le,.fl so n,„eh care and attention. Yet, of all the device^ for . , p ; r vat,on of health, there is not one which is less regarded 1 an Is People eh.nk up ever, ereviee, in winter, to exelude the e "t™ I a.r In sununer, when o.xidati„n is dilBcuIt, in con.,en„ nee of 1 a -. y of the atmosphere, they lie down in elosed reels with tt wmdews and deors securely fastened; breathing during rtwh'le 68 'nipTit, the unwholesome emanations of their own bodies. Our public buildini's exhibit no better arrangement ; for the mode of ventilutioa generally practised, ban more regard to the supplying of hot air, than to the facilities for its escape after it has become contaminated. It does not seem to bo understood that the capacity of the oxidizing process bears a definite relation to the amount of oxygen comprised within a given volume of air; otherwise, in ventilating a court of justice, a church, an hospital or asylum, the proportion of oxygen introduced and of carbonic acid carried out, would be more an object of attention, than simply the generation of hot air and its con-finement afterwards within the building. As an important accessory of both hygiene and medicine, it is desirable that the true principles of vcn- 'tilation should be fully explained, in such a shape as to convey a suitable impression of the good and bad consequences arising from its observance and neglect. The best method of ae-omplishing this, is to employ such simple and familiar experiments, as any one can readilv comprehend; and also perform, in the domestic circle, with- out either danger, inconvenience or expense. In the former experiments, with the wax candle, the flame was compared to the principle of vitality in animals; and the modifica- tions of the vital power were shown to correspond with the preserva- tion or disturbance of the equilibrium, between the supply of wax and of oxygen. Let us now, in the first place, observe the effect, when the supply of oxygen is entirely cut off. Light the candle, and notice the brightnees of the flame. Then take a bell glass (a common large tum- bler will answer), and place it, as here shown, over the candle. The flame will continue to burn, while there is oxygen to •feed it ; as, in a eimila- manner, our life is preserved, so long aa a sufficient amount of oxygen exists in the air which we breathe. As the oxygen becomes consumed, the flame gradually gets dim ; till finally it is completely extinguished, or, may be said, to have died for want of air, or, what is not le.-s appropriate, to have been suffocated. A small animal, placed under a similar glass, would share exactlv the same fate ; the only difference would be, that a longer time would intervene before that life would become extinct; because the flame of the candle consumes the oxygen quir-kcr, than could be done by the respiratory process of a small 64 animal. This is, in miniature, what would take place, to a person^, shut up in a verj small room. The evil effects of sleeping in a small and confined room, will be more instructively illustrated, in the following experiment : Place a stoppered bell glass, on a shelf, in a shal- low tub; the water being an inch or so above the shelf. Place the end of a small bent metal pipe or tube, about half an inch in diameter into, and near to the top of the bell glass; the other end, which is provided with a stop-cock, is to be supported with the hand. Then ap- plying the lips to the end of the" pipe, draw the air from the -las& into the lungs; aad force it back into the glass again. After^this has been repeated three or four times, the stop-cock is to be closed and the tube to be withdrawn. The glass is then to be moved from' the shelf, on to the bottom of the tub. If the stopper of the aeed at'the two opLCf/C'f '"°"' "^ "= -S'^'-- -Wei '"«■■»" ".a, l.e u„„ccos« V =B„?r?"' ''•"""•"" '"-- °f vo„. ■'«"3, ^1.™1J be without, h.ll ""'""f"' '!■"■" """ed brother "'"'■b a .in or iron basin shon 11 ' '° """'"■•; °" 'be top of ''•"■'"" 'bo .b,,, so .:,.. the telo r"" '""" ""^ '"■' ""» "P™" !>=■■.» »f .bo house. To Z. '™''°'.'""';t "'"J' bo equalized in al ^ ™M one, i. .either a:S,:r:X"^' "r " """ -on. i„to 'ufou i»e«ron,elj,l,a,ardour °' "°^ «<>" dolieate eoMi- »"b the nature of ,bo 2„ J ''"'"';''■ ^''° '■>»■'' aci«ainta„eo •b» .-"oration of h air , "f. ,f:°''''7'' °" "'" "- wbbin d„„,,, Z -«ntor of ,„e hot ai^ '':?'„ ^l^^ ^•'^"'^"^ '» di.«uade'th' "'■. "' loasl, should haveT,, , , ''° "^"'"Plo.ion of his plan • d/PHving it of i,s '° „,f ;'""'' " '" '■'"'»»'« pure air, bv •Jbo«oa,u fro,u .he h J', ^ . f ' '•■",» '""''"^ ''^'oriius' >''ait.r um^, lutcndod to co-rnr^n-n* - : '•J t.o.j,penaato lor the 67 lost oxy2;en to neutralize tbe effect of the poisonous carbonic ive substitute ; and, under no circumstances, can it Tenerato the vital element which the hot air apparatus completely destroys, and which is indispensable to healthy respiration. Heatincr, by hot water or steam pipes, is the plan which promisaa to supcrse^de all others. On the score of health, it possesses all the requisites desired j and affects the air, in no other respect, than <;imply to warm it. The hot water pipes or steam pipes, for a pri- vate dwelling, are expensive, in the first instance; but ultimately they are the cheapest, on account of the small consumption of fuel. The great advantage of warming by hot water or steam, is the pre- servaUon of the air in its original purity. The air of a building so heated is sweet and wholesome ; a consideration that should out- weigh all others. For hospitals, asylums, churches, court houses, iaill lecture halls, assembly rooms, theatres, and all places of public resort, within doors, no other plan is fitted, or is free from serious and unsurmountable objections And, moreover, it is a disgraceful commentary on the management of such institutions, when there is a want of discernment, in a matter, that concerns, to such an extent, the sanatory condition of their permanent inmates, or those who occasionally frequent them. _ Proper ventilation is one of the most important requirements ot he-ilth More so, during the night, than in the day time. For, durincv the night, there is none of the opening and shutting of doors and windows, that take place during the day, and by which the air in the house is, more or less, changed The chief reason, however for attending more particularly to night ventilation, is_ on account of the thorough manner in which its good effects can be immediately realized. In'a close room, it is utterly impossible, that the heavy breathing of a person asleep can receive the necessary amount of vital air; because such air docs not exist in a confined room When asleep, during the night, the respiration goes on undisturbed t is heavy measured, and in large volume. The muscles and bl od vesscLare then perfectly relaxed ; and, therefore, the state of the body is better adapted to receive the full complement of the oxygen required. Such is not the case during the day ; for when occupied Vuh business, there is a constriction of the --1- -^ -^^^j the breathing is interrupted by every accident ; and attention dec ted to the most trifling concern, such as the reading of a 1 t er o newspaper, reduces the process of respiration to the lowest^ limit. For these reasons, the bet time for oxidation is during the night. 68 I B»l ,„dopendcnt of the more thorough manner, in rtich il can be effoclcd dur.ng the n.ght. it «, besides, more eonvoniont. Munv empl„j„,e„ts eannot he earried on comfortably, without the presence of a eoas.derable degree of warmth. A bookkeeper sittiL b a counting room, ,n winter, requires the air of the room to be of a prett, h,gh te,„por„t„re. JI„ would not be able to perform hi dufes properlj, .f „.p„sod to a cold air. Likewise in'stores and sh ps. And also, .n dwelling houses. There would be no comfort un ess the apartments were so warmed as to indicate, on the thermo- meter, the degree of temperate. But apartments so warmed, bv a ,fie,a means, are not wholesome, unless the effects are cou ter acted, at intervals, by natural ventilation. When so counteracted however the comfort of warm apartments may be indul'ed, noj only with the most perfect i.upunity, but with effects highi; cond c.ve to general health. There are various ways of v^ntLting a room Two apertures or openings are, however, necessary. For mg t vent, at,o„ of a sleeping apartment, the most ready mode is, to hft the hotton, sa,,h of a window, and lower the top one M^ own practice, from which I have uniformly experienced the besf effects d„r,„g the last ten years, is, in winter, to open fron, onet S.X rnehes a the top, and the same at the bottom, according to the degree of cold, ju,«t before stepping into bed; at which time the comm nees^ Pure cold air enters at the lower aperture, and passed h ough and around the room. While the warm or i,„pure air,'f Md other causes, escapes at the upper aperture. When the r„o„ -s thjror^hly ventilated and perfectly c'ool, the wldoVlyT d V li ■ , , ', """ f™'"'" "' "<" to "'"''O i' till about an hour before dj- hght, when I open the bed room door about one fourth of it^ range, for the purpose of adu,itti„g warn, air fron, the hall stove wh.eh ,s generally lighted about half an hour before the i oof |o«,ng out of bed. The roe,,,, then, is comfortable w il d,' „! H„!d°.™ :Ih' i^'.'""T '"'''•''■ ■" "- ■»-» *"-. '" "- venous - -■ -.. '....h ,. nas become arteri.li.ed, is visible, in ,hc absence 69 of bad breath, and more particularly in the large quantity, and per- fect transparency, r che urine which has been voided during the night. These are tne immediate criteria by which we judge of the extent to which the oxidation has been effected. The feeling of vigor, and appetite for breakfast, are accompanying indications that a salutary change has taken place. That change is, in the first instance, the complete transformation of the tissues, by which the process of waste is accomplished. And, in the second, the carrying away and expulsion of the matters, thus transformed. All the transformed carbon of the venous blood has gone off, during the nio-ht, in the breath ; and all the nitrogen in the urinary secretion. AU the fat of bacon or beef which had been eaten, has escaped, in this manner, by the lungs. All the lean, by the kidneys. The appetite for breakfast, is the sensible indication that the waste has been completed, and that the process of supply should commence. With fresh nutriment, the assimilation, for the purpose of forming new organs must, under these conditions, go on with vigor, and be conduc'ted under the most favourable circumstances. In summer, it is desirable to have two windows in a bed-room, if possible. One opposite the other, or, at least, on a different side of the apartment. One window, with a chimney besides or an opening for a stove pipe, may answer, however. The object of this is to create a current of a more direct kind, without which the room wi not be sufficiently cool, in warm weather. The current of air should be made to pass over the bed. There need be no fear of bad conse- quences, from the draught striking on the head. There is a foolish apprehension, in almost every person's mind, respecting the effect ot air currents. All that is required, while lying in bed, or at any other time, is to avoid whatever is calculated to produce perspiration. Where there is no sensible perspiration, no bad consequences are to be feared. And perspiration can be easily avoided by avoiding feather beds, which are the deadly enemies of human life, w he her used ia summer or winter. 1 know of nothing more grateful or more salutary, than a current of fresh air, striking on the face or bare head, while asleep. The liability to take colds and coughs, does not arise from habitual exposure to the weather; but from people accus- toming themselves to be cooped up in close and confined rooms, and shunning the natural atmosphere ; in wrapping the neck round with fursorkrge cravats; and covering the head, so that there is no egress for vapor or ingress fur the external air. Persons who act .hn« ar« nffited with every change of wind ; and, if of sedentary habits, will be visited frequently with febrile attacks. I 70 The benefit which ventilation renders to th^ r^n..^ *• . during rest and sleep, cannot be ovet.Unntd T^ fT ^'^'''^ to be no appreciation of this faer T " / ^ ^'' '^''''' '''''' rwhf f,./.u "^I'lisiact. -It IS customary to eo to bed If enable ,1,: bo°dv t„ l. T^'"^ '" '"='^ '^"""8 ""= "'RI". i» to occasion, a dimi„„t;„/„fJJ„t;j°"/' „ , """°' """ ""''"'^ of bodilj strength So tbT, , f ' " ™"'''"1''C"' ^cereaso n.orc or less ea°em,od at 'v ■ "'f f''''^^''"'' *" ''"''j' '"="'-3 The enervation ii 7""=: '° "'° "'"o""' °f '•••I>°^ endured. »o obtained, i:' ::t a ^ 'e Strct'^^rtl^r"- ""V^" "■'' wlich, in the »ea„ time, has taten^^ e Je , teT" .,"'""'? objeet of norturnal rest and sleen On ' ,1 k ° "'" "'■''' it beeomes ob.iou, that ^l,;, , ^ , " "''■'"" " PC'ccived, are sure to reprodueo all ,h. , i l- , , ^' "^"""S *'cep, the preeedin.. d y nd o r-Tl- "";'■ ^"^ '"""' "='?<"■<''"' 0° sciousncss of'rented stren b °" °' ""' '^ "'« ''"''""S <"■ con- ing, on risin/ou. of 1. ?™,S •■' fP'="c"ceJ on the following n.orn. thrinerease "oftuslll " '"''"" °'"'™S*, '» a sj.pton,, of only"' it isl::' tT'"'] "" ""^ ^'"'P '^ "»' '» P™^- --Ic The\rain n ; s e : :;'. T'"' "" ""™"' '""""• -aro.r.ed,Hi:iri::2tr^---- 71 blood. They are, therefore, dependent, like all other parts if the body, on the proper regulation of the secretions; and consequently on the equilibrium of waste and supply. The brain and nerves are material organs, that participate, with the cognate organs of the general system, in whatever increases or diminishes thoir cn^acity. The assimilation or decomposition of new cerebral and nervous mat- ter, takes place, contemporaneously, with the assimilation or (]■ struc- tion of the muscular tissues. So that whatever strengthens or debilitates the muscular tissues, strengthens or debilitates, at the same time, those organs of thought and sense. Licbig makes use of very significant language, when he says : " In regard to the nature and essence of the vital force, we can L.irdly di oivc ourselves, when we reflect, that it behaves, in all its manifestations, exactly like other natural forces; that it is devoid of consciousness or volition^ and is subject to the action of a blistc ." * The subordination of the mental functions, to the ordinary ciicmical laws of the luaterial elements, is visible in the correspondence of the results. In sickness generally, and in insanity of the mind, this fact is nut to be over- looked. It applies with great force, in what is said, under the head of "displacement," in the third chapter of this treatise. In the mean time, it is sufficient to observe, that the object of rest and sleep, is as much to increase the cerebral and nervous matter, as the muscular ; and that the mind, and nerves of sense and volition, arc influenced directly and in the most immediate way, for good or for evil, by the nature of the sleep and the extent of the noctural oxi- dation. A person, on the contrary, who lies down in a warm room, and rolls and tosses in bed during the night, or, by stimulants or narco- tics, procures a heavy and continuous sleep, cannot experience this refreshing vigor. It is impossible that he can ; for, though his body may have been duly supplied with food before retiring to rest, the accompanying circumstance of the warm room, precludes the chemi. cal changes, on which the formation of new muscle depends. And, consequently, the symptom, next morning, in place of being that of vigor, is one of lassitude ; and, getting out of bed, is an act per. formed with a considerable degree of reluctance. Going to bed, then, resting and sleeping, may all take place, and yet the object of doing so may not be attained. And, in this, we observe the impor- tance of undeastanding aright, the chemical relations of the body to * Animal Chemistry. 72 itsjood, h, atmospKero, and the othor agcr3ie» which chemically TEMrEllATURE. Most chemical changes are operative, only, under circumstances in .h,ch a certau, measure of heat or cold is present. Water annot' be converted to steam or ice, without a verv ^reat mo,]ifr r T room, or tho dissolving process will soon be^nn A -h., a,^^ 7 ^ ''^"S<^« are produced and regulated, by what is called 73 the vital force, assume that the law of transfusion of heat and cold IS not the same in organic bodies and inorganic substances. They assume, that while a piece of iron or wood becomes heated or cooled by the ordinary laws of chemistry, the temperature of the animal body IS dependent on, and is regulated by, the vital force. That is, they admit two different and antagonistic laws of temperatu-e. One,' consisting of the chemical affinities of lifeless substances, for each other. A second, consistiHg of an unknown power, called the vital force, which acts absolutely and independently of all chemical affinities. ^ If the impregnation of vitality be regarded in its proper accepta- tion as, in plants, the controlling power of the conformaiion of parts; and, in animals, to the controlling power of the conformation of parts, a superaddition of the controlling power of the conformation of cerebral functions; then, the compatibility of its existence, in an organism, whose material elements combine and separate by the same law that regulates their combinations a^d separations in a life- less substance, is perfectly reconcilable. On this head, there is nothing advanced which can be construed to be suppositious; for the facts of animal chemistry, demonstrate the mechanical functions of the elements. So far as the truth of the mechanical theory of the elements is capable of proof; all the experiments and observations of the most competent chemists agree, that the universal law of elemen- tary affinities, as it is understood in the practice of the laboratory, is not superseded nor contravened, in the organism, by the action' of the vital force. The equilibrium of temperature is not dependent on climate or season, but on the chemical process known as the oxidation of car- bon and hydrogen, which is carried on more vigorously in a cold than in a warm atmosphere. If the Esquimaux could not provide themselves with food consisting of concentrated carbon and hydro- gen, to neutralize the concentrated oxygen of the climate in which they live, the warmth of their blood could not be preserved. The blubber and oil which they eat, is burnt in their bodies by the oxy- gen of the air which they inspire; and the process for the formation of carbonic acid and water, is accompanied, in the body, as in all cases out of the body, with the generation of heat. It is the heat so produced that keeps up the temperature of the body. Such a consumption of carbon Is not required in warm countries; and consequently it does not take place. But in the winter season of a temperate climate, it is necessary ; though not to the same extent as in the arctic regions; and, accordingly, we find, that a large proper-^ 74 tion of concentrated carbon constitute.' the food of the inhabitants of such a climate. The transmission of heat or cold from one substance to another, commences on the surface. As in tlic c.\.;ini[.;. f a candle, brou"ht into a warm room, the melting pro'^oss bi'ains ' ii the surface, so is it with the cooling of the animal bod^. The temperature, at the sur- face, becomes first affected. A cow without shelter, and exposed to the wintry frost and wind, is cold all over the surface. This cold- ness increases or diminishes, with the increase or diminution of her food, as well as with the variations of exposure to tlic inclemency of the weather. And, if the food is deficient, the cold will penetrate below the surface. The resistance offered to the cold atmosphere, is produced, internally, by the chemical process of oxidation^ which is continually generating heat. Hence the conditional temperature of the skin depends upon the state of equilibrium, or on the preponder- ance of one or other of the antagonistic forces, namely, the process of oxidation and that of assimilation. The human bod}', which possesses no external covering of hair, is delicately sensitive to atmospheric changes. In the normal state, or that state which exhibits a healthy condition of its functions, the heat of the surface and of the deeply seated viscera is equal. And, therefore, it is a natural law, that the temperature of the blood is the natural temperature of the surface. The good and bad effects, occa- sioned by the maintenance and disturbance of the equilibrium between the temperature of the blood and that of the surface, are invariably preceded by the conversion, the one into the other, of two important secretions. Perspiration and urination go on, in their natural healthy state, when the two antagonistic forces, referred to, are equally balanced. But, if that balance is disturbed, a portion of the constituents of one secretion is diverted into the other. Cold, applied to the surface, occasions what would otherwise pass off as perspiration, to seek a channel of exit by the kidneys. That is, the substance of the perspiration is converted into urine. On the other hand, great warmth of the surface diverts part of the constituents of what otherwise would form urine, from the kidneys, their natural channel, to the skin, from which it exudes as perspiration. This conversion of the constituents of perspiration into urine, and of those of urine into perspiration, is in accordance with the common chemi- cal process, by which steam is converted into water, or water into steam. The following experiment will explain this. A glass shade, about four inches wide and eight deep, perforated with holes at the top, is to be warmed and placed over the lighted 75 ■rrax candle, as here represented. The vapor formed by the combustion of the wax, will pass off through the holes at the top j in the same way that perspiration escapes by the pores of the skin. 7\nd, if the external air is cool, the vapor will condense and fall down on the outer curface of the shade, as in sweat. Hut, if the glass is perfectly cold, when set over the candle, tho vapor in place of passing out at the holes, will condense on the internal surface and form water, and trickle down the sides in drops, just as the urine trickles into the pelvic cavities of the kidneys. This experiment affords a tolerably good illustration of the excre- tory process by the skin ; and, at the same time, of tho liquifying process which takes plaje, when the perspiration is checked, by cold. An examination of the structure of the skin, and of the mode in which the secretions go on, will exemplify one of the most beautiful adaptations of an apparatus, to serve one or other, alternately, of two different purposes, contingent on the external temperature. The skin or outor covering of the body is composed of two layers, the epidermis and derma. The epidermis is the outmost layer, and is a horny and homogenous substance, without blood vessels or any vascular structure, except the passages of the sudoriparous pores, and the follicles of the hairs. Tlio derma or true skin is that portion, in which the blood ves- sels, nerves and glands are situ- ated. Both the papillary divi- sion nnd the corium represent a vast areolar network of vascular tissues, the interstices of which, called areolae, are filled with adipose or fatty matter. The sebiparous and sudori- parous glands, are tho organs which secret the perspiration or sweat. These glands, like those of the serous and mucous mem- branes, are supplied with arteries and veins. The perspiratory se- cretion is effected, from the capillaries of the arteries, in the 1, SECTION OF THE SKIN. Epidermis. 2. Papillary division of the derma. 3. Corium. 4. Adi- pose cells. 5. Sebiparous glands. G. Sudoriparous glands. 16 gland, before the blood reaches the veins, and is carried by the efferent ducts A A to the pores IJ IJ, where it leaves the body, as vapor, or lies on the surface, as sweat. The secretion from the arteries of the glands into the efferent duets, can only take place, however, when the surface is sufficiently warm. If the skin is cold, the glands will be cuntracted, the secretion will cease, and the albu- minous and fatty constituents which, under ordinary circumstances, find an outlet by the skin, will pass on, in the general circulation, to the kidneys. By this, it is evident, that, when the perspiration is checked, no secretion can take place in the sebiparous and sudoriparous glands. The arterial blood, in place of being secreted at the surface, under- goes no change there; but travels on to the urinary secreting appa- ratus. Albumen and fat, what properly ought to be the secreted constituents from the glands of the derma, are then visible in the urine, in large quantity. Such a diversion, from the ruling mode of procedure of an important secretion, cannot occur without entailing equally important consequences, on the condition of the functions. Accordingly, the derangements that follow are often characterized by the most complicated and alarming symptoms. Dr. Fourcault, of Paris, established this fact, by a series of experiments, undertaken for the purpose of determining what share the condition of the skin might have in producing the disease, known as albuminuria. The following are the results, reported to the Academie des Sciences, in 1844: " First. Tho skin is only an organ of secretion, and the products of trans- piration ai'e not found in its tissue. " Second. An animal preserves its temperature, even if its sliin is taken off. Albuminuria does not follow this operation. " Third. When cutaneous perspiration is entirely suppressed, five series of phenomena manifest themselves: deep alteration of the blood ; consider- able fall in temperature ; super-secretions and effusions of various kinds local lesions ; alteration in the composition of the urine ; and, lastly, albu- minuria. "Fourth. The same phenomena, more especially the last, manifest them- selves, -when, after taking off entirely or partially the skin of an animal, the varnishes are applied on the surface which it covers. " Fifth. Cutaneous asphyxia is the result of complete suspension of per- spiration. It may occasion the death of man as well as that of inferior animals. Owing to its suppression, the blood acquires to a maximum degree the refrigerant and stupifying propertiet; of venous blood. " Sixth. When the suppression is partial or incomplete, it occasions the general phenomena which are observed in fevers and in inflammation." 77 Soon after the publication of Dr. Fourcault's report, considerable attention was excited, in England, to ascertain to what e\*Ci>, '-'thy personal habits might form the primary cause of much i f f h j d oaso existing among the laboring and poorer classes. T!' • result o. those enquiries, was the establishment of cheap baths a' - houses. The necessity and exceeding usefulness of this p-ovisiLn. iu a sana- tory point of view, cannot be questioned. But the introduction of the warm water baths, may be said to have neutrali-;.' ■! . -3 No. 1, is the natural size; and No. -, that in which croup is present. If the opening is diminished, though slightly, from the size in ficrnre 2 the case generally proves fatal. ihe ^ reC the great mortality among children, from cmip is, m the firph e the neglect to take timel: means to check the progres fi U -innearancc of croup, which may be known by the .hull souna l:r rthe windpipl, or the l^-^y co^i with a dec,red co our nf the inside of the throat, no time should be lost, n iiastc.uu^ to w t bochild's feet in w rm water, and wrapping the neck round :"T' , th;"I.uu""i at tl,« .a«,o tiu>c, keeping the body .a,m ootivcen the SI ouiuu. , a ^ tIi,- clScafV of tUo means ,„d promoting a ,„„.lorate P«.7"""»". . '^^^i ftLv are applieJ. "•i:tr^I:":^':nt;::«l:"Xril ..passages orbroneMI „f the .ulstance of the h.„,, .er,„c. P- ' '' ^.^^.^ „,,,,,a ■,„„,„„„„tion of the lio.ng n.cob™.- " ."l '"X' ■„ ,i,o „ cans of ,„„vi.y. Not«i.h.lamlin.-, however, *'= ^;P;"'y;;;y „„„n ,,;„ L,ai„. tho scat of the d.easo e v™, ^, o^> b|o, __^^ to be the same. But, in mo.-st ca.e., t.- .oai _ I .^,r ., 80 or ..emlranos cannoS be easily roachej. The proper course then i. reduce , e q„ar„ily of blood i„ the system; and thereby, rrev he eonges 04 orgaus. But this ,uust not be done, either by the lancet or with leechos. The au,ou„l of blood can be consideLwy reduced, by abstinence frona concentrated food, and theZ T^Tf unconcentrated substances. And rest, in „ reclining postu c, iXd by rela.,ng the tension of the n.uscles a.d removing the can es of .rr.tat.„n incident to the exercise of the muscular ^011"",: As in croup, all inflammatory disorders, occasioned by derangement of the funcfon of the stin, may be prevented, by adopting the°n Te ary prccaufons, at the first indication of heir syLtoms T ,ev bcgm ,v.th sfffuess and langour; and, as they proceed -iltenne scnsafons cold and heat are experienced. Wh"t e i'nd a ^ are observed, the feet, of the person aiTeeted, should be baS in warm water; he should go, at onec, to bod; and the body and foe" should bo we 1 covered, so as ,0 pr„n,ote a free perspir,ation'. If le Wels have been constipated, something should be tahen to e „. them Ihe .symptoms generally disappear, on rising from bed nex^ mornmg ; ,n which case, the flannel shirt must be clmnged f r a dr ' one, before gott.ng out of bed. Hut if it should so happen tha ,1« and febrde symptoms may continue „e.vt morning. The person affected u,ust then continue in bed; discontinne thrperspi atfo T hghtemng the bedclothes ; abstain from food ; eating only tale b wn bread toasted, porridge, or any simple article tha^ is ealeulated" toep up a free motion f,„n, ,he intestinal canal. The drini 111 j oc water or gruel, or anything else that is neither stimula.i 1 gont nor con.t.pative. Itest and ,,uiet and abstinence the'Ci remed,es „r s.ekness among the lover animals, who,, ,ve v„„ , „ well to .m, ate ,„ this particular, are generally all that a-c " r d to restore the healthy eonditionn in this class of diseases, wh e prccautronary means have not been adopted in time. In mlt , orr:;.-: ;' '""""' ""^'' -■ •"- ""'■""^'-™' °f "■» ^- » io or!, \ , rT"1 r"r""' ""'■ ""'-■>'«"™ of ".e inte- But, however well clothes are adapted to preserve an e,|uani,nity -«css , ,er the danger, from overheating the surface, is just as great 81 as from the opposite extreme. In order to balance the temperature properly — for this is the sole and only object why clothes become necessary, nothing should be worn v?hich is not of a loose and open texture, capable of transmitting the effluvia from the body and the external air to it. At the same time, the amount of covering should bo such, as not to occasion sensible perspiration. The chief point to be aimed at is to kcop the surfoce of the body warm, but, at t'lo same time dry and free from moisture. When clothing, either from the nature of the fabric, or from the quantity worn, produces and keeps up a sensible perspiration, the consequences cannot help being injurious. In one way, by debilitating the system. And, in another, by exposing it, in this state, to cold chills. What is hero stated is applicable, however, only to cold seasons. In the hot weather of summer, free perspiration is desirable, and is then a necessary excre- tion. But, it is not then produced, by clothing. It is the result of natural warmth, peculiar to that season of the year. These remarks apply also to the coverings which should be used, when in bed. These coverings should, likewise, permit air to pass freely to and from the body. The head should not be covered, during sleep. It should be kept cool ; particularly of one whose brain is active. The great quantity of blood which goes to the brain, indicates that the head should bo kept uncovered, so as to preserve the equilibrium between it and the other extremities. On the other hand, because less blood goes to the feet, there being no separate organ to supply in these Tower extremities, they ought to be well covered. And all this is required, to preserve an e(iuilibriura of temperature, in the several parts of the body. Above all things, a feather bed should be avoided. Its warmth, I would repeal, debilitates, by the constant perspiration attending its use. By its means, a foul vapour cncom- pascs the body while in bed. A hair mattress, however thin luul on another of straw, is, without exception, the best form of bed that can be used. 82 CHAPTER III. DISPLACEMENT. Hitherto, our attontion lias boon confined to Durel, .1, ■ ftnc. ,„,. -SVe oo,„e uow to eon.kler aneHer CJIIf °'"°'" hygiene and n,edieine, son,ewha. dilTercnt .s ehar cler f "T crrenmstance tl,a. the aetion produced U ehiefly,a„ „',;'! s understood by displaeement, is the movin. of the , atl r 7 , .» a seereting duel, or existing as a eellul r deli f T^ t» nnother, by „,eeha„ieal nre'ans. T o i :: l^r/T ^ ^ purpose, is the cold bath; which is „itho,?. „ "f."^"'' ^"^ "»» best hjgicnie and eura.ivo a-e ie, Low Tt °'' / "^ "' "'^ in so ai„,„e a nrat.er as the ^se of e , L/ , ;: Z M """ "r' rst;'cl'"ru:f rtd d'""' -^ i ^^^^t : truth n,a,be fte ad i tt^d s mVT""'?"" ""' "-""s'' this and ZeX ^ZT /" ™'" ,'"■"'""8 »'-- "-"gl. indulged w^.4:7rit-;jrr:t:zT:ft:e:[ lircr in fl, . 1 ■ '''"° '" "'" '"-™-'. '" the lun-s in the the c 'i "r,: , TT' '" "^ ^'"-"' "' "■-'«■ "."...brand'? "are:: 7:^^-;:X ^.ttT "^"'^ ""^ ''" what these chan-es are ulv-,,! ■ ■ ""'° "''S""''- "»' told that cold „;.cr bi'tl il ' ,""' '° ""^ '""'"'''°°''- ^^'^ "^ lathin, in tend ,atu ' y° ' 'T ""'" "" '"'""'"J 'L." no rational nor scientilie answer i, »iven " n? the r goodness, rcconimondalion to „,„, ,!?' '^ ' "'" '"^ "»""°S °f the because, rthi)' lc,i'T /""""' '° "*'" °" ''"»''«ck; cisc, »r too ,nu 1 or d , ' '"'""?' '""""'""" "" ™«'' -«- tried, and disernt.td'r i'f rr^'^i b""""^" ',""- ^"™ " bic of a ntio,r,l .-, l .• '^^^0""^ , aud because it i8 not eapa- - topM t:t !"• r '""^''^ ^"""'^- ^^"^ -'^^'^ - -" nj pci^ons who le.ort yearly to sea bathing, a ^reat number roturn 83 without benefit; while not a few consider themselves worse, from having used the salt water. In lake and river bathing, it is too much the case, that little good is derived from the practice; and even in the use of the domestic bath, injury is often inflicted which is not immediately perceptible. There is a scientific reason for bathing, just as there is a scientific reason for any other useful act. But, unless the reason is known, the chances are that, in its performance, the act may be abu.^cd, and most frequently injury may proceed from it. Therefore, it is proper that the changes which take place internally, should be minutely explained. The human body possesses what is called a nervous system. These nerves traverse every part of the trunk, head, legs and arms. They communicate, between the surface of the body and the internal viscera. They are divided into two classes ; nerves of sensation and nerves of motion. Nerves of sensation, with which we have more immediately to do, as the term implies, perform a function similar to that of telegraph wires. They convey impressions, from one part, to another. What impressions are received at the points of the fiun-ers, in examining an external object, are conveyed to the mind. But impressions experienced on the surface of the trunk, or on the outside of the leg or any other member, are also conveyed inwardly to the parts seated directly beneath. This is the case, when cold or heat Is applied to the surflice. Tho nerves of sensation, at the part where the cold is applied, convey the impression inwardly, with the velocity of lightning. As has been before observed, heat expands, while cold contracts. The application of heat to the surface, makes the deeper seated parts expand. This is the principle on which, as has already been explained, inflammation or congestion of a deeply seated organ, such as the kidney, is treated, when a heating plaster is laid over the part, or fomentation is employed. The warmth of the surface expands the orgaii beneath, and keeps it so expanded; and, by this means, the obstruction to the urinary secretion and to the free passage of the blood, produced by the congestion, is removed. "What takes place, when cold is applied, is the opposite of this. The kidney then becomes contracted ; and if allowed to remain so for any length of time, very serious consequences may follow. It is a common occur, rcncc, when a child engaged at play has a bleeding at the nose, that the mother takes tho cold iron key from the lock of the door, and r^l.^cos it on tho back of tho child's neck, directly over tho spiuc; Hi', 84 and the bleeding immediately ceases. The stoppage of the blood is caused by the contraction of the ruptured vessel. The ed-es of the rupture are brought together by the contraction; and being so com- pressed, the blood is prevented from escaping. If the key is taken away instantaneously, after the bleeding has been stopped, the blood will flow out again. But if the key is kept on fur a little, the ed^es of the rupture will adhere, and the bleeding will not afterwards return. Hemorrhages generally may be arrested, or, at least, miti- gated, by u similar application of cold to the spine. In what are called hemorrhoids or bleeding piles, it is the only eifectual remedy care being taken, at the same time, that the evacuation of the bowels •IS regular, by diet alone, and not by drugs. Now, the object of using the cold water bath is to produce this contraction; but not to continue it. The judicious use of the bath consists in effecting an instantaneous contraction, to be succeeded by nn immediate expansion of all the internal organs and viscera. Wlien an organ is so compiv.-sed, its contents are squeezed out, just as, in squeezing an orange, the juice is expelled from it. In the section of the kidney here shown, the structure is such that it admits of being compressed into a much smaller compass than its ordinary size. There is a large pelvis or cavity (4) for the reception of the urinary seereiion, M-hich enters it from the papillary projections (3 3) sur- rounding its interior surface. The cor- tical and medulary substance of which the body of the kidney is composed, is exceedingly vascular, and therefore, com- pressible. When, in the regular process of displacement, it is compressed, the urinary secretion contained in the corti- cal and medulary substance, and which is trickling slowly into the cavity fi) ^s squeezed into that cavity at once. Mcdulnry substance. 3 3. This, it will be observed, is a mech-'aical ^^'P'"*^^' ^'"•^"i wiiicii the urine action; effected suddenly, through the Ze'l, fhc^'SeS^ S; instrumentality of the nerves which ^' ^'^<^'^'"' carrying tlio uriue convoy the shock a>ceived at the surface. '" ""' ''^'''^"'■• _ At the .same time, that the .hock is received, the blood contained ^n the blood vessels uf the kidney, is prc^^.i onwards through the iSECTION OF THE KIUNEY. 1. Cortical substance. 2. 85 Tcins. Then, so soon as the cold is withdrawn from the surface of the body, and, by quick drying the surface becomes warm, a rush of fresh arterial blood takes place into the arteries, and thence into the veins of the kidney, completely filling its whole parenchyma. The apparatus in which this process is carried on, is more minutely represented in the accompanying sketch. The ar- terial blood having entered the kidney by the renal artery, passes along the branch of the artery 1—2; giving off the branches marked A, A. From these latter, the afferent arte- ries proceed to the malpighian glands B, 13, in which the se- cretion of urine from arterial blood takes place. Within their substance, the arterial blood is separated into two compounds, urine and venous blood. The urine leaves them by the uriui- ferous ducts L, L; which enlarge and converge, in their course through the medulary or tubu- lar portion, towards the pelvis. The efferent veins F, F, leaving close to where the artery enters the malpighian glands, carry off the venous blood, through the medulary substance, into the renal vein, by which it leaves the kidney. Each malpighian body com- municates with an artery, vein and urinifcrous duct. The two former enter, close to each other, on one side. The latter opens, on the side directly opposite. A malpighian body or gland. with its accompanying vessels, veins. PLAN OF THE STRFCTURK OF TUB KID- NEY ; AFTER KOLLIKEU. I. Cortical substance, conttiining the secreting apparatus. 2. Medulary sub- stance ; containing the veins ; and tubes or ducts, which carry the secreted urine to the pelvis, 4. 1,2, Branch of an artery. A, A. Smaller branches, civinff off twigs to the malpighian secreting glands, B, B. F, F. Etlerent Uriaiferous ducts. ' 'Hi [It! r ,1 1 " !.; 'W 1 1';? HI \ :;;«1 86 if examinee] separately, will exhibit with more minuteness still, the arrangement of the secreting machinery. The twig, coming from the branch a, of the artery, after entering the malpighian body E, separates into five, SIX, seven or eight branches^ each of which divides a-aia into a bunch of capillaries. It is from these '^ capillaries, during the passage of the arterial blood through them, that the urine is secreted into the minute uriniferous ducts which con- verge and form the uriniferous tube L, L, which takes a winding course in the direction of the pelvis. Alongside of the afferent twi- the efferent vein F, is seen emerging. It convolutes and forms a plexus around the uriniferous tube, terminating in the renal "with reference to the structure of the arte- "" "^r^ Tlrr.^' nes and veins, which structure directs the bowman. courseof the blood in the kidneys when they nr^^^TZ^:^^ aie compressed, it is necessary to remark that ^°''y- ^^ L, Uriniferous Save. Tho reason ol this arranitcmMit is lwe» fcnal voin. that arterial Mood, .he U„„J ^|,ie,, fl„^, ;„ (,,, ^,.j^,. a„d „ composmon the sa,„e a, the oxidized blood issuing fro°>uh left division of the heart, produces no injurious effeet when it rece OS n. the arteries h, regurgitation. On'the other ha^drtou bo lo „g ,n great part the refuse of the deco.nposed tissues dod for expulsion from the system, eould not flow baek into tS e 1 hTor''/' r° "~' """'"S "- -nJitionof h arteual blood and, aceordingly, doing n.isehief. To prevent this veisbioolfl.;: ■ :: z^j:tt- '""' ?^^ ^^"•""""^ forced to lil-e ., ,1 *"°'; "'"' '' '»' "wKforo, loiccii to late a direct course onwards In the capillaries and small veins, no valves are perecpliblc- but 1 le IS a provision which answers the same purpose. tC„ ,gi ndinal and prnjccling formations, called nuclei; .soineofdrh ^ahe. should be compensated by structures capable of serving the fmBfi' 87 TRANSITION OF A MINUTE ARTERY INTO CAPILLARY VESSELS, FROM THE brain; AFTER KOLLIKER 1. Minute artery. 2. same purpose. In the annexed representa- tion, the transverse nuclei are placed in the iniuutc artery 1, just at its point of con- nection with the capillary 2; so that the arterial blood, which becomes changed in the capillary, cannot return into the niinuto artery; being prevented from doing so by these transverse nuclei; and must, there- fore, move on through the capillary; the elongated nuclei also acting as valves, to arrest the return of the blood. It is manifest, that the compression of the kidney must affect most forcibly the external cortical substance, in which the malpighian bodies are situated, so as to move their urinary contents inwards, through the efferent vessels and ducts, in the direction of the pelvic cavity; their blood being forced, simultaneously, into the Trnnsitionnl cnpikry. " ° , ' . „ , , , . 3. Coarse cnpillanes. 4,4. renal vein. That this eltect is produced, is p[„e capillaries, contain- deraonstratcd by the quantity of the secreted ing elongated nuclei, a. ,. , . , ,1 11 11 1 Transverse nuclei, fluid which passes into the bladder when, by means of the cold bath, the kidney is made to contract in the way described. This is an experiment which any one can try upon himself, in order to become convinced of the truth of the flict which has been stated. The way to proceed, is, Grst, to empty the bladder of its contents, just before applying the cold water; takijig care that the body is comfortably warm, when stepping into the bath. If a sponge bath, the water is to be applied freely to the^ spine. The process of bathing may not occupy more than one minute, or two minutes. At the expiry of which short period of time, and before leaving the bath, there will be experienced an urgent disposition to pass urine. And, if the feeling is gratified, the quantity evacuated will equal, on an average, the full of an ordinary sized wine glass. Under usual circumstances, the passage of urine into the bladder is a slow process : proceeding from the ureters drop by drop ; and no desire for evacuation is felt, before that a large quantity of urine is accumulated. The urgent desire to evacuate, before leaving the bath, is caused by the irritation produced on the mucous membrane of the bladder, in consequence of the quantity of urine thrown in, at one time, and suddenly. I '. 1 "i le 88 The kidneys have been selected to illustrate the nature o change, by d.^ludgement, which takes place, when the nerve, of the surface are made to transmit their shock to these urina,; o. a A snuilar change, however, occurs simultaneously in eve^-y oZ ocrefng gland ; and, moreover, in every membrane, tissue fnd of the hunun body. The contractile effect, on the urface i com niunicatcd to the whole vascular system No mrt 111 • exempted. The larger or-^ans such as ho) ^'') 'J^''^^''''' '' „,;*;, \i • , "J',-^'*""; sucn as the Jungs and ver rninllv with the mmute glands of the serous nn,l ,„n.^^ ^ ^ t..« ..b,„„i„„„, eS,. of the aj™ "; : ;;z;r r-j -i na.u.c b,U .1.0 .„t,o,„o„t r...Lj:l ^Jl^ ^^JZ^^'Z^ port which, constitutionally, the semrifo 7.nrf.. vn / . ^' rri, , , , 1 -1 •'^' ^t-paiate parts render to each otlmr The .„cc.ha,„e,l process of displaccmcnl, ,.hicl, is a ,-c=u „. .shock occaslonoJ b^ the colj „.or, has .ho hy.. e LZf •" erat.„g the chao^o of , natter, o,- waste; J^ZmJ^T'' for an t„ereasc i„ the amount of nutrition re,,uirej 'r, ^ IM ' berng preserved assi,nih„i„„ proeecjs unier the no. '„^ hi" CO rnhfons; and the n,a.i,n„„, of nutritious and assin, ] ,i o e j ' lions produces a maximum of vilalitv It i, i„ ,i,; '•""° "^""J'- bod, acquires additional power, when he pro" ,s „ li T' " "'•' contiiraouslj proseeutod ""• P™o'^o« of J»placenicnt is the anmunt of vi.o wh I f, irrT:? '° "" "'"" ""^"'' '" .ary to .emcn.hcnhauhe ,7, t'^ "^^T^^ ^' '^ -es- and that it possesses a vascular trneluS^ for M ' " '""""'"' ' «on and waste, similar to what ^ I'l „,f ""'T "^ ""'"- animal body. It has arteries and vet s that „ f "T " "" "'° tions, and serve a purpose similar Lthaot ,?:'"■"" """'' ^""'- the muscular tissues AndTn 1 ■ . '""'"-"' ""^ ''''""f between the brain oft .utrudtdS:;' '"" \"° '"'"""™ tion and waste being alie e senthl , " T°" ''°"'S' ^''""- Ihis resemblaaee is no 1,'^,,: 1 -^ """''''''' '''"'''"■ ^'"^ for the purpose of nuti i "1 "wtl^ ^'™-"7 -^ factions, -.a.io„;„d„.iiz;tx,x%s:::^^^^^^^^^^ - p-rved ; and .•„ „,.„ or propor'tionat:;™:;:^:::^!:: 89 processes go on slowly, and are not in eriuilibriuni. There is, in short, no agency whatever, that inijcirts strength or weakness to the muscular tissues, that does not iiiflucneo similarly, and to an equal extent, the brain and nervous system, and their manifestations. From the lowest reptile, up to man, vital development is the result purely, of assimilation and oxidation carried on, under the conditions of the equilibrium. To satisfy ourselves of the reality of this general law, we need look no fartlior than to the domesticated animals; such as the horse, ox, cow, dog and cat. Neither of these animals, in a fat or lean condition, possesses equal strength of muscle, or exhibits so much animation, as when fed and exercised, so as to maintain the natural conditions of the ccjuilibrium. A fat or lean dog is, in an abnormal state, when there is a preponderance of one or other of the conditions of nutrition and waste. The fatness is then a cause of enervation, as much as the leanness. For the fat dog not only wants animation ; but his want of strength, is made conspicuous, the moment he comes in hostile contact with a more normally condi- tioned, but lighter dog, of the same particular breed. It requires no argument, to prove, that a corpulent man, cannot possess strength or the capacity of endurance. The strength of the body, and also of the mind, in a state of health, depend.-;, to a considerable extent, on the proportion of muscular fibre, relatively to the amount of fat. The rule being, that when the muscle is well developed, the mind Avill be found to be proportionably powerful ; it being always under- stood, of course, that all other conditions are the same. Sensation and perception are common, to us, with the inferior animals. In many respects, our powers of sensation and perception are inferior to theirs. In relation to the dependence of the vital energy and mental vigor, on the state of the muscular fibre, man has no advantage over other animals. And, in this respect, is not supe- rior to them. What constitutes hi;-, superiority, is the supcraddition of the power of reason ; or uf that faculty, in which the reason is seated. And here even, this rational faculty is found to be vegeta- tive. To grow with the body ; mature with the body ; and to be developed, with its development. Sympathizing, in all its vicissi- tudes ; and losing its force and vigor, as old age impairs the force and vigor of the muscles. As the brain and nerves, the seat of intellect and organs of sensa- tion, have arteries and veins, and, therefore, possess the usual appa- ratus of nutrition and waste; and arc, in consequence, so intimately related, in their growth and development, with the growth and a ^J %. e %, o^. \t>^^S. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I M 2.2 s«.lt- ■ 4.0 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1,6 ■• 6" ► * p> /y e": s>. 4^ .. s*^^^ ^^'^>.^ a ':t tie skin; second cloth of the same k.nd. !?'»"" '""\^'„„.^ „( ,i„e, so as to „d it the disorder has V'^^''^l'^J^''2^2^^^ ,„ patches or have taken hold of the system, it will ^e "ccess^y /y „„a stripes of chamois leather, on the ools d of *» «"" ^^^^^ directly over the parts where the pa.n i felt Th« P ^^^^ be made to cover only the rTnZL hilTy objectionable, to wear a chamois »"^«'-J°*ct; but th.sj m J j ^^^^ " other parts -^J^::t^,^^^^ or con r r::-o 'p^'piX -^ to be avoided, during both da, and 92 night. Out-door exercise is to be freely indulged. The skin should' bo knpt dry ; and this can be managed easily, by the general treat- ment recommended. It is proper to observe, that, in many cases, ii may happen, that no relief is experienced till the cold bathing has been continued daily for some time ; and therefore, the patient is not to discontinue the bath, because ha may fancy that its good effects ought to be manifested at first. All healing processes have one mode of action. Diseased matter is carried away in the venous blood j and healthy deposits, to fill its place, rre formed from the succeeding influx of arterial blood. The chief object of the healing art, is to remove whatever does not pro" perly belong to the healthy body. The healthy condition is the standard on all occasions. It is the model to which the medical practitioner should always look for his rule of action. In removing diseased accumulations, the rule, we are to follow, is that of dis- placement, by compressing the organs or tissues wherein the accu- mulated matter is lodged; and as this can be effectually done only by a constitutional mode of treatment, we, therefore, plunge the- whole body in cold water ; or apply the water to the whole surface by means of a shower bath, or with a sponge. It does not signify by which means, so long as the double revulsion is produced by the cold shock, and the rubbing down is equally and thoroughly executed. In winter the room should be warm, or, at least, not very cold, i» which the bath is taken. In regard to what is called hydropathy, its leading feature, or indeed the fundamental principle on which its pretensions are founded, is that of sweating out the disease, It is this getting rid of disease, by sweating it out, that is assumed to constitute the pro- cess of cure in hydropathy. Therefore, in examining its pretensions, all that is required, is to ascertain whether the sweating promotes the natural course of the secretions, or diverts them so as to derange the equilibrium of the natural functions. The object of enquiry is the determination simply of a matter of fact, cognizable on scientific data. The assumptions of Priestnitz may have originated in honesty of intention and integrity of purpose ; but Priestnitz was an unedu- cated person, at the time he originated hydropathy, and is so still. He knew nothing of the anatomy of the human frame, and, conse- quently, much less of the nature and constituent elements of the various secretions. How he could, thus circumstanced, have ori'n- Dated a scientific theory, is not conceivable. And what grounds his followers assume, for their adoption of a system conceived, thus, i» 9B ^ignorance, and ^hich practically violates a fundamen-col principle of J^ience may be left to themselves to consider. , , ,, , The principal glandular secretion-, arc tW nrinc, tic breath and ■the perspiration. In health, they have their separate channels of ex . The urea and uric acid, are ibund invariably .n Ae unne ; the car bonic acid, principally in the breath; and the -o™'-; ^^^ ^t potaA, In the pcrsp.ration. It never occurs, m a sta e of health, that !ither of these secretions is diverted from its natural channel. And Acrefore, it we are to look to the normal state for the ru e by wh.ch we re t be guided, in the treatment of the siei, t w,ll be found, That he very tot condition to be observed is the l.m.Ufon, exclu- -t* of -oh secretion to its natural channel. There is no contro. Tcrtin- this truth. We cannot falsify the natural law. r* hygienio and medicinal process of d'-P'-™-'. ".-"* diversion oetrs ; nor is it possible. I. is to guard aga.nst to th. the process is Umi.cd, in duration of time. One -""'^^ ;-»;* utmost three minutes in the bath, cannot be exceeded, with advan TaT And a that time the sebiparous and sudoriparous secreUons crnotted verted to the Kdneys, nor the v-., to the cutaneous Xe The suddenness of the impression or shoclt, .nerely d.s^ Its the matter of the glands and duets ; moving the venous hi d d tie secretions from the arterial blood, onwards j ^ *; — that a temporary revulsive action, to a very sma 1 extent, scarcely appreciable, takes place in the arteries of the glands, ''when the cold or warm bath ,s "-d -mp^p ly , *»' ' f^^ person remains too long a time in it ; or rcma ns so '""o » W for a secretion to become diverted, certain constituents of the urle a e trcnlund in the perspiration, or those of the perspiration °n the nrine A. has been stated, it is to guard against this resu! , It : restriction is placed on the time in which the bathing opeia- 'Isrltruttsible perspiration or sweating is to be JZ, I. all times,'«cept during the heat "^ ^^-^^ -^^'^^2 ,y artiacial means, v^armth >' "f ^^^^ „= ;:^i/: I'lLt f T"r itlCH \°;f r iotllg H oLr smtahle precau. :„: MO .rrthe'amou^t of perspiration in the heat of suinmer is th; eonosponding advantage to the co„.a^^^^^^ I--'-" spiration, is a normal conoition of the q .^ ;-rtxiy::r;t::!raconstipati;est^^^^ 94 bowels, is a normal state. Nor is excessive nor suppressed urination. Every departure from the equilibrium, is a departure from the rule- to be observed, and which should in all case: prevail. Now, the practice, in hydropathy, of sweating the patient iti sheets, coverlets or blankets, for two or three hours, till the perspi- ration changes its color, becomes viscid and of a strong odor, and the urine and the breath also become offensive ; is not only a derangement of the equilibrium ; but is a transferring of urinous qualities to the perspiration, by a violent ordeal. The idea of sweat- ing out the disease originated, in the presumption that all parts of the body are accessible through the pores of the skin ; otherwise; it would be a contradiction, to sweat for an abscess of the lungs or liver, if the matter formed in the abscess could not be brought to the surface of the body, by the hydropathic ordeal. But there is noway whatever, by which diseased matter can be transferred from either of these organs to the skin. It is impossible that it can be so tsans- ferred^ under any circumstances ; for the venous Wood of the general circulation passing through them, and also that of their vasa vasorum, take a direction to the heart. The proper channels of outlet for the matter of abscess, and also for all other diseased matter, are the lungs and kidneys. They are the principal outlets, because all the blood of the body passes through them, for secretion. "Which is not the case wiia the sebiparous and sudoriparous glands; for these glands receive jind secrete only the blood that reaches the surface. Except by the hydropathic ordeal, the amount of matter perspired is trifling, com- pared with what finds an exit through the lungs and kidneys. And even under that ordeal, though the amo! .it of blood brought to the surface is comparatively much greater than when that ore J is not applied, still, the amount is small, compared with the amount in the- whole body. Upon the- whole, then, the quantity of blood capable of being secreted by the sebiparous and sudoriparous glands, even under the hydropathic ordeal, is small compared with the quantity secreted from the lungs and kidneys. These facts conclusively show, that the hydropathic system is at variance with the simple truths of anatomy and physiology. * * As the name of Liebip has been employed, in the writings of hydropathists and homoeopathists, for the purpose, evidently, of imposing on the credulous- public, I consider that I am performing a double duty in making known the recorded opinions of that great man. Germany being the land in whicL Priestnitz and Ilanhemann originated and matured their respective systems, and in vrhioh their systems have been most extensively practised, tlie testi- mony of a profound scholar, shrewd obeerver, and thfj most distiuguisheii 06 The plunge bath is certoinly a great luxury; tot il is not every one who ean aford the expense which attends it, T^^""'' J^^; nient hath, and one equally efficacious, ,s a hand basm fi led ..th cold rain water, and a wide and shallow tin pan to stand ,n. The inp n is portable, and n=aybe carried fron. one bedreon. to another, r fl at aU the inLtes ot a house may use it, consceutwely, eery lining. The annexed sketch ot the pan, basm, and other ncces- sary accompaniments may be useful to those who desire information on the subject. A common wash tub will answer the purpose ; but for general use, it is compara- tively clumsy and heavy, and nut wide enough to pro- tect the carpet from being V7et. The pan is light, and easily handled, and may be set standing upright, on its ^ ^.^ ^^ .^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^j^g ,i,outh ; edge, against the wall ot" the 3, /,,, . t^e ^^^"o. ; a^d 4 ^^^^^^^^^^^ room, when not required for deep^ ^-. J^;-^,^;^^ protect the soles of The best way to proceed, j^.^ ^o,Sard worsted i^its. not to wash the ^P ™- " ,^, „f j^, t,„as over the head, in ,Ue floor i -\™^'":; *:f : ;;3o partially soaped to the face, ridlrZXlo"' and between tL^thighs^^oonasthis Professor Liebig expresses himself as *' o^s ^^^se dens of covetous and ..The existence of hydropatl^'°/"'^*"^3 resorts, ^ rapacious gamblers, ^^ere the wretched .m M ^esor^^- .^ ^^^^^^^ ,5,^ health and life: the rise »»^, P;°E„fto commou sense, loudly proc aim and find disciples in all countries ? -Lancet, 96 is done, place the circular board in the centre of the tin pan ; get in and stand on it ; and squeeze the sponge, filled with water, once on the crown of the head. Then distribute the water, which is flowing off mixed with the soap, over the body by rubbing the parts all over. The remainder of the water may then be applied freely with the sponge, squeezing it over the head; and rubbing down at each application of the sponge, till the basin is emptied ; care being taken that some portion is applied freely to the back of the neck and spine, so as to influence the spinal cord. If bearable, cold spring or well water, in summer, is best, where the object is to displace the morbid matter of constitutional disease, or local ulcers. Having finished the bathing, and stepped out of the pan ; rub down quickly with a coarse dry cloth, and follow with a second. The process is completed by putting on the mits, and rubbing the arms, body and legs till, by the friction, a warmth is felt over the whole surface. In winter the clothes must be hurried on, to pro- mote the warmth and secure the full influx of arterial blood, which completes the revulsive process. • The water in the tin pan is then to be emptied into the basin; and the pan, being wiped with the sponge, may be set up against the wall or otherwise disposed of until required. The basin, with the water, is to be placed in the basin stand. By attending to these particulars, in the order in which they are here stated, a habit of method and regularity is acquired, which makes the bathing operation expeditious and convenient to the person engaged in it; and precludes annoyance to others, and complaint on the part of the attendants, who have the cleaning and setting of the room in order, afterwards. If the body feels warm immediately after the dry rubbing, it is an indication that the effect is beneficial. But to secure this resxilt, it must be comfortably warm before commencing to apply the cold water. On no account should a bath be taken while the body is cold. When the plunge bath is used, the head should be wet first, before going into the bath; because it is better for the blood to rush, from, than to the head ; a transition that invariably takes place on the application of cold. With this knowledge of the ratixmale of the bath, it is easy to conceive why little benefit is derived from it, in consequence of the way in which it is generally made use of. Young persons invariably remain too long in the water. Older ones frequently do the same. The common practice is to go into the lake, river or sea ; that is, into cold water, with the sun's rays striking directly on the head. 97 And, ta n,ake the oaso «rsc, n,any females wffl not allow the head tt wet, on any acconnt. Then again, in the plunge ba h, he lofrlntlnning in it i, too long, and the head i. generally the "^;hr„£^: tt :a:rr;epid wate. hathmg, n,ay he infold Jn, the eltrar, inward aetion attending it No ^ouht ,t « more aleable to the feelings, to go Into a warm than a c Id bath , and h° smay be the reason why the warm bath is generally used liu tins may u« t ^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ to in warm weather or m summ r p odn«=s no d ^p .^ ^^^^^^^ place when the cold hath is used. But af r a wa ^^^^^^^ 1 1 iho T^rocess of dsplacement. Ihe Dest a^tu^j, 1 n the morb°d matter of the eirenlation and seerefons, o of removal of the morB.a ma procedure in direct violation „,„„,, is thus neg leeted Is not such a P ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ "' \^"°'^\ttTel ura n ieats are'not perceived; and that of physicing, that *«.°»'™ '" , . ^^^^ ,,„» of a means ot cure, , practice the most vie.ous * "^tai^^^^/^^ „,,„,_ ^, „,o,t Mghly which, in a general ''"'f^'V rir^rot only be discouraged, but valned ! The """>,"'" ^^*f;"",;' laical institution, ought to be absolutely prohibited n ev ., m ^et it Its nse, by the ^ff^'^^'^'^^lZli of lunatic asylums, i, a inelaneholy truth that, in ' « "^-^.^f^, „„ „jh„ p„pose, is the warm bath, as a means o "'^ » ■°;;" „,,„„„e„.enls. Now, it considered a -'-"^^"^^"fj .f , n"vcrthcless, as has been „ay not be ge lerally known,but it s a ,, ^^^ ^ ^^^^^^_ noticed, that whatever gives stam na '» * J^„i„ '„„, „„,es are ponding effect on the -"JO^'J" "^^ !, nourishment, the same as supplied with arteries -^;«'°;' »' * ,3 „fter hand, that an, per- all other parts of the body. And, on 98 niancnt cause of stimulation or excitement of the blood and tissues, produces a permanent state of the nerves, precisely of the same stimulating and exciting character. Of this we have a practical exemplification, in the training of pugilists and pedestrians. When a person is about to engage in a pugilistic encounter, or to undertake a fete of walking a given distance in a given time, he requires quali- ties of endurance and coolness, for the execution of his purpose; mast be sound in wind, and possess, what is called, good bottom. These qualities are all acquired by the rational system of training universally adopted. He is restricted in his diet to coarse and plain articles, such as coarse stale bread, vegetables ; and water to drink ; exercise in a cold and bracing atmosphere; and the constant use of the cold bath, and dry towel rubbing. The muscles of the arms, chest and legs become thereby, fully developed; and he acquires a mea- sure of strength which, in the exercise, is of long continuance, and is long before it is exhausted. The solidity thus imparted to the body, is visible also in the mind. He is cool and collected. He goes to work, not by fits and starts ; but with a settled purpose, resolution and firmness, that imparts dignity to his acts. Now, the chief means in producing this state of the muscular and nervous systems, is displacement. The theory of the process has been explained. It consists in the acceleration of the change of matter, or waste ; and the consequent accelerative process, by which new tissue is formed. The rapidity of the processes of waste and supi)ly, being thus continued fur a period of time without intermis- sion, generates not only an increase of bulk, but, what is more appre- ciable, a consistence, and firmness of fibre in which the nervous system invariably participates. By a continuous persistence in the use of cold water, so as to produce displacement every time it is used, it is in the power of any person to give firmness and solidity to his muscles and nerves. And moreover, it is within the reach of every one afflicted with cutaneous or organic constitutional or local disorders, to rid himself of the same by this very simple means. On the other hand, a person fed on beef and fine bread, and who drinks ale, and makes use of the tepid bath, may be fleshy, and acquire what the French call embonpoint. But his flesh is of the wrong kind. He will be more excitable; and will be readier to fight, or walk, or undertake any other fete; in the execution of which, however, he is almost sure to be beaten. These are practical truths, that have a scientific explanation. They ought to be of great value in the treatment of the insane. 99 Displacement should be regarded and employed as the chief medica- ment in every lunatic asylum. No treatment of the insane can be ^nerally effective in which cold water revulsions are excluded, or Ire not made the primary means of cure. An objection may be started, as to the difficulty of getting patients to use the cold buth. But such is not tenable. If it be made a rule, in an asylum, that the bath is indispensable; and patients be given to understand that leliance is placed on it, more than on any other means; and it, at the same time, the bath room is comfortable ; i.. winter being T^armed ; there is no reason to suppose that the patients could not be induced to accustom themselves to cold bathing. Like everything else, to succeed in persuading them, it would require to be gone about in the proper way. Besides having the bath room attractive the bathing should be commenced during the heat of summer at which tim;no persuasion would be required, as a cold bath is t,eo a universal luxury. Patients, commencing o take the ba h in winter, should have rain water; and the female and inore delica e Tie patients, should be supplied with rain water dunng the whole "ear it is soft and grateful to the feelings. Af^r the custom ha. been generally introduced, during the summer, of taking a cold bath every morning, a continuance of the practice, m winter,^could bo easily secured. by a little address and management; - ;- ^^ ^ ; by some additional allowance, privilege or reward Ly ^^hatev Jeans accomplished, however, the cold bath should be made as. .ua non, in the treatment of the mentally insane ; and should hold the hic^hest rank as a medicament, in every lunatic asylum. Before leaving this part of our subject, I would impress on ev y on; young and old, the advantage of taking a cold bath every "or'n-fnc., during the whole year round; in winter as well as in rrmer With many, it will require no inconsiderable amo.nt of "I ion to commence the practice ; for habit is so difticu U to ove - cle that, without some strong motive, the attempt might be con i- de'd almost impracticable. But few, who can bring themselves to ' e the c Id bath, daily, lor two or three weeks, without intermis^on Ind in the proper manner, will feel disposed to -nounce it after watd The benefit experienced is so palpable as to ^e itself tho rtn^est motive for the continuance of the practice. On this point, therel n be no deception. The truth of the fact is easily tested. ^^^;i cofwashin .e^e^^^^ 100 stead. Ocnilcnion might as well dispense with the shirt altogether, because it is not seen, and wear only a collar and a dicky. And, for the same reason, the ladles might remove some concealed appendoge of comfort and health. There is no reason but fashion, arisins out a slovenly if not a filthy habit, why this privation should exist only in the one case. And it cannot be denied, however humiliatinc it may bo to our sense of propriety, that the reason why wc wash only the face and hands is because, as has been said, they are the only parts which are visible. Fashion, in this respect, has altered very much for the worse, since the age of the iEscuhipian temples. The free and constant use of the cold bath, was the chief means of purification, and the grand medicament to which the sick and the maimed were all alike sub- jected. Amid the orgies and priestly devices which characterized the treatment of disease, in the early age to which reference is here made, the bath stands out as a useful remedial institution, to which, in our own boasted days of therapeutic scion*. -, we can furnish no parallel. CHAPTER IV. CONCLUDING REMARKS. Reviewing the substance of what has been said, in the preceding pages; and, in the first place, with reference to the peculiarities which distinguish the scientific medician from the mere empiric; it is' worthy of remark, that the more competent a physician is to com- prehend the irreconcilableness of the principles of his practice, the less dogmatical are his assumptions, in regard to the virtues of his prescriptions. It is observable, that an active or passive constitution of mind, generally determines the aspect in which it views a proposi- tion, or the relative bearings of external objects. While one takes on impressions^.-ind -retains, thenv indelibly,. in tbe same way that this paper has befe?» j'^ip.r.cs^^4 '"^ith f|yycs aiS^'ink^'they are received, 101 bv another only as postulates; and, as such, are retained for the '/j;! f beinl digested afterwards ; and to be either eanee c^ o. confirmed, as eireun>.tances n.ay justify, on some iuture oc.u»io In a rational point of view, and as already has been ren.arkcd, the L no on beUveen n.an and brutes, and between one .an and ano her consists in this active or passive constitution o unnd It L no less peculiar to medicine, than to other professional avocations. Thnfine ar s or the rude employments of manual labor, present no tT. the rule In the studio and pulpit, at the bar, m the exception to the ru e .^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ laboratory, surgery, and last, thou^n n ' ^ ^^^-^ a.a, one Ola. 'l^;^^:^:^^^^!^:^^^^^' .cora- r» ^'T': r&r alth e „ consonance with tl,o eternal rules rZ:^:'^^^ *» ,»« of .he creator. proU,,,Jor W;\ho band together "'f'-'-'^f/lS" 'crafts, and, science, as leading to innovation. ^ , Here.peetanetoa.lc.t..^^^^^^^^ rfh::::iai!:o::or;o.teWp^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ if B»ch Charter is known to have be n ™P "Pf'^J ^j^^ , , nnworthily obtained. S„„,cthing e.so « ;;PJ^^',^3,„„,a ,°t, , .Ulo. And that something ts the ,ner> on ff^ ,,; and from which the, shou d ^-"f ' ""^J^^^eientiSc claims surgery, an, particular school of j'>>Y°"J*tr objection to it. to sustain its pretensions, *»« could e.ist no o J enjoying tbe special patronage and P™'' "ul tUioner, to look at the subject in this light, i or i ^^^^^^j^ he formerly, how far the law . ->;^^ '^^c ;tLe'to bo so pro- 10 the exclusion of " ""^ ' it baslp-elv scientifle foundation ; tected, and very properly ; tor it bas a p . ^ and arduon,, and assiduous, and conUnn u Ub^ J ^i^^,^. attain proficiency. But, as to phys.c, or "" „,„,„ „„a tering of drugs, no license and no law »» P"^«;' „„ ,„ „em. from'ridlcnle, for the «-»"' *' ;:;~; aetice. The fact tors of the same scbool, can he found to agree p 102 is, that in consequence of the dissatisfaction in the public mind, witli respect to this disagreement, and the professions' ignorance from which it is assumed to proceed, many people constitute themselves their own doctors. And this is a necessity forced on their reasona- ble convictions, from the contempt in which they hold the entire physicing system. Not only this, but any incompetent person may compound and vend physic, under the cover of a legal patent, without let or hindrance, notwithstanding that such person may not be able to read or write. So low is the profession of the physician degraded, in practice, as well as in public estimation, and so crowded is it with a class of members who are mere traders in drugs, that its emolu- ments, except to a fortunate few, are barely sufficient to provide, in each individual case, the ordinary comforts of a family. If medicia'. is to be rescued from its present condition, and is to establish a just claim to be legally protected, it must combine chemistry with anatomy and physiology; and, in doing so, care must be taken not to fall into the error of thinking to graft chemistry on the old drugging system of practice. The art of medicine consists, properly, of two branches or departments; namely, surgery and organic chemistry. The one comprehends every thing connected with the structure and the mechanical functions; the other, every thing pertaining to the constituent elements, and their chemical functions. In regard to structure, there is no difficulty. Surgeons do not disagree, concerning the principles of surgery, or the methods of operation. They may not always coincide, with respect to the proper time, at which an operation should be performed, or that it should be performed at all ; as in the case of an amputation. But here the difference ends. On fundamental principles, there can be no disagreement ; because every act is, either a process of scientific investigation, or is performed in accordance with an established scientific formula. Why not, in the same way, adopt scientific data, in the chemical department of medicine, and, thereby, establish its reputation and claims, on a basis, equally secure against public con- tempt, and equally entitled to legal protection ? Till this is done, and until a proper curriculum of organic chemistry be introduced, the practice of the physician cannot fail to be regarded othe. ivise than on a par with that of the patent medicine doctor; for, in the present practice of physicing, the one is just as little competent to explain, scientifically, the modus operandi of his prescription as the other. So soon, however, as the scientific facts of organic chemistry shall 103 have superseded the physieing systetn, it will be generally perceived that the law of chemical combiaations is of universal application is the same in a plant and animal, as in an inorganic substance; and that therefore, as in surgery, or mechanics so also in chemico^ xned cine, the principles of the science are universal cognizable and rtem^nate; and such as they have been described in the preceding ^"fa'rec^ard to the prospective changes which medicine is destined to encounter, before that it can be recognized as^ reliable and trus^ worthy a;d entitled to public confidence, much can be said that rial ive of encouragement. If people could only be taught to UvTas they ought to do, medication would be almost unnecessary It the halits of civilized life are such as to enervate and debih ate fh. bodv exposing it, on almost every occasion, to derangement of L'^^rorSe; And, -twithstand^g that many who^^^^^^^ acquired some knowledge of anatomy and P^jf ^^^^^^.'f^^ ^ nlral or scholastic study, are able to prescribe for and tieat them , 1 \.^r ih^ masses are not so circumstanced. And, as selves when sick, the «^;^ , ^^^^ ^„,,,,ti,, ,,d debility civilization P^S-^' the probabil^^ ^. ^ ^^ .^^^^^^^ ^^ will progress in an equal ratio g n ^^^.^^^ medical practice, and consequently to an extenaio 'totto live so as to be able to avoid the endless multiplicity of and with sorrow, on the rocks ana quic Had been -''8«i"S -tUj»t e - o^^^^^ ^^. ^^^ be found, who have eomp eted *»" ';"' « ^ constitalions. We exhibifmg the scars of d.-aso m thej *;' -^^ ^„, „^^ come into the world, surrounded on "" "^e^^^^^^ ,„„„ent agencies, which continue to -' "^^^'^^t^.W "binder O.c pater, of our lives. Intheeradlo; and af erwa