OCR Text |
Show TRAVEL FOR CONSUMPTION. Beneficial Effects of Open -Air Life on Hereditary Subject. Dr. Henry L. Bowditch has given the-Cli-matoiogicaf association an account of the ! treatment which seems to bave counteracted a strong tendency to consumption in his own family. In ISOS his father, then 35 years old, was undoubtedly threatened with consumption. consump-tion. On August 29 of that year, when thus ill, he started from Salem, ilajis:, with a friend as his companion and driver, in an open one horse chaise, for a tour through New England. The trip lasted thirty days and covered 7S4 miles. During the time he passed ( from the deepest mental discouragement discourage-ment and physical weakness through all stages of feeling up to a real enjoyment of lif 0. Hi journey, though benefiting h im immensely, im-mensely, probably did not wholly cure him, but ii proved to him the absolute need he'had of regular daUy physical, open air exercise. Afterward, UEder walks of one and a half to two miles, taken thre times daily all pulmonary pul-monary troubles disappeared. He died, thirty years after the Journey, from carcinoma of the stomach, his lungs being normal, except that one presented evidences of an ancient cicatrix at its apex. Ho prescribed for his children the same regular out of door exercise which had been bo beneficial to him. As soon as they were old enough they were required to take daily morning walks of about a mile and a half. If at any time they were observed to be drooping, they were taken from school and sent into the country to bave farm life and out of door play to their hearts' content. In consequence of this early instructien, all his descendants have become thoroughly impressed im-pressed with the advantages of daily walking, walk-ing, of summer vacations in the country, and of camping out, etc., among tho mountains. moun-tains. Dr. Bowditch's father had married his cous n, who, after long invalidism, died of chronic phthisis in ISuh Certainly a consanguineous con-sanguineous union of two-consumptives foreboded fore-boded nothing but evil. Yet, of their eight children, six are either now alive or they arrived at adult age, married, mar-ried, and have hail children and grandchildren, grandchil-dren, but not a traceof phthisis has appeared in any of these ninety-three persons. Dr. Bowditcli sees nothing but the influence influ-ence of out of door life to which this Immunity Immu-nity of his family from consumption can be attributed. He has prescribed . it, under proper precautions, in his practice for years, and soys, in conclusion; "I have no objection to drugs, properly chosen; but if the choice were given to me to stay in the house and use medicines, or to live constantly in the open air without them, I should infinftely prefer the latter course in case of my being threatened with pu-lmonary conBumption." rv-puar Science. |