Sketches of the medical topography of the Mediterranean : comprising an account of Gibraltar, the Ionian Islands, and Malta : to which is prefixed, a sketch of a plan for memoirs on medical topography / by John Hennen ; ed. by his son, J. Hennen.

  • Hennen, John, 1779-1828.
Date:
1830
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sketches of the medical topography of the Mediterranean : comprising an account of Gibraltar, the Ionian Islands, and Malta : to which is prefixed, a sketch of a plan for memoirs on medical topography / by John Hennen ; ed. by his son, J. Hennen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    I. The Name,—the Latitude,'—Longitude,—and Boun- DARiEs. — These heads require httle or no comment. If the place to be described is extensive, it will be necessary to note whether the situation is insular, or a part of a continent. If it is only a small district or town, it will be necessary to state what distance it may be from the sea, and what elevation above it; what distance it may be from the metropolis, and the modes of communicating with it. The Seas,—the Rivers,—the Lakes,—the Wells,— the Morasses,—the Bogs,—and the Canals. — These are points upon which the topographer should bestow considerable attention, as they so materially affect the dryness or moisture of a country. The nature of the deposits, animal, vegetable, or mineral, which are left by the waters, should be accurately ascertained; as on them, especially in warm countries, the most important consequences depend. The height to which the tide may rise in a river, as well as the rapidity or sluggish- ness of the stream, will materially affect these depositions; while the physical features of its banks, and the tortuosity of its meanders, will possess considerable influence, by concealing or exposing the substances deposited to the sun and the winds : hence also the depth of the waters, the soil through which they flow, or in which they stagnate; the height of the banks, the materials of which they are composed, the shelter which they afford, the nature of that shelter, whether of sedge, underwood, full grown timber, or rock, should all be pointed out; and the accidental or periodical accumulations of filth or alluvial mate- rials, which pollute or enrich the stream, should be described. The inhabitants of the waters, as well as their vegetable -pro- ducts, become incidentally an object of investigation, as they may conduce to the nourishment or the destruction of man ; and as many of them fix their habitat in waters peculiar for their rapidity, their clearness, or their slime, their presence may often distinctly mark the existence of such peculiarities. The surface for evaporation presented by the canals, the rivers, and other masses of water; the aid which they may contribute to the drainage of a country, the facilities which they may afford to agriculture and commerce ; and the fitness of their waters for culinary purposes, are all objects of investigation. The