A manual of practical hygiene : prepared especially for use in the medical service of the army / by Edmund A. Parkes.

  • Parkes, Edmund A. (Edmund Alexander), 1819-1876.
Date:
1864 ;
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of practical hygiene : prepared especially for use in the medical service of the army / by Edmund A. Parkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    certain age, and a particular trade, but as the general principles ol hygiene are tolerably fully discussed, I have thought it entitled to be called a work on general hygiene. The work is divided into two Books ; in the First I have arranged the chief subjects of hygiene in what is, for my purpose, the most con- venient order, and have illustrated them by examples drawn from army life. I have also included some other topics, such as meteorology and statistics, which it is important medical officers should learn. In these several chapters, I have thought constantly on what would be useful to army surgeons, who are often far from all books, or possibility of refer- ence. So that, in some parts, 1 have endeavoured to make the book one of reference, though I have been obliged to compress it to the greatest degree. In the Second Book, the service of the soldier is more particularly described. To enable medical officers to perform the chemical processes re- quired in the analyses of water and air, and in the examination of food,* the Director-General has recommended, and Lord de Grey has been pleased to sanction, the issue of a small box, containing sufficient apparatus and reagents for these processes, and this will be issued to the several stations on demand. After much consideration, I have adopted the French weights and measures, as being more convenient for volu- metric analyses, of which considerable use is made. In chemistry the battle of the standards is over, and the simplicity of the French weights is such that even those who are not at first acquainted with them will, in a very short time, find no difficulty in using them. I have made the chemical directions as simple as possible, and have thought it best to use the old equivalents and notation. I have to thank my friend, Dr Maddox, for very kindly drawing for me all but two of the microscopic objects ; his drawings have been very carefully engraved on copper or wood by Mr Bagg. I must express my obligations to the Council of the Koyal United Service Institution for permitting me to use the stone with the lithographs of knapsacks, employed in illustration of Dr Maclean's paper, published in the 10th volume of the Journal of the Council. I have to thank also my friends, Dr Sutherland and Dr Francois de Chauinont, for many valuable suggestions. * There is a typographical error of importance in the chapter on Food which I take this opportunity of correcting. In the tahle for calculating diets, p 141, the percentage of starch is stated as 63-2, it should be 83-2. As this would make a serious error in calculating a rice diet, I would ask those who read the book to correct it at once with the pen. A correction has also to be made in respect of the Contagious Diseases Pre- vention Act, for which see Corrections and Additions.