Malaria : an essay on the production and propagation of this poison, and on the nature and localities of the places by which it is produced : with an enumeration of the diseases caused by it, and of the means of preventing or diminishing them, both at home and in the naval and military service / by John Macculloch.

  • Macculloch, John, 1773-1835.
Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Malaria : an essay on the production and propagation of this poison, and on the nature and localities of the places by which it is produced : with an enumeration of the diseases caused by it, and of the means of preventing or diminishing them, both at home and in the naval and military service / by John Macculloch. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    CHAPTER II. Mature of the evidences respecting the production of Malaria in situations of a less notorious or acknowledged character. It is admitted on all hands, that what is called a marsh or a swamp, is capable of producing fevers ; and, in our own country, this is more especially believed respecting the intermittent ones, or, as they are popularly termed, agues. This particular class of causes, or localities, will require, therefore, no such proofs as I am here contemplating, though they must be included m the ge- neral enumeration. It is not so, however, with regard to all; and in enumerating the less admitted sources of Malaria, I shall, therefore, be often compelled to resort to proofs of some delicacy, and to appeals to an experience for which, be it received as it may, I must be very often myself responsible. It becomes, therefore, necessary, as a preliminary step, to state the reasons from experience, whence particular soils or qualities of land, many of which have hitherto been unsuspected, have been here judged productive of Malaria 5 and where these observations have been multiplied, as has here been the case, there is no reason why we should not generalize for the several causes of this less obvious nature, as has been done in the case of marshes. And if the generalization is not univer- sally true, if exceptions shall be named, as they doubtless exist, it must be remembered, that this is no more than happens with regard to even the most notorious causes, marshes and jungles, and to these, even in tropical climates, as will be shown here- after more particularly. In all cases of philosophy, exceptions occur, until we are masters of all the causes that produce and in- fluence an effect; while, instead of proving the rule, as is com- monly said, they prove that we do not know that rule ; and if there are exceptions in this particular case, it is no ground for surprise, ignorant as we in a great measure are, of the precise part or action of a soil which generates Malaria. It is a fundamental fallacy in this case to limit our decision on the power of any soil or situation in the production of this poison, by the occurrence of regular intermittent fever, or common ague; and yet it is a leading and a common fallacy, in our own country, even among physicians. The practitioners acquainted with hot countries know indeed perfectly well, that the common fever of summer and autumn, be its names what they may, is equally tht