predisposed; and that there is no condition to which this rule so invariably applies, as in diseases of the lungs and air passages. Hence the great and sudden changes of temperature to which our climate at this season is subject, should now be avoided or guarded against with the utmost caution, and every means employed to fortify the constitution, and protect the delicate and important organs which suffered so severely and universally as did the lungs but a few months ago. Let those, then, who experience tickling in the throat, with small dry cough, take warning from these premonitory signs of approaching mischief, and avoid violent exercise, and whatever occasions hurried respiration and fulness of the lungs; as singing, playing on wind instruments, long and loud declamations, which in an irritable state of the air passages have an evil tendency. With the view of preserving the important functions of the skin, flannels should be put on immediately, and constantly worn till the weather be comes mild and settled in the spring; in addition to this, let the feet be kept warm and dry. The best remedy, in the hands of those who are not physicians, to remove irritation and tightness from the lungs, is the application of blisters to the breast, or the ointment of tart. antimony, which should be persisted in as long as the internal affection remains. Our ordinary summer and autumnal complaints have not been, and are not at present, as troublesome as formerly. Of dysentery, we have had comparatively little, and that of a milder form than usual. Choleras have been pretty much as in former years, though if any thing, milder and less frequent. POPULATION, &c.--In Great Britain, the number of individuals in a state to bear arms, from the age of 15 to 60, is 2,744,847. The number of marriages is about 98,030 yearly; and it has been remarked, that in 63 of these unions there were only 3 which had no issue. The number of deaths is about 332,708 yearly, which makes nearly 25,502 monthly, 6,398 weekly, 914 daily, and 40 hourly. The deaths among the women are in proportion to those of the men as 50 to 54. The married women live longer than those who continue in celibacy. In the country, the mean term of the number of children produced by each marriage is 4; in towns the proportion is 7 for every two marriages. The number of married women is to the general number of individuals of the sex as 1 to 3! and the number of married men to that of all the individuals of the male sex, as 3 to 5. The number of widows is to that of the widowers as 3 to 1: but the number of widows who marry again is to that of widowers in the same case, as 7 to 4. The individuals who inhabit elevated situations live longer than those who reside in less elevated places. The half of the individuals die before attaining the age of 17 years. The number of twins is to that of ordinary births as 1 to 65. According to calculations founded on the bills of mortality, one individual only in 3,126 attains the age of 100 years. The number of births of the male sex is to that of the female sex as 96 to 95.-Edinburgh Phil. Journ. LINA.-The degree of Doctor of Medicine MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOUTH CAROwas conferred, by the Medical Society of South Carolina, on 26 gentlemen, recommended to them by the Faculty of the Medical College of South Carolina. We discover from the catalogue of graduates, that 7 were from Georgia; 1 from St. James', Santee; 1 from St. Matthews; 1 from Ireland; 1, residence not mentioned, Professors are Dr Holbrook, Dr Ramsay, and 15 belonging to South Carolina. The Dr Dickson, Dr Prioleau, Dr Frost, Dr Ravenel, Dr Elliott, and Dr Geddings. The Medical Society, by whom the degrees 20 dollars, for the best Latin or Greek are conferred, offer annually a premium of Thesis or Dissertation. The Faculty have issued their third circular.-Med. Repos. ANTIQUITY OF THE Cow Pox.-Origin The Pope's physician. Dr Prela has in a of the Small Pox from the Cow Pox.particular work on this subject, endeavoured to prove, especially by passages from Pliny and Celsus, that the cow-pox was known in the old world, under the name boa, (signification of its origin from the cow,) and has started the curious bypothesis, that from the effect of the boa on the human frame, the small pox gradually developed itself, so that the present expulsion of this disease by the cow.pox, is only a return of the latter to its origi nal state. WEEKLY REPORT OF DEATHS IN BOSTON. Accidental, 1---Canker, 2-Consumption, 4-Cancer, 1-Decline, 1-Dysentery, 4-Dyspepsia, 1-Dropsy, 2-Infantile, 1--Intemperance, 1-Inflammation, 1-Lung Fever, 2-Scald, 1-Unknown, 1-Stillborn, 3. Males, 11-Females, 12. AMERICAN MEDICAL BIOGRAPHY. HIS contemplated work is in progress, Tand a prospectus and subscription will be arranged and presented to the public soon as materials can be collected. Those gentlemen who will be kind enough to furnish materials for the work are respectfully requested to forward their communications to the publisher of this paper, or to Dr Thacher, Plymouth, the intended author, as soon as may be convenient. UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. satisfaction to the College and its first session in NovemIn announcing the new organization of ber next, the Board of Trustees believe that the high expectations of the Profession and the Public will be fully realized, and sustained by the distinguished reputation and talents of the several Gentlemen who have been appointed to fill the respective professorships. By order of the Board of Trustees, JOHN WATTS, Jr. M. D., Pres. THE Trustees have the satisfable the NICOLL H. DERING,M. D., Regis Regents of the University have filled the vacant Professorships in this Institution, and that the College will be opened on the first Monday of November next, by an Address from the President. The respective courses of Lectures in the following order, viz. JOHN AUGUSTINE SMITH, M. D. on Au- JOHN B. BECK, M. D: on Maleria Med- The Trustees are assured that the several courses of instruction will be full and complete, and that the means of illustration will be ample. The students who have already attended Lectures in this Institution, are notified that the changes which have taken place in the College will not deprive them of any privileges or facilities heretofore enjoyed. In conformity with the ordinances of the Honorable the Regents, of the University, and the Laws of the State of New-York, every Student is required to MODERN PRACTICE OF PHYSIC. N the press, and will shortly be published by COTTONS & BARNARD, 184, Washington-St., a new and greatly im proved edition of the MODERN PRACTICE OF PHYSIC, by JAMES THACHER, M. D. A. A. S. Author of the American New Dispensatory, and Observations on Hydrophobia. To this work is prefixed an interesting history of the rise and progress of Medical Science in the United States, detailing in the order of their respective organization, an account of the Medical Schools, with the names of the Professors and number of students in each, together with the expenses and terms of admission and graduation in the several schools. In treating of the diseases in this work, the author has consulted those European authorities which are considered of the highest standing at the present day; as Good, Parr, Thomas, Armstrong, &c. But, as relates to the epidemic and other diseases peculiar to our own country, precedence has been given to American authors, as the most correct and sure guides to American practitioners. The author expresses a confident hope that this work will be found to comprise a mass of practical knowledge that will meet the approbation of the profession, and prove particularly useful to the young practitioner. Published weekly, by John Cotton, Proprietor, at 184, Washington-St. corner of FranklinSt. to whom all communications must be addressed (post-paid). Price two dollars per annum, if paid in advance, but, if not paid within three months, two dollars and a half will be required and this will, in no case, be deviated from.-Advertisements, $1 per square. MEDICAL INTELLIGENCER. JOHN G. COFFIN, M. D., EDITOR. THE BEST PART OF THE MEDICAL ART, IS THE ART OF AVOIDING PAIN. VOL. IV. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1826. OF DRINKS. Continued from page 186. The next question to be considered is, as to the most suitable period for taking liquids: and this is, in some measure, answered by the preceding observations. By drinking before a meal, we place the stomach in a very unfit condition for the duties it has to perform. By drinking during a meal, we shall assist digestion, if the solid matter be of a nature to require it; and impede it, if the quantity taken renders the mass too liquid. Those physicians, therefore, who have insisted on the necessity of a total abstinence of liquid during a meal, appear to have forgotten that every general rule must be regulated by circumstances. The best test of its necessity is afforded by the sensations of the individual, which ought not to be disregarded merely because they appear in opposition to some preconceived theory. The valetudinarian who, without the feeling of thirst, drinks during a meal because he has heard that it assists digestion; and he who abstains from liquid, in opposition to this feeling, in consequence of the clamor which the partisans of a popular lecturer have raised against the custom, will equal ly err, and contribute to the increase of the evil they so anxiously seek to obviate. Dr W. Philip has stated a fact, the truth of which my own experience justifies, that "eating too fast causes thirst; for the food being swallowed without a due admixture of saliva, the mass formed in the stomach is too dry." I may conclude these remarks by observing, that as hunger and thirst are, to a certain solid meal. NO. 23. extent, incompatible sensations, it is probable that nature intended that the appetite for food should first be satisfied, before a supply of drink becomes necessary; and if our food possesses that degree of succulence which characterizes digestible aliment, there will be no occasion for it. But, under any circumstances, the quantity taken should be small: it is during the intervals of our solid meals that the liquid necessary for the repair of our fluids should be taken; and both theory and experience appear in this respect to conform, and to demonstrate the advantage which attends a liquid repast about four or five hours after the At about this period the chyle has entered its proper vessels, and is flowing into the blood, in or der to undergo its final changes. Then it is that the stomach, having disposed of its charge, receives the wholesome draught with the greatest advantage; then it is that the blood, impregnated with new materials, requires the assistance of a diluent to complete their sanguification, and to carry off the superfluous matter; and it is then that the kidneys and the skin will require the aid of additional water to assist the performance of their functions. common beverage of tea, or some analogous repast, originally suggested no doubt by an instinctive desire for liquid at this period, is thus sanctioned by theory, while its advantages are established by experience. The WATER is unquestionably the natчral beverage of man; but any objection against the use of other beverages, founded on their artificial ori gin, I should at once repel by the same argument which has been adduced in defence of cookery. We are to consider man as he is, not as he might have been, had he never forsaken the rude path of nature. I am willing to confess, that "the more simply life is supported, and the less stimulus we use, the better; and that he is happy who considers water the best drink, and salt the best sauce:" but how rarely does a physician find a patient who has regulated his life by such a maxim! He is generally called on to reform stomachs, already vitiated by bad habits, and which cannot, without much discipline, be reconciled to simple and healthy aliment. Under such circumstances, nothing can be more injudicious, than abruptly to withdraw the accustomed stimuli, unless it can be shown that they are absolutely injurious; a question it will be my duty to investigate hereafter. The qualities of water differ essentially, according to the source from which it has been obtained; and those accustomed to this beverage are sensible to differences which wholly escape the observation of less experienced judges. How far the existence of foreign matter injures its salubrity, has been a subject of much controversy: the truth, perhaps, lies between the extremes; those who insist on the necessity of distillation for its purification, and those who consider every description of water as alike salubrious, are, in my opinion, equally remote from truth. That the presence of minute quantities of earthy matter can be come a source of disease, appears absurd; while it would be highly dangerous to deny the morbid tendency of water that holds putrescent animal or vegetable matter in solution, or which abounds in mineral impregnation. 1. RAIN WATER, when collected in the open fields, is certainly the purest natural water, being produced as it were by a natural distillation. When, however, it is collected near large towns, it derives some impregnation from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere through which it falls; and, if allowed to come in contact with the houses, will be found to contain calcareous matter; in which case it ought never to be used without being previously boiled and strained. Hippocrates gave this advice; and M. Margraf, of Berlin, has shown the wisdom of the precaution by a satisfactory series of experiments 2. SPRING WATER, in addition to the substances detected in rain water, generally contains a small portion of muriate of soda, and frequently other salts: but the larger springs are purer than the smaller ones; and those which occur in primitive countries, and in siliceous rocks, or beds of gravel, necessarily contain the least impregnation. An important practical distinction has been founded on the fact, that the water of some springs dissolves soap, while that of others decomposes and curdles it: the former has been termed soft, the latter hard, water. Soft water is a more powerful solvent of all vegetable matters, and is consequently to be preferred for domestic as well as medicinal purposes. The brewer knows well from experience, how much more readily and copiously soft water will dissolve the extractive matter of his malt; and the housewife does not require to be told, that hard water is incapable of making good tea. Sulphate of lime is the salt which generally imparts the quality of hardness to water; and it has been said that its presence will sometimes occasion an uneasy sensation of weight in a weak stomach. The quantity of this salt varies considerably; but, in general, it appears that the proportion of five grains in a pint of water, will constitute hardness, unfit for washing with soap, and for many other purposes of domestic use. Animals appear to be more sensible of the impurities of water than man. Horses, by an instinctive sagacity, always prefer soft water; and when, by necessity or inatten tion, they are confined to the use of that which is hard, their coats become rough and illconditioned, and they are frequently attacked with the gripes. Pigeons are also known to refuse hard, after they have been accustomed to soft water.* 3. RIVER WATER. This, being derived from the conflux of numerous springs with rain water, generally possesses considerable purity; that the proportion of its saline contents should be small, is easily explained by the precipitation which must necessarily take place from the union of different solutions: it is, however, liable to hold in suspension particles of earthy matter, which impair its transparency, and sometimes its salubrity. This is particularly the case with the Seine, the Ganges, and the Nile: but as the impurities, are, for the most part, only suspended, and not truly dissolved, mere rest or filtration will therefore restore to it its original purity. The chemist, therefore, after such a process, would be unable to distinguish water taken up at London from that procured at Hampton court. There exists a popular belief, that the water of the Thames is peculiarly adapted for the brewery of porter; it is only necessary to observe, that such water is never used in the London breweries. The vapid taste of river, when compared with spring water, depends on the loss of air and carbonic acid, from its long exposure. 4. WELL WATER is essentially the same as spring water, being derived from the same source; it is, however, more liable to impurity from its stagnation or slow infiltration :† hence our old wells furnish much purer water than those which are more recent, as the soluble particles are gradually washed away. Mr Dalton observes, that the more any spring is drawn from, the softer the water will become. 5. SNOW WATER has been supposed to be unwholesome, and in particular to produce bronchocele, from the prevalence of this disease in the Alps: but it does not appear on what principle its insalubrity can depend. The same strumous affection occurs at Sumatra, where ice and snow are never seen; while, on the contrary, the disease is quite unknown in Chili and Thibet, though the rivers of these countries are supplied by the melting of the snow with which the mountains are covered. The same observations will apply to ice water. The trials of Captain Cook, in his voyage round the world, prove its wholesomeness beyond a doubt; in the high southern latitudes he found a salutary supply of fresh water in the ice of the sea. "This melted ice," says Sir John Pringle," was not only sweet but soft, and so wholesome as to show the fallacy of human reasoning, unsupported by experiments." When immediately melted, snow water contains no air, as it is expelled during the act of freezing, consequently it is remarkably vapid; but it soon recovers the air it had lost, by exposure to the atmosphere. (To be continued.) BOSTON, TUESDAY, OCT. 24, 1826. Dr LIEBER, now in London, an able Hard water has certainly a tendency teacher of Gymnastics, is willing to come to produce disease in the spleen of certain to America to conduct a gymnasium, if his animals, especially in sheep. This is the case on the eastern side of the island of passage is paid, and he can receive 800 Minorca, as we are informed by Cleghorn. dollars' salary, for the first year. If 1000 + Dr Percival observes, that bricks har- dollars are offered, Dr Lieber will bring den the softest water, and give it an alu- with him Mr A. BAUR, a student in theminous impregnation: the common pracology, as an assistant, which would be tice of lining wells with them is therefore very improper, unless they be covered with cement. very advantageous to the pupils, as Mr Baur presided, for several years, over the |