MONTHLY METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER AT H. M. MAGNETICAL OBSERVATORY, TORONTO, C. W.--OCTOBER, 1846. Latitude 43°. 39.4. N. Longitude 79°. 21'.5. W. Elevation above Lake Ontario, 108 Feet. Barometer at Temp. of 32°. Temperature of the Air. Tension of Vapour. | Humidity of the Air. Wind. DAY. 7 A.M. 3 P.M. 10 P.M. Mean. 7 A.M.3 P.M. 10P.M Mean 7A M3 P.M 10P.M Mean 7A.M3P. M 10P.M Mean 7 A.M. 3 P.M. 10 P. M. .289 .74 .77 .82 .81 N. N. W. E. by N. N. E. 45.98 .288 .273 .225 .262 .92 .69 .275 .89 .74 .89 .85 N. by W. N. N. W. Calm. .83 .85 Calm. E. S. S. Calm. .91 .88 Calm. Calm. 52.50.297.419 .297 .332.96 .72 .86 .85 N.W.byW S. W. Calm. .93 .87 Calm. S. E. Calm. .91 .87 Calm. S. S. W. .469 .92 .95 .97 .95 Calm. .359 .98 .81 .83 .86 Calm. .252.78.83 .94 .87 N.N.E. N.E. by E. N. by W. .245 .95 .67 .92 .85 Calm. S. E. .211 .87.55 .73 .74 Calm. W. by S. .317 .90 .95 .79 .87 S. E. S. .169.95 .82 .82 .69 .66 .200 .92 .57 .76 .74 Calm. .213.97 .79 .88 .86 S. by E. 37.92.165.189 .176 .180 .88 .76 .81 .79 Calm. S. W. W.S.W 92.72 .78 89 .65 .95 86.59 CP'r till no. Th, l'tng, & r'n, 10 & 11 pm N. by W. Calm. .86 N. by W. N.W.byN.N.W.byN. .665 Snow, fr. 5 to 9 am. M'tly cl3r fr. 7 pm† N. N. W.N.W.byN. .80 N. N. W. N.W.byN. N. N. W Uncl'd till 6 am. Rem. part. cl'd. 0.315 Raining till 7 am. Day gen. cloudy. Rain inch on surf. .86 .84 1, 29.491 29.533 29.498 29.5052 51.8° 54.2 47.49 50.00 .281 .316 .267 About three seconds after the disappearance of the meteor a sound like a distant peal of thunder was heard.-17th, about 9 pm, another +4th, 8h 25m pm, a meteor of extraordinary size appeared in SE, passing to NW. Year. Mean. Max. Min. Range. No. Days. Inches. No. Winds. Calms Mean force Proportion of Wind from each Quarter- 1840, 44.9° 73.09 23.0° 50.0° 13 1.860 lbs. 90 N.W. 1617 Total. 1841, 41.8 59.7 20.6 39.1 6 1.360 206 106 0.41 45.3 68.6 27.5 41.1 8 5,175 398 226 .35 41.92 68.0 24.2 43.8 12 3.790 321 303 .54 43.66 71.6 15.9 55.7 7 1.245 302 346 .43 46.49 64.0 19.7 44.3 11 1.760 311 337 .26 44.81 70.1 20.7 49.4 14 4.180 436 212 .44 Extreme Daily Range, 34.0 from 9th, am, to 10th, am. Mean force, 0.44 lbs; Max. force, 6 lbs, on 13th, 4 and 5 p.m., and on 31st, 4 to 7 pm. Under the head of Tension of Vapour, is given the elastic force of the Aqueous Vapour in the Atmosphere at each Observation, in decimals of an inch of Mercury, or the proportion of the Barometric pressure due to its presence. The Observations entered at 7 a.m., on Sundays, are actually taken at 9 a.m. The two Observations taken on Sundays are not included in any of the means. THE BRITISH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE. VOL. II.] CANAL IN 1829 & 1830. ACUTE LARYNGITIS, EPIDEMIC ON THE RIDEAU been visited by a disease so fatal as the one which I am about to describe. It made its appearance in the fall of By PETER H. CHURCH, M.D., Aylmer, C.W. 1829, and following winter, spreading devastation (Extract of Thesis presented to the University of McGill around. Its attack was so sudden, and its termination College, in conformity with the Statutes for Graduation. so speedily fatal if left to the operation of nature, that May 24, 1846.) the physician was often called in time only to see his My object in choosing this as the subject of my thesis patient convulsed in articulo mortis, without having it is to draw the attention of the Faculty to a type of this in his power to render him that professional aid which, disease, which made its appearance in the vicinity of if timely administered and properly directed, might, iu the Rideau Canal during the time I practised in the a majority of cases, have afforded relief. No class or Johnstown District, in 1830, in the form of an epidemic. condition was exempt from its ravages; the wealthy I will, in the first place, enumerate the symptoms of and the poor both suffered, though the latter, from besimple acute laryngitis, for the purpose of 'shewing the ing more exposed to its predisposing causes, became an difference between it and that which made its appear- easier prey. It made great havoc among the labourers ance in the epidemic above mentioned. on the Rideau Canal, more especially among the stoneThe following may be taken as the diagnosis of cutters. They were generally attacked after returnacute laryngitis. At the first onset the symptoms ing from their work in the evening, and so rapid rarely differ from those of ordinary sore throat; but was its course, that if not relieved within twentysooner or later there is a sense of constriction, heat, or four hours, it almost always proved fatal. The patient, pricking in the region of the larynx, which is at times after enduring the most agonising sufferings, generally very severe when the patient speaks or coughs, or when fell into a comatose state and died. I shall call the pressure is made on the larynx. At the same time, or disease acute laryngitis, accompanied or attended with even before the occurrence of these symptoms, there is erysipelatous inflammation of the head and face. more or less fever. The voice, as well as the cough, is Symptoms. It was characterized by fever, pain rehoarse, and at first dry; but subsequently an expectora-ferred to the larynx, difficulty of breathing and deglutition of mucus takes place, and at times the sputa are tion, hoarseness, or a complete loss of the voice, and mixed with blood This sensation of mucus is of little frequent spasmodic exacerbation of all the symptoms, moment in the case of the adult, but becomes serious creating a sense of suffocation, which was urgent in in infants. Deglutition is at times difficult, or effected the extreme. In some cases the pain was increased by with inconvenience, and the inspirations are long and pressure upon the thyroid cartilage. The disease was laborious, but by no means to the same extent as in attended with a perpetual hawking or spittting up of croup, or œdema of the glottis. In very severe cases tough gelatinous mucus. the dyspnea recurs at short intervals with spasmodic the tongue out between the teeth, as it much increased force, and there is danger of suffocation, with great distress, restlessness, and starting of the eyes, followed up, if the disease be not removed, by evident sinking of the vital powers and death. There was an inability to put the pain and difficulty of breathing, and it was with the greatest persuasion that the patient could be prevailed upon to swallow either food or medicines. The attempt was accompanied by such strong spasms, that the fluid The duration of the disease, when it terminates fa- was driven forcibly through the nose. In about six or tally, varies, of course, according to the constitution of eight hours after the disease made its attack in the manthe patient, the extent of the lesion, and the effects of ner just related, a small red spot appeared on one or both remedies. The usual duration is from three to five of the temples, which in a few hours more extended to days, yet it has proved fatal in less than twenty-four the scalp and face; small vesicles containing limpid, and bours. in some cases a yellowish fluid, now becau.e visible, Seldom has the section of country, referred to above, and gradually extended over the whole inflamed surface, 230 Acute Laryngitis, Epidemic on the Rideau Canal. Dissection.-The morbid effects that appeared, upon dissection, in the few cases that fell under my inspection were, first, a highly inflamed state of the larynx which generally extended to the trachea, and sometimes through the ramifications of the bronchi; but the last was not generally met with. The abdominal viscera appeared in a healthy state. Upon examination of the cranium, its contents presented the appearances of inflammatory action. The dura mater, tunica arachnoides, and pia mater, exhi accompanied with an itching which was intolerable, doubt the malady might, in many instances, have been and when indulged, served to make the patient more brought on by cold, but could such a cause, unaided, irritable. On the appearance of the erysipalatous in- have produced so prevalent a disease. flammation, the patient was generally attacked with delirium. Sometimes it made its appearance at a later period, but when it did come on it gradually increased, until it arrived at a state of phrenzy. The face became turgid, eyes starting, and seemed as if bursting from their sockets, tears and sometimes blood flowing from them. The patient, during his ravings, had a constant desire to get out of bed; and sometimes it required the united strength of two or more men to detain him in it. The pulse, at the commencement of the disease, was generally full, hard, and quick, resisting the application bited such phenomena in a remarkable degree; effusion of the finger with considerable force; and as the disease advanced, the pulse became more frequent; and when the patient began to sink into a comatose state, which was always the case at the close of the disease, it became intermittent. The stomach was much affected with nausea, and vomiting of bilious matter, which, although attended with considerable pain and anxiety great prostration of strength, were unfavourable sympduring the evacuation, never failed to give the patient toms. The disease often terminated by the fourth or great relief. Respiration became less oppressive, but sixth day. The general fever, the delirium, the sparkin a short time he would be revisited by violent spasms, ling fury of the eyes, the dryness of the skin, abating, with a recurrence of all the symptoms, and if not showed that the patient was likely to recover. A disrelieved by timely aid, was irretrievably lost. charge from the nose or lungs, the occurrence of diarrhea, or an evacuation from the hemorrhoidal veins, or urinary passages often proved critical, particularly if the pulse abated, became softer, and lost its febrile character. of coagulable lymph, adhesions, and, in some cases, pus was found covering a portion of the membranes, or the membranes themselves were found eroded by ulceration. But this latter occurrence was by no means frequent. Prognosis.-Convulsions, coma, insensibility, and [We consider it unnecessary to follow Dr. Church through the principles which guided the selection and application of remedial agents. Suffice it to say, that these consisted in free depletion, adopted at the commencement of the attack; the application of blisters to the larynx, thighs, warm pediluvia, with sinapisms to the soles of the feet, and the internal exhibition of calomel, and tartar emetic conjoined with digitalis. The following case, which concludes the essay, may be taken as an example of the mode in which the disease manifested itself, as well as of the treatment pursued —EDS.] Causes. Various were the opinions of the medical practitioners of this country with regard to the cause of this disease, some attributing it to specific contagion, arguing from its extreme prevalence; for if it occurred in a family, or a neighbourhood, few were so fortunate as to escape the disease; others alleging that it arose from an epidemic state of the atmosphere, the latter of which, I think, from the observations I have been able to make, is the most correct. In many instances, cold appeared to have great influence in bringing on the malady; hence its frequent occurrence among the labourers of the Rideau Canal, and more particularly the stone-cutters, whose occupation required them to be exposed to the inclemency of the weather, while it at the same time abridged the exercise of the body to such an extent that cold had a powerful effect Charles Stone, aged 22, a blacksmith, was seized upon them. It is my opinion that cold and an with chills, which were followed by fever, pain in the epidemic state of the atmosphere were the causes of fauces, ditficulty of deglutition, pain in the head, this disease, one acting as a remote and the other as inability to put the tongue out between the teeth, a an exciting cause. teazing cough, great thirst, and inflammation of an erysiOn looking over my brother's (Dr. B. R. Church's) | palitis character, extending from one temple across the case-book, together with my own, I found that we had forehead to the other. Eighteen hours after the attack four hundred cases in four months, which were doubt-I visited him, and found the pulse hard and full, less owing to epidemic influences. In such a large bounding like the teese string of a musical instrunumber of cases, we must look for some other cause ment under the finger, face flushed, and some difficulty than cold to produce a disease of such a character. No of breathing; complained of great soreness of throat Case of Gunshot Wound of the Lungs-Recovery. 231 and, upon his attempting to swallow some fluid, it was the same as on the preceding morning. Parts much driven with great force through the nose. Considering more tumified'; fluctuation could be distinctly felt. I decided upon laying the parts open with the scalpel, in order to release the tension of the parts, and obviate the infiltration into the cellular substance, as experience had taught me that no distinct abscess would be formed, that no adhesive inflammation would take place so as to form a distinct cyst to prevent, the escape of pus into the surrounding cellular tissue. I accordingly made an incision into the part, cutting in the direction of the fibres of the temporal muscles; a profuse discharge of blood, mixed with pus, took place, and the patient was greatly relieved. Continued the emollient cataplasms to the tumor, and the application to the left side of the face as above. the case to be urgent, I immediately opened a vein, from which I took twenty ounces of blood; and, finding the pulse becoming soft and more compressible, I closed the orifice, and applied a blister to the throat. After the blister had taken effect, which was in abou! six hours, I again had recourse to bleeding, and finding my patient able to swallow, I administered five grains of proto-chloride of mercury every two hours until the bowels should be freely acted upon, and bathed the feet and legs in warm water, impregnated with salt. After wiping them dry, I applied sinapisms to the feet. On calling the next morning I found the bowels had been acted upon; he had slept about two hours; deglutition not quite so difficult; pain in the head great ; Sunday morning.--Patient much better; tumifaction face very much swollen, and covered with small vesi- mostly subsided; fever abated; pain in the fauces, and cles, containing a yellowish fluid; pulse full and rather soreness of the throat gone; dressed the wound with hard I repeated venesection, and administered antim. simple cerate. He continued to improve, with little tartariz. in the quantity of gr. iiii. to a quart of water, variation, until health was completely restored. one ounce of which to be taken every two hours; ap plied a blister between the shoulders, cotton wool to CASE OF GUNSHOT WOUND OF THE LUNGS: the face, kept wet with a solution of 10 grains of per chloride of mercury in a quart of water. Wednesday morning.-The bowels had been evacuated two or three times; the deglutition much more RECOVERY. By GEORGE W. CAMPBELL, A.M., M.D., tolerable ; pain in the head relieved; patient complained tember last, I was called to visit Mr. M., a young of griping pain in the bowels, with a tendency to gentleman at the Exchange Hotel, who, a few minutes diarrhoea. Ordered 15 grains of rhubarb, 6 grains previously, had received a severe pistol shot wound proto-chloride of mercury, and at night 20 grains of under the following circumstances: He was about to pulv. ipecac. comp. start on a journey into the country, and as he intended After the operation of the purgative, next morning to travel all night, had provided himself with one of (Thursday) found the patient had rested well through Colt's revolving six barrelled pistols. A companion the night, pulse eighty, and compressible, having lost requested the pistol to look at it, and during his examiits tense vibrating character; deglutition much more nation, not being acquainted with the mechanism of the easy; the inflammation of the face less. Continued lock, it unfortunately went off, the muzzle being in the the tartrate of antimony once every four hours, and the direction of Mr. M., who was at the time standing with application to the face as above. his left side towards his friend, and about three yards Friday morning.-The patient had rested well, with distant. Mr. M. was about 20 years old, tall and spare, the exception of a slight pain in the right temple, which but muscular and active, with a well formed chest, alincreased through the day. In the evening, I removed though possessing a hereditary predisposition to pulmonary the wool from the part; found the right side of the face much tumified, the right eye was nearly closed; the patient complained of a throbbing, beating sensation in the part; it was evident that the inflammation of a friend, in the standing position, and held his hand had assumed the phlegmonic type. Applied an emol- firmly pressed against his left side, towards which he lient cataplasm to the part, with directions to renew leaned, and where, he said, the bullet had entered. I had it every three hours, keeping the wool on the left side him immediately carried up stairs to his bed room, and of the face, and over the rose, which was very much was in the act of undressing him, when Dr. Nelson, swollen. Pulse 105, and jerking Opened the bowel senior, who had also been sent for, arrived. Upon rewith sulphate of magnesia and antim. tartariz. moving his clothing, we found that the bullet, passing Saturday morning.--Pain and inflammation was much through his vest, shirt, and woollen jacket, but without disease. Upon my arrival, I found him suffering much from pain and nervous depression, with faintness and difficulty of breathing. He was supported in the arms |