FEVER AND THEIR CAUSES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1109, 3 August 1883, Page 3

FEVER AND THEIR CAUSES.

V?e do not hold ourselro* responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents. !

TO THE ROITOB. Sir—lt is an est ilili--.be'i fact, thai; pure sir ami water are eauentially neeeswy for the preservation of tUe health of a comrnuuitv. , ._ ? Until within the la«t few yearaitlils ilia tr;et ha*'l ee i favouied with a climate second, perhaps, >o none in the Southern Hemisphere ; and the mountain stre ms gave a "evei-failing! sup'dy of pure water, and until iyph>id lever and scarlatina broke out in C'o "Well and its environ , a case of severe sickness or death wa« a rare occurrence I hroui-hout Vincent C >un y. Notwithstan li 'B die "anitarv precautions and step-! taken liy the Cromwell Clyde, and Alexandra Corporations, &c, tynhnid fever aid scarlatina has scouru.-d each of tiles; townships and t'ie surrounding districts. Th a- facts Ileitis undison ed, mm cuse thou^ii'ful men to look arouidthem lo try and ascertain the Some have attributed it to the exceptionally mild winters prevailing the last three years, an i it was predicted that the frost and sn w this winter wouli stamp out the disease. Experience has proved the fallacy of that argument. lam of opinion that to ascer« tain the cause we must go outside the boundaries of the townships, and teat the quality of the water used throughout the district, being of opinion that the thous auds, aye millions, of rabbits yearly shot and poisoned—the latter mostly making for the nearest water course, and in many instances falling into and pdlu'ing the streams and infecting the air. 1 am of opinion that to this cause in a y he mainly attributed the sickness leferred to, and think it hijh lime steps were taken eitVr by the Com tv Council or the Goveinn en', and to send samples of the water to uue Government Analytical Chemist t > report, or what would be perhips better, let a proper qual fied gentleman visit the dis trict. 1 have no wish to cause a scare, hut anticipate that the spring wear hot- wi 1 only increase the cause of the disease, anil per haps cause many ~ta. leave ' the district ra'her than run the 'risiv with their families;' be-ddes the loss from an educational point of view, by causing the schools to be so often closed, and the attendance so materially lessened. For years pa°t I have strictly prohibited any but Mo'ynenx or rain water to be used in my house for ei her culinary or drinking purposes, and tee sune applies to my horses, who are sufficiently good judges to aDpreciate lhe difference. Ibe importance of th subject is my excuse for troubling you with tlm lengthy epistle, and hope it may have the effect of causiuu she subject to he speedily ventilated.

1 would ask—What brought into the district the miriads of green flies that, have taken the place of the common house fly ? I am, e c., Jas. Rivers. Alexandra, Julv 23, 1888.