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library of ill]c Untccrsity of Hortb Carolina COLLECTION OF NORTH C A R O L I N I A N A ENDOWED B Y - JOHN S P R U N T HILL of the class of 1889 This book must not be token from the Librory building. Form No. 471 'J^ :J5 \^ BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOAOD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Pres.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh, J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D.. ...... Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. ,Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. APRIL, 1891. No. I. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for' March, 1891. Ahimancr—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. La Grippe exists in a very aggra- ated forni, and measles has been prevaler' in some sections. The sanitary condition of the jail is fair; that of the work-house fair; some of the houses at the poor-house are good, while others are not. Some of the inmates are physically and men-tally unable, and others indisposed to keep clean; but things are about as good as the present appropriation will admit. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. There has been an epidemic of La Grippe, complicated with pneumonia, all over the county. Staggers has been epidemic among horses The sanitary condition of the county is very good, so far as I know; that of the pub-lic .buildings is good, except as regards the court-house, part of which is used principally for a privy, hence sanitation is not very perfect there. There are no efforts being made to im-prove the condition of things. Alleghany—No Board of Health, Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. There has been a general epidemic of La Grippe attended with little fatality, complicated in a few cases with pneumonia. The fatal cases have been principally among young children and aged per.sons. The jail is in good sanitary condition. The court-house is in a bad condi-tion, but the Commissioners have decided to have it repaired. Poor-house in good condi-tion. Ashe—No Board of Health. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. Newton Robinson, Elizabeth-town. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A few cases of measles and whooping-cough have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-class. Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. ' There have been reported thirty cases of measles, ten of whooping-cough, five of scarla-tina, ten of diphtheria and three of typhoid fever. La Grippe still lingers in the county, with BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. more or less complications; but few deaths from it. There have been but three deaths from diphtheria and scarlet fever out of fifteen cases; from measles, two deaths. All the pub-lic buildings are in good condition, except the police department, which will be improved. Burke—Dr. J- L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. There have been reported twenty cases of measles, seven of whooping-cough and four of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public build-ings. Caldxvell—Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. La Grippe has prevailed in all parts of the county, causing a number of cases of pneumonia and other serious sickness. Camden—No Board of Health. Carteret—Dr. M, F. Arendell, Morehead City. We have had La Grippe in a mild form all over the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Our towns are improving in their sanitary condition, and our public build-ings are kept clean and nice. Caswell—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Pneumonia and influenza have prevailed all over the county, and children have suffered from croup and bronchitis. The general sani-tary condition of the county is as good as could be expected from the amount of rain-fall. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Catawba.—Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton. Measles, mumps and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Chatham—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. Four cases of scarlatina have been reported. La Grippe _has prevailed in all parts of the county. The health of the county at present is good. Pneumonia has occurred, and some chicken-pox among the little folks. Our pub-lic buildings are in good condition and well kept. Cherokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been several cases of La Grippe and three cases of inflammatory rheumatism, with one death from the last named disease. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Chowan—Dr. R. H. Winborne, Barnitz. A few cases of diphtheria have been reported. There has been about the average prevalence of pneumonia in the county. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as I have ever known it for March—mostly diseases of the respiratory system. La Grippe has oc-curred in Edenton and in portions of the county on Albemarle Sound. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Clay—^o Board of Hea''^ Cleveland—Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Pneumonia and La Grippe have ;7.Tevailed in many portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Columbus—Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Outside of a few cases of measles I hear of very little sickness in the county. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. Measles and mumps have prevailed throughout the city and county. Diphtheria and scarlatina have occurred. La Grippe, and respiratory diseases generally, have been very prevalent. The death-rate, however, has been compara-tively small. Public buildings are kept in pretty fair condition. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. The sanitary condition of the county is not very good on account of so much rain and mud. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is tolerably good. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—^o Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Two cases of small-pox have occurred. These cases occurred in the practice of Drs. Payne & Son, and at first puzzled us somewhat as to diagnosis, but they were undoubtedly small-pox. The adult so afflicted died; the child, who had only a few pocks on her, is recover-ing, but is distinctly pitted. Early in the his- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. tory our suspicions were aroused, and prompt isolation and vaccination of all those who were exposed to possible contagion were practiced with the most gratifying results. No spread of the disease is apprehended. I hear of measles in one section of the country. No change in the condition of the public buildings since my last report. Davie—No Board of Health. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. Measles and La Grippe have prevailed in some sections of the county. We have had a few cases of pneumonia, and bowel troubles have been quite severe. Scabies spread in some sections. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Diirhat,^—Vix. N. iM. Johnson, Durham. The health of the county is fairly good; that of the poor-house and work-house is not as good as it should be, on account of poor buildings. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There have been reported seven cases of measles and ten or twelve of scarlatina. The latter has prevailed in the upper parts near the Hali-fax line. The jail is new and m good condition. Forsyth—Dr. D. N. Dalton, Winston. Quite a number of cases of measles and whoop-ing- cough and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has been quite prevalent, with some pneumonia. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Measles is prevailing in this place and many other portions of the county. The health of the county, so far as I have been able to learn, was never better. With the above exception, [^ there has been no sickness worth noting. The v^ sanitary condition of thepublic buildings isgood. Gaston—'Dr. E B. Holland, Dallas. La Grippe and pneumonia have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county and public T^ buildings is good. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville—T>r. J. M. Hays, Oxford. There have occurred about seventy-five cases of measles. La Grippe is still prevalent, but not fatal. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is very good. Greene—T)r. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. La Grippe has prevailed in the county, and there have been reported several cases of pneumonia and chicken-pox. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. Distemper has been epidemic among horses and dogs. There has not been a great deal of sickness during the past month. The princi-pal trouble has been pneumonia and bron-chitis and some malaria. Several cases of La Grippe reported. Some of the pneumonia has been especially malignant and difficult to man-age. The sanitary condition of the public buildings, other than the jail, is quite good. The jail would pass muster, but for the bad arrangement of the waste-pipes, or outlet to the excrement from the privies. However, we need a new jail. The " King's Daughters" are building a hospital in Greensboro, and we hope for great good from it. Halifax—Dx. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Re-port lost in the mails. Harneii—No Board of Health. Llaywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. Pneumonia and measles have prevailed, with some rheumatism. We have had inces-sant rain. There have been reported two cases of rabies in dogs, with the inoculation of ten or twelve hogs from bites of the dogs. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Hertford—No Board of Health. Hyde—No Board of Health. Iredell— Dx. M. W. Hill, Statesville. No report. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. Measles has prevailed in the southern part of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; entirely free from fevers. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Whooping-cough, measles and influenza have BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—Dr. C. B. Woodley, Trenton. In-fluenza, with pneumonia and bronchitis, have prevailed in all portions of the county. Dr. Ward also reports mumps and distemper. So far as as can be learned, the sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is also good. The County Commis-sioners intend selling the poor-house property, which is in the woods, and buying a place nearer town and on the public road. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough and bronchial troubles have prevailed in some portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. La Grippe has prevailed in every portion of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Mariin—Dr. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Coughs, colds, etc., have prevailed. We have had no serious sickness for the past month, though catarrhal affections of the respiratory tract have been prevalent. La Gri/pe hasheen general, though not serious. Poor-house and jail have recently been renovated and are in excellent condition. McDowell — Dr. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal affections have prevailed in some portions. Other than these, there has been but little sickness. The general sanitary con-dition of the county and public buildings is good. Alecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—Dx. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. La Grippe is still raging in all parts of the county. There have been reported three cases of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is not good. There is considerable sickness all over the county. The jail is in as good condition as it is possible to keep one so small. The Com-missioners are thinking of building a new one in the near future. The poor-house is kept clean and healthful. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, Asbury. There have been reported about thirty cases of measles. Some parts of the county are in good sanitary condition, while others are not. The jail is not in very good condition, there being lack of ventilation. There is talk of a new one. The poor-house is in good condition. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles has prevailed in different parts of the county. There has been a great dt-al of sick-ness during March, principally measles and influenza; a few cases of whooping-cough in the eastern parts. No new cases of meningitis since February. There has been a great deal of wet weather. Public buildings are in very good condition. A^ask—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Spring Hope. Measles has been prevalent, but in a mild form. The sanitary condition of the county is good—no sickness other than measles. Our county board are going to make some improve-ments in our jail, soon, in the way of m'lte buildings. Jail is a good one and well kept. A''ew Honover—Dr. F. W. Potter, Wilming-ton. Pneumonia has obtained in quite a num-ber of cases of measles, especially among those who have recently come to the city (living in damp and open houses). La Grippe is prevalent, and in some cases of measles is pre-eminent above ordinary catarrhal symptoms. I have called the attention of our authorities to the unsanitary condition of the market-houses; also an open run, or ditch, in the rear of the " Racket Store." I have asked for a fuinace for the cremation of garbage, but wiihout avail. There have been reported twenty-eight cases of measles, two of diphtheria, three of typhoid fever, two of pernicious and two of haeinorrhagic malarial fever. There has been an epidemic of catarrhal troubles in horses. The jail is in good condition. Poor-houte is in bet-ter order than usual; the inmates are requiied to take a full bath once a week, and to air their bedding often. N'orthampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Onslo7v—Dr. J. L. Nicholson, Richlands. Many cases of measles and two of typhoid fever have occurred. General and widespread ci'tnplaint conies from every section of the couniy, because of the severe epidemic of La Giippe. Mumps al^o prevalent. The jail remains in good condition; that of the pocr-hou «e yet very poir. Orangi—Dr. D. C. Parris, Hillsboro. Some ca-ises of measles have occurred. Catarrhal diseases have prevailed in all portions of the county. Sanitary condition of the coun'y quite good in spite of the great abun-dance of rain. Influenza, pneumonia, bron-chitis and rheumatism have prevailed. Sani-tary condition i>f public buildings faiily good. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender—Ur. S. S Satchwell, Burgaw. Five cases of typhoid fever have been reported. Measles and La Grippe have extensively pre-vailed as rpidemics, and often combined with pneumonia. The warm weather has developed malaria, complicating the other diseases and rendering them more difficult to treat. Pejqiiimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Healih. Pitt—Dr. B. T. Cox, Redalia. La Grtppe has prevailed throughout the county; many cases quite severe, but not many deaths from it. Measles and whooping-cough have traversed many sections of the county. Pneumonia, bronchitis and malaria have been reported, and some eczema; also a few cases of teething diarrhoea among children. Distemper among horses and cholera among hogs has been re-ported. Permission was granted by the last Legislature for the county authorities to sell the old poor-house and select a new site for a new building, but it has been decided to let it remain as it is. Polk—V)x. H. D. Shankle, Mills' Spring. Mumps has prevailed in several parts of the county, and one case of typhoid fever has been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is some better than it was a month ago. We have had a great deal of pneumonia, La Grippe., mumps, etc., all caused by negligence and exposure. There has been an epidemic of chicken cholera. There are no efforts being made to improve the condition of the public buildings, w-hich should be in better condition than they are. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. La Grippe, catarrhal fevers, pneumonia and rheumatism have prevailed. Two cases of measles, "lots of whooping-cough," one c.ise of diphtheria, and one each of typhoid fever, cholera infantum and hemorrhagic malarial fever have occurred. Have received repoi ts from Drs. Malone, Redding and Daligny. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is as good as can be with such buildings as they are. I met a committee from our grand jury in March, and went over with them the poor-house and all its interests, and they reported an urgent need for a new building and more room. What may come of it remains to be seen. Richtnond—Dr. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. Three cases of scarlatina have been reported. La Grippe and catarrhs have pre-vailed in all parts of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is not what it should be, and will never be until improved methods of sani-tation are adopted. I have presented the case of our jail to the Commissioners several times, but, as yet, without any good results. Robison—Dr. R. F. Lewis Lumberton. The county is in fair sanitary condition. The pub-lic buildings are in good condition; improve-ments are contemplated. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan—Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Many cases of measles and whooping-c^ugh have occurred. Za Grippe, and catarrhs gen-erally, have prevailed in many portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is as reported at the time of the last report. The jail and poor-house are in good sanitary condition. Repairs are needed at the court-house, and alterations are needed in the jail. Rutherford—Dr. W. A. Thompson, Cliff-dale. La Grippe and pneumonia have pre-vailed in portions of the county. The sanitary BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OFTHEALTH. condition of the county is as good as you will find in most counties, but is far from good. The water-closets, and other buildings danger-ous to public health, are often placed on a higher level than the water supply, with the result of the direct contamination of the water. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is as good as the arrangement of the buildings will admit. Sampson—Dr. J, A. Stevens, Clinton. In-fluenza and measles are very prevalent. A few cases of pneumonia and many of bronchial affections. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is not as good as it should be. Stanly—Y)x. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. La Grippe, measles and whooping-cough have pre-vailed in various localities. There has been an epidemic of distemper among horses. Have had an abundance of catarrhal affections; some pneumonia. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is moderately good. There has been an improvement in the public school-houses recently. Our court-house is unsafe and unfit for use. Stokes—Dr. W. V. McCauless, Danbury. Measles and pneumonia have prevailed in the middle portions. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is fair. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. R. L. Davis, Bryson City. Three cases of measles have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is as good or better than it has been for several years. The public buildings are in about as good con-dition as they can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrtell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. We have had the worst weather for the past two months I ever saw; but still there is no sickness to report. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. La Grippe and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county, otherwise the health of the county has been good. Poor-house in good and jail in bad sanitary condi-tion. Vance—Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Ten cases of measles and five of whooping-cough reported. There has been some distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county is good. The jail has been improved, and it appears improved. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported thirty-two cases of measles, one of scarlatina and three of mumps. Measles, though now abating, has prevailed in an epidemic form, but not at all fatal. Public buildings are in admirable sanitary condition. Private residences are being rapidly connected with our sewer system, and thus a vast im-provement of the city is noticeable. The sanitary condition of the city and county is as good as circumstances will admit. Continued rains, overflowing streams and very muddy streets and roads render work of all kinds impracticable. Warren—Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. No report. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga—Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. No report. Wayne—Dr. W^m. H. Cobb, acting, Golds-boro. Measles, chicken-pox. La Grippe and pneumonia have prevailed. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wilkes—No Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. There have been reported thirty-eight cases of measles, four cases of whooping-cough. Pneu-monia and La Grippe have been the prevailing diseases. One physician reports some cases of dysentery. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is good. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville, Measles, whooping-cough and typhoid fever have occurred. The first two, with mumps, have prevailed in nearly all portions of the county, There has been an epidemic of chicken cholera. Pneumonia, rheumatism and bronchial troubles have been common. The death-rate has been very low. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is bad, with no efforts to improve the jail. The poor-house will be removed this summer. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Frtwr^j— Dr. [J. L. Ray, Burnsville. La Grippe has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There has been a slight epidemic of distemper among horses. The health of the couniy is about as usual. The jail is not kept very clean, and needs covering. A new poor-house is being built, and will be finished soon. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for March, 1891. (fifteen towns.) White. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 56,814 46,312 103,126 Aggregate deaths 61 90 151 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 129 233 15.6 Deaths under 5 years old, 52 Causes of death. Typhoid fever o 2 2 Scarlet fever 01 i Malarial fever i I 2 Diphtheria o I i Whooping-cough o i i Measles - 21 3 Pneumonia 7 9 • 16 Consumption 9 18 27 Brain diseases 01 i Heart diseases 22 4 Neurotic* diseases 20 2 Diarrhoeal diseases 54 9 All other diseases 14 2S 42 Accident and violence i 3 4 Suicide 11 2 Still-born 6 6 12 50 79 129 Raleigh, unclassified. 11 11 22 Total. 61 90 151 Review of Diseases for March, 1891 Bronchitis—Reported from Caswelif Guil-ford, Jones, Lincoln, Orange, Pitt and Samp-son— 7 counties. Chicken-pox—From Chatham, Greene and Wayne—3 counties. Cholera {chickens)—From Polk and Yadkin — 2 counties. Cholera {hogs)—From Pitt. Cholera Infantum—From Randolph. Croup—From Caswell. Diarrhcea—From Pitt. Diphtheria — From Buncombe, Chowan, Craven, New Hanover and Randolph— 5 counties. Distemper—From Guilford, Jones, New Hanover, Pitt, Stanly, Vance and Yancey 7 counties. Dysentery—From Wilson. Eczema—From Pitt. La Grippe—From Alamance, -Alexander, Anson, Buncombe, Caldwell, Carteret, Cas-well, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Craven, Duplin, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Johnston, Jones, Macon, Martin, Mitchell, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Ran-dolph, Richmond, Rowan, Rutherford, Samp-son, Stanly, Union, Wayne, Wilson and Yan-cey— 40 counties. Malarial Fever—From Pendet and Pitt— 2 counties. Malarial Fever {Hcemorrhagic)—From New Hanover and Randolph—2 counties. • Malarial Fever {pernicious)—From New Hanover. Measles—From Alamance, Bladen, Bun-combe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Columbus, Craven, Davidson, Duplin, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Frank-lin, Granville, Henderson, Jackson, Mont-gomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Swain, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin — 34 counties. Mumps—From Catawba, Craven, Jones, Onslow, Polk, Wake and Yadkin—7 counties. Fneutnonia — From Alexander, Caldwell, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Cleveland, Dup-lin, Forsyth, Gaston, Greene, Guilford, Hen. derson, Jones, New Hanover, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin — 26 counties. Rabies—From Henderson. 8 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Rheumatism — From Cherokee, Orange, Typhoid Fever—From Buncombe, CabaTus, Randolph and Vadkin—4 counties. Forsyth, Milchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Scabies—From Duplin. Pender, Polk, Randolph and Yadkin—lO Scarlatina —From Buncombe, Chatham, counties. Craven, Edgecombe, Richmond and Wake — Whooping- Cough—From Bladen, Buncombe, 6 counties. Cabarrus, Catawba, Forsyth, Johnston, Lin- Sinall-pox—From Davidson. coin, Muchtll, Moore, Pitt, Randolph. Rowan, Staggers—From Alexander and Anfon— 2 Stanly, Union, Vance, Wilson and Yadkin — counties. 17 counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Conclitiou of Jatls aud Poor-houses by < lO BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condttioii of Jails and Poor-houses hy Counties for BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. II Condition of Jails and Poor-houses by Counties for March, 1891. (continued. COUNTIES. Pasquotank Pender Perquimans.... Person Pitt Polli Randolpti Richmond Robeson Rockingham... Rowan Ruthei-ford Sampson Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania. Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren. JAIL. CO . urs C (» o D ftu <0 >^-^x ! MO jSbX as a - "£^ e^; ,: 0* 2 12 3 7 .560 916 11 6 2 1 2 680 * 6O0 1-2 4 38 25 19 13 11 15 16 110a POOR-HOUSE. oo a& ti ^ in « to »j 3 12 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Meteorological Report for march, 1891. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 13 BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., /"t-^j.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. MAY, 1 89 1. No. 2. State Care of the Insane. A public meeting, under the auspices of State Charities Aid Association (New York), is to be held on May ist, at Chickering Hall, to commemorate the removal of over 2,000 insane persons from the poor-houses of the State, and the completion of legislation in their behalf, whereby, after a contest of four years dura-tion, the poor-house system of caring for the insane has been abolished, and the State as-sumes henceforth the entire charge and main-tenance of her dependent insane. The sup-port of the community is also to be asked for other reforms undertaken by the Association, and among the speakers will be Ex-President Grover Cleveland, Bishop Henry C. Potter and Joseph H. Choate, Esq. In future, the Meteorological Reports will be prepared by the Agricultural Experiment Station. Through the kindness of Dr. H. B. Battle, Director, the Agricultural Experiment Station has volunteered to furnish these reports each month, and as the number of Stations re-porting will be increased about fifty per cent., and the proof of the tables revised by the Agricultural Experiment Station, this part of The Bulletin will be much more valuable than heretofore. This Board acknowledges the courtesy of the Experiment Station with thanks. An Epidemic of " Small Parks " is invited for the city of Boston, as we learn from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, which says: "A committee of the Boston City Gov-ernment gave a hearing last week on the peti-tion of Robert Provan, M. D., and others, that the city set apart a few open spaces in the tenement districts, from half an acre to two acres in size, which would furnish spaces for recrea-tion and sports." Review of Diseases for April, 1891. Bronchitis — Reported from Jones, Pitt, Rowan, Sampson and Stanly—5 counties. Chicken Cholera—From Wilson. Chicken-Pox—From Greene and Warren — 2 counties. Diarrhoea—From Columbus, Edgecombe, Rowan, Stanly and Union—5 counties. l6 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Diphtheria —From Cherokee, Randolph, Stokes and Wake—4 counties. Distemper—From Mitchell, Pitt, Stanly and Vance—4 counties. Dysentery—From Alamance, Greene, Moore, Onslow, Randolph and Wilson—6 counties. Hog Cholera—From Pitt, Randolph, Robe-son and Wilson—4 counties. Hydrophobia {in domestic animals)—From Sampson. Influenza {La Grippe)—From Alamance, Caldwell, Caswell, Chatham, Cleveland, Cum-berland, Gaston, Guilford, Halifax, Jones, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Rowan, Sampson, Stokes, Union and Wilson—20 counties. Malarial Fever—From Cumberland, Greene, Guilford, New Hanover, Sampson and Stanly 6 counties. Malarial Fever, pernicious—From Frank-lin, Greene, Pitt and Stanly—4 counties. Measles—From Cabarrus, Cherokee, David-son, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Lincoln, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Randolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Union, Wake, Warren, Watauga, Wilson and Yancey—2g counties. Mumps—From Jones, Onslow, Tyrrell, Wake and Yancey—5 counties. Pink-Eye (horses)—From Randolph. Pneumonia—From Caldwell, Caswell, Cum-berland, Guilford, Jackson, Jones, Nash, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Sampson, Swain, and Wil-son— 13 counties. Rheumatism—From Caswell, Orange, Pitt and Randolph—4 counties. Roseola—From Halifax. Scarlatina—From Richmond and \Vake — 2 counties. Sciatica—From Orange. Staggers [horses)—From Randolph. Tonsilitis—From Halifax. Typhoid Fever—From Columbus, New Han-over, Northampton, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly and Tyrrell—7 counties. Varioloid—From Bertie (this county has no Board of Health, and this case was reported by the Superintendent of Northampton). Whooping-Cough—From Cabarrus, Cleve-land, Johnston, Lincoln, Moore, New Han-over, Northampton, Randolph, Rowan, Samp-son, Stanly, Union, Watauga and Yancey — 14 counties. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for April, 1891. (thirteen towns.) IVhite. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 44,014 38,112 83,126 Aggregate deaths 33 64 96 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 9.0 18.8 15.0 Deaths under 5 years old, 19 Causes of death. Typhoid fever i i Malarial fever o I I Measles o i i Pneumonia 6 4 10 Consumption 4 11 15 Brain diseases o i I Heart diseases 34 7 Diarrhceal diseases 01 i All other diseases 8 18 26 Accident and violence 04 4 Still-born 3 5 8 24 51 75 Raleigh, unclassified. g 12 21 Total 33 63 96 Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for April, 1891. Alamance—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. In-fluenza has been the prevailing disease, but it is subsiding rapidly. Dysentery has also been prevalent to a limited extent. The sanitary condition of the county is fair. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. There has been no epidemic of any importance during the month. The general sanitary con-dition of the county is good; that of the pub- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 1/ lie buildings is about as last reported, and there are no efforts at improving it. Alleghany—No Board of Health. Anson—V)x. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beaufort.—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown. No report. Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Y)x. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—V)x. R. S. Young, Concord. An epidemic of whooping-cough has prevailed throughout the whole county, and there have been eight cases of measles reported. The sanitary condition of the county aud public buildings is good. Caldwell—V)x. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. La Grippe has prevailed in all parts of the county. La Grippe prevailed during the first half of the month, causing some pneumonia and other sickness of a serious nature. The last half of the month was unusually healthy. The sanitary condition of the public buildings about the same. Camden—No Board of Health. Caswell—Dt. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Pneumonia, remittent fever, rheuma-tism and influenza have prevailed in all por-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good, as also that of the pub-lic buildings. The jail has been nicely washed inside since the last report. Catawba—Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton. No report. CAat/iam-Br. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. La Grippe has prevailed in all portions of the county. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Poor-house and jail are in good condition. CAerokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been reported eleven cases of measles and one of diphtheria. There has been but one death in our county during the last month. The foundation for the new court-house is being laid. The jail is in bad condi-tion, but there are no inmates at present. CAocvan-Dr. R. H. Winborne, Barnitz. No report. C/aj'—No Board of Health. Cleveland—Dr . O. P. Gardner, Shelby. La Grippe has prevailed in some parts of the county, and there has been some whooping-cough. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Columbus—Dr. Isaac Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. There have been reported two cases of typhoid fever and a few of diarrhoea. The sani-tary condition of public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. No report. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. La Grippe, pneumonia, catarrhal and malarial fevers have prevailed during the month, with a few cases of bowel troubles. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—T)x. R. L. Payne, Lexington. Measles has prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; that of the public buildings unchanged. Duplin—Dx. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. There is little or no sickness in the county. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good. DurAam—Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. Measles has prevailed in this town. The sani-tary condition of the county and public build-ings is good. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. Measles has prevailed in all parts of the county. With this exception, and a little diarrhcea, the sanitary condition of the county is good. That of the public buildings is good. ForsyiA—'Dx. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report Franklin— Dx. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Measles of a mild type has prevailed in sev-eral portions of the county. There has been reported two cases of pernicious malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the county and pub-lic buildings is very good. i8 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Gaston— Tir. E. B. Holland, Dallas. Measles has prevailed in some parts of the county. A few cases of La Grippe of a mild form also exist. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-rate. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville—Hx. J. M. Hays, Oxford. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A sub-stantial work -house is in course of construction, and the court-house will be rebuilt soon. Greene—Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Malarial fevers and dysentery have prevailed in the county. There have also been reported two cases of chicken-pox and one of pernicious malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The health of the county has been very good, considering everything. We have had quite a number of cases of measles and pneumonia and some malarial troubles. La Grippe re-ported from the southern portion of the county. Sanitary condition of the public buildings very fair; some improvements needed in the jail, but nothing as yet has been done. Halifax—Dr. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Rose-ola and tonsilitis have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. The health of the county has been very good; influenza has prevailed to a considerable extent—a few cases have been violent. Public buildings are in good condi-tion. Harnett—^o Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson. No report. Hertford—'^o Board of Health. Hyde—'No Board of Health. Iredell—Dx. M. W. Hill, Statesville. There have been reported twelve cases of measles. There has been no sickness of any consequemce in April, the sanitary condition of the county being fine. There is no change in the sanitary condition of the jail or poor-house since the last report. The construction of the jail is such that it cannot be improved easily. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. Six cases of measles have been reported, also four cases of pneumonia. The sanitary condi-tion of the county and public buildings is good. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Measles, whooping-cough and bowel troubles have prevailed in these sections. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—Dr. C. B. Woodley, Trenton. In-fluenza has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There has occurred some pneu-monia and bronchitis. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Mumps has also been reported. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed to some extent. There have occurred no other diseases that are dangerous to health. The sanitary condition of the county is good. McDowell—Dr. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal aflections have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. We have had a few cases of the prevailing epidemic, but, with this excep-tion, the health and sanitary condition of the county have been unusually good; that also of public buildings. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. No report. Madison—No Superintendent of Health. Martin—Dx. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. No report. Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—Dx. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. In-fluenza has prevailed, and there jhas been an epidemic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county is good, there being now less sickness than I have known for the past ten years. I have just made a visit to the poor-house, and found it and the inmates properly kept, though there was some sickness among the inmates. Other public buildings are in fair sanitary condition. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, [.\sbury. The county is in a healthy condition, there being but very little sickness of any kind. I BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 19 cannot get the doctors of the county to report to me as they ought. The jail is in bad condi-tion; the other public buildings tolerably good. Moore— Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles and whooping cough have prevailed in every part of the county. The sanitary condi-tion of the county is very good at present. There have been ten or twelve deaths from measles and whooping-cough, and two or three from dysentery, but only a few cases of the last have been reported yet. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings is now good. Nash—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Spring Hope. Measles has prevailed in various sections of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. With the exception of measles and a few cases of pneumonia we have had no sick-ness during April. Our public buildings are in good sanitary condition. Neiv Hanover—Dr. F. W. Potter, "Wilming-ton. About forty-five cases of measles, one of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is moderately good, with the exception of the prevailing epidemic of La Grippe. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. There are some venereal diseases and malarial troubles in the jail. Northanipton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. About twenty cases of whooping-cough and two of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A contract has been given for an $S,ooo jail, to be built on modern ideas of sanitation. A case of varioloid occurred in Bertie, about eighteen miles from Roxobel. I suppose it has been reported. Onslow—Dr. J. L. Nicholson, Richlands. During the first half of the month La Grippe was quite prevalent over the county. Measles reported from various sections. There have occurred ten cases of mumps and a few of dysentery. The jail is well kept and ventilated. The poor-house, with no improvement, still re-mains in bad condition. Orange—Dr. C. Parris, Hillsboro. A few cases of measles have occurred and catarrhal troubles have prevailed in all portions. Leav-ing out the cold, wet weather of this month and the endless amount of muck and mud, the sanitary condition is fairly good. Catarrhal troubles, rheumatism and sciatica have pre-vailed. No deaths in our town for this month. Some slight improvements are to be made at the poor-house. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender—Dr. S. S. Satchwell, Burgaw. The sanitary condition of the county has improved and is improving. Our people are acting more on the truths of sanitary science in re-gard to drinking water, food, drainage, etc. They seem inclined to war against the causes of malaria and other diseases. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—Dr. B. T. Cox, Redalia. Pneumo-nia, bronchitis and La Grippe have prevailed, but not so extensively as last month. Hog cholera and distemper among horses still linger in a few localities. The sanitary con-dition of the count)' is good. A mild form of acute rheumatism and one case of pernicious malarial fever have occurred. The overseer of^the Home for the Aged and Infirm has been ordered by the Commissioners to move upon the place that he can look after the wel-fare of the inmates more closely. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. No report. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. There have been reported thirteen cases of pneumonia, sixteen of measles, nine of whooping-cough, one each of diphtheria and typhoid fever, and two of cholera-morbus. There has been an epidemic of staggers and pink-eye among horses, and cholera in hogs. My doctors report well, I think. Out of less than twenty-five regular practitioners I have eight nice reports for April besides my own. This is, I venture to say, away over the aver-age. The individual reports show that the senders are interested in this matter. Further, these reports are an interesting study, e. g., one doctor reports eleven cases of pneumonia as having occurred in his practice during the month; another says "measles, La Grippe diXid. 20 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. pneumonia" are the prevailing diseases in his practice. Notice that pneumonia is coupled with measles and La Grippe. That doctor has his eyes open! Another says " two cases of puerperal fever from midwifery practice." You see our doctors have quit talking about such cases as having "took cold," or "eat something they orten to." We are on the up-grade. Rheumatism, dysentery, catarrhs and insanity are reported. I have seen a typ-ical case of acute purulent pleurisy. The poor-house is in first-rate fix, only too crowded. The jail is in first-class order, and reflects much credit on Mr. Rush, the jailer. Richmond—Yix. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. No report. (We have indirectly heard of twelve cases of scarlatina.) Robeson—Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Measles has occurred. There has been an epidemic of hog-cholera. The sanitary con-dition of the county is very good ; that of the public buildings is fair. The court-house is to be improved very shortly. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan— Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in this town. There has been very little sick-ness in a general way. Two reports received from other doctors show whooping-cough, eight cases; pneumonia, eleven cases; typhoid fever, i case ; many cases of La Grippe, bron-chitis, diarrhoea, etc. The public buildings are in good sanitary condition. The inmates are well fed and cared for, and there has been but little sickness except La Grippe. Rutherford—V)r. W. Thompson, Cliffdale. No Report. Sampson — Dr. H. A. Stevens, Clinton. There has been an epidemic of hydrophobia among domestic animals, I have to report a few cases of malarial fever, bronchitis and pneumonia. Measles, whooping-cough and influenza are very prevalent. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good. That of the jail as before reported; no improvement. Stanly—T>x. P. Whitley, Plyler. There have been reported ten cases of measles, forty of whooping-cough, two of typhoid fever and one of pernicious malarial fever. Diarrhoea and bronchitis have prevailed. There has been an epidemic of distemper among horses. There are a great many boggy places in the county, due to so much rain, and now, with dry weather, they have become stagnant and are fruitful sources of disease. We have had more mala-rial fever than usual in April. Public buildings are as reported last month. Poor-house is in very good condition; nearly all the paupers have been sick, but not due to defects in sani-tation. Stokes—Dr. W. V. McCauless, Danbury. Measles and La Grippe have prevailed in most parts of the county. Four cases of diphtheria have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county has been very good; that of the public buildings is fair. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. L. Davis, Bryson City. The sanitary condition of the county is better than for several years. No sickness of importance — only one case of pneumonia reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as good as can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Mumps has prevailed in this township, and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is bad. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. A few cases of La Grippe and whooping-cough have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county is generally good. Other than the above there have been no diseases except measles and diarrhoea. Sanitary condition of poor-house good ; jail bad. Vance — Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. There has been an ep'demic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. Jas. McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported nine cases of mumps, four of measles, and one each of scarlatina and diphtheria. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as it can be ; also that of public buildings. Warren— Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. Chicken-pox and a few cases of pneumonia, BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 21 also a few cases of measles, have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public build-ings is very good. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in the eastern part of the county. The jail and poor-house are both in first-class condition ; also the county generally. Wayne—Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good ; also that of the public buildings. Wilkes—^o Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. There has been in the county a continuance, more or less, of La Grippe. Five cases of pneumonia reported in all parts of the county. There is some dysentery. Measles is on the wane except in the western part, where it seems to be on the increase, with some very severe cases. Cholera in hogs and chickens reported. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is good. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. No report. Yaticey—Dr. J. L. Day, Burnsville. Measles, whooping-cough and mumps have prevailed in in many parts of the country. The sanitary condition of the county is not very good at present. The jail needs covering, and there is talk of doing it soon. The poor-house is nearly finished. 22 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltlou of Jails and Poor-houses by BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 23 Couditlou of Jails aud Poor-lionses l>y Counties for 24 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltlou of Jails and Poor-Iiouses l»y Counties for BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLNTA BOARD OF HEALTH. 25 nieteorolog^ical Suitiiuary for Blorth Carolina, April, 189X. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service* H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrman, Meteorologist. STATIONS. Asheville Bakersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas. Franklin Hendersonville. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington Lenoir Morgan ton Mt. Airy Oak Ridge Pittsboro Raleigh Southport Southern Pines.. Salisbury Weldon "Washington "Wilmington TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). s ID a o 58.0 51.6 61.2 60.9 57.7 544 56.5 57.5 57.2 58.5 57.5 59.5 55.9 58.2 57.6 59.6 62.0 62.6 62.0 58.7 61.0 62.1 01 J3 ho 84 30 SO 85 87 86 88 79 84 86 85 82 86 85 84 87 85 79 89 84 85 86 82 16 20 30 30 18 30 19 19 30 20 30 30 19 18 19 20 20 20 20 19 20 a C 66.5 64.3 72.0 73.0 70.8 68.7 65.2 66.3 69.8 69.0 66.4 68.8 . JJ9 68.8 68.5 66.9 70.1 69.0 75.1 69.6 69.2 24 28 28 31 33 28 34- 29 72.5 33 70.1 .% a a 23 26 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Mortuary Report for April, 1891. TOWNS BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., /"/vj.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D.,... Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D.,.. Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD,.M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., ...Winston. Thomas F. Wood, RL D., Secretary and Treastirer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. JUNE, 1891, No. 3. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for May, 1891. Alamance—Dr. Geo. W. Long, Graham. The sanitary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has about subsided. Catarrhal dysentery prevails to a limited extent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as usual—probably somewhat improved. Could be greatly improved at the poor-house if the authoiities wrould employ some efficient help for the Superintendent, who is not able to do it all. Alexander—T)x. J. j[3. Walts, Taylorsville. There has been very little sickness during the month—only one case of typhoid fever and numerous mild cases of intestinal trouble. • There still exists an epidemic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as last reported, and there are no efforts to improve it. The sani-tary condition of ihe county remains very good. Ashe—No Board of Health. Alleghany—No Board of Health, Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. Newton Robinson, Elizabeth-town. No report. Brtinsiuick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have occurred about thirteen cases of whooping-cough. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Caldwell—Dr. A. A, Kent, Lenoir. There lias been an epidemic of distemper anions horses. l"he general health of the county is better than usual at this season ; very few cases of cholera-morbus or cholera in-fantum. Camden—No Board of Health. 28 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Carteret— Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead City. The general sanitary condition of the county is very satisfactory. Measles has oc-curred. Our jail has been lately repaired, and is in satisfactory condition. The court-house is old but comfortable. Cas-Mcll—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Dysentery and rheumatism have pre-vailed. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. The rain-fall has been unusu-ally large for the last month. The sanitary condiion of the public buildings is good. Catawba—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. The health of the county has been excellent. There has some dysentery occurred. The jail and the poor-house are in good condition. Che7-okee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been reported about fifty cases of measles and one of typhoid fever. With the exception of a few cases of dysentery and two or three of flux, this county has been very healthy. Measles is mild in type. The jail is in bad condition—neither clenn nor well ven-tilated. I take it, the more filth the greater should be the ventilation. The new court-house is in rapid progress, and, it is said, will be second to none in the State for sanitary completeness. Cho'cvan—No Superintendent of Health. Clay—No Board of Health. Cleveland— Y)u O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The general sanitary condition of the county is very good—better than usual at this season of the year. Colutiibiis—Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. There has occurred one case of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Diarrhoea of a mdd form has prevailed to some e.xtent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. Measles, mumps and whooping-cough have been quite prevalent. The sanitary condition of the county and that of the public buildings i< giod. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayetteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Bowel diseases and malarial troubles have been the prevailing diseases during the month. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Currituck—No Board of Heal h. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Measles has prevailed in scattered portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county IS very good, but could be made almost perfect by proper drainage. This is much neg-lected, but the people each year are learning to appreciate its necessity. No change in the public buildings since last report. Davie—No Board of Health. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kcnansville. No report. Durham—Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. Measles has prevailed. The health of the county has been quite good. Arrangements are being made for the erection of a m.ore suitable house for the poor. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. Dysentery has prevailed in all portions of the county, and of very obstinate character, not yielding to treatment. With this exception, the sanitary condition of the county is good. That of the public buildings is good. The jail is new. Forsyth—Y)x. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg Measles has prevailed in many portions of the county. Dysentery and other bowel troubles prevail to quite a considerable extent—gener-ally of a mild type. The sanitary condition of the public buddings is good; ihere is rarely a case of sickness in either jail or poor-h u^e. Gaston—Dr E.B Holland. Dallas. Measles, whooping-cough, typhoid fever and pneu-monia have prevailed in paits of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and pub-lic buildings is good. Gates—No Board of Health. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 29 Graham—No Board of Health. Granville— T>x. J. M. Hays, Oxford. Chicken-pox has prevailed. The sanitary con-dition of the county is good. Greene—Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Two cases of measles have occurred and dysentery has prevailed. The general sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. H. Michaux, Greensboro. We have had considerable diarrhoea and dys-entery; also some malarial fevers and a few cases of typhoid. In general, there has been very little sickness in town or county. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Halifax— Dr. A. B Pierce, Weldon. Dys-entery and infantile diarrhoea have prevailed. The health of the county has been good. No change i 1 the condition of the public buildings. Harnett—No Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. The health of the county has been generally good; no contagious diseases or epidemics that I have heard of. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford—'i^o Board of Health. Hyde—No Board of Health. Iredell—Dr. M. W. Hill. Stalesville. Measles has been epidemic, and diarrhoea, dysentery and pernicious malarial fever have oc-curred. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; that of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is not so good, nor can it be. The court-house needs ventilation; more than many cases heard there, perhaps. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Chandler, Diilsboro. The sanitary condition of the county never was better. Three cases of typhoid fever and one of haemorrhagic malarial have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Johnston— Dt. L. L. Sasser, Smiihfield. There have been reported twenty cases of measles and one of typhoid fever. The sani-tary condition of the county is very good; also that of public buildings. Jones—No Board of Health. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. No report. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. Four cases of measles have been reported. La Grippe has prevailed everywhere. The sani-tary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has prevailed to an alarming extent, and a good number of deaths have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Martin—Dt. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Three cases of typhoid fever have been re-ported. Diarrhoea and dysentery have pre-vailed in all portions of the county. I have unofficial reports of scarlatina in the upper part of the county. Some mild cases of ma-larial fever have been reported. Have heard of no fatal cases of diarrhoea or dysentery. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. The buildings will be whitewashed and the grounds limed at once. McDowell—\)x. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal affections have prevailed in some por-tions. The health and general sanitary con-dition of the county have been unusually good during the past month, having had only a few cases of bronchitis and bronchial catarrh. Sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good, Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—V>x. E. C. Smith, Bakersville. The sanitary condition of the county is better than at any time for the past len years. With the exception of a few cases of measles of a mild type, we are having no sickness. Both alms-house and jail are kept in a healthful con-d. tion. There are yet a few cases of La Grippe-in the county. Distemper prevails among; horses. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, AsbuV^. No report. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA B;)ARD OF HEALTH. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles has prevailed in different parts of the county; it is subsiding now. Dysentery and diarrhcea are somewhat prevalent now, but they are mild. Our public buildings" are in good sanitary condition. Nash—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Springhope. Measles has prevailed in divers parts of the county. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. In addition to measles, we have a few cases of utricaria, and one of purpura hsemorrhagica; also a few cases inter-mittent fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. New Hanover—Dr. F. W Potter, Wilming-ton. There have been reported twelve cases of measles, three of whooping-cough and three of typhoid fever, besides a few cases of La Grippe and a few of malarial fever, the last named disease being attended frequently with tonsilitis, especially among the whites. The jail is in good condition. The poor house, called "New Hanover County Home," is in tolerably good condition. Northampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. Onslow—Dr. J. L Nicholson, Richlands. A good many cases of measles have occurred. Our people have been more than ordinarily healthy during May. There has been some dysentery and a few cases of malarial fever. The jail is in good sanitary condition. The poor-house is bad. Orange — Dr. D. C. Parris, Hillsboro. Many cases of measles have occurred. Dysen-tery and diarrhoea have prevailed in all por-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. The dysenteric dis-eases which have appeared up to this time, have been rather severe, but are amenable to treatment. The sanitary condition of both jail and poor-house is good ; that of other public buildings fairly good. There has been some cholera among chickens, but not epi-demic. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health." Pender— Dr. S. .S. Satchwell, Burgaw. There has been an epidemic of cholera among hogs. Bowel diseases have prevailed gen-erally. Many cases are severe, and in a few-cases fatal. Choltra-infaiitum is of a high order of severity. I find it, in its woise cases, complicated with malaria, demanding calomel and quinine in its early stages. Typhoid pneu-monia has prevailed, also lypho-malarial fever. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—T>r. B. T. Co.K, Redalia. Dysentery has prevailed in almost all portions of the county. Have had a few cases of hog and chicken cholera. The sanitary condition of the county has been better than in several months ; only two cases of pneumonia seen and a few cases of malarial fever and whooping-cough. There is a large building beirg erected for cooking and dining purposes for the aged. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. Acute peritonitis seems to have prevailed in several portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is not good, as there has been much bowel trouble, such as dysen-tery and diarrhoea. There is some little work being done on the jail. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. There have been reported eight cases of measles and one of pernicious malarial fever, with some La Grippe^ dysentery, rheumatism, bronchitis, pneumonia, and babies from differ-ent portions. Dysentery is the prevailing dis-ease and it is very general. The sanitaiy con-diion of the jail is good ; also of the poor-house, except it is too crowded. Richmond—Dr. J. M. Covington. Rocking-ham. There have been reported eight cases of whooping-cough, seven of scarlatina, and thiee of typhoid fever. Acute catarrhs and bowel troubles of mild type have prevailed in all parts of the county. The sanitary condi-tion of the county is good ; that of the home is good, and that of the jail improved. Robeson — Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Bowel affections have prevailed, and there have been some measles. There has been an epi-demic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 31 of the county is fair. Also that of the public buildings ; improvement of court-house de-termined upon. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan—Dr. J. J- Summerell, Salisbury. Measles and whooping-cough, and their sequela, have prevailed in some sections. The sanitary condition of the county is about as usual at this time of the year. The pre-vailing diseases have been mild and less than usual. The jail and home are in good sani-tary condition. Rutherford—Dr. W. A. Thompson, 'Cliff-dale. The sanitary condition of the county is moderately good—not as good as it should be, as there are so many that know nothing of sanitation, and care less. The public build-ings are now in good sanitary condition. The jail is kept clean and nice, and the poor-house is also as clean as the quality of the buildings will permit. Sampson—D. J. A. Stevens, Clifton. The following diseases have been quite prevalent : Measles, whooping-cough, influenza, diarrhoea, dysentery, a few cases of malarial and one of typhoid fever. I have sent out blank forms to the county physicians, but they do not report. The county needs a new jail. The poor-house is well kept and is a credit to the county. Stanly—Xir. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. There have betn reported six cases of measles, ten of whooping-cough and five of typhoid fever. Typhoid fever, diarrhoea and bronchial troubles have prevailed in the western and north-western part of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is about as reported last month. In my practice there has been more diarrhoea and typhoid fever than usual in May. My reports are necessarily imperfect, because I cannot get the doctors to report. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good ; that of the jail is bad. I recommend that the commissioners adopt a better system of sewerage in the jail, and think that they will do it shortly. A building comm.ittee has been appointed for the new court-house. Stokes—Dr. W. Y. McCauless, Danbury. Acute entero-colitis and measles have prevailed in several sections. One case of diphtheria has been reported. The sanitary condition of the county has been good ; also that of the public buildings. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. R. L. Davis, Bryson City. There has been no sickness in the county except a few cases of diarrhoea—mostly among children. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is about as good as it can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health, Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Dysentery and mild bowel diseases have pre-vailed. The sanitary condition of the county was remarkably good, there being but very little sickness. Poor-house is in good condi-tion, the jail bad. The county is now prepar-ing to build a new jail. Vance— Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Measles, whooping-cough and dysentery have been the principal troubles. The sanitary con-dition of the public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. Three cases of scarlatina have been reported. The sanitary condition of county and city is only moderately good. So much rain has fallen that the usual spring policing has been inter-fered with. All the public buildings are in good condition. Warren — Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. No report. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. No report. Wayne—Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have been several cases of dysentery, but it could hardly be called an epidemic. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wilkes—No Board of Health. Wilson—Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. In the western part of the county measles is again reported with complications. Intes-tinal troubles are prevalent all over the county, but of mild type. .Skin diseases reported from one locality, and a great deal of neuralgia from 32 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. another. Cholera among hogs and and chickens is reported from the western part of the county, and in the same section pneumonia. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is being greatly improved; that of the jail and poor-house is only fair. Efforts are being made to improve the sanitary condition of the town. Yadkm—Dr. T, R. Harding, Yadkinville. No report. Yancey—Dr. J. L. Ray, Burnsville. Many cases of measles and whooping-cough have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is very good at present. The jail is not kept clean, and needs covering; there is some talk of doing it soon. Poor-house just fin-ished. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for May, 1891. (thirteen towns.) IVhite. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population . 43,214 37,712 80,926 Aggregate deaths 58 57 115 Temporary annual death-rate per r, 000 16. I 181 17. I Deaths under 5 years old, 42 Causes of death. Typhoid fever I O I Malarial fever 01 I Pneumonia 41 5 Consumption 8 13 21 Brain diseases _ 3 2 5 Heart diseases 31 4 Neural ic diseases 44 8 Diarrhoeal diseases.. . 8 6 14 All other diseases 23 19 42 Accident and violence 03 3 Suicide 10 i Still-born 3 7 10 58 57 115 Review of Diseases for May, 1891 Bronchitis—Was reported from McDowell and Randolph—2 counties. Chicken-Pox—From Granville. Chicken Cholera—From Orange, Pitt and Wilson—3 counties. Cholera Infantum—From Caldwell and Pender—2 counties. Cholera-morbus—From Caldwell. Diarrhcea—From Columbus, Cumberland, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Martin, Moore, Orange, Pender, Polk, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Swain and Wilson — 17 counties. Diphtheria—From Stokes. Distemper—From Alexander, Caldwell and Mitchell—3 counties. Dysentery—From Alamance, Caswell, Ca-tawba, Cherokee, Edgecombe, Franklin, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Martin, Moore, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Sampson, Tyrrell, Vance and Wayne—21 counties. Hog Cholera—From Pender, Pitt, Robinson and Wilson—4 counties. La Grippe—From Macon, Mitchell, New Hanover, Pender and Sampson—5 counties. Malarial Fever—From Cumberland, Guil-ford, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Pitt and Sampson—7 counties. Malarial Fever (hcsmorrhagic)—From Jack-son. Alalarial Fever {^pernicious)—From Iredel and Randolph—2 counties. Measles—From Carteret, Cherokee, Craven, Dividson, Durham, Franklin, Gaston, Greene, Iredell, Johnston, McDowell, Mitchell, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Ran-dolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Vance, Wilson and Yancey—26 counties. Mumps—From Craven. Pneumonia—From Gaston, Pender, Pitt Randolph and Wilson—5 counties. Rheumatism—From Caswell and Randolph ��� 2 counties. Scarlatina—From Martin, Richmond and Wake—3 counties. Typhoid Fever—From Alexander, Chero-kee, Cleveland, Columbus, Gaston, Guilford, Jackson, Johnston. Martin, New Hanover, Richmond, Sampson and Stanly—13 counties. Typho- Malarial Fever—From Pender. Whoopin^-Cough—From Cabarrus, Craven, Gaston, New Hanover, Pitt, Richmond, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Vance and Yancey — II counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 33 Coiiditiou of Jails and Poor-Uouses by Counties for Olay, 1891. 34 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condition of Jails and Poor- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, 35 Couditioii of Jails and Poor- 36 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. meteorolosrical Summary for Biorth Carolina, 9Iay, 1891. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service. H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrmann, Meteorologist. STATIONS. Ashevllle Baliersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas Franklin Henderson vi He.. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington Lenoir Morganton Mount Airy Oal£ Ridge Pitlsboro Raleigh Southport , Southern Pines. Salisbury Weldon Washington Wilmington TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). e3 5*^ a o C2.8 56.0 65.4 66.2 63.2 60 61.9 61.6 61.8 64.4 62.6 63.0 61.4 63.2 63.2 64.5 67.4 67 5 67.1 64.4 66.2 676 A s 85 83 90 95 93 87 82 81 91 91 84 88 89 88 90 90 82 93 87 89 90 85 s a a; 72.8 68.4 76.3 78.2 78.5 75.9 70.2 69.1 73.9 75.7 70.9 73.3 73.9 74.6 73.8 74.5 75.0 82.1 75.2 11 75.1 78.0 I 36 76.3 41 a S3 a a .51.6 43.5 54 6 54.3 47.8 41.0 56.1 55 7 49.8 53.1 55.6 55.2 48.9 51.8 52.7 54.5 59.9 52.9 69.2 53.6 54.5 58.9 bo g Ci! 51 60 52 61 63 65 41 36 60 58 44 51 61 55 56 52 42 56 45 55 54 44 21.2 24.9 21.7 23.9 30.7 31.9 14.1 13 4 24.1 22.6 15.3 18.1 25.0 22.8 21.1 20.0 15.1 29 2 16.0 21.5 23.5 17.4 a s a 4) c o ft '3 u Oh O 68.6 71.0 68.2 846 4.23 4.85 7.58 8.75 8.10 75.5 70.1 84.6 70.0 77.7 74.8 3.58 2.97 8.07 7.8S 5.10 4.59 6.48 8.26 7.00 9.24 2.24 11.08 6,05 9.34 6.14 1.03 No. OE BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 37 Mortuary Report BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Pres.,.^&\em. R. H, Lewis, M. D., ..Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D., Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-ofifice at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. JULY, 1891. No. 4. Election of Superintendents of Health. For the benefit of those interested, we will give our interpretation of the amendment to the laws regulating the election of County Superintendents of Health. The law was amended some four years since by making the day for this election the Jirsi Monday in September, instead of the first Monday in January, as it was before. At that time we wrote to the Attorney General, asking his opinion as to the time the newly elected Superintendents should take their office, and sent out to each Superintendent in the State a copy of his letter, and an explanation of it. Then there were some incumbents who had been elected until the first Monday in January, the terms of some expiring in 1887 and others in 1888, and the circulars sent out were to explain when their successors should assume the office. As the term of oiifice is only two years, there are at present no Superintendents in office whose term does not expire either the first Monday in next September or the first Monday in Sep-tember of 1S92; for there can have been no legal election since the passage of the amend-ment except on the first Monday in September, Of course any county can hold a meeting for the purpose of organizing a Board of Health at any time, and may elect a Superintendent at that meeting, but he must be considered as elected to fill an unexpired term, and his suc-cessor must be elected on the first Monday in September next following, We hope that the officers who may be elected next September may, whether they be old Su-perintendents re-elected, or new men, take hold of their work with the determination to make the State Board more useful even than it has been. Having no executive powers the Board must depend entirely, or almost so, for its use-fulness on the energy and faithfulness of the Superintendents, and while we are sorry to be able to say so, there are a very great many of them who might show more interest in the work of the State Board, and not have to put themselves to much trouble either. The generality of the reports received at this office are meagre in the extrem-^; and there are some who do not fill out that part of the report that refers to the 40 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. condition of the inmates of the jail and poor-house at all. while others content themselves with " See last report," or " No change since last month," or some other similar phrase that is a little bit easier than finding out just what the facts are. Even if the conditions one month are the same as they were the preceding month, this report should be filled out each month, that at the end of the year a summary of the year may be made up. Again there are some that tell of no sickness during the month at all, simply because there did not happen to be an epidemic of some contagious disease. We desire the nature of the prevailing diseases, no matter how simple they may be. It is very important to have this, if our statistics of the diseases prevailing in different counties at different seasons of the year are to be of any value. All this has not been written to complain, for we know against what lack of interest and co-operation on the part of the profession some of our reporters have to strive, but to give a hint to those who are desirous of improving the State Board that will show them how they can help us. For the Bulletin. The Hygienic Importance of Forests. BY PROF. E. EBERMEYER. The popular idea that the air of forests is especially favorable to health on account of the greater amount of oxygen in it, is a complete error. The average per cent, of oxygen in for-est air is actually less than that in the open land. The error is easily seen when one con-siders how little oxygen the forest produces, in comparison with the quantity taken up by men and animals. It has been calculated that the quantity of oxygen given oS by one hectare (2'^ acres) of forest would supply only a single household of four persons. It is not to any surplus of oxygen, but to its greater purity, that forest air owes its hygienic value. It is free from smoke or soot, and from injurious gases and vapors. Moreover, it is poorer in bacteria than city air is. Bacterio-logical researches by Serasini and J. Arata show fhat the leaves of trees act as a filter, and by this means purify the air from spore-laden dust and micro-organisms. Furtherq;iore, the climatic conditions which forests cause and con-serve are of hygienic importance. The protec-tion against the heat of the sun and against strong winds, more especially damp northerly winds and hot paiched sirrocos, which easily produce inflammatory diseases; the greater constancy of the temperature, and, finally, the greater amount of ozone in forest air, fully account for its sanitary reputation. The soil of a forest has a very important influence upon the dissemination of health-injuring fungi and bacteria. The consider-able amount of moisture held by woodland soil, and the comparative smallness of its val-uation; its acid character caused by free humic acid; the difficult decomposability of its so-called raw humus; the relative poverty of wood-humus in nutritive matter, and the considerably lower temperature of shaded soil, are the char-acteristic peculiarities of forest soils, against which the poorly resistant pathogenic micro-organisms can make little headway. Indeed, as has been shown by numerous experiments, pathogenic bacteria, as Bacillus cedematis tualigni, and B. scepticus agrigenus, which in manured soil remain alive, or even increase abundantly, in forest soil completely fail. Epi-demic diseases, like cholera, yellow fever, malaria, and others, are not wholly absent from wooded territory, but their virulency has certainly been lessened by planting forests. — Translated from the German by Gerald McCarthy. The Third Biennial Report of the Board of Health is in hand, and will be mailed to anyone in the State making applica-tion to this office. They have not been mailed to Superintendents of Health, because there were a number for distribution at the meeting in Asheville, where many of the Superintend-ents secured copies. I will be glad if those who were not present at the meeting, or failed to secure a copy of the report, will let us know, that a copy may be sent them. And I hope all Superintendents will study this report closelv, and see wherein, by making fuller and more accurate reports, they can assist the Sec-retary in making the next report better. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 41 Summary of Mortuary Statistics for June, 1891. (fourteen towns.) White. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 44,814 38,112 82,926 Aggregate deaths 68 77 I45 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 18.2 24.2 21. 1 Deaths under 5 years old, 76 Causes of death. Typhoid fever 3 3 ^ Malarial fever 02 2 Diphtheria... 2 2 Whooping-cough i 2 3 Measles. 03 3 Pneumonia o 44 Consumption 5 7 12 Brain diseases i I 2 Heart diseases 4 g 13 Neurotic diseases 25 7 Diarrhoeal diseases 26 18 43 All other diseases 17 19 36 Accident and violence 23 5 Still-born... 527 68 77 145 Review of Diseases for June.. 1891 Cerebrospinal Meningitis—From Pender. Cholera (ho^s)—From Chatham, Nash, Pen-der, Randolph, Rutherford and Tyrrell— 6 counties. Cholera-infantiim—From Iredell, McDowell and Randolph. Cholera-morbus — From Caldwell, Iredell and Randolph—3 counties. Diarrhoea—From Duplin, Edgecombe, Hali-fax, Iredell, Martin, McDowell, Mitchell, Orange, Pender, Sampson, Union, Vance and Wayne—13 counties. Diphtheria—From New Hanover. Randolph and Wake—3 counties. Disteinper {horses)—From Randolph. Dysentery—From Alexander, Caldwell, Cas-well, Chatham, Cleveland, Duplin, Greene, Halifax, Iredell, Lincoln, Martin, McDowell, Nash, Orange, Pender, Randolph, Sampson, Vance, Warren, Wilson and Yadkin—21 counties. La Grippe—From Greene, Macon and Orange—3 counties. Malarial Fever—From Caswell, Duplin, Greene, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Pender, Sampson and Wilson��12 counties. Malarial Fever, pernicious—From New Hanover and Randolph—2 counties. Measles—From Alexander, Carteret, Ca-tawba, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, John-ston, Lincoln, Mitchell, New Hanover, Orange, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Samp-son, Vance, Warren, Watauga, Wayne and Yancey—21 counties. Mumps—From Duplin and Tyrrell — 2 counties. Pink-Eye {horses)—From Rutherford. Scarlatina {unofficial)—From Martin, Typhoid Fever—From Alexander, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Colnmbus, Gaston, Greene, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Martin, Mitchell, Montgomery, New Hanover, Pen-der, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Tyrrell, Union, Wake, Wilson, Yadkin and Yancey—27 counties. Typhoid Pneumonia—From Gaston. Typho-Malarial—From Orange. Whooping-Cough—From Catawba, David-son, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Mitchell, New Hanover, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Samp-son, Warren, Watauga, Wayne, Wilson and Yancej-—16 counties. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Hea/tf) for June, 1891. Alamance—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. There has been no epidemic among people or domes-tic animals. The work-house is poorly ven-tilated. Alexander—Dr. J, B. Watts, Taylorsville_ There have been seven cases of typhoid fever reported during the last month; it was of very 42 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. mild type. Measles prevails in epidemic form in certain parts of the county. Dysentery has prevailed very extensively. The sanitary con-dition of the county is only tolerably good; that of the public buildings is about as last re-ported. Alleghany—No Board of Health. Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Ashe—No Board of Health. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Berlie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown. No report. , Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. C. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. The sanitary condition of the county has been good; also that of the public buildings. Caldzvell—Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. There have been two cases of typhoid fever reported. There have also been a few cases of dysentery and cholera-morbus, but generally the health of the county has been good for the season of the year. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is fairly good; no efforts at improve-ment. Camden—No Board of Health. Carteret—Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead. Measles has been reported. The sanitary con-dition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Caswell—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Dysentery and malarial fever have pre-vailed. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is also good. Catawba—Dr. J. H. McCorkle, Newton; Dr. J. C. Whiteside, acting. Typhoid fever, whoop-ing- cough and measles have prevailed in some portions of the county. The genera] sanitary condition of the county and poor-house is good; that of the jail is as good as could be expected. The jail is being enlarged. Chatham—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro_ Dysentery has prevailed in some sections of the county. Hog cholera in one section. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; also that of the public buildings. Cherokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. The health of this county is indeed fair; no epidemics to my knowledge. There is no effort to improve the public buildings, except the erection of a new court-house. The jail is more cleanly kept at present. Chowan—No Superintendent of Health. Clay—No Board of Health. Cleveland—Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Typhoid fever and dysentery have prevailed in different portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Coluftibus — Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. There have been ten cases of typhoid fever reported. The sanitary condition of the county is fairly good. We are having more typhoid fever than usual; it has been the prevailing dis-ease, and outside of that there has been but little sickness of a climatic character. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Bern. No report. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayetteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings tolerably good; no efforts at improvement. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed in scattered portions of the county. The sani-tary condition of the county and the public buildings is unchanged since last report. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. Dysenteiy and diarrhoea have prevailed during the month of June. There have been some BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLNA BOARD OF HEALTH. 43 cases of malarial, intermittent and remittent fevers, and a few cases of mumps. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good, and there has been no sickness among the inmates except a few cases of the prevailing disease. Durham—Dr. N. i\L Johnson, Durham. The sanitary condition of the county for the month of June has been good, there being no epidemic save measles. The condition of the public buildings is healthful. Houses for the paupers and prisoners are being erected of brick. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There have been reported five cases of measles. Diarrhoeal diseases have prevailed in some sec-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Forsyth—V>x. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. As far as I can learn, the sanitary condition of the county is very good. There have been several cases of typhoid and typho-malarial fevers, but not much besides. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good; improvements made as demanded. Gaston—Y)x. E. B. Holland, Dallas. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have been cases of typhoid fever, typhoid pneumonia and bowel complaints among teeth-ing children. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-class. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville— T)x. J. ^L Hays, Oxford. The health of our county at this time is unusually good. Gree7ie—Y)x. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Mala-rial fever has prevailed with a few cases of typhoid fever. La Grippe and dysentery. The general sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The sanitary condition of the town and county is first-rate; very little sickness. A few cases of bowel trouble and some little malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good as respects the jail—no effort being made towards improvement in that quarter; but I am indeed happy to state that the Com-missioners have ordered the erection at the poor-house of a house for the care of the incur-able insane, a thing most truly needed. Halifax—Vix. A. B. Pearce, Weldon. Dys-entery and infantile diarrhcea have prevailed in many sections of the county. The sanitary condition of the county has been good, only the diseases peculiar to this season have pre-vailed. No improvement in the condition of the public buildings since last report. Jail remarkably free from disease. Poor-house filled with disease of all grades and forms inci-dent to poverty, filth and bad morals. Harnett—No Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford—^o Board of Health. Hyde—'^o Board of Health. Iredell—V)x. M. W. Hill, Statesville. Measles has beer, epidemic, and there have occurred a few cases of whooping-cough and three of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county was good. The above, with malarial fever, dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera-morbus and infantum, have been the prevailing dis-eases. Nothing is being done looking to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the public buildings; they are in their usual condi-tion. Our jail cannot truthfully be called a comfortable summer resort. Jackson — Dr. J. L. Candler, Dillsboro. The general health of the county has been some better than for May. Entirely free from the the usual epidemics. An average amount of rain and even temperature. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Malaria and gastro-mtestinal troubles have pre-vailed. There have been reported ten cases of measles, eight of whooping-cough and one of 44 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—No Board of Health. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Grouse, Lincolnton Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in and around Lincolnton. The health of the county has been very good until the last few weeks. We have had dysentery among the children, and there have occurred a few cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. All the public buildings are sufficient for the demands made upon them. The sick of each should be allowed more money, that they might be better fed. Macon—V)x. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; no epidemic except La Grippe. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Martin—Dr. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Dysentery and diarrhoea have prevailed in several portions. There have been some typhoid and malarial fever reported. Unofficial re-ports of scarlatina come from the upper part of the county. The sanitary condition of the public builings is good. McDowell—Dr. J. H, Gilkey, Marion. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera-infantum have prevailed extensively in town and country, but have had little other sickness. Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell— Dr. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. Summer diarrhoea has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There have been re-ported two cases of measles, two of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever. There is now considerable sickness in the western part of the county. The sanitary condition of the jail and poor-house is good. The keepers are doing their best to keep them in a sanitary condition. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, Asbury. There have been reported five cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very good at this time. We are now taking steps to improve the conditiion of the jail. We wish to increase the ventilation, although the health of the inmates is good. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. No report. Nash — Dr. G. W. Lewis, Springhope. Dysentery and remittent fever have prevailed in different portions of the county. Hog cholera has been epidemic in the southern part of the county. The general sanitary condi-tion of the county is good. Except the above, we have had no sickness during the month. Jail and poor-house are in good condition. Our Commissioners are making some improve-ments at the poor-house in the way of new buildings. Ne-v Hanover—Dr. F. W. Potter, Wil-mington. There have been reported fi.ur cases of measles, fourteen of whooping-cough, one of diphtheria, nine of typhoid fever and one of pernicious malarial fever. Bowel complaints have prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There is a good deal of malarial fever in the county, especially on or near the sea-shore. I fear that unless the poor-house and house of correction can be kept dry, sick-ness will result. As a vast amount of exca-vating had to be done for a foundation for these buildings, in heavy rains water sometimes oozes up. There is not much sickness now, nor (I am glad to say) has there been during the month. I mentioned to the authorities dangers that might arise if not properly drained, and an effort was made to reack that end; but after heavy rains I notice the water oozes through the cement covering the lower floor or basement of the poor-house. Mr. Bagg was notified of the fact before the contractor, Mr. Allen, left the city. The hospital has no room fitted up for medicines, etc. Mr. Bagg was also notified of that fact in time, and I have no doubt was assured by the contractor that it would all be attended to. The two cisterns connected with the poor-house are built to con-tain two hundred barrels each, but, according to my calculations, they do not hold so much. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 4$ Northampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. Onslow—No Board of Health. Orange—V)x. D. C. Paris, Hillsboro. There have been some cases of measles. Dysentery and diarrhoea have prevailed in all portions. La Grippe, typho-malarial fever, together with the above named diseases, have prevailed. Otherwise, the sanitary condition of the county has been good. That of the public buildings is fairly good. I have to report a case of triplets born to a colored couple. There were three normal placenlre, and the births seem to have been normal. All did well for ten days, when one of the infants died, evidently from the lack of hygiene. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender— Dr. S. S. Satchwell, Burgaw. Cholera has been epidemic among hogs. There is a gradual improvement in the county in the application of sanitary measures. June has been dry and hot, but the general health of the county has been fairly good. Malarial and typhoid fevers have prevailed to some extent, but not of a high type. Bowel diseases of children unusually severe, with some fatality. Cerebro-spinal meningitis has extensively pre-vailed, and has been very fatal. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—'Dr, B. T. Cox, Redalia. No report. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. No report. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. Whooping-cough and dysentery have been abundant. There have been reported twenty-nine cases of measles, seven of typhoid fever, two of diphtheria, ten of cholera morbus and infantum and two of pernicious malarial fever, though I doubt these last. There has been cholera and distemper among the domestic animals. The sanitary condition of the jail is good; that of the poor-house is tolerably good. Richmond—V)x. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. I have to report thirty-six cases of whooping-cough, seven of measles and four of typhoid fever, as well as dysentery of a mild type. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as usual; that of the public buildings, except the jail, is good also. Robeson — Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Measles has prevailed in some sections, and I also have to report some typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very fair; also that of the public buildings. The contract has been given for the improvement of the court-house. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Ro'van—Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Measles, whooping-cough and typhoid fever have prevailed in Salisbury and other portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is fairly good; no epidemic since the Grippe, and mild epidemics of whooping-cough and measles. There are some summer bowel diseases, especially among the children who had or have whooping-cough or measles. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is fairly good. Rutherjord—Dr. W. A. Thompson, Cliff-dale. There have been two cases of typhoid fever, both fatal. There may have been others, but these are the only ones heard of. Cholera among hogs and pink-eye among horses have been epidemic. The sanitary condition of the county is very good, as we have natural drain-age. That of the public buildings is not as good as it should be. Sampson—Dr. J. A. Stevens, Clinton. The sanitary condition of the county is fair. Measles, whooping-cough, diarrhoea, dysentery and ma-larial fevers are the prevalent diseases. I have seen also three cases of typhoid fever this month. The sanitary condition of the jaiJ is not as good as it should be, but the Sheriff has promised me to have it attended to. Our poor-house is well kept, and its sanitary condi-tion excellent. Stanly—V>x. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. No report. 46 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Stokes—Vr. W. V. McAuless, Danbury. No report. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—No Board of Health. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Mumps has prevailed in this township. One case of typhoid fever has been reported. There has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the county is verj' good; that of the public buildings is bad; no efforts to improve it. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. The sanitary condition of the county is generally fair. There is diarrhoea in most sections of the county, and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail bad. Vance— Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Measles, diarrhoea and dysentery have been quite prevalent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported three cases of diphtheria and two of typhoid fever. The sanitary con-dition of the county is excellent; no epidemics of any kind during the past month. The sanitary condition of all the public buildings is very good. Warren— Dr. J. P. Macon, Warrenton. Dysentery, whooping-coagh and measles have prevailed in all sections. The sanitary in-spector visits each premises twice each month. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. Some fifty or more cases of measles and whooping-cough have occurred. .These have prevailed in all portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good in every way; also that of the public buildings. The new jail is in good order, with all the modern improvements. The poor-house first-class and well kept. Wavne — Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county. Diarrhoea! disorders have also been prevalent. Sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Wilkes—^o Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. Dysentery is reported as very severe in the Elm City and Black Creek sections. There have been three cases of typhoid fever reported, and malarial fevers are prevalent. Two cases of whooping-cough reported, but there is a great deal of this in the county. There has been very great improvement in sanitary condition at the poor-house. The jail is about the same as last month. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. I have to report typhoid fever in all parts of the county. Dysentery in mild form is pretty general. Sanitary condition of the public buildings about the same as for the two or three months past. Yancey—Dr. J. L. Ray, Burnsville. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed, and there has been reported one case of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is moder-ately good at present. The poor-house is not yet completed; preparation is being made to cover the jail. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 47 Coudltlon of Jails and Poor-houses by Comities foi 48 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltiou of Jails and Poor-houses by Counties fo BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 49 Coiidltiou of Jails and Poor- 50 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 51 Meteorological Sututnary for ^orth Carolina, June, 1891. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service. H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrmann, Meteorologist. "3 bo a c3 > S-i STATIONS. TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). c3 a> BO Asheville Babersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas Franklin Hendersonville.. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington , Lenoir Morganton Mount Airy Oak Ridge Pittsboro Raleigh Southport Southern Pines.. Salisbury Weldon Washington Wilmington 71.7 b7.6 76.6 95 u.o 76.0 70 2 71.7 99 90 73.4 75.2 73.3 73.2 72.5 74.8 73.4 75.7 77.0 77.8 78.2 75.1 77.6 77.2 94 97 90 95 92 93 93 95 92 98 94 96 96 95 c 82.6 78.4 86.6 90.6 92.0 84.2 77.2 84.2 86.8 80.3 81.7 85.3 8.5.3 84.3 c 3 a 85.6 I 55 83.4 ! 62 91.1 55 85.1 61 85.6 55 88.3 85.5 27 9 8 9 1 8 11 I 9 1 8 6 1 1 60.5 56.4 665 64.5 61.0 56.1 67.8 62,7 63.6 67.7 67.3 59.7 64.2 62.5 65.8 70.6 64.5 71.2 64.7 67.0 68.8 39 44 39 44 48 48 27 42 46 32 37 42 39 41 40 30 43 33 41 37 So a pj 03 22.0 22,0 20.1 26,1 31,0 28.1 9,4 21.5 23.2 12,6 14,4 25.6 21.1 21,8 19.8 12.8 26.6 13.9 20.9 21,3 16.7 a S 59.6 71.2 78.4 o o o 84.9 80.6 74.0 2.75 2.66 3.77 4.61 4.00 1.40 3.50 No. OF Days 76.2 3,57 2,57 3,20 2,41 2,66 2.77 3,60 4,12 4,35 3,70 5,20 4,19 78.4 4.01 80.6 • 3.47 i 9 N. «& N.W. E. S, W. s.w. s, w. N. E, N, E. S,W. S.W, s, N, E. S.W. s. N. N, E, S. STATE METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR JUNE, 1891, From the N. C. State Weather Service. Mean Barometer 29.98 inches ; normal for June 30.02. Highe-st Barometer .30.28 inche.s on the 8th at Lynchburg, Va. Lowest Barometer 29.63 inche.s on the 18th at Raleigh. Mean temperature 7.5.4 degrees; normal for June 74.9 degrees. Highest temperature 102 on the 17th at Cheraw, S. C. Lowest temperature 42 on the 2d at Franklin. Average raiu-fall 3 39 Inches ; normal for June 4.64 inches. Greatest monthly rain-fall 7..SS inches at Chattanooga, Tenn. Least monthly rain-fali 1.40 inche.s at Franklin. Average number of cloudless davs 11. Average number of partly cloudv days 11. Average i.umber of cloudy days 8. Average number of rainy days 11. Prevailing wind direction. South-west; average hourly velocity .5.5 miles per hour. Prevailing direction from many years' observations. South-west; average hourly velocity 7.3 miles. The month was warmer and drier than usual and was favorable for growth of crops. ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC S0C1E5. CBAPa HILL, N. C. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Fres.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D., Fayetteville. S. Westray Battle, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D.,.. Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill, J. L. Ludlow, C. E., Winston. Thomas F. Wood, ^L D., Secretary and Treasm-er, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. AUGUST, 1891, No. 5. At THE conjoint session of the Medical So-ciety of North Carolina with the North Carolina Board of Health, held in Asheville on the 27th of May, an election of members of the Board was held to fill the vacancies caused by the expiration of the terms of Drs. Thomas F. Wood and W. D. Hilliard. The ballot resulted in the reelection of Dr. Wood and the election of Dr. S. Westray Battle of Asheville, each for a term of six years. At a meeting of the Board, Dr. Thomas F. Wood was re-elected Secretary and Treasurer for a term of six years. A communication from the Governor an-nounces the reappointment of Dr. J. H. Tucker, of Fv derson; Mr. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., Win-ston, n-'. .Yof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill, as members of the State Board of Health for a term of two years. For the Bulletin. Typhoid Fever in the State. The reports this month from the County Superintendents of Health show typhoid fever to have been unusually prevalent during the month of July. There were reports received from fifty-one counties this month, and of these thirty-four reported typhoid fever. In several counties it seems to have prevailed to such an extent as to be epidemic. Notice the language of some of the reporters. Dr. J. B. Watts, of Alexander: "Typhoid fever has prevailed in all sections of the county; about thirty cases reported:" Dr. J. F. Abernathy, of Cherokee: "There were reported about forty-two to forty-five cases of typhoid fever during the month of July, with four deaths. The fever is still spreading, despite all antiseptic and hygienic precautions. It seems confined to the small water-courses." Dr. O. P. Gardner, of Cleveland: " Typhoid fever has prevailed in many portions." Dr. I. Jackson, of Columbus: "We have had more typhoid fever than usual." Dr. E. S. Foster, of Franklin: "Typhoid and typho-malarial fevers have prevailed dur-ing the summer in most sections of the county." Dr. J. L. Nicholson, of Onslow: " Many cases of typho-malarial fever reported." (Those under his care responded to Ehrlich's test for typhoid.) 54 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Dr. B. T. Cox, of Pitt: " Typhoid and mala-rial fevers have prevailed in many portions of the county, being virulent among the colored population." Dr. J. W. Long, of Randolph: "Typhoid iever has prevailed pretty extensively around E.andleman." Dr. D. P. Whitley, of Stanly: "Typhoid and malarial fevers have prevailed in various parts of the county; there have been eight cases in my practice." Dr. W. V. McCauless, of Stokes: "Dysen-tery has subsided and typhoid fever seems to have taken its place, and has been raging in a -very malignant form in the southern portions of the county." Dr. W. C. Ramsay, of Union: "This (ty-phoid) is the only disease .that has prevailed to any extent." Dr. T. R. Harding, of Yadkin: "Typhoid fever has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county; about fifty cases reported." Dr. T. R. Harding, in reply to special letter, makes the following report: Yadkinville, N. C, July ii, 1891. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., IVibnington. In my opinion the disease is epidemic. It commenced about May. IMortality more than usual. It is on the increase. Several cases occur in each family. Water supply is gen-erally well-water. I think that disinfectants and sanitary pre-cautions put a stop to the spread of disease. In certain localities the rain-fall has been very great, and I think that the disease is worse in these than where the rain-fall is less. There is a great neglect among our people to keep their wells in good condition, disinfect privies, pig-styes, etc. Will write you again in a few days. Would be glad to have one of your Board visit us; but think it would be useless unless you could pre-vail on the physicians and people to use more disinfectants, as we have a very rugged country, with a great deal of superstition and ignor- .ance among the people. Respectfully, T. R. Harding, Supt. of Health. The following is a copy of a second letter received from Dr. Harding a few days later. It is a little more extended report, and gives the answers of two physicians in the country to letters of inquiry sent them by Dr. Harding: Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Wilmington, Dear Sir: Yours of the nth inst. to hand. In reply will say that when I received yours of the 8th I immediately wrote to all the physi-cians in the county, ten in all, but as yet have only received two replies. In answer to your questions of nth will say: 1. The duration of disease is from fourteen to thirty-five days. 2. It does rot, in all particulars, follow the description given in text-books 3. We have the rose-colored eruption in about one-fourth of the cases; some of them in great numbers. 4. We have diarrhoea in about one-half the cases, and in some of them tenesmus. 5. The enlargement of the spleen is not a prominent symptom, but in a few cases it is very marked, with great pain in the region of the spleen. 6. We have stupor and delirium in about one-tenth of the cases, also severe rigors in a few cases. 7. About one in ten die. 8. Simultaneous in several localities, vary-ing from four to ten m.iles. 9. I do not think that I could class it as contagious, yet it seemed to be transmitted to other members of the same family; but I attrib-ute this to want of proper disinfection, it being almost impossible to have the stools, in bad cases, disinfected. Our people have never been taught the laws of hygiene and sanitation. 10. I think the local cause, if any, is from cellars, etc. We had a great deal of rain last spring, then just before the fever set in we had a three-weeks drouth. I have found cellars in most of the homes where the fever has occurred. My theory is that the epidemic is caused by the heavy rains washing into wells and springs filth from former cases, or the cellars getting water into them and then drying. About eighteen months ago I had nine cases of fever in one family, when there was not BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 55 another case in the county. Under this house was a cellar that had been first wet and then dry for some time, and contained debris of various kinds. As far as any investigation that I can make, I shall make no charge for it, as I feel it a duty I owe to my neighbors. I send you the replies that I have received from the physicians. I have had no new case in six days; have now under treatment ten cases, and have had about thirty cases since May 20th, with only two deaths so far. If you could make any suggestion from the history I write you for a course to follow, I would be glad to have it. Yours respectfully, T. R. Harding. JONESVILLE, N. C.,Aug. 12, 189I. Dr. Harding: In reply to your note of yes-terday, I will say that I have had only three cases of typhoid fever; one of these came from Winston sick; one, my son, who came from Asheville sick, and the other' lives in Wilkes County, five miles from Jonesville. The last case, I think, is a sporadic case, as there is no other case in the neighborhood. I have been called in cases in consultation in Wilkes, above Trap Hill, where I think the disease prevails as an epidemic. We have a fever here we do not consider typhoid, lasting only about two weeks; we call it " mongrel fever," as the type is not fully defined. The cases I have had so far have yielded nicely to treatment. I have used no disinfectants yet, but should if the disease prove an epidemic or contagious. Yours, etc., L. J. Baker. Cross-Roads Church, Aug. 13, 1891. Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. Sir: Your letter of inquiry to hand. In reply I would say I have eight cases that are generally diagnosed as cases of typhoid fever, though they do not fill the bill of true typical cases of typhoid fever, but rather that of typho-malarial fever. When I think necessary I use disinfectants. All my cases, with one or two exceptions, use, or have been using, more or less water from the same well. I have advised and insisted on cleaning out and around the well, but it has not been done as yet. There are, or have been, two cases in three families around this well. The disease, outside of complications, has been, up to date, a comparatively mild variety. The families generally that are sick have neither pig-pens nor cow-pens, consequently I don't disinfect. I have advised thorough cleaning around houses, springs, pens. etc. Yours very respectfully, W. S. Windsor, M. D. This last letter would show very conclusively that the well is at fault, as six of his cases occurred in three families around the well, and it would have been the proper course to have had the well not cleaned but dosed, for if the water be contaminated cleaning would hardly free it from the contamination. The family should be made to thoroughly disinfect every stool in cases of " typho-malarial," as well as plain typhoid fever, and the vessels should be emptied at such a distance from any source of water-supply that there can be no possible danger of its contaminating the drinking-water. Physicians cannot be too particular or too rigid in requiring their patients to carry out these safeguards, and he who neglects them is not faithful to the position he holds of physician and protector of the publfc health. Dr. Parker said in his letter he would use disinfectants if the disease becomes epidemic. This is the way it is the world over —wait until the horse is stolen to lock the stable-door. Why, the very idea of disinfectants is that they should be used in the early cases, and «o /?<?- vent ait epidemic. The disease seems to be epidemic in so many localities that the State Board is not financially able to send a committee into each district to search out the cause and character of the epi-demic, but must depend on the Superintend-ent of Health in those counties where it is epidemic, to investigate the matter, as far as they can, and make a report to this office. They can follow the line laid down in Dr. Harding's report. 56 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. As in the vast majority of cases where the cause of an epidemic of typhoid fever has been scientifically traced out, the contagion was found in the water used by the sufferers, we would urge upon the physicians, in those dis-tricts where the disease is common, the impor-tance of having the drinking-water, especially that from wells, boiled before being used. It can afterwards be readily cooled to the tem-perature of the other water, and can be aerated by pouring a few times from one vessel to another. Summary of Vital Statistics for July, 1891. (eleven towns.) White. CoPd. Aggregate population. 39,808 39,562 Aggregate deaths 61 69 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 18.4 24.6 Deaths under 5 years old, Causes of death. Typhoid fever 4 I Malarial fever 2 i Whooping-cough i o Pneumonia o 2 Consumption 5 6 Brain diseases 2 3 Heart diseases 6 5 Neurotic diseases 2 3 Diarrhceal diseases-. . 12 20 All other diseases . 24 23 Accident and violence i 2 Still-born 2 3 Total. 73,370 130 21.2 40 5 3 I 2 II 5 II 5 32 47 3 5 61 69 130 Review of Diseases for July, 1891 Bronchitis— From Wayne. Bilious Fever— From Randolph. Chicken Cholera— From Orange and Pender. Cholera-infantum—From McDowell, Samp-son, Stanly and Wilson — 4 counties. Cholera-morbus— From Iredell and Stanly. Consumption — From Caswell. Croup— From Raiidolph. Diarrhoea — From Craven, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Sampson, Stanly, Vance and Wil-son ��� 8 counties. Diphtheria — From Richmond. Distemper—From Alexander and McDowell. Dysentery — From Greene, Halifax, Pitt, Randolph, Sampson, Warren and Wilson — 7 counties. Cholera {hogs)— From Davidson, Duplin, Jackson, Moore, Pender, Robeson, Sampson and Wilson — 8 counties. Insanity— From Randolph. La Grippe— From Orange and Warren. Malarial Fever—From Alamance, Caswell, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gaston, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Johnston, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pitt, Rich-mond, Sampson, Stanly, Warren, Wayne and Wilson — 22 counties. Malarial Fever {hcemorrhagic)—From Mont-gomery. Malatial Fever {pernicious) — From Ran-dolph. Measles— From Camden, Cleveland, David-son, Lincoln, Onslow, Orange, Richmond, Sampson, Vance, Wake and Warren — 11 counties. Pink-Eye {horses)—From Durham. Pneumonia — From Iredell and Orange. Pheumatism — From Caswell. Tonsilitis— From Randolph. Typhoid Fever— From Alamance, Alexan-der, Caldwell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Cleveland, Columbus, Duplin, Franklin, Gas-ton, Greene, Iredell, Johnson, Lincoln, Macon, McDowell, Montgomery, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Sampson. Stanly, Stokes, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Yadkin and Yancey — 34 counties. Typho - malarial Fever— From Franklin, Onslow and Orange. Whooping-Cough — From Catawba David-son, Iredell, Lincoln, Nash, New Hanover, Richmond, Sampson, Warren, Watauga, Yad-kin and Yancey — 12 counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 57 Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for July. 1891. Alamance— Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. Malarial fevers have prevailed to a limited extent, with a few cases of typhoid. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is fairly good. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. Typhoid fever has prevailed in all sections of the county, about thirty cases being reported. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. There has been an epidemic of distem-per among horses. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is not very good, although it is about as good as usual, and I am sorry to say there are no efforts at improvement. Alleghany— No Board of Health. Anson.— Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beatifort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie— No Board of Health. Bladen — Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown^ No report. Brunswick— No Board of Health. Buncombe — Dr. H. B. Weaver, !^sheville. No report. Burke— Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus — Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. There have been reported twelve cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings*is good. Caldivell— Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. The general health of the county is good. There have occurred a few cases of typhoid fever of a mild type; eight cases reported. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Camden — Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead City. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Measles has occurred. The public buildings are old but comfortable. Caswell— Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Remittent fever, rheumatism and a few cases of consumption have prevailed. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Also that of the public buildings. Catawba — Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton; Dr. J. C. Whiteside, acting. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Typhoid fever and whooping-cough have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. Sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is as good as could be expected. The jail is being enlarged. Chatham — Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There has been a great amount of rain during the month. There have been reported ten cases of typhoid fever. The public buildings are in good sanitary condition. Cherokee— Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There were reported about forty-two or forty-five cases of typhoid fever during the month of July, with four deaths. The fever is still spreading, despite all antiseptic and hygienic precautions. It seems confined to the small water-courses in the county. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good at present; there is no sickness among the inmates. Chowan— No report. Clay— No Board of Health. Cleveland— Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Typhoid fever has prevailed in many portions. There has been also some measles. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Columbus — Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. We have had more typhoid fever than usual; nine cases have been reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Craven — Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Bern. Intermittent and malarial fevers have occurred. Bowel troubles have prevailed in the city and county. The sanitary condition of the county and the public buildings is good. Cumberland— Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. The sanitary condition of the county is tolerably good. Also that of the public build-ings. Currituck— No Board of Health. 58 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Dare— No Board of Health. Davidson — Dr. R. L. Payne, Lexington. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed in scattered portions. The sanitary condition of the county is better than usual at this sea-son of the year. There has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The condition of the poor-house is excellent. The jail (a large cage built inside of a large room) cannot be kept clean; allows inmates no room for exercise, and is altogether a disgrace to our civilization. Davie— No Board of Health. Duplin — Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. There is a considerable amount of sickness in the county. The different types of malarial fever and several cases of typhoid fever. There has also been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the pubHc buildings is good, with very little sickness among the inmates. Durham — Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. The amount of sickness in the county for July has been little; taking on the usual and acciden-tal character. Pink-eye has prevailed to a slight extent among horses. The sanitary con-dition of the public buildings is good. Edgecombe — Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There has been rain nearly every day during July. Malaria has prevailed in some portions. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Forsyth — Dr. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin — Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Typhoid and typho-malarial fevers have pre-vailed during the summer in most sections of the county. It has been generally of mild type, and little fatality. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings is good, and such steps taken as are required to insure a health-ful state at all times. Gaston—V>x. E. B. Holland, Dallas. Typhoid and malarial fevers, with summer complaints among children, have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Gates — No Board of Health. Graham— No Board of Health. Granville — Dr. J.' M, Hays, Oxford. No report. Greene— Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. The sanitary condition of the county is, as usual, good. Malarial fever has prevailed, and several cases of typhoid fever and dysentery have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. No efforts at improvement. Guilford— Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The general health of the county is fairly good. Of course we have some simple malarial fever; but the majority of our fevers at this time are of the so-called " pig-pen " type, in which quinine seems to exert no influence whatever; not much serious sickness though. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings was never better; but the jail is not in good condition as regards the privies, etc. There is no improvement, that I know of, except some at the poor-house. Halifax — Dr. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Mala-rial fevers and dysentery have prevailed. There has been a disease among hogs that has assumed no name; it seems to be a wasting of the mus-cles. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Harnett— No Board of Health. Haywood— Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson — Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford— No Board of Health. Hyde — No Board of Health. Iredell— Dr. M. W. Hill, Statesville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Very little sickness of any kind; a few cases of typhoid and malarial fevers, measles, whooping-cough, cholera-morbus, etc. ; pneumonia has also been reported. I have nothing different from last month to report in regard to the sanitary con-dition of the public buildings. Jackson — Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. The sanitary condition of the county was never better; it is entirely free from epidemics; but there has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLXA BOARD OF HEALTH. 59 Johnston — Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Malarial troubles have prevailed, and there have been reported four cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings ^s good. Jones— No Board of Health. Lenoir— No Board of Health. Lincoln — Dr. W. L. Grouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough, measles, and some typhoid fever, have prevailed. During the month of July there has been more sickness than usual at this season of the year. There has been one case of fever at the jail—the well has been cleaned and the jail overhauled and white-washed. No sickness at the poor-house. Macon — Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; one case of typhoid fever reported. The sani-tary co
Object Description
Description
Title | Bulletin of the North Carolina Board of Health |
Other Title | Bulletin of the North Carolina State Board of Health; Bulletin of the North Carolina Board of Health |
Creator | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Date | 1891; 1892 |
Subjects |
Diseases--Reporting Genealogy Institutional care Meteorology--Observations Mortality--Statistics Prisons--Statistics Public Health--North Carolina--Periodicals |
Place | North Carolina, United States |
Time Period | (1876-1900) Gilded Age |
Description | Volume 6, Issues 1-12, April 1891-March 1892. |
Publisher | Wilmington, N.C. :Secretary of the Board, |
Agency-Current | North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services |
Rights | State Document see http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,63754 |
Physical Characteristics | 61 v. :ill. ;23 cm. |
Collection | Health Sciences Library. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Type | text |
Language | English |
Format | Bulletins |
Digital Characteristics-A | 9,988 KB; 202 p. |
Digital Collection |
Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access, a North Carolina LSTA-funded grant project North Carolina Digital State Documents Collection |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Related Items | Imprint varies: published later at Raleigh, N.C. |
Title Replaced By | Health bulletin** |
Audience | All |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_edp_bulletinboardofhealth189192.pdf |
Pres Local File Path-M | \Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_edp\images_master\ |
Full Text | library of ill]c Untccrsity of Hortb Carolina COLLECTION OF NORTH C A R O L I N I A N A ENDOWED B Y - JOHN S P R U N T HILL of the class of 1889 This book must not be token from the Librory building. Form No. 471 'J^ :J5 \^ BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOAOD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Pres.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh, J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D.. ...... Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. ,Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. APRIL, 1891. No. I. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for' March, 1891. Ahimancr—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. La Grippe exists in a very aggra- ated forni, and measles has been prevaler' in some sections. The sanitary condition of the jail is fair; that of the work-house fair; some of the houses at the poor-house are good, while others are not. Some of the inmates are physically and men-tally unable, and others indisposed to keep clean; but things are about as good as the present appropriation will admit. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. There has been an epidemic of La Grippe, complicated with pneumonia, all over the county. Staggers has been epidemic among horses The sanitary condition of the county is very good, so far as I know; that of the pub-lic .buildings is good, except as regards the court-house, part of which is used principally for a privy, hence sanitation is not very perfect there. There are no efforts being made to im-prove the condition of things. Alleghany—No Board of Health, Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. There has been a general epidemic of La Grippe attended with little fatality, complicated in a few cases with pneumonia. The fatal cases have been principally among young children and aged per.sons. The jail is in good sanitary condition. The court-house is in a bad condi-tion, but the Commissioners have decided to have it repaired. Poor-house in good condi-tion. Ashe—No Board of Health. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. Newton Robinson, Elizabeth-town. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A few cases of measles and whooping-cough have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-class. Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. ' There have been reported thirty cases of measles, ten of whooping-cough, five of scarla-tina, ten of diphtheria and three of typhoid fever. La Grippe still lingers in the county, with BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. more or less complications; but few deaths from it. There have been but three deaths from diphtheria and scarlet fever out of fifteen cases; from measles, two deaths. All the pub-lic buildings are in good condition, except the police department, which will be improved. Burke—Dr. J- L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. There have been reported twenty cases of measles, seven of whooping-cough and four of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public build-ings. Caldxvell—Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. La Grippe has prevailed in all parts of the county, causing a number of cases of pneumonia and other serious sickness. Camden—No Board of Health. Carteret—Dr. M, F. Arendell, Morehead City. We have had La Grippe in a mild form all over the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Our towns are improving in their sanitary condition, and our public build-ings are kept clean and nice. Caswell—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Pneumonia and influenza have prevailed all over the county, and children have suffered from croup and bronchitis. The general sani-tary condition of the county is as good as could be expected from the amount of rain-fall. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Catawba.—Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton. Measles, mumps and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Chatham—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. Four cases of scarlatina have been reported. La Grippe _has prevailed in all parts of the county. The health of the county at present is good. Pneumonia has occurred, and some chicken-pox among the little folks. Our pub-lic buildings are in good condition and well kept. Cherokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been several cases of La Grippe and three cases of inflammatory rheumatism, with one death from the last named disease. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Chowan—Dr. R. H. Winborne, Barnitz. A few cases of diphtheria have been reported. There has been about the average prevalence of pneumonia in the county. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as I have ever known it for March—mostly diseases of the respiratory system. La Grippe has oc-curred in Edenton and in portions of the county on Albemarle Sound. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Clay—^o Board of Hea''^ Cleveland—Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Pneumonia and La Grippe have ;7.Tevailed in many portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Columbus—Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Outside of a few cases of measles I hear of very little sickness in the county. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. Measles and mumps have prevailed throughout the city and county. Diphtheria and scarlatina have occurred. La Grippe, and respiratory diseases generally, have been very prevalent. The death-rate, however, has been compara-tively small. Public buildings are kept in pretty fair condition. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. The sanitary condition of the county is not very good on account of so much rain and mud. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is tolerably good. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—^o Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Two cases of small-pox have occurred. These cases occurred in the practice of Drs. Payne & Son, and at first puzzled us somewhat as to diagnosis, but they were undoubtedly small-pox. The adult so afflicted died; the child, who had only a few pocks on her, is recover-ing, but is distinctly pitted. Early in the his- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. tory our suspicions were aroused, and prompt isolation and vaccination of all those who were exposed to possible contagion were practiced with the most gratifying results. No spread of the disease is apprehended. I hear of measles in one section of the country. No change in the condition of the public buildings since my last report. Davie—No Board of Health. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. Measles and La Grippe have prevailed in some sections of the county. We have had a few cases of pneumonia, and bowel troubles have been quite severe. Scabies spread in some sections. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Diirhat,^—Vix. N. iM. Johnson, Durham. The health of the county is fairly good; that of the poor-house and work-house is not as good as it should be, on account of poor buildings. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There have been reported seven cases of measles and ten or twelve of scarlatina. The latter has prevailed in the upper parts near the Hali-fax line. The jail is new and m good condition. Forsyth—Dr. D. N. Dalton, Winston. Quite a number of cases of measles and whoop-ing- cough and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has been quite prevalent, with some pneumonia. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Measles is prevailing in this place and many other portions of the county. The health of the county, so far as I have been able to learn, was never better. With the above exception, [^ there has been no sickness worth noting. The v^ sanitary condition of thepublic buildings isgood. Gaston—'Dr. E B. Holland, Dallas. La Grippe and pneumonia have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county and public T^ buildings is good. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville—T>r. J. M. Hays, Oxford. There have occurred about seventy-five cases of measles. La Grippe is still prevalent, but not fatal. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is very good. Greene—T)r. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. La Grippe has prevailed in the county, and there have been reported several cases of pneumonia and chicken-pox. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. Distemper has been epidemic among horses and dogs. There has not been a great deal of sickness during the past month. The princi-pal trouble has been pneumonia and bron-chitis and some malaria. Several cases of La Grippe reported. Some of the pneumonia has been especially malignant and difficult to man-age. The sanitary condition of the public buildings, other than the jail, is quite good. The jail would pass muster, but for the bad arrangement of the waste-pipes, or outlet to the excrement from the privies. However, we need a new jail. The " King's Daughters" are building a hospital in Greensboro, and we hope for great good from it. Halifax—Dx. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Re-port lost in the mails. Harneii—No Board of Health. Llaywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. Pneumonia and measles have prevailed, with some rheumatism. We have had inces-sant rain. There have been reported two cases of rabies in dogs, with the inoculation of ten or twelve hogs from bites of the dogs. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Hertford—No Board of Health. Hyde—No Board of Health. Iredell— Dx. M. W. Hill, Statesville. No report. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. Measles has prevailed in the southern part of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; entirely free from fevers. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Whooping-cough, measles and influenza have BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—Dr. C. B. Woodley, Trenton. In-fluenza, with pneumonia and bronchitis, have prevailed in all portions of the county. Dr. Ward also reports mumps and distemper. So far as as can be learned, the sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is also good. The County Commis-sioners intend selling the poor-house property, which is in the woods, and buying a place nearer town and on the public road. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough and bronchial troubles have prevailed in some portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. La Grippe has prevailed in every portion of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Mariin—Dr. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Coughs, colds, etc., have prevailed. We have had no serious sickness for the past month, though catarrhal affections of the respiratory tract have been prevalent. La Gri/pe hasheen general, though not serious. Poor-house and jail have recently been renovated and are in excellent condition. McDowell — Dr. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal affections have prevailed in some portions. Other than these, there has been but little sickness. The general sanitary con-dition of the county and public buildings is good. Alecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—Dx. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. La Grippe is still raging in all parts of the county. There have been reported three cases of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is not good. There is considerable sickness all over the county. The jail is in as good condition as it is possible to keep one so small. The Com-missioners are thinking of building a new one in the near future. The poor-house is kept clean and healthful. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, Asbury. There have been reported about thirty cases of measles. Some parts of the county are in good sanitary condition, while others are not. The jail is not in very good condition, there being lack of ventilation. There is talk of a new one. The poor-house is in good condition. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles has prevailed in different parts of the county. There has been a great dt-al of sick-ness during March, principally measles and influenza; a few cases of whooping-cough in the eastern parts. No new cases of meningitis since February. There has been a great deal of wet weather. Public buildings are in very good condition. A^ask—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Spring Hope. Measles has been prevalent, but in a mild form. The sanitary condition of the county is good—no sickness other than measles. Our county board are going to make some improve-ments in our jail, soon, in the way of m'lte buildings. Jail is a good one and well kept. A''ew Honover—Dr. F. W. Potter, Wilming-ton. Pneumonia has obtained in quite a num-ber of cases of measles, especially among those who have recently come to the city (living in damp and open houses). La Grippe is prevalent, and in some cases of measles is pre-eminent above ordinary catarrhal symptoms. I have called the attention of our authorities to the unsanitary condition of the market-houses; also an open run, or ditch, in the rear of the " Racket Store." I have asked for a fuinace for the cremation of garbage, but wiihout avail. There have been reported twenty-eight cases of measles, two of diphtheria, three of typhoid fever, two of pernicious and two of haeinorrhagic malarial fever. There has been an epidemic of catarrhal troubles in horses. The jail is in good condition. Poor-houte is in bet-ter order than usual; the inmates are requiied to take a full bath once a week, and to air their bedding often. N'orthampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Onslo7v—Dr. J. L. Nicholson, Richlands. Many cases of measles and two of typhoid fever have occurred. General and widespread ci'tnplaint conies from every section of the couniy, because of the severe epidemic of La Giippe. Mumps al^o prevalent. The jail remains in good condition; that of the pocr-hou «e yet very poir. Orangi—Dr. D. C. Parris, Hillsboro. Some ca-ises of measles have occurred. Catarrhal diseases have prevailed in all portions of the county. Sanitary condition of the coun'y quite good in spite of the great abun-dance of rain. Influenza, pneumonia, bron-chitis and rheumatism have prevailed. Sani-tary condition i>f public buildings faiily good. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender—Ur. S. S Satchwell, Burgaw. Five cases of typhoid fever have been reported. Measles and La Grippe have extensively pre-vailed as rpidemics, and often combined with pneumonia. The warm weather has developed malaria, complicating the other diseases and rendering them more difficult to treat. Pejqiiimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Healih. Pitt—Dr. B. T. Cox, Redalia. La Grtppe has prevailed throughout the county; many cases quite severe, but not many deaths from it. Measles and whooping-cough have traversed many sections of the county. Pneumonia, bronchitis and malaria have been reported, and some eczema; also a few cases of teething diarrhoea among children. Distemper among horses and cholera among hogs has been re-ported. Permission was granted by the last Legislature for the county authorities to sell the old poor-house and select a new site for a new building, but it has been decided to let it remain as it is. Polk—V)x. H. D. Shankle, Mills' Spring. Mumps has prevailed in several parts of the county, and one case of typhoid fever has been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is some better than it was a month ago. We have had a great deal of pneumonia, La Grippe., mumps, etc., all caused by negligence and exposure. There has been an epidemic of chicken cholera. There are no efforts being made to improve the condition of the public buildings, w-hich should be in better condition than they are. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. La Grippe, catarrhal fevers, pneumonia and rheumatism have prevailed. Two cases of measles, "lots of whooping-cough," one c.ise of diphtheria, and one each of typhoid fever, cholera infantum and hemorrhagic malarial fever have occurred. Have received repoi ts from Drs. Malone, Redding and Daligny. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is as good as can be with such buildings as they are. I met a committee from our grand jury in March, and went over with them the poor-house and all its interests, and they reported an urgent need for a new building and more room. What may come of it remains to be seen. Richtnond—Dr. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. Three cases of scarlatina have been reported. La Grippe and catarrhs have pre-vailed in all parts of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is not what it should be, and will never be until improved methods of sani-tation are adopted. I have presented the case of our jail to the Commissioners several times, but, as yet, without any good results. Robison—Dr. R. F. Lewis Lumberton. The county is in fair sanitary condition. The pub-lic buildings are in good condition; improve-ments are contemplated. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan—Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Many cases of measles and whooping-c^ugh have occurred. Za Grippe, and catarrhs gen-erally, have prevailed in many portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is as reported at the time of the last report. The jail and poor-house are in good sanitary condition. Repairs are needed at the court-house, and alterations are needed in the jail. Rutherford—Dr. W. A. Thompson, Cliff-dale. La Grippe and pneumonia have pre-vailed in portions of the county. The sanitary BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OFTHEALTH. condition of the county is as good as you will find in most counties, but is far from good. The water-closets, and other buildings danger-ous to public health, are often placed on a higher level than the water supply, with the result of the direct contamination of the water. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is as good as the arrangement of the buildings will admit. Sampson—Dr. J, A. Stevens, Clinton. In-fluenza and measles are very prevalent. A few cases of pneumonia and many of bronchial affections. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is not as good as it should be. Stanly—Y)x. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. La Grippe, measles and whooping-cough have pre-vailed in various localities. There has been an epidemic of distemper among horses. Have had an abundance of catarrhal affections; some pneumonia. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is moderately good. There has been an improvement in the public school-houses recently. Our court-house is unsafe and unfit for use. Stokes—Dr. W. V. McCauless, Danbury. Measles and pneumonia have prevailed in the middle portions. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is fair. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. R. L. Davis, Bryson City. Three cases of measles have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is as good or better than it has been for several years. The public buildings are in about as good con-dition as they can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrtell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. We have had the worst weather for the past two months I ever saw; but still there is no sickness to report. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. La Grippe and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county, otherwise the health of the county has been good. Poor-house in good and jail in bad sanitary condi-tion. Vance—Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Ten cases of measles and five of whooping-cough reported. There has been some distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county is good. The jail has been improved, and it appears improved. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported thirty-two cases of measles, one of scarlatina and three of mumps. Measles, though now abating, has prevailed in an epidemic form, but not at all fatal. Public buildings are in admirable sanitary condition. Private residences are being rapidly connected with our sewer system, and thus a vast im-provement of the city is noticeable. The sanitary condition of the city and county is as good as circumstances will admit. Continued rains, overflowing streams and very muddy streets and roads render work of all kinds impracticable. Warren—Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. No report. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga—Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. No report. Wayne—Dr. W^m. H. Cobb, acting, Golds-boro. Measles, chicken-pox. La Grippe and pneumonia have prevailed. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wilkes—No Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. There have been reported thirty-eight cases of measles, four cases of whooping-cough. Pneu-monia and La Grippe have been the prevailing diseases. One physician reports some cases of dysentery. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is good. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville, Measles, whooping-cough and typhoid fever have occurred. The first two, with mumps, have prevailed in nearly all portions of the county, There has been an epidemic of chicken cholera. Pneumonia, rheumatism and bronchial troubles have been common. The death-rate has been very low. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is bad, with no efforts to improve the jail. The poor-house will be removed this summer. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Frtwr^j— Dr. [J. L. Ray, Burnsville. La Grippe has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There has been a slight epidemic of distemper among horses. The health of the couniy is about as usual. The jail is not kept very clean, and needs covering. A new poor-house is being built, and will be finished soon. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for March, 1891. (fifteen towns.) White. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 56,814 46,312 103,126 Aggregate deaths 61 90 151 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 129 233 15.6 Deaths under 5 years old, 52 Causes of death. Typhoid fever o 2 2 Scarlet fever 01 i Malarial fever i I 2 Diphtheria o I i Whooping-cough o i i Measles - 21 3 Pneumonia 7 9 • 16 Consumption 9 18 27 Brain diseases 01 i Heart diseases 22 4 Neurotic* diseases 20 2 Diarrhoeal diseases 54 9 All other diseases 14 2S 42 Accident and violence i 3 4 Suicide 11 2 Still-born 6 6 12 50 79 129 Raleigh, unclassified. 11 11 22 Total. 61 90 151 Review of Diseases for March, 1891 Bronchitis—Reported from Caswelif Guil-ford, Jones, Lincoln, Orange, Pitt and Samp-son— 7 counties. Chicken-pox—From Chatham, Greene and Wayne—3 counties. Cholera {chickens)—From Polk and Yadkin — 2 counties. Cholera {hogs)—From Pitt. Cholera Infantum—From Randolph. Croup—From Caswell. Diarrhcea—From Pitt. Diphtheria — From Buncombe, Chowan, Craven, New Hanover and Randolph— 5 counties. Distemper—From Guilford, Jones, New Hanover, Pitt, Stanly, Vance and Yancey 7 counties. Dysentery—From Wilson. Eczema—From Pitt. La Grippe—From Alamance, -Alexander, Anson, Buncombe, Caldwell, Carteret, Cas-well, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Craven, Duplin, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Johnston, Jones, Macon, Martin, Mitchell, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Ran-dolph, Richmond, Rowan, Rutherford, Samp-son, Stanly, Union, Wayne, Wilson and Yan-cey— 40 counties. Malarial Fever—From Pendet and Pitt— 2 counties. Malarial Fever {Hcemorrhagic)—From New Hanover and Randolph—2 counties. • Malarial Fever {pernicious)—From New Hanover. Measles—From Alamance, Bladen, Bun-combe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Columbus, Craven, Davidson, Duplin, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Frank-lin, Granville, Henderson, Jackson, Mont-gomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Swain, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin — 34 counties. Mumps—From Catawba, Craven, Jones, Onslow, Polk, Wake and Yadkin—7 counties. Fneutnonia — From Alexander, Caldwell, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Cleveland, Dup-lin, Forsyth, Gaston, Greene, Guilford, Hen. derson, Jones, New Hanover, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin — 26 counties. Rabies—From Henderson. 8 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Rheumatism — From Cherokee, Orange, Typhoid Fever—From Buncombe, CabaTus, Randolph and Vadkin—4 counties. Forsyth, Milchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Scabies—From Duplin. Pender, Polk, Randolph and Yadkin—lO Scarlatina —From Buncombe, Chatham, counties. Craven, Edgecombe, Richmond and Wake — Whooping- Cough—From Bladen, Buncombe, 6 counties. Cabarrus, Catawba, Forsyth, Johnston, Lin- Sinall-pox—From Davidson. coin, Muchtll, Moore, Pitt, Randolph. Rowan, Staggers—From Alexander and Anfon— 2 Stanly, Union, Vance, Wilson and Yadkin — counties. 17 counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Conclitiou of Jatls aud Poor-houses by < lO BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condttioii of Jails and Poor-houses hy Counties for BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. II Condition of Jails and Poor-houses by Counties for March, 1891. (continued. COUNTIES. Pasquotank Pender Perquimans.... Person Pitt Polli Randolpti Richmond Robeson Rockingham... Rowan Ruthei-ford Sampson Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania. Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren. JAIL. CO . urs C (» o D ftu <0 >^-^x ! MO jSbX as a - "£^ e^; ,: 0* 2 12 3 7 .560 916 11 6 2 1 2 680 * 6O0 1-2 4 38 25 19 13 11 15 16 110a POOR-HOUSE. oo a& ti ^ in « to »j 3 12 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Meteorological Report for march, 1891. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 13 BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., /"t-^j.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. MAY, 1 89 1. No. 2. State Care of the Insane. A public meeting, under the auspices of State Charities Aid Association (New York), is to be held on May ist, at Chickering Hall, to commemorate the removal of over 2,000 insane persons from the poor-houses of the State, and the completion of legislation in their behalf, whereby, after a contest of four years dura-tion, the poor-house system of caring for the insane has been abolished, and the State as-sumes henceforth the entire charge and main-tenance of her dependent insane. The sup-port of the community is also to be asked for other reforms undertaken by the Association, and among the speakers will be Ex-President Grover Cleveland, Bishop Henry C. Potter and Joseph H. Choate, Esq. In future, the Meteorological Reports will be prepared by the Agricultural Experiment Station. Through the kindness of Dr. H. B. Battle, Director, the Agricultural Experiment Station has volunteered to furnish these reports each month, and as the number of Stations re-porting will be increased about fifty per cent., and the proof of the tables revised by the Agricultural Experiment Station, this part of The Bulletin will be much more valuable than heretofore. This Board acknowledges the courtesy of the Experiment Station with thanks. An Epidemic of " Small Parks " is invited for the city of Boston, as we learn from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, which says: "A committee of the Boston City Gov-ernment gave a hearing last week on the peti-tion of Robert Provan, M. D., and others, that the city set apart a few open spaces in the tenement districts, from half an acre to two acres in size, which would furnish spaces for recrea-tion and sports." Review of Diseases for April, 1891. Bronchitis — Reported from Jones, Pitt, Rowan, Sampson and Stanly—5 counties. Chicken Cholera—From Wilson. Chicken-Pox—From Greene and Warren — 2 counties. Diarrhoea—From Columbus, Edgecombe, Rowan, Stanly and Union—5 counties. l6 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Diphtheria —From Cherokee, Randolph, Stokes and Wake—4 counties. Distemper—From Mitchell, Pitt, Stanly and Vance—4 counties. Dysentery—From Alamance, Greene, Moore, Onslow, Randolph and Wilson—6 counties. Hog Cholera—From Pitt, Randolph, Robe-son and Wilson—4 counties. Hydrophobia {in domestic animals)—From Sampson. Influenza {La Grippe)—From Alamance, Caldwell, Caswell, Chatham, Cleveland, Cum-berland, Gaston, Guilford, Halifax, Jones, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Rowan, Sampson, Stokes, Union and Wilson—20 counties. Malarial Fever—From Cumberland, Greene, Guilford, New Hanover, Sampson and Stanly 6 counties. Malarial Fever, pernicious—From Frank-lin, Greene, Pitt and Stanly—4 counties. Measles—From Cabarrus, Cherokee, David-son, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Lincoln, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Randolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Union, Wake, Warren, Watauga, Wilson and Yancey—2g counties. Mumps—From Jones, Onslow, Tyrrell, Wake and Yancey—5 counties. Pink-Eye (horses)—From Randolph. Pneumonia—From Caldwell, Caswell, Cum-berland, Guilford, Jackson, Jones, Nash, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Sampson, Swain, and Wil-son— 13 counties. Rheumatism—From Caswell, Orange, Pitt and Randolph—4 counties. Roseola—From Halifax. Scarlatina—From Richmond and \Vake — 2 counties. Sciatica—From Orange. Staggers [horses)—From Randolph. Tonsilitis—From Halifax. Typhoid Fever—From Columbus, New Han-over, Northampton, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly and Tyrrell—7 counties. Varioloid—From Bertie (this county has no Board of Health, and this case was reported by the Superintendent of Northampton). Whooping-Cough—From Cabarrus, Cleve-land, Johnston, Lincoln, Moore, New Han-over, Northampton, Randolph, Rowan, Samp-son, Stanly, Union, Watauga and Yancey — 14 counties. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for April, 1891. (thirteen towns.) IVhite. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 44,014 38,112 83,126 Aggregate deaths 33 64 96 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 9.0 18.8 15.0 Deaths under 5 years old, 19 Causes of death. Typhoid fever i i Malarial fever o I I Measles o i i Pneumonia 6 4 10 Consumption 4 11 15 Brain diseases o i I Heart diseases 34 7 Diarrhceal diseases 01 i All other diseases 8 18 26 Accident and violence 04 4 Still-born 3 5 8 24 51 75 Raleigh, unclassified. g 12 21 Total 33 63 96 Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for April, 1891. Alamance—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. In-fluenza has been the prevailing disease, but it is subsiding rapidly. Dysentery has also been prevalent to a limited extent. The sanitary condition of the county is fair. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. There has been no epidemic of any importance during the month. The general sanitary con-dition of the county is good; that of the pub- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 1/ lie buildings is about as last reported, and there are no efforts at improving it. Alleghany—No Board of Health. Anson—V)x. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beaufort.—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown. No report. Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Y)x. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—V)x. R. S. Young, Concord. An epidemic of whooping-cough has prevailed throughout the whole county, and there have been eight cases of measles reported. The sanitary condition of the county aud public buildings is good. Caldwell—V)x. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. La Grippe has prevailed in all parts of the county. La Grippe prevailed during the first half of the month, causing some pneumonia and other sickness of a serious nature. The last half of the month was unusually healthy. The sanitary condition of the public buildings about the same. Camden—No Board of Health. Caswell—Dt. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Pneumonia, remittent fever, rheuma-tism and influenza have prevailed in all por-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good, as also that of the pub-lic buildings. The jail has been nicely washed inside since the last report. Catawba—Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton. No report. CAat/iam-Br. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. La Grippe has prevailed in all portions of the county. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Poor-house and jail are in good condition. CAerokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been reported eleven cases of measles and one of diphtheria. There has been but one death in our county during the last month. The foundation for the new court-house is being laid. The jail is in bad condi-tion, but there are no inmates at present. CAocvan-Dr. R. H. Winborne, Barnitz. No report. C/aj'—No Board of Health. Cleveland—Dr . O. P. Gardner, Shelby. La Grippe has prevailed in some parts of the county, and there has been some whooping-cough. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Columbus—Dr. Isaac Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. There have been reported two cases of typhoid fever and a few of diarrhoea. The sani-tary condition of public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. No report. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. La Grippe, pneumonia, catarrhal and malarial fevers have prevailed during the month, with a few cases of bowel troubles. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—T)x. R. L. Payne, Lexington. Measles has prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; that of the public buildings unchanged. Duplin—Dx. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. There is little or no sickness in the county. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good. DurAam—Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. Measles has prevailed in this town. The sani-tary condition of the county and public build-ings is good. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. Measles has prevailed in all parts of the county. With this exception, and a little diarrhcea, the sanitary condition of the county is good. That of the public buildings is good. ForsyiA—'Dx. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report Franklin— Dx. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Measles of a mild type has prevailed in sev-eral portions of the county. There has been reported two cases of pernicious malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the county and pub-lic buildings is very good. i8 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Gaston— Tir. E. B. Holland, Dallas. Measles has prevailed in some parts of the county. A few cases of La Grippe of a mild form also exist. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-rate. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville—Hx. J. M. Hays, Oxford. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A sub-stantial work -house is in course of construction, and the court-house will be rebuilt soon. Greene—Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Malarial fevers and dysentery have prevailed in the county. There have also been reported two cases of chicken-pox and one of pernicious malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The health of the county has been very good, considering everything. We have had quite a number of cases of measles and pneumonia and some malarial troubles. La Grippe re-ported from the southern portion of the county. Sanitary condition of the public buildings very fair; some improvements needed in the jail, but nothing as yet has been done. Halifax—Dr. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Rose-ola and tonsilitis have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. The health of the county has been very good; influenza has prevailed to a considerable extent—a few cases have been violent. Public buildings are in good condi-tion. Harnett—^o Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson. No report. Hertford—'^o Board of Health. Hyde—'No Board of Health. Iredell—Dx. M. W. Hill, Statesville. There have been reported twelve cases of measles. There has been no sickness of any consequemce in April, the sanitary condition of the county being fine. There is no change in the sanitary condition of the jail or poor-house since the last report. The construction of the jail is such that it cannot be improved easily. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. Six cases of measles have been reported, also four cases of pneumonia. The sanitary condi-tion of the county and public buildings is good. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Measles, whooping-cough and bowel troubles have prevailed in these sections. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—Dr. C. B. Woodley, Trenton. In-fluenza has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There has occurred some pneu-monia and bronchitis. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Mumps has also been reported. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed to some extent. There have occurred no other diseases that are dangerous to health. The sanitary condition of the county is good. McDowell—Dr. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal aflections have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. We have had a few cases of the prevailing epidemic, but, with this excep-tion, the health and sanitary condition of the county have been unusually good; that also of public buildings. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. No report. Madison—No Superintendent of Health. Martin—Dx. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. No report. Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—Dx. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. In-fluenza has prevailed, and there jhas been an epidemic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county is good, there being now less sickness than I have known for the past ten years. I have just made a visit to the poor-house, and found it and the inmates properly kept, though there was some sickness among the inmates. Other public buildings are in fair sanitary condition. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, [.\sbury. The county is in a healthy condition, there being but very little sickness of any kind. I BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 19 cannot get the doctors of the county to report to me as they ought. The jail is in bad condi-tion; the other public buildings tolerably good. Moore— Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles and whooping cough have prevailed in every part of the county. The sanitary condi-tion of the county is very good at present. There have been ten or twelve deaths from measles and whooping-cough, and two or three from dysentery, but only a few cases of the last have been reported yet. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings is now good. Nash—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Spring Hope. Measles has prevailed in various sections of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. With the exception of measles and a few cases of pneumonia we have had no sick-ness during April. Our public buildings are in good sanitary condition. Neiv Hanover—Dr. F. W. Potter, "Wilming-ton. About forty-five cases of measles, one of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is moderately good, with the exception of the prevailing epidemic of La Grippe. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. There are some venereal diseases and malarial troubles in the jail. Northanipton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. About twenty cases of whooping-cough and two of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is good. A contract has been given for an $S,ooo jail, to be built on modern ideas of sanitation. A case of varioloid occurred in Bertie, about eighteen miles from Roxobel. I suppose it has been reported. Onslow—Dr. J. L. Nicholson, Richlands. During the first half of the month La Grippe was quite prevalent over the county. Measles reported from various sections. There have occurred ten cases of mumps and a few of dysentery. The jail is well kept and ventilated. The poor-house, with no improvement, still re-mains in bad condition. Orange—Dr. C. Parris, Hillsboro. A few cases of measles have occurred and catarrhal troubles have prevailed in all portions. Leav-ing out the cold, wet weather of this month and the endless amount of muck and mud, the sanitary condition is fairly good. Catarrhal troubles, rheumatism and sciatica have pre-vailed. No deaths in our town for this month. Some slight improvements are to be made at the poor-house. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender—Dr. S. S. Satchwell, Burgaw. The sanitary condition of the county has improved and is improving. Our people are acting more on the truths of sanitary science in re-gard to drinking water, food, drainage, etc. They seem inclined to war against the causes of malaria and other diseases. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—Dr. B. T. Cox, Redalia. Pneumo-nia, bronchitis and La Grippe have prevailed, but not so extensively as last month. Hog cholera and distemper among horses still linger in a few localities. The sanitary con-dition of the count)' is good. A mild form of acute rheumatism and one case of pernicious malarial fever have occurred. The overseer of^the Home for the Aged and Infirm has been ordered by the Commissioners to move upon the place that he can look after the wel-fare of the inmates more closely. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. No report. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. There have been reported thirteen cases of pneumonia, sixteen of measles, nine of whooping-cough, one each of diphtheria and typhoid fever, and two of cholera-morbus. There has been an epidemic of staggers and pink-eye among horses, and cholera in hogs. My doctors report well, I think. Out of less than twenty-five regular practitioners I have eight nice reports for April besides my own. This is, I venture to say, away over the aver-age. The individual reports show that the senders are interested in this matter. Further, these reports are an interesting study, e. g., one doctor reports eleven cases of pneumonia as having occurred in his practice during the month; another says "measles, La Grippe diXid. 20 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. pneumonia" are the prevailing diseases in his practice. Notice that pneumonia is coupled with measles and La Grippe. That doctor has his eyes open! Another says " two cases of puerperal fever from midwifery practice." You see our doctors have quit talking about such cases as having "took cold," or "eat something they orten to." We are on the up-grade. Rheumatism, dysentery, catarrhs and insanity are reported. I have seen a typ-ical case of acute purulent pleurisy. The poor-house is in first-rate fix, only too crowded. The jail is in first-class order, and reflects much credit on Mr. Rush, the jailer. Richmond—Yix. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. No report. (We have indirectly heard of twelve cases of scarlatina.) Robeson—Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Measles has occurred. There has been an epidemic of hog-cholera. The sanitary con-dition of the county is very good ; that of the public buildings is fair. The court-house is to be improved very shortly. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan— Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in this town. There has been very little sick-ness in a general way. Two reports received from other doctors show whooping-cough, eight cases; pneumonia, eleven cases; typhoid fever, i case ; many cases of La Grippe, bron-chitis, diarrhoea, etc. The public buildings are in good sanitary condition. The inmates are well fed and cared for, and there has been but little sickness except La Grippe. Rutherford—V)r. W. Thompson, Cliffdale. No Report. Sampson — Dr. H. A. Stevens, Clinton. There has been an epidemic of hydrophobia among domestic animals, I have to report a few cases of malarial fever, bronchitis and pneumonia. Measles, whooping-cough and influenza are very prevalent. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good. That of the jail as before reported; no improvement. Stanly—T>x. P. Whitley, Plyler. There have been reported ten cases of measles, forty of whooping-cough, two of typhoid fever and one of pernicious malarial fever. Diarrhoea and bronchitis have prevailed. There has been an epidemic of distemper among horses. There are a great many boggy places in the county, due to so much rain, and now, with dry weather, they have become stagnant and are fruitful sources of disease. We have had more mala-rial fever than usual in April. Public buildings are as reported last month. Poor-house is in very good condition; nearly all the paupers have been sick, but not due to defects in sani-tation. Stokes—Dr. W. V. McCauless, Danbury. Measles and La Grippe have prevailed in most parts of the county. Four cases of diphtheria have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county has been very good; that of the public buildings is fair. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. L. Davis, Bryson City. The sanitary condition of the county is better than for several years. No sickness of importance — only one case of pneumonia reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as good as can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Mumps has prevailed in this township, and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is bad. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. A few cases of La Grippe and whooping-cough have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the county is generally good. Other than the above there have been no diseases except measles and diarrhoea. Sanitary condition of poor-house good ; jail bad. Vance — Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. There has been an ep'demic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. Jas. McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported nine cases of mumps, four of measles, and one each of scarlatina and diphtheria. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as it can be ; also that of public buildings. Warren— Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. Chicken-pox and a few cases of pneumonia, BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 21 also a few cases of measles, have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public build-ings is very good. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in the eastern part of the county. The jail and poor-house are both in first-class condition ; also the county generally. Wayne—Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good ; also that of the public buildings. Wilkes—^o Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. There has been in the county a continuance, more or less, of La Grippe. Five cases of pneumonia reported in all parts of the county. There is some dysentery. Measles is on the wane except in the western part, where it seems to be on the increase, with some very severe cases. Cholera in hogs and chickens reported. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is good. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. No report. Yaticey—Dr. J. L. Day, Burnsville. Measles, whooping-cough and mumps have prevailed in in many parts of the country. The sanitary condition of the county is not very good at present. The jail needs covering, and there is talk of doing it soon. The poor-house is nearly finished. 22 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltlou of Jails and Poor-houses by BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 23 Couditlou of Jails aud Poor-lionses l>y Counties for 24 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltlou of Jails and Poor-Iiouses l»y Counties for BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLNTA BOARD OF HEALTH. 25 nieteorolog^ical Suitiiuary for Blorth Carolina, April, 189X. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service* H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrman, Meteorologist. STATIONS. Asheville Bakersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas. Franklin Hendersonville. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington Lenoir Morgan ton Mt. Airy Oak Ridge Pittsboro Raleigh Southport Southern Pines.. Salisbury Weldon "Washington "Wilmington TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). s ID a o 58.0 51.6 61.2 60.9 57.7 544 56.5 57.5 57.2 58.5 57.5 59.5 55.9 58.2 57.6 59.6 62.0 62.6 62.0 58.7 61.0 62.1 01 J3 ho 84 30 SO 85 87 86 88 79 84 86 85 82 86 85 84 87 85 79 89 84 85 86 82 16 20 30 30 18 30 19 19 30 20 30 30 19 18 19 20 20 20 20 19 20 a C 66.5 64.3 72.0 73.0 70.8 68.7 65.2 66.3 69.8 69.0 66.4 68.8 . JJ9 68.8 68.5 66.9 70.1 69.0 75.1 69.6 69.2 24 28 28 31 33 28 34- 29 72.5 33 70.1 .% a a 23 26 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Mortuary Report for April, 1891. TOWNS BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., /"/vj.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D.,... Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D.,.. Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD,.M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., ...Winston. Thomas F. Wood, RL D., Secretary and Treastirer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. JUNE, 1891, No. 3. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for May, 1891. Alamance—Dr. Geo. W. Long, Graham. The sanitary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has about subsided. Catarrhal dysentery prevails to a limited extent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as usual—probably somewhat improved. Could be greatly improved at the poor-house if the authoiities wrould employ some efficient help for the Superintendent, who is not able to do it all. Alexander—T)x. J. j[3. Walts, Taylorsville. There has been very little sickness during the month—only one case of typhoid fever and numerous mild cases of intestinal trouble. • There still exists an epidemic of distemper among horses. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is about as last reported, and there are no efforts to improve it. The sani-tary condition of ihe county remains very good. Ashe—No Board of Health. Alleghany—No Board of Health, Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. Newton Robinson, Elizabeth-town. No report. Brtinsiuick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. B. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have occurred about thirteen cases of whooping-cough. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Caldwell—Dr. A. A, Kent, Lenoir. There lias been an epidemic of distemper anions horses. l"he general health of the county is better than usual at this season ; very few cases of cholera-morbus or cholera in-fantum. Camden—No Board of Health. 28 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Carteret— Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead City. The general sanitary condition of the county is very satisfactory. Measles has oc-curred. Our jail has been lately repaired, and is in satisfactory condition. The court-house is old but comfortable. Cas-Mcll—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Dysentery and rheumatism have pre-vailed. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. The rain-fall has been unusu-ally large for the last month. The sanitary condiion of the public buildings is good. Catawba—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. The health of the county has been excellent. There has some dysentery occurred. The jail and the poor-house are in good condition. Che7-okee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There have been reported about fifty cases of measles and one of typhoid fever. With the exception of a few cases of dysentery and two or three of flux, this county has been very healthy. Measles is mild in type. The jail is in bad condition—neither clenn nor well ven-tilated. I take it, the more filth the greater should be the ventilation. The new court-house is in rapid progress, and, it is said, will be second to none in the State for sanitary completeness. Cho'cvan—No Superintendent of Health. Clay—No Board of Health. Cleveland— Y)u O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The general sanitary condition of the county is very good—better than usual at this season of the year. Colutiibiis—Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. There has occurred one case of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Diarrhoea of a mdd form has prevailed to some e.xtent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Berne. Measles, mumps and whooping-cough have been quite prevalent. The sanitary condition of the county and that of the public buildings i< giod. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayetteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Bowel diseases and malarial troubles have been the prevailing diseases during the month. Sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Currituck—No Board of Heal h. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Measles has prevailed in scattered portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county IS very good, but could be made almost perfect by proper drainage. This is much neg-lected, but the people each year are learning to appreciate its necessity. No change in the public buildings since last report. Davie—No Board of Health. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kcnansville. No report. Durham—Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. Measles has prevailed. The health of the county has been quite good. Arrangements are being made for the erection of a m.ore suitable house for the poor. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. Dysentery has prevailed in all portions of the county, and of very obstinate character, not yielding to treatment. With this exception, the sanitary condition of the county is good. That of the public buildings is good. The jail is new. Forsyth—Y)x. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg Measles has prevailed in many portions of the county. Dysentery and other bowel troubles prevail to quite a considerable extent—gener-ally of a mild type. The sanitary condition of the public buddings is good; ihere is rarely a case of sickness in either jail or poor-h u^e. Gaston—Dr E.B Holland. Dallas. Measles, whooping-cough, typhoid fever and pneu-monia have prevailed in paits of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and pub-lic buildings is good. Gates—No Board of Health. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 29 Graham—No Board of Health. Granville— T>x. J. M. Hays, Oxford. Chicken-pox has prevailed. The sanitary con-dition of the county is good. Greene—Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Two cases of measles have occurred and dysentery has prevailed. The general sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. H. Michaux, Greensboro. We have had considerable diarrhoea and dys-entery; also some malarial fevers and a few cases of typhoid. In general, there has been very little sickness in town or county. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Halifax— Dr. A. B Pierce, Weldon. Dys-entery and infantile diarrhoea have prevailed. The health of the county has been good. No change i 1 the condition of the public buildings. Harnett—No Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. The health of the county has been generally good; no contagious diseases or epidemics that I have heard of. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford—'i^o Board of Health. Hyde—No Board of Health. Iredell—Dr. M. W. Hill. Stalesville. Measles has been epidemic, and diarrhoea, dysentery and pernicious malarial fever have oc-curred. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; that of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is not so good, nor can it be. The court-house needs ventilation; more than many cases heard there, perhaps. Jackson—Dr. J. M. Chandler, Diilsboro. The sanitary condition of the county never was better. Three cases of typhoid fever and one of haemorrhagic malarial have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Johnston— Dt. L. L. Sasser, Smiihfield. There have been reported twenty cases of measles and one of typhoid fever. The sani-tary condition of the county is very good; also that of public buildings. Jones—No Board of Health. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Crouse, Lincolnton. No report. Macon—Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. Four cases of measles have been reported. La Grippe has prevailed everywhere. The sani-tary condition of the county is good. La Grippe has prevailed to an alarming extent, and a good number of deaths have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Martin—Dt. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Three cases of typhoid fever have been re-ported. Diarrhoea and dysentery have pre-vailed in all portions of the county. I have unofficial reports of scarlatina in the upper part of the county. Some mild cases of ma-larial fever have been reported. Have heard of no fatal cases of diarrhoea or dysentery. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. The buildings will be whitewashed and the grounds limed at once. McDowell—\)x. J. H. Gilkey, Marion. Catarrhal affections have prevailed in some por-tions. The health and general sanitary con-dition of the county have been unusually good during the past month, having had only a few cases of bronchitis and bronchial catarrh. Sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good, Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell—V>x. E. C. Smith, Bakersville. The sanitary condition of the county is better than at any time for the past len years. With the exception of a few cases of measles of a mild type, we are having no sickness. Both alms-house and jail are kept in a healthful con-d. tion. There are yet a few cases of La Grippe-in the county. Distemper prevails among; horses. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, AsbuV^. No report. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA B;)ARD OF HEALTH. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. Measles has prevailed in different parts of the county; it is subsiding now. Dysentery and diarrhcea are somewhat prevalent now, but they are mild. Our public buildings" are in good sanitary condition. Nash—Dr. G. W. Lewis, Springhope. Measles has prevailed in divers parts of the county. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. In addition to measles, we have a few cases of utricaria, and one of purpura hsemorrhagica; also a few cases inter-mittent fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. New Hanover—Dr. F. W Potter, Wilming-ton. There have been reported twelve cases of measles, three of whooping-cough and three of typhoid fever, besides a few cases of La Grippe and a few of malarial fever, the last named disease being attended frequently with tonsilitis, especially among the whites. The jail is in good condition. The poor house, called "New Hanover County Home," is in tolerably good condition. Northampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. Onslow—Dr. J. L Nicholson, Richlands. A good many cases of measles have occurred. Our people have been more than ordinarily healthy during May. There has been some dysentery and a few cases of malarial fever. The jail is in good sanitary condition. The poor-house is bad. Orange — Dr. D. C. Parris, Hillsboro. Many cases of measles have occurred. Dysen-tery and diarrhoea have prevailed in all por-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good. The dysenteric dis-eases which have appeared up to this time, have been rather severe, but are amenable to treatment. The sanitary condition of both jail and poor-house is good ; that of other public buildings fairly good. There has been some cholera among chickens, but not epi-demic. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health." Pender— Dr. S. .S. Satchwell, Burgaw. There has been an epidemic of cholera among hogs. Bowel diseases have prevailed gen-erally. Many cases are severe, and in a few-cases fatal. Choltra-infaiitum is of a high order of severity. I find it, in its woise cases, complicated with malaria, demanding calomel and quinine in its early stages. Typhoid pneu-monia has prevailed, also lypho-malarial fever. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—T>r. B. T. Co.K, Redalia. Dysentery has prevailed in almost all portions of the county. Have had a few cases of hog and chicken cholera. The sanitary condition of the county has been better than in several months ; only two cases of pneumonia seen and a few cases of malarial fever and whooping-cough. There is a large building beirg erected for cooking and dining purposes for the aged. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. Acute peritonitis seems to have prevailed in several portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is not good, as there has been much bowel trouble, such as dysen-tery and diarrhoea. There is some little work being done on the jail. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. There have been reported eight cases of measles and one of pernicious malarial fever, with some La Grippe^ dysentery, rheumatism, bronchitis, pneumonia, and babies from differ-ent portions. Dysentery is the prevailing dis-ease and it is very general. The sanitaiy con-diion of the jail is good ; also of the poor-house, except it is too crowded. Richmond—Dr. J. M. Covington. Rocking-ham. There have been reported eight cases of whooping-cough, seven of scarlatina, and thiee of typhoid fever. Acute catarrhs and bowel troubles of mild type have prevailed in all parts of the county. The sanitary condi-tion of the county is good ; that of the home is good, and that of the jail improved. Robeson — Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Bowel affections have prevailed, and there have been some measles. There has been an epi-demic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 31 of the county is fair. Also that of the public buildings ; improvement of court-house de-termined upon. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Rowan—Dr. J. J- Summerell, Salisbury. Measles and whooping-cough, and their sequela, have prevailed in some sections. The sanitary condition of the county is about as usual at this time of the year. The pre-vailing diseases have been mild and less than usual. The jail and home are in good sani-tary condition. Rutherford—Dr. W. A. Thompson, 'Cliff-dale. The sanitary condition of the county is moderately good—not as good as it should be, as there are so many that know nothing of sanitation, and care less. The public build-ings are now in good sanitary condition. The jail is kept clean and nice, and the poor-house is also as clean as the quality of the buildings will permit. Sampson—D. J. A. Stevens, Clifton. The following diseases have been quite prevalent : Measles, whooping-cough, influenza, diarrhoea, dysentery, a few cases of malarial and one of typhoid fever. I have sent out blank forms to the county physicians, but they do not report. The county needs a new jail. The poor-house is well kept and is a credit to the county. Stanly—Xir. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. There have betn reported six cases of measles, ten of whooping-cough and five of typhoid fever. Typhoid fever, diarrhoea and bronchial troubles have prevailed in the western and north-western part of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is about as reported last month. In my practice there has been more diarrhoea and typhoid fever than usual in May. My reports are necessarily imperfect, because I cannot get the doctors to report. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good ; that of the jail is bad. I recommend that the commissioners adopt a better system of sewerage in the jail, and think that they will do it shortly. A building comm.ittee has been appointed for the new court-house. Stokes—Dr. W. Y. McCauless, Danbury. Acute entero-colitis and measles have prevailed in several sections. One case of diphtheria has been reported. The sanitary condition of the county has been good ; also that of the public buildings. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—Dr. R. L. Davis, Bryson City. There has been no sickness in the county except a few cases of diarrhoea—mostly among children. The sanitary condition of the pub-lic buildings is about as good as it can be. Transylvania—No Board of Health, Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Dysentery and mild bowel diseases have pre-vailed. The sanitary condition of the county was remarkably good, there being but very little sickness. Poor-house is in good condi-tion, the jail bad. The county is now prepar-ing to build a new jail. Vance— Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Measles, whooping-cough and dysentery have been the principal troubles. The sanitary con-dition of the public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. Three cases of scarlatina have been reported. The sanitary condition of county and city is only moderately good. So much rain has fallen that the usual spring policing has been inter-fered with. All the public buildings are in good condition. Warren — Dr. P. J. Macon, Warrenton. No report. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. No report. Wayne—Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have been several cases of dysentery, but it could hardly be called an epidemic. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wilkes—No Board of Health. Wilson—Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. In the western part of the county measles is again reported with complications. Intes-tinal troubles are prevalent all over the county, but of mild type. .Skin diseases reported from one locality, and a great deal of neuralgia from 32 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. another. Cholera among hogs and and chickens is reported from the western part of the county, and in the same section pneumonia. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is being greatly improved; that of the jail and poor-house is only fair. Efforts are being made to improve the sanitary condition of the town. Yadkm—Dr. T, R. Harding, Yadkinville. No report. Yancey—Dr. J. L. Ray, Burnsville. Many cases of measles and whooping-cough have been reported. The sanitary condition of the county is very good at present. The jail is not kept clean, and needs covering; there is some talk of doing it soon. Poor-house just fin-ished. Summary of Mortuary Statistics for May, 1891. (thirteen towns.) IVhite. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population . 43,214 37,712 80,926 Aggregate deaths 58 57 115 Temporary annual death-rate per r, 000 16. I 181 17. I Deaths under 5 years old, 42 Causes of death. Typhoid fever I O I Malarial fever 01 I Pneumonia 41 5 Consumption 8 13 21 Brain diseases _ 3 2 5 Heart diseases 31 4 Neural ic diseases 44 8 Diarrhoeal diseases.. . 8 6 14 All other diseases 23 19 42 Accident and violence 03 3 Suicide 10 i Still-born 3 7 10 58 57 115 Review of Diseases for May, 1891 Bronchitis—Was reported from McDowell and Randolph—2 counties. Chicken-Pox—From Granville. Chicken Cholera—From Orange, Pitt and Wilson—3 counties. Cholera Infantum—From Caldwell and Pender—2 counties. Cholera-morbus—From Caldwell. Diarrhcea—From Columbus, Cumberland, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Martin, Moore, Orange, Pender, Polk, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Swain and Wilson — 17 counties. Diphtheria—From Stokes. Distemper—From Alexander, Caldwell and Mitchell—3 counties. Dysentery—From Alamance, Caswell, Ca-tawba, Cherokee, Edgecombe, Franklin, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Martin, Moore, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Sampson, Tyrrell, Vance and Wayne—21 counties. Hog Cholera—From Pender, Pitt, Robinson and Wilson—4 counties. La Grippe—From Macon, Mitchell, New Hanover, Pender and Sampson—5 counties. Malarial Fever—From Cumberland, Guil-ford, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Pitt and Sampson—7 counties. Malarial Fever (hcsmorrhagic)—From Jack-son. Alalarial Fever {^pernicious)—From Iredel and Randolph—2 counties. Measles—From Carteret, Cherokee, Craven, Dividson, Durham, Franklin, Gaston, Greene, Iredell, Johnston, McDowell, Mitchell, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Ran-dolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Vance, Wilson and Yancey—26 counties. Mumps—From Craven. Pneumonia—From Gaston, Pender, Pitt Randolph and Wilson—5 counties. Rheumatism—From Caswell and Randolph ��� 2 counties. Scarlatina—From Martin, Richmond and Wake—3 counties. Typhoid Fever—From Alexander, Chero-kee, Cleveland, Columbus, Gaston, Guilford, Jackson, Johnston. Martin, New Hanover, Richmond, Sampson and Stanly—13 counties. Typho- Malarial Fever—From Pender. Whoopin^-Cough—From Cabarrus, Craven, Gaston, New Hanover, Pitt, Richmond, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Vance and Yancey — II counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 33 Coiiditiou of Jails and Poor-Uouses by Counties for Olay, 1891. 34 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condition of Jails and Poor- BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, 35 Couditioii of Jails and Poor- 36 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. meteorolosrical Summary for Biorth Carolina, 9Iay, 1891. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service. H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrmann, Meteorologist. STATIONS. Ashevllle Baliersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas Franklin Henderson vi He.. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington Lenoir Morganton Mount Airy Oal£ Ridge Pitlsboro Raleigh Southport , Southern Pines. Salisbury Weldon Washington Wilmington TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). e3 5*^ a o C2.8 56.0 65.4 66.2 63.2 60 61.9 61.6 61.8 64.4 62.6 63.0 61.4 63.2 63.2 64.5 67.4 67 5 67.1 64.4 66.2 676 A s 85 83 90 95 93 87 82 81 91 91 84 88 89 88 90 90 82 93 87 89 90 85 s a a; 72.8 68.4 76.3 78.2 78.5 75.9 70.2 69.1 73.9 75.7 70.9 73.3 73.9 74.6 73.8 74.5 75.0 82.1 75.2 11 75.1 78.0 I 36 76.3 41 a S3 a a .51.6 43.5 54 6 54.3 47.8 41.0 56.1 55 7 49.8 53.1 55.6 55.2 48.9 51.8 52.7 54.5 59.9 52.9 69.2 53.6 54.5 58.9 bo g Ci! 51 60 52 61 63 65 41 36 60 58 44 51 61 55 56 52 42 56 45 55 54 44 21.2 24.9 21.7 23.9 30.7 31.9 14.1 13 4 24.1 22.6 15.3 18.1 25.0 22.8 21.1 20.0 15.1 29 2 16.0 21.5 23.5 17.4 a s a 4) c o ft '3 u Oh O 68.6 71.0 68.2 846 4.23 4.85 7.58 8.75 8.10 75.5 70.1 84.6 70.0 77.7 74.8 3.58 2.97 8.07 7.8S 5.10 4.59 6.48 8.26 7.00 9.24 2.24 11.08 6,05 9.34 6.14 1.03 No. OE BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 37 Mortuary Report BU LLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Pres.,.^&\em. R. H, Lewis, M. D., ..Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D., Fayetteville. W. D. HiLLiARD, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D., Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., . Winston. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer, Wilmington. Entered at the post-ofifice at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. JULY, 1891. No. 4. Election of Superintendents of Health. For the benefit of those interested, we will give our interpretation of the amendment to the laws regulating the election of County Superintendents of Health. The law was amended some four years since by making the day for this election the Jirsi Monday in September, instead of the first Monday in January, as it was before. At that time we wrote to the Attorney General, asking his opinion as to the time the newly elected Superintendents should take their office, and sent out to each Superintendent in the State a copy of his letter, and an explanation of it. Then there were some incumbents who had been elected until the first Monday in January, the terms of some expiring in 1887 and others in 1888, and the circulars sent out were to explain when their successors should assume the office. As the term of oiifice is only two years, there are at present no Superintendents in office whose term does not expire either the first Monday in next September or the first Monday in Sep-tember of 1S92; for there can have been no legal election since the passage of the amend-ment except on the first Monday in September, Of course any county can hold a meeting for the purpose of organizing a Board of Health at any time, and may elect a Superintendent at that meeting, but he must be considered as elected to fill an unexpired term, and his suc-cessor must be elected on the first Monday in September next following, We hope that the officers who may be elected next September may, whether they be old Su-perintendents re-elected, or new men, take hold of their work with the determination to make the State Board more useful even than it has been. Having no executive powers the Board must depend entirely, or almost so, for its use-fulness on the energy and faithfulness of the Superintendents, and while we are sorry to be able to say so, there are a very great many of them who might show more interest in the work of the State Board, and not have to put themselves to much trouble either. The generality of the reports received at this office are meagre in the extrem-^; and there are some who do not fill out that part of the report that refers to the 40 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. condition of the inmates of the jail and poor-house at all. while others content themselves with " See last report," or " No change since last month," or some other similar phrase that is a little bit easier than finding out just what the facts are. Even if the conditions one month are the same as they were the preceding month, this report should be filled out each month, that at the end of the year a summary of the year may be made up. Again there are some that tell of no sickness during the month at all, simply because there did not happen to be an epidemic of some contagious disease. We desire the nature of the prevailing diseases, no matter how simple they may be. It is very important to have this, if our statistics of the diseases prevailing in different counties at different seasons of the year are to be of any value. All this has not been written to complain, for we know against what lack of interest and co-operation on the part of the profession some of our reporters have to strive, but to give a hint to those who are desirous of improving the State Board that will show them how they can help us. For the Bulletin. The Hygienic Importance of Forests. BY PROF. E. EBERMEYER. The popular idea that the air of forests is especially favorable to health on account of the greater amount of oxygen in it, is a complete error. The average per cent, of oxygen in for-est air is actually less than that in the open land. The error is easily seen when one con-siders how little oxygen the forest produces, in comparison with the quantity taken up by men and animals. It has been calculated that the quantity of oxygen given oS by one hectare (2'^ acres) of forest would supply only a single household of four persons. It is not to any surplus of oxygen, but to its greater purity, that forest air owes its hygienic value. It is free from smoke or soot, and from injurious gases and vapors. Moreover, it is poorer in bacteria than city air is. Bacterio-logical researches by Serasini and J. Arata show fhat the leaves of trees act as a filter, and by this means purify the air from spore-laden dust and micro-organisms. Furtherq;iore, the climatic conditions which forests cause and con-serve are of hygienic importance. The protec-tion against the heat of the sun and against strong winds, more especially damp northerly winds and hot paiched sirrocos, which easily produce inflammatory diseases; the greater constancy of the temperature, and, finally, the greater amount of ozone in forest air, fully account for its sanitary reputation. The soil of a forest has a very important influence upon the dissemination of health-injuring fungi and bacteria. The consider-able amount of moisture held by woodland soil, and the comparative smallness of its val-uation; its acid character caused by free humic acid; the difficult decomposability of its so-called raw humus; the relative poverty of wood-humus in nutritive matter, and the considerably lower temperature of shaded soil, are the char-acteristic peculiarities of forest soils, against which the poorly resistant pathogenic micro-organisms can make little headway. Indeed, as has been shown by numerous experiments, pathogenic bacteria, as Bacillus cedematis tualigni, and B. scepticus agrigenus, which in manured soil remain alive, or even increase abundantly, in forest soil completely fail. Epi-demic diseases, like cholera, yellow fever, malaria, and others, are not wholly absent from wooded territory, but their virulency has certainly been lessened by planting forests. — Translated from the German by Gerald McCarthy. The Third Biennial Report of the Board of Health is in hand, and will be mailed to anyone in the State making applica-tion to this office. They have not been mailed to Superintendents of Health, because there were a number for distribution at the meeting in Asheville, where many of the Superintend-ents secured copies. I will be glad if those who were not present at the meeting, or failed to secure a copy of the report, will let us know, that a copy may be sent them. And I hope all Superintendents will study this report closelv, and see wherein, by making fuller and more accurate reports, they can assist the Sec-retary in making the next report better. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 41 Summary of Mortuary Statistics for June, 1891. (fourteen towns.) White. Col'd. Total. Aggregate population. 44,814 38,112 82,926 Aggregate deaths 68 77 I45 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 18.2 24.2 21. 1 Deaths under 5 years old, 76 Causes of death. Typhoid fever 3 3 ^ Malarial fever 02 2 Diphtheria... 2 2 Whooping-cough i 2 3 Measles. 03 3 Pneumonia o 44 Consumption 5 7 12 Brain diseases i I 2 Heart diseases 4 g 13 Neurotic diseases 25 7 Diarrhoeal diseases 26 18 43 All other diseases 17 19 36 Accident and violence 23 5 Still-born... 527 68 77 145 Review of Diseases for June.. 1891 Cerebrospinal Meningitis—From Pender. Cholera (ho^s)—From Chatham, Nash, Pen-der, Randolph, Rutherford and Tyrrell— 6 counties. Cholera-infantiim—From Iredell, McDowell and Randolph. Cholera-morbus — From Caldwell, Iredell and Randolph—3 counties. Diarrhoea—From Duplin, Edgecombe, Hali-fax, Iredell, Martin, McDowell, Mitchell, Orange, Pender, Sampson, Union, Vance and Wayne—13 counties. Diphtheria—From New Hanover. Randolph and Wake—3 counties. Disteinper {horses)—From Randolph. Dysentery—From Alexander, Caldwell, Cas-well, Chatham, Cleveland, Duplin, Greene, Halifax, Iredell, Lincoln, Martin, McDowell, Nash, Orange, Pender, Randolph, Sampson, Vance, Warren, Wilson and Yadkin—21 counties. La Grippe—From Greene, Macon and Orange—3 counties. Malarial Fever—From Caswell, Duplin, Greene, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Pender, Sampson and Wilson��12 counties. Malarial Fever, pernicious—From New Hanover and Randolph—2 counties. Measles—From Alexander, Carteret, Ca-tawba, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, John-ston, Lincoln, Mitchell, New Hanover, Orange, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Samp-son, Vance, Warren, Watauga, Wayne and Yancey—21 counties. Mumps—From Duplin and Tyrrell — 2 counties. Pink-Eye {horses)—From Rutherford. Scarlatina {unofficial)—From Martin, Typhoid Fever—From Alexander, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Colnmbus, Gaston, Greene, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Martin, Mitchell, Montgomery, New Hanover, Pen-der, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Tyrrell, Union, Wake, Wilson, Yadkin and Yancey—27 counties. Typhoid Pneumonia—From Gaston. Typho-Malarial—From Orange. Whooping-Cough—From Catawba, David-son, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Mitchell, New Hanover, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Samp-son, Warren, Watauga, Wayne, Wilson and Yancej-—16 counties. Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Hea/tf) for June, 1891. Alamance—Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. There has been no epidemic among people or domes-tic animals. The work-house is poorly ven-tilated. Alexander—Dr. J, B. Watts, Taylorsville_ There have been seven cases of typhoid fever reported during the last month; it was of very 42 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. mild type. Measles prevails in epidemic form in certain parts of the county. Dysentery has prevailed very extensively. The sanitary con-dition of the county is only tolerably good; that of the public buildings is about as last re-ported. Alleghany—No Board of Health. Anson—Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Ashe—No Board of Health. Beaufort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Berlie—No Board of Health. Bladen—Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown. No report. , Brunswick—No Board of Health. Buncombe—Dr. H. C. Weaver, Asheville. No report. Burke—Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus—Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. The sanitary condition of the county has been good; also that of the public buildings. Caldzvell—Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. There have been two cases of typhoid fever reported. There have also been a few cases of dysentery and cholera-morbus, but generally the health of the county has been good for the season of the year. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is fairly good; no efforts at improve-ment. Camden—No Board of Health. Carteret—Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead. Measles has been reported. The sanitary con-dition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Caswell—Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Dysentery and malarial fever have pre-vailed. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings is also good. Catawba—Dr. J. H. McCorkle, Newton; Dr. J. C. Whiteside, acting. Typhoid fever, whoop-ing- cough and measles have prevailed in some portions of the county. The genera] sanitary condition of the county and poor-house is good; that of the jail is as good as could be expected. The jail is being enlarged. Chatham—Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro_ Dysentery has prevailed in some sections of the county. Hog cholera in one section. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; also that of the public buildings. Cherokee—Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. The health of this county is indeed fair; no epidemics to my knowledge. There is no effort to improve the public buildings, except the erection of a new court-house. The jail is more cleanly kept at present. Chowan—No Superintendent of Health. Clay—No Board of Health. Cleveland—Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. Typhoid fever and dysentery have prevailed in different portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Coluftibus — Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. There have been ten cases of typhoid fever reported. The sanitary condition of the county is fairly good. We are having more typhoid fever than usual; it has been the prevailing dis-ease, and outside of that there has been but little sickness of a climatic character. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Craven—Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Bern. No report. Cumberland—Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayetteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good; that of the public buildings tolerably good; no efforts at improvement. Currituck—No Board of Health. Dare—No Board of Health. Davidson—Dr. R. L. Payne, Jr., Lexington. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed in scattered portions of the county. The sani-tary condition of the county and the public buildings is unchanged since last report. Duplin—Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. Dysenteiy and diarrhoea have prevailed during the month of June. There have been some BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLNA BOARD OF HEALTH. 43 cases of malarial, intermittent and remittent fevers, and a few cases of mumps. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good, and there has been no sickness among the inmates except a few cases of the prevailing disease. Durham—Dr. N. i\L Johnson, Durham. The sanitary condition of the county for the month of June has been good, there being no epidemic save measles. The condition of the public buildings is healthful. Houses for the paupers and prisoners are being erected of brick. Edgecombe—Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There have been reported five cases of measles. Diarrhoeal diseases have prevailed in some sec-tions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Forsyth—V>x. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin—Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. As far as I can learn, the sanitary condition of the county is very good. There have been several cases of typhoid and typho-malarial fevers, but not much besides. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good; improvements made as demanded. Gaston—Y)x. E. B. Holland, Dallas. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There have been cases of typhoid fever, typhoid pneumonia and bowel complaints among teeth-ing children. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is first-class. Gates—No Board of Health. Graham—No Board of Health. Granville— T)x. J. ^L Hays, Oxford. The health of our county at this time is unusually good. Gree7ie—Y)x. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. Mala-rial fever has prevailed with a few cases of typhoid fever. La Grippe and dysentery. The general sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Guilford—Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The sanitary condition of the town and county is first-rate; very little sickness. A few cases of bowel trouble and some little malarial fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good as respects the jail—no effort being made towards improvement in that quarter; but I am indeed happy to state that the Com-missioners have ordered the erection at the poor-house of a house for the care of the incur-able insane, a thing most truly needed. Halifax—Vix. A. B. Pearce, Weldon. Dys-entery and infantile diarrhcea have prevailed in many sections of the county. The sanitary condition of the county has been good, only the diseases peculiar to this season have pre-vailed. No improvement in the condition of the public buildings since last report. Jail remarkably free from disease. Poor-house filled with disease of all grades and forms inci-dent to poverty, filth and bad morals. Harnett—No Board of Health. Haywood—Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson—Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford—^o Board of Health. Hyde—'^o Board of Health. Iredell—V)x. M. W. Hill, Statesville. Measles has beer, epidemic, and there have occurred a few cases of whooping-cough and three of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county was good. The above, with malarial fever, dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera-morbus and infantum, have been the prevailing dis-eases. Nothing is being done looking to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the public buildings; they are in their usual condi-tion. Our jail cannot truthfully be called a comfortable summer resort. Jackson — Dr. J. L. Candler, Dillsboro. The general health of the county has been some better than for May. Entirely free from the the usual epidemics. An average amount of rain and even temperature. Johnston—Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Malaria and gastro-mtestinal troubles have pre-vailed. There have been reported ten cases of measles, eight of whooping-cough and one of 44 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Jones—No Board of Health. Lenoir—No Board of Health. Lincoln—Dr. W. L. Grouse, Lincolnton Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in and around Lincolnton. The health of the county has been very good until the last few weeks. We have had dysentery among the children, and there have occurred a few cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. All the public buildings are sufficient for the demands made upon them. The sick of each should be allowed more money, that they might be better fed. Macon—V)x. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; no epidemic except La Grippe. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Madison—No Board of Health. Martin—Dr. W. H. Harrell, Williamston. Dysentery and diarrhoea have prevailed in several portions. There have been some typhoid and malarial fever reported. Unofficial re-ports of scarlatina come from the upper part of the county. The sanitary condition of the public builings is good. McDowell—Dr. J. H, Gilkey, Marion. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings is good. Diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera-infantum have prevailed extensively in town and country, but have had little other sickness. Mecklenburg—No Board of Health. Mitchell— Dr. C. E. Smith, Bakersville. Summer diarrhoea has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There have been re-ported two cases of measles, two of whooping-cough and one of typhoid fever. There is now considerable sickness in the western part of the county. The sanitary condition of the jail and poor-house is good. The keepers are doing their best to keep them in a sanitary condition. Montgomery—Dr. F. E. Asbury, Asbury. There have been reported five cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very good at this time. We are now taking steps to improve the conditiion of the jail. We wish to increase the ventilation, although the health of the inmates is good. Moore—Dr. Gilbert McLeod, Carthage. No report. Nash — Dr. G. W. Lewis, Springhope. Dysentery and remittent fever have prevailed in different portions of the county. Hog cholera has been epidemic in the southern part of the county. The general sanitary condi-tion of the county is good. Except the above, we have had no sickness during the month. Jail and poor-house are in good condition. Our Commissioners are making some improve-ments at the poor-house in the way of new buildings. Ne-v Hanover—Dr. F. W. Potter, Wil-mington. There have been reported fi.ur cases of measles, fourteen of whooping-cough, one of diphtheria, nine of typhoid fever and one of pernicious malarial fever. Bowel complaints have prevailed in nearly all portions of the county. There is a good deal of malarial fever in the county, especially on or near the sea-shore. I fear that unless the poor-house and house of correction can be kept dry, sick-ness will result. As a vast amount of exca-vating had to be done for a foundation for these buildings, in heavy rains water sometimes oozes up. There is not much sickness now, nor (I am glad to say) has there been during the month. I mentioned to the authorities dangers that might arise if not properly drained, and an effort was made to reack that end; but after heavy rains I notice the water oozes through the cement covering the lower floor or basement of the poor-house. Mr. Bagg was notified of the fact before the contractor, Mr. Allen, left the city. The hospital has no room fitted up for medicines, etc. Mr. Bagg was also notified of that fact in time, and I have no doubt was assured by the contractor that it would all be attended to. The two cisterns connected with the poor-house are built to con-tain two hundred barrels each, but, according to my calculations, they do not hold so much. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 4$ Northampton—Dr. H. W. Lewis, Jackson. No report. Onslow—No Board of Health. Orange—V)x. D. C. Paris, Hillsboro. There have been some cases of measles. Dysentery and diarrhoea have prevailed in all portions. La Grippe, typho-malarial fever, together with the above named diseases, have prevailed. Otherwise, the sanitary condition of the county has been good. That of the public buildings is fairly good. I have to report a case of triplets born to a colored couple. There were three normal placenlre, and the births seem to have been normal. All did well for ten days, when one of the infants died, evidently from the lack of hygiene. Pamlico—No Board of Health. Pasquotank—No Board of Health. Pender— Dr. S. S. Satchwell, Burgaw. Cholera has been epidemic among hogs. There is a gradual improvement in the county in the application of sanitary measures. June has been dry and hot, but the general health of the county has been fairly good. Malarial and typhoid fevers have prevailed to some extent, but not of a high type. Bowel diseases of children unusually severe, with some fatality. Cerebro-spinal meningitis has extensively pre-vailed, and has been very fatal. Perquimans—No Board of Health. Person—No Board of Health. Pitt—'Dr, B. T. Cox, Redalia. No report. Polk—Dr. Henry Shankle, Mills' Spring. No report. Randolph—Dr. J. W. Long, Randleman. Whooping-cough and dysentery have been abundant. There have been reported twenty-nine cases of measles, seven of typhoid fever, two of diphtheria, ten of cholera morbus and infantum and two of pernicious malarial fever, though I doubt these last. There has been cholera and distemper among the domestic animals. The sanitary condition of the jail is good; that of the poor-house is tolerably good. Richmond—V)x. J. M. Covington, Rocking-ham. I have to report thirty-six cases of whooping-cough, seven of measles and four of typhoid fever, as well as dysentery of a mild type. The sanitary condition of the county is as good as usual; that of the public buildings, except the jail, is good also. Robeson — Dr. R. F. Lewis, Lumberton. Measles has prevailed in some sections, and I also have to report some typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is very fair; also that of the public buildings. The contract has been given for the improvement of the court-house. Rockingham—No Board of Health. Ro'van—Dr. J. J. Summerell, Salisbury. Measles, whooping-cough and typhoid fever have prevailed in Salisbury and other portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is fairly good; no epidemic since the Grippe, and mild epidemics of whooping-cough and measles. There are some summer bowel diseases, especially among the children who had or have whooping-cough or measles. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is fairly good. Rutherjord—Dr. W. A. Thompson, Cliff-dale. There have been two cases of typhoid fever, both fatal. There may have been others, but these are the only ones heard of. Cholera among hogs and pink-eye among horses have been epidemic. The sanitary condition of the county is very good, as we have natural drain-age. That of the public buildings is not as good as it should be. Sampson—Dr. J. A. Stevens, Clinton. The sanitary condition of the county is fair. Measles, whooping-cough, diarrhoea, dysentery and ma-larial fevers are the prevalent diseases. I have seen also three cases of typhoid fever this month. The sanitary condition of the jaiJ is not as good as it should be, but the Sheriff has promised me to have it attended to. Our poor-house is well kept, and its sanitary condi-tion excellent. Stanly—V>x. D. P. Whitley, Plyler. No report. 46 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Stokes—Vr. W. V. McAuless, Danbury. No report. Surry—No Board of Health. Swain—No Board of Health. Transylvania—No Board of Health. Tyrrell—Dr. Ab. Alexander, Columbia. Mumps has prevailed in this township. One case of typhoid fever has been reported. There has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the county is verj' good; that of the public buildings is bad; no efforts to improve it. Union—Dr. W. C. Ramsay, Monroe. The sanitary condition of the county is generally fair. There is diarrhoea in most sections of the county, and two cases of typhoid fever have been reported. The sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail bad. Vance— Dr. A. Cheatham, Henderson. Measles, diarrhoea and dysentery have been quite prevalent. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Wake—Dr. James McKee, Raleigh. There have been reported three cases of diphtheria and two of typhoid fever. The sanitary con-dition of the county is excellent; no epidemics of any kind during the past month. The sanitary condition of all the public buildings is very good. Warren— Dr. J. P. Macon, Warrenton. Dysentery, whooping-coagh and measles have prevailed in all sections. The sanitary in-spector visits each premises twice each month. Washington—No Board of Health. Watauga — Dr. W. B. Councill, Boone. Some fifty or more cases of measles and whooping-cough have occurred. .These have prevailed in all portions of the county. The sanitary condition of the county is good in every way; also that of the public buildings. The new jail is in good order, with all the modern improvements. The poor-house first-class and well kept. Wavne — Dr. John Spicer, Goldsboro. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed in some portions of the county. Diarrhoea! disorders have also been prevalent. Sanitary condition of the county is good; also that of the public buildings. Wilkes—^o Board of Health. Wilson — Dr. Albert Anderson, Wilson. Dysentery is reported as very severe in the Elm City and Black Creek sections. There have been three cases of typhoid fever reported, and malarial fevers are prevalent. Two cases of whooping-cough reported, but there is a great deal of this in the county. There has been very great improvement in sanitary condition at the poor-house. The jail is about the same as last month. Yadkin—Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. I have to report typhoid fever in all parts of the county. Dysentery in mild form is pretty general. Sanitary condition of the public buildings about the same as for the two or three months past. Yancey—Dr. J. L. Ray, Burnsville. Measles and whooping-cough have prevailed, and there has been reported one case of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county is moder-ately good at present. The poor-house is not yet completed; preparation is being made to cover the jail. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 47 Coudltlon of Jails and Poor-houses by Comities foi 48 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Condltiou of Jails and Poor-houses by Counties fo BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 49 Coiidltiou of Jails and Poor- 50 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 51 Meteorological Sututnary for ^orth Carolina, June, 1891. Furnished by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and State Weather Service. H. B. Battle, Ph. D., Director. C. F. von Herrmann, Meteorologist. "3 bo a c3 > S-i STATIONS. TEMPERATURE (Degrees Fahr). c3 a> BO Asheville Babersville Charlotte Chapel Hill Douglas Franklin Hendersonville.. Kitty Hawk Littleton Lexington , Lenoir Morganton Mount Airy Oak Ridge Pittsboro Raleigh Southport Southern Pines.. Salisbury Weldon Washington Wilmington 71.7 b7.6 76.6 95 u.o 76.0 70 2 71.7 99 90 73.4 75.2 73.3 73.2 72.5 74.8 73.4 75.7 77.0 77.8 78.2 75.1 77.6 77.2 94 97 90 95 92 93 93 95 92 98 94 96 96 95 c 82.6 78.4 86.6 90.6 92.0 84.2 77.2 84.2 86.8 80.3 81.7 85.3 8.5.3 84.3 c 3 a 85.6 I 55 83.4 ! 62 91.1 55 85.1 61 85.6 55 88.3 85.5 27 9 8 9 1 8 11 I 9 1 8 6 1 1 60.5 56.4 665 64.5 61.0 56.1 67.8 62,7 63.6 67.7 67.3 59.7 64.2 62.5 65.8 70.6 64.5 71.2 64.7 67.0 68.8 39 44 39 44 48 48 27 42 46 32 37 42 39 41 40 30 43 33 41 37 So a pj 03 22.0 22,0 20.1 26,1 31,0 28.1 9,4 21.5 23.2 12,6 14,4 25.6 21.1 21,8 19.8 12.8 26.6 13.9 20.9 21,3 16.7 a S 59.6 71.2 78.4 o o o 84.9 80.6 74.0 2.75 2.66 3.77 4.61 4.00 1.40 3.50 No. OF Days 76.2 3,57 2,57 3,20 2,41 2,66 2.77 3,60 4,12 4,35 3,70 5,20 4,19 78.4 4.01 80.6 • 3.47 i 9 N. «& N.W. E. S, W. s.w. s, w. N. E, N, E. S,W. S.W, s, N, E. S.W. s. N. N, E, S. STATE METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR JUNE, 1891, From the N. C. State Weather Service. Mean Barometer 29.98 inches ; normal for June 30.02. Highe-st Barometer .30.28 inche.s on the 8th at Lynchburg, Va. Lowest Barometer 29.63 inche.s on the 18th at Raleigh. Mean temperature 7.5.4 degrees; normal for June 74.9 degrees. Highest temperature 102 on the 17th at Cheraw, S. C. Lowest temperature 42 on the 2d at Franklin. Average raiu-fall 3 39 Inches ; normal for June 4.64 inches. Greatest monthly rain-fall 7..SS inches at Chattanooga, Tenn. Least monthly rain-fali 1.40 inche.s at Franklin. Average number of cloudless davs 11. Average number of partly cloudv days 11. Average i.umber of cloudy days 8. Average number of rainy days 11. Prevailing wind direction. South-west; average hourly velocity .5.5 miles per hour. Prevailing direction from many years' observations. South-west; average hourly velocity 7.3 miles. The month was warmer and drier than usual and was favorable for growth of crops. ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC S0C1E5. CBAPa HILL, N. C. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH, Published Monthly at the Office of the Secretary of the Board, at Wilmington, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION FIFTY CENTS A YEAR. H. T. Bahnson, M. D., Fres.,. Salem. R. H. Lewis, M. D., Raleigh. J. M. Baker, M. D., Tarboro. J. A. Hodges, M. D., Fayetteville. S. Westray Battle, M. D., Asheville. J. H. Tucker, M. D.,.. Henderson. Prof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill, J. L. Ludlow, C. E., Winston. Thomas F. Wood, ^L D., Secretary and Treasm-er, Wilmington. Entered at the post-office at Wilmington, N. C, as second-class mail matter. Vol. VI. AUGUST, 1891, No. 5. At THE conjoint session of the Medical So-ciety of North Carolina with the North Carolina Board of Health, held in Asheville on the 27th of May, an election of members of the Board was held to fill the vacancies caused by the expiration of the terms of Drs. Thomas F. Wood and W. D. Hilliard. The ballot resulted in the reelection of Dr. Wood and the election of Dr. S. Westray Battle of Asheville, each for a term of six years. At a meeting of the Board, Dr. Thomas F. Wood was re-elected Secretary and Treasurer for a term of six years. A communication from the Governor an-nounces the reappointment of Dr. J. H. Tucker, of Fv derson; Mr. J. L. Ludlow, C. E., Win-ston, n-'. .Yof. F. P. Venable, Chapel Hill, as members of the State Board of Health for a term of two years. For the Bulletin. Typhoid Fever in the State. The reports this month from the County Superintendents of Health show typhoid fever to have been unusually prevalent during the month of July. There were reports received from fifty-one counties this month, and of these thirty-four reported typhoid fever. In several counties it seems to have prevailed to such an extent as to be epidemic. Notice the language of some of the reporters. Dr. J. B. Watts, of Alexander: "Typhoid fever has prevailed in all sections of the county; about thirty cases reported:" Dr. J. F. Abernathy, of Cherokee: "There were reported about forty-two to forty-five cases of typhoid fever during the month of July, with four deaths. The fever is still spreading, despite all antiseptic and hygienic precautions. It seems confined to the small water-courses." Dr. O. P. Gardner, of Cleveland: " Typhoid fever has prevailed in many portions." Dr. I. Jackson, of Columbus: "We have had more typhoid fever than usual." Dr. E. S. Foster, of Franklin: "Typhoid and typho-malarial fevers have prevailed dur-ing the summer in most sections of the county." Dr. J. L. Nicholson, of Onslow: " Many cases of typho-malarial fever reported." (Those under his care responded to Ehrlich's test for typhoid.) 54 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Dr. B. T. Cox, of Pitt: " Typhoid and mala-rial fevers have prevailed in many portions of the county, being virulent among the colored population." Dr. J. W. Long, of Randolph: "Typhoid iever has prevailed pretty extensively around E.andleman." Dr. D. P. Whitley, of Stanly: "Typhoid and malarial fevers have prevailed in various parts of the county; there have been eight cases in my practice." Dr. W. V. McCauless, of Stokes: "Dysen-tery has subsided and typhoid fever seems to have taken its place, and has been raging in a -very malignant form in the southern portions of the county." Dr. W. C. Ramsay, of Union: "This (ty-phoid) is the only disease .that has prevailed to any extent." Dr. T. R. Harding, of Yadkin: "Typhoid fever has prevailed in nearly all portions of the county; about fifty cases reported." Dr. T. R. Harding, in reply to special letter, makes the following report: Yadkinville, N. C, July ii, 1891. Thomas F. Wood, M. D., IVibnington. In my opinion the disease is epidemic. It commenced about May. IMortality more than usual. It is on the increase. Several cases occur in each family. Water supply is gen-erally well-water. I think that disinfectants and sanitary pre-cautions put a stop to the spread of disease. In certain localities the rain-fall has been very great, and I think that the disease is worse in these than where the rain-fall is less. There is a great neglect among our people to keep their wells in good condition, disinfect privies, pig-styes, etc. Will write you again in a few days. Would be glad to have one of your Board visit us; but think it would be useless unless you could pre-vail on the physicians and people to use more disinfectants, as we have a very rugged country, with a great deal of superstition and ignor- .ance among the people. Respectfully, T. R. Harding, Supt. of Health. The following is a copy of a second letter received from Dr. Harding a few days later. It is a little more extended report, and gives the answers of two physicians in the country to letters of inquiry sent them by Dr. Harding: Thomas F. Wood, M. D., Wilmington, Dear Sir: Yours of the nth inst. to hand. In reply will say that when I received yours of the 8th I immediately wrote to all the physi-cians in the county, ten in all, but as yet have only received two replies. In answer to your questions of nth will say: 1. The duration of disease is from fourteen to thirty-five days. 2. It does rot, in all particulars, follow the description given in text-books 3. We have the rose-colored eruption in about one-fourth of the cases; some of them in great numbers. 4. We have diarrhoea in about one-half the cases, and in some of them tenesmus. 5. The enlargement of the spleen is not a prominent symptom, but in a few cases it is very marked, with great pain in the region of the spleen. 6. We have stupor and delirium in about one-tenth of the cases, also severe rigors in a few cases. 7. About one in ten die. 8. Simultaneous in several localities, vary-ing from four to ten m.iles. 9. I do not think that I could class it as contagious, yet it seemed to be transmitted to other members of the same family; but I attrib-ute this to want of proper disinfection, it being almost impossible to have the stools, in bad cases, disinfected. Our people have never been taught the laws of hygiene and sanitation. 10. I think the local cause, if any, is from cellars, etc. We had a great deal of rain last spring, then just before the fever set in we had a three-weeks drouth. I have found cellars in most of the homes where the fever has occurred. My theory is that the epidemic is caused by the heavy rains washing into wells and springs filth from former cases, or the cellars getting water into them and then drying. About eighteen months ago I had nine cases of fever in one family, when there was not BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 55 another case in the county. Under this house was a cellar that had been first wet and then dry for some time, and contained debris of various kinds. As far as any investigation that I can make, I shall make no charge for it, as I feel it a duty I owe to my neighbors. I send you the replies that I have received from the physicians. I have had no new case in six days; have now under treatment ten cases, and have had about thirty cases since May 20th, with only two deaths so far. If you could make any suggestion from the history I write you for a course to follow, I would be glad to have it. Yours respectfully, T. R. Harding. JONESVILLE, N. C.,Aug. 12, 189I. Dr. Harding: In reply to your note of yes-terday, I will say that I have had only three cases of typhoid fever; one of these came from Winston sick; one, my son, who came from Asheville sick, and the other' lives in Wilkes County, five miles from Jonesville. The last case, I think, is a sporadic case, as there is no other case in the neighborhood. I have been called in cases in consultation in Wilkes, above Trap Hill, where I think the disease prevails as an epidemic. We have a fever here we do not consider typhoid, lasting only about two weeks; we call it " mongrel fever," as the type is not fully defined. The cases I have had so far have yielded nicely to treatment. I have used no disinfectants yet, but should if the disease prove an epidemic or contagious. Yours, etc., L. J. Baker. Cross-Roads Church, Aug. 13, 1891. Dr. T. R. Harding, Yadkinville. Sir: Your letter of inquiry to hand. In reply I would say I have eight cases that are generally diagnosed as cases of typhoid fever, though they do not fill the bill of true typical cases of typhoid fever, but rather that of typho-malarial fever. When I think necessary I use disinfectants. All my cases, with one or two exceptions, use, or have been using, more or less water from the same well. I have advised and insisted on cleaning out and around the well, but it has not been done as yet. There are, or have been, two cases in three families around this well. The disease, outside of complications, has been, up to date, a comparatively mild variety. The families generally that are sick have neither pig-pens nor cow-pens, consequently I don't disinfect. I have advised thorough cleaning around houses, springs, pens. etc. Yours very respectfully, W. S. Windsor, M. D. This last letter would show very conclusively that the well is at fault, as six of his cases occurred in three families around the well, and it would have been the proper course to have had the well not cleaned but dosed, for if the water be contaminated cleaning would hardly free it from the contamination. The family should be made to thoroughly disinfect every stool in cases of " typho-malarial," as well as plain typhoid fever, and the vessels should be emptied at such a distance from any source of water-supply that there can be no possible danger of its contaminating the drinking-water. Physicians cannot be too particular or too rigid in requiring their patients to carry out these safeguards, and he who neglects them is not faithful to the position he holds of physician and protector of the publfc health. Dr. Parker said in his letter he would use disinfectants if the disease becomes epidemic. This is the way it is the world over —wait until the horse is stolen to lock the stable-door. Why, the very idea of disinfectants is that they should be used in the early cases, and «o /?- vent ait epidemic. The disease seems to be epidemic in so many localities that the State Board is not financially able to send a committee into each district to search out the cause and character of the epi-demic, but must depend on the Superintend-ent of Health in those counties where it is epidemic, to investigate the matter, as far as they can, and make a report to this office. They can follow the line laid down in Dr. Harding's report. 56 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. As in the vast majority of cases where the cause of an epidemic of typhoid fever has been scientifically traced out, the contagion was found in the water used by the sufferers, we would urge upon the physicians, in those dis-tricts where the disease is common, the impor-tance of having the drinking-water, especially that from wells, boiled before being used. It can afterwards be readily cooled to the tem-perature of the other water, and can be aerated by pouring a few times from one vessel to another. Summary of Vital Statistics for July, 1891. (eleven towns.) White. CoPd. Aggregate population. 39,808 39,562 Aggregate deaths 61 69 Temporary annual death-rate per 1,000 18.4 24.6 Deaths under 5 years old, Causes of death. Typhoid fever 4 I Malarial fever 2 i Whooping-cough i o Pneumonia o 2 Consumption 5 6 Brain diseases 2 3 Heart diseases 6 5 Neurotic diseases 2 3 Diarrhceal diseases-. . 12 20 All other diseases . 24 23 Accident and violence i 2 Still-born 2 3 Total. 73,370 130 21.2 40 5 3 I 2 II 5 II 5 32 47 3 5 61 69 130 Review of Diseases for July, 1891 Bronchitis— From Wayne. Bilious Fever— From Randolph. Chicken Cholera— From Orange and Pender. Cholera-infantum—From McDowell, Samp-son, Stanly and Wilson — 4 counties. Cholera-morbus— From Iredell and Stanly. Consumption — From Caswell. Croup— From Raiidolph. Diarrhoea — From Craven, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Sampson, Stanly, Vance and Wil-son ��� 8 counties. Diphtheria — From Richmond. Distemper—From Alexander and McDowell. Dysentery — From Greene, Halifax, Pitt, Randolph, Sampson, Warren and Wilson — 7 counties. Cholera {hogs)— From Davidson, Duplin, Jackson, Moore, Pender, Robeson, Sampson and Wilson — 8 counties. Insanity— From Randolph. La Grippe— From Orange and Warren. Malarial Fever—From Alamance, Caswell, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gaston, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Iredell, Johnston, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pitt, Rich-mond, Sampson, Stanly, Warren, Wayne and Wilson — 22 counties. Malarial Fever {hcemorrhagic)—From Mont-gomery. Malatial Fever {pernicious) — From Ran-dolph. Measles— From Camden, Cleveland, David-son, Lincoln, Onslow, Orange, Richmond, Sampson, Vance, Wake and Warren — 11 counties. Pink-Eye {horses)—From Durham. Pneumonia — From Iredell and Orange. Pheumatism — From Caswell. Tonsilitis— From Randolph. Typhoid Fever— From Alamance, Alexan-der, Caldwell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Cleveland, Columbus, Duplin, Franklin, Gas-ton, Greene, Iredell, Johnson, Lincoln, Macon, McDowell, Montgomery, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Sampson. Stanly, Stokes, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Yadkin and Yancey — 34 counties. Typho - malarial Fever— From Franklin, Onslow and Orange. Whooping-Cough — From Catawba David-son, Iredell, Lincoln, Nash, New Hanover, Richmond, Sampson, Warren, Watauga, Yad-kin and Yancey — 12 counties. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. 57 Summary of Reports from County Superin-tendents of Health for July. 1891. Alamance— Dr. G. W. Long, Graham. Malarial fevers have prevailed to a limited extent, with a few cases of typhoid. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is fairly good. Alexander—Dr. J. B. Watts, Taylorsville. Typhoid fever has prevailed in all sections of the county, about thirty cases being reported. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. There has been an epidemic of distem-per among horses. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is not very good, although it is about as good as usual, and I am sorry to say there are no efforts at improvement. Alleghany— No Board of Health. Anson.— Dr. E. F. Ashe, Wadesboro. No report. Beatifort—Dr. W. A. Blount, Washington. No report. Bertie— No Board of Health. Bladen — Dr. N. Robinson, Elizabethtown^ No report. Brunswick— No Board of Health. Buncombe — Dr. H. B. Weaver, !^sheville. No report. Burke— Dr. J. L. Laxton, Morganton. No report. Cabarrus — Dr. R. S. Young, Concord. There have been reported twelve cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the public buildings*is good. Caldivell— Dr. A. A. Kent, Lenoir. The general health of the county is good. There have occurred a few cases of typhoid fever of a mild type; eight cases reported. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Camden — Dr. M. F. Arendell, Morehead City. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Measles has occurred. The public buildings are old but comfortable. Caswell— Dr. R. H. Williamson, Yancey-ville. Remittent fever, rheumatism and a few cases of consumption have prevailed. The general sanitary condition of the county is good. Also that of the public buildings. Catawba — Dr. J. M. McCorkle, Newton; Dr. J. C. Whiteside, acting. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Typhoid fever and whooping-cough have prevailed in some por-tions of the county. Sanitary condition of the poor-house is good; that of the jail is as good as could be expected. The jail is being enlarged. Chatham — Dr. H. T. Chapin, Pittsboro. The sanitary condition of the county is good. There has been a great amount of rain during the month. There have been reported ten cases of typhoid fever. The public buildings are in good sanitary condition. Cherokee— Dr. J. F. Abernathy, Murphy. There were reported about forty-two or forty-five cases of typhoid fever during the month of July, with four deaths. The fever is still spreading, despite all antiseptic and hygienic precautions. It seems confined to the small water-courses in the county. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good at present; there is no sickness among the inmates. Chowan— No report. Clay— No Board of Health. Cleveland— Dr. O. P. Gardner, Shelby. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Typhoid fever has prevailed in many portions. There has been also some measles. The sani-tary condition of the public buildings is good. Columbus — Dr. I. Jackson, Whiteville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. We have had more typhoid fever than usual; nine cases have been reported. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is very good. Craven — Dr. Leinster Duffy, New Bern. Intermittent and malarial fevers have occurred. Bowel troubles have prevailed in the city and county. The sanitary condition of the county and the public buildings is good. Cumberland— Dr. J. H. Marsh, Fayette-ville. The sanitary condition of the county is tolerably good. Also that of the public build-ings. Currituck— No Board of Health. 58 BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF HEALTH. Dare— No Board of Health. Davidson — Dr. R. L. Payne, Lexington. Whooping-cough and measles have prevailed in scattered portions. The sanitary condition of the county is better than usual at this sea-son of the year. There has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The condition of the poor-house is excellent. The jail (a large cage built inside of a large room) cannot be kept clean; allows inmates no room for exercise, and is altogether a disgrace to our civilization. Davie— No Board of Health. Duplin — Dr. J. W. Blount, Kenansville. There is a considerable amount of sickness in the county. The different types of malarial fever and several cases of typhoid fever. There has also been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the pubHc buildings is good, with very little sickness among the inmates. Durham — Dr. N. M. Johnson, Durham. The amount of sickness in the county for July has been little; taking on the usual and acciden-tal character. Pink-eye has prevailed to a slight extent among horses. The sanitary con-dition of the public buildings is good. Edgecombe — Dr. Donald Williams, Tarboro. There has been rain nearly every day during July. Malaria has prevailed in some portions. The sanitary condition of the county is very good. Forsyth — Dr. D. N. Dalton, Winston. No report. Franklin — Dr. E. S. Foster, Louisburg. Typhoid and typho-malarial fevers have pre-vailed during the summer in most sections of the county. It has been generally of mild type, and little fatality. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings is good, and such steps taken as are required to insure a health-ful state at all times. Gaston—V>x. E. B. Holland, Dallas. Typhoid and malarial fevers, with summer complaints among children, have prevailed. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Gates — No Board of Health. Graham— No Board of Health. Granville — Dr. J.' M, Hays, Oxford. No report. Greene— Dr. E. H. Sugg, Snow Hill. The sanitary condition of the county is, as usual, good. Malarial fever has prevailed, and several cases of typhoid fever and dysentery have occurred. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. No efforts at improvement. Guilford— Dr. E. R. Michaux, Greensboro. The general health of the county is fairly good. Of course we have some simple malarial fever; but the majority of our fevers at this time are of the so-called " pig-pen " type, in which quinine seems to exert no influence whatever; not much serious sickness though. The sanitary condi-tion of the public buildings was never better; but the jail is not in good condition as regards the privies, etc. There is no improvement, that I know of, except some at the poor-house. Halifax — Dr. A. B. Pierce, Weldon. Mala-rial fevers and dysentery have prevailed. There has been a disease among hogs that has assumed no name; it seems to be a wasting of the mus-cles. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. Harnett— No Board of Health. Haywood— Dr. R. L. Allen, Waynesville. No report. Henderson — Dr. W. B. Reese, Henderson-ville. No report. Hertford— No Board of Health. Hyde — No Board of Health. Iredell— Dr. M. W. Hill, Statesville. The sanitary condition of the county is good. Very little sickness of any kind; a few cases of typhoid and malarial fevers, measles, whooping-cough, cholera-morbus, etc. ; pneumonia has also been reported. I have nothing different from last month to report in regard to the sanitary con-dition of the public buildings. Jackson — Dr. J. M. Candler, Dillsboro. The sanitary condition of the county was never better; it is entirely free from epidemics; but there has been an epidemic of hog cholera. The sanitary condition of the public buildings is good. BULLETIN OF THE NORTH CAROLLXA BOARD OF HEALTH. 59 Johnston — Dr. L. L. Sasser, Smithfield. Malarial troubles have prevailed, and there have been reported four cases of typhoid fever. The sanitary condition of the county and public buildings ^s good. Jones— No Board of Health. Lenoir— No Board of Health. Lincoln — Dr. W. L. Grouse, Lincolnton. Whooping-cough, measles, and some typhoid fever, have prevailed. During the month of July there has been more sickness than usual at this season of the year. There has been one case of fever at the jail—the well has been cleaned and the jail overhauled and white-washed. No sickness at the poor-house. Macon — Dr. J. M. Lyle, Franklin. The sanitary condition of the county is very good; one case of typhoid fever reported. The sani-tary co |