The climate of the island of Madeira, or the errors & misrepresentations on this subject contained in a recent work on climate by T.H. Burgess, M.D. : considered in a letter addressed to George Lund, M.D. / by James Mackenzie Bloxam.
- Bloxam, James Mackenzie.
- Date:
- 1855
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The climate of the island of Madeira, or the errors & misrepresentations on this subject contained in a recent work on climate by T.H. Burgess, M.D. : considered in a letter addressed to George Lund, M.D. / by James Mackenzie Bloxam. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![Gourlay adds,— Yet still thougli so Myhly heneficial in this disease toith the natives of other countries, it is not to be concealed, that no malady is more prevalent here than phthisis with the natives of the island. p. 90. According- to Dr. Burgess, Dr. Heineken and Dr. Gour- lay both agree respecting the prevalence of consumption amongst the natives of Madeira. But Dr. Heineken dis- tinctly tells us that he does not agree, since he writes as follows :* It has been asserted that no malady is more prevalent here than phthisis [the word used by Dr. Gour- lay] with the natives of the island ; but, as far as my own personal experience and the result of my inquiries go, / incline to a contrary conclusioii!! ! Such of my readers as may not have Dr. Gourlay's and Dr. Heineken's paj)ers at hand, may find their opinions stated in Sir James Clarke's well-known work on climate, 3rd edit., p. 264-5. Let us now examine the nature and value of Dr. Mason's corroboration. At p. 107, he gives an extract from a work by the late Dr. Webster, the title of which is not mentioned.t The passage quoted by Dr. Mason concludes thus:— The temperate and uniformly dry atmosphere of Madeira is on many accounts to be pre- ferred by the invalid. Although the climate of St. Michael's cannot be safely recommended to consumptive persons, it is, nevertheless, rare to see this disease in a native; but in Madeira, as appears from the observations of Dr. Gourlay, no disease is more common Dr. Mason then states that he has quoted this passage particularly with reference to the part of it which shows the general prejudice respecting the dryness of Madeira, the erronc- ousness of which, he says, is demonstrated by experiment. * The London Medical Repository. Vol. ii, p. 12. t The above-named is the Dr. Webster who was convicted of the murder of Dr. Parkman, in the Laboratory of the Medical College of Boston, in November 1849. The body was partly destroyed by fire and by chemical agents. This event, which excited so nuich interest at the time, can scarcely be yet forgotten.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22279969_0059.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
