A handbook of medical climatology : Embodying its principles and therapeutic application with scientific data of the chief health resorts of the world / By S. Edwin Solly.

  • Solly, S. Edwin (Samuel Edwin), 1845-1906.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A handbook of medical climatology : Embodying its principles and therapeutic application with scientific data of the chief health resorts of the world / By S. Edwin Solly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    In this desert of rubbish there are, nevertheless, bright oases of truth and reason, such as are to be found in the writings of Weber, Hirsch, Jourdanet, Lombard, Vivenot, Rohden, Copland, Davidson, Denison, Yeo, the Williamses (father and son), and others. Iu choosing a health-resort for a given case it is not sufficient to select a locality the merits of which have been most loudly and persistently exploited by its advocates. That which the investigator discovers to be at once his chief necessity and his chief difficulty is the institution of a close comparison of weather from actual facts; therefore, accurate meteorological tables of comparison have been, as far as the limited data allowed, prepared for this treatise. Unfortunately, meteorological data concerning many resorts are non-existent, incomplete, or scanty; and without a sufficient knowl- edge of these facts no real estimate of the climate can be made. As an illustration, the Adirondack region, so justly prized as a breathing-space and playground for the sick and weary of the Atlantic seaboard, is a melancholy example of neglect in meteoro- logical accounting by the stewards of that noble heritage. Official reports, such as those of the United States Weather Bureau, are used when obtainable regarding any of the localities mentioned, and are supplemented by reliable reports of local observers, and much correspondence has been entered into to gain fresh knowl- edge. Admirable as is the work of the United States Weather Bureau, unfortunately, through the misguided frugality of Congress, much valuable material has had to be omitted from the reports of the health-stations of the United States of America. The humidity- observations have not been taken at all at some resorts, and in no case have they been frequent enough during the twenty-four hours to allow of ascertaining accurately the comparative condition of the air with regard to moisture throughout both the day and night. This defect has been remedied as far as possible in these pages. For instance, by working the problem out, even with the imperfect material at hand, something is done to reconcile the conflicting assertions frequently made about the coast climate of Southern California, one being that the climate is dry, and the other that it is damp. Careful study of the meteorological material available shows that the term moderately dry can usually be applied to the midday hours, but from about sundown to about 10 a.m. the adjective damp is correctly applicable.
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