HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 76

HEALTH COLUMN.

Great is Quinine. —One of the Mo3t Valued Drugs Known to Medicine. — Speaking of quinine as the 'hief among all drug?*, Dr Singub H. Gorlach, of Bombay, India, said that quinine io one I of the most valuable of all drugs known to medical science. ! "No one would venture to travel in India without it,"' said Dr Gerlach. "Before its discovery two million people died annually in India of malarial fe\er. The mortahty from this cau«e is now le=s than half that number. The poor people so pooi that they looked upon the fe\er «•> ihen fate, and expected no rohof. are *aved by the agency of quinine. England could not keep her European soldiers in India without it. _ j "Livingstone and other travellers in j Central Afi ica could never have made their j discoveries' without its aid. It ife taid of the great (iorman explorer, Schweinfurth, that °w hen he lo=t ln> ent-r" p^p^rty b : fire— valuable in«i «><>. ir^ jiwi i. tho tc-t — ho f( U tlir 10-> <- i-.- iiul.i' •' o by the tjieaUist of all, ano j..> v ! .<jug' '

with fear of the journey that lay before him, which, however, he persevered in. "The whole world k indebted to the cinchona tree, from which quinine is made. Who could have . foretold that .this tree, ai native- of the 1 mountainous forests of South America, would be^f 6UJ&- i/nposanoe in the. advance otxa«llfea^onxanVlGfir*tianity? = ~ "Otfe of^ie^ra%^|S«gs abqus quinine jj£±h%t iL. is- nor-ased aa a medfeSßgb in the -practice of the native-«hysiciasav«f Peru, Ecuador £ 6rcC&tamb|i£. |The najJca Indrans ' did hot"* even Itnow^of its curajpw powers .until enlightened- by- the Spantytijfs about 250 years*ago. ." * ".. jjjijjC •* r'iAs v means-'of giiardirig- 'the ajfeffem. from intermittent . feye*r, .the- Ipngpn^f naval regulations require thslL every pji*£fc should tak« fc"ptofH©n'"of whenjj&he ship -.is within ;a .certain jdistaaioe east or west coast of Africa, And. theJtpt should be jegiilaxly taken y by-. those engaged in boats cruising alon|r_iSi^ig£w?ts" or on the riverg ox creeks/"-T^S^a|Jjtt^.--Post.