Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1910. SCIENTIFIC SIDELIGHTS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9594, 4 February 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1910. SCIENTIFIC SIDELIGHTS.

lii glancing through a number of The Hospital—not a very recent number, by the way—we were struck by the suggestion contained therein that the Quakers, as a rule, are more immune from cancer thau most other sects, or indeed than the majority of the human race. Statistics of life insurance companies, aud vital statistics in general, demonstrate that the increase in deaths resulting from cancer is not so large among Quakers as among those not belonging to the Society of Friends. Now, it may be asked what is the difference between the Quakers and the rest of the world in connection with the theory that Quakers are less prone to attack by cancer than other people. It has been proved, so it is contended, that in men suffering from cancer it is the digestive tract which almost exclusively suffers. Further, this tract suffers much less iv women. The theory is therefore deduced that men have in recent times, with increasing frequency, been taking something into their mouths which is causative of cancer. What, then, is there that men take and women do not take; that men largely indulge in, but Quakers do not? The reply suggested is, beer and tobacoo ! It is also contended that the introduction of gas as an illuminaut, and the consequent supply of gasworks' coke as an article of commerce, have beeu coincident with increased prevalence of cancerous disease. Thus, almost all beer has come to contain arsenic in variable and usually quite insignificant quauti-

ties, but sometimes in such as are distinctly injurious. It is by no means improbable that the same thing has been going ou in reference to kiln-dried tobacco. Then there is "chimney-sweepers' cancer," said to be caused by the local irritation of arsenio contained in soot. A contributor of another medical magazine maintains that tho fact that neither coal dust nor wood ashes would cause cancer has long been recognised. Neither charcoal burners nor coal minors aro liable to soot cancer. Its subjects are chimuey-sweopers,stokers, gardeners, and others who come in contact with coal soot, which contains largo quantities of arsenic; aud the condition of skin winch it produces iv chimney-sweepers corresponds with that which occurs occasionally resulting from tho too long coutiuued medicinal uso of arsenic. The belief is also gouerally hold that the habit of smoking is productive of cancer, enough it lias not beeu conclusively demonstrated that it is tho presence of arsouie in tobacoo that is influential. Cn tho other hand again, it was demonstrated in a recent article taken from an English magazine of acknowledged literary merit that cancer is principally found among tho refined, tho educated, tho intellectual, and the highly civilised sections of tho community and national races of men. We rather apprehend that tho real causes of cancer remain undiscovered. We believe it is an acknowledged fact that, as a race, tho Jews suitor only

in a very minor dogroo Irom cancer, aud that oases of that dreadful scourge of humanity aro, comparatively speaking, rare among those who adhere closoly to the marvellous sanitary provisions proscribed by tho Mosaic law. Is there any connection, tlieu, between a scrupulously careful meat diet, excluding pork altogether, and a marked immunity from the ravages uf cancer? It may bo that there is a relation betweon arsenic aud cancer ;it may bo that iudulgenoo in beer and tobacco tend to cause the sproad of cancer; but tho fact remains uudisputod, so far as wo have been ablo to ascertain, that among Quakors aud Jews, two sects that are proverbial in their modes of living, caueer is of phenomenally rare occurrence. We record these matters as mdieatious of some of the lines of thought, in connection with the spread of cancer, which are at present engaging people's minds, iv connection with a scourge of humanity that, it is asserted, claims more victims annually than almost auv other ill to which human flesh is heir.