Diarrhea and Dysentery from Impure Water.  -- the instances of outbreaks of these two diseases from contaminated water supply are very numerous, and probably most persons can recall examples of this kind.  The impurities which produce diarrhea and dysentery are suspended earthy matters, such as are found in most river waters after a rain; suspended animal and vegetable material; salty thing chlorides of Lyme and Magnesia, and nitrate of ammonia and of lime.  Besides the numerous outbreaks traceable to direct sewage contamination, there are several instances recorded of indirect poisoning the water supply from this source, as in the following curious case.

Just as a note about the style of writing or documentation, this paragraph seems to be unnecessary as a stand alone topic.  Instead it is basically a transition paragraph, yet the author chooses to use it as a stand alone sub topic instead of just using it to work his way from one topic to a very slight tangent in the next topic.  This would again seem to reflect the author’s possible motivation for not only being paid by the word but also with a stipend for important bolded topics.  This surely does not seem to be practical like following a guide on replacing coilovers in a car or fixing a plumbing problem, and it must have driven some readers nuts as they used this book in semi-emergencies looking for the answer to serious problems only to be distracted by useless sections like this.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Spring- and Well-Waters
  
  

  Spring- and Well-Waters.– Spring- and well-waters are almost always more or less impregnated with the soluble ingredients of the earth and rocks through which they pass, and are therefore sometimes very unsuitable for the ordinary ones of life. As a general rule, they are colder than other waters, although hot springs are found in various parts of the world, some with a temperature as high as the boiling point.

   

  Now unlike the last section, the section actually seems to describe one of the categories that has fallen into the varieties of water section. That said, the author does seem to mix and match two different categories together by combining springs with Wells. The obvious difference here is that a spring is natural and a well as to be done by a person. The author also doesn’t seem to take any consideration as to what might heat a spring, and from that perspective you once again have two doubts the scientific inquiry that has taken place within this section, like you might doubt a doctor prescribing legal steroids to a person is uninjured and planning on competing in the Olympics.

• Blood Supply of Arm
  
  

  On the right arm we obtain a glimpse of the blood supply of the arm; we see the brachial artery giving off numerous branches, and observe the radial and ulnar arteries doing the same thing; thus securing ample nourishment to preserve the health, strength and beauty of the arm.

• Bed Bugs
  
  

  Bed Bugs.–The bedbug is a small but plainly visible ovoid-shaped bug, giving off a peculiar nauseous odor. It is of a reddish brown or rusty color with some discoloration on the abdomen and is furnished with a puncturing or sucking apparatus. The eggs are tiny white oval bodies. As many as 6 to 50 batches are laid in cracks of beds, furniture, picture frames, wall paper, crevices of woodwork, floors, etc. Each batch of eggs develops in from 6 to 11 weeks, and several batches may be hatched in a season. One generation succeeds another as long as the temperature remains sufficiently elevated.

  Not exactly the type of thing that many people worry about much in the twentieth century a hundred years after the writing of this article, but these pests are possible in modern times from foreign countries to Mediterranean cruises to homes and beds that are infested accidentally or through neglect.

  They hibernate during cold weather, during which season the insect is merely stupefied and renews its activities upon the return of warm surroundings. It is found in the dwellings of man, but other species of the same family have been found upon birds, as the common chimney swallow, pigeons and bats.

  The bedbug comes out at night and begins to bite and annoy. It conceals itself very cleverly and quickly in the day time or when surprised by a sudden light at night. It lives on the blood of man particularly, but can exist on food of other insects. It thrives best on filth and in old houses can keep alive without food for a year.

  Bedbugs are said to transmit smallpox. There is a possibility of their carrying the germs of typhoid fever and leprosy, but this fact has not been proven as yet. The bite is poisonous to some individuals, resulting in inflammation at the seat of the bite. This is supposed to be due to the same secretion which gives the characteristic nauseous odor.