Inherited Tendencies To Disease

The present srtiele is based on a valualile paper ly Dr. J. It. Black, n the Popular Science Monthly. Seventy thousand persons in America yearly die with conunjption, most of whom have ipherited the diseae. Vut nuuiliers inherit a tendency to rheuinatism, epilepsy, insanity, oancer, indigestión, migraine, neuralgia, Utkma. and to early lossof sight and hear ing. No other cause of' grief' and sufferiüg compares with that due to orgaoic defect hamled down trom pareut to child. Of our 40,000,000 of' people probably 26,000,000 ioherit somo constitutional defect. Hut hithertn little has boen done to arrest these tendencie?. Physicians are callcd only to the sick. On thecontrary, thosc who have inhorited tendencies to discaacare gonorally as careles. ot' thoir health as others, while, in the case of' those who already show the tendency, thoir friends are apt to ]iursue juöt tho course most likcly to strengthen it. Kor instance, a consutupti ve is shut out f'rom the out-door air and gentle execrise, though tboso are thcironly hope. Moreover, the wholc influence of' our social lift and practices encourage.s the t,fioughtlcs squandering of vital reserve. As a consequence, we are degQnerating U a people. The death-rate and birth-rate are steadily approximating. The difference is already less in New Kngland than in any country of Europe, France alone excepted. Vet there is no inherent difficulty in the way of extirpating hereditary diseases. Hygenic care would accomplish it - such care as can only come írom a medical expert, and such as we are all icady to ïesort to in acute discases. Able physicians have thus been able to extírpate tubercular consumption f'rom themselves, their families and descendant..