AMERICAN SILK. [JULY Sir-Your readers will have probably observed the notice taken by Mr. Ewart, the ex-member for Liver. pool, (in the House of Commons, on the 15th of February,) of the first importation of raw silk from the United States of America; and, likewise, a paragraph in the Times, of the 24th of February, on the same subjecta subject of sufficient importance to render a more detailed account interesting, to the numerous readers of your widely circulating journal. part of our members can prevent their being realized From the (London) Mechanics' Magazine of April, 1831. we may look forward to our next stated meeting, as one of peculiar interest; as forming a new era in our hitherto somewhat obscured progress. Many of our members will have obtained considerable knowledge of the particular subjects to which they have respectively devoted their chief attention. This knowledge they will be prepared to communicate, and explain by reference to well known objects, or to preserved specimens of those which are more rare, or have been less subject to common observation. We ask in conclusion, to impress upon those of our members particularly, who have imposed on themselves the honorable obligation, of starting forward in the race of science, that to them we look for the fulfilment of our flattering hopes-that diligence and attention will ensure success, and that their reward is sure. To our distant friends, who have taken an interest in our establishment, we would express our grateful thanks. From several we have received liberal donations and encouraging advice. Jacob Pierce and Peter A Browne, Esq. of Philadelphia-Joseph J. Lewis, Esq. of West Chester; Jacob Wagner, of Easton, and James Worth, and Froman Manson, of this county-are particularly entitled to remembrance and notice in our catalogue of the patrons of science in the best possible mode of pa tronizing-by active and liberal assistance in aid of the means of becoming acquainted with nature's works, from the works themselves. Highly valuable presenta tions of specimens have been received from each of these gentlemen, and from Mr. Brown especially, we have derived much of the knowledge we have attained towards placing a proper value on the articles in our possession. The desire to become acquainted with the natural productions of our country, which is manifested in various places, owes much of its force and intensity to the patriotic labors of this distinguished citizen--but we are aware that we should be doing injustice to his deserts, were we to ascribe this impulse as the chief benefit of those meritorious efforts. A yet greater public service is done by giving that impulse the most favourable direction for the accomplishment of its object, and we yet hope the day will arrive and that right speedily, when this direction will be generally pursued, and the study of the natural sciences, aided by ample collections of natural productions, will become the basis and the support of an enlightened system of public education. When like the industrious bee, our children shall gather treasures from every flowery valley, and like the laborious, find a mine of wealth in every barren hill. And when their intellectual labors, like those of the provident insects, shall each day produce an immediate reward in the sensible increase of their stores of knowledge, and a corresponding expansion of the mind in which those stores are received. Mr. Duponceau, of Philadelphia, the President of the American Philosophical Society, with his usual foresight and patriotism, long since thought of the advantages that might arise to the United States, from extending the culture of the white mulberry tree, and the propagation of the silk worm, for which the great variety of soil and climate prevailing in these states offer great facilities. But difficulties arose in preparing the silk for the market, which, for a long time, retarded the accomplishment of his views. The earliest successful result was the manufacture in Connecticut, of sewing silk of superior fineness and strength. Mr. D'Homergue of Nismes, in France, paid a visit to Philadelphia, and afforded Mr. Duponceau an opportunity of carrying his laudable designs into practice, by establishing a filature under his direction; Mr. D'Ho. mergue having previously managed one in Nismes, and seen a good deal of the culture and preparation of silk in France, felt sanguine of its success in America. result of the first trial has shown, that their labours are likely to be crowned with success. The It was not to be expected that the American operative, first, employed in a new, and, to them, strange process, should turn out of their hands an article as well prepared as that furnished by Italy or France, where it has been so long the staple of the country. Yet the sample received has shown, that Mr. D'Homergue's lessons have been addressed to willing and apt scholars, who will, it is hoped, soon equal the reelers of France and Italy. It may now be stated, that an intelligent gentleman has tried a sample of this silk, in the different process of winding, throwing, and dying, and the result is highly satisfactory-so much so, that he thinks a fine field is open for the culture of the article in America. In quality, he considers it superior to India silk generally, and fully equal to that of Friuli or Trent. He had some of it dyed black, (the colour which most tries the silk,) and this it takes very well. He concludes by suggesting some improvements in the reeling, which a little more practice may soon effect. The present importation is a mere sample, being a very small package, and was produced (as the correspondent of the Times states) in Pennsylvania, and reeled from the cocoons in Mr. Duponceau's filature at Philadelphia, under the directions of Mr. D'Homergue. It has been submitted to some of the best judges in this country, who think it a very fair beginning. The texture is finer than the Italian silk, and it produces a larger return from the same quantity of cocoons. Some silk, from the same filature, has been boiled, dyed, and woven into a very fine stuff in America, although not thrown, as they have no throwing mills at present there. Should the production of silk increase as rapidly in America as cotton has done, in the last thirty years, it will become an article of great consequence in our trade with that country; the Americans sending the raw material, and taking back the manufactured article in return, as is now the case with cotton. The white mulberry tree, and silk worm, are said to succeed in almost all the states of the union; and the latter can be brought forward at the time the former is in life. This subject has been taken up by a committee of the Congress, and strongly recommended by them to the From the Harrisburg Reporter. AMERICAN SILK.-A very beautiful flag, manufactured by Mr. D'HOMERGUE, of Philadelphia, from silk the growth and produce of this state, was [during the last session] presented to the legislature, by PETER S. Du. PONCEAU, Esq., accompanied by a letter from that gen 3 reeled, it cannot be exported abroad, nor manufactured at home into those fine stuffs for which we pay so large an annual amount to foreign countries. Having had the good fortune in finding in Mr. D'Homergue, a person well skilled in that mode of preparing our native silk, either for exportation or home manufacture, I established last summer, under his direction, an experimental filature of ten reels, in which twenty women were employed, in consequence of which, a market for cocoons was immediately opened at Philadel phia, whither they were brought for sale from almost The farmers brought every part of the United States cash for them, which they had never done before. They them from different parts of this state, and received no doubt that the culture of silk will be thereby promowere brought, it is true, in small quantities, but there is ted, and that in the course of a few years, if this im portant object shall receive the national encouragement, which a bill now before Congress gives reason to ex tleman. The letter was referred to a committee in the House of Representatives, consisting of Messrs. Ingersoll, Read of Susquehanna, and Craft; and Mr. Ingersoll, from that committee, made a very appropriate report, accompanied by a resolution, that the flag be displayed in the House, under the direction of the Speaker. Agreeably to the resolution, the flag has been very taste-pect, silk worms will be raised in great plenty all over fully displayed over the Pennsylvania Arms in the rear Pennsylvania. The climate beiug peculiarly well adaptof, and above, the Speaker's chair, where it at once com- thrive even in our poorest soil. ed to the cultivation of the mulberry tree, which will mands the attention and admiration of every one enter ing the hall of the house. We think it a fine specimen of the useful perseverance of its worthy donor, and a strong earnest of what may be expected from the culture and manufacture of silk in Pennsylvania hereafter. The following is the letter and report of the committee. The report was unanimously adopted. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 3, 1831. Sir-I take the liberty of presenting through you to the honourable house over which you preside, and of offering to their acceptance, a Flag, bearing the colours of the United States, and made entirely of American silk, by Mr. John D'Homergue, of and in the city of Philadelphia. The texture of this flag is light and delicate; more so, perhaps, than it should have been, if my object were not, by this specimen, to show that stuffs of this description may be manufactured in this country, from our own native material. It is for similar stuffs, that we pay an nually to Europe a tribute of several millions of dollars, considerably exceeding the amount that we receive for all our bread stuffs. Hitherto, the silk that this country produces, has been exclusively employed in making sewing silk, and a few stockings, gloves, and other like articles of domestic manufacture, in which the best material has been used, while elsewhere those articles are made of imperfect cocoons, and of waste and refuse silk. For more than twenty years, the inhabitants of a part of the state of Connecticut, have pursued this unprofitable system; and it is remarkable, that the silk districts, which ought to be the richest in that state, are in fact the poorest. There is no market there for their cocoons or silk balls, those who raise them are obliged to manufacture them themselves, or they will perish on their hands. Nor can they find any cash price for the articles they make, so that they must use them in their families, or dispose of them by way of barter, This system is fast extending itself, through the other states, and the only use that has hitherto been made of the cocoons in Pennsylvania, has been converting them into sewing silk, or coarse articles of domestic fabric. It is not that manufacturers of fine silk are wanting in the United States, we have them in this city, of every description, seeking employment, which they cannot obtain for want of new silk properly prepared. The art of making this preparation, which is called reeling, is not known among us, though it is generally, but most erroneously, supposed to be very simple, while, on the contrary, it requires much instruction and long practice and experience; and those who know, and would instruct us in it, cannot without the greatest difficulty be procured from other countries. Without the knowledge of this art, it is impossible to employ our silk in a profitable manner, for unless the raw material is properly offered as a visible proof of the facts I have just stated, The flag, which I have the honour to send to you, is no silk stuff of the same kind has ever been made or ever attempted in this country, and none can be made withmaterial. I beg you will be so good as to present this out a perfect knowledge of the art of preparing the raw flag most respectfully, in my name to your honourable house, as a sample of a new and interesting branch of American manufacture; as a token of my high respect; and as a proof of my sincere devotion to the interests of the state of Pennsylvania, which has been from early youth my cherished home, and where, I hope, with my latest breath, to offer my last fervent prayer for her happiness and prosperity. I have the honour to be, Sir, your most ob't humble serv't, To the Hon. FREDERICK SMITH, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylva nia. Report of the Committee. That this beautiful specimen of American agriculture and manufactures, carried through all its process in Pennsylvania, is a practical result of the utmost impor tance to the wealth and prosperity of the state. Its agriculture has long suffered from restriction to certain staples, of which the production has increased, while the foreign demand is greally diminished. By the valu able experiments of Mr. Duponceau and Mr. D'Homergue it is established that the climate, the soil, and the waters of Pennsylvania, are eminently congenial with the culture of silk, which, it is believed, may be cultivated with advantage throughout the United States. If so, this inestimable product must become a great staple of the country. Adverting to the fact that, but fortysix years ago, an American vessel, with cotton on board, was seized at Liverpool, under the impression that cotton was not the growth of America; and to the fact, that last year more than six hundred and forty thousand bags of American cotton were imported at that port, there is nothing unreasonable in the anticipation, that a similar development may attend American silk. In every country producing silk, it has become the fruitful means of industry and wealth. Every manufacturing country, incapable of producing, has spared no efforts to naturalize it. Added to the other products of this state, and Union, its benefits must be incalculable: It leaves all other employments unimpaired, and affords domestic occupation to females and chil dren, who may rear the cocoons, and reel them into raw silk. Many millions, as Mr. Duponceau states, are the tribute money paid for it by the United States to foreign countries. AN ESSAY ON HYDROPHOBIA. From the increase of the coasting trade of Philadel phia, which has nearly trebled itself within the last eight years, encouraging and unquestionable proof is afforded, that the agriculture, manufactures, and mineral wealth of the state, are in active and increasing demand. If, as is understood to be the case, vessels loaded with the coal of Pennsylvania, are destined to sail for France in the ensuing season, the foreign trade of the state may derive great augmentation from that source. Even the quantity of flour exported from Philadelphia to Europe has much increased of late; and wool bears better prices throughout the country. With these flattering prospects, no aid, within the power of legislation, should be withheld from the endeavour to domesticate silk, and unite so important a staple to the others. In France, Italy, Flanders, Spain, and England, no wealth or honours were spared by govern ment, when the object was to cherish and reward the culture of this superior article, which, in all ages and nations, from the earliest era to the present, has been in universal request and of the highest value. The flag presented by Mr. Duponceau is a proof of the natural and artificial resources we possess; and that in the practical skill of Mr. D'Homergue, the country enjoys the fortunate means of obtaining all the instruction and demonstration necessary, for the complete attainment and indefinite extension of the difficult art of reeling silk, without which raw silk for manufacturing, or of the merchantable quality, saleable in foreign markets, cannot be produced. The patriotic, disinterested, and most praiseworthy exertions of Mr. Duponceau to establish this art among us, entitle him to the gratitude of the state. They constitute another of the public services of a citizen whose career, beginning in the army of the revolution, and continued in the department of foreign affairs, afterwards distinguished by eminent accomplishments in jurisprudence and other sciences, has exalted him to become the successor of Jefferson, as president of that philosophical society which was founded by Franklin. To the duties and distinctions of such a career, Mr. Duponceau, in the decline of life, superadds a noble effort to confer upon his country the inestimable advantages of the introduction of silk, and to join that to the many honours of which his venerable years are full. The committee trust, that it will not be deemed inappropriate to display this flag in the Hall of the Representatives of Pennsylvania, near the Speaker's chairthe same that was once filled by the president of that immortal congress, which, in the city of Philadelphia, declared the independence of these United States. They, therefore, respectfully submit the foliowing resolutions: [JULY roneous opinions and prejudices fast yielding to the influence of strict, fair, and impartial investigation. But the romantic and wonderful, particularly when swelled with fabulous incidents, terrific relations, and descriptions of awful scenes, impart such a stimulus to the hu man mind, that truth, in its simplicity under natural colours, can scarcely promise to create an adequate excitement, for it is a well known truth, that it is much easier to awe than to persuade; and experience teaches us, that fear holds the sceptre over all nature. Instead of endeavouring to diminish the catalogue of human miseries, which has been and is daily swelling to an alarming degree, every one elbows forward through the crowd of innumerable writers, to throw in his mite, not only to enlarge the collection, but to render it more appalling. These reflections, I feel convinced, cannot be better applied than to the subject of the present essay, and I propose to give to it that serious attention which its im portance merits. But if I am led to deviate from that gravity, which from the predisposition of every one's mind in matters so unquestionably revered, I presume is anticipated, I hope my disquisition may be taken in its true sense and light, and from the whole, a judgment formed upon the whole. Than hydrophobia, no other disease, if, perhaps, we except the venereal, has favoured the origin of more fabulous reports, and created more terror in the mind, not only of the vulgar, but of the best informed classes of society, from which I cannot even exclude the facul ty; and, yet, without any solid foundation; for I may confidently assert, that there is not one in a thousand that has ever taken the trouble to think seriously upon this subject, and, not unlikely, even a smaller proportion that ever had the opportunity of witnessing the effects resulting from the bites of animals. The whole of this matter rests, either upon vague reports, preconceived opinions, mistaken notions, or a blind deference to authority. But after an impartial and unprejudiced inquiry, and a judicious examination of the accounts we have on record, it will be found that they are not only inconsistent, incorrect, and perplexing, but, not unfrequently, shamefully exaggerated; and, in many instances, so visionary, that no reliance can be placed on them. We are, indeed, induced to believe that few of the writers have witnessed with a placid eye the scenes they describe. Moreover, their sanative methods are so versatile and incoherent, their remedies so terrific at times, so insignificant at others, that we might well question if many of them had seen a single case of canine madness. Nevertheless an inconceivable bigotry of opinion, equal to party spirit obstinacy, pervades all classes, and Resolved, That the Representatives of the Common- presents insurmountable obstacles to the admission of wealth of Pennsylvania accept, with great sensibility the most evident facts, if they appear to militate against and satisfaction, the silk flag of the United States, pre-long established prejudices, and sanctioned medical sented to them by Peter S. Duponceau, as an auspicious creeds. promise of national wealth and prosperity, and a proof of the patriotism of the distinguished donor. Resolved, That the flag be displayed in a conspicuous part of this House, under the direction of the Speaker; and that the Clerk be directed to communicate to Mr. Duponceau copies of these resolutions and report. AN ESSAY ON HYDROPHOBIA. An Essay on the Affections supposed to result from the Bites of Animals, and known by the appellation of Hydrophobia. By J. C. ROUSSEAU, M. D., member of several learned societies. [Read before the Philadelphia Medical Society, March 14, 1829.] "Je n'ai peur de rien plus que de la peur."-Rabelais. It is unquestionably a most gratifying circumstance, at which every philanthropic mind cannot but rejoice, to perceive, in the present era of science, the sway of er All impartial inquiry is not only hazardous but scarcely attainable. Regardless of communicating useful information, or affording the balm of consolation, every report is calculated to perpetuate the prolific seed of terror; and it is a lamentable truth, that we are, at this day, as much in the dark as our predecessors respecting the cause and true nature of hydrophobia. Why this name should have been exclusively selected to qualify a specific disease, supposed to result from the bite of a mad dog, is not very obvious; the dread of liquids being a symptom occurring in many diseases, where a morbid excitement of the nervous system is predominant, and attended with constriction of the fauces. But it is not an easy matter to divest the human mind of prejudices once inculcated and rooted in by time, and afforded an inexhaustible source of romancing. In this, however, we can see nothing more surprising than in the popular frenzy to run, not unfrequently, at the peril of life and limb, to see a fellow mortal launched into eternity. Having, however, seen cases, not resulting from a bite, in which hydrophobia was one of the predominant symptoms; which observation is sufficiently confirmed by the testimony of others; it may not appear presumptuous in me, unbiassed by popular prejudices, which, although sanctioned by men of respectable authority, are not of a nature calculated to carry conviction-to unfurl the standard of scepticism that others have hoisted before me. few have become mad from the simple fear of turning mad. I perfectly well recollect the son of a gentleman with whom I was intimate, who, to the age of twelve and upwards, could not see the approach of a dog without being thrown into a fit; and it was not without much trouble, that, by keeping a dog in the house, his antipathy was at last conquered. "Will it bite?" is a common question with children, when a little dog or any other pet animal is given to them; not that they have heen bitten, but because they have been scared with it by their nurses, parents, playmates, &c. Of all the scare crows resorted to, to in. timidate children, and force them to obedience, the dog is the most common, and the stories of canine madness always comes very a propos. Truth cannot be elicited by conjectures; facts are not to be established, still less supported, by vague reports; nor reason and judgment satisfied with good or bad names, contradictory declarations, and incredible stories. Admitting without discrimination, and propagating without examination, have been the sources of all the errors that have brought thousands to a premature end. Disease is invariably a derangement in the constitu- Yet dogs are not sufficient to frighten all children. tion; but various agents being the cause of apparently Some are very mischievous, and like to plague cats. the same disturbance, and the same cause being pro- "The cat will scratch you," is then the cry. Still this ductive of different aberrations, the utmost circumspec. will not do-children are not afraid of scratches. With tion ought to be used in pronouncing upon the origin a little more trouble, and out of necessity, the disease of diseases. Sex, temperament, constitution, habits, of madness has been stamped upon cats; and all the old, situation, occupation, seasons, former diseases, pertur- and many new, wonderful stories have been heaped tobation of mind, &c. &c. must, necessarily, vary the symp-gether to swell the collection. But cats will not gneraltoms of the same disease, and become the cause of the diversity or identity of the morbid appearances, that have not unfrequently drawn the faculty into error. That bites, more commonly of dogs, because of their greater number, their particular habits and their dwelling among men, have in numerous instances proved fatal, cannot be denied, but that those accidents have result ed from a disease, inoculated by a specific virus generated in the mouth of the animal, under a particular morbid excitement, is merely a supposition, rather disproved than supported by facts, as we hope to be able to prove as we advance in our inquiry. Dogs being, in general, possessed of an uncommonly irascible temper, and naturally prone to bite, and some species being extremely ferocious, it is not at all surprising that a general dread of them should be imbibed in infancy, and retained in mature years; and this circumstance must incalculably aggravate the consequences of a bite, and may be productive of those very accidents that have been attributed to a specific viris. The fact is daily confirmed by experience, that lacerated wounds are oftener than any other attended with danger; and if we pay particular attention to those resulting from bites, we shall find that, of all the injuries of that kind, they are the worst, from the compound action, producing not only laceration, but contusion. Moreover, if with these peculiarities we take into account the state of perturbation created in weak and prejudiced minds, by unexpected attacks of infuriated dogs, we cannot but hesitate to sanction the idea of a rabid poison secreted in the mouth of the animal, under a particular state of disease. Besides, it cannot be questioned, that the saliva and teeth of a dog in perfect health may, from the putrid and filthy substances on which the animal not unfrequently feeds, acquire and harbour a decided virulence, and become the source of the accidents, that have for so long a time disturbed the peace of mankind. All the well substantiated facts, indeed all the anomalies characterising the maladies supervening on the bites of animals supposed to be in a rabid condition, concur to prove, that the same symptoms have resulted from the bites of animals labouring under no kind of disease, as well as from various injuries, not admitting the possibility of any introduction of virus, being the consequence of the mere mechanical agency of inanimate bodies. I am fully convinced, and many sound observers will I think join me in the belief, that the terror propagated, from generation to generation, by the popular tales of hydrophobia, has been the cause of more mischief than the pretended rabid poison itself, and that more than a ly bite, then "madness can be, and must be, and has been communicated by scratches." This is hard to believe, and, therefore, must be proven. "Cats lick their paws," as every person knows; and as it is the saliva of dogs that transmits the rabid poison, it must proceed from the like source in cats. Accordingly, "by licking their paws the saliva is deposited on them;" ergo, "scratches can innoculate madness!" The above reasoning may answer tolerably well for children; but we cannot help blushing to find such stuff recorded by men in their proper senses. Yet, as such reasoning may be specious for some, who, like the bonus Homerus, aliquando dormitant, we hope to be excused if we take some notice of it. Animals in general, and particularly cats, that are remarkable for an uncommon degree of cleanliness, are not very attentive to this characteristic quality, while suffering from disease. On the contrary, their filthiness is the first apparent symptom of their diseased state, and this arises from the circumstance, that they do not lick their paws. For it is not to be supposed, that these ani, mals adopt this employment as a mere pastime; on the contrary, it is for the sole purpose of removing the dirt that they have, with their paws, brushed from their heads. Since I have been led to speak of the ridicule that ought to be cast on the popular tales, related at random, concerning canine madness, (and I am fully persuaded, that too much cannot be done to doom them to a state of oblivion,) I beg to be indulged in prosecuting this task a little further, not for the sole pleasure of exposing error, but with the hope of fostering the spirit of investigation, which I imbibed at an early period of my medical career. PALMARIUS, an ancient writer, seriously informs us, that the straw, on which some mad swine lay, commu. nicated the same disease; and, risum teneatis, that a man who had become mad from the bite of a rabid dog, when on the point of death, kissed his children, who, in a few days, were all seized with rabies, and died of it!! So much for plain truth-then comes the romantic; such as men tearing and eating their own flesh, biting like dogs; or scratching like cats, when the disease proceeded from the last. Others, quite composed, warn their friends not to come near, for fear they should bite them, and view, composedly, their appalling situation! We shall now cite from writers how long a time will be requisite to establish this incongruity of symptoms. From LOMNIUS we learn, that seven years may elapse before the invasion of the disease. MORGAGNI relates a case, in which twenty years elapsed between the bite and the appearance of the disease. BOERHAAVE mentions a case of the same description. I have read of a case spun out to forty years. Other writers, however, fix the invasion of the disease at a very short period after the bite. Dr. GRAY records a case in the West Indies, in which death happened on the same day as the bite. We might go further, but, for the sake of common sense, must refrain. After all the uproar created by this terrific malady, it might be supposed that no doubt could be entertained as to its existence; but, alas, of all the symptoms that have been recorded, not a single one can be called pathognomonic. Neither does any identity of symptoms characterize the disease in men and dogs. We have already repeated the idle stories transmitted to us by ancient writers upon canine madness, as communicated to the human constitution; for this disease has never been supposed to be spontaneously generated in man. We shall now narrate the general symptoms observed in dogs: They look dull and stupid. They pant, keep their mouths open, hang out their tongue, and discharge abundance of saliva. They refuse food. They are thirsty, and do not drink. They look dirty. Their ears and tails hang down. Some say they move slowly, others that they run faster than ordinary, and in an irregular manner. It is nevertheless an accredited popular opinion, in some places, that they go straight forward; and if you move out of their way they will not hurt you; yet various writers assert that they snap at and bite every thing they meet with. We find nothing but contradictions at every step of our inquiry, as often as the authors have not copied from one another. The tail between the legs, seems, however, to be the most prominent symptom, and the most noticed in general. It is that, also, which spreads terror and dismay throughout all classes of people; although it be quite insignificant, and nothing more than an indication of fear and timidity, observable in all dogs passing through a strange neighborhood. It is, indeed, surprising, that we should have, to this day, been satisfied with such contemptible data; and still more astonishing, that no inquiry has been proposed or encouraged, by premiums or otherwise, to ascertain something respecting such a direful malady, the existence of which must rapidly come to be considered as extremely doubtful, if not entirely imaginary. (JULY specific virus. And if we were to support this opinion, how could we reconcile our belief with a number of well attested facts, proving that this symptom scarcely happens once in thirty cases, whereas the bite has been inflicted by the same dog. Hydrophobia, I am pursuaded, is an extremely rare disease; and when its occurrence has not been preceded by the bite of a dog, it is met with very little apprehension. I have experienced it myself, after my recovery from a long illness, that had thrown me into such a state of morbid sensibility, that, not only water, but any thing else that could produce a tremulous motion on my eyes, or a shrill sudden sound on my ears, excited the most horrible sensations. I have witnessed it in many cases of cynanche, and in diseases of infants of various kinds. The disease was strongly marked in a case of destruction of the epiglottis that fell under my care some years ago; until I contrived to introduce liquids into the stomach, by means of a piece of intestine of a chicken, swallowed at one end, while the other was kept fastened to one of the teeth of the patient, who was delighted to receive, as often as he was desirous, by means of the canula of an injection pipe, the liquids that were forced through it. It is not, I am now convinced a terror resulting from the sight of water or of other liquids that barrasses the sufferers. It is, as many have confessed, the dread of having the liquids forced upon them, when they feel certain pains from former trials of their inability to swallow, and call to mind the sufferings they have undergone their exertions to accomplish an act that they were by rather desirous than reluctant to perform. This inability to swallow liquids generally proceeds from a constriction of the fauces; or from a too exalted state of irritability in the organs of deglutition; or from a rigidity of the epiglottis preventing the shutting of the trachea, in consequence of which the passage of liquids into that tube, on their way to the oesophagus occurs. I have ascertained these facts by introducing my forefinger into the fauces of the patient; and Dr. WILLIAM SHAW, an experienced and respectable physician of this city, has informed me of a case that fell under his care,in which the rigidity of the epiglottis was so great, that he could not press it down with his finger. The patients, who died with all the terror that the presence of liquids could excite in the mind in hydrophobia, repeatedly assured him, that his fear was excited solely by the recollection of the agonizing fits of coughing, he had been thrown into by his first attempt to swallow some water; and that he would rather give up his life, than run the risk of being again thrown into the same Does the poison exclusively reside in the saliva? Is predicament. inoculation by means of a wounded part absolutely in[To be continaed.] dispensable?t What is rabies in animals? What is it in men? Is it the result of a specific virus of canine origin? Can it be productive of a particular disease in other animals and in men, by the simple application of the saliva to some living part? What is the nature of the wound produced by the bite? Does it secrete a poison of the same nature as that secreted by the salivary glands, during the disease? Is it a compound effect of the laceration of the teeth and the particular quality of the saliva? May not the saliva of dogs, under some peculiar circumstances, become poisonous without the animal being in a state of disease? Why are the effects of the bite of a mad dog more promptly shown on animals than on men, as the reports assert them to be? Why is not the dread of water a characteristic symptom of rabies in dogs as well as in men?‡ Until these queries have been satisfactorily answered, we cannot believe that hydrophobia is the result of a * Pliny recommends the saliva of a mad dog for the cure and prevention of hydrophobia. *Dr. Vaugman tried to inoculate it without success. A number of writers on this disease, are of the opinion that it is not. RAIL ROAD MEETING. At a large and respectable meeting of the citizens of Newtown and its vicinity, held pursuant to public notice, at the house of Joseph Archambault on Saturday the 4th day of June--Dr. Phineas Jenks, was called to the chair, and Peter Gwinner, appointed Secretary. The object of the meeting having been stated by the Chairman, it was on motion, Resolved, That Peter Gwiner, Samuel Snyder and Alex. Vanhorn, draft resolutions expressive of the sense of this meeting-who after having retired a short time, reported the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:- Whereas, recent experience in England, has conclusively shown the superior advantage of rail-roads over all other kinds of improvement, in affording a more pleasant and expeditious mode of travelling, and offering greater facilities for the rapid transportation of the produce of the soil to market. Every agricultural and manufacturing district have a deep interest in the con |