sanitary and hygienic care; who
may have a room of ample size for their exclusive use, which is
thoroughly aired, day and night; who are provided with the "right kind
of nourishment," and who will obey implicitly the rules which the
physician, who is conversant with this particular method of treatment,
will lay down, may be assured that a prompt response will ensue. The
intelligent reader will understand that this statement does not apply to
patients in the last stages of the disease. The assertion, however, must
rightly be regarded as revolutionary. It is not what we were taught--it
emphasizes, nevertheless, what every physician already knows, that,
theoretically, consumption is a disease that should respond to
treatment. That we have not had greater success with it in the past,
must be attributed to our method of treatment. The fact that most of us
have had the disease, and have recovered, conclusively demonstrates its
curability. Those individuals who fail to recover promptly do not
possess the vitality to throw it off spontaneously. If at this time--the
real beginning of the disease--it is discovered, and the right treatment
instituted, we immediately supply the organism with the ingredients it
is deficient in and we are justified in looking for favorable results if
the patient adheres to the instructions.

The second essential in the treatment of consumption is an abundance of
fresh, pure air. We therefore direct the patient to remain in the open
as much as is possible. If circumstances permit him to sleep
out-of-doors, so much the better; if not, he must sleep in a room with
the windows open to the fullest extent, winter and summer. There are no
exceptions to this rule. If it storms, the outside blinds may be closed,
but the windows must remain open. The city air is just as efficient for
our purpose as is the air of any other vicinity--the point is, to get
enough of it from a mechanical standpoint. The advantages from sending
patients away, even under the old belief, were more than discounted by
conditions incident to the new environment that were detrimental to
their progress. Now that we know it is not necessary or essential to
procure any other kind or quality of air than exists in any city, all
our efforts may be concentrated in the interest of the patient in
directing the "right kind of nourishment" and in supervising his
conduct. In few instances is it necessary to prescribe any medicine.

In exceptional c