difficult seam
of coal till his death.

* * * * *

CASE 3. D. S. was aged 39 years at his death, in August 1838. He had
been engaged as a coal-miner so soon as he was able to undertake work.
He was a tall, muscular man, and for a long time enjoyed excellent
health. He first began mining operations at one of the Pencaitland
collieries, and continued to labour there for many years. About six
years before his death, he was induced by an increase of wages, to
undertake stone-mining in the same pit; and soon after engaging in this
employment, he began to be troubled with a slight cough, accompanied by
dyspnoea, palpitation, and oppressive headach, which symptoms rapidly
increased in severity. He declared that his cough and general ailments
first showed themselves after labouring for a considerable time at
stone-work, with the aid of gunpowder, in a situation where the air
became so impure, both from defective ventilation and carbonaceous
particles floating in it, as materially to affect the breathing.
Although he repeatedly changed his place of labour from one coal-work to
another more healthy in the same parish, he experienced no mitigation of
his annoying cough. When I first saw this man for medical advice in July
1834, he had then been about two years engaged as a stone-miner, the
bronchial irritation was very general throughout the chest, he had
severe cough, hurried breathing, little or no expectoration, and on
applying the ear to the thorax, the sibilant and sonorous bronchi were
distinctly heard, which indicated a swollen and irritated condition of
the mucous linings of the air-passages, and this irritation was also
manifest in the mucous membrane of the nostrils, which was much swollen,
acutely tender, and impeding considerably the passage of the air. The
pulse was rather frequent, about 85 in the minute. There was present
much heat of skin during the night, which subsided towards the morning.

The remedial measures were blisters and expectorants, which relieved him
considerably. The cough recurred in paroxysms, accompanied by severe
headachs, with little frothy mucous expectoration, and there was
occasionally observed a slight tinge of blood in the sputum. At this
period, his appetite was good, and with the exception of his cough and
difficulty of breathing at night and morning, he seemed usually very
well. Though labouring under his disease, he continued at his employment
of stone-