Note 68 — Art. XIII. Observations on Salt Storms, and the Influence of Salt and Saline Air upon Animal and Vegetable Life.

On the subject of the Egyptian ophthalmia, it may be asked "why it does not appear in innumerable other situations, equally exposed to salt air, as Cape Cod, and the West-India Islands?" To this it may be replied, that in the production of any disease whatever, a predisposing state of the system is as necessary as an exciting cause. This predisposition appears to exist in a great degree among the Egyptians, and depends upon the nature of their climate, their habits, and mode of living, all of which have a tendency to produce debility of the eyes, and thus render them more susceptible of the impression of those causes which excite inflammation.