Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/599

 CINCINNATI 587 cutaneously, a smaller quantity will suffice. It is also extensively used in other forms of ma- laria and diseases dependent thereon. For these uses, and also as a prophylactic (against malaria), quinia has been found almost as im- portant to the traveller in malarial regions as a good supply of food. It has been said that the British rule in India is founded upon cinchona bark. A full dose of quinia reduces the pulse and the bodily temperature, and it has been applied in diseases not malarial, such as typhoid fever, erysipelas, pyemia, and rheumatism. It has until recently been difficult to explain the acknowledged therapeutic action of quinia by any well ascertained physiological action ; but within a few years it has been discovered to possess certain properties which may serve as a clue to the method of its action in disease. It has been found that it is capable of arresting or delaying various kinds of fermentation, of killing the microscopic organisms accompa- nying putrefaction, of arresting the amoeboid movements of the white blood corpuscles, and of preventing the escape of these corpuscles from the mesenteric vessels of the frog, when prepared as in the well known experiment of Cohenheim. In animals poisoned by the injec- tion of putrid fluids into the veins, it has been found that those to which quinia was adminis- tered lived longer than those without it. The other alkaloids probably have the same power, but in a less degree. Cinchonia is about one half less powerful than quinia. The amorphous residue left after the crystallization of quinia may be used for the same purposes, but is inconvenient from the circumstance of there being no satisfactory test for its strength and purity. Quinia and the other alkaloids give rise to certain nervous symptoms, of which the most prominent are headache, a feeling of ful- ness and tightness in the head, buzzing in the ears, and temporary deafness. Permanent deafness is a rare accident. Quinia or the other alkaloids may be administered in the form of pills or in solution. In the latter form the intense bitterness is a serious objection to their use. This may be partially disguised by sirups, aromatics, extracts of licorice, dande- lion, &c. Tannin renders quinia less bitter be- cause less soluble. Various combinations of quinia with iron, strychnia, phosphorus, &c., are in use. When a simple tonic effect is de- sired, the preparations of the bark itself may be advantageously used. CINCINNATI, the chief city of Ohio, capital of Hamilton county, and in population the eighth city of the United States. It is situated in lat. 39 6' N., Ion. 84 27' W., on the N. bank of the Ohio, 250 m. direct, or by the river 466 m., 3. W. of its head at Pittsburgh, Penn. ; 290 m. direct, or 500 m. by river, N. E. of its mouth at Cairo, 111. ; and 390 m. W. of Washington. Its site is peculiarly favorable to commerce, comfort, and health. The main city lies on a plateau, through which the Ohio passes from T. E. to S. W. This plain is nearly 12 m. in cir- cumference, and ia divided by the river into nearly equal parts. The city is surrounded by hills from 400 to 465 ft. in height, forming one of the most beautiful natural amphitheatres on the continent, from whose hilltops may be seen the splendid panorama of the cities below, and the winding Ohio. No other large city of the United States affords such a variety of position and scenery. Commencing on the east, the hills border the river within 500 yards of its bank for 4 m. ; then recede, form an amphitheatre around the plateau on which the city was first laid out, and return with a bold promontory to the river 3 m. below ; thence they follow its windings, within 300 yards of the shore, If m. further, to the western cor- poration line. By following ravines between the spurs, practicable roads have been con- structed to the summits of these hills. The greater part of the city is built upon two ter- races or plateaux, respectively 60 and 112 ft. above the river. The amphitheatre of hills enclosing these plateaux is cut by the ravine- like valley of Deer creek entering from the northeast, and by the broad plain of Mill creek valley, extending from the north through the W. extremity of the plateau portion of the city to the river. The former is a dry torrent bed ; the latter a considerable stream, with low banks and a valley within the city from 1 to H m. wide. Through this valley the city has its greatest breadth, 5| m. The upper plateau, uniting with the higher grounds of Mill creek valley, extends many miles north with very little increase of elevation, thua affording space for future growth. The city stretches along the river about 10 m., from and including the village of Columbia on the east to that of Eiverside on the southwest, with an average width of 3 m., and embracing an area of 24 sq. m. The main body of the city, including the business portion and the densest population, borders on the river be- tween the mouth of Deer creek on the east and that of Mill creek on the west, a distance of 2 m. North of East Liberty street and Ham- ilton road, the hillsides from Deer creek to Mill creek are terraced with streets, and gen- erally covered with dwellings to their sum- mits. Mount Adams, overlooking the S. E. corner of the plateau, has streets thickly lined with dwellings on its summit and W. and S. sides. The remainder of the city, including the narrow valleys along the river, above and below the city proper, the village of Cum- minsville next the northern corporation line in Mill creek valley, and the several table- land villages, from Woodburn on the east to Fairmount on the west, is irregularly built. In the N. W. part are native forests and culti- vated farms. On the western hills are vine- yards and gardens. Between Harrison avenue and the 25th ward (Cumminsville) are many vegetable gardens. The numerous villages annexed to the city since 1868 retain their former names. The most important of these,