The diseases of China : including Formosa and Korea . normous amount of ver\ strongexidence has been collected; indeed, so strcjng that listening to it one feelsabsolutely con\inced of its truth. But these defenrlers of the rice theory,despite all the e\idence in their fa\our, ha\e failed utterly to rel)ut othere\idence, which to the outside obser\er makes that theory is the as_\-lum Ijeri-beri of non-ricc-eating countries, the occurrence ofejjidemic Ijeri-beri in non-rice-eating regions, sucli as parts of Soulli.\merica, anrl the jjeri-beri found on sliips where rice takes no
The diseases of China : including Formosa and Korea . normous amount of ver\ strongexidence has been collected; indeed, so strcjng that listening to it one feelsabsolutely con\inced of its truth. But these defenrlers of the rice theory,despite all the e\idence in their fa\our, ha\e failed utterly to rel)ut othere\idence, which to the outside obser\er makes that theory is the as_\-lum Ijeri-beri of non-ricc-eating countries, the occurrence ofejjidemic Ijeri-beri in non-rice-eating regions, sucli as parts of Soulli.\merica, anrl the jjeri-beri found on sliips where rice takes no ])art intlie menu, anrl of which we ]ia\e con\ incini, testim()n\ from the mostskillefl exjjerts that tlie disease is indistinguishable from true when we again come to the belie\ers in ihc rice origin, we haw theinirst striking differences in their theories, each obserwr supporting hisown with indis])utable statistics! Take for exani])le: Braddon bclie\esthat unciircfl rice (cured rice being rice ])arboile(l ininudiati l\- it is liar-. CLINICAL PICTURE OF BERI-BERI. lOO vested) is the cause of beri-beri, and brings to bear a number of most strik-ing figures. Unfortunately, lie omits the figures where the use of cured ricehas not proved a certain preventive of the disease. On the other hand,we have Vordermans statistics from Java, which would show by equallygood figures that beri-beri is due to the consumption of husked rice,those who eat the rice in the husk (and therefore all the toxins) escapingthe disease. About these theories, it must be said that the latter failedto stand the test of time, and the former has had, as yet, no opportunityof doing so. Hamilton Wright has promulgated the theory that the disease is atoxEemia resembling diphtheria, the primary lesion being in the stomachand duodenum, where the germ which he describes as causal generatesits toxin and produces a gastro-duodenitis. The source of the infectionhe believes to be the excreta of beri-beri
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