One Cause of Sickness and Discomfort Largely Preventable.

To the Editor:  —Owing to the drouth, fires, especially in swampy places, are numerous, and the atmosphere is unusually smoky and irritating to the eyes, head and air-passages. Some diseases are aggravated,¹ sleeplessness, nervous disturbance, general discomfort and, I believe, other serious troubles not commonly recognized as due to this cause, result, because the atmosphere is to a considerable extent unfitted to properly sustain life. One apparent change in the atmosphere is to lessen, below the normal limit, the active oxygen, and this is especially true during the nights; thus, during the week ending October 19th no ozone whatever could be detected in the atmosphere at Lansing on any night except one, Wednesday. A sense of want of air, even approaching suffocation, and a weakness of the circulation, in some approaching heart failure, has been noticed.The object of this note is to ask attention to the fact that