Dr. Louis Kuhne of Germany has, after repeated experiments, arrived at the conclusion that water-cure is the best for all diseases. His books on this subject are so popular that they are now available in almost all the languages of the world, including those of India. He contends that the abdomen is [Pg 91] the seat of all diseases. When there is too much heat in the abdomen, it manifests itself in the form of fever, rheumatism, eruptions on the body, and the like. The efficacy of water-cure had, indeed, been recognised by several people long before Kuhne, but it was he who, for the first time, pointed out the common origin of all diseases. His views need not be accepted by us in their entirety, but it is an undoubted fact that his principles and methods have proved effective in many diseases. To give only one instance out of many that have come within my experience, in a bad case of rheumatism, a thorough cure was effected by Kuhne’s system, after all other remedies had been tried, and had proved utterly ineffectual. Dr. Kuhne holds that the heat in the abdomen abates by the application of cold water, and has, therefore, prescribed the bathing of the abdomen and the surrounding parts with thoroughly cold water. And for the greater convenience of bathing, he has devised a special kind of tin bath. This, however, is not quite indispensable; the tin tubs of an oval shape and of different sizes to suit people of different heights, available in our bazaars, will do equally well. The tub should be filled three-fourths with cold water, and the patient should seat himself in it in such a fashion that his feet and the upper part of the body remain outside the [Pg 92] water, and the rest of the body up to the hips inside it. The feet may preferably be placed on a low foot-stool. The patient should sit in the water quite naked, but, if he feels cold, the feet and the upper part of the body should be covered with a blanket. If a shirt is worn, it should be kept entirely outside the water. The bath should be taken in a room where there is plenty of fresh air and light. The patient should then slowly rub (or cause to be rubbed) the abdomen with a small rough towel from 5 to 30 minutes or more. The effect is instantly felt in most cases. In cases of rheumatism, the wind in the stomach escapes in the form of eructations and the like, and in cases of fever, the thermometre falls by one or two degrees. The bowels are readily cleaned by this process; fatigue disappears; sleeplessness is removed, and extreme drowsiness gives place to vigour. This contrariness of result is more apparent than real; for want of sleep, and the excess of it, are both brought on by the same cause. So too, dysentery and constipation, which are both the outcome of indigestion, are cured by this method. Piles of long standing can also be got rid of by this bath, with proper regulation of diet. Those who are troubled by the necessity for constant