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75
conditions of the throat, all of which are commonly found in
children at school ages.
It is well known that an unhealthy condition of the throat
predisposes to such infectious diseases as diphtheria and scarlet
fever. The presence of enlarged tonsils or adenoids, or both,
will set up such an unhealthy condition. It is in such throats
that the micro-organisms of these diseases find a favourable
soil for their growth and development, and it is quite reasonable
to believe that with the removal of conditions favourable to the
growth of the organisms of infectious disease, there will be a
diminution in their prevalence. I believe that such a result has
already in some degree been effected, and that in the future we
may expect to see a greater diminution in the prevalence of the
infectious diseases, scarlet fever and diphtheria, due largely to the
two circumstances above discussed.