Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-06
A NEW PANIC.
PoisonOus Under Clothing


Some Loudonsr has made the important
discovery that stockings Of certain color
are poisonous, and now the New York
Journal Of Commerce cautions people against
wearing colored under-clothing. That
paper says:
The windows of gentlemen's furnishing
stores 10 this city have been frightened up
for some months past with flaming red and
orange-colored socks and undershirts. The
display az seen from the street is exceed.
ing!y brilliant. The gaudy colors flash
upon the passers-by with almost the vivid
ness of druggists show-bottles. Articles
so beautiful and sanctioned as the latest
fashion have met with ready sale though
worn where they DO not in the eyes of the
world impart any charm to the wearer.
To some extent articles of underware,
dipped in the same gorgeous dyes, have
found favor with the ladies'; but on this
point our informant is not so positive.
In England, where these goods originate
and have insinuated themselves next to the
cutiCle Of great numbers of young people.
much alarm has been caused by recent
paragraph in the LdHcet-a medical and
surgical journal of high authority.
Complaint had been made to Sitting
alderman at Guildhalr that the dye in
these splendid socks, ETC., caused irritation
and an eruption on the skin, and eventu.
ally actual sores We 90 not learn that
the Sitting alderman at GuildhalP did
anything about it except to make the com
plant public. The Lancet corroborated
the state ment By reference to the case of a
danseuss at Drury Lane Theater, one Of
whose feet was badly poisoned by a red
stocking. An eruption covered exactly
that part of her foot which was concealed
By her dancing shoe. The red stocking
seemed TO be identified as the agent of mi5
chief, because the necessities of the ballet
required the girl to wear stocking OF
another color on the other foot, and that
was unframed. The injured foot soon
healed up upon wearing white hose"
Many other similar cases are cited. The
testimony of Mr.. Crookes, the well-known
editor of the Chemical Nelrs, IL also quoted
"a saying:
1.-THE reason why there have been 80 few
complaints, notwithstanding the thousands
of pairs Of socks sold, appears 10 me TO be
this: Normal preparation is slightly acid,
and Consequently will not act Upon the in
soluble acid dye; under excePtionable cir
cumstances, however, the Precipitation may
be alkaline, and when proluss, little OF
the dive would he dissolved aud become alb
sorbed, producing more or less severe irri-
tation on sensitive skin. Although the
combination Of these circumstances would
necessarily be rare, and ninery-nine men
out of hundred might wear these socks
and feel no i'll effects, the hundrenth might
be inconvenience.
1t would therefore be as well to restrict
the use of this particular orange dye to ar
ticles which will not habitually be worn
next the skin, and for these garments
should be employed yellow and orange
dives, which are harmless, slch as phoso-
phine, aurine, Manchester yellow HsVine,
picric acid, etc.
Should one of the thousand aud odd pres
eut pogsessors of these socks feel any TEN D.
tstion to threw them into the FIRE, let him
not weld to il, but have them well washed
with soap and soda, when they will entirely
lose their stimulating action, both on the
feet and or the optic nerve"