Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-12-10
sELF-DEvouRlNG i cANlIBALs.

Persons VINO Are Addicted to tho Per.
nIcionss Habit of Nail Biting. ~
.t Few habits are more disgusti
fhan biting the iinge nails, & said q
}Well- known doctor, I. there sa1e few
more common. The habit is not olliss
slslovenly bnt downright vsii gar In
mails which are kept trimmed with ts1t,
lteeth are in themselves an intlication5oi
shiftlessness, They are alWatt rs crap ca
.lclear down to the quick, and r.1es III, GER
tips present 4 spongy, slispeisss mp,
f}pearance that's enough to spoil oae's
appetite and make the nail bitter an Oh.
'ject Of contempt forever. s.,
But, unsightly as are nails so mt
tilated, and unpleasant as are the
Thoughts to which they give rise IN
those of clearly and careful personal
habits, there are infinitely moro dis.
igusting features in the practice
- The person who bites his or her
;fnger-nails is nothing less than a SELF
'devouring cannibal. ~ 1.
81 Have the snhool-mlsses that smell
of Observation-Disclosures and are so prone
ito this habit ever thought Of thatp Has
lit ever occurred to the putty -pated
dudes that nip at their fin er-ends in
public places as af1ectionately us they
suck their cane-heads?
= ' Particles of flesh are necessarily
bit off and chewed with the pieces Of
mail, which are turned over ike succu-
lent tid-bits in the mouth Of the nail
bitter; and the process presents the
spectacle Of a human creature actually
feeding ON minute morsels Of its own
anatomy. This is the revolving fact.
What sight more .sickening to a sense
of delicacy or the vaguest prctension
ito refinement
There is another side to this filthy
practice. The nails are reeeptacies for
dirt of every sort. This dirt is tax en-
into the mouth with the fragments Of
nail and pieces OF flesh. The frag-
ments of nail while revolved between
the teeth are 50 thoroughly clpansed
by the action of the saliva that when
spat out they are as white as snow.
What becomes Of the pasty dirt that
accumulates under the nails? It. is
Swallowed! s. Ga H..
1'Watch any doctor when perform
ing bis everyday additions. lie never
washes his face in the same water that
has been used to wash his hands Ii
all convenienees are not: to be had he
cleanses his hands and allows his face
to wait for it's bath; or he bathes
both hands and face in a running
stream from the faucet. No matter
what the circumstances, he ALWAYS
thoroughly washes and dries his hands
before he permits them to apply the
water to his face. He goes through
this operation with the utmost care I'M
der the most ordinary circumstances.
Whyp Because he knows that the
hands, which are the most exposed
portions Of the body, come in contact
with the greatest number of surfaces,
and contract in a few hours different
kinds of dirt in endless variety. He
knows, too, that poisons can be Trans
mitted under the finger-nails, and his
professional experience has taught him
that virus Of the most deadly kind is
frequently transmitted by the simple
custom Of hand shaking. He has too
much respect for his face to allow his
hands to commune with it in the most
casual way unless they are absolutely
clean.
''rhe thought of swallowing the &C.
! cumulated filth that lodges under fin
ger-nails--an actual daily performance
with the nail. biter-will almost turn
the stomach of doctor who has lived
half his life in dissecting rooms, and
performed An amDIItati0n every Cav
for twenty years. "DetroW Tribune.