The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-03
PHYSICS Of THE TRADES,
Some Emergency Remedies Whose
Excellence Is Tried Almost
Every Day.
How a Plasterer Prevents Evil Eff
fects When Lime Gets Into
FIis Eye.
The styptic Of the Wine Men, Sailors and
Carpenters-An Old Farmers De-
vice Fasting Spittle.

Every man to his trade. A man is either
q fool or a physician at 40. Here are two
ancient sdaGes which suggest a combina-
ton. Every trade has it's special physio.
This is true. In conversation a few days
ago with a Recorder a New York surgeon
remarked that few things gave more pain,
attended with so much danger, as some
particles of lime dust in the. eye. A gen.
tleman standing quietly by remarked:
"And yet such an accident is of daily occur
renee, is attended hardly with any danger,
and is most easily treated.' 'How sop
came chorus of voices.
"Well, l will tell you. I was brought up
to the trade Of a plastersr-a ceiling plas-
terer. You may not know that the final
layer upOn a good ceiling is almost pure
lime. The plastersr stands upon a platform
and lays on the paste. 1t falls upon him in
every direction, and, especially if hs is a
new hand, often a splatter falls right into
his eye. When he gets accustomed to the
work the eyslid seems to get ased to it. too,
and seems to close automatically in self-de-
Tense. Directly such an accident occurs a
fellow workman takes a mouthful of water
from the nearest pail-and there is always a
pail of water ~handy-opens the eye as wide
as possible and squirts with all his force the
contents of his mouth against the syeball.
This Immediately coola the lime and also
drives it out of tho eye. Simple remedy,
isn't it, and eminently practical. But you
ses a mans eye would be burned out long
before he could reach tho nearest doctor'e."
Immediately other gentlemen had some
thing to tell. One was a wine merchant.
my cellarmen have a funny way of stop
ping bleeding. They think nothing of u cut
finger or hand, or even a large wound. They
run to the nearest spirit oaGk, or clarst If
SPIRITS a,e not handy, and let a few drops
fall on the und. II acts ss an Immediate
styptic. Then Il big dusty old cobweb ia
taken from the nearest bottle or corner of a
bin, and clanped on tight over the cut or
ABRASION. Cobwebs are splendid healing
agents"
Sailors" said another, "are never at q
loss under such circumstances; their favor
lte styptic at sea is q bit of unrayeled tar
red role. On land they will take the quid
OF tobacco from their chsek, or the lining
OF their cap, and tho effect is astonishing.
But l have seen a man Wild drunk after
such q quid had been tied over the wound. I
suppose the nicotine gets into the blood and
acts az nm intoxioant."
"Cnrpenters." said another gentleman,
II they cut themselves, pick up a handful
OF ms shaylnDs and clap them on to the
wound, and joiners smear Il dab Of glue;
but enc of the qnaintest things ! ever saw
used Was by an old farmer up in Chester
county. he got his hand badly tern by u
bit OF old wire fence, and he BLEED consider
ably. Without a thought he stopped down
and dug up a handful OF soil, spnt ON it.
and wo ked it quickly into a paste, and laid
it on the wound and bound il up with his
neckarchicf. In an astonishingly short time
he WASH work again as II nothing had hap
ksned."
'Csn amy one tell me the therapeutical
vaiuo OF fasting spitt!s2' asked a quiet man.