The Van Buren press., 1894-12-08
FLOWERS AND THE INSANE.
Choice Plants Used to BeautIfy the Sur.
rOundings of Patients.

Choice Plants Used to BeautIfy the SUR
roundings of Patients.
There are great many persons who
think that flowerS can be made to play
an important par0h the cure of insane
patients, on the ground that beautiful
plants and blossoms have stimulating
effect on demented person, and may,
in this way, give him some real aid in
recovering his reason. DIR. j. L. Lewis,
who inspects the insane asylums of this
state for the state board of lunacy and
charity, when asked for his opinion,
said he thought there was no doubt
that flowers did much to alleviate
the condition Of the many insane pa
tients. Victims of melancholy, for
instance, forget all about their
personal woes if they can be made to
fix their affection on beautiful dis.
play of plants. If person loved flow.
ers during his sanity he would proba-
bly, care for them even after the de.
parture of his reason, and they would
therefore have a cheering and helpful
influence over him. "And there is no
lack of flowers at our institutions"
continued the doctor. Connected
with every asylum in the state is
greenhouse filled with flowers and
plants and the grounds at almost all
of the institutions are beautiful with
displays of flowers all through the
summer. At Danvers, in particular,
the beds of flowers surround the build
ings with delightful prospect, and at
Worcester, also, the grounds have
fine showing of beautiful plants.
Not only in the summer is the dis-
play of flowers continued, for in the
winter, when the outdoor prospect is
apt to be rather gloomy, flowers are
grown in the wards and do much to
make the interiors bright AMI pleasing.
The doctor could not give definite
opinion as to the exact effect OF all this
on the patients, but he vas certain Of
one point; that SO far as the display of
flowers and plants contributed to make
the surroundings of an the patients
pleasant, and to make Che patients
think of something outside of them
selves. it was a decided benefit. In
sane patients need, more than anything
else, to be frightened up and put in a
cheerful frame of mind, and while the
surroundings play an important part
in attaining this end, other means are
also employed. Every week during
the winter there is, for instance, a
dance, which is attended by all the
patients whose condition is such that
they may safely be allowed to go. They
enjoy these dances immensely and look
forward to them with pleasant
anticipation. There are also at the
different institutions pianos for the
use of the patients, billiard tables,
cards, checkers and other games. Be-
sides these methods of indoor amuse-
ment, small parties of patients are
taken out every day in favorable wealth
er to walk or to drive, one party going
one day and another on the next. The
driving parties are taken out a barge
load at a time. At one institution
there is a baseball nine, and they play
pretty good ball, too, the doctor says.
OF course not all the patients at the
asylums could be allowed as much lib
erty as this. Those who are violent
are, of course, kept in close confine-
ment, and the excited individuals who
imagine themselves to be magnani-
nous millionaires, wealthy land own
ers, presidents and the like, are toe
much taken up with their own pri.
vate affairs to appreciate much
beauty or the freedom that Is
within reach of the inmates of the asy.
lum. The plan of using flowers about
asylums for their effect on the insane
has been mentioned recently in con-
nection with the asylums in Cook
county, Illinois, as something of ar
experiment. DIR. Loewy, of Chicago
thinks that flowers may not, as some
people believe, act upon patients with
the same beneficial effects that music
has, but he believes that flowers dc
have stimulating effect upon some
patients and make them more cheer
full. The conservatory at one place i.
filled with tropical plants, while tn,
greenhouse is given over to the cult
vation of roses alone. Many of tht
patients there wear buttonhole bou
quets and seem to enjoy them. Will
the Massachusetts, board the use o
flowers is nothing of an innovation
for grounds have been beautified il
this way almost ever since the institu
tions were started.-Boston Transcript
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