The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-11-21
Poison in Wall Paper-ArticIes That
Arc Highly Inf1ammable-
Risks Run by Women
Of Fashion.
WYE microbe has been taking
up so much Of the public at
= tention recently that people


dangers that lurk in the boudoir OF q
fashionable woman, she is fortunate If
she escapes being poisoned, and even
ii she does she runs great risk Of be.
inc burned to death. IN the frs:
place, q great number of colored ia
brics are more or less poisonous.
Many dyes ore toxic. As iswell known,
arsenic IS chiefly to be blamed for this
fact, though the law forbids the use OF
srsenical salts in dyes.
Some persons are apt to think that
the quantity Of poison in a wall paper
or fabric is, after al, very small,
but this is by no meaus the case. Ger
tain stnl1s contain more than two
cramnes Of acsenious acid TO the yard
-part;cnlavly the gauzy green IA
br;cs. Many accidents are caused By
sniiine colors, and above a!l By fucli-
sin and corslio, which are made By
treating rosalic acid with ammonia.
Fuchsin IS not poisonous in itself, but
rosaniliu, Of which this aud many
other co!oS;ug matters aro salts, are
obtained by treating aniiiuc with OK
dizers, Of which two arc ss dangerous
as they ara common-nanely, nitrate
OF mercury and arsenic acid; and it is
rare to find fIchsin that does not con-
tain more or less poison, The o5ser-
vat!ons OF French physicians have
shown that articles OF clothing col
ored with this substance and placed in
contact with the skin c.uss not only
local crup:;ons but symptoms Of dis
ease throughout the system. For N.
stance, cases O. erythsna and serious
Inflammation Of the skin have been
caused by wearing red merino stock
ines co!crel by the makers with ros-
a2!;n containing arsenic as an i'm
purity.
This is only one OF mely examples
OF products, l,"rm' ess in themselves,
that hccome actively poisonous by
reason Of Impurities due to some pro
cess Of preparation.
But the unfortunate modern woman
not cnly runs risk Of poisoning herself
with articles Of clothing she dons, she
may also DC seriously burned by things
that she uses dsiiv in the toilet.
First, there ere the articles made Of
celluloid found on every toilet
table, though often msquerading ae
horn or ivory Celluloid is q com.
pound of camphor and gun cotton,
ard is highly irGammable, but in spite
of this, its chcapness and the ease
with which it may be shaped have
made it :a7orite material for combs,
bairpins aol all sorts of small fancy
toilet articles, even for artificial teeth,
whose wearers probably do not realize
that they are transforming their
mouths into animated bombs charged
With guncotton.
Among ali these celluloid toilet er-
ticles, however, combs are the only
oues that have hitherto caused accl-
dents. The most serious accident OF
this kind, or, at all events, the one that
made the greatest impression on the
public, was one that occurred IL
France. \ little girl on her return
from school vas set to work at ironing
near stove. During her work she
leaned constantly towards the hot
stove so that ner head was almost di'
rectfv over it, and after she had been
il this attitude for about al
hour her imitation tortoise-shell
comb, made Of celluloid, caught fire all
at once and her head was in an instant
enveloped in flames. Her mother has
tened TO ber aid and put out the fire
rs soon rs she could, but not before
large pa1t Of the chiid's hair had been
burned eff and her scalp had sustained
aserious burn about four inches square
which was long in healing.
Less serious burns have resulted
from wearing the long double cellu
loid hairpins with which women 80
often transtix their hair. When they
bend over a lamp, or even a candle,
the projecting part often comes IN
contact with the flame and takes fire
like a match, but it is usually eas! to
extineuish it before it reaches the
hair.
There are fabrics, too, that ere lit
tie hatter than explosive. Not 10
sneak Of the light, easily inaanlnsb:e
,!fs that a::c:cd, tne-e is sort o:
caaan faonel called pilou, largely
use? :or vomen's garments, especially
wrappers and night dresses. The sur
face is OF vscisgatei hue and covered
with long, silky hairs forming sort
q: down, and taking ire like fulrnin-
mating cotton when brought near
lamp, candle 0. open IRE. The fame
spreads rapidly over the whole sur
face. GENERALLY roirc out of itself, hut