St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-04-11
WHY PEOPLE GO MAD.
An Analysis Of the Cases Of Mise Ths
sand Men and Women.

A Analysis Of the Cases Of Nlno Thea
sand Mon and Women.
Rarely can one find more depress-
Ing story of human ills than that which
is told in the sixth annual report OF the
state commission in lunacy, recently
given out by the state printer in Al
bany.
In the table showing the causes which
sent IL, POS people to the county asylums
during the six years covered by the
statistics may be found some curious
statements. Thus, in spite of the sup
posed deleterious influence of cigarette
smoking, but one man and one woman
were driven insane by the habit; but
excessive smoking of tobacco in other
forms sent 10 men and three women
to the asylums. One woman became
insane through the extraction of her
teeth, and one girl lost her mind
through fear of punishment. An in
temperate desire to acquire knowledge
forever stopped the studies of 20 men
ard 12 women. Overwork broke down
the minds of 252 men and 430 women.
Intemperance in alcoholic drinks &C
complished the undoing of 1927 men
anil 212 women. No other cause
claimed SO many victims among men.
Besides these there were some 200 who
became insane through drink cOmpii-
Gated with some other cause, and 1T ID
a curious fact that one of these was
man who drank essence of peppermint.
The opium habit claimed II men and
g women. Under the head of "Moral
Causes" are grouped such troubles as
loss of friends. religious and political
excitemcnts, disappointments, and SO
on. These causes crazed 9O2 men and
1,c9i women.
1t seems rather strange. but one man
became insane through military hard
ship" The use of a hair wash unseated
one woman's reason. One man became
insane because of the heat of the fur
naces under the boilers he was firing.
The table of causes compiled from the
New York asylums goes into greater de-
tail. 1t shows that l3 men, but not one
woman, became insane through disar-
pointment in love during the six years.
Ono man went insane because his wife
eloped, but the women who lost their
husbands in like fashion must have
taken q more sensible view of the mat
teri for not one was sent to an asylum.
More remarkable still is the fact that
under the head of domestic Trouble"
there were registered 50 men and not
one woman. Six men. but not one
woman, became insane through fright.
So, too, hair dyes turned the brains as
well as the hair of two men, but not one
woman. Mesmerism also affected one
nan, but no woman. Jealousy was the
ubdoing of one man, but Of no woman.
sOn the other hand, cverwork by it.
self destroyed the minds of A women,
but of no men. Overwork and intem-
perance combined, however, landed 13A
men, but not one woman, in the
asylums. Intemperance alone called
for 976 men and 61O women-this out
Of a total of 9,146 men and women adj
mitted to the asylums during six years.
Overstudy deranged the minds of IL
men and no women. Koch's lymph
ruined one man, and one man became
insane from a dog bite" The effects
Of what is called the 'opium habit"
made four men insane in the six years.
No cases of women are recorded under
this head, but under the title OF Nor
phine Habit" three women and no men
are NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Medical
Review.