The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-09-22

s. c., SEPTEMBER 22, I
great mills in Chicago. St. Louis.
Cincinnati and other cities. by ma
chinery. The ears are "shucked
BY machinery. which pays no atten-
;:on TO bad ones. and throws the
moldy grain in with the rest. 10 be
afterwards ground.
Formerly the corn used for max |
ing mea! in the South was never |!
KEEP, in big bulks. Today. on the
other hand. !: is customarily handled
in enormous bulks-600 bus:.c!s TO
a car. and thousands o! bushels IN
one bin Cnde. such conditions. es-
pecially il any moisture be present.
the mass is liable to heat. and
the fungus from the no!dy grain
spreads with great .apidity. Thus
is may be taken for granted that the
cornmeal which comes to market
nowadays is more or less liable TO
5e infected with fungus. No wonder
then. tha, in the States where corn
meal is large item Of the daily
diet a disease positively known TO
arise from the eating Of moidy corn
should bave made its appearance.
II is by no means to oe supposed
that the fusi which attack corn are
al OF them, or even most Of them.
dangerous. Presumably. they are.
as a rule. quite harmless. But
among them there must be some
species OF ..pathogenic" character.
which produces the disease known
IS peliagra When sufferers from
the malady IN its early stages are
deprived OF corn. and fed on other
grain. tie symptoms disappear.
Summed up. the symptoms CON-
prise progressive enaciation. brittle
ness Of the bones. fatty degeneration
Of the internal organs especially
| the heart. liver. kidneys. spleen and
lungs). Inflammation OF the brain
and spinal cord. nervous troubles
| and the trightful affection Of the
skin already mentioned.
These conditions become progress
sivel~ worse. There are evidences Of
mental weakness. with great depres-
sion Of spirit. Children are sad OF
face and :ook like old men or wo-
men. Young women rapidly take on
the aspect OF ancierts. Emaciation
sets in. with increased physical
weakness. The skin becomes red.
with sensations Of burning and itch.
inS. and usually some puffiness.
Blisters appear. scattered over the
surface: the spiderm.s dries and
falls in grayish scales. Later on the
skin becomes thickened and OF dir
~ yellow or yellowish-green color.
hard and rough. with painful cracks
and crusts. or even alterations,
Finally. 1t becomes parchment-like.
with entire loss Of elasticity.
The condition. in a word. so sal
as this feature Of the complaint is
concerned. Is what layman would
describe as leprous. /. is not lepro.
sy. however. 4 suggestion has he"n
made to the effect that the leprosy
described In the Bible was actually
pel!agra. but there is no reason 70,
such theory. Undoubtedly pe.!a.
gra is a modern disease. corn having
been unknown In ancient times
Maize. OF course. is of American
origin. and 1t IS safe to say tina;
the Indians. who were large users
Of corn meal long before the days
Of Columbus did not use moldy grain
in its manufacture.
In the later stages OF the nalady
sufferers become either partly i'm.
beetle or derarged. Sometimes they
entertain deiusions Of persecution o!
of religion. Melancholia leads to
1 dementia. and they try to commi;
] suicide. or in some instances exhibit!
homiciGal tendency. Not infre,
quently they refuse food. Thei,
heads tremble and their gait IS para.
lytic. Last scene of al! Is conbi'
nation OF starvation. helplessness
heart weakness. dropsy and delirium
ending in death. Occasionally blood
poisoning. or even galloping con.
sumption OF the lungs. sets in at the
close.
| Pictures aave been sent to DR.
Ellie Metchnikon. the famous Rus
sian scientist who Is now studying
it. Il IS also under investigation
at John Hopkins University in Bal
t!more. Such is pellagra-certaialy
one Of the most frightful physical
Affections known to mankind.