Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1912-12-19
Boiled sp;na,ch.,

There - nothing IN the poems OF
Wordsworth more pathetic than this
following sonnet to Sleep:
A flock OF sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one; the sound OF rain and bees
Murmuring: the fall Of rivers. winds and
Smooth fields: white sheets OF water, aid
pure sky
sleepless. and soon the small BIRDS melo-
dies
Must hear, first uttered from my orchard
trees.
And the first cuckoo's melancholy cry.
Even thus last night and two nights
more / lay
stealth.
So do not let me wear tonight away.
Without thee what is all the mornings
wealth?
Come, blessed barrier between day and
day
Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joy
GUS health.
The poet has evidently adopted the
theory that Insomnia and its cure are
metaphysical. that sleeplessness results
from perverted train of thought and
that the cure for 1T is to pry the mind
out of its rut by thinking Of something
else.
That this is the philosophy Of most
cases of insomnia Is manifest from the
single fact that as soon as sleepless
person gives up trying to sleep he be-
comes oVerpoweringly sleepy. 1t Is re-
lated as a great joke that victim Of
insomnia complained that he had 1T so
bad" that he could not even sleep when
1t was time to get UP"
This is laughable, but it is neverthe-
less a serious matter 1t shows that
in the great ajority Of cases insomnia
Is the result of permitting the mind
~. r. 49, 80
which Is a purpose to fall asleep, and
that the cure for 1t is to get rid Of that
mental habit.
When a sleepleSs person cannot even
go to sleep when it is time to get up"
it proves that the cause of his fnsom-
mia is not metaphysical Some sptcula
of bone may be pricking a nerve, or
some diseased organ may be torturing
Its adjacent nerve, or the brain or
nerves themselves may be diseased and
representative, In that case there is no
use in thinking about sleep or rain or
bees. Help lies in the knife. the hyp-
motto drug or perhaps in hypnotic food.
This is where boiled spinach comes
in. It has been discovered that boiled
spinach or boiled cabbage. either one,
is remarkable temporary relief of many
ordinary cases Of insomnia, whether
metaphysical or physical.
This Is not set down in the books.
Millspaugh's large and magnificently
Illustrated volume on Medical Plants. -
which treats of the medical properties
Of innumerable vegetables plants and
nuts that are regular articles OF food,
has nothing to say about spinach and
cabbage. The hypnotic reputation of
these two popular vegetables is mat
ter OF tradition and Of recent experi-
nent.
It is absurd to say that all persons
will be affected In certain way by one
particular food or drug. The human
constitution exhibits many startling
tdtosyncrasies There are people who
can eat calomel by the handful without
any effect and there have been nom
habituated people who swallowed sixty
grains of morphine with perfect safety.
In like manner what Is one mans food
may be another mans poison.
With this ample reservation there
can be no danger in saying that 1t is
claimed ON reliable authority that
boiled spinach or boiled cabbage, even
eaten four or five hours before bed
time, is powerful hypnotic, more apt
to produce uncomfortable results from
oversleeping than to fail In producing
sleep at all.
How 1t produces this effect IL not
clear. It does not appear to disorder
any part OF the body and yet this is not
certain.
1t viii do no victim Of insomnia any
harm to try a diet OF spinach or cab
bage for while and 1t may do him q
world of good.