Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1915-02-03
ARTIFICIAL FEEDING.


Inasmuch as health Is the natura
and normal state Of mankind, II
should not be difficult to preserve
ones health. And 1t is not. But be
cause health is inherent in us, and be
| cause we are elastic and therefore
tend persistently to revert to the nor
NAL, whatever the provocation. with
very few exceptions we obstinately
and fatuously cling to habits and prac
tices certain to impair our physical in
heritance, until some sharp and severe
experience lashes us into conscious
ness Of corporal limitations and com
pels the recognition of natural laws.
Without exception Ill health, phys
ical debility, sickness and suffering In
general come through repeated viola
tions, either on ones own part or on
the part Of others, Of the laws OF this
universe, of which we are constitu.
ent part.
Too often irreparable damage is
done to vital organs before we become
conscious of the breakdown, and then
1t is too late to do anything.
AS a matter of fact the problem Of
life itself can be solved only by the
study of what takes place in the mi
mute portion of the cell, for it is In
the 'centrasome"-a roundish body
alongside the nucleus Of cell that is
undergoing division-that the new for
nation Of an individual begins. Re.
member that cells increase by divi.
sion; there is no corpse; each cell
splits into two, indefinitely. We can
not all become cytologists-cell ex-
perts-but we can easily acquire per-
sonal working knowledge from obser-
walton Of any one of the lower organ
isms-such as the chicken, for instance
sufficient for all practical purposes
as a safe guide to better things II we
will but open our minds to the truth.
To begin with, we do not know,
here in this country, how many chill.
dren are born annually, because only
few states require birth registration.
and we are therefore unable even to
approximate the percentage Of infants
stillborn as the result Of conditions
identical in principle with those that
cause the death of the chick in the
shell. But we do know from statistics
returned on approximately 60 per cent
of our population Of 100.000.000 that at
least twenty-five per cent of all infants
born die before they reach one year
of age. In contrast with this condition
we know that If a sitting hen is given
eggs from the same pens from which
the incubators are supplied and from
which an 80 per cent hatch is consid-
cred highly satisfactory. the hen will,
with but few exceptions. produce
matches approximating 100 per cent
The mortality in the incubator is In.
significant compared to that which
takes place among chicks under artifl-
cial brooding and feeding conditions,
that Is to say, during that period Of life
before the chick is sufficiently mature
to be able to look after its own needs. |
If the death of forty to sixty or more |
per cent of a given flock of chickens
ended the matter we might content |
ourselves with the idea that inasmuch |
as each species tends to increase In.
the check known always to
be in action, even though we are not
able to perceive it, which Is simply
natures method Of preserving a bal.
ance, must result in an improvement
If the breed But unfortunately, this
8 found not to be true; for invariably
hose survivors of conditions which
produce these very heavy mortalities
ire themselves SO shattered physically
hat under the same conditions only
ew generations suffice seriously to de-
eriorate a fine strain and, II persist.
entity followed. quickly lead to total
of the line.
On every hand we find these condi-
ions closely paralleled in the human
pecies. Deficient food supply to the
pregnant woman gives the same re-
ults following lack Of heat in any
,ther incubator, and an excess pro-
|uces about the same effect as too
much heat in the machine; both inevi-
ably lead to deterioration in the
hid: while artificial feeding is known
o be fully as disastrous to the child as
is so clearly proved to be to the
hick and its descendants.
The solution is comparatively simple
nd consists in nothing more than
raining women to have fit apprecia-
lon of the obligations Of motherhood
nd seriously and conscientiously to
repare to meet the natural demands. |