Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-21
Three Billion Sneezes
BY Frederic j. Haskln.

approaching,
logged in close fitting goggles to pro-
tect their eyes, with cotton filters IN their |
noses. and with lips tightly closed against |
invading irritonts, the old guard Of tho |
hay fever fraternity are already preparing |
10 do battle with the flowers that bloom in |
the summer and fall
Of course they know that they will be |
unsuccessful in their resolve not to sneeze |
once this year They know that they will |
soon be saying, IDS beaudful bo ding" |
instead of talking in the, usual bell-like |
tones. They even foisec that their eyes |
will he puffed up like frogs, and their |
noses will be red, and their faces in general |
will suggest traces of violent emotion |
but they prepare 10 suffer with the dignity |
hetitting one who is afflicted with mn |
| aristoofntic ailment.
Fo, tho high character of hay fever ia
now universally acknowledged Doctors !
who have studied the disease most care
fully testify that il attacks only the super |
| aesthetic IT. is nalady Of distinction, |
and one which vou can we'll afford 20 |
| cultivate If you don't mind being thor |
| oughly miserable while displaying your
| superiority.
When hay fever first became prevalent |
about the time of the Civil War sufferers
| went about sneezing, and weeping and
ridiculous Hay fever was then n Joke and
n mystery Now that science takes IL
seriously. the million or more people who
sneese at the mention of weeds are COM
ing to glory in the idea that they are
souls apart, endowed with representative
noses and perilouslv hgh-sttung nervous
systems.
AHTarocRsrrc AtmBNr
for hav fever victims1 claim 70 bc 50 deli
catev balanced that they lose their
equilibrium completely If n stalk Of rag
weed sprouts within 4 half a mile Others
po them one better by insisting that they
have had attacks Of sneezlng brought on
bv looking at an oil painting Of goidenrod
and daisicsi
n il we'll established fact that the excit-
ing cause of hay fever Is the pollen of any
of hundred or more plants and grasses
carried about on the wind Because the
wind cannot be depended on 10 carry
each grain Of oplen 20 tho right flower 70
promote fertilization, a great many extra
grains are produced 50 that soue will he
sure 10 fulfill their purpose. Thus, m the
nnse Of ragwecd Il is estimated that f
several million grains Of pollen arc scat /!
tered on tho wind for every grain which I
lands on n ragweed plant
These straying atoms of pollen some /
time travel FIVE or six miles on the wind I
They are m the air we breathe Ninety /.
nine people in n hundred have them IN /
their nasal passages. and the membrane IL +
efficiently proof against irritation, 81 that .
no harm ls done But in the hnndreCith .
nose the mucous membrane is extra
sensitive. The poison enters the mem
brane and starts an irritation, Meanwhile
the possossor ~ the hundrodth noEe is
getting wireless messages to his brain
about violent conflict in his nasal pas
sage He sends back an order not 70
surrender, hnt by this time the attacking
enemy is reinforced by soune more pollen
grains and defeat il inevitable
Susceptibility To hay fever Is a mystery
Some people respond only 70 ragreed +
others to the pollen of corn and rye. 4 +
great many think that goldenrod il their
particular nemesis, bit science has showed T
that the pollen IA so heavy hat II cannot
be blown any distance BY the wind. and
that therefore godenrod can cause q hay
fever spasm only when the pollen is IN
hailed from the plant itself. As few hay
feverites ever allow themselves to come 4
within this danger zone Of gaidenrod, the .
plants evil reputation IS obviously IN .
deserved.
WEEDS TO BLAME.
Some people are victims Of hav fever
from childhood Many, however, develop
the disease later, some as late ~ fifty
wears of age. One reason for tins seems
20 he the fact, Just mentioned, that different /
people are susceptible to different plants
Thus, people whose noses would not /
think OF having Mysteries over tIeld grasses
OF honeysuckle. and who are invulnerable
10 the deadly cockle-bur. may suddenly
be laid low Il they travel 70 different
section Of the country where the air IS
loaded with different pollen polsons-
Whether every nose Is vulnerable 20
some pollen toxin is not vet known. Il s
certain that a great many people escape
haV fever only because they never happen
10 get within range Of pollens which would
affect them.
Once the malady attacks you, the doc
| tors say that YOU viii most likely have &c
every wear al the same time for the next
decade or So Of course YOU may be able
10 avoid it by seeking out some weed}ess
place, or If YOU know what plants are
antagonistic 70 your eyes and nose, YOU
have simply 10 spend your summers
where those partlucar plants are un-
| known The majority OF II. +. VS.. re-
spond violently 10 numerous plants
Some Df J0eIl SSSh IVluEe Oll Tic Itiel cSeiSs
or on the top of a mountain peak IN tho
heart of city, or IN the depths Of our few
remaining virgin forests
\ few resorts, notably those at high
attitudes and on the sea coast. do seem
to be comparatively free from wind
borne pollen. Up III New England, the
II. F. Us have re;rea, which they claim
IS completely organized against the dis
ease At the boarding houses Of this
village the dining-tables and parlors are
bare of flowers. Not even artificial flowers
bloom here, for the power Of suggestion IS
strong, and then too, artificial flowers are
great collectors of dust Ne dancing IS
allowed in the hotels lest dust start some
one sneezing and bring on an epidemic Of
kerchoos The swiftest growing weed
scarcely get their leaves above ground
in the neighborhood before they are
destroyed.
\ sNEEzELESs CITY.
In this specially treated atmosphere the
convention Of the hay feyerites meets
yearly There is good deal Of fun. for
the delegates can see the humour of hay
fever-as exeInplified in their fellow
delegates. Tho main purpose Of the con-
vention is, however, serious Talks on
remedies are given, and experiences IRE
exchanged Persons supposed to be
cured testify for the benefit Of the rest,
and others immediately rise to say that
they tried the same thing for years and it