Beverly banner., 1924-07-11

Tree. so enthusiastically Qlu II EN-
brace the concoction that was expect
ed to replace mans crowning glory,
that antimacassars were invented to
protect the backs of easy chairs.
Javas today, puts its trust not in
spices, but in cinchona, which is quiz
nine, and in kapok and copra (dried
coconut), in vegetable oils and rubber
and coffee. Castor oil from the castor
bean also comes largely from the Ori-
ent.
Boric Acid From Springs.
Even the bowels of the earth min
lister to humanity. Down from the
fields of Tuscany where lavender
grows is a broad stretch of coastal
plain which corresponds closely with
the famous Pontine marshes Repeat
edly malaria has resisted mans eff
forts to recover this region called the
Maremma. 1t contains, however, GER
tain steaming springs, evidently allied
to the volcanic nervousness of south
ern Italy. 1t was discovered that the
waters of these springs contained boric
acid. Engineers built retaining walls
around natures chemical fountains and
drew off the liquid into basins where
natural evaporation made the acid
crystallize. This product is sent into
commerce as borax for washing pow
ders and In the medicine cabinet a
solution of it is familiar eye wash
and emergency agent for burns.
The internationaltsm of medicine
was borne out clearly during the war.
German scientists, who had discovered
ilfimitable magic in coal tar, developed
certain important medical compounds
on which the world had come to de-
pend. Particularly prominent were
carbolic acid and aspirin. With the
war and England's blockade, the sup
plies Of these agents diminished and
the prices rose. Aspirin bounded from
80 cents a pound to $1.25 a pound.
Carbolic acid gyrated from % cents
pound to So.
Iodine is another common aid In
the family medicine cabinet. Its anti
septic properties are well appreciated
but It's history Is little known. For a
umbus' sailors, contributed much of
this medicine by way of Ireland, for
the kelp from which it was burned
was thrown up on the Irish coast by
the gulf stream. Then, in the course
of engineers investigation of nitrate
production In the Chilean desert, it
was discovered that iodine could be
produced as a by-product. The amount
of iodine released by the nitrate COM
panies Of Chile now determines the
market price of this chemical.
Medicines From Mines.
Stassfurt, Germany, is another inn
portant source, of minerals for medi-
cine. Near this little German town,
twenty miles from Magdeburg, are the
noted potash mines. Glycerin, an inn
portant ingredient of a familiar gar
GLE and of lotions for milady's skin, is
indirectly a product of Stassfurt, since
it is made from spent lye used to pro-
duce soap. The I've, potassium car
Donate, comes from the potash mines.
Magnesium sulphate, which Is EPSON
salts, is also product of Stassfurt
mines. The salts take their name from
health spring at EPSON visited by
Charles II and other members of Eng
lish royalty. Stassfurt has no monop-
oily on this substance, however, since
minerals from which it may be pro-
duced are mined in Euboea, an island
off the east coast of Greece, near
Salem in Madras, India, Urea, Italy
and in California.
Much of the peppermint for tooth
pastes and for toothsome sweets is
produced in Michigan and New York.
1t is also extensively cultivated in
Kiangsi province, China, and distilled
in Canton. Sens, France, and Leipzig,
Germany, are other centers for the
production of this pungent plant, which
is, not as particular about its habitat
as many medicinal herbs.
Lavender, though native to Italy,
southern France and Spain, also ac-
customs itself to many climates and
soils. Among the earth's romantic
spots, certain islands OFF the coast OF
southern France should receive special
mention, for oh them lavender is re-
puted to grow more thickly and with
stronger perfume than anywhere else.
Indeed, once they were called the law
ender islands, the Stoechades, after
the scientific name for the lavender
plarxA These islands lying near the
- naval fortress Toulon, under
lent name Hyeres. figure prom-
Joseph Conrad's novel, "The