The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-06-25
CITY WORLDS
POLLEN CENTER,
DOCTORS CLAIM
It's Hay Fever You Have,
Not Summer Cold,
They Claim.
BY TOM OCHILTREE
Times star Writer

Every summer a Iarg- number Of
citizens o. Indianapolis. the pollen
center OF the world. spend a lot Of
time blowing their respective noses
and thinking they have summer
colds.
The nose and throat doctors uf
this town Will lay a majority OF
them eight 20 Eve that what they
really have is some form OF hay
fever.
They have found after years OF
study that this city has more rag
weed pollen lowering in the air than
any popUious place IN the civilized
world. There might be a few
places in Kansas and Nebraska. thes
point out. where the pollen count
Is slightly higher than here. But
Indianapolis gets nearly unadulter-
ated rag weed. the most irritating
pollen 20 humans.
Slides Outside Windows
A large number Of physicians
place creased slides outside their
Office windows and take a DAY by
day count Of this floating plant
life.
Then they compute from an area
on the slide the amount OF pollen
II a cubic yard OF air. and from
this they can figure the total
amount over the city.
During the high point 81 the rag
weed season. around Labor Day.
there are several tons Of pollen over
indianapolis.
Some people have different names
for this irritation. but 10 matter
what they call IL. pollen softens
them all up alike From April l 10
May / pollen from trees causes peo-
pies TO sneeze.
Rose Fever Next in Line
This class Of sufferers no sooner
begins 20 look human again until
the rose fever people break forth
with Watery eyes. Rose fever Is
really caused by all types Of grass
and timothy. and IL lasts until
July 4.
The big league sneezers don't
start until the middle of August.
when rag weed gets them. They
keep az this until the first heavy
frost Doctors point out that some
people have all three forms.
During the rag weed season the
pollen count IN the air VIII run
from - TO 1850 a cubic yard. 1t takes
only 50 pollen a cubic yard TO set
: q Off
Look Like Market Graphs
Tine charts the doctors keep on
this count look something like those
business graphs you see on the mar
ket page
o. c Durham OF the AbbOtts Lab
OratorieS. Chicago. has compiled the
most complete charts on this subject.
II has been found that only by 60
ing TO Washington or Oregon can
you escape pollen
They can fly through the air with
the greatest Of ease for hun ir-ds of
miles. and has even been found at
attitudes Of 1900 feet.
Hay fever has always plagued the
human race. For the first few
thousand years people didn't know
what It was. but in 1919 an English
man named John BostOCk decided
that ne didn't really have a cold.
He diagnosed his case so accurate
" that later writer's haven't been
able 70 add much TO his findings.
Even DIR. Holmes Banied
AS a cure. doctors have tried
desensetzation and recently a Texas
physician has developed an iOniza-
ton process which he claims VIII
cure. Zinc. cadmium and lin are
punched up the nose Of the patient
and an electric current is applied TO
the metal
Most sufferers are fataliStic about
the whole thing In 1868. Henry
Ward BeeCher. who had the malady
for many years. wrote DR.. Oliver
Wendell Holmes for a satisfactory
remedy.
The encouraging reply was.
Gravel Is an effective remedy. II
should be taken about eight feet
deep"