Year: 1868

Some Londoner has made the impor-
tant discovery, that stockings of certain
color are poisonous, and now the New
York Journal Of Commerce cautions peo-
pie against wearing colOred undercloth-
ing. That paper says:


The windows of geutlemen's furnish
ing stores in this city have been bright
ened up for some months past with flaming
red and orange colored socks and under
shirts. The display as seen from the
street is exceedingly brilliant. The
CANDY colors fash upon the passers-by
with almost the vividness of a druggists
show bottles. Articles so beautiful and
sanctioned as the latest fashion, have
met with ready sale though worn
where they do not, in the eyes of the
world, impart any charm to the wearer.


To some extent, articles of underwear,
dipped in the same gorgeous dies, have
found favor with the ladies'; but on this
point our informant is not so positive.


In England, where these goods origin
ated and have insinuated themselves next
to the cuticle of great numbers of young
people, much alarm has been caused by
a recent paragraph in the Lancet-a med
ical and surgical journal of high author
ity.


Complaint had been made to sitting
Alderman at Guildhall that the dye in
these splendid socks, etc., caused irrita-
ton and an eruption on the skin, and
eventually actual sores. We do not learn
that the ''sitting Alderman at Guildhall'
did anything about it except to make the
complaint public. The Lancet corrobo-
rated the statement By reference to the
case of ddnseuse at Drury Lane Thea
ter, one OF whose feet was badly poisoned
by red stocking. An eruption covered
exactly that part of her foot which was
concealed by her dancing shoe. The red
stocking seemed to be identified as the
agent of mischief, because the neccssi-
ties of the ballet required the girl to
wear stocking of another color on the
other foot, and that was unharmed. The
injured foot soon healed up upon wear
ing white hose.


Many other similar cases are cited.
The testimony of Mr. Crookes, the we'll
known editor of the Chemical Ne,os, is
also quoted as saying:


The reason why there have been so
few complaints, Notwithstanding the
thousands of pairs of socks sold, appears
to me to be this Normal perspiration is
slightly acid, and consequently will not
act upon the insoiuble acid dye; under
exceptionable circumstances, however,
the perspiration may be alkaline, and
when profuse, little of the dye would
be dissolved and become absorbed, pro-
ducing more or less severe irritation on
a sensitive skin. Although the eombi-
nation of these circumstances would
necessarily be rare, and ninety-nine men
out of hundred might wear these socks
and feel no i'll effects, the hundredth
might be incovenieneed.


1t would, therefore, be as well to re-
strict the use Of this particular orange
dye to articles which will not habitually
be worn next the skin, and for these gar
ments should be employed yellow and
orange dyes, which are harmless, such as
phosophine, aurine, Manchester yellow
havine, pierre acid, etc.


Should one of the thousand and odd
present possessors of these socks feel any
temptation to throw them into the FIRE,
let him not yield to it, but have them
we'll washed with soap and soda, when
they will entirely lose their stimulating
action, both on the feet and on the optic
nerve.


There is said to be 225,000 wheat