Year: 1877

Interesting Medical Notes.


ARSENIC IN D1sEAsE.-The administra-
tion of arsenic in disease, according to
DR.. Griffith, in The London Medical
Press, should never be resorted to where
there is feverish state of the system-a
quick pulse and hot skin indicating
that it should not be employed. 1t
should be given shortly after meals, and
never on Oh empty stomach; it should
not be given in the solid form, nor in in
creasing doses, but, as a rule, five
minims of Fowler's solution should be
the maximum dose for an adult; the
dose should be diminished, or the ad-
ministration altogether ceased, on the
occurrence of pain in the epigastrium,
nausea, or irritation of the eyelids. ,.


ALCOHOL AND INsANITY.--A CORE.
spondent of The Journal of Mental
Science, DR.. Donald, writing from
Guinea, states with regard to the etiology
of insanity in that colony, TINT it is not
found to be depending in any way on, OF
modified by, the nature of the climate,
but that one of the most fertile causes OF
the malady is intemperance; this is more
particularly the case among Creoles and
Portuguese, alcohol being traceable, in
MANY instances, as the direct agent. DR..
Donald states that, among the lower
classes, rum is mostly used, and fire.
quently, in the form of highwines, rum
forty over proof, so that it can easily be
understood that this in time seriously
interferes with bodily health, and, acting
as poison, eventually produces cerebral
LESSONS.


ACTION OF TOBACCO ON THE SYSTEM.
Some years ago the French government
directed the Academy of Medicine to in
quire into the influence of tobacco on
the human system. The report of the
commission appointed by the academy
states that large number of the dis
eases of the nervous system and of the
heart, noticed in the cases of those
affected with paralysis or insanity, were
to be regarded as the sequence of exces-
sive indulgence in the use of this article;
and it is remarked that tobacco seems
primarily to act upon the organic
nervous system, depressing the faculties
and influencing the nutrition of the body,
the circulation of the blood, and the
number of red corpuceles in the blood.
Attention is also called to the bad diges-
ton, benumbed intelligence, and cloud
ed memory of those who use tobacco to
excess.


MEDICAL Uses OF GDYoERNE.-
Among the various uses for which
glycerine has been found especially
valuable as medicinal agent, is that of
food for infants; when 1aist7 by hand
they can be kept comparative. free, it
is said, from many of the ills to which
they are liable, by the substitution OF
from four to six drains of glycerine for
the amount of sugar usually added to the
cream, milk, or water constituting their
diet. In cases of deafness, too, of
adults, from deficiency, accumulation,
or hardness OF the cerumen, glycerine is
alleged to be one of the best remedial
agents-introduced into the canal by
means of raw cotton saturated with it. It
is also claimed to be the only known
agent, which will preserve vaccine lymph
for any considerable time without de-
terioration; it has been found extremely
useful in numerous skin diseases, and
it's serviceablenessh has been satisfactorily
proved in connection with all the various
substances used locally in diseases of the
eyes, except nitrate of silver, which latter
it decomposes.


Harvesting Wheat.


From present appearances the coming
harvest promises to be wet one in many
sections of the country. Heavy and con-
tinued rains during the last fortnight are
reported, and they have done some
damage in certain localities, prostrating
the ripening crops and iniuring the corn.
Many of our readers will remember the
wet season If 1875, when so many thou
sand bushels of wheat we're badly injured
or totally destroyed by the continued
wet weather during and Immediately
after harvest, and none desire to repeat
the experience this year, especially in
view of the remunerative prices which
this cereal promises to command. It is
to guard against loss from this cause, as
much as possible, that we call attention
to the subject now. From personal ex-
animation of different fields of wheat in
the shock, we know that very much OF
the great loss in 1875 was due to bad or
careless binding and shocking. Sheayes
and shocks we'll bound and put up will
stand quite lengthy spell of wet weather
without much injury, but loose sheaves
md shocks offer no resistance to the
rain, and are soon saturated. The differ
ence was notably apparent in adjoining
fields we examined, in which the wheat
had been handled and put up in the two
ways referred to.


In binding, sheaves should not be
made too large. Smaller sheaves make
better shock every way. The shock
can be put together more snugly, and rs
more sheaves can be put into it, better
circulation of mir is provided for, so that,
should the rain penetrate, it will dry out
quicker. Aim to make the sheaves OF
such size that two of them made into
caps will effectually cover the other ten
of the dozen.


A great deal has been written about
the proper time to cut wheat What
ever difference of opinion there may be
rs to the quality of early or late cut
wheat, all are agreed that ripened wheat
will not stand wet weather like that cut
earlier. For any purpose, except for
seed, we would cut it just after the grain
has passed into the doughy state. It
makes brighter, plumper grains, better
-four, and there is a decided gain in
quantity. But the point we wish to
make here, is that the early cut wheat,
we'll bound and shocked, will stand much
longer than the ripe, during wet weather.


Most farmers understand, well enough,
the Importance of careful work in the
wheat field, but many do the work, OF
permit it to be done, in careless manner,
nevertheless. In favorable seasons care
less work will do, but the grain which
may be secured in one rnfavorable sea-
SON, by proper care, will pay for NIL ex
tra trouble incurred during great many
dry seasons, when it appears like labor
thrown away to 60 to any extra pains to
secure the crop from iniury.-Pract1ca'
Farmer.


From the Bank to the Poor House.