Year: 1873

LET me describe what is probably the
most frequent way in which the ear is I'M
paired that is, by the attempt to clean it..
1t ought to be understood that the passage
of the ear does not require cleaning by us.
Nature undertakes that task, and in the


healthy state fulfills it perfectly. Her
means for cleaning the ear is the wax


Perhaps the reader has never wondered


what becomes of the ear-wax. l Will tell


him 1t dries up into thin, fine scales,


and these peel off, one by one, from


the surface of the passage, and fall


out imperceptibly, leaving behind them a
perfectly clean, smooth surface In health


the passage of the ear is never dirty; but,
if we attempt to clean it we infallibly
make it so. Hereby strange lack of
justice as it would seem, which, however,
has no doubt deep justice at the bot
tom-the best people, those who love
cleanliness, suffer most, and good and


careful nurses do mischief negligent
ones avoid. Washing the ear out with
soap and water is bad: it keeps the wax
moist when it had ought to become dry
and scaly, increases its quantity unduly,
and makes it absorb the dust with which
the air always abounds But the most
hurtful thing is introducing the corner of
tllC toNSl, cNlS"SN uP, oiiN t"i''AiS ~
round This does more harm to the ears
than all the other mistakes together. 1t
drives down the wax upon the membrane,
| much more than it gets it out Let any one
who doubts this make a tube like the pas
sage, especially with the curves which it
possesses; let him put thin membrane
at one end, smear the surface with a sub
stance like the ear-wax, and then try to
get it out SO by a towel. But this plan
does much more mischief than merely
pressing down the wax It irritates the
passages, and makes it cast off small flakes
of skin, which dry up and become ex-
tremely hard, and these are also hardly


pressed down upon the membrane. Often


it is not only deafness that ensues, but


pain and inflammation, and then matter is
formed which the hard mass prevents from
escaping, and the membrane becomes dis
eased and worse may follow.


Washing should extend only to the out
er surface, as far as the finger can reach.


1t is bad practice, also, to put cotton


wool soaked in laudanum or chloroform
into the ear for the relief Of earache. When
child's car becomes painful, as it often
does, everything should be done to sOothc


it, and all strong, irritating applications


should be avoided. Pieces Of hot fig or


onion should not be put in, but warm
flannels should be applied, with poppy
fermentation, if the pain does not soon sub
| side


| 1t should be remembered that constant
! ly covering up the ear is adapted to injure
| it. On the whole, men, in whom the ear
is habitually exposed, suffer if anything
| less from ear-disease than women, in


whom it is often covered.-Popolar Science


Monthly.


| A MARRIED woman in Decatur, Ohio


the other day, pining for her husbands


society, went with her three little children


to the billiard-roo and took seat by his


side. "Its disgraceful," said he, looking


daggers at her. 81 know it," continued


the injured wife, land you have borne the


disgrace so long, my dear, that am deter


mined henceforth to share it with you :


and she took out her knitting and settled


down for the evening. He went home


much earlier, and it was the last of hin
that was to be seen in that billiard-room.


POTATOES are now put through chem


ical process which converts them into al