Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1879)
May, 1879. THE WEST SHORE. 141 KAINTNE8S AND IT8 CAUSES. Kuntnou coniiiU in a temporary failure of the activity of the heart; the blood, in conse quence, ia not properly circulated. It doea not reach the head, and the patient loees clearneat uf viaion and color, and, if not prevented, falla to the lloor, where, however, or even before reaching it, he recovers. There ia no convul sion, and, though he can scarcely be aaid to be conscious, he ia not profoundly unconscious, so as not to be able to be aroused, as happens in epilepsy. There are all degrees of faintneas, from merely feeling faint and looking slightly palo, to the HUte we have described; ana in aome cases the state of fainting is hardly reoovorod from well before it rocurs again and again, for hours and days together. We need hardly aay that aueh cases as the latter are altogether lieyoud the reach of domeatio medicine. . What are the causes of faintneas ? It is not very dillicult to deicrilni theae. Some people are so easily all'ectcd that they faint if they cut their finger, or even if they ouly see the cut finger of another person. All one can aay of auoh persons is that their muacular liber is not strong and that their nerves are sensitive. The heart, which goes on for years circulating the blood, ia essentially a muscle, It ia weak in aome people, atronger in others. Aa a rule it ia weaker in women and stronger in men, Ilenoe women faint more rapidly than men. Whatever weakona the heart anil the muscles generally acta aa a cause of famtneas. Close, foul air ia a common cause of fsiutnuss or of languidneaa. Anything which greatly aflecta tho nervoua system, such as bad news or the sight of something horrible or dis agreeable, will sometimes cause fainting. Hut of all causes of faintneas, none are ao seri ous aa the loss of blood. The muscles, in order to act woll, must be supplied with blood, and if the blood of the body ia lost - if it esoaies, either from a vein opened purposely, or from piles, or from the source from which menstrua turn proceeds in exceaaivo quantity, then faint nesa will happen. The degree of it will depend on the constitution and on tho amount of blood lost. A loss of blood tliat would ecarcolv bo felt by one poraon will be eerioua cause of faii.t noss to another. Sometimes frequent faintiiess arises from becoming very fat, the muscular system of the heart Wing impaired by fatty ilcitoait. CaurWi lloturhoul (Juitlr. A l:i mi m roK WMWflM Conni. Dr. larth I Wirnrr Allijnn. ) states that by placing . gtt ol. terebinth, on a handkerchief, hold ing it before the face, and taking alniut 40 deep inspirations, to be repeated thrioe daily, signal anil marked relief, followed by rapid cure in cases of laryngeal catarrh, ia the result. In an infant 13 months old, in the convulsive stage of whooping oongh, he directed the mother to hold a 1 Hi, moistened aa above, before it when awake, and to drop the oil upon its pillow when asleep. The result waa markedly beneficial. In 24 honra the frequency and severity of the attacks were notably diminished, and by pniier support by aid of stimulants, the improvement was rapid. Hulatequently pertussis became epi drmic in bis vicinity, and he repeatedly uaed the drug in this way. Ht gave it to children of all ages, and in any stage of fever. The initial catarrh, the convulsive, and the final catarrhal stages war ail decidedly benefited, the spaa modic attacks being in many rases aborted. Kkathkm IK TlXTlUM. - According to the I'sris h'ignrn, the shop will soon hare the new Uitilaa in feathers and wool and cotton on sale. This is an invention of M. Bourguigimn, of Doo 'hr , who has found how to weave feathers (deprived of the bony aobsUoos) and inourpor sts ihriu with woolen and ootton yarns ia pro rtius varying from 10,'. to 75 '.. Some very Aoe textiles are thus made, and especially a ". I which for warmth and hghluees is unapproachable. Consumption or Kubbbh. The consumption of rubber by our manufacturers, continues ss large as everi imports amounting to about 12, 000,000 pounds per annum, chiefly from South America. The price ranges from 20 to AO cents per pound, the cheaper grades coining from Africa and the finest from the valley of the Amazon, where the trues producing it abound over a vast region, one-half of the entire yield going to the United Slates. Tho consumption iu the manufacture of shoes equals the demand for all other purposes. In the manufacture of rubber from 'i,' to 10 of sulphur, ami various metallic oxides chiefly lead and lino are com bined with it; the quantity of tho latter depend ing on the degree of elasticity and other pro perties required in the article to be manufac tured; ami to judiciously combine these sub stances with the rubber in suitable proportions to produce the desired end, aa woll as in priqierly vulcanising it afterwards, requires great expert enoe and skill. A certain degree id honesty on the part of the manufacturer is also essential to abstain from introducing mere adulterating sub stances into his ' 'oomiounds, " and thus cheapen the product at the expense of its quality. Khkkiii.y I'umi n BoOaflk The impression that those who inhabit rooms freshly painted are in danger of load poisoning has Iwcn shown by Dr. 1 b un nt Middle to lie quite unfounded. He bases this statement upon the result of the followiug experiment: Ilu introduced iuto a cloao box a number of shoots of iaper saturated with white (lead) paint, and upon tho bottom of the box placed a shallow dish of pure (dis tilled) water, previously tested to make sure of its perfect freedom from impurities, and from load iu particular. After an cxioeure to the atmosphere of the box for throe days, the water dish waa removod, acidulated with nitric acid, and treated with sulphureted hydrogen, when not a trace of lead precipitate occurred. Dr. Itiddlo therefore attributes the colds and other unpleasant consequences experienced by sleep ing iu frashlyopainlod apartmoiiU to tho irrita ting a. 1 mo of tho vapors of turwutine on the lining membrane of tlio air-passages. Tun Oihih or Hi'Man Ham. -In l.r I'rayr" Mnticul, M. (lalippe calls attention to the medico-legal value of the odor of the human hair. Ilo asserts that from the simple smell of a lock of hair he can tell whether the lock has been cut ti ..in the living aubject or whether it has b. 01 composed of nair that has fallen out. Ilair-draeaers hare acquired this art, which is said never to fail them. Hair which has fallen out haa a (lull appearance, attributable to ilia rase, and ia not easily mule up; it haa no peculiar smell. The hair of the I'hineoo haa a character istio odor of musk, which is so persistent that it caunot be concealed by oosmetlos, for it cannot be destroyed by washing with NUsh. The hsir of the Chinese has alao a reddish tinge, and is polyhedral in eeotiou. Hair of hysterical pa tients haa a peculiar awl distinguishing odor which is most perceptible at the approach of a crieie, Certain hair ia electrical, the electricity bung developed more readily a'ler rubbing. (il.vi aaiss ix Kimii. Cattllon, a French physiologist, found that the addition of from even to eight grains of glycerine to the daily ration of a Lot ofliuinea pigs increased the effect of their food so that they gained from one Unth to on- bltb of their weight in a given time, while a aeoood lot fed on the same ration, but without glycerine, gained nothing; when the doa of glyostine was changed to the second lot they gained in weight, and the first lot gained nothing, large doses of glycerine, however, cause derangsient of the digestive organs. To Maki a airmail PociTKX-In making a mustard plaster aae no water, bat mil the mustard with whits of egg. and the result will be a plaster which will draw perfectly, bat will not produce a Ulster, 00 mailer hew long it is allowed to remain. USKS KOH HUTTKHMILK. Hutterniilk t'heeee. - Uppered milk la gwosr. ally used for this purose, but It ia much belter and richer made of freeh buttermilk, with only one-third sour milk. It should be placed In a large tin pan or thoroughly cleansed hraas kettle, over a alow Hre, and allowed to remain there until the ourd haa separated from the whey, If the Are is to., hot, so that the buttermilk It scalded, the ourd will lie a disagreeable, stringy mass Net a tin colander on the top of a pail, spread a coarse linen towel over it, and into that dip the curd. I t the curd remain In the oolan der until the whey only dri from it, then tie the comers of the towel together and hang up for aeveral hours, or until the whey ia well .li .1110 .1 out. Then turn it into a pan, aud with the hands work in a small quantity of .alt . a piece of butter, and also a little cream, if the cheese is to be eaten fresh, aa moat Yankee wlatea prefer. Hut if to be kepi until strong ami rancid to both taste and smell, the cream must lie omitted. Make into nioa, firm balls, the si,", of a good apple, ami out in aliens for the table. Unit ill. Top. Hail one quart of fresh buttermilk. Heat one egg, a pinch of salt, anil a heaping teaapnouful of lb. or together, and tHiur into the boiling milk. Stir briskly and boil (or two or three minutee, and servo while warm with sugar, or, still belter, maple syrup. Although this is an old-fashioned and homely dish, eaten and relished by our grsndiarents before com starch, sea-moss farina, daaaloated coeoanut and other similar delicacies were avast heard of, it ia perhapa aa nutritious aa any of them, ami often far more easily obtained. Its Hygienic I'rnpertiee. -As the butter whioh is taken from the milk is only the carlmnaonoua or heat-producing element, there are still lefl In it all the nourishing properties which maha II ao valuable as food. Aa a drink for maa at work in the hot sun, buttermilk Is far preferable to aider, iiietheglin, ewltchel, or any prepara tion of I.. . 1 whatever, aa It is not only I in g and 1 1 1 along, but also strength. giving, 1 n course there are plenty of people who are constantly dialing themselvsa with blood search ers, livsr purifiers aud stomach Invigorators, who would Isugh at the mention of buttermilk as a medicine, and yet if Ihey could be one iirraiisdsd to try drinking a glaaa of that fresh iHivaraga svery day, they would soon Hnd 11 corrective of their poor appelllee and "clogged up" livers. In a little Look of Plain directions for the I are of the Nick, written by an intelli gent physician of Philadelphia, who haa nailer Ins medical supervision several charitable taeti tllllolis, we tlnd buttermilk 11. en! n.ur. I aa being very useful, especially in fevers, ss an article of diet fur the elan. A Vabhsii run Itsri.Ariso TtiaruTtai aid l.masan On. Paints. Vi Thies, of Hisses torf, prepares a varnish consisting of IU0 parte of roloiihoniam, 'JO parts of eryetalliasd oarboaala of sodium, ami Ml parts of water, by healing these suhslaacea together and mixing them with a solution of 21 parts of strong liquor of an. iniioia in SAO parts of water. With the mass thus obtained, the pigments are letigsted with out the addition of lineeed nil or tarpeallaei the paint drtee readily without Ho, aid of a drwr, and basks very well eeaeially when var nished. The paint keeps well even seder wa ter a lid beooenee very bard. The cost is said li ainouut to a1-. ui ..or third of thai uf ordi nary oil palate. - IknUtkt UrtU ZtUmny. fvumnu Oil. Of Cooaao. The beaatifel greea color ao often met with la the oil of oof nac, imported froen Karope, is generally derived from M appreciable quantity af copper, which, of course, must reader the liquor rude from It highly injurious To purify the oil heal II to shoal III K , and shahs with one loath of IU volume or a anaarased eoleltoa of tartaric aaid. Set aside fur one-half boar sad filter.