Newspaper Page Text
NewThi q&s'Noi Found in Any Bodcr
Why There
Were More
NEUROTICS
300 Years Ago
Than NOW
N EUROSIS has been regarded as a modern affliction-
And for this reason it has been held that the
"neurotics” were people of wealth suffering from
a strictly up-to-the-minute malady, caused for the most
part by high living and lack of affairs to keep them in
terested In life.
But Pierre Janet, the famous French neurologist, de
clares neurosis is far from being a modern affliction.
Quite the reverse, according to this eminent scientist.
In explaining that neurosis Is in reality nothing more
or less than "that tired feeling," or a certain sort of tired
feeling. Professor Janet states that the nervousness and
hysteria of today are but child's play compared with
the hysteria that prevailed two, three and four hundred
years ago.
Detecting Artificial FLAVORING
FORMERLY all fruit extracts and flavors
were obtained from vegetable sources,
but at present many are made in the
chemical laboratory by synthetic methods,
that is, putting various elements together,
and while the flavors are duplicated, traces
of the acids, alkalies and other compounds
used in bringing about the necessary com
binations are often present. These are de
cidedly injurious to the human system.
Many extracts which cannot be made from
the fresh fruits are manufactured by the
synthetic method. The list includes straw
berry, pineapple, raspberry, peach banana and
pistachio—all danger marks to be avoided.
Legally, all flavoring extracts are strong
solutions of the essential oils or flavoring
qualities of the fruit, put up in alcohol. Be
cause of this, the strength of orange or
lemon extract may be examined by a simple
dilution of water To do this, fill a tall
tumbler nearly full of cold water and add a
teaspoonful of the extract. The nil will be
thrown out of solution and a decidedly milky
cloud will appear near the surface of the
water. The depth of the color enables one
to roughly determine the strength of the ex
tract. Absence of the color is proof positive
that the sample is artificial or very weak
Pure lemon or orange extract is almost color-
Why You Should Rub
MOSQUITO BITES
THERE are three factors in a female mosquito s bite
(the. male does not attack us at all). These are
first, the tiny wound in the skin made by the
puncturing weapon in the trunk of the insect; secondly,
a certain amount of poison which accompanies the stab,
and, thirdly, the withdrawal of the blood of the sleeping
—or often the waking—person. The amount of
blood withdrawn is very slight, not. enough to matter,
unless there be a number of bites and the sufferer be '
anemic. The wound itself is of small importance, since
it is finer than the finest needle-prick. The small
amount of poison is the really disturbing factor. A poi
sonless mosquito would be a great improvement on the .
present kind
After a bite there is set up in the skin a surface.
Irritation. In some people, when the blood is in poor
condition, the wound in the capillary, or tiny blood-,
vessel, no larger than a hair, which appears under the ;
skin is not resistant to the poison, and quite a large ,
lump appears. The lump consists of particles produced ;
by the blood of a kind o( ce " the blood whlch 18 hoS '
tile to tbe poison, and these bank up like a barricade to
prevent any further entrance into the fortress of the
body. As soon as the effect of the poison is worked off
these defensive cells disappear, and everything is all
light again
Scratching or rubbing with the flat of finger has the
effect of quickening the action <4f the blood-vessels in the
region of the bite to bring their defensive cells faster,
and by that means it helps to keep out the poison. But
great care must be taken not to scratch with the finger
nail the inflamed region round about the bite, for the
reason that it is more tender than at other times and
the skin might be scratched so that blood would
flow This might help in spreading the mosquito poison,
or more likely still, would set up further trouble by pos
sible infection from the dirt under the finger-nail, which
collects there w ithin a few minutes after the most care
ful manicuring and which is filled with germs.
The best thing to do for mosquito bites is to rub
them with an alkali, such as ammonia, or common
soda, since the poi>on of the mosquito is acid, and
the alkali will neutralize its effects. In the event of not
having any alkali available, it Is helpful to moisten
the finger with the tongue and then rub hard over the
inflamed pace, as the acid secreted in the inner portion
of the mouth, tor aid in eating, also has a neutralizing
effei t. though, of course, an effect less strong than an
alkaline substance
Many times a mosquito bite becomes worse after
scratching it. This is because whatever advantage
<fi» re was in rubbing the tiny wound was counteracted
by 'he poisonous nail.- which added to the poison of
tbe wound. Many times serious sores result from
this But a mild rubbing with the finger, not the nail,
will prove beneficial.
NEUROSIS, According to a French Professor, Is Merely “THAT TIRED FEELING”
"There are," says Professor Janet, “three volumes by
Pomme. a great medical authority of the eighteenth cen
tury, dealing with‘Vapeurs’or nervous diseases. These
chow that we of to-day are scarcely nt all afflicted with
hysteria and other forms of neurosis compared with the
manner in which the people were afflicted along in liOO,
1600 and even in 1700.
"It sometimes affected villages, towns, cities and
whole nations. Hundreds, thousands, tens of. thousands
thought themselves ’possessed.’ Hordes of persons af
flicted with epilepsy and St. Vitus’ dance roamed the
highways. People called ‘fanatics,’ but in reality being
no more than neurotics, raced up and down the country,
slashing each other with whips and acting in otherwise
crazy manners.
"There were the witch hangings in Salem, Mass., the
witch hangings and burnings elsewhere; these so-called
witches were merely neurotics, aud those who executed
them were equally neurotic.
"There were infinitely more nervous diseases in olden
times than there are to-day, and they were more dan
gerous, because affecting not au individual or individu
als, but the masses.
“We live in a peaceful age. the period of political and
religious persecution is happily past. Present day eco
nomic conditions prevent the possibility of widespread
famine or of epidemics that cannot be arrested. Every
one of the calamities enumerated caused individual neu
rosis in past times and, iu addition, neurosis of the
masses.
“Neurosis Is nothing worse than that tired feeling,’
and, ail reports and public Imagination to the contrary
less, and If it shows a decided yellow color,
the presence of coal tar dye may be sus
pected. Caramel is a common adulterant of
vanilla. To determine its presence, shake
the vanilla bottle and observe the bubbles.
If caramel ia present, a distinct brown color
may be seen; if no color is observed, the ex
tract is free from it, as the foam of pure ex
tract is colorless.
To test for strength, put a ’ablesnoonful
of the extract in a white cup. set the cup in
a saucepan of hot water, and evaporate the
extract to one-third of the original amount.
The residue will settle to the bottom of the
dish as a brownish precipitate, while arti
ficial extracts will remain clear under the
same conditions.
It is well to avoid all bright colored ex
tracts. Lemon of a vivid chrome yeilow in
color, or orange that is as golden in color
as a ripe orange, are generally flavoring
extracts that have been colored by means of
aniline dyes And so it is with a great many
other extracts. It never is wise to pur
chase cheap flavoring extracts, as a mo
ment’s thought will convince anyone that
they are costly to make and consequently
the honestly made extracts cannot be sold
cheaply.
THE migration of birds, whereby even
weak-winged species will >■ y thou
sands of miles from breeding to feed
ing grounds, is one of the most fascinating
of the unknown fields of science- Recently,
however, those who have adopted the science
of bird-lore, or ornithology, have determined
that migrating birds fly at far greater heights
than nad been imagined, and that the reason
why migration has not been definitely
mapped out is because it is invisible.
Most of the recent observations have been
made by special instruments, but until within
a year or two accidental observations made
of birds passing across the fields of astronomi
cal telescopes afforded the only basis.
Extraordinary as it may seem, there are
scores of authenticated records showing birds
flying at a height of two or three miles, and
Why CROWDS and Mobs Do CRAZY THINGS
ONE of the greatest difficulties that a Government
has to face is the collective stupidity of large
groups of people. Individuals as a rule pos
sess a fairly high degree of intelligence, but crowds
are uniformly lacking in reason and control. A nation
will permit cheerfully evils that not a single person
of that nation would allow for a moment if it were
an individual matter. Politics is the most extraordi
nary evidence of this. The childishness of modern
society is the principal capital of the unscrupulous
politician, for he knows that he can do for the public—
or to the public—what he could never do to the indi
viduals that compose it.
For example, no single man would profess to believe
in human equality and straightway proceed to develop
enormous differences of social position, yet the nation
has done this very thing. No man would declare him
self opposed to all the pretensions of rank, yet defi
nitely form a rank based upon wealth, but this has
• been characteristic of the last few decades in the
United States. No man would complain of the idle
ness of his rich neighbor and yet tight tooth and nail
to keep him from having any work to do, yet this
is the necessary sequence of the curious governmental
mixture of the present time. No man in his senses
would try to stop beggary by making begging easy,
yet in effect this Is the very attitude taken by the
thousands of well-meaning but unthinking people.
There is nothing so disconcerting to a politician or
even a statesman as a single constituent, nothing so
easy to deal with as a delegation or a committee. Tbe
arguments of the stump speaker convince no reader,
but do convince large meetings. Tbe impassioned oia
tory of the 'special pleader’ would be in vain before a
jury if he had to make the speech to each of the
jurymen in turn. It is because they are twelve in
Copyright. 1912. by America n-Exa miner Great Britain Rights
YOU MIGHT TRY-
An Envelope Funnel.
A GOOD substitute for a small funnel used in Alling salt and pepper
* * boxes may be made by cutting off a corner of an envelope and cut
ting off the tip of the corner.
A Bread Cereal.
pOR a good breakfast dish, toast slices of bread, white or graham,
* crumb fine and eat with cream and sugar the same as any of the
prepared breakfast foods.
Value of Lemon Juice.
I ISE lemon juice whenever you can instead of vinegar and you will
' find it will greatly improve your health.
Cleaning Cut Glass.
TO cleanse and brighten cut glass, wash it in lukewarm water, to which
has been added .a little blueing. Instead of a cloth use soft tissue
paper and you will be greeted with a brilliant polish.
Two Crops of Lilacs.
YOU can get two crops of lilac blooms from your bushes if. after the
first lot of blooms are beginning to fade, you will strip the bushes
of both the leaves and withered blooms.
Padding Stair Carpet.
A PAD of very thick paper laid over the edge of each step under the
carpet will prevent it from wearing, and double the lease of its life.
Why So FEW BIRDS Are SEEN
records of five miles (secured by comparing
the approximate size of the bird with lunar
features of known dimensions) have been
noted. Birds are able to breathe air far more
rare<fied than earth-dwelling animals, but it is
practically a new idea that such great heights
are reached. It has been suggested that
minor physiological changes permit birds to
make full use of this rarefied air, but this
view is not widely accepted
At. these great heights the speed of flight
appears to be greater than in the denser air
near the ground. The American golden
plover seems to hold the record for long
distance flights, and in this flight a speed of
from 150 to 200 miles an hour is maintained.
The plover leaves Nova Scotia for South
America and scorns to make use of the coast
line at all. In the event of adverse winds
gr ; jEI
obi
The So-Called “Witches” Hanged in
the Olden Days Were Neurotics,
•nd So Were Those Who
Hanged Them.
i i
' F*W4 Jr '
: ■Jb.r
■- >4 v- <43 ■
4 > i
■
/Ta
■ * ' .BB
“An orator talking to one man can
not interest him, but the same
speech delivered to a crowd
will make them all
enthusiastic.”
notwithstanding. It is decreasing Instead of increasing.
Few people have a correct idea of neurosis; a good
many deny its very existence, assuming that it exists
only in the imagination of the sufferer. Neurosis has
been called excitement of the limbs, or the mentality, but
it means infinitely more.
"Why the fixed idea, in some people’s heads, that
they are obliged to get excited without cause?
“Neurosis is exhaustion, rendering lame various func
tions of the organism and reducing its capacity for work.
The organism does some work well and some less well.
Neurosis always interferes with the most delicate und
least perfect work of the organism.
“The most delicate work of the organism, If properly
performed, allows the nerves to respond instantly to the
demands of the moment, of whatever nature, either
physical or mental.
“Man, especially in the United States of America,
lives in a perpetual turmoil. He is constantly asked to
change, to meet the physical, mental, economic and moral
demands made upon him. For these changes he must
be ready at any moment, and, in addition to these per
sonal changes, he must keep pace with the changes of
the race, for the race as well as the individual is con
stantly changing.
"The person unable to keep up the pace, that is with
the constant changing of self, is suffering from neurosis;
he is unable to respond to the demands confronting him.
He is exhausted, tired, weak.
“In a great many cases neurosis is inherited. In
other Instances it is due to a youth unhygienic, both
physically and morally. Wrong methods of feeding,
overfeeding and underfeeding, may bring on neurosis, so
or exceedingly stormy weather, which cannot
be dodged by ascending or descending to
-other strata of the air, the plover may make
a landing on some of the West India islands,
and in rare cases on the Bermudas, but gen
erally the 2,500 miles flight is accomplished
direct, and always within one day and night.
The Pacific golden plover likewise finds its
way annually from Alaska to the Hawaiian
islands, a matter of 2,400 miles, the trip
again usually being made in a day. it is evi
dent that to a land bird the flight would
necessarily be continuous for the double
reason that there is no landing and that there
is no food. The high flight, moreover, gives
a great sweep of vision and aids the homing
instinct by keeping the birds from missing
the land sought. The only reason we do not.
see these tens of millions of birds overhead
each Spring and Winter is because they flv
too high.
number that he is able to carry it through. The crowd
is dominated by a primitive intuition not by reason.
Tbe psychology of this seems to lie in the fact that
individuals reason by processes peculiar to them
selves rather than by any systematic plan, and in
consequence they do not reason alike, and from the
same premises do not reach the same conclusions. The
simpler and more primitive the conclusion, the easier
it is for all persons in a crowd to grasp the point.
Not five per cent in any lynching mob would vote
to lynch a victim, not a fifth of one per cent would
hang or burn or shoot as an individual. By some un
conscious process a crowd seems to realize that as
a body it cannot reason subtly and it does not try.
Ibis is also the failure of the most cleverly wrought
plays; they are presented to masses, not to individuals.
It is of interest to note how a dramatized novel (if
successful) eliminates all the subtleties of the book
from which it was taken. The book. "Oliver Twist,”
is a study of character development; the play is a
melodrama of incidents which are only illustrative in
tbe book.
For this no single person is to blame. A crowd of
college professors is afflicted with this infection of
stupidity just as much as a group of club-women or a
hall of laborers. It is tbe fault of a definite mob
psychology and this again follows the principle that
where a large variety of numbers is to be treated the
lowest common denominator is to be found. sue
expression of a crowd is the lowest common denomi
nator of all the Individuals composing it.
Manufacturers have learned this, in away, through
labor troubles and to-day the experienced manufacturer
or his representative much rather have a large dele
gation of laborinig men come to him with a complaint,
that to have the laborers send only one or two men
The clever manufacturer can generally make a much
better impression upon a large delegation and con
vince them that their demands are impossible to grant,
at least for the present.
The World’s GREATEST FRAUD
IN spite of the fact that the calendars of
the courts of justice are crowded, that
prisons are full and that every tenth man
you meet has “served time,” it is a difficult
thing to defraud other people. The lives we
live are so entangled with other lives that
merely to realize how much we are de
pendent on others and they on us is difficult.
How much more difficult is it, then, not
only to figure out all these relations, hut
also to concoct a fraudulent scheme which
shall also be in harmony with all these other
lives at every point. But it is easy to da
fraud ourselves.
The man or woman wbo lives a "double
life” rarely escapes discovery, though it vety
often happens that the discoverer does not
tell because no good would come of it. But
the man or woman who is carrying on tbe
deception is conscious of it and unless the
condition is of very short duration the
burden grows extremely heavy. He has de
frauded himself of his peace of mind.
Youth goes hand in hand with ambition
and both are linked to conceit. The world,
it is said, soon shakes the conceit cut of a
may any -sort of exhaustion, he it from overwork or ex
citement. Overwork or excitement, Is trying to fores
boay or mind, or Both, to do things wuich either, or
both of them cannot properly perform, because tile organ
ism is constitutionally weak, or weakened by the ex
igencies of lite.
”Oue may contract neurosis at any time of life, just
so long as one stands In the midst of life and works hard,
suffers, worries, allows cue’s self to get excited, etc.
“And the more a person worries, exhausts himself,
overworks himself to meet existing conditions, economic,
social or otherwise, the more he is liable to contract
neurosis, because the sort of life he leads exhausts his
powers.
"It is popularly believed that the present generation
is more subject to neurosis than our forebears, but as
a matter of fact, we know very little about the nervous
diseases of our grandfathers and great grandfathers.
It pleases some people to boast of their sufferings and
have it understood that no one ever suffered before as
they do, but medical literature of the past teaches us
that our ancestors were quite as much subject to neurosis
as we are, only the thing was known by another name,
or by a variety of names.
“It may sound paradoxical, but I am convinced that
progress in civilization will eventually' minimize the
number of persons suffering from neurosis. Whether
neurosis will ever be eradicated is doubtful, for exhaus
tion, that is, neurosis, is the tribute we pay to progress.
A society or a race that doesn’t know neurosis at all
would be pitiable, because its overwhelming majority
stands still, rejects progress. Such a society or raes
would be degenerating."
man. Often it does, and instead of his owl
plans and ideas he accepts the meaner stand
ard set by the people around him. With the
purpose gone, the belief in himself ' <tie»
rapidly He has defrauded himself of his
own powers.
The border line between failure and suc
cess is the will. As long as a man believes
that he is stronger than the circumstances
he has to meet, so long will he be stronger
than they. As soon as he admits that they are
stronger than he is that very instant is he
defeated. There is no man living who is not
stronger than any group of circumstance!
that he may have to face, but there are many
who are only too willing to cry out about the
impossibility of fighting against fate or of
doing anything with the luck against them
and all such phrases. They have defrauded
themselves of their will.
' orst of all, the psychology of this de
ceiving of one’sself works like a narcotic; it
stupefies and drugs the mind. The world s
greatest fraud is that of defrauding our
selves into the belief that we have not de
frauded ourselves.
s to Know About
BAKING POWDER
THERE are three great classes of baking powder
on the market—phosphate, cream of tartar and
alum. In each one soda is used as the alkali
which combines the presence of moisture with the
acid phosphate, cream of tartar or alum, and gives off
carbonic acid gas—the same agent that is generated
by the growth of the yeast plant in the leavening of
bread. I'hese bubbles of gas, pushing to the surface,
carry the dough with them, and then are driven off
by heat until the loaf is dried out or "done.”
The gas disappears—but what of the chemicals that
generated it?
■The phosphate powder leaves a deposit of common
salt.
The tartar powder results in Rochelle salts
powder leaves a residue of alUffllnum
Common salt is not injurious to the body. Rochelle
salts are simply iaxative, while aluminum sulpha e
i eonst.pating and has a retarding effect upon the
dr h e ° rgaDS- iU S ° ,De CaSeß CaUSiD « sev ere bowel
dmturbances. ah of which shows that the Lum
powd er ls the least adapted to health
Jhe price of the phosphate and cream of ten
powders is about the same; while the alum r '
sell for half the price, and consequently have a
spread use d " Ifl *
It is not generally known that the phosnhate s > .
powder does the best work, that is. that ’
duce more gas to the spoonful than either of uL
others, while it takes twice as much of the alum
powder to bring about the same result. In This
the cost is really the same. ?
Packages containing baking powder are usualiv
•stamped plainly with tbe list of ingredients. In **
alum ts not indicated, and its presence is suspected
Professor Lewis B. Allyn, in “Kitchen Methods foL
Chemical Tests,” gives the following test- "Flace
tablespoonful of the sample in a clean white tea cun
and add a teaspoonful of water. Add ten drnt
U.e.ur. .nd lb , am X . »
carbonate solution. If alum is nresent amontum
„ ... Md
In case it is advisable to make the bnkin<-
J'' hOIUe ’ ‘ Ue f ° llowi ng proportions give good resLis'
halt pound and one ounce cream of tartar quarter
pound baking soda, quarter pound cornstarch
These must be sifted together ten times through
a fine sieve, and put up in small, tightly closed cans
Homemade baking powder does not give as satisfaci
tory results as the commercial powders, because they
lose their strength quickly, and are liable to become
lumpy. But where eeoonmy is a necessity it i 8 better
to make it than to use an alum powder and under
mine the family health.