Human Guinea Pig Club
The guinea pig, which is domesticated in most parts of the
world, has been widely used in bacteriological experiments.
This experimental use of the guinea pig has become so gen
eral that the mere mention of this creature’s name suggests
the idea of “try it out on Rover.”
The “Human Guinea Pig club” is the unofficial caption of
the U. S. army subsistence research laboratory at the Chi
cago quartermaster depot. Here samples of the foods manu
factured by various firms are submitted for analyzation,
tested for vitamin content and other nutritional values. It
is here that the containers are subjected to tests simulating
tropical and arctic conditions. Here also are evolved the
emergency rations designed for aviators, paratroopers and
commandos.
The Guinea Pig club is comprehensive in its membership.
Generals, lieutenants, famed scientists, stenographers, civil
ians and enlisted men all partake of food prepared under
various formulas. It is they who decide whether the rations
are palatable, digestible and nutritious. Every noon the club
meets for this purpose, and its members risk their digestions
in the name of patriotism, so that the soldier may eat the
proper food. And we all know how very important it is that
the soldier gets the proper food to sustain him in his grueling
routine from day to day. It has often been said that food will
win the war. Certainly there is no denying the importance
of the part it plays.
The following series of pictures gives you an opportunity
to take a peek at America’s most unique club.
Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Harzynshi, commanding general of the
Chicago Quartermaster depot, at end of table, presides over the
famous “Human Guinea Pig club." The ham served at this par
ticular meal u'as eleven years old, and the eggs used in the dessert
were four years old. (11. S. Signal Corps photos.)
I In this laboratory, the army technicians break down the food
to determine the vitamin content and its nutritiousness.
Under supervision of the Quartermaster Corps the concentrated
food for use of troops in the field is packed by a chewing gum
manufacturer who has converted his production line to the pack
ing of emergency rations.
| Selecting samples of food submitted by various manufacturers.
DARTHEA stood before her
bedroom mirror, surveyed
her trim young figure, ar
rayed in an especially de
signed white satin evening frock,
and frowned. Within the hour Ted
Wilder would call for her and they
would be on their way to the Phil
! brick's charity ball.
It was because of Ted that Dar
thea frowned. She loved him, had
loved him for more than a year.
And she felt reasonably sure that
he loved her. Though he had never
said so; had never proposed mar
riage or talked about the future.
That was where the trouble lay.
Ted was waiting. Darthea knew
this; knew that he was holding off
until things became a little less
uncertain.
Well, a girl got tired of wait
ing. If she loved a man—as
Darthea loved Ted—she’d go
through anything with him.
Good times and bad. Ted was
too conservative; too afraid to
face the thing without being
sure of a comfortable income.
Of late, another obstacle had en
tered the picture—Mel Harper,
young, dashing, handsome. Darthea
liked him. He was good company.
But it ended right there. She loved
Ted, and that was that.
Still, her interest in Mel had ex
cited Ted’s jealousy. Though he
had never mentioned the matter,
Darthea felt that Mel served only to
make a proposal of marriage more
remote. But in spite of it all, it was
* r -
Darthea sat down again, pouting
prettily.
up to Ted. She wasn’t going to re
fuse Mel one or two evenings a
week. Not, at least, until some
thing definite had been decided
upon.
Darthea thought of these things
as she surveyed herself in the mir
ror. They troubled her. Despite
her resolutions she wanted Ted;
wanted him to propose. Perhaps,
she thought, Mel Harper might be a
means to an end.
Ted was more morose than ever
that night. Something was bother
ing him. He evaded conversation
all the way to the country club. And
even while they danced, Darthea
suspected that his mind was on oth
er things.
Toward the middle of the evening
they strolled out on the terrace and
found a vacant bench. Ted stared
out over the river that drifted silent
ly by at their feet, and lost himself
In thought.
At length Darthea said: "There’s
something wrong, Ted. I'd like to
help you, if I could.”
"It’s nothing. I’m sorry if I ap
pear rude.”
“Well, you do! You've been rude
all evening. You’re not very good
company."
"I know it,” he said bitterly. "I
know I’m not. And I’m sorry.”
Darthea almost regretted her
j words. She knew now that he was
| thinking of Mel Harper, thinking
how much more entertaining Mel
could be. She said, casually;
"Mel Harper was over yes
terday. We played tennis to
gether. He was asking for you.”
Ted suddenly whirled. Fierce
anger Hashed in his eyes. The
dreamy, morose mood dropped
from his expression like a mask.
"Mel! Mel! He's all you talk
about! All you think about!
Why don’t you tell me you want
me to step out of the picture!
Why not say it, without so much
beating around the bush!”
“Why Ted! Ted Wilder!
Whatever are you saying?”
"Oh, don’t be so messy about
It! Don't try to pretend it isn’t
so!”
“It isn’t! It isn’t! Not one bit
, of it is so. I had no idea—”
Ted laughed mirthlessly.
"Don’t try to be kind, Darthea.
Don’t try to spare my feelings. I
know how the cards lie. I've thought
it all over. I know. And I can
stand it if you tell me now. In fact.
I’d rather you wouldn't put it off
any longer.”
"Ted!” Darthea was on her feet.
Her eyes were flashing fire. “Of all
the crazy notions! Why—why—
you’re absolutely impossible!”
* "You love him!"
"I don’t!”
"Yes, you do too. I can tell by
the way you act with him. You love
him and you’re trying to ease your
conscience with me.”
‘‘With you! Why should I have
to ease my conscience with you?
What right have you to say these
things? What strings have you got
attached to me? It's silly.’*
Darthea was thoroughly
aroused, and Ted for the first
time began to reconsider. After
all, there was nothing between
them, nothing but an unspoken
understanding, which, after all,
seemed to have existed only for
him. He took one of her hands
in his, which she instantly with
drew.
“I’m sorry, Darthea. It cer
tainly looked as If you were in
love with him.”
“That’s because of your own stu
pidity. It's you—”
"Darthea! I—I—could you love
me now?”
Darthea melted perceptibly. She
sat down again, pouting prettily.
“Not if you think I love Mel
Harper.”
“I don’t. I swear it. I—only
wanted to make sure—to find out if
you loved me.”
Darthea swayed toward him. She
saw the enraptured look in his eyes,
and thrilled at it. She said, softly:
"I don’t love Mel Harper. I never
have. I love you. And just to prove
it. I’ll—I’ll marry you!”
“Darthea! Oh, sweet, that’s too
wonderful. I—I can hardly be
lieve you’re realiy serious.” He
paused a moment, then suddenly
turned, inspiration lighting his eyes.
“Darthea, let’s get married now.
Tonight!”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. We can get a waiver, and
have the J.P. marry us down in
the village. It’ll be over before we
know it.”
Darthea indicated her agreement
to the proposition by lifting her lips
to be kissed.
As they swept down the hill
toward town in Ted’s roadster,
she felt a sudden feeling of
gratitude for Mel Harper. She
smiled in the darkness to her
self. “A means to an end,” she
mused.
Fuel User’s Pledge Has
Many Helpful Suggestions
A fuel user’s pledge in the interest
of the war effort and conservation
of fuel and metal includes ten sug
gestions:
1. Order fuel early and keep an
adequate stock on hand to equalize
and conserve transportation and
delivery facilities.
2. Have the heating plant cleaned
for the summer shut-down period in
order to prevent corrosion. More
heating plants rust out than wear out.
With proper care, summer and win
ter, hot water boilers have been
known to give more than a half cen
tury of service.
3. Ask a reliable contractor or
dealer in heating equipment to make
a thorough inspection of the heating
plant including chimney, smoke
pipe, controls, valves, and burner
or stoker.
4. Have whatever repairs or al
terations necessary to efficient op
eration of the heating plant made
at once. This aids metal conserva
tion because it enables dealers and
manufacturers to maintain inventor
ies in accordance with actual needs.
It is assurance for the home owner
that materials needed for necessary
repairs will be available in time.
Home owners in eastern state*
whose heating plants are suitable for
burning coal are urged to take im
mediate steps for conversion.
5. Reduce heat losses from the
house by means of insulation, weath
er-stripping of windows and doors,
and closing of fireplace dampers.
6. Turn off heat in unused room*
such as guest rooms, garage, recre
ation rooms, and maintain lower
temperatures in bedrooms.
7. Check heat losses from boiler,
furnace, piping, or ductwork by ade
quate insulationg.
8. Have thermostatic controls in
stalled to prevent overheating or un
derheating because both are dan
gerous to health. Overheating
wastes fuel.
8. Lower thermostat setting when
ever heat is not needed, as for in
stance at night or when house i*
not occupied. When the indoor tem
perature is permitted to drop a max
imum of six degrees at night, there
is a saving of from 8 to 10 per
cent in fuel.
10. Operate heating plant efficient
ly in accordance with suggestions
by manufacturer or heating contrac
tor.
Letting in the Desert
In a paper in the Geographical
Journal of June, Prof. E. P. Steb
bing directs attention to the serious
threat to the West African colonies
of Great Britain and France by the
encroachment of the Sahara. This
is due, not to climatic causes, but
to the methods of agriculture pur
sued. Shifting cultivation is still the
practice. A piece of forest is felled,
the timber burnt and the ground is
sown and ultimately harvested.
When the weeds become too heavy
or the yield inadequate the patch
is abandoned and a new one occu
pied.
Thus, the deciduous forest on the
verge of the Sudan becomes degrad
ed, more open and drier. Eventual
ly savannah supervenes, which in
West Africa, is a term applied to
bush or scrub. Herds of the no
madic shepherds then occupy and
further destroy it. When its fodder
value has almost gone, the herds
man cuts the scrub trees to get
fodder for the goat. This is the last
stage In the ruination of the land
and the advance bf the desert
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
EPILEPSY
Some years ago I expressed the
personal thought that if I had been
gifted with the qualities of a re
search physician, the investigation
Dr. Barton
as to the cause ol
epilepsy would have
been my first chal
lenge, after cancer.
Despite the fact that
it is one of the old
est known diseases,
the actual cause is
unknown.
We know that too
much liquid in the
body brings on the
attacks in some in
dividuals. We know
that some cases are
j due to injury. We know also that
1 cutting down on starch foods and in*
! creasing fat foods is all that is nec
essary to prevent attacks in some
individuals.
In addition to the knowledge now
possessed by physicians everywhere
there are many research physicians
still patiently working on the prob
lem of epilepsy. It might be well
to speak of the Harvard Epilepsy
commission where the original work
of Drs. H. H. Merritt and T. J. Put
nam on dilantin sodium outlined in
the Journal of the American Medi
cal Association four years ago, is
being further investigated and re
sults reported to physicians every
where.
For years, successful treatment of
epilepsy has, as outlined above,
been (a) cutting down on liquids,
(b) cutting down on starch foods,
(c) increasing fat foods. The med
ical treatment has been phenobar
bital or other of the barbital drugs
which replaced the bromides of for
mer years.
A new drug in use for the past
few years is dilantin sodium, the
use of which has been reported by
Drs. Merritt and Putnam in Boston,
and Dr. C. P. Kimball among the
children attending the Detroit board
of education’s special school for
epileptics.
While physicians report still some
unpleasant reactions from dilantin
sodium and prefer phenobarbital,
more and more dilantin sodium is
coming into general use to prevent
the epileptic convulsions.
Until, then, the cause of epilepsy
is found, epileptics can, in most
cases, live safely with none of the
fears of attacks occurring in public
or dangerous situations by following
the diet suggestions mentioned above
and the use of dilantin sodium or
phenobarbital as prescirbed by their
physician.
Massage Relieves
Pain and Stiffness
During and immediately following
the war of 1914-18, the value of mas
sage in quieting pain, loosening up
stiff joints and muscles, aiding the
circulation, helping to move the
wastes along the large bowel was so
well recognized that schools of mas
sage, sometimes as a part of a
course in physical therapy, were es
tablished, and, when connected with
recognized colleges, diplomas were
given.
Just before this present war start
ed massage was not receiving as
much attention as it deserved but
now there is renewed interest there
in in actual field operations and even
in training camps.
Unfortunately it is only at war
time that physicians as a whole give
any attention to massage; even then
it is left to non-physicians not only
to give the actual massage but often
to prescribe the type of massage that
should be given in any particular
case. Thus Dr. Ralph Pemberton, j
Philadelphia, in his "Handbook of
Physical Therapy” states “There is
probably no other measure of equal
known value which is so little used
and understood by the medical pro
fession as a whole.”
At one time it was thought that
massage had just the same effect
upon the muscles as exercise; in
fact was a form of exercise but
the benefit derived is now believed
due to another cause.
Why is massage so helpful to stiff,
painful joints and muscles? In the
Journal of the American Medical
Association, Dr. George Morris Pier
sol, Philadelphia, states that from
direct observation on the circulation
of the blood in the little blood ves
sels (capillaries) massage causes an !
increased rate of blood flow and
changes in the vessel walls followed
by an increased interchange of sub- !
stances between the blood and tis- |
sue cells. That is, the blood takes j
away from the tissues the substances
causing tiredness, stiffness and pain. !
and brings to these tissues fresh ,
blood.
* * *
QUESTION BOX
Q—What is the difference between
an oculist and an optometrist? My
husband has recovered from a se
rious illness and though his appetite
is good, he doesn’t seem to gain
weight. Can you suggest a cause
for this?
A.—An optometrist is trained to
measure the needs of the eyesight
and prescribe glasses needed. The
oculist is a physician and surgeon
and has the knowledge to prescribe
| for vision also.
Corn 'Rheumatism’
Cause Explained
Cure Effected by Using
Phosphorus and Potash
By Dr. George N. Hotter
“Rheumatism” in the joints of
growing com that results in poorly
formed ears or dwarfed growth can
be cured by doses of potash or phos
phorus fertilizer or a combination
j of both elements applied to the soil
in sufficient quantities.
Com “rheumatism” is especially
prevalent in areas that have been
J consistently planted to this crop for
generations. It often manifests it
self in poor yields from normal
looking com plants that fail to pro
duce properly ripened ears.
If the stems of these backward
corn plants are slit lengthwise, the
chances are that the interior of the
After a "hard” day these pure
bred* on a Jefferson county, Wiscon
sin, dairy farm are heading home.
joints will be found considerably
darker in color than the remainder
of the stem tissue.
These darkened areas are due to
an accumulation of iron and other
minerals that break down the tis
sues and wreck the "conveyor belts”
that transport food to all parts of
the corn plant. Scientific tests have
established that this malady is
caused by a lack of available pot
ash in the soil. It can be prevented
by the addition of potash.
In some cases a definitely stunt
ed growth of the entire corn plant
accompanies the symptoms of poor
ly maturing ears. Here again a
lengthwise section of the stem is
likely to reveal tell-tale darkened
joints. In such instances, the trou
ble is due to a lack of both potash
and phosphorus. The application of
these plant food elements to the soil
will remedy the condition.
While corrective measures such as
the foregoing are advisable, the sur
est preventive of plant malnutrition
and its resultant crop failure is to
make certain that before corn plant
ing time each year the land is pro
vided with plenty of fertilizer to sup
ply needed potash and phosphorus
to the growing crop.
Agriculture
in
Industry
By FLORENCE C. WEED
Cellulose for Textiles
Wood and cotton linters, grown on
American farms, are used to make
rayon, the fabric that goes into ev
erything from football breeches to
velvet evening wraps. So popular
has it become that five times more
rayon than silk is now used. The
process was discovered 50 years ago
by a Frenchman and has been pro
duced commercially in the United
States since 1911. More than 500,
000,000 pounds of rayon yarn is used
annually.
Although there are several vari
eties of the process, most rayon is
made by adding chemicals to spruce
wood and cotton linters to change it
into a thick, syrupy solution. This
is pressed through a kind of strain
er, called a spinneret. Out of each
tiny hole comes a single filament
of yarn. When this is cleansed and
dried, it is the thread to be woven
into cloth.
Filaments can be combined into
different sizes of yarns, finer than
those of a silkworm or thicker than
coarse wool. Mixed with cotton,
silk, flax or wool, this yarn is
woven into cloth of endless variety
of textures.
This same process invented for
rayon is used to make yarn from
soybean cellulose and the casein
from soured milk. Soybeans will be
used for automobile upholstery with
in a short time. So enthusiastic is
Henry Ford about the possibilities of
this fabric that he has had a suit
made from soybean cloth woven to
resemble wool.
Italy pioneered in making milk
wool.
Injured Trees
Trees that have been injured by
storms should be given treatment
as soon as possible. This treatment
should consist of cutting the ends of!
the broken branches back beyond
where the bark was torn. In some
instances it may be advisable to re
move the entire branch back to the
main stem or lateral. These
torn and ragged ends of branches
should be removed immediately and j
all wounds that are two inches in
diameter or over should be painted. •
I
|
ON THE
fiOME FRONT
r-^^gun ears j
h ^Stretch
II CHINTZ OVER
| CARDBOARD
THEN FRAME
foLD WASH STAND H|T
WITH SIDE SHELVES,NEW II
TOP AND A"BASE BOARD I
MAY BE USED IN LIVING rooM>^
DINING ROOM OR ENTRANCE HALL\,
A LMOST any plain washstand
** or dresser may be given long
smart lines by adding open
shelves at the ends. Here, a top
of plywood with a plain moulding
around the edges extends across
the top of the stand and shelves.
By adding a plain baseboard and
a coat of paint the piece is finished
with a modern air.
The diagram at the upper right
shows how to make the wall deco
ration from a remnant of flowered
chintz. If you use an old frame,
the chintz picture may be given
the appearance of an oil painting
by applying several coats of var
nish.
• • •
NOTE: Now that It is patriotic to be
resourceful in our domestic economy why
not use the talents of all the family? To
make essential things from those odds and
ends which have accumulated around the
house? Homemaking booklets No. 7 and 8
each contain 32 illustrated suggestions.
Send your order to:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Bedford Hills New York
Drawer 18
Enclose 10 cents for each book
desired.
Name ..
Address .
Evil Excuse
Ignorance of the law excuses no
man; not that all men know the
law, but because ’tis an excuse
everyone will plead, and no man
can tell how to refute him.—John
Selden.
Easy-to-peel oranges
perfect as 'dessert'
> Box lunches are tastier and
! more healthful when you
include oranges.
1 They’re delicious and the
best way to be sure of your
vitamin C! Few foods have
much. It’s easily lost in
| cooking. Yet needed daily,
since you do not store it.
I Oranges also have vita
mins A, Bi and G; calcium,
and other minerals.
Those stamped “Sunkist”
are the finest from 14,500
growers. Ideal for juice and
recipes. They keep!
Oopjrrlif lit, 1942, California Fruit Growers
BUREAU OF
STANDARDS
• A BUSINESS
organization which wants |
to get the most for the
money sets up standards
by which to judge what |
is offered to it, just as in |
Washington the govern
ment maintains a Bureau
of Standards.
4 You can have your own i
Bureau of Standards, too. |
Just consult the advertis
ing columns of your news
paper. They safeguard
your purchasing power
every day of every year.
