ie Omaha.Sunday Bee Magazine Page
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nidi""
Copyright, 1913. ly the Star Company. Great Drltnln Rights rtescrvcd.
Startling Discoveries by a
Woman Scientist That
Infection from the Animals
Themselves, and from
Many Disease Germs
Which Are Collected by
Furs, Is Invited by the
Woman Who Wears Them
By Dr. Leonard Kccnc Hirshberg, A.B., M.A., M.D.,
Of Johns Hopkins University.
IT If beyond reason to expect to
nbollsb, or materially limit, the
world-wido Industry which pro
cures uud prepare the skins of wild
animals Tor humnn clothing. Wom
an's passion for furs Is ns deep
seated as her lovo for precious
stones ns nn adornment of her beau
ty, nnd seems to dotnlnnto her mere
and more. Hut by pointing out the
many dangers of disease, nnd oven
death, which nro proved to lurk hi
the ninny varieties of furs worn by
women In nil civilized countries It
may bo posslblo to limit these dan
Bern by Inspiring greater enro In
keeping fur .garments clean doing
nil that In posslblo in the way of
keeping them free from their char
acteristic sources of Infection.
Dr. Edith Carrlngton, of London,
has Just completed her scientific In
vestigation of tho menace that lurks
In fur garments. The plain purport
of her conclusions is, that so far as
common sense, health, happiness and
long lifo nro concerned, llttlo can
bo said In defense of furs bo they
mink, sable, ermine, otter or bear
skins Sho glvos Bclontlflo authority to tho
long-standing genornl bollof that It Is
ununturnl nnd unhygienic for human
beings to wear furs. Tho most per
fect coverings for tho animals which
bear them, when transferred, skin
nnd all, for tho clothing of woimm
they become tho most Imperfect.
While they Insure to the living ani
mal Ideal protection ngaliiBt changes
of temperature combined with ven
tilation that is never Impeded, when
that dead, fur-covered Kkln Is trans
ferred to tho human body there Is
undue and unwholesome- protection
against cold and a posltlvo hairier
against the needed circulation of tho
outer nlr upon tho wenrer's skin.
Tho most startling and vnluablo
of Dr. Carrlngton's discoveries, how
ever, relate to tho actual mcnaco of
disease carried by nearly all furs,
and which tho process of curing and
manufacturing Into garments doe
not eliminate. She weut to thu
length of Investigating tho hnblts ut
each fur-benrlug animal, and the dis
eases with which each species la
afflicted.
For example, that painful and re
pulsive affection known as "ring
worm" has Its origin In n kind of
fungus rooted In tho skins of several
wild animals, and whose life, Is pre
served Indefinitely In furs. ' Dr. Car
rlngton, experimenting with' this fun
gus, found Us power to infect unim
paired more than a year after It had
been pluuted In a fur gurmeut.
She pryved that the capacity ot
furs to harbor and preserve various
microbes, moulds, sporty and othjr
forms of disease germs especially
mink, ermine, otter nnd sable was
a sufficient reason for women to
leave furs soveroly nlono. Sho forti
fied this argument by showing that
such germs may survive tho most
rigorous uso of camphor bnlls' or
tarred paper In attempts to keep
furs uncontnmlnated during the
Summer season.
Tlicro Is no disputing tho evidence
adduced to prove tho existence of
such dnngcrs to health In muffs nnd
ncckploccs. For Dr. Carrlngton,
who Is a skillful bncterlologlst, ob
tained tho following malicious mi
crobes from tho hairs of the fur
bearlug animals. First there was
found tho ublipiltouH pneumonia
parasite. . Then site discovered the
bnpllluB of tuberculosis. Then tho
anthrax microbe, tho source of the
fa (a I woolsorter's disease. In turn
she found tho causes of such mala
dies as blood poisoning, erysipelas,
tonsillitis, diphtheria, la grippe,
cholera uud dysontery.
Cortnlnly a formidable list, you
must admit. It these do not daunt
the bravo women who wear or yearn
to wear theso exttenstvo furs, then
Indeed they nro worshippers at tho
shrine of Dame Fashion.
Moreover, tho bundling up of tho
wrists, hands, neck and chest, tho
coddling and making tender tho
skin of those portions of tho human
body which nature- Intended to
harden Into a protective, tortolse
liko shell of dofenso, produce- such
a soft delicate texture to those cov
erings that the lightest breath of
nlr will at once, even indoors, cnuso
n chill which mny result seriously.
It Is far from wise to so simll a skin
that It no longer Is capablo of doing
Its duty protecting- tho body as
was intended.
Tho moment any tissue- or organ
of your body ceases to serve Its pur
pose, or Is rarely called upon to
porforra Us normal function, that
Instant does It begin to softcu, de
terlorate, and lose Its strength.
Thus Is it with the skin kept over
warm and tender by germ-laden
furs. Even wero there no microbes
present In tho meshes of tho muffs
and neckpieces, they would bo Just
as dangorouB to health and
strength. For it Is the enervating,
weakening Influence which does the
damage; tho gormo then do their ovil
work, not before.
.How-often nro theso hot-steam-'
generating furs over cleaned?
Karely more than once a year Yet
they nro veritable traps for dirt
dust and itolsons. Tho very oils and
preservatives In them help to hold
ho dirt and nourish the bacteria
they contain. Your stylish woman
will scud her suits, her uCll
Tho Sketches Show the Typical Torture of Fur
Bearing Animals for Which Woman's Passion
for Furs Is Responsible. Directly Abovo Is the
Ermine, Then tho Mink, the Seal, the Sable,
Otter and Marten. Trappers Seldom Visit Their
Traps More Than Twice a Week and in the -Meantime
tho Captured Animals Suffer Un
thinkable Agonies.
nnd most delicate epidermis. The
normal skin that otherwise defends
your blood nnd lungs from cold Is
thereby rendered permeable ana
useless. Furs also servo to Inter
fere by friction with the nnturnl
grace, poise nnd action of tho neck
nnd nrms. Anything that limits or
is nn obstncie to movement is not
only unattractive but destructive to
that most necessary of vital activi
ties, to wit, muscular exercise.
There Is a widespread sentiment
against the killing of birds in order
thnt women may adorn themselves
with their plumage. As a general
thing these birds nfo not tortured
In satisfying this fashion. Fur
bearing animals, however, are vic
tims of trapping methods that are n
disgrace to civilization. Dr. Car
rlngton describes qui to a number of
them.
Seals are mild nnd Intelligent ani
mals of nn affectionate disposition
that have their existence mainly In
tho ocean. They are not fitted for
land locomotion, nud only in tho
breeding senson are tltey out of the
water for any length of time. Yet,
when seals are hunted for their fur
they are driven far Inland to be
killed. It Is a painful Journey, dur
ing which tho poor animals suffer
tortures.
The horrors of the method pur
sued In catching the little creaturei
which furnish the highly prized er
mine seem incredible. These small
creatures the weasels of temperate
zones are trapped In seml-arctlc
regions during tho winter, when tho
temperature Is far below zero. This
Is the outrageous method: Picons r'
iron contod with grease aro scattered on the
Vnow-crust whero tho animals will readily And
them. When thoy attompt to lick off the coat
of appetizing greaso their tongues freeze fast
to tho iron. Thus thoy aro hold until they
freezo solid, or until the trapper comos" to kill
nnd release their dead bodies by cutting tholr
tongues out.
Otter nnd mink aro caught in steel traps
set In tho water courses which thoy frequent.
Often tholr logs nro broken by tho forco of tho
steel Jaws, abd unless tho trapper arrives
soon to claim his prey, their tortures are ter
rible. Frequently tho very frenzy of pain re
sults In their escape by amputating with
their tooth tho log that the trap holds. The
marten 1b exposed to similar cruelties.
Tho sablo Is-tracked by its tiny footprints
and chased by dogs, worried by them until
captured, or driven Into a tree from which
It Is dislodged by a long pole Into a net
below. ,
How a Woman by Burying Her Neck in Furs Weakens
Her Throat, Infects Her Skin and Breathes Into Her
Lungs the Germs and Spores of Diseace Which They
n-ve collected from tho Air.
From tho moral standpoint, the greatest .of
fense for which fashionable women are re
sponsible lies in tho manner of obtaining the
highly prized Persian lamb. Tho creatures
which furnish human garments of this ma
terial aro sacrlflcod, with their mothers, be
fore birth. No lamb sufficiently developed to
enter this world alive In tho natural way is
useful for tho adornment of womankind.
As already remarked, the use of furs as
human clothing is Indefensible from every
standpoint. Tho moral side of the .argument
ought to bo sufficient to stop the reprehensi
ble practice; but morals, all down the ages,
have escaped notice when It Is a question of
further ndorning tho female human form.
Possibly, however, Mr. Carrlngton's demonstra
tions of the very practical dangers encoun-.
tered by all who wear fur garments will have
some effect at least In tho way of Influencing
greater caro in keeping furs clean and free
frcm dlseaso germs.
Plant Fishes to Get Rid of
I Mi,hor. u'lorwear, her whole
on tut to tho cleaners every week.
ot so her furs. They live and have
their being In dirt and dust, week
" "u weeic out
Furs, then, are an otfeirslvo nnd
harmful absurdity. Not alone hot
beds for tho breeding of bacilli, they
pamper the toughest nachydermlo .
skins Into tho flimsiest, tenderest
Why You Ought to Eat Your Dessert Last
UE Is a Bound physiological able flow of KastrleMninn ... VWA EJkJJL li JlJ3yC3 h
-Tf-rjEUE is a Bound physiological
I reason for making dessert the
last coprso In a menu. The
wholo order of courses us found on
tho averago American bill of faro
was recently subjected to a keen
analysis by Dr. R- S. I.evenson, a
well-known Western physician, and
he found it to bo in accord with
physiological principles.
Discussing the composition of the
ordinary banquet moul In tho Cali
fornia Mod lea I and Surgical Re
porter, Dr. 1-evenson pointed, out
how well It is adapted to tho re
quirements of the 8tomaoh.
"The first course," he safd, "con
sUts of some article of food which
appeals forcibly u our sense of
smell, as caviar, sardellen. ancho
vies or moked salmon. This prac
tice la, of course, in accord with the
principles ot iMgeatioB first thor
oughly Investigated by I'arlow, who
Kbowcd In his wonderful series of
.xperlmoits" ihnt the most potent
factors Jj thnrluction of a favor-
able flow of KastrlcVlulcn nr. ti.
ull which appeal to tho various spe
cial senses, chiefly smoll and tasto.
"Moreover, tho tasto of theso ar
ticles as woll as othera commonly
employed as one of the Introductory
is
tho
such
dl-
Diagrctu Showing How Food Lies In. the
Stomach in Layers, That Lart Eaten
- Jyy'PB ln 11,0 Center.. .
courses of a meal, such ns oyster,
obstor. clam or crab cocktail,
aiaas aud tho various rollshes
such as to anneal forcllilv tn
sense of tasto and thus produco m
aounuant How of 'psychical' gastric
Juice.
"Though without any noteworthy
amount of nutritive vahto.
foods aro of great Importance In
gestton on account of tholr Influ
ence In Inaugurating tho" flow ot
gastric Juice!"
Dr. Luvouson points out a com
mon fallacy regarding tho manner
in which food eaten at an ordinary
meal llnda Its way Into tha stomach.
Tho stomach is usually regarded as
a largo hollow-organ In which all
th fpod taken Into It is churned
and mUeJ together.
"To-day we know this Is quite In.
correct," ha says. "Instead of there
being a general admixture of all the
matter taken into the stomach,
therjL Is u layer-like arrangement
ln,..v4tleJi thewmatqrlal. ttrs Intro
duced takes a peripheral position
next to tho gastric mucosa, that
subsequently Introduced taking a,
more nnd moro contral position.
"Only tha material which lies
next to the gastrlo mucous mom
brands r.ctod upon by the gastric
Juice; when . the latter agent has
Bufticloutly acidified aud peptonized
this, tho slow wavy peristalsis of
the fundus moves this peripheral
portion into the pyloric antrum and
thus the next layer comes Into con-'
taet with tho mucosa.
"According to this process, the
food last taken into the stomach is
thus placed most contrally and is tn
this way protected from tho action
ot the acid gastric juice for as long
as several hours. It is this fact
which gives us tho reason for the
carbohydrate food stuffs bilng
plnced at the pud of thu njeal."
Dessort mainly consists ot car
bohydrate and for this 'reason ts
properly served at the end of -a
meal.
Bv RENE BACHE
HY r.ot plant fishes to get rid
of mosquitoes?
If you are a farmer and
hnve one or more ponds. If you are
a suburbnn resident and there are
ponds in your neighborhood, It you
own a summer homo in the country
aud there la a pond near by. In any
of these cases you are liable to be
afflicted with the insect terrors that
i,v nlcht not to mention those
which do their best to make lifo mis
erable in tha daytime.
inV to do about it? Drain? The
' What are you practtcaole Uso 0ll? It Is
expedient 1b noi 'iSod but does not work very well
an Idea much a-v oil d,rect the flow of a small
If It be lractl blow tho film ot oil oft the greater
Pof The waeter irface. aud tho "sheets" go on
broeding. effective expedient (It you bar drain-
The ou'y ""yflBhoB In the ponds. Most kinds or
Ing) is to PanotEfle8rh0 buiers of mosquito wrigglers
ammrpmme.aaendmaeyr counted upon to clean out the
U1ThSoTre,ahohv?ever!; certain species of little tlshes.
'wldrfv distributed over this country, which are bpe
iLn.n lantPd for the purpose In question. Notable
SSoni' these are the sunflshes and "shiners" both fa
miliar to every small boy. Certain rather tiny kinds
of sunflshes aro habitual haunters ot vegetation in pond
shallows, among which they find food, and. at tho same
time, protection against larger fishes.
Any boy knows where to find little sunfuhes nnd
shiners. All he n.eeds In tho way of equipment is a
scoop net and a tin pail, to get as many aB are wanted.
They have morely to be dumped Into the pond where
their presence Is desired, and, If mosquitoes are breed
ing there, they will soon put a stop to the business by
gobbling up every wriggler or pupa before it has time
to bo transformed into tho winged Insect.
One should understand, howevor, that there must be
some sort of vegotatiou growing In the pond. AH nnt
mal life depends, directly or Indirectly, upon plant life.
Aquatic plants of all kinds not only attract inseots of
ruauy species (whose larvae are eaton by the tlshes),
but harbor and encourage the multiplication of count
less myriads of microscopic crustaceans aud other anl-
malciilae, likewise nvallabie ns food. '
In such a pond the llttlo sunflshes and shiners are
bound to thrive. Thoy will take care of themselves,
and, when there are no mosquito wrigglers at hand,
nature, through the rhodium of the ulant life present.
Your
will supply all tho food they need. If. on tho other
hand, tho vegetation Is scauty. raw meat chopped fine
or hashed earthworms (tho latter a cheap diet) may
be contributed. A stream running into the pond will
soon stock It with llttlo fishes, and with them will come
various aquatic Insects, including the larvao of certain
bectlos and of the dragon fly. Theso larvae, and also
th "boat flies" and "water skaters," are themselves
deadly enemies of the wrigglers of Anopheles, tho
malaria-carrying mosquito.
Together with the fishes and insects, plant life will
find Its way Into the pond. But. supposing that no I
stream is available, unlimited supplies of microsconio
crustaceans and other antmalculao sultablo for fish
food may easily be obtained by dragging a net of bolt
ing cloth from shore or otherwise, along tho surface
of any stagnant pool. 16 tho pond contains plants
these minute animals will multiply in it. Some of
them (infusorin) are sq small that a single dron of
water may contain 13,000.000 or them. An Important
incidental advantage of the plants is that, whilo afford
lug shade and protection to the tlshes, they sunniv
oxygen to tho water. oufyiy
At tho same time caro should be takon to clean ud
the borders or tho pond in order that mosquito wrle.
glors and pupae may not find sare harbors there i.rn.
tected by vegetation and debris from attack ; by the
tlshes. The malaria-carriers aro especially given to
propagation under such conditions. g .
if It bo asked how many sunflshes or shiners Khm.M
be introduced into a pond of a given area n order to
prevent mosquitoes from breeding, the, answer is that
the fishes themselves will settle that Question a
are enough to start with. They breed ra.ddlv IZ
foodInsup$.rt U,ne W,U ,nCreaBe UP t0 Sftuof
Most small fishes aro active devnnrors r ,A
wrigglers, A few sluggish and soli tory specs8
as the "mud minnow" and "pirate perch " which m
among aquatic plants, are deadly foes to TmosnulYnpc "
All things considered, the mosc eff cle? S des Ir
able finny epecios for mosquito destruction ar VJ ,
called "top mlnnows"-tLe name derived fmm .i. .
habit of swimming and feeding Tat the sJrfacn n hfnr
water-which are found m enormous numbers ft h!
shallow margins or ponds, streams and lakes Jfl !e
way from Delaware southward to Florida n'v 1 th
ofheir numbers they aro otherwise y rf.asoa
loni." and in length they vary from -half m m,U
Inch nr. a half. ' r D1 na,r nn ln' to an
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