The Caldwell watchman., January 22, 1915, Image 8

About The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946

Image provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

                
Fundamental
Principles of
flealthh .4 .
SBy ALBERT S. GRAY, M.D. s
(Copyright, 1914, by A. S. Gray)
MOTHER'S MILK.
It is universally conceded that the
most carefully bottle-fed infant has a
smaller chance of escaping trouble and s
achieving health and life than a breast- s
fed baby of the most ignorant and
slovenly mother.
Of course, when the child's artificial
food is prepared and given by an intel
ligent person under competent advice,
the baby may get through with a mini
mum of discomfort and danger from
digestive disorders arising from bac- q
terial contamination of its food from
unclean cans, bottles, spoons, nipples
tubes and other utensils, devices and n
attachments intervening between the c
cow or the factory and its mouth; but a
granting that all sources of bacterial t
contamination are overcome, there
still will remain the absence of an au- i
tomatically adjusting physiological s
food supply, which no other than the
human animal can furnish.
In composition milk is highly com
plex and variable. The important con
stituents are the fats, held in emul
sion as minute oil droplets; casein, a
nucleo-albumen which clots under the
influence of rennin; milk albumen or
lactalbumen; a proteld resembling
serum albumen; lactoglobulin; lactose a
or milk sugar; lecithin, cholesterin, a
phosphocarnic acid, urea, citric acid, 0
enzymes and mineral salts. The min- r
eral contents of milk comprise appre
ciable quantities of sodium, calcium,
magnesium, iron, phosphorus and cho- Z
rine, besides probably minute quanti- u
ties of other elements not yet deter- t
mined. ii
By reason of the fact that casein P
and milk sugar do not exist in the P
blood it is held that they are formed e
by the secretory metabolism of the s
gland cell under the action of a her- f
mone (stimulating property). And the t'
composition of the milk fat and the ti
histological appearance of the gland P
cells during secretion leads to the
view that the fat is also constructed g
within the gland itself. Bunge has 0
called attention to the fact that the in- o
organic salts of milk differ quantita- a
tively from those in the blood plasma 1i
and resemble closely the proportions d
found in the body of the young animal, a
thus indicating an adaptive secretion. I
The casein of human milk Is smaller o
in amount, curdles in looser flocks 1
than cow's milk and seems to dissolve I:
more easily and completely in gastric d
juice. Human milk also contains rela- s
tively more lecithin and less ash, while
cow's milk, on the other hand, can- r
tains less sugar and fat. Human milk, t
in short, is a. complex compound no
factory can even approximate to any I
appreciable degree.
Experience by poultry raisers proves
artificial brooding to be lamentably In
efficient; the best kerosene lamp, as
sisted by the most earnest human ef
fort, making but a pitiable showing
compared with the average results
achieved by a sturdy old hen-and bot
tle fed babies are about at par with
brooder chicks.
The absence of normal building ma
terial while the foundations of life are
. being laid insures a handicap the or
ganism must carry all through life;
hence every mother should recognize
the ethical and racial obligations she
is qnder to keep up a supply of milk
through the period of normal lactation
This brings up the question of how
a poor or deficient supply of mother's
milk may be increased or bettered and
how it may be maintained through the
period of lactation Generally the
physician is not consulted about the
*matter until a short time before the
baby is expected, and then the best he
can do is to recommend a nourishing
diet. It is highly suggestive in this
connection to note that practically
every such recommendation includes
some form of malt extract. and that
practically without exception all pro
prietary compounds claiming to be
good for nursing mothers are founded
on malt. Experience proves that noth
ing appears more quickly to promote
the secretion of milk than good malt
extracts and many brands possessing
various degrees of merit and grades
of nutritive value are to be found in
the market.
The experience of dairymen proves
that it makes little difference what
food is given a cow; the quality of the
milk, so far as the fat content is con
cerned, will remain the same. Quality
is inherent and essentially a matter of
type and of breeding, but quantity can
be developed. A cow will be born to
give milk containing, for example, four
per cent butter fat, and she will con
tlnue to give four per cent milk under
all conditions, be the quantity much or
little. An abundance of food and wa
ter coupled with kind treatment may
increase the quantity of milk given,
but it will not influence the quality;
that will remain steadfastly at four
per cent fat.
The cow is generally believed to be
the moat placid, calm and docile of ant
male; nevertheless she is highly senas
tive to handling and under identical
conditions of food and stabling one
milker may be able to secure nearly
double the quantity of milk from the
same cow that another milker will pro
duce, the difference in the results de
pending on the bond of sympathy es
tablished between the animal and the
milker. Good food and equanimity
then, are essential factors to an abun
dant milk supply. Inasmuch as all
animal life is subject to the same
laws it is reasonable to assume that, f
as the human being is more intellec- 0
tual than the cow, mental irritation s
and anxiety may exert proportionately e
even a greater influence on the hu- a
man milk secretion. But however that f
may be, obviously the full action of f
these two factors will not be attained
by telephone conversations or by i
means of a written order on a drug
store; on the contrary results can be r
expected only from a careful, compre
hensive preparation and training on
the part of the mother. 1
The absence of this training in the
individual home constitutes one of the
fundamental weaknesses in our civili- t
zation and is, to no small degree, re- I
sponsible for our weaklings and the
serious problems of intemperance and
social unrest now confronting us.
MALT AND MILK.
It is perfectly obvious that the ul
timate source of milk in all mammals
must rest on the food intake. Conse
quently, wherever a mother suffering
from a deficient milk supply seeks,
from those qualified to advise, infor
mation as to how she may correct the
unfortunate condition, she is invaria
ally recommended to use a more nu
ittious diet. In other words, she is
informed indirectly that the food she
has habitually used is deficient in
some important particular.
Almost without exception, the diet
recommended to a mother includes
some form of malt.
The word malt is believed to be de
rived from a Sanscrit word meaning
soft, and having a reference to the
fact that malt is raw grain made soft
or tender by a process in which germ
ination has been caused to proceed to
a certain stage and is then controlled
and checked by the gradual removal
of the w;ter and finally completely ar
rested by drying through the applica
tion of heat in kilns.
During this limited germination en
zymes are developed and the constit
uents of the grain are so modified that
the finished malt differs from the orig
inal raw grain in that the greater
portion is split into simpler com
pounds that more easily dissolve. An
enzyme is a complex organic sub
stance, or an unorganized or chemical
ferment, capable of effecting by ca
talytic action the transformation, split
ting up or digestion of other com
pounds.
The changes effected by the partial
germination and subsequent treatment
of the grain are chiefly the conversion
of the nitrogenous substances into di
astase, the conversion of the starch
into grape sugar by the action of the
diastase, and the imparting of color
and flavor to the malt in the kiln.
Diastase is an enzyme of great physi
ological importance in that it is capa
ble of converting starch and glycogen
into sugar (principally maltose) and
dextrins. It occurs in germinating
seeds, in the leaves and in other
parts of plants and also in various ani
mal secretions, such as the saliva and
the pancreatic juice.
A very common medical preparation
in the form of a sirup of about the
consistency of a heavy molasses is
made by digesting sprouting malt in
water, expressing the solution, pre
cipitating It with alcohol and drying
the precipitate
Two new words have recently been
added to our vocabulary-"hormones,"
by Starling in 1906, and "vltamlnes," by
Funk in 1912. Investigations conducted
since 1889 have fully demonstrated
that some of our ductless glands play
a role if vast importance in general
nutrition, and this knowledge has
proved very useful in widening our
conception of the nutritional relations
in the body. The conception that cer
tain glandular organs may give rise
to chemical products which on enter
Sing the circulation influence the activ
Sity of one or more other organs is
finding application in the study of
the digestive secretions.
The gastric and pancreatic "secre
Stions" are regarded as examples of in
ternal secretions. Chemical products
e of this kind which stimulate the ac- i.
g tivity of special organs are what Star
ling designates hormones
Following a long series of investiga
tions into the causes of ber-ber' and
similar diseases, Funk in 1912 Tho-:
lated some highly complex nitrogen
Sous bodies from the grindings from
rice, from seeds, whole grains, raw
milk, fresh meat, yeast, fresh fruit
juices, the yolk of egg and the like.
Because these compounds were anitro
genous and proved to be absolutely
essential to organic life-the absence
of them is demonstrated to be the
cause of death from polyneurltis
Funk named them "vitamlnes."
The vltamines are soluble in water I
e and are destroyed by exposure for ten
Sto twenty minutes to a temperature of
S248 to !60 degrees Fahrenheit and by
extreme dryness. So far as is known.
animals are incapable of making vita
Smines; normally they are found in
r plants, and especially in their seeds,
and in animals that eat fresh vegeta.
Sble matter containing vitamines. Punk
regards vltamlnes as the mother sub
stance of ferments and the hormones,
and of vital importance to the thyroid
Sand other ductless glands; conse
quently, they are fundamentally the
regulators of the genera' Qo-ordina*
tion of our bodies.
S Obviously this all points to a rea
son for the effectiveness of malt on
milk secretion and opens wide the
question of nutrition In general.
y Panama is considering the estab
e lishment of a national school of teleg.
> raphy.
ONE CAUSE OF EYESTRAIN
Glossy Paper Exceedingly Harmful
Cream and Pale Blue Tints Said
to Be the Best.
It is said that the reflection of light
from glessy paper is particularly hard
on the eyes. Some persons have gone
so far as to recommend that no cal
endered or coated paper be used in any
schoolbooks, since glossy paper re
flects light rays directly without dif
fusing them, to save the eyes. The
public and the printers, on the other
hand, have been demanding more high
ly glazed paper on account of its rich
ness and fitness for half-tone work. To
prove their point, the antiglare socie
ties have printed a number of pamph
lets on mat and even bond paper.
While the half-tone work is not so
good, beautiful results can be ob
tatned with the offset process, and the
higher cost of the paper is compen
sated for by its lightness. From rough
I surfaced paper the study has been car
ried to tinted paper. Cream and pale
blue tints seem to involve less eye
Sstrain than white paper, and if the
tints are alternated throughout a book,
each page brings a restful cl ,nge to
the eyes. The thickness of the paper
and the presence of too much wood
pulp has been considered, along with
the question of size and legibility of
type. The whole discussion has been
brought about by the increase in eye
trouble among school children.
COMETS AND SOLAR SYSTEM
New Suggestion Has Stirred Up Sci
entists-Existence of Gaseous
Masses Now Believed.
It is suggested that some of the
striking changes manifested by cer
tain comets in executing their orbits
are due to the fact that they encoun
ter masses of gas in interplanetary
space, and that they are not moving
in a vacuum, says a writer in the Scit
entific American. If there are such
gaseous masses, then in view of the
inclinations and extent of their orbits,
comets are peculiarly fitted to act as
explorers, and there is every proba
bility that they will sooner or later en
counter such masses. The planets
move in a narrow zone near the plane
of the ecliptic, while the inclination
of the cometary orbits is sometimes
considerable, varying for the periodic
comets from three degrees to 162 de
grees. As a consequence, comets at
tain regions of the solar system, where
no other bodies pentrate. Many phe
nomena seem to receive a satisfactory
explanation if the existence of gaseous
masses scattered through the solar
system be admitted. These gaseous
masses, probably of different chemical
constitution, may be considered as the
residue of the initial nebula, having es
caped the phenomena of combustion
wh!ch gave rise to the other members
of the solar system.
The Pragtlce of Kicking.
Kicking, like charity, should begin at
home. It ought to be the duty of every
body at home to object, persistently
and effectively, to the specific over
crowded street car, the badly paved
road, the encroaching doorstep, the
neglected yard, the malodorous cess
pool, the irresponsible motor car and
the reckless railroad-especially if he
have any personal part in the main
tenance of similar abuses. If the ten
dency of these evils were rightly ap
prehended, if a part only of the ef
fort that is expended, presumably, in
objecting to generalized, foreign and
futile subjects were bestowed on spe
cific and tangible details, if we would
forego the emotional pleasure of the
impersonal "muckrake" to assail the
evil at our very feet-especially if
each one of us were careful to avoid
offense in matters of the same kind
our country would surely be a much
Sfairer one.-Unpopular Review.
Some New Ones.
In a recent school examination the
following answers were given to ques
tions asked:
How fast does the heart beat? Sixty
times a minute.
What is the pulse? The pulse is
Ssome little muscle that bumps up and
down.
What use is the pulse to physicians?
The doctor feels it to see if he is bet
ter next time.
Name two breeds of dairy cattle and
tell which is best milk producer. An
3 swer: Bull and cow; the cow is best
p Ipilk producer.
t Name three countries in the Balkan
Speninsula and tell why they are of
Sinterest at present. Answer: Nicara
p gua, Yucatan and Turkey, and are of
a interest because they are trying to
e drive the turkeys out of Europe.
Never Got Through Beresford Book.
r During the Boxer rebellion in China
Sone of the missionaries was reading
SLord Charles Beresford's book on "The
P Break-up of China" while the bullets
. of the Boxers were raining round.
SHe had not gone very far into the
D volume when the pages wooed him
' to sleep. The book lay beside him on
the pillow. Bifffft-ff! came a Mann.
licher bullet through the window, in
a bee line for the man's head, but
Lord Charles' book lay in the bee line.
The bullet stuck in the book, but
Sfailed to penetrate it.
The missionary jumped up, gave
thanks for his escape, packed up the
Sbook ready for the first parcel post,
and addressed to Lord Charles Beres
Sford with a polite note. He said: "My
Lord-I think it only right to send you
this copy of your excellent book
b as neither myself nor the Boxers' but.
- toets can get through it."
HIGH BRIDGE SPANNING WESTERN CANYON
i@ J
Pecos River Bridge, One of the Highest Railroad Structures in the United
States-The Distance From Bed of Stream to Track Is 321 Feet.
States...The Distance From Bed of Stream to Track Is ,71 Feet.
One of the highest railroad struc'
Lures in the United States is the
bridge spanning the Pecos river can
yon, 216 miles west of San Antonio, c
Tex. The distance from the bed of the s
4tream to the track is 321 feet. The
bridge is a light-appearing structure
NEW IDEA OF ECONOMY
RAILROADS AIM TO MAKE EM
PLOYEES MORE CAREFUL.
Move Has Resulted in Cutting Down
the Heavy Requisitions for Small
Supplies-Better Than Old
System Employed.
The railroads, the greatest spenders
of the age, have recently been pro
pounding to their employees the co
nundrum: "How long will a broom
last?" writes George Ethelbert Walsh,
in the Sunday Magazine of the Chi
cago Herald.
If the once-a-month broom can be
converted into the two months'.broom,
the economical station agent saves
for his railroad the cost of hauling
one ton of freight 35 miles every two
months; which, six times a year,
means the cost of hauling a ton of
freight 210 miles.
But the broom is merely taken as a
symbol in the new railroad economy.
Take lamp chimneys, several of which
have to be used in each station. Every
time one breaks a charge must be
made against the railroad equal to the
cost of hauling a ton of freight 101/
miles. Twenty lamp chimneys broken
a year in a single station means that
some poor locomotive must stagger
under extra ton of freight over 210
miles ast to pay for them.
Ev the lead pencil must not be
des . A requisition for a new lot
of Eleis n be made out in a few
minutes?;ut a ton of freight must be
hauled two miles to pay for each new
one. The same is true of each track
spike that works loose and is thrown
aside. A track bolt is similarly treat
ed as waste; but it is worth three and
a half miles of haulage of a ton of
freight.
The man who was responsible for
working out these details of cost of or
dinary trifles in railroad language was
something of an economist. He had
the idea that waste in trifles had some
thing to do with the high cost of rail
road operation. The monthly requi
sition for supplies of a trifling nature
reached the huge sum of $25,000, or
$300,000 a year, and he forthwith de
cided to cut down the cost.
After figuring out the freight haul
age of the different items, he offered
rewards ranging from $100 to $10 to
every station agent who showed the
greatest annual saving of general sta
tion supplies. He paid out $500 in
prizes, and cut the requisitions down
$25,000 the first year. The second year
the requisitions for lead pencils.
brooms, lamp chimneys, lanterns, coal
shovels, waste and pails decreased so
generally that the suspicion was
aroused that many of the agents were
buying their own supplies in order to
get in on some of the prize awards.
At one time railroad economy gen
erally meant laying off a few men, cut
ting wages of others, and postponing
the purchase of much needed new
equipment and rolling stock. In the
end this sort of economy resulted in
more inefficient service, grumbling and
strikes, and deterioration of tracks,
roadbed and general equipment. Soon
er or later the railroad had to pay for
a policy that was about as economical
as killing the old goose that laid the
golden eggs.
An Impression of Gorky.
"Once when I was singing in Nljni
early in the morning," said Chaliapine,
Russia's greatest singer, "I looked out
Sand saw Gorky standing .at a window
in the same hotel, and gazing silently
over the city. The sun was shining on
the towers of the churches, over the
silver river and turning the roots red.
'You are up early,' I said. 'Yes,' he
answered. 'Come in my room for a
moment' When I reached his window
I saw that he had tears in his eyes,
iand I did not understand. 'Look,' he
said to me, 'how beautiful it is. Just
the world and not a human being any
where. The humanity which has made
Its gods and its laws, built its houses
ald its churches, all asleep and help
less as children, powerless to change
or adjust all this that it has made.'
"He spoke very softly and very
sweetly, and for the moment he
seemed to me the most perfect human
being in the world. Truly one of Rus
asla's flowers of genilus."-From the
Craftsma.
consisting of girders and deck trusses
carried on lofty steel towers. The
I!auniicfinnc e of thlie view from the
deck of this bridge is said to be ex
ceeded only by that of the Grand can
yon, famed the world over.-Popular
1 Jlechanics.
EARLY TRAVEL ON THE LINE
Rules and Regulations That Made
Passengers Toe the Mark Were
in Force.
As a contr:u.;t to the traveling facill
ties whi.ch are now so universal, it is
intoerestiig to read a "Copy of the Rules
for Travelers on the First Railway," a
document still preserved among the
archives of the company of the Man
chester to Liverpool railroad, and
whi-h has been sent by A. S. White
field to Notes and Queries. The rules
are as follows:
1. Any person desiring to travel
from Liverpool to Manchester, or vice
versa, or any portion of the journey
thereof, must, 24 hours beforehand,
make application to the station agent
at the place of departure, giving his
name, address, place of birth, age, oc
cupation and reason for desiring to
travel.
2. The station agent upon assuring
himself that the applicant desires to
travel for a just and lawful cause,
shall thereupon issue a ticket to the
applicant, who shall travel by the train
named thereon.
3. Trains will start at their point of
departure as near schedule times as
possible, but the company does not
guarantee when they will reach their
destination.
4. Trains not reaching their destina
tion before dark will put up at one of
the several stopping places along the
route for the night, and passengers
must pay, and provide for, their own
lodging during the night.
6. Luggage will be carried on the
roof of the carriages. If such lug
gage gets wet the company will not be
responsible for any loss attaching
thereto.
NEW ALPINE ROAD BUILDING
Will Be the Longest Yet Constructed
and Should Prove a Delight
to Tourists.
The longest Alpine railroad in ex
istence will run from Brieg, near the
Italian border, to Disentis and will
thus connect the former with the
Federal Swiss lines. Beginning at the
end of the Simplon tunnel, at 2,200
feet above sea level, this remarkable
road passes directly over the Saint
Gothard tunnel as a surface road
at 4,700 feet above sea level and rises
at one point to 7,100 feet. With a
branch of an existing road, the new
line will connect Brieg with Saint
Moritz, between which points daily
runs will be made each way and af
ford tourists a route of surpassing
beauty through the hitherto remote
and little known region of the upper
Rhone and past the headwaters of the
upper Rhine.-Scientific American.
Extending Use of Wireless.
For many years F. H. Millener, ex
perimental engineer of the Union Pa
cific railroad, has been working on
wireless telephone apparatus for di-I
rect communication with moving
trains. He announces that his plans
have been completed and a satisfac
tory system has been developed where
by he is able to talk with a moving
train 100 miles away from the wire
less transmitting station.
Cost of Locomotives.
It is impossible to state definitely
the cost of a locomotive, as they vary
so greatly in size. and specification.
SOne of the small two-wheel class,
used for yard shunting and similar
light service, costs about $15,000 or
$20,000, while one of the huge, high
pressure passenger locomotives, known
to the drivers as "hogs," might range
Sfrom $150,000 to $200,000.
a Credit for Lord Lister.
SSir Frederick Treves is said to have
r stated that Lord Lister won the Russo
Japanese war, and certainly the sta
tistics revealed a surgical triumph
t over wounds and inflammations that
Swas all-important when a small nation
Swas fighting a large one. As an ex
5 ample of the aseptic and antiseptic
Splans followed it is reported that when
a any Japanese battleship was going
into action the men were ordered to
rtake a bath in disinfectant and to
a wear clean boiled underclothing, thus
I insuring the cleanliness and easy
.healing of possible wounds, and a
a quick return of healthy men to active
service.
HER LESSON IN PROPOrTION
Small Hearts, Too, She Found, Are to
Be Found in Very Large
Mansions.
There was a girl who was quite sure
that when it came her turn to marry
she could not live in a house any
smaller than her father's. "Love in a
cottage" was not her idea. Cupid, she
thought, needed plenty of room to flap
1 his wings and to practice his archery;
he could not pine in a bird cAge. So
she must have an immense library
with a fireplace that would take a six
foot log; there must be a drawing
room with parquetry flooring and thick
rugs sliding about on it; the dining
room ntist be able to hold a large
table with an imposing bowl of flow
ers. She visualized herself ruling a
salon, hostess to a brilliant coterie of
people who would help her social am
bition and her husband's business.
A school friend of hers came to see
her a year and a half after she had
I married and found her in a little frame
house on a side street, ridiculously
happy with her husband and her baby.
The back yard was just about big
enough to hold a whirling clothes
frame and a narrow flower bed against
the fence: the piazza was as snug as
a sailor's hammock: the largest room
was about the size of the vestibule of
the bride's girlhood home.
"I know what you're thinking,"
laughed the proud little housekeeper
to her guest. "You're wondering how I
could make rip my mind to live in this
tiny piano box. But I've mare a dis
covery. I've found that it isn't the
size of the house that matters: it's
the size of the heart, and the biggest
hearts can live in the littlest houses."
-Philadelphia Public Ledger.
CRUDE, BUT DOES THE WORK
SPrimitive System of "Wireless Teleg.
raphy" in Use Among Tribes
of Amazon Region.
In the Juamara region of the Ama
zon the natives use a crude system of
wireless telegraphy, which, it is
claimed, has been in operation for
thousands of years. The transmitter
found by an explorer was a hollowed
trunk of a tree suspended from a hori
zontal pole stretched between two
stumps. Inside the transmitter had
been arranged much like a violin, and
it was explained that when the in.
strutnent was struck smartly with a
small rubber hammer a vibration was
created that carried for miles over the
hills. The receiver is very similar to
the transmitter, except that It is placed
on a hardwood platform, the base of
the hollowed tree trunk being ground.
ed on the platform. When the mes.
sage is struck in the neighboring vii
lage, sometimes thirty miles away,
this receiver catches the vibrations,
causing a jerky, singing sound. The
sound system, it is said, can be read
by the members of the tribe, and in
this way news of victories and other
happenings are told throughout the
countryside.
Impromptu Solo.
Pierre Garat, the singer and exquis
ite of Napoleonic France, was not
merely a glass of fashion and a won
derful, self-instructed singer, but an
artist devoted to his art. But is the
following, asks Mr. Bernard Miall in
his biography, an example of sincerity
Sin art, or of love of attracting atten
tion?
Coupigny had supplied him with a
"romance" to be set to music. When
Sever the two met, Garat replied, "I
t have not hit upon an idea as yet."
i One day Coupigny was walking down
the Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs.
SHearing a sound of some one running
behind him, he turned; it was Garat,
t who seized him by the arm, dragged
him up the stairs of a neighboring
house, and, halting on the first landing,
exclaimed, "I've got it!" At once he
began to sing the romance through at
Sthe top of his voice. The inhabitants
of the house began to open their doors;
heads were projected over the ban
isters; finally they began to approach;
but Garat, having finished, tore down
the stairs like a monkey, dragging the
bewildered poet with him.-Youth's
Companion.
Only Worse.
i A Philadelphia school teacher has
lately been instructing her pupils in
Grecian mythology. It is the plan to
Shave the children read the tales aloud,
and the next day recount them in their
own language. One lad, to whom was
given the assignment to render in his
own language the story of the Gor
Sgons, did so in these terms:
"The Gorgons were three sisters that
lived in the Islands of Hesperides,
somewhere in the Indian ocean. They
r had long snakes for hair, tusks for
r teeth and claws for nails, and they
looked like women, only more hor
1 rible." - Pittsburgh Chronicle-Tele
3 graph.
Unfamiliar to English.
Many of our names for common
fauna and flora are unknown to an
Englishman, save as strange American*
isme, e. g., raccoon, opossum, shnk,
tterrapin, chipmunk and moose; per
simmon, chinquapin, alfalfa and yam.
He seldom sees popcorn or an oyster
stew; he knows nothing of oyster sup
pers, clam bakes and burgoo picnics.
He doesn't buy either red lemonade
or peanuts when he goes to the cir
Scus; the former he calls lemon-squash
and the latter he doesn't know at all.
The common American use of peanut
Sas an adjective of disparagement, e. g.,
* peanut politics, is bacomprehensible
to him.