Cheyenne record., June 25, 1914, Image 3

About Cheyenne record. (Cheyenne Wells, Cheyenne County, Colo.) 1913-19??

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Fundamental
Principles of
Health
By ALBERT S. GRAY, M. D.
(Copyright, 1914. by A. S. Gray)
FRICTION.
The life and efficiency of every ma
chine depends on overcoming friction.
Friction wears things out, and to over
come friction Is the recognized need
of today in every branch of Industrial
activity. A large Item in the cost of
operating every machine Is that cover
ing antl-frictlon bearings and lubri
cants. Neglected friction will quickly
wreck and land any machine on the
scrap pile.
Railway systems, steamship lines,
manufacturing plants of every descrip
tion, telegraph and telephone com
panies, great and small, all employ
-highly trained and well paid experts
constantly to supervise and test appa
ratus and structure for the purpose of
guarding against breakdown from the
of any Inherent weakness
In physical equipment and to test finan
cial and executive departments In or
der to insure against breakdown or
any loss of efficiency In these Im
portant functions of our great artificial
bodies. Experience has evolved a now
well established economic theory In
the busines world to the effect that
it Is cheaper to spend money to pre
vent wrecks than it Is to spend money
to clear away and repair wreckage.
But for man himself, the one funda
mental factor upon and for whom the
entire Industrial structure exists, this
theory of the business world Is re
versed. The theory upon which the
medical profession has been organized
Is highly absurd and irrational. The
physician must stand around and wait
until there Is a human breakdown, and
then he is called in only as a repair
man —frequently too late to secure
worth while results.
I
A machine will squeal and squeak
and sob when in trouble, and we all
know there are but two alternatives
to such conditions —rest and lubrica
tion to overcome the roughness, or an
early trip to the Junk yard. And It is
the same with man: Man feels, and
on every side we see evidence of the
squealing, the squeaking and the sob
bing of the nerves composing the hu
man machine; and but little effort Is
made to remove the cause. And In onr
mortality and other statistical tables
we see the result in an ever rising
premature mortality—an enormous
economlo loss through destruction at
what should be the period of greatest
usefulness and efficiency.
Genius Is the type of mind that per
ceives and grasps principles where the
ordinary mind sees only Isolated facts.
Crile, with the flash of genius grasp
ing the principle of cell exhaustion, de
veloped and demonstrated it to be the
cause of death from “shock," a dis
covery acknowledged by no less an au
thority than Sir Berkeley Moynihan at
a recent meeting of the British Medi
cal association to be “epoch-making."
It Is "epoch-making," not only be
cause It has reduced death from
‘‘surgical shock” to an almost negli
gible quantity, but ‘‘epoch-making" be
cause It gives a rational explanation
to the serious physical and mental re
sults arising from long continued Irri
tation of any part of the body, wheth
er the victim be conscious or uncon
scious of the irritation. It is "epoch
making" because it establishes a rea
sonable cause for and a sane basis
from which to combat intelligently
that large group of vague but most
distressing troubles covered by the
genera! term neurasthenia, conditions
treated with little success but consid
erable levity and profit by a large per
centage of the profession. And fur
ther it is “epoch-making” because It
demonstrates man to be subject to the
same laWB as the primary battery*-it
proves we can be run down and ex
hausted even beyond the point of re
cuperation by too frequently repeated
nerve cell discharges incident to the
dally routine of life. We may short
circuit and exhaust our cells by use
less worry, work and friction, or we
may guard our tissues and so conserve
our vitality as to live long and "happily.
It is largely a matter of avoiding fric
tion—lrritation.
It matters not whether the Irritation
be In the eyes, the feet or the abdo
men, the final exhaustion Is In the
brain, and the net result Is premature
decay.
INERTIA.
Matter is anything that occupies
space and all matter Is subject to uni
versal, immutable law. Our brains are
composed of matter and are, therefore,
subject to these same laws.
Among the characteristics of mat
ter are those covered by Newton’s
three laws of motion:
1. All bodies continue In a state of
rest or of uniform motion In a straight
line unless acted upon by some ex
ternal force that compels a change.
2. Every motion or change of mo
tion Is proportional to the acting force
and takes place In the direction of the
straight line along which the force
acts.
3. To every action there Is always
an equal and contrary reaction.
The first law of motion states that
a body once set in motion will move
forever In a straight line with the
same velocity unless acted upon by
some other force which compels a
change. This property is known as
Inertia. Inertia Is not a force, but la
the result of absorbing force.
The hardest thing we have to over
come In ourselves Is mental Inertia.
An idea once formed will persist until
a stronger one overwhelms It and
alters 1L This Is the foundation of
habit and the reason the past has so
strong a hold on us always. The past
Is the line of least resistance and
leaning on It Is highly characteristic
of one with a slothful Intellect, the tra
dition worshiper, the dawdling con
servative.
We are naturally conservative be
cause It requires an Initial effort to up
root old notions and habits; It Is pain
ful and we resent It We want to be
let alone.
If because of some Indiscretion we
bad a pain yesterday for which by
recommendation of authority we took
something out of a bottle, It Is easier
to repeat the act again today than It
is to determine the cause or to Ignore
the temporary penalty of pain and re
solve to sin no more. To repeat an
act Is usually to follow the line of
least resistance. It requires less
thought and less effort with each
repetition until finally an automatic
cycle of reaction Is established and a
habit Is born.
To rescue one permanently from
habit we must have an equivalent In
Borne mental occupation sufficiently at
tractive to submerge the old Impres
sions, else one's vitality will be squan
dered In the struggle. Inability to re
sist drink or drugs or bad habits In
general Is because of Inertia.
Habits may be good or bad; both
kre the natural and Inevitable' result
of training. For the future must grow
out of and Inherit the present, just as
the present grew out of and inherited
the past. Intelligence gives thorough
training, good habits, good health and
happiness. Ignorance or Indifference
gives bad training, vicious habits, dis
ease and crime. Bad habits can be
surely and Bafely broken, not by sub
stitution, nor by cures, nor by miracles,
but only by a frank and courageous
recognition of the true, conditions and
a sane development out of them.
The fundamental necessity for the
correction of bad habits is intellectual
integrity—a rare quality. The most
difficult and unpleasant duty we have
to perform, but one absolutely neces
sary if we would have good health and
be able to use the greatest power
within the reach of man, thought, is to
be square and truthful with ourselves,
to see ourselves as we are.
i
Thought is the one and only domain
wherein man can reign supreme, for
while we mgy not determine what we
shall think, %e can govern what we
shall think about, and we have the
power to analyse, to measure, weigh,
judge and accept or reject any thought
on any subject. Thought is a canni
bal because thought lives upon thought
and unless constantly given fresh and
substantial food it must starve and
become inert.
But to think is to change; nothing
can prevent that, and we have noted
that we are constitutionally opposed
to change. Hence most of us solve
the matter by refusing to think; we
Just drop into line and do the conven
tional lockstep and “go where we're
taken.” It is simple and pleasant to
sit In the easy chair of the old order
and let the universe wag along; one
travels much more smoothly if the
head contains only the ideas others
have developed.
But there is another side to it. It Is
a physiological truth that any organ,
denied the right to function, will
atrophy, and an atrophied organ sooner
or later must become the source of 111
health. Experts In any department of
human architecture will verify that
fact. The brain is the organ of thought,
constructed under pressure of neces
sity by a long line of ancestors who
used it in the struggle for existence;
It Is the dominant and fundamental
factor in the creation of all hupan
wealth and power and the general
manager and regulator of our bodies
today. Unused brain capacity causes
trouble and danger to both the Indi
vidual and the community.
We will come Into a better state of
health not so much by Improving
physical conditions outside as by im
proving the physical apparatus and
working of our own mind and bodies
from the inside.
THE CHEYENNE RECORD.
EXCELLENT FOR SHEEP
ALFALFA ALMOST INDISPENSA
BLE TO LIVE STOCK GROWER.
From Comparative Obacurlty It Haa
Coma Into Prominence During Laet
Ten or Fifteen Years for
Breeding Animals.
(By R. J. KINZER.)
The use of alfalfa cannot be too
strongly urged with sheep, either the
breeding or fattening stock. As the
method of farming has become more
Intensified and the open range grows
less each year, an acre of alfalfa must
be made to take the place of many
acres of range pasture.
Sheep, being ruminants, are able to
handle a much more bulky feed than
horses. A breeding flock of sheep can
be carried through the winter season
very successfully with but little grain
In addition to alfalfa hay. Ordina
rily the first cutting of alfalfa Is not
as good for sheep as the second and
third cuttings, as It Is usually coarse
and stemmy, and sheep do not eat
these stems readily.
It Is about as safe to pasture old
Bheep on alfalfa as It Is cattle. They
thrive on It, and make excellent gains;
but sheep bloat easily and there la
likely to be a little loss from this
source. Lambs can be pastured on
alfalfa with but little danger of bloat,
and the way they grow on alfalfa Is
a delight to the shepherd. They should
never be put on the pasture, when
they are empty and hungry, and It Is
always well to allow them access to
some dry feed and keep them off
the alfalfa until the dew Is oil; also
on damp days. A mixture of alfalfa
and brome-grass or alfalfa and or
chard grass la a safer pasture than
alfalfa alone.
A flock of ewes and lambs can be
grazed for a short time each day on
alfalfa with but little danger of any
Pure-Bred Ewes Wintered on Alfalfa
Without Grain.
loss. If a lamb-creep can be arranged
from the sheep corral to an al
falfa pasture, the lambs will soon
learn what It is Intended for and will
do far better on It than if confined to
a dry yard. Newly seeded alfalfa can
be pastured with less danger of bloat
than an old field, and the packing of
the ground by the sheep passing over
It Is frequently a great benefit to the
alfalfa.
As a roughage tor fattening sheep
alfalfa hay has no equal, and cases of
bloat from the hay are exceedingly
rare. It can be fed either whole or
cut, and fed with grain. Many prefer
this method of feeding, claiming that
there Is less waste by It. In feeding
experiments nothing has been found
for roughage that equals alfalfa for
fattening sheep. In an experiment
at the Kansas station, alfalfa and
prairie hay were compared as rough
ages. In the test the grain ration was
corn and cottonseed meal for both
lots. Those receiving alfalfa hay made
an average dally gain of .336 pounds
per head, while the lot on prairie hay
made only .183 pounds per head daily,
the alfalfa lot making almost twice as
great gains. The alfalfa seemed to
give the lambs a better appetite and
they were always ready for their grain,
and as soon as their grain was cleaned
up they were ready for the alfalfa
Control of Onion Maggot.
No entirely effective method of con
trolling the onion maggot has as yet
been discovered, according to the
Massachusetts experiment station.
Successful as Breeders.
To be successful as breeders It Is
necessary that we be good Judges of
dairy animals, have an Ideal type In
mind and always In our selections and
mating keep working toward our
ideal.
Protect the Birds.
Protect and shelter the birds as
much as possible. A few wind breaks
or thickets of brush on the farm give
the birds a nesting place and they pay
for it by catching many Injurious in
sects.
Eradicating Weeds.
Getting a weed in time saves more
than nine. An average plant of wild
mustard, for Instance, will produce
15,000 seeds in a season. Don’t let
them go to seed.
Cold Rains Injurlus.
The cold rain will stop the milk
flow If the cows have to stand all day
without shelter.
Tools and Implements.
Well-kept tools and Implements re
duce labor and Increase pleasure.
TO DESTROY CANADA THISTLE
First Step In Eradication of This
Wood Is to Prevent All Plants
From Going to Seed.
Tbe Canada thistle Is a perennial
which ranges from one to three feet
In height. The flower heads are rose
purple In color. A white feathery tuft
of hair Is attached to the mature seed
which aids In Its distribution. The
plant flowers from June to September,
but usually matures In July. The first
step In the eradication of this weed la
to prevent all plants from going to
Canada Thistle—Flowering Top of the
Plant and the Underground System.
seed. It Is often necessary to go into
grain fields with a scythe and cut this
weed out to prevent it from seeding
before the main crop is cut. Plow
the land as soon as the crop of grain
is removed. Then replow late in the
fall, leaving all roots possible exposed.
A three-year rotation of barley, clover,
corn or other cultivated crop should
be practised.
HEARD OVER THE FARM PHONE
Profitable Practise to Sell or Ship Egg*
Every Day—Pure Food Gives the
Best Flavor.
Fresh eggs are all the cry from the
folks down town these days. All
right, too. We don't like to eat old,
stale eggs ourselves. For this and
other reasons it Is a fine thing to ship
or sell every day If possible.
Down cellar is a good place to keep
the eggs if you are compelled to hold
them a few days. Fix up a little rack
with slats to lay them on so the air
may circulate about them all the time.
This'will help to keep the flavor good.
There are those who claim that they
can tell what kind of food has been
given a hen to eat, lust by the taete
of the egg. This is getting down to
a pretty line point, but It is no doubt
a fact that good, clean, pure feed does
give an egg a better flavor than that
which Is half spoiled, or entirely so.
You cannot blame your neighbor for
not keeping up his share of the line
fence if you do not keep up yours.
The woman who finds garden work
too exhaustive may transform It Into
a healthful exercise by giving it her
time in the early morning or twilight
hours.
• It lo worth while to know what your
hired man talks about when he is
alone with the boys. A good man
can do them a deal of good; and a
bad one —well, yon had better let him
go just as quickly as you can, be
fore you lose your boy body and soul.
The average farmer makes a mis
take when he breeds trotting horses
or other breeds not adapted to his
business.
Restoring Fertility.
Fertility may be restored to worn
out land by saving all ahimal manures
and putting them onto the land; by
making use of all crop residues, that
is, putting back into the soil every
thing not used for feed; by turning
under green manures and catch
crops.
Working for Independence.
Give more attention to the orchard,
the garden, the poultry and the farm
animals, and It will not be necessary
to worry so much over the general
crops. With fruits, vegetables, poul
try, eggs, milk, butter, pork and other
articles of food raised on the farm
for the family table it will not require
very large crops to make you inde
pendent on the farm.
Fencing Pastures.
If there is a permanent pasture on
the farm it rarely pays to fence the
individual fields of cultivated crops,
but if the fields are pastured in rota
tion it may pay to fence them.
Btart a Milk Record.
Are you sure your cows are all pay
ing for their board? Start a milk reo
ord and find out.
More Weeds Tomorrow.
Weeds today mean more weeds
tomorrow.
In the fields a big team makes baste
by the width of the furrow or swath
they cut.
Temperance
(Conducted by the National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union.)
THE ONLY CURE.
"Drunkenness presents the greatest
problem before the people of this
commonwealth today," declared Judge
Michael J. Murray of Boston before a
meeting of the Twentieth Century
club. "No spirit of economy should be
permitted to stand in the way of find
ing a cure for the evil,” he said. “Dur
ing the year ending October 1, 1913,
104,000 persons appeared in our courts
lo answer to charges of drunkenness.
Of these 36,000 were first offenders.
"There should be an Institution
where the drunkard could be kept
away from more evil influences. 1 am
not a total abstainer myself, but I see
the evil of our system. Nineteen out
of 20 persons arrested for drunken
ness are English speaking. Ninety
six out of every hundred men in our
prisons hare led intemperate lives.
When you talk to a man who Is
charged with crime you And there is
liquor behind it all.”
If the judge—if all judges and all
others who see in drunkenness a
"problem"—would first of all free
themselveß from the personal use of
alcohQl, which even in the smallest
doses hinders clear thinking about It
self and Its products, they would soon
"And a cure for the evil.” They would
see that what is needed is not "an in
stitution where the drunkard could
be kept away from more evil Influ
ences," but an abolishment of that
Institution which subjects him to the
first evil influences.
“Liquor behind all crimes!" And
no young man who takes his Drat
glass of wine or beer expects to ever
drink enough to make himself a crim
inal.
LAW MAKES DRUNKARDB.
Following is an excerpt from a ser
mon on “The Man Slayer In Our
Midst,” by Rev. Dr. Manley Benion of
Canada. 'The words apply equally
well in the United States as In the
Dominion.
“Some tell us that the ‘revenue will
suffer if we stop the sale of strong
drink.' There Is no revenue from the
sale of strong drink. For every dollar
received as a so-called revenue you
taxpayers pay S2O to get that dollar!.
Smart (?) business, that, for our
young and growing Dominion! Some
say, ‘You cannot make folk sober by
act of parliament,’ but we are making
drunkards by act of parliament. True,
you cannot make men sober by law,
but law can remove the temptation.
You cannot cure smallpox by law, but
you can keep the pest ridden off our
streets by law! You cannot make a
man honest by law, but you can pun
ish and make it hot for the thief! The
law can be made to dry up the sources
of this abominable traffic. We use
precautionary measures against fire
and flood; why not against a business
that is burning up the brain and
muscles of this Dominion ?”
*
HOW TO BE “FIT."
Sir Frederick Treves, surgeon to
the late King Edward, recently said:
“There is a great desire on the part
of all young men to be fit. A young
man cannot possibly be fit If he takes
alcohol. By no possibility can he
want it. That any one young or
healthy should want alcohol Is simply
preposterous. They might Just as
well want strychnine. Thus the argu
ment for the young man is: You
want to be a man, and you want to
be fit. You cannot get fit on alcohol.
. . . No man dreams of going into
training and taking alcohol. He must
reach the acme of physical perfec
tion, and that must be without alco
hol.”
INTERESTING COMPARISON.
A commission appointed by the Ger
man government to compare the de
scendants of drunkards with those of
moderate drinkers has just made its
report. It studied ten families of each
class, as a result of which it states
that 43 per cent of the children of
drunkards die within a few months of
their birth, against only 8 per cent of
the children of moderate drinkers.
Among the children of drunkards
there are 10 per cent idiots, 8 per
cent epileptics, 8 per cent dwarfs, and
in only 7 per cent of them does the
Intelligence develop normally.
ALCOHOL A RACIAL POISON.
At the diamond Jubilee of the United
Kingdom alliance, held in Manchester,
England, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, “declared
alcohol a racial poison which greatly
reinforced other racial poisons, that
public houses were national centers
for the distribution of disease, and
that the fight against tuberculosis and
other diseases must everywhere b«
combined with the fight against ale*
hoi.”