HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2428, 26 September 1900, Page 62

HEALTH COLUMN.

A Koycl iv c ftr Consimiptum. "Biitterfiies will curs con&unrption," "ays F. R. Knight, of Venice, Florida. in -t sirrll gks* cue he displays halt a dozen biraiigcly haautiful insects whose deiiccts kings' acd rlcrdei bodies are siriped with s;(v!d and gicen. " "Those traUerfiies," says Mr KnLbt, Vac only found on the Gull coast, oi Fieri da, near Lemon Bay, and the southern end oi Kaia&ota Bay, where the fever weed flourishes. Upon the ruro blossoms of this Avonderful weed the butterfly feeds. "The fever weed is. so calkd because of its \rell-luiov.-n power to chack the f-pier.d of Cuban fever omemg caltlu and_ hor-'3-:. Our native block is always healthy, but fcometlmes the cuttle imported irom Cuba arrive sick vrith fever, and then we drive iliem. from the Charlotte harbour_ landing place up the coasi, to the .Lemon Bjy district, where ilie. fever weed grows in abundance, and it never fails to cure them in a few days*. "Its blossoms are golden ?nd green m hue just, as these butterflies are, and this peculiar coincidence first suggested to me that the butterflies might, also partake of the weed's healing power. "The Cubar cattle fever destroys the lungs of the afflicted animals, but may be checked if the weed is eaten in the early stages. People have oiten tried it for consumption, but the result has always been a failure to discovei ju&t wherein its virtue lies. "More clever than any hvmar> chemist, 'these little butterflies have solved the mystery, and during their short lives continually sip from the blossoms the essence of the great remedy. I discovered the fact through a practical joke. "A friend of mine irein the north, suffering in the last stages 'of consumption, came to pay ma a visit. He had heard of the fever weed, and asked me if it would not benefit him. I told him -no, and on the spur of the moment said that the butterflies which 'feed upon its blossoms would. I was sure the deception would do nim no harm, and accordingly made the dried bodies of a few of the insects, into a powder. * "As a drowning man catches at a straw, he took the powclsr from day to day. The very strangeness of the idea seemed to 1 convince him of its truth. In a month he ?aid he was vastly improved, but I thought it was merely his imagination. "At length evidences of hi? recovery were so manifest that I was amazed, and insisted that a medical examination of Iris lungs be made. We wer>t to Atlanta together, and you can imagine my astonishment when three of Georgia's most eminent physicians pronounced his lungs perfectly healthy. 1 ' — London Herald. Boils. — As boils are caused by some impurity in the blood and disorder jf the digestion, it. is well at once to_ pay attention to the diet, and to take light food only for a week oi two. The boil itself may be dispersed without coming to a head by painting all round it with iodine or opium, or smearing with sulphur and lard, or an ointment of boracic acid and vaseline. It the boil becomes larger and more painful, and comes to a point ir> the middle, it ;s; s better to poultice it until it breaks. Remedies Thai Have Gone Out of Fashion. — There is fashion in medicine as in religion and in everything else. Remedies have a vogue, then it is found that they are not as effectual as they were believed to be, and they go out of fashion. Such are "strengthening" port wine and beef tea. It has been proved that they are not strengthening, and doctors no longer recommend th&ui for that jjurjpq&e.

They are now only used occasionally as a stimulant. In the same way, poultices ere nob so much in use. Dootors give general reasons for this decline in their regard. Few people can be trusted to make a poultice properly. There is great' danger of catching cold after the applica~ tion. The good a poultice does is notj in proportion to the harm it may do. This applies to poulticing of the body, such as the chest. Of course, there is no harm whatever in poulticing a boil -or a gathered finger. For more serious disorders it is well not to ro&ort to the poultice lightly, unless under medical advice.