The Use Of Salt.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1905, 18 June 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Use Of Salt.

We have received ftom a correspondent a letter mn,kirg eonafl icquiry into the use of Bait;, and we are given to understand tha» among other follies of the day some indiscreet persons are objecting to tha use of salt-, and purpose to do without it. Nothing oould be more utterly absurd. Common salt i 3 the most widely distributed substance in the human body ; "it rxiats in every fluid and in every solid ; and not only is everywhere present, but almost every part of it constitutes tbe brgeet portion of the ash when any tume ia burnt. In particular it ia a constant constituent of tha blood, and it maintains in it a proportion that is almost wholly independent of the quantity consumed with the food. T&e blood will take up so much and no more, however much we may take with our food ; and, on the other band, if none be given, the blood parts with its natural quantity slowly and unwillingly. Under ordinary circumstances a healthy man loses daily about twelve grains by one channel or the other, and if he is to maintain his health that quantity is to be introduced.

Common salt is of immense Importanca in the processes ministering to tha nutrition of the body, for not only ia it the chief salt in the gastric juice, and essential for the formation of bile, End may hence be reasonably regarded of high value ia digestion, but it ia an important agent in promoting the processes of diffusion, and therefore of absorbtion. Direct experiment hr*s shown that it promoter the decomposition of the albumen in the body, acting probably by increasing the activity of tha transmission of fluids from cell to cell. Nothing can demonstrate its value better than the effect that if albumen without salt is introduced into the intestines of an animal, no proportion of it is absorbed, while it all quickly disappears if salt be added. If any other evidence were required it would ba found in the powerful instinct which impels animals to obtain salt. Buffaloes will travel for miles to reach a " salt lick," and the value of salt in improving the nutrition and the aspect of horses and cattle is well known to every farmer.

The conclusion, therefoie, i 3 obvious thai salt, being wholesome, and, indeed, necessary, should be taken in moderate quantities, and that abstention from it is likely to be injurious.

Mistakes in a Dictionary. - When the unabridged edition of Webdter'n Dictionary first appeared {without a defination of the word unabridged), that scholar, Caleb Cashing, wrota a criticism on the stupendous work, saying thaf, for its size, it had as few errors as could bj expected. Thia puzzled the editors, who asked for an explanation of Mr. Cushing's information on the Bubject of those errors. In reply, Mr. Cashing marked five thousaad mistakes in tlia volume which had been sent to him, and sent it back.

'Wherever the Crjrnr.n3 go thsy carry with tfceru ft love of the customs of tho Fatherland. Thouaands laave the old country for political reasons, Beekiog to enjoy the free air of n republic, but th 9 enjoyments, the gaoies, the arnusem .nts of the land of their birth aro always dear to him. The outdoor amusements, particularly, are not forgotten, and in the new country, well conducted resorts where music and creature comforts may be enjoyed, are always well patronized by Germans. Tae head ol the family does not isßve home with an excuse about "seeing a man" and then take hi 3 pleasure, by himself, but the whole family, down to the infant in arms, is taken along, and the good wife tcrows away her household cares and is happy with her little ones around her, while the father is sure to meet a neighbor, or a friend with whom he oan hold a pleasant argument so dear to the German heart. It is no wondar thera ara bo many happy homes among the Germans, that they live to a green dd age and that divorces are rare among them. They take life sensibly, eDjoy the yood things of life moderately, are industrious and frugal, yei charitible and generous. They are a liberal-minded people. rhoy believe in live and let live, and do i it believe iv making the journey through •:'-' a dismal trip from the cradle to the grave.

Cigar Making ia Cuba.— The Cuban a^ar-makera are mainly colored people, although many Creoles aod Spanish emigrants ■ingiige in the trads. The cigar-makers form -.he roughest and m >st miserable part of tha population of Havh.nna. When high wages .ire paid they become unmanageable, and dianagera use eveij rnean3 to enuio3 laborers .'roin one hou9e to another, often bribing and loaning money with no prospsot of ever being lepaid. Hundreds of dollars are spent someumes in inducing a single workman to leave one place for another. In times of scarcity if hands the State prisoners are released. In 13."51 tho government freed eigkS hundred oonvictd to supply the wants of tobacco raanauaturerß. Another peculiarity consists in h viag to pay employees their earnings threa tn.st 1 . clsy.

No other river in the world ia said to have yielded so much wealth as the Columbia, with its vast schools of salmon.