soda will not do unless it is surrounded with a cloth moist enough to dissolve it. This method of sprinkling it on and covering it with a wet cloth is often the very best. But it is sufficient to wash the wound repeatedly with a strong solution. It would be well to keep a bottle of it always on hand, made so strong that more or less set- tles on the bottom. This is what is called a saturated solution, and really such a solution as this is formed when the dry soda is sprinkled on and covered with a moistened cloth. It is thought by some that the pain of a burn-is caused by the hardening of the albumen of the flesh which presses on the nerves, and that the soda dissolves the albumen and relieves the pressure. Others think that the burn generates an acrid acid which the soda neutralizes. Acid Burns Cured by Magnesia. — Two French students who were much burned about the face by the explosion of a retort filled with boiling sulphuric acid, were, at once taken to a druggist, who covered their faces 2mm. thick with a soft paste made of calcined magnesia and water. In a few seconds, fissures appeared in the mag- nesian mask, and a new layer was then substituted. The patients were thus tended for five hours, after which the one hurt the least was able to wash his face, which merely showed some reddish spots. The other had his magnesian mask renewed during twenty-four hours. Suffering acutely at first, the students ceased to suffer in less than a quarter of an hour. Their faces retained no traces of burns. A quick cure for slight burns is to apply a layer of common salt and saturate it with laudanum. Hold it in place an hour or so by simple bandage. The smarting sensation will disappear rapidly and the burn get well. Simple Method of Removing Insects from the Ear. — Dr. B. F. Kingsley, U. S. A., relates a number of cases where soldiers sleeping on the plains have come to him to have bugs removed from their isars. Accidentally he discovered that by holding a lighted candle near the ear, the insects would at once leave the cavity and come forth. The patient should be in the dark when this is done. Nits in the Hair. — The London Lancet gives the two following methods of removing nits from the hair: 196 THE hearthstone; or, life at home. 1. Apply spirits of wine freely, so as to dissolve the glue which attaches the nits to the hair, and then wash them away with soap and water. 2. Apply to the hair rather a strong decoction of larkspur seeds (Delphinium staphisagria). This will kill the parasites very quickly. Wash the head with carbolic soap, after two or three days. The nits will then readily come away by brushing and combing. The Night-Air SuI'ERSTITIon. — Dr. Felix Oswald, who is an authority on sanitary matters, says: " Before we can hope to fight consumption with any chance of suc- cess, we have to get rid of the night-air superstition. Like the dread of cold water, raw fruit, etc., it is founded on mistrust of our instincts. It is probably the most prolific single cause of impaired health, even among the civilized nations of our enlightened age, though its ab- surdity rivals the grossest delusions of the witchcraft era. The sub- jection of holy reason to hearsays could hardly go further.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

soda will not do unless it is surrounded with a cloth moist enough to dissolve it. This method of sprinkling it on and covering it with a wet cloth is often the very best. But it is sufficient to wash the wound repeatedly with a strong solution. It would be well to keep a bottle of it always on hand, made so strong that more or less settles on the bottom. This is what is called a saturated solution, and really such a solution as this is formed when the dry soda is sprinkled on and covered with a moistened cloth. It is thought by some that the pain of a burn-is caused by the hardening of the albumen of the flesh which presses on the nerves, and that the soda dissolves the albumen and relieves the pressure. Others think that the burn generates an acrid acid which the soda neutralizes. Acid Burns Cured by Magnesia. — Two French students who were much burned about the face by the explosion of a retort filled with boiling sulphuric acid, were, at once taken to a druggist, who covered their faces two millimeters thick with a soft paste made of calcined magnesia and water. In a few seconds, fissures appeared in the magnesian mask, and a new layer was then substituted. The patients were thus tended for five hours, after which the one hurt the least was able to wash his face, which merely showed some reddish spots. The other had his magnesian mask renewed during twenty-four hours. Suffering acutely at first, the students ceased to suffer in less than a quarter of an hour. Their faces retained no traces of burns. A quick cure for slight burns is to apply a layer of common salt and saturate it with laudanum. Hold it in place an hour or so by simple bandage. The smarting sensation will disappear rapidly and the burn get well. Simple Method of Removing Insects from the Ear. — Dr. B. F. Kingsley, U. S. A., relates a number of cases where soldiers sleeping on the plains have come to him to have bugs removed from their ears. Accidentally he discovered that by holding a lighted candle near the ear, the insects would at once leave the cavity and come forth. The patient should be in the dark when this is done. Nits in the Hair. — The London Lancet gives the two following methods of removing nits from the hair: [illustration: page number 196] THE HEARTHSTONE; OR, LIFE AT HOME. 1. Apply spirits of wine freely, so as to dissolve the glue which attaches the nits to the hair, and then wash them away with soap and water. 2. Apply to the hair rather a strong decoction of larkspur seeds (Delphinium staphisagria). This will kill the parasites very quickly. Wash the head with carbolic soap, after two or three days. The nits will then readily come away by brushing and combing. The Night-Air SuI'ERSTITIon. — Dr. Felix Oswald, who is an authority on sanitary matters, says: " Before we can hope to fight consumption with any chance of success, we have to get rid of the night-air superstition. Like the dread of cold water, raw fruit, etc., it is founded on mistrust of our instincts. It is probably the most prolific single cause of impaired health, even among the civilized nations of our enlightened age, though its absurdity rivals the grossest delusions of the witchcraft era. The subjection of holy reason to hearsays could hardly go further.

The hearthstone; or, Life at home