HOW THE DODDER BECAME A PARASITE. 647 



Not only is tliis stem impregnated with the empyreumatic matter 

 with which old pipes become browned in seasoning, but it is heated 

 to such a degree as to subject the lips to a local elevation of tempera- 

 ture, a kind of chronic burning, which causes a thickening of the 

 epithelial layer in the same manner as the contact with hot bodies in- 

 creases the epidermic secretion on the hands of subjects exercising 

 certain professions." It should be added that every smoker should 

 have his own pipe, and not use indifferently any one that comes to 

 hand. 



Whether we smoke a cigar, a cigarette, or a pipe, two hygienic 

 precepts should not be lost sight of : The first relates to the atmos- 

 phere, and may be formulated — it is less injurious to smoke in the 

 open air than in a room, in a large room than in a small one. Be 

 careful, then, smokers, to ventilate liberally and frequently the apart- 

 ments in which you smoke your tobacco. The second precept is a 

 question of cleanliness. If it is good for every one to attend fre- 

 quently to the washing of his mouth and teeth, the usefulness of the 

 habit becomes a rigorous obligation to every one who is addicted to 

 the pipe, the cigar, or the cigarette. A wet cloth passed over the 

 gums and teeth in the morning may possibly be enough for persons 

 who do not smoke, but the brush is indispensable for smokers. A 

 simple gargle of aromatized warm water is better to neutralize the 

 odor of tobacco than the best scented pellet. — Translated for the 

 Popular Sciefice Monthly fro^n the Journal (THygibie. 



HOW THE DODDER BECAME A PAEASITE. 



By JOSEPH F. JAMES. 



OVER yonder in the coraer of a field there grows a mass of yellow 

 threads, looking at a distance like an immense spider's web cov- 

 ering a number of plants. Closer inspection reveals it to be the dod- 

 der, poetically called by some the golden-thread. Though beautiful 

 in the abstract, handsome in its golden color, it is yet a vile and per- 

 nicious weed — one that in the flax-fields of Europe in one form, and 

 in the alfalfa-fields of California in another, has done a vast deal of 

 harm. Yet it is, to look at, beautiful. The flexuous stem of golden 

 yellow, adorned with clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers, twining 

 among and over other plants, forms a striking contrast with their 

 green stems and leaves. And it is no wonder it has been sometimes 

 cultivated for its beauty. Why, then, should we call it a pernicious 

 weed ? Look closer, and you will see that at intervals along the stem, 

 where it clings closely to other plants, it has sent out bunches of little 

 rootlets, which, not content with performing the ofiice of hold-fasts. 



