OCTOBKU IS, 1914 



831 



lis lull iiiloiiiiation. A pliotojiraph shows 

 the uiachine in actual operation. 1 (hink the 

 cultivator would answer my needs iiioely ; 

 but the price may be an obstacle just now. 

 I feel sure something of this sort is coming 

 in the near future. If it can be managed so 

 the outfit will not cost more than the aver- 

 age horse, strong enough to do ordinary cul- 

 tivating, 1 think it will come quickly into 

 use from the one fact that it needs no feed 

 when it is not working. Of course the 

 matter of keeping such a machine in repair 

 will have something to do with it. 



One important item in regard to this 

 niacliino I came pretty near forgetting. It 

 is this: When you want to go away you do 

 not have to liire a man to look after your 

 Iiorse. For instance, if you spend your 

 winters in Florida, when you are ready to 

 go back north the machine can be put in 

 shelter and locked up, and it will be all 

 right when you get back. It is true that 

 somebody might volunteer to keep the horse 

 and furnish feed for the work he might get 

 out of it ; but such an arrangement is not 

 always satisfactory. 



GALI^STONES AND OTHER TROUBLES WITH THE 

 URINARY ORGANS. 



Some of our readers will doubtless think 

 the following belongs rather to a medical 

 journal; but as it in fact concerns elderly 

 people mostly, the younger ones can, if they 

 choose, skip it. The kind letter below intro- 

 duces the matter : 



I read your article, " Taking Care of These Bod- 

 ies," in Gleanings for Nov. 15. In fact, the "Homes" 

 section is the first I turn to, as, in addition to find- 

 ing them very instructive and so on, I seem to know 

 the vvriter. The article in question is all it should 

 be; but it contains one serious error which I think 

 it my duty to call attention to. The second sentence 

 on page 824 says, " He did not have to get up once 

 in a night, as a rule." Some years ago I was seri- 

 ously troubled with gallstones. My doctor, an ex- 

 ceedingly able man, inquired, "Do you get up during 

 the night to ease yourself?" I said, "Never." He 

 replied, " You must do so — once always, as, during 

 the night, the salts in the urine solidify and form 

 the basis of these stones." For years I have been 

 free, and I think this simple getting-up once or per- 

 haps twice during the night has been a benefit, and 

 therefore should be encouraged. 



I have a very strong antipathy to publicity, so 

 please oblige me by withholding my name and ad- 

 dress. 



My good friend, I am very glad indeed 

 that you have taken up this matter, for it 

 has been a long time on my mind. I have 

 much reason to think you and your doctor 

 are exactly right about it. Although it is, 

 without question, quite desirable to have the 

 digestive apparatus, kidneys, liver, bladder, 

 doing their work so thoroughly and natu- 

 rally that one does not have to get up in the 

 night at all, I think most elderly people 

 have come to the conclusion that the gener- 

 al health is conserved by going to the water- 

 closet much oftener than they did in youth 

 or middle age. 



Let me again go over the gTound that we 

 have discussed pretty thoroughly already. 

 Years ago, while in the jewelry business, 

 especially when I did not have a clerk to 

 take my place, T often put off nature's call 



HEALTH 



because I could not well excuse myself from 

 customers. This finally made trouble. Those 

 of our readers who " keep store," or at least 

 many of them, will understand this. Well, 

 the result was, finally, that I not only had 

 to get up in the night, but sometimes sever- 

 al times. Of course the diet as well as out- 

 door exercise has much to do with it. Years 

 ago, in Dr. Chase's recipe-book a man told 

 about finding that crabapple cider gave him 

 great relief from such urinary trouble. I 

 tried it on a small scale, and found it of so 

 much help that I gathered several bushels of 

 crabapples — the wild sour kind — and kept 

 the cider by scalding and bottling it so as 

 to have it all winter. It certainly is a 

 sjilcndid medicine. In later years I have 

 often spoken of grapefruit in the same way. 

 Just as soon as I get down to Florida, 

 where I can have plenty of grapefruit, I 

 sleep soundly all night^ without thinking of 

 getting up. Certain acid fruits seem to have 

 been intended by the Almighty for correct- 

 ing these troubles. The sour Florida orange 

 that grows almost wild answers the same 

 purpose as the grapefruit. Cherries not too 

 tart act in much the same way; also the nice 

 ripe apples I have so frequently mentioned ; 

 and of late I have greatly enjoyed common 

 currants, especially when they are dead ripe. 

 When hot weather comes on, and there is a 

 tendency toward Avhat is called " summer 

 complaint " when your mouth tastes bad 

 and even a good drink of water does not 

 " hit the spot," try a small handful of 

 currants, dead ripe; and if it does not 

 sweeten and refresh your whole system you 

 are different from myself. I have just been 

 wondering why we cannot have currant juice 

 put up in little bottles just as we have 

 grape juice. I would pay a big price for a 

 little currant juice — no sugar nor any thing 

 else with it — put uj) in this way. Somebody 

 may suggest lemons, and lemons are really 



