June 19, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE • 



519 



where it fwds upon the fungoid incrustations on the walls, 

 and, according to some, also attacks the corks of the 

 bottles ; some peopl'^, however, believe this last charge to be 

 unsubstantiated, considering the real damage to have beeu 

 done by other insects found in the cellars, in which case 

 2Ii/c€taa has got into evil repute through association with 

 evil companions. Its larva is a whitish, lleshy grub, with 

 six small legs in front. 



In its cellar experiences, this insect is often accompanied 

 by other minute beetles, especially certain tiny yellowish- 

 brown ones of the genus Cri/]itoj</uigH.-<, a word derived from 

 the Greek, and signifying an " eater in concealment." This 

 is a large genus, and a very puzzling one, on account of the 

 great similsrity of the species. They may easily be distin- 

 guished from other small, similarly-coloured beetles by the 

 fact that the lateral edges of the thorax are produced into 

 tooth like pix>jections, which diti'er in shape and position in 

 the diflerent species, but are almost characteristic of the 

 genus as a whole. 



{To ie contiiiued.) 



NERVOUS EXHAUSTION. 



By Edwin Wooton. 



( Continued from p. 502. ) 

 TKEATSIENT. 



THE producing causes must be found and abolished. If 

 the nervousness result from the use of tea, cotiee, or 

 alcohol, substitute for these drinks cocoa, chocolate, milk, 

 and at convenient times of the day oatmeal porridge. If 

 the agent be tobacco, this must be abandoned. This altered 

 dietary and method of living must be maintained until the 

 patient has fully recovered his health, when, if he possess 

 sufficient strength of mind not to abuse the articles men- 

 tioned, he may resume their use in a sparing manner. 



But let him understand that at the first renewed symptom 

 of nervous disorder, he should at once abandon that which, 

 whether from his repeated folly of excessive indulgence in 

 it, or from his peculiar susceptibility to its influence, is very 

 evidently antagonistic to his constitution, and the name of 

 the particular " that," his common sense should readily 

 give. 



The intoxicating drinks to be particularly avoided by 

 nervous sufferers are those containing the largest percentage 

 of alcohol ; these are the spirits. While, on the other hand, 

 the least injurious intoxicants are those whose alcoholic 

 percentage is small — i.e., stout and ale. 



The active principle of malt is named Diastase. This 

 will digest farinaceous food, and hence, as a medicinal agent 

 in certain forms of indigestion, it is of value ; besides which 

 it is nutritious. 



Under the name of Conroy's " Malt Coffee," there is 

 manufactured and sold a mixture containing, as the name 

 implies, both coffee and malt. Those who have taken coffee 

 to excess and cannot make up their minds to totally re- 

 linquish its use, should drink the preparation I have 

 named. 



It very frequently happens that nervousness jjroduced 

 by the consumption of tobacco, arises not from the (juantity 

 but the quality of the article so consumed. That some 

 tobaccos are mild and others strong is known to every one, 

 but when smoking is coudemned as hurtful to all persons 

 practising it, few consider that the injurious efiects of the 

 practice depend on the quantity of the active princi))le in 

 the tobacco, and that it is possible for one pipeful of the 

 latter to contain more poison than six of another tobacco 



having a lesser strength. The same considerations apply to 

 cigars. 



The smoker, thou, who finds himself unable, without 

 enduring actual misery, to altogether give u|) his beloved 

 habit, even for a few weeks, should reduce the amount of 

 tobacco he consumes to the snialh st allowanct^ with which 

 ho can content himself, and it should be of the very 

 mildest possible quality, and ])ure. Self deception will 

 bring its own punishment ; every man in such a case as 

 I am considering is thrown back on his common s('U>-e, 

 which dictates that lie should do himself justice, and afford 

 his body opportunity for the recovery of its health. 



Cold bathing should be undergone daily before breakfast, 

 and the body be afterwards rubbed till it glows. If the 

 means are at hand, a shower-bath may be taken twice or 

 three times weekly ; and once a fortnight, until the rccuviry 

 ot health, the Turkish bath may be employed. These 

 rules are not intended for the guidance of very debilitated 

 persons. These need special treatment, and should seek 

 personal advice. Exercise is of service, esjiecially if taken 

 early in the d;iy. Sleep — that is, rest of brain — is essential. 

 Every nervous patient should have at least seven hours — 

 eight is a preferable number. During repose, repair in the 

 nervous .system is in excess of the waste — hence its value. 

 With reijard to the therapeutic treatment of nervousness, 

 the subject is so essentially scientific that no patient whose 

 ailment is in any wny advanced would do well to attempt 

 self-cure. In trifling or incipient cases, all that is required 

 is an abandonment of the producing conditions, and, even 

 when the disorder has made some progress, a general atten- 

 tion to dietetics — that is, proper food, drink, exercise, 

 irleep, and bathing — will generally result in the re-establish- 

 ment of health. But, these measures failing to remove 

 the syuiptoms the sufferer knows so well, he should not 

 attempt to be his own doctor, but take professional advice, 

 which, while identical with the princijiles known to every 

 neurologist, will be by the practitioner modified to the 

 special case presented him. 



If the siifi'erer cannot sleep at night, let him shun every 

 preparation of opium, for the use of this drug will in- 

 evitably still further weaken the nerve centre.s. The head 

 should rest on a hiyh pillow, and the bed coverings be as 

 light as possible. The only drug for procuring sleep the 

 patient can with safety use is bromine. He may take it in 

 the form of solution of bromide of iron, of which thirty 

 drops in water immediately before retiring to rest will 

 suffice. A still better preparation is the proprietary article, 

 bromide of phosphorus. If sleep does not follow the use 

 of these drugs, it will be better to seek advice suited to the 

 particular case. 



We have no more potent agent for the cure of nervous 

 disorders than electricity. In the hands of a skilled 

 medical man or physiologist, it proves itself to be, although 

 not life, one of its physical fictors. But, in the hands of 

 an incompetent person it is death; and many have hitter 

 cause to lament their rashly playing with, or having had 

 played upon them, this terrible invisible agent. 



Electricity, it may be explained, should, when used, be 

 applied along the course of certain nerves, in certain direc- 

 tions, and at particular parts of the body's surface, and 

 especially of the sjiine, where the seat of government of 

 jiarticular actions is situate. This being so, and the situa- 

 tion of these nerves and regions being known only to medical 

 scient'sts, and, moreover, as no two nervous patients require 

 identical treatment, it follows that self-apiilication of the 

 current by persons ignorant of the structure and functions 

 of the body, and, more especially, of the laws of the nervous 

 system, must result in mischief. Medical men, as a rule — 

 I am speaking of neurologists — are not adverse to the 



