Sundry Short Stories and Statements 
Some Remarks About Hay Fever 
Can you tell one if there exists a hay fever com¬ 
mission to help sufferers from hay fever, and how to pro¬ 
ceed to get in touch with it? Is it possible for a man 
suffering from hay fever or asthma to be benefited by 
•in operation of some kind on the nose? I have been 
told by an ear, throat and nose specialist that such is 
the case, but wondered whether he was after the rather 
large fee for it, or if it is a common or successful 
practice. w. s. 
AY FEVER is unquestionably a very old dis¬ 
order, but one whic-li is only recently coming 
to be understood. The name is hardly any longer 
appropriate, for while it may occur in the haying 
season and be caused by the pollen from a great 
variety of weeds and grasses, it is now known that 
its symptoms may develop at any season of the year 
and be caused by horses, fish, cats or geese. Even 
the family cow has been known to afflict her owner, 
and one family had to discard their pet parrot before 
the 17-year-old son could get finally rid of his 
sneezes. 
The manner in which sneezing, reddening of the 
eyes, running at the nose, asthmatic attacks and 
other familiar symptoms of hay fever are brought 
on an acute attack of asthma when inhaled by cer¬ 
tain people, and some men and women as so sensitive 
to the proteins found in the hair and dandruff of 
the horse that they cannot ride on or behind him 
or even associate closely with him in the street 
without more or less distress. Cats, too, sometimes 
afflict those who pet them, and dogs are not wholly 
free from accusation. A reader of The It. N.-Y., not 
long ago, asked advice with regard to a peculiar 
affliction from which he suffered. He could not milk 
l'.is cows without bringing on a most distressing skin 
eruption. Another case of animal protein poisoning, 
taking a little different form. 
Of the feathered animals, geese and hens most 
often distress susceptible people with the proteins 
found in fine particles of their feathers. Feather 
pillows have been the bane of many sufferers from 
asthmatic and bronchial troubles who little sus¬ 
pected the source of their discomfort. A change to 
down pillows has relieved some who were fortunate 
enough to have the possibilities resident in their 
accustomed head rest pointed out. 
The statement that one man's food is another's 
helpful, treatment of hay fever is to use the hair of 
the dog to cure the bite. The protein substances 
are isolated from the various pollens, the dandruff 
and hair of animals, the feathers of domestic birds, 
suspected foods and other common sources, and are 
then used to test the sufferer from hay fever to 
determine which, if any, he is susceptible to. This 
test is made by vaccinating the forearm with a 
minute amount of the suspected protein and noting 
the effect upon the skin. If the patient is sensitive 
to that particular protein, the vaccinated area be¬ 
comes slightly inflamed; if not, no effect is pro¬ 
duced. When, after perhaps many trials, it is deter¬ 
mined which proteins the patient is sensitive to, 
these are given by inoculation in small but gradually 
increasing dosage until the system becomes immune 
to them. The treatment, to be effective, must be 
given weeks, or months, before the time of the ex¬ 
pected attack, so that the patient will have time to 
become fortified against the heavy dosage of protein- 
containing pollen which the objectionable weeds will 
probably administer to him. Inoculation against 
animal proteins is carried on in the same manner. 
Developing a Dairy Farm on Some of New Jersey's Low-priced Brush Land. Fig. 501 
about is as peculiar as it is interesting. Among 
other chemical compounds which make up vegetable 
substances and animal bodies are those known as 
proteins. There is nothing particularly unique in 
the make-up of these protein compounds; they are 
simply part of all living organisms, but the way 
they may affect some people is certainly peculiar. 
Some individuals can’t stand contact with certain 
proteins from sources outside of their own bodies, 
though they have spent a lifetime comfortably 
enough with their own. Among the proteins which 
most often cause distress when inhaled, or, in some 
instances, when swallowed, are those found in the 
pollen grains of grasses and weeds, and of these 
grasses and weeds ragweed and goldeurod possess 
the worst reputation. They are not the only cul¬ 
prits, however, for Timothy, Red-top, plantain, sheep 
sorrel, rye. Orchard grass and many others are quite 
capable of poisoning those unfortunates who happen 
to be susceptible to their particular proteins. 
Still more peculiar, perhaps, is the manner in 
" 'd'h animals may afflict some of those coming in 
contact with them and, of all animals, the horse is 
I robubly most often guilty of working havoc with 
* o respiratory apparatus of those closely associating 
"ith him. It is a matter of common observation that 
d o dirt and dandruff from a horse’s skin will bring 
poison is well illustrated by the fact that all the 
symptoms of hay fever may be brought on in a 
susceptible person by the proteins of a certain food. 
It is not an infrequent observation that shell fish 
cannot be eaten without discomfort, and one case is 
reported of a man who had to find a substitute for 
his morning egg before he could get rid of an inflam¬ 
matory eye trouble. A lady had a craving for raw 
carrots in their season, but whenever she ate lem 
she suffered from sneezing, itching and reddening of 
the eyes and running at the nose. Cooking the car¬ 
rots or banishing them from the lunch put an end 
to her troubles in that line 
As to the effect of surgical operations upon the 
nose in cases of hay fever, they are frequently help¬ 
ful and are sometimes curative. This is because 
deformities of the nasal passages are apt to render 
the lining membranes more sensitive and to promote 
retention of pollen and other substances until their 
proteins can be dissolved and absorbed. It is too 
much to say, however, that a surgical operation will 
cure a case of hay fever; it may or it may not. If 
it does, it will be because it restores the nasal pas¬ 
sages to a more healthy condition and enables them 
to discard rather than absorb offending protein 
substances inhaled. 
The modern, and what promises to be the most 
These discoveries are yet too new to have been 
fully worked out to final conclusions, but they offer 
a fascinating field of investigation which has already 
produced very tangible results. Manufacturing 
chemists have placed a very considerable variety of 
proteins at the disposal of physicians, and they are 
being more and more employed. Meanwhile the 
United States Hay Fever Association continues its 
helpful work, with headquarters at Bethlehem, X. II., 
where its secretary, Miss L. B. Radius, may be 
addressed. m. b. d. 
Developing Water from Spring 
J. K. M.. page 1471, may be interested in a similar 
development of mine. I have a spring about 1,800 ft 
away from my house and slightly more than 200 ft. 
higher, that furnishes 50 gals, per minute. Have had 
this spring connected with house by a pipe line, some 
of which is li/.-in., some 2-in., but mostly 1^4-in. 
pipe, for several years, for the purpose of supplying 
house and kitchen. Lately I decided to use the water 
to drive a small motor for generating electricity to 
light the house, and it has proven quite successful. 
Besides the pipe line mentioned, which had already 
been provided, my outfit consists of a 12-in. l‘elto» 
motor, -horsepower generator and switchboard, 
and a Id-cell set of batteries. The batteries 1 already 
