Iron in Water. -- the presence of iron in a water, rendering it what is called Chalybeate, from the old Greek name for iron,renders it to many persons only a useful topic, but in some people it causes severe headache and serious disturbance of the digestive organs.
When I was younger I have distinct impressions of hand pumping old farm wells to water plants and things like that in my grandparents flower gardens. The water would be a very rusty brown and smell metallic. One of the things that I am unclear about here is whether or not that 'rusty' color of the water was actually iron in the water or something else. I think it might have been, and I'm under the impression that Iron is less dangerous than lead, but then again any metal in your body is likely to be a bad thing.
These days, I suppose I'd rather see one of those old water pumps incorporated and recycled into modern furniture rather than have to pump water to water the flowers by hand let alone drink it, but its again another sign of the times and the progress that has been made in 100 years.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- Heart a Double Organ
Heart a Double Organ. –On looking at the heart one would think it was a single, solid organ. It is not, however, but a double organ, divided into four compartment; the two upper ones, and they’re supposed resemblance to a dog’s ear, are called auricles, and the lower ones, from resembling a little stomach, are called ventricles. The auricle and ventricle on each side communicate with one another, but the right and left halves of the heart are each separate and distinct organs, and perform different functions — the right side propels the dark, vitiated and impure blood, whilst the left deals with the bright crimson, life — giving and life — sustaining blood.
I found it odd that the author referred to the left and right sections of the heart communicating with each other. They do work in tandem or synchronized together, but I have to wonder if the author believes as opposed to knowing in a scientific way that he heart has some sort of cognitive power to actually communicate between sections of the heart. Or possibly the author had some sort of mechanical perspective and looked at the heart like to sprocket’s connected together communicating as the teeth of the sprocket of the left side connected with teeth of the sprocket of the right side transferring information from one to the next like a Turing machine.
As I think about some of the odd things in this book, I even experienced the idle thought that maybe the author or editors might have been dipping into their own medicine like Sigmund Freud a little too much. I have no idea how much drug abuse by physicians may have occurred one hundred years ago, but the diversion from fact into what might be described as fluffy filler, could possibly be explained by the presence of a drug addiction. Addicts were prevalent 100 years ago even thought here were no drug rehabs. If people go help at all for their addictions, it might include a trip to a sanitorium or an alms house, but chances are this is all just speculation and incorrect in the assumption.
- Detection of Lead in Water
Detection of Lead in Water. — the method of detecting the probable presence of lead in a sample of drinking water is so simple that every reader is advised to take the first opportunity of examining their own water supplies, and so making sure that they or their families are not liable to the insidious dangers of lead poisoning. In order to determine whether a water is contaminated with lead, all one has to do is to drop two or three drops of the solution of sulfide of ammonium into the suspected fluid, contained in a white bowl or large cup, and observe whether a brownish or yellowish coloration is produced. If the liquid remains perfectly clear and colorless you may be sure that it either contains no lead, or that such a metallic impurities present in a quantity of less than 1/10 of a grain to the gallon, an amount which is not generally injurious to health. If
, however, a slight brownish tint is produced in the water which is being tested, it must not be too hastily condemned is poisoned, since either copper or iron might give rise to the same coloration with the reagent. Such a suspicious water pots, however, to be properly analyzed by some good analytical chemist before being employed for either cooking or drinking purposes any further.I would just like to remind readers and visitors that this is a review of the practices taught in medicine almost 100 years ago and should not necessarily be considered accurate and up to date. Performing any of the actions in this blog may not be safe or have a desirable effect or result any more than using bamboo shades for fencing or taking instructions from a bugs bunny cartoon.
- The Hand- Its Mechanism and Wonderful Endowments- Engraving of The Hand
The Hand; Its Mechanism and Wonderful Endowments.
Engraving of The Hand. – to tell one that this exquisite colored engraving represents a human hand seems almost like questioning his sanity. Yet such as; but how few there are who can give an intelligent account of the hand, describe its beautiful arrangements and complex mechanism, we’re told it’s wonderful endowments. Smaller compass, compact and structure, yet so skillfully arranged or its blood vessels and nerves, that they form a complete network over its surface so minute are they in their distribution that the point of the finest needle cannot penetrate any part of the hand without piercing quite a number of them. The hand is the great organ of touch and pretension in the instrument which distinguishes man in the large class of mammals, since he is the only animal which possesses to perfect and complete hands.
I just don’t think I have ever heard the human hand referred to before in health, science, anatomy or biology as a mechanism, like its a toilet or tankless water heaters or some elaborate dog feeding gizmo that you’d find in a mad scientists home in a bad Michael J Fox movie.
OK, so it wasn’t that bad!
