By looking at the plant kingdom we can see similarities in the working of natural laws, there being the same powerful drive to adapt and produce forces for defence and immunity. As an illustration of this, let us consider our experience with DDT. Some years ago, this chemical could kill all but two species of insects in Switzerland. Today, however, we know of at least forty species that have become immune to DDT. While I was staying in California I observed that it was necessary to keep on increasing the strength and toxicity of insecticides in order to obtain the desired results. The deplorable outcome of this process was that millions of birds and bees died, whilst the insects for which it was intended quickly became immune to the increased doses of poison. A few years ago, a friend of mine in Guatemala told me that an industrial firm near where he kept his beehives started using very potent insecticides, with the unintentional result that his bee population was decimated.

When the biological processes of nature are disturbed by chemicals, the interference is bound to bring about undesirable damage in its wake, yet the innocent victims are rarely given any compensation by those responsible for the losses.

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Middle ear infections are frequently not given enough attention. If a child complains of earache and has perhaps a slight runny discharge which turns to pus, we put the child in a warm bed and think our duty is done. Unfortunately, however, the correct treatment is overlooked. The reason why so many people are hard of hearing and in some cases are deaf in one ear is because an inflammation of the middle ear in childhood had been neglected. Ear infections can also affect the brain, and the eyes may suffer if the infection becomes chronic. Neighbouring organs, as well as those in different parts of the body, can also be harmed. It is therefore imperative that no time is lost in treating the ear when the first symptoms of this serious condition appear, and that treatment is continued until the patient is cured.

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Nerve cells which register the sensation of taste and transmit it to the brain are arranged in a bulb-like manner. The nerve ends may be compared to the roots, while the layers of the bulb represent the reaction controls, with built-in amplifiers. To complete the illustration, in the place of the bulb’s top, there are very fine hairlike nerves that register the taste sensation.

These nerve bulbs are called taste buds, because scientists compared them to the literal buds. An adult has about 3,000 of them. But did you know that we humans probably have fewer sensations of taste when eating our food than, for example, antelopes, which have about fifteen times as many taste buds as a human? If we had as many as these animals it would be much easier for us to differentiate between healthy nourishing food and that which is harmful. Thus animals are more capable than humans in distinguishing what is good for them and what is not.

*108/28/1*

Since this disease causes much worry and requires great care, many parents will be relieved to learn how to go about treating it. The treatment required is similar to that used for enteritis and diarrhoea in infants and young children.

The principal remedy is Tormentavena; 2—5 drops are to be given 3-5 times daily, although the exact dose will depend upon the age and sensitivity of the little patient. Start by giving a low dose and gradually increase it until the stool has regained its normal consistency. Warm hip baths or warm abdominal packs prepared with camomile or horsetail infusions, given frequently, will serve as a complementary treatment.

The diet should contain plenty of brown rice gruel, never the polished white kind. Add a little raw carrot juice or Biocarottin, made with concentrated raw carrot juice; just Уг or XA of a tea-spoonful will do. While the illness persists, for children and adults, only gluten-free cereals are indicated, rice being ideal for this purpose. White flour products and white semolina are to be strictly avoided. On the other hand, potatoes boiled in their skins and mashed, skins and all, and mixed with a little raw carrot juice are quite in order. Other vegetables, with the exception of leeks, should not be given until the child is well again.

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Fennel (or anise if no fennel is available) belongs to the most common group of household remedies. Fennel, anise, caraway and dill are the so-called ‘warming teas’. Whenever there is anything wrong with your baby’s digestion, a weak fennel infusion will be of great benefit and will help the mother to remedy a temporary indisposition.

Yarrow, given as a very weak infusion, is good for diarrhoea and loss of appetite. If this fails to stop the discharge, add a small pinch of tormentil and give teaspoonfuls of this weak infusion throughout the day.

Goldenrod is a reliable remedy when the kidneys are out of order. The fresh plant extract from this herb, either as Solidago or as an ingredient in Nephrosolid, is one of the best and most effective medicines for the kidneys and the bladder. If you cannot obtain any goldenrod, a weak rose hip or horsetail infusion can be used instead.

Whey concentrate {Molkosan) is a good antiseptic for minor injuries. This is a natural lactic acid product which can be used in the same way as iodine, although it is certainly less harmful than iodine.

Hypericum can also be used as an antiseptic, and dabbed on externally. Dr Joseph Schier and other well-known paediatricians have recommended this simple remedy made from St John’s wort even for the prevention of tetanus.

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My re-reading of the sex manuals, some in newer editions, confirms what Lewis and Brissett wrote over ten years ago, and also suggests that men are still believed to be the sexual experts, who should be able to guide, instruct, and educate their women into better sex, provided the woman is complaisant, relatively receptive, and ready to be instructed.

They also imply that although sex can be seen as work it is also pleasurable, which most work often is not. This creates a dilemma in the mind of some men who place a high value on work and a lower value on pleasure. It seems morally wrong to them to devote much time to a pleasurable activity, when so much ‘real’ work needs to be done. The files brought home from the office have to be read; the boat has to be painted; the car has to be washed; the lawn has to be cut; the rubbish has to be put out; exercise – golf, tennis, squash, or jogging – has to be taken; the children have to be watched playing organized sport; and sex is relegated to something done when all these important matters have been completed. The result may be that the man only reaches sex when he is tired, or has other things on his mind. He does not want sex for mutual enjoyment but only to get rid of his sexual tension and if necessary to satisfy his partner as quickly as possible.

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The third and shortest phase of the sexual cycle is the orgasmic phase. Once a man has reached this phase there is no way of stopping. Come what may, he is going to ejaculate. Although the higher brain centres are involved in orgasm, no voluntary control can prevent a man from ejaculating once he has reached this stage, so that orgasm resembles a reflex.

The first part of the orgasmic phase is one which lasts less than 3 seconds, during which the man knows that he is going to ejaculate. Inside his genital tract, his prostate gland, and perhaps his seminal vesicles, have begun to contract, forcing seminal fluid into the deepest part of his urethra, which stretches to accommodate the 2 to 5 ml of seminal fluid and the added secretions from his prostate gland. At the same time the entrance from the urethra to the bladder has been closed, so that the seminal fluid cannot escape backwards into it.

The erection nerves end in the walls of the arteries which supply lood to the penis, and the impulses cause the arteries to become wider, so that an increased amount of blood flows into the penis. Normally, blood flows in and out of the penis at a steady rate, but if the penis is sexually stimulated, the blood flows in faster than it flows out, and an erection results. You can appreciate this better if you can imagine a hollow plastic cylinder shaped like a penis, closed at one end and filled with sponge. If you dip the open end of the model in water it will rapidly become heavier and stiffer. This state will continue as long as the liquid remains in the cylinder.

This is what happens when the arteries supplying blood to the penis dilate. Blood flows in, and the sponge-like cylinders of the penis become engorged with blood so that it becomes firm, stiff, and erect.

In some diseases, such as diabetes, the blood-vessels which supply the penile cylinders may become narrowed (or atherosclerotic). These damaged blood-vessels are unable to dilate in spite of parasympathetic nerve stimulation and the man is unable to achieve an erection – in other words he has erectile impotence.

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The sex drive is only one of the components of sexual responsiveness. It is the emotional power-house which needs to be translated into the capacity to perform and then into the actual performance. It is both innate, that is biologically determined, and learned, that is determined by experiences.

Sexual drive is not the same as sexual capacity, that is the ability to enjoy sex. The sex drive tells you what you want to do; sexual capacity is what you are able to do. Because of this distinction, psychological problems may arise when the drive powers an inadequate capacity (as in impotence) or results in an inadequate performance, as assessed by oneself or by others (as in premature or delayed ejaculation in men and in lack of orgasm in women). The strength of a person’s sex drive may also lead to psychological problems if one partner’s drive does not relate closely to that of the other, and the couple are unable to talk about their problem frankly. Usually a compromise is reached, and the urgency of the drive is sublimated, but this may not occur and the individual becomes tense and hung-up.

Although masturbation is now accepted as normal and petting is permitted, sexual intercourse between adolescents remains a matter of considerable concern both to parents and to the adolescents themselves. While some parents accept that their children will have sexual intercourse and only seek to suggest that it is sexually damaging and irresponsible to put the girl in danger of becoming pregnant, or of either partner becoming infected with a sexually transmitted disease, most parents disapprove of pre-marital sexual intercourse, especially for girls.

This creates a dilemma for many adolescents. Their parents’ values about sex may differ considerably from those of their peers, and when the parent is perceived as being non-permissive, the adolescent is increasingly influenced by the values of his peers which are likely to be more permissive. This can cause guilt about deceiving parents, and fear should the parents find out. Many parents promote and instil values which reduce sexual permissiveness; many peer values, and the emotional experiences of dating, promote sexual permissiveness.