TERROR.—A bunion is an inflammation of the joint of the great toe. It is almost always due to the pressure of an ill-fitting boot. In the normal foot the great toe stands away from the other toes, and so, if boots were made to resemble the foot, the inner border would be either perfectly straight or slightly curved towards the middle line of the body. But cobblers have improved on Nature, and they make boots in which the inner border meets the outer border in a point. In consequence of this absurdity, the great toe is forced towards the other toes; its chief joint is partially dislocated and the ball of the toe forms a projection on the inner side. This ball is part of the joint, and so the side of the boot actually presses upon the joint itself. This the joint is unable to stand. A “bursa”—that is, a sort of water-cushion—is developed above the ball of the toe, and so protects the joint from pressure. This is Nature’s method of preserving the human foot from the ignorance and stupidity of its owner. But although Nature is very cute in her way, she is unable to cope with the owner of the foot, whose stupidity gets the better of the struggle, though her foot comes off very badly indeed. Nature has provided the above-mentioned water-cushion, but the boots are still tight and misshapen. The “water-cushion” now becomes inflamed, its edges get thickened, the joint underneath the water-cushion shares in the inflammation and becomes destroyed. This is a bunion. So, after all, Nature does get the better of it. She says she will not have joints distorted and pressed upon, and she has got her way, only she has had to destroy the joint altogether. The treatment of a bunion depends upon the stage of the disease. In the early stages merely wearing properly-shaped boots will undo the mischief. At a later date, a special boot with a special compartment for the great toe must be worn. In the last stages, nothing but a surgical operation—no less than cutting away the joint—will give relief. We cannot too strongly impress upon you the necessity of wearing rightly-shaped boots which do not distort the great toe. For a bunion is really a serious disease, and, moreover, if its cause is not removed, it is a progressive disease, and will leave you in the end either a cripple for life or with the necessity of having to submit to a surgical operation of moderate severity. CURIOUS.—Pepsin is obtained by scraping the stomach of a pig or calf. It is the chief digestive agent secreted by the gastric juice. Papain is a vegetable production, having much the same action as pepsin, but is not so likely to do harm when taken for indigestion. Peptone is the name given to the product of albumin (proteid) when completely digested. You will find an account of the digestion in any book on physiology.