Judge, 1920-04-24 · page 7 of 36
Judge — April 24, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Vernal Temperature" Analysis The cartoon depicts a rural couple in a cemetery or field with grave markers. The woman asks Mr. Meadows why he's sewing wheat, sarcastically suggesting he sew bran instead since wheat is scarce—implying his work is wasteful or foolish. The accompanying article humorously defines "spring fever" as two types: **amatory** (romantic infatuation, affecting the young and women especially) and **dilatory** (laziness and lethargy). The satire targets the season's universal affliction: spring's arrival causes either lovesick distraction or unmotivated idleness. The joke's premise—that both are contagious, incurable conditions deserving sympathy—mocks how people blame seasonal change for romantic folly or work avoidance. The cartoon's domestic scene likely illustrates the dilatory type: a man absurdly occupied with pointless labor while his exasperated wife questions his judgment, embodying spring's power to render people temporarily irrational or unmotivated.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by Joux Coxacunn “Dear me! And wheat so scaree ‘t you think at would be more economical to sew bran?” Vernal Temperature By Ons C. PRING fever is of two kinds, amatory and dilatory S Although both varieties are curable and usually pass off if allowed to run their course, the amatory type is subject to serious complications, and frequently leaves the patient marked for life. Spring fever becomes prevalent during the fist warm days of the vernal season, and may continue for an almost unlimited time thereafter. The amatory type is more severe on the young than on the old; but the dilatory type attacks all ages, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of laziness. Both sexes are subject to spring fever, although those of the feminine persuasion are more frequently affected by the amatory variety than by the other. Both varieties are very contagious. No serum, vaccine, or other means of immunity has as yet been discovered. he symptoms of amatory spring fever are sighing, desire to be alone when not in the company of some one Lirrit particular persc the opposite sex, dreamy eyes, and frequently, loss of appetite. The dilatory type is de- noted by a desire to do nothing that some one else can possibly be persuaded to do for you, accompanied by a strong aversion to vetting up in the morning, standing up if there is a chair handy, and getting up once you have sat down. This type is sometimes quite severe, and in aggravated cases has even been known to become chronic, leaving the victim with the same symptoms the rest of his days . Any attempt to interfere with the vagaries of the amatory variety is apt to cause it to persist even more stubbornly than before. The dilatery type may some- times be alleviated by scattering common or preferred tacks point upward in all available resting places, but even this is not guaranteed to work a permanent cure ‘The best treatment for spring fever is to leave it alone and pray for a cold snap. comicbooks.com