ss. 
 
 ^2r^i^'Sr^^^r^i;:^^!r:f^:^^^^^^ 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Chap..J-A Copyright No.. __ 
 
 Shelf. 
 
 £1.2. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
THE NEW 
 
 HOME AND HEALTH 
 
 AND 
 
 HOME ECONOMICS 
 
 A Cyclopedia of Facts and Hints for all 
 
 Departments of Home Life, Health 
 
 AND Domestic Economy 
 
 ILLUSTRATED EDITION, WITH REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS 
 
 ■ BY 
 
 W. H. DePUY, A.m., D.D., LL.D. 
 
 Editor of The People s Cyclopedia, Uniiiersi^' of Literature, etc. 
 
 
 \ INAV 08189«, 
 
 Printed for the Author 1 **" Hi 
 
 HUNT & EATON PRESS ^XTI ^W*^ ^ J^ 
 
 New York *■ 
 
 1896 
 
^' 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 •^^V' 
 
 Copyright, 1896, by 
 
 WILLIAM H. De PUY, 
 
 New York. 
 
 Copyright, 1879, by 
 
 PHILLIPS & HUNT, 
 
 New York. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 This book is dedicated : 
 
 1. To our Mothers, who made the homes into which we were received. 
 
 2. To our Wives, who make the liomes in which we live. 
 
 3. To our Daughters, who are to make the homes for other toilers. 
 
 4. To all our Readers who have good homes, and to those who need 
 them. 
 
The first sure symptoms of a mind in healtb^ 
 Ib rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home. 
 
 — Youngs' Night Thoughts. 
 
 Home is the resort 
 Of love, of joy, of peace, and plenty, where, 
 Supporting, and supported, polished friends 
 And dear relations mingle into bliss. 
 
 — Thompson's Seasons. 
 
 Look to your health, and if you have it, praise God, and value it next 
 to a good conscience. For health is the second blessing that we mortals are 
 capable of — a blessing that money cannot buy. Value it 
 
 Surround the sick man with the pomp of kings ; let his chaii be a throne, 
 and his crutch a scepter; he will look with contemptuous eye on marble, on 
 gold, and on purple, and would deem himself happy could he enjoy, even 
 under thatched roof, the health of the meanest of his subjects. — Zschokke. 
 
 The fireside is a seminary of infinite importance. Fevv can receive the 
 honors of a college, but all are graduates of the home. The learning of the 
 university may fade from the recollection, its classic lore may molder in 
 the halls of memory ; but the simple lessons of home, enameled upon the 
 heart of childhood, defy the rust of years, and outlive the more mature, but 
 less vivid, pictures of after years. — Goodrich. 
 
 I will not, therefore, believe that what is so natural in the house of an- 
 other is impossible at home ; but maintain, without fear, that all the court- 
 esies of social life may be upheld in domestic societies. A husband as 
 willing to be pleased at home, and as anxious to please as in his neighbor'^ 
 house ; and a wife as intent on making things comfortable every day to liei 
 family as on set days to her guests, could not fail to make their own houit 
 happy. — Phillip. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This volume has been prepared for a given purpose. 
 Tlie supreme end sought in it is itsefidness. It is a book of 
 practical knowledge. No s])a(^e has been given to rhetoric. 
 The greateM ammmt of htformatum in the smallest space has 
 been the ever-present ideal. 
 
 The preparation of these pages has been a constant de- 
 light. The privilege of putting so many hundred important 
 suggestions into a hundred thousand homes, to enter into 
 the convictions and manners and lives and destinies of so 
 many young people, and bear the fruit of peace and comfort 
 and gentleness and culture in a million homes of the future, 
 is gratefully accepted as the opportunity of a life-tiyne. 
 
 In the first edition of Home and Health the department 
 of Home was contributed by the Rev. C. M. Fowler, D.D., 
 LL.D., then senior editor of The Christian Advocate in New 
 York, (and since then elected a Bishop of his Church ; ) and 
 this department has been retained without change. 
 
 W. H. D. 
 
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.' 
 
 Hand- Book for Hwne Inij>r<ytferne}U 
 
 The Ho'tuiekeepef' a Manual. By Catlierine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher 
 Stowe. 
 
 Life at Home. By Rev. \Vm. Aikmau, D.D. 
 
 Half-Hmir Studies of Life. By Rev. E. A. Johnson, D.D 
 
 The Art of Coiioernafiou. 
 
 HiWa Manual of Social and BuxiiKs.s Fonrus. 
 
 The Arrieri-can Journal of the Medical Sodeties. Philadelphia. 
 
 Medical atul Surgical Reporter. Philadelphia. 
 
 The Sanitariati^ and Organ of the Alediri>- Ln/al Sorieti^. New York. 
 
 Popular Science Monthly. New York : D. Appletoii & Company. 
 
 Appleton's Jo^irnal. New York : D. Appletoii & Company. 
 
 New Jersey Ei'lecticy Medical, and Surgical Journal. Newai'k, N. J. 
 
 American Agriculturist. New York : Orange Judd Company. 
 
 Phrenological Journal, and Journal of Health. New York : S. R. Wells & 
 Company. 
 
 Herald of Health. New York: Wood & Holbrook, Publishers 
 
 TIte Lancet. London, England. 
 
 New York Eclectic Medical and Surgical Journal. Edward N. Fishblatt, 
 M.D. 
 
 Atfterican Journal of Microscopy. New York. 
 
 Hall\ Journal of Health. New York 
 
 Report of Special Committee on Croup of the Illinois State Medical Soci- 
 ety, 1878. H. L. Gill, M.D. 
 
 Till the Doctor Com.eii. By Geo. M. Hope, D.D. New York : G. P. Putnam 
 (V Sons. 
 
 Steeled Fourteen Weeks in Physiology. New York : A. S. Barnes & Com 
 pany. 
 
 We also add, as helpful to us, the names of Rev. L. D. Barrows, D.D., 
 'md Rev John Wesley, A.M 
 
 • Partial Liat 
 
Home and Health. 
 
 * ^9^ * 
 
 HOME. 
 
 Only Man has a Home. — The tired lark sinks in the evening shades 
 down to its quiet nest, and offers its grateful anthems for the boon of a 
 house ; but man, wearied with the strifes of the mart and of the field, seeks 
 shelter in his home, the sacred retreat of the heart. Foxes have holes, birds 
 have nests, lions have dens, tigers have lairs, dogs have kennels, but men 
 have homes. The supreme putting of divine love is found in Jesus, when he 
 forsakes his home, and wanders a stranger, not having where to lay his head ; 
 while the extreme display of human sinfulness is found with those human 
 creatures who are " without natural affections." 
 
 Virtues of the Hearth are the Securities of the Peoples. — The 
 home is the cradle of the great virtues. The Church was organized in the 
 family. The power to command his household and his children after him 
 was the spring of Abraham's call to be the Father of the faithful and found- 
 er of the Church. There is one bond that encircles earth and heaven. 
 It is woven from the most tender longings and hunger of the heart. It binds 
 the humblest home on earth to the Home of our Father on High. It domes- 
 ticates the angels in cabins. The love of mother is often the last cable that 
 holds a youth to his moorings. Beaten upon by the storm of his passions, 
 every other stay gives way. Every other anchor drags. But the love of 
 mother, that was dropped deep into his soul's substance before he got out of 
 the nursery, holds. While that holds he is almost certain to outride the 
 wildest gales. So the Home, which is the sanctuary where this spirit pre- 
 sides, is a perpetual protection. It is an ark floating with us down the tide 
 of the years. It carries the virtues that make the citizen, and the inspira- 
 tions that develops the saint. It is not merely a shelter from the storm, it 
 is also a workshop, where the grandest characters are built. It is a pre- 
 eminent opportunity for the achievement of good. To miss this chief pur- 
 pose of the home is to lower its grade. 
 
 The Home builds the House. — The divine idea of home-life types the 
 building. There is something in every germ of life which determines its 
 form. Time and opportunity brmg out only this ideal. The germ of a ker- 
 
10 Home and Health. 
 
 nel of barley can be matured, not into a stalk and head of wheat, but into a 
 Btalk and head of barley. The germs of the fish and of the bird and of 
 man are, at certain stages of development, indistinguishable. But there is 
 always present a superintending spiritual power, too subtle for our micro- 
 scopes and chemistries, that determines what form each shall wear. The 
 fish grows into a fish. The bird becomes a bird. The man matures into a 
 man. Each obeys its inner bias. Thus the inner instinct, or thought of the 
 home, fashions the house. Its apartments grow upon this stalk. From the 
 kitchen where the animal is fed, the nursery where the training is ordered, 
 the chamber where the recuperative forces are stored, the sitting room where 
 the social life is nourished, to the reception room or parlor, where the life of 
 society is met and mastered — all these grow about the deeper idea of home. 
 It is this subtle and powerful spirit, born out of the innermost heart, that in- 
 variably locates the home where the heart is. The settler's cabin and the 
 peasant's hut, clothed with this inspiration from the heart, become centers of 
 comfort and contentment that time is unable to drive from the mind. Life 
 rises out of this inspiration to its highest values. Thus the home becomes 
 the measure of a nation's stability. A tramp may become a hired soldier, 
 but he can hardly rise to the promptings of patriotism. His life has too 
 little in it to be worth much defending. His life is cheap. He waits for 
 whatever may happen. When a man has a home he becomes immediately 
 interested in the peace of the community. He has given hostages against 
 mobs. It is important for him that the pavement stones should keep their 
 places, and not go flying through the air. Both heads and windows acquire 
 a sacredness from those in which he is interested. A man without a home 
 has little motive for standing against public perils. If a land does not fur- 
 nish a man so much as a home, he can drift away when it becomes dangerous 
 to remain anchored. Fill any land with good homes, and it must be a good 
 place in which to live. It is one peculiarity of the Anglo-Saxon peoples 
 that they abound in homes. The walls about the hearth shut out all the 
 world, and shut in a kingdom. This is the fort ; keep it clean and free, and 
 religion will thrive and liberty will dwell in the land forever. 
 
 The Origin of the Family. — The most ancient organization in the race 
 is the Family. It was God's first appointment for man. Other means might 
 easily have been devised for the perpetuation of the race, but God saw that 
 it was "not good that the man should be alone," so he put "the solitary in 
 families." 
 
 How the Family Develops Character. — The family is the oldest 
 school known among men. Its molding and educating work begins in that 
 university where the mother's lap is the recitation room, the mother is the 
 DPofessor. and the motlier's eye is the teit-book. Sclioola enme as public 
 
Home. 11 
 
 examinations, to determine or show how much the pupil has learned else- 
 where. The Church is an after-thought. The family furnishes the elements 
 out of which later character and knowledge are constructed. Other means 
 of influence and instruction touch the soul in spots, but the family furnishes 
 an enveloping atmosphere, that presses upon the absorbing faculties at every 
 point and through every moment. It is too easy to trace family marks 
 through successive generations. Blood runs in channels prepared by nature, 
 but these channels may be reversed or broken over. A given amount of ca- 
 pacity, that is, so much blood and so much brain, may be brought by opposite 
 environments to results as widely separated as the opposite poles of the 
 moral universe. The man with a brogue in his speech, and a club in his 
 hand, and a low passion in his heart, may differ from the statesman with a 
 richness in his accents, and the reins of government in his hands, and a uni-, 
 versal philanthropy in his heart, only by so much as the influences of the 
 family in which his capacities were surrounded. 
 
 The Family often Ripens Rapidly Those who Carry its Burdens. — 
 
 Two young people fall into the conviction of approaching oneness. They 
 seem but children. He is trifling, and she is foolish. lie divides his time 
 between his old boyish sports and his new boyish love. She turns from her 
 dolls to her lover. They are children, and too young to be thought of as 
 marriageable. But in the courage or folly of their love they take the outer 
 vow. Now watch them. Often they have blundered, but nearly always, 
 when the union was a marriage performed under the sanctions of their 
 hearts, we see them straighten up and sober down. They cease suddenly to be 
 children. We wonder at their dignity and stability. We trembled when 
 they passed into the cloud. But they are clothed upon with higher charac- 
 ter. It seems as if nature, fearing lest she should disparage her divinest 
 ordinance, hastens to forgive the folly of premature obedience, and corrects, 
 as far as possible, the mistakes of youth. 
 
 The Family Multiplies Happiness. — The road into happiness is al- 
 ways the road out of self. When one has no one for whom he cares more 
 than for himself, the cup of his happiness is very small. The babe, onl} 
 able to use a rattle, can have but little joy compared with its delight when it 
 can pour itself out for some loved one. Other friendships than those of 
 the family last with the sunshine. But into every life some rain must fall. 
 Then, worn with the rude shocks against the rough world, one returns to his 
 quiet family to be soothed and re-established in the eternal verities of fidel- 
 ity and integrity. The comforts may be few, but so long as these are not 
 placed above their true rank, and the deeper and abiding realities of the 
 heart are emphasized, there is sure to come a flood of comfort that makea 
 one ready for another strife with the worhl. 
 
12 Home and Health. 
 
 Washington Irving says that "a married man, falling into misfortunes, is 
 more apt to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one, chiefly be- 
 cause his spirits are softened and relieved by domestic endearment and self- 
 respect." The happiness he imparts and receives adds wings to his speed 
 and spurs to his purpose, and difficulties that otherwise would have been too 
 great for a half -formed resolution yield before the supreme impulse from the 
 family. 
 
 The Family Blesses in Necessitating Housekeeping. — It is one of 
 the glories of a family that it must come to housekeeping. Boarding is a 
 necessary evil in exceptional cases, but it is not a part of the plan. It may 
 sometimes be an expedient, like a tent, while a house is being built, or on hard 
 campaigns where houses cannot be built. The order of life is home-keepinff. 
 A family is a unit in society, not a fraction. The home is a man's castle, and 
 he must be the lord of it. To live in a trunk with the feeling that some one 
 else owns the key, and may lock you out by day or in by night, dwarfs the 
 best part of a man's faculties. Boarding houses have their mission, just as 
 any other remedial agency for the sick or deformed or unfortunate in society 
 has its work. People should go to a boarding house just as they do to a hos- 
 pital, when they must, and then be thankful that they can get a good one. 
 
 Housekeeping separates the family unit from the fragments of families, 
 and gives it a chance for religious and individual life. The little girl who 
 said to her Sunday-school teacher, " We have not got any Bible, we board," 
 told a secret much deeper than she knew. 
 
 Have some house, little if it must be, but have it, and live by yourselves. 
 There you can suit your living to your income. There you can train your 
 children in influences which you can command. There you can create and 
 preserve a Christian atmosphere which shall determine their destiny, and pos- 
 sibly your own. There you will find a fort which you command, a door 
 which you only can open ; a place where you are constantly built up into 
 kingship. 
 
 According to Jeremy Taylor : *' Home is the proper scene of piety and 
 patience, of the duty of parents, and the charity of relatives ; here kindness 
 is spi'ead abroad, and love is united and made firm as a center. Marriage 
 hath in it less of beauty, but more of safety than single life ; it hath more 
 care, but less danger ; it is more merry and more sad ; it is fuller of sorrows 
 and fuller of joys ; it lies under more burdens, but is supported by all the 
 strength of love and charity, and those burdens are delightful." The family 
 gathered in a Christian home is the type of the eternal home where the whole 
 family of God shall be finally gathered. 
 
 So important is a home that it is worth much to give any hint that may im- 
 prove its order, hallow its precincts, sweeten its atmosphere, purify its com- 
 munions, increase its efficiency, unfold its relations, elevate its affections, ex- 
 
Home, 13 
 
 alt its intelligence, protect its virtues, perpetuate its faith, or impress its im- 
 portance. If we can aid in giving to America men and women who shall 
 abide in the comforts and securities of home, if we ca aidn in rendering more 
 honorable this altar of religion and cradle of patriotism, this model of the 
 Church and unit of the State ; if we can aid in checking the worldly rush out 
 of the home into the chase for pleasure, the struggle for gain, and the brawl 
 for fame which sweeps away so many men and infects so many women in our 
 time, we shall be content. If by hints, practical suggestions, rules wrought 
 out of the experience of the good and wise, and instructions gathered from 
 the world's teachers every-where, we can aid the father in being a providence 
 and a parent, the mother in being a queen and a companion, the boy in be- 
 coming a vigorous and manly man, and the girl in ripening into the graces of 
 an intelligent, refined woman ; if by the words of this book we can help to 
 perfect and actualize the Christian home, so that here and there throughout 
 the land a barefooted boy, or a poor girl, or a weary mother, or a tired father, 
 finding some new hope, or better culture, or higher life, shall rise up and bless 
 these pages, then we shall not be sorry on account of the work, nor on ac- 
 count of the criticism of those who may most need these suggestions. 
 
 MARRIAGE. 
 
 What God Thinks of Marriage. — In the beginning God created man, 
 and then created for him one woman, because it was not good for him to be 
 alone. He created for him only one woman because it would not be good for 
 him to want to be alone. It is not without a providential purpose that the 
 number of the males is kept so nearly equal to the number of the females for 
 80 many ages. " They twain shall be one flesh," said the great Teacher. Not 
 they twenty shall be one flesh, but twain. He shall cleave unto his wife, not 
 unto a score of wives. The Lord avoids the perils of both extremes. He 
 wants a man to be the husband of only one wife. It is almost as unnatural 
 for him not to have one as it is wicked to have more than one. For ** the 
 Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the 
 faith/) giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils ; speaking lie^ 
 in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to 
 MARRY." 1 Tim. iv, 1-3. 
 
 Principles Governing Marriage. — The following principles are formu- 
 lated with the full knowledge that it is not possible to give infallible di- 
 rections for every case. But it is also believed that the chances that these 
 rules will apply are immeasurably greater than that your case is really an 
 exception to the laws that generally obtain over people. Let it not be for. 
 
14 Home aot) Health. 
 
 gotten that these rules are to find their application and do their helpful 
 work before the interested party is committed either in word or in feeling. 
 Love always blindfolds that he may lead captive. These rules are given not 
 chiefly for those who most need them, but for those who may need them 
 hereafter. 
 
 1. Seek each other^s happiness. A selfish marriage that seeks only its own 
 happiness defeats itself. Happiness is a fire that will not burn long on one stick. 
 
 2. Give your best judgment full authority. Wedlock is not an impulse, but 
 a life. Like Christianity, it may be miraculously started, but it must depend 
 upon arguments and works of righteousness for its prosperous continuance. 
 
 3. Do not marry suddenly. It can always be done till it is done, if it is 
 a proper thing to do. 
 
 4. Marry in y(ur own grade in society. It is painful to be always apologiz- 
 ing for any one. It is more painful to be apologized for. 
 
 5. Do not marry downward. It is hard enough to advance in the quality 
 of life, without being loaded by clay heavier than your own. It will be suf- 
 ficiently diflScult to keep your children up to your best level without having 
 to correct a bias in their blood. 
 
 6. Do not sell yourself. It matters not whether the price be money or 
 position. « 
 
 7. Do not throw yourself away. You will not receive too much even if you 
 are paid full price. 
 
 8. " Be ye not unequally yoked together with tmhelievers." Argument cannot 
 add to the authority of this rule. 
 
 9. Seek the advice of your parents. Your parents are your Jbest friends. 
 L They will make more sacrifice for you than any other mortals. They are ele- 
 vated above selfishness concerning you. If they differ from you concerning 
 your choice it is because they must. 
 
 10. Do not marry to please any third party. You must do the living and 
 enduring. 
 
 11. Do not marry to spite any body. It would add wickedness to folly. 
 
 12. Do not marry because some one else may seek the same hand. One glcve 
 may not fit all hands equally well. 
 
 13. Do not marry to get rid of any body. The coward who shot himself to 
 escape from being drafted was insane. 
 
 14. Do not marry merely for the impulse love. Love is a principle as well 
 as an emotion. So far as it is a sentiment it is a blind guide. It does not 
 wait to test the presence of exalted character in its object before breaking 
 out into a flame. Shavings make a hot fire, but hard coal is better for the 
 winter. 
 
 15. Do not myyrry without love, A body without a soul soon becomes 
 offensive. 
 
Ma/rriage. 15 
 
 16. Do not regard marrying as absolutely necessary. While it is the general 
 order of Providence that people should marry, yet Providence may have some 
 other plan for you. 
 
 17. Beware of spiritual impressions concerning this subject Four young 
 preachers consulted their Presiding Elder concerning marrying. Each said 
 he felt called of God to marry one certain lady. 
 
 1 8. Remember that love does not long survive respect. 
 
 19. Beware of mere magnetism. 
 
 20. Test carefully the effect of protracted association. If familiarity breeds 
 contempt before marriage, it will afterward. 
 
 21. Test carefully the effect of protracted separation. True love will defy 
 both time and space. 
 
 22. Co7isider carefully the right of your children under the laws of heredity. 
 It is doubtful whether you have a right to increase the number of invalids 
 and cripples. 
 
 23. Do not marry simply because you have promised to do so. If a seam 
 opens between you now it will widen into a gulf. It is less offensive to re- 
 tract a mistaken promise than to perjure your soul before the altar. Your 
 intended has a right to absolute integrity. 
 
 24. Avoid long engagements. Touching off a shell with a fuse two or three 
 years long is an uncertain experiment. 
 
 25. Marry character. It is not so much what one has as what one is. 
 
 26. Do not marry the wrong object. Themistocles said he would rather 
 marry his daughter to a man without money, than to money without a man. 
 It is well to have both. It is fatal to have neither. 
 
 27. Demand a just return. You give virtue and purity, and gentleness ana 
 integrity. You have a right to demand the same in return. Duty requires it. 
 
 28. Accept nothing in the place of integrity. Any person who can deliber- 
 ately lie will do any thing else under favorable circumstances. There is no 
 foundation to character when integrity is wanting. 
 
 29. Require brains. Culture is good, but will not be transmitted. Brain- 
 power may be. 
 
 30. Remember that health precedes svx:cess. 
 
 31. See where the candidate is going. The mother of Dr. Henry, the com- 
 mentator, was told by her father when her hand was sought, " We do not 
 know whence this man came." She replied, " I know whither he is going, 
 and I want to go with him." 
 
 32. Study past relationships. The good daughter and sister makes a good 
 wife. The good son and brother makes a good husband. 
 
 38. Never marry as a missionary deed. If one needs saving from bad 
 habits he is not suitable for you. 
 
 34. Beware of one ivho has been intemperate. The risk is too great. 
 
16 Home and Health. 
 
 86. Beware of a skeptic. If he doubts God he will doubt virtue. 
 
 36. Look for thrift in the blood. If it does not appear, it must leak out 
 through some defect in the character or habits. 
 
 37. Observe the Bible rule concerning consanguinity. In the transactions of 
 the American Medical Association, published March, 1859, Dr. Bemis of Ken- 
 tucky gives details of the history of nearly 1,000 married couples who were 
 more or less related before marriage. His facts abundantly prove such mar- 
 riages to be unfavorable to the health, life, character, and talents of the 
 offspring. About 900 of the children of these parents died young, of con 
 sumption or scrofula. 
 
 From the reports of Hospitals, Asylums, Penitentiaries, etc., it is found 
 thnt about 10 per cent, of all the blind, deaf and dumb, idiotic and insane, 
 have parents who were blood relatives before marriage. Similar facts are 
 well known respecting some of the royal families of Europe. 
 
 HOW TO PERPETUATE THE HONEY-MOON. 
 
 Continue your courtship. Like causes produce like effects. 
 Do not assume a right to neglect your companion more after 
 marriage than you did before. 
 Have no secrets that you keep from your companion. A third 
 
 party is always disturbing. 
 
 Do not conceal your marriage for an hour. Busy bodies may per- 
 plex you with advice. Madame Le Brun kept her marriage a secret for a short 
 time, when people advised her to drown herself rather than marry Le Brun. 
 Even the Duchess d'Arembourg said, " For Heaven's sake, don't marry him 1 " 
 The very concealment begets perils. Integrity is the law of safety. 
 
 Avoid the appearance of evil. In matrimonial matters it is often that 
 the mere appearance contains all the evil. Love, as soon as it rises above 
 calculation and becomes love, is exacting. It gives all, and demands all. 
 
 Once married, never open your mind to any change. If you keep 
 Ihe door of your purpose closed, evil or even desirable changes cannot 
 make headway without help. 
 
 Make the best of the inevitable. Persist in looking at and present- 
 ing the best side. Such is the subtle constitution of the human mind, that we 
 believe what we will ; also, what we frequently tell. 
 
 Keep step in mental development. A tree that grows for forty years 
 may take all the sunlight from a tree that stops growing at twenty. 
 
 Keep a lively interest in the business of the firm. Two that do 
 not pull together, are weaker than either alone. 
 
Flow to Perpetuate the Iloney-fuo »n. 17 
 
 Gauge your expenses by your revenues. Love um.st eal. The 
 sheriff often levies on Cupid long before he takes away the old furniture. 
 
 Start from where your parents started rather than from where 
 -hey now are. Hollow and showy boarding often furnishes the too strong 
 temptation, while the quietness of a humble home would cement the hearts 
 beyond risk. 
 
 Avoid debt. Spend your own money, then it will not be necessary to 
 blame any one for spending other people's. 
 Do not both get angry at the same time. It takes two to quarrel. 
 Do not allow yourself ever to come to an open rupture. Things 
 
 unsaid need less repentance. 
 
 Study to understand your companion's disposition, in order to 
 please and avoid friction. 
 
 Study to conform your tastes and habits to the tastes and 
 habits of your companion. If two walk together, they must agree. 
 
 Chang and Eng were the Siamese Twins. Chang made Eug lie 
 down when sick. It killed Eng, and Chang could not survive him. Take 
 care of Eng. Few people survive divorce. 
 
 HOW TO BE A GOOD HUSBAND. 
 
 Honor your wife. She must be exalted and never dethroned. 
 
 Love your wife. The measure is, as Christ loved the Church and 
 gave himself for her. 
 
 Show your love. All life manifests itself. As certainly as a live tree 
 will put forth leaves in the spring, so certainly will a living love show itself. 
 Many a noble man toils early and late to earn bread and position for his wife. 
 He hesitates at no weariness for her sake. He justly thinks that such indus- 
 try and providence give a better expression of his love than he coivld give 
 by caressing her and letting the grocery bills go unpaid. He fills the cellar 
 and pantry. He drives and pushes his business. He never dreams that 
 he is actually starving his wife to death. He may soon have a woman left to 
 superintend his home, but his wife is dying. She must be kept alive by the 
 same process that called her into being. Recall and repeat the little atten- 
 tions and delicate compliments that once made you so agreeable, and that 
 fanned her love into a consuming flame. It is not beneath the dignity of the 
 skillful physician to study all the little symptoms, and order all the little 
 round of attentions, that check the waste of strength and brace the stagger- 
 ing constitution. It is good work for a husband to cherish his wife. 
 2 
 
IS Rome and Health. 
 
 Suffer for your wife, if need be. Christ sufifered for the Church. 
 
 Consult with her. She is as apt to be right as you are, and frequentl* 
 able to add much to your stock of wisdom. In any event, she appreciates 
 your attentions. 
 
 Study to keep her young. It can be done. It is not work, but worry, 
 that wears. Keep a brave, true heart between her and all harm. li you 
 \vill carefully walk in the way of righteousness you can shield her from can- 
 kering care. Providence will not be likely to bring upon her any :hing that 
 is not for her good. 
 
 Help to bear her burdens. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill 
 the law of love. Love seeks opportunities to do for the loved object. She 
 has the constant care of j^our children. She i.^ oi'dained by the Lord to stand 
 guard over them. Not a disease can appear in the community without her 
 taking the alarm. Not a disease can come over the threshold without her 
 instantly springing into the mortal combat. If there is a deficiency any- 
 where, it comes out of her pleasure. Her burdens are every-where. Look 
 for them, that you may lighten them. 
 
 Make yourself helpful by thoughtfulness. Remember to bring into 
 the house your best smile and sunshine. It is good for you, and it cheers up 
 the home. There i^^ hardly a nook in the house that has not been carefully 
 hunted through to drive out every thing that might annoy you. The dinner 
 which suits, or ought to suit you, has not come on the table of itself. It 
 represents much thoughtfulness and work. You can do no more manly 
 thing than find some way of expressing, in word or look, your appreciation 
 of it. 
 
 Express your will, not by commands, but by suggestions. It is 
 God's order that you should be the head of the family. You are clothed 
 with authority. But this does not authorize you to be stern and harsh, as an 
 officer in the army. Your authority is the dignity of love. When it is not 
 clothed in love it ceases to have the substance of authority. A simple sug- 
 gestion that may embody a wish, an opinion or an argument, becomes one 
 who reigns over such a kingdom as yours. 
 
 Study your own character as husband. Transfer your deeds, with the 
 impressions they might naturally make, to some other couple, aud see what 
 feelings they would awaken in your heart concerning that other man. Are 
 you seeking to miiliiply the joys of your wife, as well as to support her? 
 Ai-e you an agreeable associate among your companions? If not, why should 
 you expect your wife to be pleased with you? Have you acquired the ability 
 to entertain and cheer your friends? If not, it is time you were studying t<> 
 im.prove yourself as a husband. If you can, make yourself a moilel husluiiid. 
 
IIow to he a Good Ilu6ha/iid. 19 
 
 and that will help your wife to be a model wife, and that will insure your 
 home against shipwreck and your happiness against decay. 
 
 Seek to refine your nature. It is no slander to say that many men 
 have wives much more refined than themselves. This is natural in the in- 
 equalities of life. Other qualities may compensate for any defect here. But 
 you need have no defect in refinement. Preserve the gentleness and refine- 
 ment of your wife as a rich legacy for your children, and in so doing you will 
 lift yourself to higher levels. 
 
 Be a gentleman, as well as a husband. The signs and bronze and cal- 
 louses of toil are no indications that you are not a gentleman. The soul of 
 gcmtlemanliness is a kindly feeling toward others, that prompts one to secure 
 their comfort. That is why the thoughtful peasant lovof in always so "-entle- 
 manly, and in his love much above himself. 
 
 Remember the past experience of your wile. In all probability she 
 has left a better home than the one to which she comes. All the chano-cs 
 for the worse are painful. Only her love for you extracts the pain. She 
 cannot but contrast your pinched accommodations with the abundance she 
 left. It is right that these changes should come. Young people cannot 
 commence where the aged leave off. Yet it becomes you to remember that 
 she has taken you instead of all these comforts, and you must see to it that 
 she has no reason to regret her exchange. Make the most of her better na- 
 ture. This refinement enters into her value as a mother and a maker of a 
 home. 
 
 Level up. If your wife has the advantage in culture and refinement, 
 and this is quite a common condition, as girls usually have a better chance 
 for education and more leisure for books than boys have, do not sink her to 
 your level, but by study and thoughtfulness rise to her plane. The very as- 
 cent will improve your home, and add to your value as a husband and to your 
 influence as a citizen. 
 
 Stay at home. Habitual absence during the evenings is sure to brine 
 sorrow. If your duty or business calls you, you have the promise that you 
 will be kfjU in all your ways. But if you go out to mitigle with other society, 
 and leave your wife at home alone, or with the children and servants, know 
 that there is no good in store for you. She has claims upon you that you 
 cannot afford to allow to go to protest. Reverse the case. You sit down 
 alone after having waited all day for your wife's return, and think of her at^ 
 reveling in gay society, and see if you can keep out all doubts as to what 
 takes her away. If your home is not as attractive as you want it, you are a 
 principal partner. Set yourself about the work of making it attractive. Find 
 some book to read or to have your wife read to you, or some work that both 
 can be interested in. Find something that shall give interest to the even- 
 
'iO Home ajsij liEAi/rfi 
 
 •zgB. Home is yo-ir only retreat. Satau fights a family as Napoleon fougui 
 Js enemies — divides it, then whips the parts in detail. When you lounge 
 away from home you go into temptation, and send temptation to take your 
 place at home. 
 
 Take your wife vrith you into society. Seclusion begets morbidness, 
 one needs some of the life that comes from contact with society. She must 
 •ee how other people appear and act. It often requires an exertion for her 
 to go out of her home, but it 'S good for her, and for you. She will bring 
 oack more sunshine. It is wisv to rest sometimes. When the Arab stops 
 for his dinner he unpacks his camel. Treat your wife with as much con- 
 sideration. 
 
 HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE. 
 
 Reverence your husband. He sustains by God's order a position of 
 diguity as head of the family, head of the woman. Any breaking down of 
 this order indicates a mistake in the union or a digressicn from duty. 
 
 liOve him. A wife loves as naturally as the sun sh'.nes. Love is your 
 »est weapon. You conquered him with that in the first _)lace. You can re- 
 conquer by the same means. 
 
 Do not conceal your love from him. If he is crowded with care, ^ud 
 too busy to seem to heed your love, you need to give all the greater attention 
 to securing his knowledge of your love. If you intermit he will setile down 
 Into a hard, cold life with increased rapidity. Your example will keep the 
 light on his conviction. The more he neglects the fire on the hearth, the 
 more carefully must you feed and guard it. It must not be allowed to go 
 out. Once out you must sit forever in the darkness and in the cold. 
 
 Forsake all for him. Looking back may be as fatal to you as it was to 
 Lot's wife. You have voluntarily taken him " for better or for worse." 
 Henceforth'your destinies are intertwined. 
 
 Confide in him. Distrust is a bottomless abyss 
 
 Keep his love. It may require much care and thought, but tbe boon if^ 
 vital to your happiness. 
 
 Cultivate the modesty and delicacy of your youth. The relations 
 and familiarity of wedded life may seem to tone down the sensitive and retir- 
 ing instincts of girlhood, but nothing can compensate for the loss of these. 
 However much men may admire the public performance of gifted women, 
 :hey do not desire that boldness and dash in a wife. The holy blush of a 
 maiden's modesty is more powerful in hallowing and governing a home than 
 Lhe heaviest anoanicnt that ever warrior bore. 
 
How to be a Good Wife. 21 
 
 Cultivate personal attractiveness. This means the storing of your 
 mind with a linowlodge of passing events, and with a good idea of the world's 
 general advance. If you read nothing, and make no eifort to make yourself 
 attractive, you will soon sink down into a dull hack of stupidity. If your 
 husband never hears from you any words of wisdom, or of common informa- 
 tion, he will soon hear nothing from you. Dress and gossip soon wear out 
 If your memory is weak, so that it hardly seems worth while to read, that is 
 additional reason for reading. The disease is advancing to a threatening 
 stage. Keep by you some well selected book. Read little by little, as you 
 can. Think of what you read. Talk to your husband of it when he comoe 
 If your memory fails you in the critical moment, try it again. Persist, and 
 victory is inevitable. Ask him questions about it. Enlist his interest. Any 
 new thing placed before him will awaken his admiration. A careful reading 
 of the daily and religious papers will enable you to keep him posted by inci- 
 dental references and statements while at table, or while walking or riding, 
 or in the sitting-room. Soon he will come to rely upon you for his mforma- 
 tion on many matters. Then your throne cannot be shaken. This need not 
 occupy many moments each day. But your time will not be worth having 
 <vithout it. 
 
 Cultivate physical attractiveness. When you were encouraging the 
 attentions of him whom you now call husband, you did not neglect any item 
 of dress or appearance that could help you. Your hair was always in perfect 
 training. You never greeted him with a ragged or untidy dress or soiled 
 hands. It is true that your "market is made," but you cannot afford to have 
 it " broken." Cleanliness and good taste will attract now as they did for- 
 merly. Keep yourself at your best. Make the most of your physical en- 
 dowments. Neatness and order break the power of poverty. 
 
 Do not forget the power of incidental attentions. The arrow that 
 pierces between the joints of the mail is the one that does the execution. A 
 little time spent by your husband's side, without actually being busied 
 with either work or plans or complaints, is not wasted. A hand on the 
 shoulder, a look, tlie creeping of your hand into his, any of the thousand 
 little things which your instinct will teach you how to do, may drive away 
 a cloud, and perpetuate the sunshine. 
 
 Make your home attractive. This means more than furniture. It 
 means the thousand little touches of taste that drive the darkness out of 
 the corners, and the stiffness out of the parlor, and the gloom out of the 
 house. Make your home so easy that you will feel easy in it yourself. Feel 
 at home in it yourself, then the others will also feel easy there. Keep your 
 house clean, and in good order. It takes less time to so keep things than 
 to neglect them and hunt for them. Even poverty is no excuse for dirt. 
 M <ny a man is driven by home dirt to the bar-room, and through that to 
 
2'J Home and JIealth. 
 
 dcatl;. Have your table clean. Your food may be coarse aud cheap, but il 
 it is clean, and put on in an inviting shape, the meal will be relished. We 
 have relished meals in a cabin where there was but one dish on the table, and 
 that the kettle in which it was cooked. The appetizer was on the floor, 
 which shone from the scrubbing-brush till one could safely eat from it. Your 
 home is your kingdom. Its order and attractiveness will have much to do 
 with your position as a wife. 
 
 Preserve sunshine. People shun clouds. Light is life. It does not 
 matter that some things have gone wrong. Things have ways of going 
 crooked. It is not best for you to keep pouring your petty trials into your 
 husband's ears. There are times when he must hear them, but study these 
 times. Do not keep up such a din of complaint that he identifies the idea 
 of home with the idea of distress. In a sense he is your supreme guest. 
 Make the best of what you have. Keep the order at the front, and organize 
 order backward as rapidly as possible. You do not wish to always appear in 
 the role of a beggar who sits by the highway showing his wounds and de- 
 formities as reasons for receiving pennies. Some people always retail their 
 distresses and ailments, till one shuns them like a pest hospital. When your 
 husband comes in, let him receive a flood of sunlight. It will do no harm if 
 he comes to think of you as sunlight. True, he is under equal obligation to 
 bring sunlight with him, but you can help him by example. One certain re- 
 sult you will secure, namely, you will avoid all the imaginary storms, be 
 better prepared to meet the real ones, and have a vast deal of sunshine in 
 your own life as a constant compensation. 
 
 Study your husband'^ character. He has his peculiarities. He has 
 no right to many of them, but he has them, and you need to know them ; 
 thus you can avoid many hours of friction. The good pilot steers around 
 the sunken rocks that lie in the channel. The engineer may remove them, 
 not the pilot. You are more pilot than engineer. Consult his tastes. It 
 is more important to your home that you should please him than any body 
 else Patience, time, and tact will enable you to clear out the channel, or 
 make new channels through the very substance of his character. A given 
 amount of study expended on him will yield a larger amount of happiness 
 for your family than it can invested anywhere else. 
 
 Cultivate his better nature. Avoid appearing to be shocked at his 
 rude or crude notions, but set him to thinking about things that will elevate 
 the plane of his convictions, tastes, and feelings. Books, extracts, incidents 
 that contain truths which you wish him to imbibe, can be put in his way oi 
 read to him in his leisure. As his standard is more elevated his actions will 
 improve The winter's blast causes us to hug our wraps, but an hour's 
 sypiiig sunshine causes us to throw them open and off. 
 
Uov) to he a Good Wife. 23 
 
 Study to meet your duties as a wife. CrititiHc your own dofectc! 
 without mercy. No one else will treat them mercifully. Correct the points 
 that are wrong. If you are indifferent, cultivate interest. If you are neg- 
 ligent concerning your domestic duties, take on care. Whatever a good wife 
 does or ought to do, do that. You can master the science of being a wife 
 as w^ell as you can master any other science. 
 
 Seek to secure your husband's happiness. Blessing, you shall be 
 blessed. You cannot anchor your end of the ship in a haven of peace while 
 the other end is carried down the cataract. 
 
 Study his interest. Many women wreck their fortune, and darken their 
 future by indifference to the business interests of their husbands. They fix 
 their hearts upon some display which they cannot afford. The husband must 
 choose between bankruptcy and a family quarrel. Hoping against hope, he 
 purchases peace at too high a price, and ruin comes in at the door which the 
 wife opened to admit her pride or comfort. If need be, live in one room. 
 Eat from the end of a trunk, but do not go beyond your means. Nothing is- 
 more respectable than independence. 
 
 Practice economy. Many families are cast out of peace into grumbling 
 and discord by being compelled to fight against poverty. When there are 
 no great distresses to be endured or accounted for, complaint and fault-find- 
 ing are not so often evoked. Keep your husband free from the annoyances 
 of disappointed creditors, and he will be more apt to keep free from annoy- 
 ing you. To toil hard for bread, to fight the wolf from the door, to resist 
 impatient creditors, to struggle against complaining pride at home, is too 
 much to ask of one man. A crust that is your own is a feast, while a feast 
 that is purloined from unwilling creditors is a famine. 
 
 FACTS FOR PARENTS. 
 
 Paternity is earth's highest dignity. The parent is the best human 
 
 type of God. Paternal authority is the germ out of which are unfolded all 
 goveriunents and all religions. It combines law, authority, power, wisdom, 
 providence, punishments, pardons, remedial agencies, meicy, love, sacrifice, 
 instruction, leadership and companionship. It epitomizes nature, Providenct 
 and grace. 
 
 Children are boons. Tliey impart dignity to life and furnish a motive 
 for work. They gather up the witliering and fading plans for self, and cast 
 them out into the future, renewed in vigor and hope. They cement the fam- 
 ily in unity. 
 
 Children give new life to a home. They warm the house. They di^- 
 
24 Home and Health. 
 
 pel the gloom. Tliey constrain age to renewed youth. They irunftfonn « 
 hall into a home. 
 
 Children are great teachers of theology. They give new meaning to 
 the important terms in which God seeks to reveal himself. Father, and pity, 
 and pardon, and love, and faith, and authority, and probation, and punish 
 ment, and recovery, derive more meaning from a single child than from all 
 dictionaries and grammars comoined. They show us the supreme order in 
 confusion and the instrumental character of law. In God's Kingdom it is 
 true of men, "A little child shall lead them." 
 
 Parents put their image and superscription upon their children. 
 They beget them in their own image, and train them into their own faith and 
 destiny. Selecting for them their toys, their playmates, their books and theii 
 churches, they are responsible for their moral character and social life. 
 
 Prepare for the duties of the parental relation. It requires appren- 
 ticeship for the common mechanic arts. Long trauiing prepares the sur- 
 geon to tamper with physical limbs. What thoughtfulness should precede 
 the assumption of parental relations ! 
 
 Construct your home for your children. Home may be made the 
 most attractive place on earth. Many lo.<e their children as soon as they can 
 escape. There is a mistake somewhere. If the house is glum and stiff, the 
 children required to keep still while the parents read or doze — if the house is 
 only a feeding and clothing place, or a workshop, it has none of the charms 
 of home, and will be early empty. But the home should be more than a 
 house. Fill it with good clieer, youthful hope, with instruction and entertain- 
 ment and affection ; then it will be a perpetual benediction. Your highest 
 duty is to your children. Make home so winsome to them that they will not 
 go away from your eye for their pleasures. Be yourself a necessary and wel- 
 come part of their work and of their study and of their sports. It is not a 
 service of bondage, but a reign of love in the midst of the growing sons and 
 daugHters, that you are to maintain. 
 
 Remember that children do grow old. We can hardly believe that 
 they can be trusted as we were when we were of their age. We remember 
 them as our little ones. 
 
 Recall, as distinctly as possible, your own youth. PrcSt bj ""oui 
 own experience, and let your children also profit by it. 
 
 FAMILY GOVERNMENT. FORTY-TWO HINTS. 
 
 I. Family government is to be family government. It uses author 
 ity, authoiity in love, yet authoi-ity. It ordains law. It command? the 
 child's moral nature. 
 
Fam,Uy OoverriTnent. '2i^ 
 
 2. It is not merely a provision for temporal relief. It iloos more 
 tlinii dross, feed and nurse. It is for liigher purposes than exhorting, or ad- 
 vit*ing, or caressing. 
 
 3. It rules in the place of God. We are created in a system by a plan 
 of reproduction. God creates us second-hand, and governs us in the same 
 way. 
 
 4. It prepares a religion of the hearth. This seizes upon the infinite 
 Father on the first opportunity. The capacities and faculties for apprehend- 
 ing God are prepared in the home, and are experimented in private, till a 
 distinct idea of God is presented ; then this government rises into the spirit- 
 ual government, and religion is launched upon the soul. 
 
 5. Paren;al.nile must seek the ends sought by the Lord. Short of 
 this, it is not a system of statesmanship, but a trick of politicians. It must 
 seek purely Christian ends. To serve worldly purposes in our children by 
 wanting for them chiefly wealth, or honor, or power, or position, is to fall be- 
 low any thing worthy of the name of Family Government. 
 
 6. Parents governing on a lower plane lose all inspiration. The 
 
 only dignity that can draw the soul up to its own infinite heights is the word 
 of supreme authority. Expediency and advice are conveniences which can 
 never be galvanized into power. Governing in God's place, one cannot miss 
 of inspiration. 
 
 7. Family government may reach real piety. It is not expected that 
 a mere human order will secure conversion, or that a free use of the rod will 
 reach that result. It is chiefly urged that the child, obeying the representa 
 tive authority from the motives which God enthrones, may be brought intc 
 that spirit of trustful obedience which underlies all piety, and which make? 
 salvation solely a question of God's willingness to save. 
 
 8. The parents must be in the Spirit to attain the highest results. 
 
 Their lives must be so steadied, their passions so quieted, as to give them the 
 highest personal authority. All the human agency turns on personal author- 
 ity. This means genuineness. This means authority rather than sanctimo 
 niousness. Children feel only realities. When the atmosphere of the home 
 is Christian, then they are sure to be encircled. 
 
 9. Instill principles, rather than enact rules or issue commands. 
 
 Religious life is removed the farthest possible from a ritual or ceremony. 
 It is a spirit. Enlightened conviction that makes its own applications par- 
 takes of the divine plan, while enactments are man's device to leave an 
 offender without tn fcuse against penalty. 
 
 10. Gentleness must characterize every act of authority. The 
 Mtnrm of excitement that mav make the child start, bears no relation to act- 
 
26 Home ajjd Health. 
 
 uiil obedience. The inner firmness, that sees and feels a moral conviction 
 and expects obedience, is only disguised and defeated by bluster. The more 
 calm and direct it is, the greater certainty it has of dominion. 
 
 11. For the government of small children speak only in the au- 
 thority of love, yet authority, loving and to be obeyed. The most 
 important lesson to impart is obedience to authority as authority. The ques- 
 tion of salvation with most children will be settled as soon as they learn to 
 obey parental authority. It establishes a habit and order of mind that is 
 ready to accept divine authority. This precludes skepticism and disobe- 
 dience, and induces that childlike trust and spirit set forth as a necessary 
 state of salvation. Children that are never made to obey are left to drift 
 tato the sea of passion where the pressure for surrender only tends to drive 
 them at greater speed from the haven of safety. 
 
 12. After obedience is secured to authority, explanations may 
 follow to strengthen authority for future storm. 
 
 13. For a child not wrecked in deceit, appeal to religious motives. 
 These are the love of God, love of virtue, love of purity, approval of theii 
 own conscience, 
 
 14. For a child dashed under falsehood, threatening the very in- 
 tegrity of the character, operate on lower motive to drive him up 
 into obedience. This distinguishes between fear and terror. God appeals 
 to one for virtue, and may use the other in final retributions. 
 
 15. Form in the child habits of self-denial. Pampering never ma- 
 tures good character. 
 
 16. Form in the child habits of benevolence. It partakes of the di- 
 vine mind. It should become a state, and not be an impulse. 
 
 17. Emphasize integrity. Keep the moral tissues tough in integrity; 
 then it will hold a hook of obligations when once set in a sure place. There 
 is nothing more vital. Shape all your experiments to preserve the integrity. 
 Do not so reward it that it becomes mercenary. Turning State's evidence it^ 
 a dangerous experiment in morals. Prevent deceit from succeeding. 
 
 18. Guard modesty. To be brazen is to imperil some of the best ele 
 aients of character. Modesty may be strengthened into a becoming confi 
 den;-e, but brazeu-facedness can seldom be toned dowTi into decency. It 
 requ res the miracle of grace. 
 
 19. Protect purity. Teach your children to loathe impurity. Study the 
 character of their playmates. Watch their books. Ke*p them from corrup. 
 tion at all cost. The groups of youth in the schools, and in society, and ir 
 business places, seethe with impi-oprieties of word and thought. Never re- 
 lax your vigilance along this exposed border. 
 
Family Gave7'7ir)ient. 27 
 
 20. In family government threaten the least possible. Some par 
 euts rattle off their commands with penalties so profusely that there i;^ 
 a steady roar of hostilities about the child's head. These threats are forgot- 
 ten by the parent and unheeded by the child. All government is at an end. 
 
 21. Do not enforce too many commands. Leave a few things within 
 the range of the child's knowledge that are not forbidden. Keep your word 
 good, but do not have too much of it out to be redeemed. 
 
 22. Punish as little as possible. Sometimes punishment is necessary, 
 but the less it is resorted to the better. 
 
 23. Reward rather than punish. Heaven S^ better than hell. 
 
 24. Never punish in a passion. Wrath becomes only cruelty. There 
 is no moral power in it. When you seem to be angry you can do no good. 
 
 25. Disorder means ruin. This is true of the governed and of the 
 government. Order must be enforced. 
 
 26. Brutish violence only multiplies offenders. Striking and beat- 
 ing the body seldom reaches the soul. Fear and hatred beget rebellion. 
 
 27. Avoid punishments that break down self-respect. Striking the 
 body produces shame and indignation. 
 
 28. Punish privately. It is enough for the other children to know 
 that discipline is being administered. 
 
 29. Hold a child sometimes by main force. This may give the idea 
 of a resistless force without any of the cruelty of blows or fierceness of 
 passion. 
 
 30. Avoid extremes. Make your punishment severe enough to suc- 
 ceed, but never too severe to show love. 
 
 31. Never stop short of success. When the child is not conquered 
 the punishment has been worse than wasted. Reach the point where neither 
 wrath nor sullenness remain. By firm persistency and persuasion require an 
 open look of recognition and peace. It is only evil to stir up the devil 
 unless he is cast out. Ordinarily one complete victory will last a child fur 
 a life-time. But if the child relapses repeat the dose with proper accom 
 paniments. 
 
 32. Leave no ambiguity about the reason and purpose for which 
 you are punishing. A whipping is not so ]nany lashes. It is so raucn 
 iiKjral persuasion. It means results in peace. 
 
 33. You must discover existing offense.s. Disobedience undiscov- 
 ered breaks down the moral nature. It substitutes cunning in the place of 
 principle. 
 
 34. Avoid apparent espionage. To be shadowed stirs all the evil 
 within, and awakens all the disgust and wrath against the spy. 
 
28 Home and Health. 
 
 35. Do not show distrust. Like begets like. 
 
 36. Make no random charges. There are wiser ways of cross-ques- 
 tioning. False accusations are never forgotten, and are made the excuse 
 for offenses. 
 
 37. Do not require children to complain of themselves for par- 
 don. It begets either sycophants or liars. It is the part of the government 
 to detect offenses. It reverses the order of matters to shirk this duty. 
 
 38. How to watch. Notice hie directions, question his companicns, 
 (juestion him for details. Be on the look-out for omissions. Fill the silent 
 spaces with questions. A child is sure to fall through such an examination. 
 A few discoveries wisely handled discourage the art of sin. 
 
 39. Grade authority up to liberty. The growing child must have ex- 
 periments of freedom. Lead him gently into the family. Counsel with 
 him. Let him plan as he can. By and by he has the confidence of courage 
 without the danger of exposures. 
 
 40. Parents must respect each other. Undermining either under- 
 mines both. 
 
 41. Always keep in the spirit of love. 
 
 42. Form an alliance with the children against the spirit of evil, 
 and get them to help you conquer that evil. This inspires them by mak- 
 hig them feel that they are taking the part of victors rather than of the van- 
 quished. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Reverence your parents. Always address them in respectful language. 
 Sl:iiig teims that would bring them into disrepect with others are offensive. 
 " The governor," "the old man," "the boss," aie terms of disrespect. Youi 
 heart may not be so coarse toward them, and think such expressions only 
 add spirit to your conversation, but you are working evil to yourself, rion 
 "iT-ing your parents secures God's favor. 
 
 Appreciate your parents. You will never understand how much they 
 have done for you till it is too late for you duly to show your appreciation. 
 You will never find any other friends who will care for you and cling to you 
 in evil fortune as your parents. They may not have woildly renown, but 
 they deserve your homage. Your best blood you received from them. 
 
 Do not shorten childhood by haste. Maturity will come only too 
 soon. Childhood is your probation for life. Extend it, and make the most 
 of it. 
 
/Suggestions to VhUdren. 2i> 
 
 Confide in your parents. Your most sacred and your most dangerous 
 secrets are safer with your parents than anywhere else. Never conceal any 
 habit or course of action "from them. If you cannot trust it with your 
 mother it has no right in your bosom. If you would blush to tell her you 
 should blush to know it. 
 
 Never read a book you would not show your parents. Vulgar and obscene 
 books or pictures will curse you all your years. The pictures haunt you. 
 They blast you when you least expect it. As you value your peace read no 
 book which you would blush to have your mother see you reading. 
 
 In mature years visit and write home frequently. Soon it will be impos- 
 sible. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. 
 
 Brothers in the family. Wliatever makes you agreeable to your young 
 lady friends can be added to the charms you have for your sister. Noth- 
 ing is more attractive in a young man than marked attention to his sister. 
 
 Your sister naturally expects certain protection from you. She has a right 
 to receive those delicate attentions that shall protect her from coarseness 
 and vulgarity. Next to your mother or wife she must receive the affection 
 that is glad to comfort. 
 
 Never leave her in want of an escort. She has a royal right to be kept 
 from embarrassment so long as you are within reach. 
 
 Sisters in the family. The office of a sister is most delicate and im- 
 portant. As a sister, you are preparing your brother to move freely in 
 the society of ladies. You are refining some woman's home. As the string 
 follows and governs the bow so you may seem to follow, yet you do govern 
 your brother. 
 
 How to treat the aged. The Chinese set a good example in this matter. 
 Never banish an aged relative to some garret. The aged deserve care and 
 attention in proportion to their years and feebleness. An old person should 
 have the easiest chair, should never be allowed to stand either at home or in 
 a street car, or in any puDlic conveyance, or in public assemblies. 
 
 Greet them with a hearty good morning. Inquire after their rest. Pay 
 special attention in seating them at the table and in waiting upon them. 
 Teach the children to wait upon them, and go occasionally to their rooms to 
 gee if they need any thing. 
 
 As they grow feeble they will entertain doubts about their being welcome. 
 Seek to dispel these doubts by repeated assurances and acts of kindness. 
 
 Talk to iliem Listen to them By questions start them on the themes 
 
30 Home and Health. 
 
 of their early lives. Furnish them with books in proper type. Read to 
 them as you have time, or can take it. 
 
 Do not strain them up to your judgment. Humor their whims, if you so 
 call their tastes. The old shoe is the easiest, and they now need ease, not 
 discipline. 
 
 God has special care of the aged. When the grasshopper is a burden and 
 the windows are darkened he opens their way to other worlds. If they 
 !iave grown old in religion he sends his angels to await their translation. 
 It is good to join with the angels in ministries of kindness. 
 
 A mother-in-law in the fanuly. Your wife is inexperienced, and the 
 presence of her mother may be her greatest comfort. No one could be 
 more unselfish in her counsels and care. But for your mother-in-law you 
 would have never been blessed with your wife. She has bestowed more care 
 and attention upon your wife than any other mortal. 
 
 In many of the trying hours of life she relieves with her experience and 
 love from anxiety and exposure. 
 
 If her home is dismembei-ed by death or time so she becomes an inmate 
 and member of your farnilv, you can ordinarily make her presence a blessing 
 to yourself and family by making it a blessing to herself. The secret is in 
 usefulness. The most fearful of all conditions is to feel useless. Some of 
 the cares shifted from the shoulders of your wife will keep both her and 
 her mother from ageing. 
 
 The criticism and joking about mothers-in-law is coarse, and indicates a 
 low nature. It is often prejudicial and always wicked. Honor the grand- 
 mother of your children. Children, whose unperverted instincts are good 
 tests of character, seldom go amiss concerning a grand-parent. Care of a 
 husband's mother often becomes a question requiring special consideration. 
 Reverence, affection, employment, and average tact will bless the home forever. 
 
 A step-mother in the family. Remember, she makes greater sacrifices 
 in attempting to care for children than they can to make her comfortable. 
 If she is willing the children certainly ought not to object. Few things are 
 more senseless than the constant criticism of step-mothers. No one can tell 
 how soon his own children may need and be glad to secure just such help 
 und love. She is brave ; honor her. 
 
 SERVANTS IN THE FAMILY. 
 
 A good master makes a good servant. But there are certain duties and 
 rights which pertain to the servant. The servant must give the whole time 
 for which he is paid. May aspire to higher positions 
 
/Servarits in the Famity. 3J 
 
 May expect promotion from showing capacity in his present place, and 
 from meeting perfectly its duties. 
 
 Should identify himself with the interests of his employer. If he is not 
 faithful over things intrusted to his care, who will give him things of his 
 own ? 
 
 Should preserve the strictest fidelity. 
 
 Should serve when out of sight as scrupulously as when under the em- 
 ployer's eye. God sees every-where. 
 
 May secure his wishes by requests, not by commands. Should conforn 
 his ways of doing given things to the wish of the employer. 
 
 Should seek to meet the wish of the employer in spirit, reliability, ability, 
 and activity. 
 
 Should secure permanence of engagement by making himself necessary to 
 his employer. 
 
 Should carefully study the duties assigned, so as to perform them most 
 perfectly. 
 
 Should avoid habits and manners distasteful to his employer. 
 
 Should avoid talking much. Speak when spoken to, and wdien drawn into 
 conversation by your employer. 
 
 Should seek to gain and retain respect. Respect is the foundation of all 
 dignity. It is better to be a respected employe than a disrespected employer 
 
 HINTS TO EMPLOYERS. 
 
 The employer should remember that all rights do not center in himself 
 His advantage is an incident of fortune. • Kindness to his employes is ir 
 keeping with his highest dignity. Some tilings he ought to do in the interest 
 of common manhood : 
 
 Identify himself with the interests of his employes. Interest begets in- 
 terest. 
 
 Pay honestly what he would expect in a reversed case, and what God re 
 quires. 
 
 Pay promptly. A man with little credit needs regular payment. 
 
 Watch over the morals of his employes. Open the future to young men 
 A word or two from his superior judgment may be worth a fortune to tht 
 young man, and secure a useful member of society. 
 
 Inspire respect by the constant bearing of manhood and royalty of soul. 
 
 Encourage the worker in his work. 
 
 Instruct with kindliness. 
 
 Coi-rect in authority and in gentleness. 
 
32 Home a^d Health. 
 
 MISTRESS IN THE FAMILY. 
 
 The mistress should remember that her position gives her certain dignity. 
 She can safely expect her wish to be carried out without descending to a con 
 troversy. Her face is the sun or the night in the house. 
 
 She must preserve good temper. That w::: swee^^en all the hours. A smile 
 »n her face and good-nature in her voice will calm any storm. 
 
 Avoid fault-finding. Instruction can be given in a better way. Lead your 
 help into higher capabilities by hints and suggestions. Know what ought to 
 be done, then in a quiet, kindly way see that it i? done. 
 
 Improve your servants by showing them how they can do better, and what 
 an advantage it will be to them. 
 
 Secure their confidence in your kindness, then you can direct them to bet- 
 ter ways with ease. 
 
 Keep them in self-respect by occasional enco'?.''aa'*^ments about their own 
 neatness and personal appearance. Do not discourage a girl from brushing 
 and ornamenting her hair. Let them keep their own rooms in order, as being 
 parts of the hours. Make them comfortable. Servant-girls need mirrors. 
 
 Put your servants into the way of self -care by suggestions, and occasion- 
 ally helping them to mend and improve their clothes. 
 
 Inspire them with the sense of life's worth. The motives from the future 
 are urged upon servants in the New Testament. The heathen master is 
 merged in the idea of God, so they are inspired to render service as unto 
 God. 
 
 SUPERIORS AND INFERIORS. 
 
 Proper respect for superiors is a due part of liberty. In America we are 
 so determined to be equal, as well as free, that we often reduce our actual 
 grade by disregarding the natural proprieties of our situation. In law and 
 in rights before the courts and at the polls we are equal, bat in our employ- 
 ments and social relations we are as diverse as we are numei'ous. 
 
 Children should be subordinate to parents, pupils to teachers, employed 
 to employers, citizens to magistrates, the comfort of the strong and healthy 
 to tliat of the delicate and feeble. 
 
 Superiors in age, office or station have precedence of subordinates, feeble- 
 ness of strength, women of men. 
 
 A parent, teacher or employer may admonish for neglect of duty, may take 
 precedence without remark or apology, while an inferior must first ask leave. 
 
 Superiors may use language and manners of freed >m which would be im- 
 proper in inferiors. 
 
^itperiars and Inferiors. 33 
 
 Rospect is die from all to all. Children should show respect to the feel- 
 ings o.( servants. 
 
 It is the most exalted pliiloHophy to accept facts. Assertions against the 
 facts do not exalt the lowly or debase the truly exalted. 
 
 TRAINING CHILDREN FOR GIVEN ENDS. 
 
 Wliat is your purpose in training — not what you would say in class or con- 
 fession meeting, but in fact? Several distinct purposes animate parents. 
 Look them over and decide what your case is, and what it ought to be. 
 
 Training for usefulness. Instill into their minds the conviction that it 
 is greatest to serve most. Train them — 
 
 To wait upon themselves, instead of calling for some one to help them. 
 
 To do helpful things. Some people think it is a sign of liberal condition 
 to disregard all helpfulness. 
 
 To appreciate an economy that saves for the sake of increasing the aggre- 
 gate of supplies. 
 
 To suspect any line of action that seeks mere personal happiness or grati- 
 fication. 
 
 To acquire useful accomplishments. Pastimes may be helpful by adding 
 to the general comfort of the household. 
 
 To understand that it is more blessed to give than to receive, to minister 
 than to be ministered unto. 
 
 To do good always as they have opportunity. 
 
 Training for wealth. Wealth is power, and may be a blessing. We in- 
 stinctively want our children to have its comforts and advantages. But to 
 train for that, so that every thought shall turn on the dollar mark, is to trans- 
 form the man into a money bag. Wealth must end in usefulness or in selfish- 
 ness. To give your children safe views and uses of wealth you must show 
 them greater objects, for the attainment of which wealth is only a means — 
 use your money for great moral or religious purposes. Show them things 
 for which you part with money. When they are inspired with a proper esti- 
 mate of the value of money in itself, and for the great ends it may accom- 
 plish, then you can set them on ways of securing it. 
 
 Teach them to earn it. It is dangerous to learn that a dollar can be had 
 in any easier way than to earn it. 
 
 Teach them to save it The boy and the penny pulling one way secure 
 the fortunes. 
 
 Teach them to utilize capital. Let them furnish the tools and head-work 
 tor men of lower capabilities. 
 3 
 
34 Home ajst> Health. 
 
 TeaCi. them to study and analyze the life and modes ol successful meb 
 What has been done may be done agaiu. 
 
 Surround them, as far as possible, with thrifty men. 
 
 Let them join business with men who are in the habit of succeeding. Shift- 
 less or irresponsible men will always abound, who are willing to join with 
 th-».ra. 
 
 Warn them against enterprises where they must bear all the risks, and 
 Diners share the profits. 
 
 Warn them against the peril of being in haste for wealth. Never run 
 ahead of the hounds. 
 
 Training for greatness. The Spartans brought their children to public 
 tables, and reared them in the presence of their great men, that they might 
 DO familiar with the greatness of Sparta. Noble ends may be kept before 
 'iheir minds till they will never think of themselves as capable of little mean- 
 nesses. Hold them to noble ambitions and great purposes. 
 
 Training for refined society. The highest refinement of soul cannot 
 be lost on them. It cannot harm your boy to school him into gentlemanly 
 oannere and habits. To reach this advantage he must — 
 
 Think. Be at home in his mind. Reflection and thoughtfulness pool 
 rihow themselves in the face. 
 
 Notice the manners of persons familiar with refilled society. Object le? 
 sons are valuable. 
 
 Compare his own conduct with the best models. 
 
 Seek information by reading on these subjects. 
 
 Practice whatever he learns that will help to refine. 
 
 Truiixing for heaven. Follow the New Testament. 
 
 CHOOSING A CALLING. 
 
 But few are elected, by either endowment or taste, to any one particului 
 :;alling or trade. Several doors ope.i about you. It may be true that you 
 ran do aome one thing better than any of the others, but it is usually true 
 that there are a number of things which you can do with tolerable success. 
 
 Study your natural proclivities. Sometimes the sports indicate the gifts. 
 Napoleon played with cannon, Nelson with ships. 
 
 Study Providence. There is much in having things open before a boy for 
 his development. 
 
 Do not break over your natural qualifications. A successful laborer ip 
 happier and more useful than an imsuccessful professional man or tradesman. 
 Poor faiiiu'irt rire somolinn's made out of good lawyers. Henry Clay, working 
 
Choosing^ a Calling. 35 
 
 with an ox team, would carry the ox goad on his shoulder across the field, 
 and by and by come to himself, to find that he had been waiting for the team 
 to come up, which, understanding his abstraction, had gone aside to graze. 
 
 Our wishes are often presentiments of our capabilities. 
 
 Having settled the calling, let it remain settled. You have left the ship on 
 that plank, now you must reach the shore. Study on the line of your work 
 You must know all about that. Doubtless you have ability that, well applied, 
 would succeed in several lines. But you have no ability that will succeed in 
 any, if shifting from one to another is the rule. 
 
 Pith : study self, study Providence, choose, persist. 
 
 HOW TO CONDUCT FAMILY PRAYER. 
 
 Conduct it according to your strength. Gifts differ, but the spiri* 
 is one. Some Christians have great fluency and boldness in prayer, others 
 have the spirit of testimony, but are unable to lead others in prayer. Some, 
 owing to natural timidity, or untoward tra'ning in religious exercises, or from 
 the lateness of their conversion, are not able to pray in the hearing of 
 others. This diversity of gifts necessitates diversity in practice. Some few 
 suggestions may not be out of place. 
 
 Have family prayer. If you cannot have it in one form have it in 
 another, but have it. You are intrusted with the fashioning of the religious 
 life and character of a family ; you can hardly do your best without the great 
 help of family worship. The family is the type of the Church. The Church 
 in the family is God's favorite idea. He established his Church first in the 
 family of Abraham, because he knew Abraham that he would order his 
 house and his children after him. 
 
 Collect your household as far as possible at a stated hour each morning 
 and evening, in a given room, and then read a portion of God's word, and, 
 all kneeling, render thanks for the mercies received and invoke his blessing 
 for the future. 
 
 It is a good custom to have each member of the family take part in 
 the service, reading in turn two or more verses, till a suitable amount has 
 been read. Then sing a hymn, or two or three stanzas. If any in the 
 family can play, and you have a piano or organ, it gives additional impress- 
 iveness to the service. After this let the father (patriarch) who is the head 
 and minister of the family church, lead in prayer, closing with the Lord's 
 Prayer, in which all join. 
 
 If the father is not a professing Christian, and does not forbid family 
 worship, the duty of leadership devolves upon the mother, the same as in 
 
36 Home and^'Health, 
 
 the case of the temporal death of the father. Many a family has been trained 
 into righteousness by the fidelity of the mother. While it is often a great 
 cross for a wife and mother to bear these burdens, yet God honors this 
 fidelity by saving the children, restraining the husband, and often leading him 
 to life. 
 
 If the father cannot command courage to lead in prayer, it is often found 
 profitabl** for him to read the Lord's Prayer instead of offering a prayer of 
 his own construction. 
 
 If the father cannot even venture so far, many families have been blessed 
 and nurtured in godliness by all kneeling and uniting in silent prayer for a 
 few moments. In the absence of other modes the reading of prayer pre- 
 scribed by the Church is of service in keeping the Spirit of God in the family. 
 
 It is a valuable custom on the Sabbath morning when the family rests 
 from the labor of the week, for the worship to be varied by having other 
 members of the family, the wife, or some of the children, follow the father 
 in leading in prayer. 
 
 It is helpful to have a room where all meet for prayer, and have its ap- 
 pointment suited to help the devotional thought. Let the pictures in that 
 room be distinctively spiritual, or religious. It may be the chapel of the 
 house. 
 
 GRACE AT THE TABLE. 
 
 Render unto God thanks for daily bread. This should be done 
 reverently by the head of the family. Some families stand round the table 
 till the blessing is invoked. Some families sing the long-meter doxology. 
 Some families sing the doxology, and then follow it with the vocal blessing. 
 Some families bow their heads in silence, each invoking God's blessing. Some 
 families repeat each a verse of Scripture. Some families repeat the Script- 
 ures, thus and then ask the blessing. Any form that seems best suited to 
 the tastes and convictions of the family is good enough. The supreme point 
 ifl to acknowledge and thank God, and invoke his continual blessing. 
 
 HOW TO PROFIT BY HABIT. 
 
 Babit becomes destiny. God gives us the power to form habits that we 
 may crystallize victories. All improvement in the fingers of the knitter in 
 the eye of the painter, in the tongue of the speaker, in the hand of the 
 artisan, is the gift of habit. Ilaljit is a channel worn in the substance of 
 the soul, along which our purpose and our ability run with increased facility. 
 Prayer, faith, regularity in life, all that builds up steadiness of character, i? 
 
How to Profit hy Rahit. 37 
 
 lugmented by habit. Eabit is the parent's hohl upon the child, and the 
 ^'ood man's power against Satan. The formation of a habit reduces to this 
 -simple direction : Apply yourself to a given plan industriously, punctually, 
 iti(j[ persistently. 
 
 Having this power in your mind, use it in acquiring habits of obodienw. 
 H:!d of faith. 
 
 HINTS AND HELPS IN CONVERSATION. 
 
 The ability to converse instructively and elegantly is one of the greatest 
 endowments and accomplishments. By it other minds, even of the highest 
 order, are led with the greatest ease. It is a delightful way in which to re- 
 ceive and impart information. Varilles said : " Of ten things which I know, 
 I have learned nine from conversation." The gift of speech is man's su- 
 preme distinction. This is one impassable gulf between him and the lower 
 grades of life. Its use in the common every-day intercourse of life makes 
 up a large part of the intellectual activity of the race. Nothing in culture 
 can exceed the importance of doing it well. The following hints and helps 
 have been carefully gleaned from a wide range of authorities, and are here 
 presented as matter familiar to many of our readers, but as matter which 
 each successive generation needs to learn for itself: 
 
 The soul of refined conversation is the same as the soul of refined man- 
 ners, namely, good-will to^^ard others and a" desire to secure their comfort and 
 increase their happiness. This great law underlies all the rules on this sub- 
 ject. The authoritative pv. -ting of this law is. Do as you would be done by. 
 
 Say nothing unpleasant when it can be avoided. 
 
 Avoid satire and sarcasm. 
 
 Never repeat a v/ord that was not ;ntended for repetition. 
 
 Cultivate the supreme wisdom, wliich consists less in saying what ought to 
 be said than in not saying what ought not to be said. 
 
 Often cultivate " flashes of silence." 
 
 It is the larger half of the conversation to listen well. 
 
 Listen to others patiently, especially the poor 
 
 Sharp sayings are an evidence of low breeding. 
 
 Shun faultfinding and faultfinders. 
 
 Never utter an uncomplimentary word against any one. 
 
 Compliments delicately hinted and sincerely intended are a grace in con- 
 versation. 
 
 Commendation of gifts and cleverness properly put are in good taste, but 
 praise of beauty is offensive. 
 
 Repeating kind expressions is proper. 
 
18 Home and Health. 
 
 Compliments given in a joke may be gratefully received in earnest. 
 
 The manner and tone are important parts of a compliment. 
 
 Avoid egotism. 
 
 Don't talk of yourself, or of your friends, or your deeds. 
 
 Give no sign that you appreciate your own merits. 
 
 Do not become the distributer of the small talk of a community. I^ie 
 imiles of your auditors do not mean lespect. 
 
 Avoid giving the impression of one filled with " suppressed egotism.'' 
 
 Never mention your own peculiarities ; for culture destroys vanity. 
 
 Avoid exaggeration. 
 
 Do not be too positive. 
 
 Do not talk to hear yourself. 
 
 Do not talk to display oratory. 
 
 Do not try to lead in conversation, looking around to enforce silence. 
 
 Lay aside affected silly etiquette for the natural dictates of the heart. 
 
 Direct the conversation where others can join with you, and impart to you 
 useful information. 
 
 Avoid oddity. Eccentricity is shallow vanity. 
 
 Be modest. 
 
 Be what you wish to seem. 
 
 If you find bashfulness or embarrassment coming upon you, do or say 
 something at once. The commonest matter gently stated is better than an 
 embarrassing silence. Sometimes changing your position, or looking into a 
 book for a moment, may relieve your embarrassment, and dispel any settling 
 stiffness. 
 
 Avoid telling many stories, or repeating a story more than once in the 
 same company. 
 
 Avoid repeating a brilliant or clever saying. 
 
 Never treat any one as if you simply wanted him to tell stories. People 
 laugh and despise such a one. 
 
 Never tell a coarse story. No wit or preface can make it excusable. 
 
 Tell a story, if at all, only as an illustration, and not for itself. Tell it 
 accurately. 
 
 Be careful, in asking questions for the purpose of starting conversation or 
 of drawing out a person, not to be rude or intrusive. 
 
 Never take liberties by staring, or by any rudeness. 
 
 Never infringe upon established regulations among strangers. 
 
 Do not always prove yourself to be the one in the right. The right will 
 appear. You need only give it a chance. 
 
 Avoid argument in conversation. It is discourteous to your host. 
 
 Cultivate paradoxes in conversation with your peers. They add interest to 
 common-place matters. To strike the harmless faith of ordinary people m 
 
llliUs and Helps m Conversation. 39 
 
 my p ihlic idol is waste, but such a movement with those able to reply la 
 better. 
 
 Never discourse upon your ailments. 
 
 Encourage yourself against threatening timidity at meeting a company by 
 the thought that you could talk with any one of them. Like Napoleon, Uke 
 them in detail. 
 
 Use correct language. 
 
 Never use slang 
 
 Never use words of the meaning or pronunciation of which you are un- 
 certain. 
 
 Use Saxon words, and avoid foreign words. 
 
 Avoid repetitions and hackneyed expressions. 
 
 Avoid discussing your own or other peoples' domestic concerns. 
 
 Never prompt a slow speaker, as if you had all the ability. In conversing 
 with a foreigner who may be learning our language, it is excusable to help 
 him in some delicate way. 
 
 Never give advice unasked. 
 
 Suit your address to the ages of the persons with whom you are speaking. 
 
 Do not manifest impatience. 
 
 Do not interrupt another when speaking. 
 
 Do not find fault, though you may gently criticise. 
 
 Do not appear to notice inaccuracies of speech in others. 
 
 Do not allow yourself to lose temper or speak excitedly. 
 
 Do not always commence a conversation by allusion to the weather. 
 
 Do not when narrating an incident continually say, " you see," " you 
 Vnow." 
 
 Do not intrude professional or other topics that the company generally 
 cannot take an interest in. 
 
 Do not talk very loud. A firm, clear, distinct, yet mild, gentle, and musical 
 voice has great power. 
 
 Do not be absent-minded, requiring the speaker to repeat what has been 
 said that you may understand. 
 
 Do not try to force yourself into the confidence of others. 
 
 Do not use profanity, vulgar terms, words of double meaning, or languagi 
 that will bring the blush to any one. 
 
 Do not allow yourself to speak ill of the absent one if it can be avoided ; 
 the day may come when some friend will be needed to ( efend you in your 
 absence. 
 
 Do not speak with contempt and ridicule of a locality which ou may be 
 visiting. Find something to truthfully praise and commend; thus make 
 yourself agreeable. 
 
 Do not make a pretense of gentility, nor parade the fact that you are u 
 
40 Home and Health. 
 
 descendant of any notable family. You must pass for just what you are, 
 and must stand on your own merit. 
 
 Do not contradict. In making a correction say, " I beg your pardon, but 1 
 bad an impression that it was so and so." Be careful in contradicting, as you 
 may be wrong yourself. 
 
 Do not be unduly familiar ; you will merit contempt if you are. Neither 
 should you be dogmatic in your assertions, arrogating to yourself much con- 
 sequence in your opinions. 
 
 Do not be too lavish in your praise of various members of your own family 
 when speaking to strangers ; the person to whom y^ou are speaking may know 
 some faults that you do not. 
 
 Do not feel it incumbent upon yourself to carry your point in conversa 
 tion. Should the person with whom you are conversing feel the same, your 
 talk may lead into violent argument. 
 
 Do not allow yourself to use personal abuse when speaking to another, as 
 in so doing you may make that person a life-long enemy. A few kind, court- 
 eous words might have made him a life-long friend. 
 
 Do not discuss politics or religion in general company. You probably 
 would not convert your opponent, and he will not convert you. To- discuss 
 those topics is to arouse feeling without any good result. 
 
 Do not make a parade of being acquainted with distinguished or wealthy 
 people, of having been to college, or of having visited foreign lands. All 
 this is no evidence of any real genuine worth on your part. 
 
 Do not use the surname alone when speaking of your Irusband or wife to 
 others. To say to another that "I told Jones," referring to youi husband, 
 sounds badly. Whereas, to say " I told Mr, Jones," shows respect and good 
 breeding. 
 
 Do not yield to bashfulness. Do not isolate yourself, sitting back in a 
 corner, waiting for some one to come and talk with you. Step out; have 
 something to say. Though you may not say it very well, keep on. You will 
 gain courage and improve. It is as much your duty to entertain others as 
 theirs to amuse you. 
 
 Do not attempt to pry into the private affairs of others by asking what 
 their profits are, what things cost, whether Melissa ever had a beau, and why 
 Amarette never got married ? All such questions are extremely impertinent, 
 and are likely to meet with rebuke. 
 
 Do not whisper in company ; do not engage in private conversation ; do 
 not speak a foreign language which the general company present may noi 
 understand, unless it is imderstood that the foreigner is unable to speak your 
 own language. 
 
 Do not take it upon yourself to admonish comparative strangers on relig- 
 *ious topics ; the person to whom you speak may have decided convictions of 
 
Hints and Helps in Conversation. 41 
 
 his c^^^l in opposition to yours, and your over-zeal may seem to him an 
 impertinence. 
 
 Dr. Todd has condensed a few rules from Cowper, from which we condense 
 the following : 
 
 Choose your company, as you do your books, for profit. 
 
 Study your company. If they are superiors, imbibe information; if not 
 impart. 
 
 Revive drooping conversation by introducing a topic of general interest. 
 
 When any helpful thing is said, retain it. 
 
 Bear with much impertinence. It will cure itself. 
 
 Be free, and try to make others the same. 
 
 GOOD MANNERS. 
 
 Politeness is loving thy neighbor as thyself, and showing it in actions. 
 
 Affectation is the foe of good breeding. Simple souls, with a smattering 
 of rules of etiquette, and no comprehension of the principles of good man- 
 ners, have caused many to undervalue a just knowledge of the principles and 
 applications that aid in furnishing the true lady or true gentleman. Many 
 will be helped by knowing that formal etiquette, such as the Japanese mon- 
 archs extort from their subjects, has passed out of good society, and its place 
 has been filled with a reign of common sense and ffood will. Some people 
 glory in their rudeness^ which they often dignify with the name of frankness. 
 They seem not to understand that the claims of good breeding are as radical 
 and eternal as the fundamental principles of morals. 
 
 The divine law of politeness is stated by the Great Teacher in these words, 
 " As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Po- 
 liteness has been defined as '* only an elegant 'form of justice," but it involves, 
 also, all the moral and social feelings. It is a sincere regard for the rights 
 of others, in the smallest matters as well as in the largest. It is kindness of 
 heart expressing itself. Good will, good taste and self-control are easily ma- 
 tured into politeness. Kindly affectioned one toward another, is the great 
 secret of good manners. 
 
 Bishop Ames saw an Indian Chief at an official interview with President 
 Jackson. The Chief was as graceful as Henry Clay. The Bishop said to 
 the Chief, " How is it you are so graceful, never having studied etiquette ?" 
 The Chief replied, " I have no mad talk in me now." Every Christian should 
 be a gentleman or a lady, measured by the etiquette of the thirteenth chap- 
 ter of First Corinthians. With the Spirit and good-will of the Master in 
 the heart, the refinements of the rules of good bi-eeding are easy. For 
 " politeness is benevolence in little things." 
 
4:2 Home and Health. 
 
 The words gentleman and gentlewoman came originally from the fact that 
 the uncultivated and ignorant classes used coarse and loud tones, and rough 
 words and movements; while only the refined circles habitually used gentle 
 tones and gentle manners. For the same reason, those born in the higher 
 circles were called " of gentle blood." Thus it came that a coarse and loud 
 voice and rough, ungentle manners are regarded as vulgar and plebeian. 
 
 Good manners are important helps in the work of life. When we show 
 ourselves friendly we are always met by the same spirit. Politeness in the 
 hourly intercourse of life smooths away most of the rudeness that otherwise 
 might jar upon our nerves. The parent who instills into his child's mind 
 and habits a simple and clear comprehension of the more reasonable princi- 
 ples and rules of good breeding, has bestowed both new endowments and 
 opened doors for the future. 
 
 American manners are said to be " a little free and easy," but a great im- 
 provement upon the coldness of the Englishman. Our children need restrain- 
 ing, but, taken all in all, we have great reason to congratulate ourselves on 
 the general good-will of Americans, and their desire to please people. This 
 makes us a nation of ladies and of gentlemen. It would be well to awaken 
 both the zeal of the saint and the pride of the patriot in making Americans 
 the most poHte people under the stars. 
 
 Study, observation and experiment will easily make any one master of this 
 great accomplishment. 
 
 Good manners should be taught to children gradually, and with great pa- 
 tience and gentleness, always enforced by example. Parents should begin 
 with a few principles with their application, and be steady and persevering 
 with these till a habit is formed, and then take a few more, thus making the 
 process easy and gradual. Otherwise the children, hopeless of fulfilling so 
 many requisitions, will become reckless and indifferent to all. 
 
 If a few brief, well-considered, and sensible rules of good breeding could 
 be suspended in every school-room, and the children be required to memorize 
 and practice them, it would do much to remedy the defects of American 
 manners. 
 
 In presenting these rules we give you the result of a careful selection from 
 a variety of sources and books. We have sought to touch only the most 
 common points, which may be helpful in all homes. 
 
 TABLE MANNERS. 
 
 Cleanliness is the first element of decency anywhere, and especially at the ta- 
 ble. The person should be carefully cleansed and made presentable before 
 coming to the table. Some employments necessarily soil the hands and face 
 
Table Manners. 43 
 
 and clothes. Such soiling is honorable. A man should be clad suitably for his 
 business. But this makes no excuse for filthiness or slovenliness at the table. 
 Children should be trained, in preparing themselves for the table or for ap- 
 pearance among the fami^, not only to put their hair, face, and hands in 
 neat order, but also their teeth and nails, and to attend habitually to their 
 nails whenever they wash their hands. 
 
 Children should be trained in the family, in order to perfect their manners 
 for the presence of strangers. If they are allowed to chatter while others 
 are talking, they are certain to annoy guests. 
 
 Table Rules. — Take your seat quietly at the table, sit firmly in your 
 chair, without lolling, leaning back, drumming, or other uncouth action. 
 
 Unfold your napkin, and lay it in your lap. 
 
 Eat soup delicately with a spoon, using your bread with your left hand. 
 
 Cut your food with youi knife, but the fork is to be used to convey it to 
 your mouth. A spoon is employed for food that cannot be eaten with a fork. 
 When eating, take your fork or spoon in the right hand. Never use both 
 hands to convey any thing to your mouth. 
 
 Break your bread, not cut or bite it, spreading each piece with butter as 
 you eat it. 
 
 Your cup was made to drink from, and your saucer to hold the cup. 
 
 It is not well to drink any thing hot ; if you drink tea or coffee, wait till 
 it cools. 
 
 Eggs should be eaten from the shell, (chipping off a little of the larger 
 end,) with or without an egg-cup. 
 
 Be attentive to the wants of any lady who may be seated next to you, 
 especially where there are no servants, and pass any thing that may be need- 
 ful to others. 
 
 There are some who insist that when a plate is sent to be replenished 
 the knife and fork must be laid together on the plate. But we are happy 
 to say that idea is being generally discarded. The knife and fork should be 
 taken from the plate when it is passed, and either held in the hand, or laid 
 down with the tips resting on the solitaire, butter-plate, or a piece of bread. 
 The last way is less awkward, and much more convenient than holding them 
 in the hand. 
 
 When you have finished the course, lay your knife and fork on yoir pmte, 
 parallel to each other, with the handles toward your right hand. 
 
 Wipe you' nose if needful. If necessary to blow it, or to spit, leave the 
 table. Never say or do any thing at table that is liable to produce disgust. 
 
 Little mistakes, and occasionally a troublesome accident, may occur at table. 
 Always meet them with quiet dignity and self-possession. Do not by undue 
 attention increase the embarrassment. 
 
 It is well not to seem too much in haste to commence, as if you were 
 
44 EoME Al^D HEALrH. 
 
 famishing, but neither is it necessary to wait till every body is served before 
 you commence. 
 
 It is perfectly proper to "take the last piece" if you want it, always pre- 
 suming that there is more of the same in reserve. 
 
 Table Improprieties. — Never reach over another person's plate. 
 
 Never stand up to reach distant articles, instead of asking to have them 
 passed. 
 
 Never use your own knife and spoon for butter, salt, or sugar, when it is 
 the custom of the family to provide separate utensils for the purpose. 
 
 Never set cups with the tea dripping from them on the table-cloth, instead 
 of the mats or small plates furnished. 
 
 Never eat fast, smacking the lips, nor make unpleasant sounds with the 
 mouth. 
 
 Never put large or long pieces in the mouth. 
 
 Never open your mouth when chewing. 
 
 Never leave the table with food in the naouth. 
 
 Never attempt to talk with the mouth full. 
 
 Never look nor eat as if very hungry, or as if anxious to get at certain 
 dishes. 
 
 Never sit at too great a distance from the table. 
 
 Never lay the knife and fork on the table-cloth, instead of on the edge of 
 tlie plate. 
 
 Never make unnecessary noise with the knife and fork, or dishes. 
 
 Never pick the teeth at table. 
 
 Never whisper at table. 
 
 Never yawn nor stretch nor indicate restlessness at the table. 
 
 Never adjust the hair, clean, nor cut the nails. 
 
 Never soil the table-cloth if it is possible to avoid it. 
 
 Never carry away fruits and confectionery from the table. 
 
 Never encourage a dog or cat to play with you at the table. 
 
 Never explain at the table why certain foods do not agree with you. 
 
 Never come to the table in your shirt-sleeves, with dirty hands or disl ev- 
 eled hair. 
 
 Never express a choice for any particular parts of a dish, unless reques',ed 
 to do so. 
 
 Never call loudly for the waiter, nor attract attention to yourself by boi& 
 terous conduct. 
 
 Never hold bones in your fingers while you eat from them. Cut the meat 
 with a knife. 
 
 Never pare an apple, peach, or pear for another at the table, without hold 
 mg it with a fork. 
 
 Never put your salt, or any thing except bread, on the table-cloth. 
 
Table Manners. 45 
 
 Never wipe your fingers on the table-cloth, nor clean them in your mouth. 
 Use the napkin. 
 
 Never allow butter, soup, or other food to remain on your whiskers. Use 
 the napkin frequently. 
 
 Never wear gloves at the table, unless the hands from some special reason 
 are unfit to be seen. 
 
 Never, when serving others, overload the plate, nor force upon them deli- 
 cacies which they decline. 
 
 Never pour sauce over meat and vegetables when helping others. Place it 
 at one side on the plate. 
 
 Never make a display of finding fault with your food. Very quietly have 
 it changed if you want it different. 
 
 Never make a display when removing hair, insects, or other disagreeable 
 things from your food. Place them quietly under the edge of your plate. 
 
 Never make an effort to clean your plate or the bones you have been eat- 
 ing from, too clean ; it looks as if you left off hungry. 
 
 Never, at one's own table or at a dinner-party elsewhere, leave before the 
 rest have finished without asking to be excused. At a hotel or boarding 
 /iouse this rule need not be observed. 
 
 Never feel obliged to cut off the kernels with a knife when eating green 
 corn ; eaten from the cob, the corn is much the sweetest. 
 
 Never eat so much of any one article as to attract attention, as some peo- 
 ple do who eat large quantities of butter, sweet cake, cheese, or other 
 articles. 
 
 Never spit out bones, cherry pits, grape skins, etc., upon your plate. Qui- 
 etly press them from your mouth upon the fork, and lay them upon the side 
 jf your plate. 
 
 Never allow the conversation at the table to drift into any thing but chit- 
 chat ; the consideration of deep and abstruse principles will impair digestion. 
 
 Never permit yourself to engage in a heated argument at the table. 
 XCither should you use gestures, nor illustrations made with a knife or fork 
 on the table-cloth. 
 
 Never pass forward to another the dish that has been handed to you, un- 
 less requested to do so; it may have been purposely designed for you, ami 
 j^assing it vo another may give him or her what is not wanted. 
 
 Never pvit your feet so far under the table as to touch those of the person 
 on tne opposite skU ; neither should you curl them under nor at the side of 
 vour chair. 
 
 Never praise extravagantly every dish set before you; neither should you 
 appear indifferent. Any article may have praise. 
 
46 Home and Health. 
 
 CHURCH MANNERS. 
 
 Be on time. No cue has a right needlessly to disturb a c jngregation or 
 a preacher by being tardy. 
 
 Never look around to see who is coming in when the door opens. It diverts 
 your own and others' attention from the exercises, and is discourteous to the 
 leader. 
 
 Never talk or whisper in church, especially after the exercises are opened. 
 
 Never pull out your watch to see what time it is when the text is an- 
 nounced, or during the sermon. Better to feed on a sermon than to time it. 
 
 Conform, if possible in conscience, to the usages of the church in which 
 you worship. Kneel, stand, bow, accordingly. 
 
 Never manifest your disapprobation of what is being said by unpleasant 
 sounds, or signs, or by hastily leaving. 
 
 Do not fidget, as though the service were a weariness. 
 
 Be quiet and decorous to the very end. 
 
 Do not put on your overcoat or adjust your wrappings till after the Doxol- 
 ogy has been sung. 
 
 No gentleman ever defiles a place of worship with tobacco. 
 
 Never be one of a staring crowd about the door or in the vestib»»le, before 
 or after service. 
 
 Do nothing out of keeping with the time, place, and purpose of a religious 
 assembly. 
 
 Let your politeness be positive. Invite the near stranger to a seat. Offer 
 him a hymn-book, or share with him your own. Be cordial (k> ail. But 
 do not be offended if you are not specially noticed. 
 
 INTRODUCTIONS, HOW TO GIVE THEM. 
 
 It is neither necessary nor desirable to introduce every body to OTcry body. 
 An introduction is a social indorsement, and you become, to a certain extent, 
 responsible for the person you introduce. 
 
 As a general rule, no gentleman should be presented to a lady without her 
 permission being previously obtained. Between gentlemen this formality is 
 not always necessary, but you should have good reason to believe Ihat the ac- 
 quaintance will be agreeable to both before introducing there. 
 
 When two men call upon a stranger on business, each should present the 
 other 
 
 The inferior should be introduced to the superior, the gentleman to the 
 lady, as, "Miss A., permit me to introduce Mr. B." A lady may, however, 
 1)0 introduced to a gentleman much her superior. Equals are mutually intro- 
 
Introductions^ How to Give Thein. 47 
 
 duced; as, "Mr. W., allow me to make you acquainted with Mr, P.; Mr. P., 
 Mr. W." 
 
 In presenting i)ersons, be very careful to speak their names plainly ; and on 
 being introduced to another, if you do not catch the name, say, without hesi- 
 tation, "I beg your pardon, I did not hear the name." 
 
 If you are the inferior, you will have too much self-respect to be the first 
 to extend the hand. In merely formal intioductions, a bow is enough. 
 
 In introducing members of your own family, you should always mention the 
 name Say, "My father, Mr. A.," "My daughter. Miss A.," or, "Miss Mary 
 A." Your wife is simply, "Mrs. A.;" and if there happens to be another 
 Mrs. A. in the family, she may be, "Mrs. A., my sister-in-law," etc. 
 
 If you are a gentleman, do not permit the lack of an introduction to pre- 
 vent you from promptly offering your services to an unattended lady, who 
 may need them. Take off your hat, and politely beg the honor of protect- 
 ing, escorting, or assisting her, and when the service has been accomplished, 
 bow and retire. 
 
 SALUTATIONS, HOW TO MAKE THEM. 
 
 Salutation is the touchstone of good breeding. You will meet an intima-te 
 friend with a hearty hand-shake, and an inquiry indicative of real interest 
 in reference to his health and tliat of bis family. To another person you 
 bow respectfully without speaking. But you should never come into the 
 presence of any person without some form of salutation. 
 
 It is a great rudene'ss not to return a salutation. The two best bred men in 
 England, Charles the Second and George the Fourth, never failed to take off 
 their hats to the meanest of their subjects. A greater than either, George 
 Washington, was wont to lift his hat even to the poor negro slave who took 
 off his. 
 
 RECEPTIONS. BEST METHODS. 
 
 The duty of receiving visitors usually devolves upon the mistress of the 
 (louse, and should be performed in an easy, quiet, and self-possessed manner, 
 and without any unnecessary ceremony. 
 
 When an} one enters, whether announced or not, rise immediately and ad 
 vance toward him. If a young man, offer him an arm-chair; if an elderly 
 man, insut upon his accepting it ; if a lady, beg her to be seated upon the 
 sofa. 
 
 If the master of the house receives the visitors, he will take a chair and 
 place himself at a little distance fiom them ; if the mistress, and she is inti 
 ruate with the lady, she will sit near hci 
 
18 Home and Health. 
 
 If several persons corue at once, we give the most honorable place to the 
 one who is most entitled to respect. In winter the most honorable places 
 are those at the corners of the fireplace. 
 
 If the visitor is a stranger, the master or mistress rises, and any persons 
 who may be already in the room should do the same. 
 
 If some who are present withdraw, the master or mistress should conduct 
 \y em as far as the door. But whoever departs, if we have other company, 
 we may dispense with conducting farther than the door of the room. 
 
 VISITS AND CALLS. 
 
 There are visits of ceremony, congratulation, condolence, and friendship. 
 
 Visits of ceremony should be short. 
 
 Visits of congratulation are paid to a friend on the occurrence of any par- 
 ticularly auspicious event in his family, or on his appointment to any office or 
 dignity. 
 
 Visits of condolence should be made within the week after the event which 
 calls for them. 
 
 Visits of friendship are to be regulated by the peculiar laws of friendship 
 and the universal principles of good manners. 
 
 Visiting cards should be engraved or handsomely written. A written card 
 is preferable to a printed card. A gentleman's card should be of medium 
 size, unglazed, and plain. A lady's card may be larger and nicer, and may be 
 conveniently carried in a card-case. 
 
 A gentleman attending ladies making morning calls or visits of ceremony 
 should ring the bell, folloiv the ladies in, and be the last to greet — unless he 
 has to introduce. 
 
 In terminating the call he should be the last to rise, the last to part, and 
 should /o.Voio the ladies out. 
 
 A morning call being brief, a gentleman may hold his hat, and a lady may 
 keep on her things. 
 
 Of course, soiled overshoes and wet wraps should be left outside the recep- 
 ;ion room. 
 
 A gentleman attending ladies should seldom if ever be seated while they 
 are standing. 
 
 A gentleman attending sliould he prompt to serve them as to their parcels, 
 pawisols, shawls, etc. 
 
 Do not stare around the roonj. 
 
 Do not take a dug or small child. 
 
 Do not linger at the dinner-liour. 
 
 Do not fidget with your cane, hat or parasol. 
 
Visits a/iid Calls. 49 
 
 Do not make a call of ceremony on a wet day. 
 Do not turn your back to one seated near you. 
 Do not touch the piano unless invited to do so. 
 Do not make a display of consulting your watch. 
 Do not handle ornaments or furniture in the room. 
 Do not go to the room of an invalid, unless invited. 
 Do not remove the gloves when making a formal call. 
 Do not continue the call longer when conversation begins to lag. 
 Do not remain when you find the lady upon the point of going out. 
 Do not make the first call, if you are a new-comer in the neighborhood. 
 Do not open or shut doors or windows, or alter the arrangement of the 
 room. 
 
 Do not enter a room without first knocking and receiving an invitation to 
 come in. 
 
 Do not resume your seat after having risen to go, unless for important 
 reasons. 
 
 Do not walk around the room, examining pictures, while waiting for the 
 hostess. 
 
 Do not introduce politics, religion or weighty topics for conversation when 
 making calls. 
 
 Do not prolong the call if the room is crowded. It is better to call a day 
 or two afterward. 
 
 Do not call upon a person in reduced circumstances with a display of 
 wealth, dress and equipage. 
 
 Do not tattle. Do not speak ill of your neighbors. Do not carry gossip 
 from one family to another. 
 
 Do not, if a lady, call upon a gentleman, except oflBcially or professionally 
 unless he may be a confirmed invalid. 
 
 Do not take a strange gentleman with you, unless positively certain that 
 his introduction will be received with favor. 
 
 In calling, if the person you desired to see is " engaged " or *' not at home," 
 leave your card. If several persons, leave a card for each, or request that 
 your compliments be presented to them severally. 
 
 If you are going abroad to be absent for some time, and want to take 
 leave ceremoniously, write on your cards T. T. L, [to take leave] or P. P. C, 
 [pour pre7idre coiigi,'\ inclose in envelopes, and address them to your friends. 
 In taking leave of a family, send as many cards as you would if making an 
 ordinary visit. 
 
 In calling on a friend at a hotel, do not visit his room till, having an- 
 nounced yourself by card, he bids you come. If he is out, add your address 
 to your card, and leave it for him. 
 
 If in making an evening visit you happen to find a party assembled, 
 4 
 
&\J Home akb Health. 
 
 present yourself as you would have done had you been invited. Converse 
 with ease for a few moments, and then retire. 
 
 Ill general, visits should be returned personally or by card, just as you 
 ffould speak when spoken to, or answer a respectful letter. 
 
 HOSTS AND GUESTS. 
 
 Hosts should give their guests the home-feeling. If a host, do not 
 worry your guests, but let them alone. You should not by over-attentions 
 make them realize they are not at home, and perhaps wish they were. 
 
 Promote their convenience and comfort, and open to them reasonable 
 sources of entertainment and improvement, but in such an easy, graceful 
 way as will make it seem no trouble to you, but a pleasure. 
 
 You should not let their presence causelessly interfere with your domestic 
 arrangements. Inform them as to the hour for meals and family worship, 
 for retiring and rising — whether there will be a rising-bell. You should let 
 them see that they fall as it were naturally into vacant places in the home 
 circle. 
 
 Your rooms and table should be furnished hospitably, but not extrava- 
 gantly. If any thing extraordinary renders an apology necessary, make it 
 at once, and cease. Do not disgust by depreciating your preparations and 
 " regretting " that you have not better. 
 
 When they speak of leaving, you will of course express any desire you 
 feel to have them stay longer, but do not urge them against their and your 
 sense of propriety and duty. 
 
 Guests should shovr their hosts the home-feeling. When a guest 
 learn as quickly, and conform as fully, as possible to your host's family cus 
 toms. It is better for you by a little thought and attention to adjust your- 
 self to their household arrangements than for some of them to be inconven- 
 ienced, it may be, in their avocations. 
 
 By keeping your room tidy, and your articles of dress in order, you will 
 add to their appreciation of you. If they lack help, you may readily find 
 ways of rendering them considerate service. 
 
 Appointments. Be ex^ in keeping all appointments. 
 
 If you make an appointment with another at your own house, devote your 
 time solely to him. 
 
 If ycu accept an appointment at the house of a public officer or a man of 
 business, be very punctual ; transact the affair with dispatch, and retire the 
 moment it is finished. 
 
 At a dinner or supper to which you have accepted an invitation, be strictly 
 punctual, Do not arrive much before the time nor any after. If too late 
 
Hosts and Guests 51 
 
 on an occasion where ceremony is required, send in your card wi h an apol- 
 ogy, and retire. 
 
 IDinner parties. On receiving an invitation answer at once, positively 
 accepting, or declining with " regrets." 
 
 Be punctual. Do not keep the dinner waiting. Better be too late for the 
 train ! 
 
 A gentleman may offer his arm to a lady, and conduct her to the dining- 
 room, the hostess leading the way, and the others following — giving preced- 
 ence to age or other reasons for lespect. A lady takes the left arm of the 
 gentleman. 
 
 At the table the lady of the house sits at the head and the gentleman of 
 the house opposite. The places of honor for gentlemen are next the mis- 
 tress of the house, and for ladies next the master of the house, the i-ight 
 hand being the place of special honor. Husbands and wives or other near 
 relatives may be seated apart for more general conversation. 
 
 Nothing on the table should be disturbed till " grace " is said. Then the 
 napkins are spread. 
 
 In " waiting," the general rule is to serve from right to left. If two or 
 more wait, the sides may be served at once. 
 
 The principal meats are often carved on a side-table, and served by at- 
 tendants. 
 
 Serve pies with forks, puddings and tarts with spoons. 
 
 If " finger-bowls " are used, dip the fingers and wipe with the colored 
 napkin. 
 
 Interchange- civilities and thoughts with those near you. 
 
 Evening parties. Evening parties are various, and in general, cere- 
 monious as they are fashionable. 
 
 Having accepted the invitation, do not fail to be present if you can reason- 
 ably avoid it. 
 
 A married man should never accept a lady's invitation to a party, unless his 
 wife is included in the invitation. 
 
 On entering a drawing-room where there is a party, salute the lady of the 
 house before speaking to any other. Then mingle with the company, salute 
 your acquaintances. Conversations may be held with others without the 
 formality of an introduction. 
 
 If a guest desires to withdraw before the company disperses, he should do 
 80 as quietly and as unobserved as proper respect for the hosts will permit. 
 
 Christmas. It is a commendable custom to celebrate the anniversary of 
 the birth of Christ. The occasion is peculiarly appropriate for family gath- 
 erings, and for the exchange of presents. There are no customs connected 
 with the day requiring special discussion here. 
 
52 Home and Health. 
 
 The New Year. In New York and other cities, every gentleman is ex- 
 pected to call on his lady acquaintances on New Year's day, and each lady 
 iiviio receives calls must be prepared to do the honors of her house. 
 
 Of late years it has become fashionable for ladies in many cities and vil- 
 lages to announce in the newspapers the fact of their intention to receive 
 calls upon New Year's day, which practice is very excellent, as it enables 
 gentlemen to know positively who will be prepared to receive them on that 
 occasion ; besides, changes of residence are so frequent in the large cities 
 as to make the publication of names and places of calling of great 
 convenience. 
 
 The practice of issuing personal notes of invitation is not to be commended. 
 It looks very much like begging the gentlemen to come and see them. 
 
 Upon calling, the gentlemen are invited to remove overcoat and hat, which 
 invitation is accepted unless it is designed to make the call very brief. If 
 refreshments are provided, the ladies will desire to have the gentlemen par- 
 take of them, which cannot conveniently be done in overcoat, with hat in 
 hand. Gloves are sometimes retained upon the hand during the call, but 
 this is optional. Cards are sent up, and the gentlemen are ushered into 
 the reception-room. The call should not exceed ten or fifteen minutes, 
 linless the callers are few, and it should be mutually agreeable to prolong 
 the stay. 
 
 Best taste will suggest that a lady having the conveniences shall receive 
 her guests at her own home, but it is admissible and common for several la- 
 dies to meet at the residence of one, and receive calls together. In fact, 
 it is pleasant for two or more ladies to receive together, as several ladies 
 can the more easily entertain a party of several gentlemen who may be present 
 at one time. Whether ladies make announcement or not, however, it will be 
 usually safe for gentlemen to call on their lady friends on New Year's, as the 
 visit will be generally received with pleasure. 
 
 It is customary for the ladies who announce that they will receive, to make 
 their parlors attractive on that day, and present themselves in full dress. 
 They should have a bright, cheerful fire if the weather is cold, and a table, 
 conveniently located in the room, with refreshments, consisting of fruits, 
 cakes, bread, and other food, such as may be deemed desirable, Avith tea and 
 coffee. No intoxicating drinks should be allowed. Refreshments are in no 
 case absolutely essential. They can be dispensed with if not convenient. 
 
 Ladies expecting calls on New Year's should be in readiness to receive 
 from 10 A. M. to 9 P. M. While gentlemen may go alone, they also fre- 
 quently go in -^qjrs, threes, fours or more. They call upon all the ladies 
 of the party, and where any are not acquainted, introductions take place, care 
 being taken that persons do not intrude themselves where they would not be 
 welcome. Each gentleman should be provided with a large number of cards 
 
Hosts amd Guests. 63 
 
 wiih his own name upon each, one of which he will present to every lady 
 of tlie company wlicre he calls. 
 
 The ladies keep these cards for future reference, it being often pleasant to 
 revive the incidents of the day by subsequent examination of the cards received 
 upon that occasion. 
 
 An usher should be present wherever many calls are expected, to receive 
 guests, and care for hats and coats. The calls are necessarily very brief, and 
 are made delightfully pleasant by continual change of face and conversation. 
 But however genial and free may be the interchange of compliments upon 
 this occasion, no young man who is a stranger to the family should feel at 
 liberty to call again without a subsequent invitation. 
 
 The two or three days succeeding New Year's are the ladies' days for call- 
 ing, upon which occasion they pass the compliments of the season, comment 
 upon the incidents coimected with the festivities of the holiday, the number 
 of calls made, and the new faces that made their appearance among the vis- 
 itors. It is customary upon this occasion of ladies' meeting to offer refresh- 
 ments, and to enjoy the intimacy of a friendly visit. 
 
 WEDDINGS. 
 
 It is well to know that custom gives the parties full liberty to follow their 
 tastes in the style and order of their ceremony. 
 
 For a stylish wedding, two or more brides-maids and two or more grooms- 
 men are expected to be in attendance. 
 
 For a formal wedding in the evening, invitations should be given at least 
 a week before the occasion. The lady fixes the day. Her mother or nearest 
 female relative invites the guests. 
 
 It is a common practice in a well-ordered wedding in the home for the 
 guests to assemble in the parlors, leaving a vacant space at the end selected 
 for the ceremony. At the appointed time the bridal party come into the 
 parlor in the following order: The second brides-maid and groomsman, if 
 there are only two, enter the room first; then the first brides-maid and first 
 groomsman, and lastly the bride and bridegroom. The officiating clergyman 
 meets them so as to stand before them as they take their position on the floor. 
 
 When the ceremony is performed in the church, (the best place for it,) the 
 officiating clergyman takes his seat in the chancel or inside the altar, and 
 as the party come up the aisle in the order given above, he rises and passes 
 to his position, and the party form in front of the altar ; the bride and 
 groom in the center, the bride at the groom's left hand, the brides-maids at 
 tier left and the groomsmen at the right of the bridegroom. Sometimes the 
 first brides-maid and groomsman are stationed at the left of the bride, and 
 tlie second brides-maid aii*i groomsman at the right of the bridegroom. 
 
54 Home ajst) Health. 
 
 Sometimes, following the brides-maids and groomsmen, the bride's moth- 
 er comes to the altar on the arm of the bridegroom, followed by the bride 
 Bupported by her father. In this case, during the ceremony the parents 
 stand near and a little back of the bride. 
 
 Whatever order of approach to the altar is selected, the ceremony at the al- 
 tar can most appropriately follow the ritual of the Church where the ceremonv 
 is performed, or of the clergyman officiating. The wish of the bride is 
 Eupreme in these matters. 
 
 In the ceremony, if the ring is used, at the proper time the bride gives 
 her left hand to her first maid, who removes the glove. Meantime the bride- 
 groom hands the ring (a plain gold ring) to the clergyman, who holds it till 
 the bride's hand is uncovered, then the clergyman hands the ring to the 
 bridegroom, who puts it upon the third finger of the bride's left hand. Then 
 the ceremony proceeds according to the ritual. 
 
 It is proper, if the bride prefers, to have only ushers without brjdes-maids, 
 or to have brides-maids without ushers or groomsmen. 
 
 The exquisite order changes with the fancy of each elegant couple. 
 
 When the ceremony is ended, the friends remain in their places till the 
 bridal party has left the church. The bridal party, in retiring, reverses the 
 order of their entrance; the groom always leads the way with his bride. 
 
 If the ceremony is performed in the house, when it is ended, the company 
 present their congratulations — the clergyman first, then the mother and the 
 father of the bride and the relatives, then the company ; the groomsmen act- 
 ing as masters of ceremonies, bringing forward and introducing the ladies, 
 who wish the happy couple joy, happiness, prosperity. 
 
 The bridegroom takes an early occasion to tliank the clergyman, and to put 
 in his hand, at the same time, nicely enveloped, a piece of gold, according to 
 his ability and generosity. 
 
 FUNERALS. 
 
 When any member of a family dies, it is customary to send information 
 and invitation to all who have been connected with the deceased in business 
 or friendship. No answer is required. 
 
 At an interment or funeral service, the members of the family have the 
 first places. They are nearest to the coffin, whether in the procession or in 
 the church. No mourning dresses are required, , 
 
 In general, ministers ought not to be expected to go to the grave, unless it 
 is near by. Others who are not relatives or intimate friends of the deceased 
 are excused from accompanying the procession. The first carriage is for tlie 
 officiating clergyman if he goes to the grave, then follow the pall-bearera 
 next the hearse, after that the mourners and friends. 
 
Im(poTt(mt Rules of Conduct. 65 
 
 IMPORTANT RULES OF CONDUCT. 
 
 Always be respectful and deferential to your parents and superiors. The 
 fifth commandment has not been revoked. 
 
 Always be polite and courteous to your sisters and brothers. 
 
 Remember that the delicate attentions and tender expressions of the lover 
 should not cease after marriage. 
 
 Mutual kindness and regard between employers and employed, besidea being 
 right, would promote the interests of both capital and labor. 
 
 IT IS POLITE: 
 
 To inquire courteously after the family and friends of those you meet, and 
 to manifest an interest in them ; 
 
 To devote a little space in every letter to " remembrances " for friends ; 
 
 To write occasionally to all from whom you have received special kind- 
 nesses ; 
 
 To conform your dress, and (in reason) your customs to the tastes and 
 feelings of those whose guest or associate you may be ; 
 
 To inquire after any one of whose acquaintance your friend may have 
 reason to be proud ; 
 
 To express felt interest in or admiration of those dear to him ; 
 
 To avoid all remarks which tend to embarrass, vex, mortify, or in any 
 way annoy the feelings of another ; 
 
 To avoid combating another's religious opinions or politics ; 
 
 To make ready sacrifices of comfort, as to escort a lady, or help a neighbor ; 
 
 To avoid all practical jokes ; 
 
 To avoid noticing personal defects ; 
 
 To attend closely when addressed in conversation ; 
 
 To avoid contradicting flatly ; 
 
 To acknowledge by word or manner all acts of "kindness and courtesy even 
 from relatives ; 
 
 To apologize heartily when you have injured another, or hurt his feelings ; 
 
 To show the utmost kindness to those who have been reduced by adversity ; 
 
 To interpose and shield another from mortification and wounded self- 
 respect ; 
 
 To do evejy thing for another which will gratify him and is not unreason- 
 able. 
 
 Never — 
 
 Never look over the shoulder of another who is reading or writing. 
 
 Never arrest the attention of an acquaintance by a touch. Speak to him 
 
66 Home a^t> Heai th. 
 
 Never, when traveling abroad, be over boastful in praise of your own 
 country. 
 
 Never exaggerate. 
 
 Never answer questions in general company that have been put to others. 
 
 Never point at another. 
 
 Never call attention to the features or form of any one present. 
 
 Never call a new acquaintance by the Christian name unless requested t< 
 do so. 
 
 Never appear to notice a scar, deformity, or defect of any one present. 
 
 Never wantonly frighten others. 
 
 Never exhibit anger, impatience, or excitement when an accident happens. 
 
 Never leave home with unkind words. 
 
 Never neglect to call upon your friends. 
 
 Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted yourself. 
 
 Never laugh at the misfortunes of others. 
 
 Never lend an article you have borrowed, unless you have permission to 
 do so. 
 
 Never give a promise that you do not fulfill. 
 
 Never enter a room noisily ; never fail to close the door after you, and 
 never slam it. 
 
 Never send a present, hoping for one in return. 
 
 Never pick the teeth or clean the nails in company. 
 
 Never be guilty of the contemptible meanness of opening a private letter 
 addressed to another. 
 
 Never question a servant or child about family matters. 
 
 Never associate with bad company. Have good company or none. 
 
 Never will a gentleman allude to conquests which he may have made with 
 ladies. 
 
 Never present a gift, saying that is of no use to yourself. 
 
 Never fail, if a gentleman, of being civil and polite to ladies. 
 
 Never refer to a gift you have made or favor you have rendered. 
 
 Never fail to give a polite answer to a civil question. 
 
 Never read letters Avhich you may find addressed to others. 
 
 Never betray a confidence. 
 
 Never attempt to draw the attention of the company constantly upon your- 
 self. 
 
 Never pass between two persons who are talking together, without an 
 apology. 
 
 Never forget that, if you are faithful in a few things, you may be ruler 
 over many. 
 
 Never exhibit too great familiarity with the new acquaintance ; you may 
 give offense. 
 
It is Polite. 57 
 
 Never fail to offer the easiest and best seat in the room to an invalid, an 
 elderly person, or a lady. 
 
 Never neglect to perform the commission which the friend intrusted to 
 you. You must not forget. 
 
 Never send your guest, who is accustomed to a warm room, off into a cold, 
 damp, spare bed, to sleep. 
 
 Never enter a room filled with people, without a slight bow to the general 
 :!ompany when first entering. 
 
 Never leave a room with your back to the company. 
 
 Nerer fail to answer an invitation, either personally or by letter, within a 
 week after the invitation is received. 
 
 Never accept of favors and hospitalities without rendering an exchange of 
 civilities when opportunity offers. 
 
 Never cross the leg and put out one foot in the street-car, or places where 
 it will trouble others when passing by. 
 
 Never fail to tell the truth. If truthful, you get your reward. You will 
 get your punishment if you deceive. 
 
 Never borrow money and neglect to pay. If you do, you will soon be 
 known as a person of no business integrity. 
 
 Never write to another asking for information, or a favor of any kind, 
 without inclosing a postage stamp for the reply. 
 
 Never fail to say kind and encouraging words to those whom you meet in 
 distress. Your kindness may lift them out of their despair. 
 
 Never refuse to receive an apology. You may not revive friendship, but 
 courtesy will require, when an apology is offered, that you accept it. 
 
 Never examine the cards in the card-basket. While they may be exposed 
 in the drawing-room, you are not expected to turn them over unless invited 
 to do so. 
 
 Never, when walking arm and arm with a lady, be continually changing 
 and going to the other side, because of change of corners. It shows too 
 much attention to form. 
 
 Never should the lady accept of expensive gifts at the hand of a gentle- 
 man not engaged to her. Gifts of flowers, books, music or confectionery 
 may be accepted. 
 
 Never insult another by harsh words when applied to for a favor. Kind 
 words do not cost much, and yet they may carry untold happiness to the one 
 or whom they are spoken. 
 
 Never fail to speak kindly. If a merchant, and you address your clerk ; 
 if an overseer, and you address your workmen ; if in any position where you 
 exercise authority, you show yourself to be a gentleman by your pleasant 
 mode of address. 
 
 Never attemJ»^ to convey the impression that yo^: are a genius by imi- 
 
58 Home ai^d Health. 
 
 tilting the faults of distinguished men. Because certain great men were 
 poor penmen, wore long hair, or had other peculiarities, it does not follow 
 that you will be great by imitating their eccentricities. 
 
 Never give all your pleasant words and smiles to strangers. The kindest 
 words and the sweetest smiles should be reserved for home. Home should 
 be our heaven. 
 
 AMUSEMENTS. THEIR IMPORTANCE. 
 
 The way i •> keep the enemy out of the fort is to occupy it yourself. If 
 the street and the grocery are not to occupy the time and attention of your 
 boys, the home must. There have been too many children in the world to 
 leave it an open question that they must have some amusement. It is 
 now simply a question as to what amusements are most suitable. Even if 
 authority keeps the children in-door s, something more subtle must keep evil 
 thoughts from rioting in their minds. Cheerfulness in the home makes it 
 attractive, and gives its ideas great advantage in the strife for control. 
 
 When amusements become sinful. When they fail to prepare body 
 or mind for the better discharge of duties. 
 
 When they interfere with duties or employments. 
 
 When they produce excessive fatigue, weary the mind, or deprive of neces- 
 sary sleep. 
 
 When they tend to injure the health or physical constitution. 
 
 When they tend to weaken the intellectual powers. 
 
 When they give a distaste for moral and religious truth. 
 
 WJien they turn 07i an element of chance. 
 
 When they require public pat7'onage for their maintenance. 
 
 When they inflict needless pain. 
 
 When they cause fright or vexation to people or animals. 
 
 When they endanger life. 
 
 When by their exciting nature, or their connection with temptation, they 
 tend to harm the individual or community. 
 
 HOME ENTERTAINMENT. 
 
 Provide in the home not only instructive, but also entertaining 
 reading. The philosophers in the family are not the difficult questions. 
 They care for themselves. You must arrange to entertain those who will not 
 grapple with hard reading or dry books. A good story may induce them to 
 read, and, reading, they can be led to better books. While it is true that any 
 good author will awaken inquiries which can be satisfied only by research. 
 
Home EntertainTnent. 59 
 
 it is still necessary to select the stories with great care. Stories that presciil 
 some historical characters, and thus become a center in the memory for 
 locating other events of an age, are good bait for a child without tasto for 
 reading. It is true that the parables are inventions, but they partake more 
 of the character of high moral instruction than of amusement. 
 
 Provide a good supply of pictures and toys for very young chil- 
 dren. It is not extravagant, as it may seem. It fills their time, keeps out 
 bad thoughts, quickens their faculties, and prevents evils that can be cor- 
 rected only with great labor and pains. 
 
 Enter into the sports of your children. Lyman Beecher was a cham- 
 pion racer on all fours with a child on his back. 
 
 Lead the children to cultivate fruits and flowers. It develops the 
 love of the beautiful, and gives opportunity and means for blessing other 
 people. 
 
 Cultivate music, instrumental and vocal. It cheers the home. 
 
 Collect shells, plants, and specimens in geology and mineralogy. 
 Not to weary as a study, but to interest the children in studying the specimens, 
 and learning all about them. Encourage all sorts of harmless games, which 
 tend to quicken the observation, strengthen the memory, or develop the body. 
 Tableaux and charades give much amusement, and call forth a good deal of 
 ingenuity and intelligence, and there are various games invented — literary, 
 historical, geographical, and so forth — which are very cheap, and which con- 
 vey a good deal of useful information. It is amusing to give out a word, and 
 call upon every one to make two or more rhyming lines containing that word. 
 Spelling matches are very lively and profitable, and when the company is dis- 
 posed to be grave, a word such as " tree" or " water " might be given out, and 
 every one be asked to mention where it is found in the Bible. 
 
 Give the boys boxes of tools. It develops their mechanical skill and 
 ingenuity. 
 
 Give little girls dolls, and nice large dolls to^arger girls. With 
 this incentive they will speedily be introduced into the intricacies of dress- 
 making, millinery, and housekeeping more easily than in any other way. 
 
 Interest the children in decorating the home. It is a good invest- 
 ment to furnish them materials with which to make little oi'naments for the 
 house. Put emphasis on the value these things possess because made by 
 themselves. 
 
 Celebrate birthdays and holidays and anniversaries. It adds to 
 home's attractiveness for a child to feel that there is one place where 'hey 
 are glad that he ever came. 
 
 As far as possible let each child have a companion near its own 
 
60 Home and Health. 
 
 age, with congenial tastes. It gives a chance to dravr upon some forces 
 outside of the family. 
 
 Use hospitality. Keep your home open to the good and wise. Your 
 children and yourself will gain much information by meeting people at your 
 table. The unwritten history in things is always '.ue most instructive. God 
 urges hospitality more than any other social dutj. It combines the benevo> 
 lence of the Church with the instruction of the university. 
 
 Establish a reading circle, Have this meet in your home if you can, or 
 in the Chui"ch or some home of the Church. A dozen or more young men 
 ' and women of congenial tastes, habits, and social belongings, can easily meet 
 once during every week through five or six months of the year. With a small 
 fund they can buy good books, and over these, read aloud by one and another 
 of their number, they can spend an hour and a half most pleasantly and prof- 
 itably. They will find in these books topics of conversation for the remain- 
 der of the time they spend together. These gatherings may be varied with 
 nmsic and the use of the various gifte of the members — original compo>^i- 
 tions, declamations, and the like. 
 
 Keep up family relations after leaving the home. Some have adopted 
 the following practice : On the first day of each month some member of the 
 lamily, at the extreme point of dispersion, fills a part of a page. This is 
 -calod and mailed to the next member, who reads it, adds another contribution, 
 11 nd then mails it to the next. Thus the family circular once a month goe? 
 from each extreme to all the members of a widely dispersed family, and each 
 member becomes a sharer in the joys, sorrows, plans, and pursuits of all the 
 rest. 
 
 HOW AND WHAT TO READ. 
 
 We live among books to find the good, the beautiful, and the true in them, 
 and by them to be inspired and led into the heart of nature and into the 
 soul of mankind. A few hints in this labyrinth is better than a master. 
 Indiscriminate reading will give much information and lose more. It fixes 
 no centers around which future acquisitions crystallize. 
 
 A course of reading should develop all the intellectual faculties. 
 
 A few books may give culture. Poverty, preventing you from buying 
 many costly books, need not keep you from undertaking the culture of your 
 mind. Lincoln read chiefly the Bible and Shakspeare. Good books can be 
 frequently re-read w'th profit. 
 
 Choosing books is important business. A single book may make or 
 mar a life. Voltaire learned an infidel poem when he was five years old, and 
 
How cmd What to Bead. 61 
 
 it molded his life. Hume, when a boy took the infidel side of a question in 
 a debating society, and cast his die. What books will you let come into the 
 place of your parents and friends ? 
 
 Youth should be left to themselves in the selecting of books no more than 
 in the selecting of companions. 
 
 The desirableness of books depends upon their truth to nature, their eu- 
 phony, language, ideas, and vigor. The best books are those that elevate the 
 character by moving the heart. 
 
 Some books should be read, whether we like them or not, because 
 they are necessary to education and culture. 
 
 Some books should be read because they are so often alluded to by other 
 writers and in general conversation. 
 
 One should be thoroughly acquainted with the books and names of the 
 authors of his own land. Patriotism should lead a man to know the glory 
 in the midst of which he lives. 
 
 Read occasionally good essays, biographies, standard books of travel, and 
 a little standard fiction. Sometimes too protracted reading of heavy histo- 
 ries wearies the purpose of the uncultured, and the mind refuses to hold the 
 results. Change of diet is good for body and mind. 
 
 Let each prominent fact become a center of arrangement for other facts. 
 When the piles are thus driven, it is wonderful how soon the sea washes in 
 a new formation and foundation for future building. Every book, and al- 
 most every paper, will add something to the stock of knowledge. 
 
 Some find a blank book and a pencil good companions in reading. Thus, 
 marked passages can be retained for reference, or impressed on the mind by 
 the work of writing. 
 
 If convenient, read with a friend. Discussion clears and fixes in the mind 
 what you read. 
 
 Read aloud portions of every book. It enables you to test the style of the 
 author. 
 
 Never read second-class stories. They steal the time ana weaken 
 the mind. 
 
 Never read what you do not wish to remember. 
 
62 Home akd Health. 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 HEALTH AT HOME. 
 
 Health is Wealth. — Health is one of the foundation pillars of happiness 
 in the home. It is a condition of the best instruction and the best educa- 
 tion. It is an essential preliminary to the best success in the best w ork, and 
 to the highest attainment in the widest usefulness. Without it theie is sad- 
 ness at the hearth-stone, silence and sorrow, instead of cheerful wo 'ds and 
 happy hearts. 
 
 " A clear bright eye, 
 That can pierce the sky 
 With the strength of an eagle's vision , 
 And a steady brain. 
 That can bear the strain 
 And the shock of the world's collision ; — 
 
 " A well-knit frame 
 
 With the ruddy flame 
 AgiOw, and the pulses leaping 
 
 With the measured time 
 
 Of a dulcet rhyme, 
 Their beautiful record keeping ;— 
 
 " A rounded cheek, 
 
 Where the roses speak 
 Of a soil that is rich for thriving, 
 
 And a chest so grand 
 
 That the lungs expand ' 
 
 Exultant, without the striving ;— 
 
 " A breath like morn. 
 
 When the crimson dawn 
 Is fresh in its dewy sweetness ; 
 
 A manner bright. 
 
 And a spirit light 
 With joy in own completeness ; — 
 
 " give me these, 
 
 Nature's harmonies, 
 And keep all your golden treasure! ; 
 
 For what is wealth 
 
 To the boon of health. 
 And its sweet attendant pleasures I** 
 
ilealth at Home. 63 
 
 What are fortunes and honors in the absence of the future health and 
 Figor of our loved ones ? What is home itself, where disease abides as a per- 
 manent visitor, and poisons every perfume with a malarious infection ? 
 
 Special Home Ministry. — An eloquent French author correctly says thai 
 the whole of maternity is comprised in these four words : "Blood, food, care, 
 devotion." Paternity is an equal sharer here, both as to privilege and re- 
 sponsibility. What ministry is more delicate, more difficult, and more sub- 
 lime ? What work is greater than to give to coming parent and citizen a 
 sound body, a strong mind, and a good heart ? 
 
 This Ministry Must Begin Early. — There is an old Spanish proverb 
 that " What enters with swaddling, comes out only with the shroud." Words- 
 worth truthfully wrote in rhyme, " The child is father of the many Man- 
 hood inherits childhood. Parentage is responsible for the character and 
 value of the inheritance. 
 
 This Ministry Illustrated. — " Behold a man ! " said Napoleon to his offi- 
 cers when he first met Goethe, who was the embodiment of physical and 
 mental vigor. The great poet lived to a great age, working on beyond his 
 fourscore years, and remaining " robust and energetic to the last," says his 
 biographer, after he had seen three generations swept by him to the grave. 
 When he died — at eighty-four — the medical authorities at Weimar, being 
 curious to learn the physiological problem of such great work at such an ad- 
 vanced age, made a post-mortem examination, which showed that all the in- 
 ternal as well as the external organs of the body were in " perfect condi- 
 tion." And yet Goethe was feeble and sickly in childhood. Parental care, 
 in the direction of thorough hygienic culture, with his own resolution to in- 
 dulge in not a single sinful habit superadded, brought strength, and life, and 
 usefulness. 
 
 Another Illustration. — Alexander von Humboldt was another example 
 of the good fruits of early and wisely directed health training. Hence it 
 was that liis biographers were able to present him to the world as " the Cory- 
 pheus of physical science, and a man of universal culture ; a man also of 
 ' society,' and of courtly life." He crowded into his ninety years of success- 
 ful life whole centuries of the life and toil of other men with equal natural 
 endowment, but less carefully and less wisely trained. On the 3d of May, 
 1859, the journals of Berlin announced: "Alexander von Humboldt has 
 been confined to his bed the last twelve days ; his strength has been gradu- 
 ally failing, his mind retaining all its clearness^ In three days more, writes 
 Dr. Abel Stevens, as the sunlight poured into his window, he exclaimed, 
 " How grand those rays ! They seem to beckon earth to heaven ! " and died 
 For twenty years or more of the time in which men are usually said to be be 
 yond " the allotted period of life," when tbey usually decay ment&.ly, he was 
 
64 Some and Heai.th. 
 
 writing the '* Cosmos," the grandest work of his life, and 0L.e of the greatest 
 of his generation. Sanitary work is brain work ; and the successful brain 
 work of mature age is the inheritance of the most careful sanitary work in 
 the nursery of an intelligent home. 
 
 CHOOSING A PHYSICIAN. 
 
 Select the Physician Sarly. — Choose him, if possible, before he is needed. 
 There is time for the greater care in the selection. There come emergencies 
 in every home. If no selection has then been made, the messenger may rush 
 from door to door seeking help from the first one met. There may then be 
 no time for discrimination, and the practitioner may be one of doubtful excel- 
 lence. The questions involved may be too important for such hurry. 
 
 Select a Physician of Integrity. — No amount of medical or surgical 
 skill can compensate for the lack of good morals and a scrupulous conscience. 
 The relation is too intimate and sacred for the admission of any one of doubt- 
 ful habits or reputation. Shun the physician of bad hnbits, as you would a 
 person bearing the infection of yellow fever or the plague. Is he *' only a 
 drunkard ? " Pity him ; try to reform him ; be a " Good Samaritan " to him ; 
 but do not trust to his professional services, which demand a clear head and 
 a firm hand. 
 
 Choose a Physician of Clean Lips. — No one of impure speech, of reck- 
 less or even careless words, or hints bordering on the obscene or immodest 
 or vulgar, should find a place, even professionally, in any home. Don't 
 excuse such a fault and pass it by with the expression, " he means well! " 
 In nine cases out of ten such a man does not mean well, and if he does, his 
 immodest expressions are so unnecessary, and so directly in conflict with the 
 best teachings and with the best practice of his profession, as to leave him 
 without the least possible excuse for their utterance. Mothers, sisters, 
 fathers, brothers, invite no such person, even professionally, to your home, 
 and if, by any lack of information, or by any mistake of judgment, he ma^" 
 have come there, see to it that his visits are not repeated. 
 
 He should be Able, and Thorough as a Student, and of Untiring In- 
 dustry in his Profession. — The trusts placed in his keeping include that of 
 life itself. They demand the most intelligent, capable, and devoted service. 
 That service may not rest with even the best knowledge of the best teachers. 
 The new phases of diseases, and the new information furnished by additional 
 observation and experiment, must be constantly sought for and promptly 
 appropriated for the benefit of his patrons. 
 
Choosing a Physician. 65 
 
 Which School of Medicine should be Preferred ? — We cannot tell. 
 Our own personal preferences may not be the best for others. We may 
 not intrude them uninvited into the home circles of our friends. Tieir 
 prejudices, like ours, may be the result in part of early education and in 
 part of personal observation. There are other questions more important than 
 those which determine the physician's school of medicine. In their light does 
 he measure up to the line required ? 
 
 Having Chosen Him, Give Him your Confidence. — A good physician 
 will repay in thoroughness and zeal what is awarded him in ready and unmis- 
 taken confidence. However strong in his own convictions and rigidly ear- 
 nest in his professional work, he is sensitive almost to a fault. A word or a 
 look of mistrust disheartens him in his work ; while a word or a look of un- 
 reserved trust becomes an inspiration to an intense zeal for the patient. 
 
 Having Chosen Him, Be Considerate of his Time and Rest. — His 
 season for sleep and for recreation should be respected. In case of neces- 
 sity it may be appropriately disturbed, but " before doing it," says a well 
 known medical writer, " one should think twice." " It is his trade " is a 
 harsh expression, and unworthy of considerate and devoted patients. Con- 
 sider carefully your physician's hours for repose, for meals, and for church, 
 and then care for him as you would have him care for you. Such ap- 
 preciative care on your part will be reciprocated by him a hundred-fold. 
 
 Don't Abuse his Confidence by Trivial Calls. — If you run for him on 
 every slight indisposition, and with unnecessary alarm excite his solicitude, 
 and lead him to disarrange his regular plans of visitation, he will soon learn 
 to place a lower estimate upon your demands, and to respond to them with 
 less promptness and solicitude. " Physicians dread fussy mothers." 
 
 The Physician in the Intervals of Sickness. — We quote from the ob- 
 servations of Prof. Poussagrieves of Paris : " There is another mistake, 
 which I must point out to mothers, (without, however, slighting the fathers, 
 they may well believe) — that, namely, of looking upon the physician, once 
 choseo, as having no part or function in the family except when illness calls 
 him there. It is a very narrow and a very dangerous conception of his role, 
 and one which simply ignores one half of practical medicine, that is, hygiene. 
 It is said that the Chinese pay their physicians with a liberality proportioned to 
 their freedom from sickness during the year. I do not advise that we should 
 imitate the Chinese ; but this stimulus to hygienic care certainly smacks of the 
 judicious. We make our first appearance in families to take charge of pa- 
 tients, many grave questions being resolved without our participation. Chil- 
 dren often receive a guidance the reverse of what Js proper, and we are 
 called upon to fulfill the ungrateful office of repairing the damages we might 
 generally have prevented." 
 5 
 
66 Home and Health. 
 
 It is Better to Oare for a Man's Health than for his Disease. — "I would 
 that the relations of physicians with their families were established on such 
 a footing that the former should make visits as often as they should judge 
 necessary for the prevention of disease. This would be a very precious 
 protective measure. To select a good physician, to put the health of the 
 whole household into his keeping, to expect of him ordinarily, besides un- 
 foreseen calls, a visit at certain intervals — once a month for instance — hoM 
 comforting would it be for the parental conscience ? " 
 
 Why do Successful Medical Men often die Prematurely ?— This 
 question is satisfactorily answered by Dr Bennett : " Mortality in the medical 
 profession after fifty years is greater than in any other profession, and 
 greatest of all among its most eminent and successful members. The 
 peculiar feature of the medical profession is, that work increases with age, 
 and the public do not consent to look upon ageing medical men as veterans, 
 but expect from them to the end the labor of youth. . . . The barrister has 
 his junior counsel who prepares his briefs, the solicitor his head clerks, the 
 vicar his curates, etc., but the successful consulting physician or surgeon 
 must stand alone, whatever his age, and do his work entirely himself as 
 long as he practices." 
 
 The Physician Should be Reverential. — If that profound naturalist, 
 Agassiz, surrounded by his pupils in his laboratory, where were the fossils rep- 
 resenting the past ages of life, would not enter upon his work without first 
 uncovering his head in silent prayer to God, how should a physician feel on 
 entering the mysterious chamber where disease and health, life and death, 
 time and eternity, are brought into juxtaposition. If we speak of responsi- 
 bility in connection with other professions, how immeasurably greater is the 
 responsibility connected with the medical profession ! 
 
 Qualities of a Good Doctor by a Doctor. — Here is a very suggestive 
 summary of hints covering the question of choosing a physician. It has the 
 authority of an experienced and able member of the profession. Read and 
 ponder : — 
 
 Avoid the mean man, for you may be sure he will be a mean doctor, just as 
 certainly as he would make a mean husband. 
 
 Avoid a dishonest man ; he will not be honest with you as your physician. 
 
 Shun the doctor that you can buy to help you out of a scrape ; a goo i 
 doctor cannot be bought. 
 
 Avoid the untidy, coarse, blundering fellow, though he may bear the parch- 
 ments of a medical college. 
 
 Avoid the doctor who flatters you, and humors your lusts and appetites. 
 
 Avoid the man who puts on an extra amount of airs ; be assured that it is 
 done to cover his ignorance 
 
Choosing a Physicia/n, 67 
 
 Avoid the empty blow-horn, who boasts of his numerous cases, tnd tells you 
 of his seeing forty or fifty patients a day, while he spends two hours to con- 
 vince you of the fact. Put him down fpr a fool. 
 
 To be a doctor one must first be a man in the true sense of the word. 
 
 He should be a moral man, honest in his dealings. 
 
 He must have good sense, or he cannot be a good doctor. 
 
 He should be strictly temperate. No one should trust his life in the hands 
 >f an intemperate doctor. 
 
 He must have some mechanical genius, or it is impossible for him to be a 
 good surgeon. 
 
 It is a good sign if he tells you how to keep well. 
 
 It is a good sign if the members of his own family respect him. 
 
 It is a good sign if the children like him. « 
 
 It is a good sign if he is neat and handy at making pills and folding pow- 
 ders. 
 
 It is a good sign if he is still a student, and keeps posted in all the latest 
 improvements known to the profession for alleviating human suffering. 
 
 PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
 
 Early and Strange Notions of Disease. — It was supposed formerly 
 that diseases were caused by the evil spirits or demons which were supposed 
 to have entered the body and deranged its action. Hence it was said of the 
 dumb that they had a *' dumb devil." Incantations, exorcisms, etc., were 
 constantly resorted to in order to drive them out. It was thought by others 
 that diseases came arbitrarily, or as a special visitation of an overruling 
 power, and hence they were to be removed by fasting and prayer. 
 
 What is Disease ? — Modern science teaches us that disease is not a thing, 
 but a state or condition. When our food is properly assimilated, the waste 
 matter promptly excreted, and all the organs working in perfect harmony, we 
 are well ; but when any derangements of these functions occur, we are sick. 
 Sickness is discord, while health is concord. If we abuse or misuse any iu- 
 strument, we destroy its ability to produce a perfect harmony. A suffering 
 body is simply the penalty of violated law, and follows as necessarily as an 
 effect follows a cause. 
 
 Many Diseases may be Avoided. — A large proportion of the ills which 
 now afflict and rob us of so much time and enjoyment might easily be 
 avoided. A proper knowledge and observance of hygienic laws would greatly 
 lessen the number of such diseases as pneumonia, consumption, catarrh, gout, 
 rheumatism, scrofula, dyspepsia, etc. It is a lamentable fact that in densely 
 
t)8 Home and Health. 
 
 populated cities nearly one half of the children die before they are five years 
 old. Every physiologist knows that at least nine tenths of these lives could 
 be saved by an observance of the laws of health. Professor Bennett, of 
 Edinburgh, estimated that 100,000 persons die annually in Scotland from 
 diseases easily preventable, and the same testimony could be obtained from 
 the medical profession in this and other countries. 
 
 Methods of Prevention. — With the advance of medical science the 
 causes of many diseases have been determined. Vaccination has been found 
 to prevent or mitigate the ravages of small pox. Scurvy, formerly so fatal 
 among sailors that it was deemed " a mysterious infliction of Divine justice 
 against which man strives in vain," is now entirely prevented by the use of 
 vegetables or lime juice. Cholera, whose approach strikes dread in the com- 
 munity and for which no certain specific has been found, is but the penalty 
 for filthy streets, bad drainage, over-crowded tenements, and general filthiness, 
 and it may be controlled, if not prevented, by suitable sanitary measures. 
 The same may be said of that dreadful scourge, the yellow fever. There is 
 no quarantine like cleanliness, good drainage and ventilation. 
 
 Responsibility of Health Commissioners. — Health commissioners in 
 our cities should be men well skilled in the medical science, and the health 
 of the community should not be intrusted to ignorant political partisans. A 
 great deal of responsibility rests upon the municipal authorities in regard to 
 the prevention of disease. 
 
 The Divine Plan. — It is no doubt the intention of the all-wise Creator 
 that we should wear out by the general decay of all the organs, rather than 
 by the giving out of any particular part of the system ; and that all the or- 
 gans should work together harmoniously until the vital forces are exhausted. 
 There is no reason why it should be otherwise ; why all human organisms 
 should not be preserved like a tree or an animal of the forest, until its allot- 
 ted period of life is reached, and then decay and die. Unfortunately, as it is, 
 the average life of man is short, and after deducting infancy, sickness and 
 old age, scarcely more than one half is available for the active purposes of 
 life. When we observe the almost constant violation of the laws of health 
 80 common in every community, the wonder is that people live at all. 
 
 Why Medicine is Taken.- — The first step in the cure of any disease is to 
 obey the law of health which has been violated. If medicine is taken, it is not 
 to destroy the disease, since that is not a thing to be destroyed, but it is to hold 
 the deranged action in check while nature repairs the injury, and brings the 
 system again into harmonious movement. This tendency or power of nature 
 is the physician's chief reliance. Vis medicatrix naturae, is the great sheet- 
 anchor, the power of nature to repair the breach made by violated law. The 
 very best and most skillful physicians have little confidence in medicine itself. 
 
The Ilavian Sheleton, 
 
 69 
 
 THE HUMAN SKELETON-ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Preliminary to fnniisliiiig llio reader of tlie numerous practical lieaUIi 
 notes in this volume (or ihe convenience of tlie latter reference, attention is 
 called to the descriptive ilkistrations of the liuman sk(;leton : 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 Bones of Head. Trunk. Legs* and Arms (Pig. T). 
 
 1. FroDUlbona. 
 
 2. PArietolbone. 
 
 5, Temponl bODQ. 
 4. Coronal mtore. 
 
 6. MftlkT or cheek bone. 
 
 6. Nasal bonea. 
 
 7. Superior muilUry, maiTnat or upper Jawteoe. 
 6. OrbiCa. 
 
 9. Side of ocdpIUl bone. 
 
 10. Coodjrlold proceaa ot maD<Uble or lover jav. 
 
 11. Afigle of mandible. 
 
 12. Syupbyais of mandible. 
 
 13. Pour lower cervical vertebrce (T Id oil). 
 
 14. Two upper and two lower dorsal vertebrae (12 in a 
 
 15. Lumbar vertebrib (6 in number). 
 IG. Sacrum. \ 
 
 17. Coccyx, the lower part bidden S False Vertebra 
 
 by the pubtc bones. ) 
 
 18. CartUagoa of riba. 
 
 19. Riba. 
 
 130. Hanabrlam of sternum or brsait boos. 
 
 21. Meaoatemum, or body of sternum. 
 
 22. Xipbifltemnm, metaatenium, or enaiform process of 
 
 BtemuiL 
 
 23. ClaTlcIea, or collar booea. 
 
 24. Coracoid process of scaQuia (shoulder bbde)> 
 
 25. Acromion proceas ot scapula. 
 
 26. Subacapular fosao, anterior surface. 
 
 27. Head of buineius or arm booe. 
 
 28. Body ot bumenis. 
 2d. Condyles of humerua. 
 
 30. Head of radius or outer bone of foroartik 
 
 31. Body of radius. 
 
 82. Ulna, ot loner bone of (oreamw 
 
 33. Carpal ends of radius and uln^ 
 
 SI Internal Iliac fossa. 
 
 S&- Anterior superior process of Uium, 
 
 S6. Anterior inferior process of Uiunb 
 
 ST. Pubic symphyBls. « 
 
 88. Tuberosity of ischium. 
 
 89. Brim ot pelvis. 
 
 40. Obturator foramen. 
 
 41. Head of femur or thigh boDO^ 
 
 42. Neck ot femur. 
 
 43. Great trochanter of femur. 
 
 44. Shaft Of femur. 
 4{>. Condyles ot femur. 
 
 46. Patella, or kneepan. 
 
 47. Head of tibia or thick bone OD anterior aod inaer aide of 
 
 leg. 
 4B. Shaft of tibia. 
 49. Lower extremity of UbU. 
 60. Fibula, or thin bone on exterul aide of le^. 
 
 View of Palmar Surface of Right Hand and 
 
 Wrist (Fig. 2). 
 1-6. Bofiea of the carpus, or wrist ; * 
 
 1. Soaphold. 
 
 S Bemllonar. 
 
 &. Conelfoniu 
 
 4. Piiiform. 
 
 6. Trapedun. 
 
 C Trapesd^ 
 
 6.Dactfcmk 
 
 tiijL-i^ 
 
 9. Metu;arpal bones of thumb and fiogera. 
 
 10. First row of phalanges of thumb and fingers 
 
 11. Second row of phalanges of fingers. 
 
 12. Third, or ungual, row of phalanges of fljcsn^t cud aeo> 
 
 ond, or ungual, phalanx of thumU 
 
 Front View of Bight Foot (Fig. 3). 
 
 1 8,6,7-10. Bones of the tarsus : — 
 
 L Superior articulated surface of astragalofc 
 
 2. Anterior portion ot astragalus 
 
 8. Calcaoeum, or he«l bone. 
 
 4» CoauaevcemeAt of (froove o^ inter owe oua llg«ineot. 
 
 C Scaphoid. 
 
 6. Tuberosity of scaphoid. 
 
 7. Internal cuneiform. 
 
 8. Aliddle cuneiform. 
 
 9. External cuneiIon& 
 10. Cuboid. 
 
 11. HetatATsal booea. 
 
 Ll. First row ot phalanges of toes. 
 
 13. Second row ot pbalaagea of fott cvte* 
 
 It. Third, or ungual, row of phalanges of four 
 outer toes, and aecoad« or ungual, phalau 
 (>( great to& 
 
TO 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 MUSCLES OF THE HUMAN BODY-ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Side View of Pull Slfirup© (Pig. 6). 
 
 lorward, 
 
 . Temporalis — Helps to elevate the lower jaw. 
 . Orbicularis palpebraram— Closes the eyelids. 
 . Mosseter — Belps to elevate the lower jaw, and move It for- 
 
 . Sterno cleldo-mastoideua — A pair ol muBcles which together 
 bow the head forward ; one acting by itaeU is able to turu 
 the head, and therefore the chin, to the opposite side. 
 
 . Trapezius — The trapezii muscles, acting together, draw the 
 head directly b^kward ; one of tbedT, acting alone, incUDes 
 the head to the corresponding side ; the superior part ol the 
 trapezius raises the point of the shoulder. 
 
 . Platysma myoides — Assists in depressing tbe angle of the 
 
 and forward. 
 
 > forroei , nhen 
 bent, tlie tricejjs, by drawn* in the extrem- 
 ity of the ulna, is able to extend it on the huuenis, and 
 thus bring both parts of the limb into a right lio«. 
 
 . Supinator longus — A flexor of the (ortiarm. 
 
 . Extensor muscles of thun.b. 
 
 . Extensor muscles of wrist. 
 
 . Pectoralis major 1 —Conjointly with terea major (situate at 
 
 . Latiasimus dors! ( the inferior and posterior part of the shoul- 
 der) these muscles lower the arm when it has been elevated, 
 press the arm closely to the ejde, and pectoralis major will 
 by itself carry the arm along the side and front of the chest. 
 
 . Serratus magnus — Assists in advancing the ficspulA and ele- 
 
 . Rectus abdominis, in its sheath 
 
 porting the abdominal viscera. 
 , Glutseua mediua I— The glutxi act alternately on the thigh 
 , OlutfBus maximua f bone and pelvis; 21, by the direction 
 
 of its fibers, ia ^tted to draw the thigh I 
 
 whilst it turns the whole limb outward if 
 
 tended. 
 
 r vaginsB f emoris — Renders the fascia tense, and turns 
 
 in bending the leg on the thigh. 
 
 thigh. 
 . Biceps fleior I 
 
 and in turning the Limb slightly inward and outward. 
 . Gastrocnemius — Along with the soleus this mustlo forma 
 
 the calf of the leg ; they jointly draw on the heel bone, 
 
 lifting it fr< 
 
 an inclined ph 
 . Tibialis anticus— Co5peratee with 
 
 the leg ; acting separately, eacl 
 
 toward the corresponding side. 
 . Extensor longus 'iigitorum — Aids 
 
 ' 3 bending the foot upon the leg. 
 
 the groimd, and cause the toot to represent 
 
 jttending tha toes, and 
 
 . SoleuB — See 25, 
 
 ] Pelon^^ hK^ ] ~ *=' together In drawing the foot back. 
 
 , PeronEEus tertius — A flexor of the foot on the leg, coOperatinc 
 
 with 26. 8. i~ B 
 
 , Abductor minimi digiti — Bends the little toe, and separates it 
 
 from ihe othera. 
 . Extensor proprius polllcis— Extensor of the great too. 
 . Flexor longus digitorum — Bends the toes toward the sole of 
 
 Front View of Right Arm (Fig. 6). 
 
 I. Deltoides — See 8 of previous section. 
 
 J. Pectoralis major — ^e 15 of previous section. 
 
 3. Coraco brachialis — Smallest muscle of upper arm ; assists In 
 
 moving the arm forward and upward. 
 
 4. Biceps flexor cubiti — See 9 of previous section. 
 
 C. Brachialis internus — Part of brachialis anticus; see 10 of pre- 
 vious section. 
 
 6. Triceps extensor cubiti — See 11 of pre^^ou8 section. 
 
 7. Pronator radii teres — Turns the palm of the hand downward, 
 
 and aids in bending tbe forearm on the arm. 
 6. Supinator ra-lil longus — Acts as antagonist to pronator of 
 
 the hand (7), turning the palm upward ; it is also a flexor 
 
 of the forearm. 
 9. Flexor carpi radialla — Bends the wrist, and becomes a flexor 
 
 of the forearm. 
 
 10. Palmarla longus, with fascia— Bends the haad upon the fore- 
 
 arm, and aids in its pronation. 
 
 11. Flexor profundus digitorum — Bends the fingers coward the 
 
 palm, acta on the wrist, and assists in the bending of the arm. 
 13. Flexor carpi ulnarla**£Qiui> Uid vsUtt and bwoiues A flexor 
 
 j-^ 
 
 13. Abductor pollicis manus — Carries the thumb 
 
 outward nnd forward irom the palm, 
 
 14. Flexor brevis pollicis — Flexor of first Joint of 
 
 thumb. 
 
 15. Palmaris brevia — A small cutaneous muscle 
 
 connected with the muscles of the little 
 
 Front View of Bight Leg (Ftg. 4). 
 
 1. Gluteus medius — See 20 of first section. 
 
 2. Tenfior vagime femoris — See 22 of first section. 
 
 3. Psoas and illacus — Bend the thigh on the pel- 
 
 vis, and rotate the limb outwaH. 
 
 4. PectineuB — Contributes to bend the thigh bone 
 
 on the pelvis. 
 6. Adductor loogiis«>Ooe Ot.tUe adductoxeol the 
 
 6. SartoriuB — Bends the leg upon the thigh ; it is 
 
 known as ** tbe tailor's muscle." 
 
 7. Gracilis — Acts along with adductor muscles of 
 
 Extend the log upon the 
 
 thigh. 
 . Rectus femi 
 
 . Vastus exteniusj thiKh ; tli 
 . Vastus internua ) toriiis (6) help 
 
 the erect position of body. 
 . Biceps flexor cruris— See 24 of first section. 
 . Insertion of ligament of patella into tibia. 
 . Tibialis anticus— See 20 of first section. 
 . Extensor longus digitorum — See 27 of first sect. 
 . Peronseus longus— See 29 of first section. 
 . Gastrocnemius — See 25 of first section. 
 . Sol*m— See 28 of first section. 
 > F<ruiufcud brevis— See 30 ol first seotioa 
 
Nervous and Arterial Systems. 
 
 Tl 
 
 NERVOUS AND ARTERIAL SYSTEMS-ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 OlXMil. RtfUkBHTitlbS «l>~tS> ITe&yous ^V9TSM. 
 
 These systems are here shown together for 
 the convenience of comparisons. The veins are 
 omitted liere, being similar to the arteries in 
 their constiuctlon and local ramification in the 
 body. 
 
 The threat nerve centers are the brain and the spinal cord. From both 
 of these, in double vertical masses, the branch nerves ramify into all parts 
 of the human system. An inspection of the left-hand cut and that on page 
 ■73 will show tlie sources of all nerves and branches in all parts of the 
 body, and why it is that an injury to the nerves in one part of the system 
 paralj'zes the nerves in particular localities, and will explain the results of 
 many such injuries. Thus a violent injury on the head may kill, or only 
 stun for a time some of the cranial nerves. If an injury to the backbone 
 takes place, tlic lower portion of the extremities on either side may be 
 paralyzed. 
 
 The arterial system here represented in the right-hand figure has its 
 source of motion in the heart. The blood of the body is not held as in a 
 sponge, but in pipes called blood-vessels, bearing the names respectively of 
 arteries, capillaries, and veins. The largest of the first class is called aojia, 
 
72 Home and Health. 
 
 and rightly appears ia the figure as severed from the heart. The aorta soon 
 branches off into smaller and smaller channels until the smallest pipes, called 
 the capillaries, are reached. The latter form a fine and close network, 
 closer than fine silk, so that a fine needlepoint might be inserted wiil'out 
 opening one of the pipes. The blood, after being carried by pulsations into 
 the capillaries wliere it reaches the remotest extremities, then enters upon 
 its return any channel in tlie veins, first in smaller and then in the laigei" 
 ones, until it reaches the heart. " The walls of the capillaries are so very 
 thin that, although there are no openings in them, a portion of the blood soaks 
 through into the surrounding tissues; and, on the other hand, fluids contain- 
 ing waste matter soak into them to bo carried away." 
 
 If we shouli examine, with the knowledge and the skill of a surgeon, the 
 " funny bone," we should find it to be a flat shining cord about an eighth of 
 an inch broad, and tracing the cord down the arm and to the tip of the little 
 finger we would find it growu smaller and smaller, and divided into in- 
 numerable cords, so fine as to be visible only by the aid of the microscope. 
 
 If we should resume our inspection of the nerve cord at the elbow, and 
 follow it up the arm, we would find it joining other cords until it enters 
 through one or more openings between the joints of the backbone, (vertebras,) 
 and into the spinal cord, and at Last up to and into the brain, 
 
 "The nervous system," says Professor Smith, M.D., "may be compared 
 to the telegraphic system of a railroad. The nerves are the wires. The 
 gray matter of the spinal cord contains the offices of the district superin- 
 tendents. In the cerebrum is the office of the superintendent of tiie road. 
 Suppose a mosquito lights on your face and puts in his bill. He cannot put 
 it in, small as it is, without hitting one or more little nerve fibers. Instantly 
 a message goes along those nerve fibers through the nerve trunks, through 
 the spinal cord, and finally to the general superintendent s office. The mes- 
 sage is, ' Something wrong here.' Immediately an order is sent out along 
 other nerve trunks and fibers to the muscles of the slioulder and arm, and 
 they contract so as to strike the mosquito." 
 
 The new message is carried toward the brain from any point of the body at 
 the rate of about ninety feet per second. Hence it is that the remote points 
 of the nervous system require greater rime for recognition at the cerebrum, 
 the chief headquarters of the mind. The cut will show which classes of 
 nerves go direct to the brain, and which go there by way of the spinal cord. 
 
 Considerable variations exist in the size and weight of the human brain, 
 both in different races and in different individuals of the same race, and in 
 the sexes. Tlie white races have the heaviest brains, the average weight 
 of the brain of an adult European male being 49 to 50 ounces, and that of 
 the female 44 to 45 ounces. A man's brain, therefore, is ten per cent 
 
Nervous and Arterial Syste^n. 
 
 73 
 
 heavier than a woman't?. Tiie brain Legius to lose weight at about sixty 
 years ; in males it falls to about 45 ounces, and in feniales to 41 ounces. 
 
 Heavy brains do not always mean great intellectual ability. There is, 
 liowever, a minimum weight below which intellectual power is not found. 
 Authorilies differ somewliat as to this hrait, but it is generally placed at 
 about 37 ounces in males, and 32 ounces in females. Cudier's brain weighed 
 G4| ounces; Dr. Abercrombie's, 63; Professor Goodsir'?", 571; Spurzheim's, 
 55; Sir J. Y. Simpson's, 54; Agassiz's, 53| ; and Dr. Chahner's, 53. Insane 
 persons have often been found to have heavj' brains, and in some cases 
 idiots liave had brains weighing more tlian 50 ounces. 
 
 Barnard Davis's researches have shown that the average brain weight is 
 higher in civilized races than among savages; that the range of variation is 
 much greater in the former than in the latter ; that there is an almost com- 
 plete absence of brains weighing more than 54 ounces in the exotic races ; 
 that while tlie male brains are heavier than the female there is not the same 
 amount of difference in the average brain weight between the sexes in the 
 uncultivated as in the cultivated people. 
 
 THE BRAIN AND THE CRANIAL NERVES. 
 
 Tlie origin of the twelve pairs of cranial nerves is shown in the illustra- 
 tion below, together with the brain. F, E, the cerebrum ; D, the cerebellum, 
 showing the arbor vita?; G, 
 tlie eye ; //, the medulla 
 oblongata ; A, the spinal 
 cord without the backbone, 
 in which it is ordinarily en- 
 cased ; and C, B, the first 
 two pairs of spinal nerves. 
 References of numerals ; 
 
 1. The olfactory, or first 
 pair of nerves, wJiich ramify 
 throngh the nostrils, and are 
 the nerves of smell. 
 
 2. The optic, or second pair 
 of nerves which pass to the 
 eyeballs, and are the nerves 
 of vision. 
 
 3. 4, 6. The motores oculi (eye movers) are three paiis of nerves used to 
 move the eyes. See illustration of eye, page 140. 
 
74 Home and Health. 
 
 5. The tri-facial^ or fiftli pair of nerves, divides each into three branches, 
 whence its name: the first, to the upper part of the face, eyes, and nose; 
 the second, to the upper jaw and leeth; the third, to the lower jaw and the 
 mouth, where it forms the nerve of taste. These nerves are affected in 
 toothache and neuralgia. 
 
 7. The/amZ, or seventh pair, are distributed over the face and give to it 
 expression.* 
 
 8. The auditory^ or eighth pair, go to the ears, and are the nerves of 
 hearing. 
 
 9. Tlie glos-so-pha-ryn-ge-al, or mnth pair, are distributed over the mucous 
 membrane of the pharynx, tonsils, etc. 
 
 10. The 2^neu-nio-gas-tric, or tenth pair, preside over the larynx, lungs, 
 liver, stomacli, and one branch extends to the heart. This is the only w rve 
 which goes so far from the head. 
 
 11. The accessory, or eleventh pair, rise from the spinal cord, run up to 
 tlie medulla oblongata, and thence leave the skull at the opening with the 
 ninth and tenth pairs. They regulate llie vocal movements of the larynx. 
 
 12. The hy-po-glos'-sal, or twelfth pair, give motion to the tongue. 
 
 From each half of the brain twelve nervaf cords go out through holes in 
 the skull; from each half (vertical) of the spinal cord thirty-one nerva cords 
 go out tlirough holes in the backbone. This cord is about half an inch 
 thick, and about eighteen inches long in adults. 
 
 Each half of the cord is divided longitudinally into three equal parts 
 by the lines of attachment of two parallel series of delicate bundles of 
 nervous filaments, the roots of tlie spinal nerves. The roots of the nerves 
 which arise along that line which is nearer the posterior surface of the cord 
 are called posterior roots ; those which arise along the other line are the 
 anterior roots. A certain number of anterior and posterior roots on the 
 same level on each side of the cord converge and form anterior and posterior 
 bundles, then the two bundles, anterior and posterior, coalesce into the 
 trunk of a spinal nerve, but before doing so the posterior bundle presents 
 an enlargement — the ganglion of the posterior root. \ 
 
 The trunks of the spinal nerves pass out of the spinal canal by the inter- 
 vertebral foramina, or apertures between the vertebra), and then divide and 
 
 * " If it Is palsied, on one side there will be a blank, while the other side will lauffh 
 or cry, and the whole face wi'l look funny indeed. There were some cruel people in 
 the Middle Ages who used to cut the nerve and deform children's faces in this way for 
 the purpose of making money at shows. "When this nerva was wrongly supposed to be 
 the seat of neuralgia or tic doloureux, it was often cut by surgeons. In this way the 
 patient suffered many dangers without relief from pain.'"~-3/r(porf/)cr. 
 
 + English authors give only nine groups of cranial nerves, but Continental and 
 American anatomists classify as they are here given. % Dr. Huxley. 
 
Nervous and Arterial System. Y5 
 
 subdivide their ultimate ramifications going to the muscles, and to the 
 skill. 
 
 If the trunk of a spinal nerve be irritited in any way, as by pinching, 
 cutting, galvanizing, or applying a hot body, two things happen : in the first 
 place, all the muscles to which filaments of this nerve are distributed con- 
 tract ; in the second, acute pain is felt, and the pain is referred to that 
 part of the skin to which fibers of the nerve are distributed. In other 
 words, the effect of irritating the trunk of a nerve is the same as that of 
 irritating its component fibers at their terminations. 
 
 THE BLOOD-ITS RELATION TO LIFE AND HEALTH 
 
 Cfhange and Waste. — A great change is constantly taking place in every 
 part of the human system. The old particles of the body are incessantly 
 passing off in the respiration, perspiration, and excretion. Careful and intelli- 
 gent observation leads to the belief that the entire body is changed once in 
 seven years. Many parts change much oftener — those which are constantly 
 active many times in a single year. The same body, in its form, appearance, 
 and functions, may remain, but every particle of flesh, bones, skin, etc., is re- 
 moved and the place occupied by a new particle. So that in all its material 
 element the body is renewed in seven years. 
 
 Supply from the Blood. — The chief supply in repairing this great waste 
 is furnished by the blood. The blood is "liquid flesh." It is a repository of 
 the ingredients of nutrition. Its materials are so varied and so refined that 
 they penetrate the minutest parts of the physical system, and become assim- 
 ilated to muscle, bone, skin, hair, cartilage, and nerve. 
 
 Quantity of the Blood.* — The entire quantity of blood in the vessels is 
 about one eighth part, by weight, of the whole body ; so that in a man weigh- 
 ing 140 pounds the quantity of blood is nearly 18 pounds. The quantity of 
 blood, however, as well as its composition, varies somewhat at different times. 
 Soon after digestion it is considerably increased ; for it has absorbed all the 
 nutritious materials taken with the food, and these materials must necessa- 
 rily pass through the blood in order to reach the tissues. After long absti- 
 nence it is diminished in quantity to a corresponding degree. For the same 
 reason, its composition varies to a certain extent, since its different ingredi- 
 ents will diminish or increase according as they have been discharged or 
 absorbed in greater or less abundance. 
 
 ♦This and most of the subsequent paragraphs on the physiology of the blood are coo* 
 lensed from excellent works of Prof. Dalton on the subject. 
 
76 Home and Health. 
 
 Effects Produced by Loss of Blood. — Only a small proportion of the 
 blood in the body can be lost without causing a serious effect upon the sys- 
 tem. Generally speaking, the loss of one pound of blood causes faintness, 
 ai 1 that of a pound and a half or two pounds is followed by complete uncon- 
 sciousness. If the bleeding be then stopped, the patient usually recovers, 
 but if a still larger quantity of blood be lost, recovery becomes impossible. 
 
 " Transfusion of Blood." — In cases of great exhaustion, caused by exces- 
 sive bleeding, strength has sometimes been restored by injecting into the 
 blood-vessel healthy blood from some other person. This is called the " Trans- 
 fusion of Blood." Instance : If blood be drawn from an animal until it is 
 seemingly dead, and then that from another animal be injected into its veins, 
 its vitality will be restored.* This practice became quite common in the sev- 
 enteenth century. The operation was even tried on human beings, and the 
 most extravagant hopes were entertained. A maniac was restored to reason 
 by the blood of a calf. But many fatal accidents occurring, it soon fell into 
 disuse. It has, however, been successfully practiced in New York in a fe^ 
 cases within the last three years, and is a method still in repute for saving 
 life. 
 
 The Composition of Blood. — The blood is a thick opaque fluid of a deep 
 red hue, so peculiar that it may usually be distinguished by its color alone. 
 It contains many different ingredients, of which the most important are, first, 
 water; second, mineral siibslances ; and third, albuminous matters. 
 
 The Water of the Blood. — This is what gives the blood its fluidity. 
 For if the water be driven off by evaporation the other ingredients remain 
 behind in the form of a dry mass, which would be entirely useless for the 
 purpose of nutrition. But in its natural condition the water of the blood 
 unites all its other ingredients into a uniform liquid, which easily moves 
 through the blood-vessels, and dissolves the new substances, which are ab- 
 sorbed from without. Taken altogether, the water forms rather more than 
 three fourths of the whole mass of the blood. 
 
 The Mineral Ingredients. — These are present in much smaller propor- 
 tion. The most abundant is common salt, which we know is taken with the 
 food, and is a necessary ingredient of all the tissues. It forms, however, only 
 about four parts in a thousand of the whole blood. The combinations of 
 lime, which the bones and teeth require for their nourishment, are found in 
 still scalier quantity dissolved in the animal fluids of the blood. Other 
 mineral substances of various kinds are also present in their requisite 
 quantity. 
 
 * Brown -S^quard tells of a curious instance in which the blood of a living dog was trans 
 ferred into one just dead. The animal rose on its feet and wagged its tail, but died a second 
 time in tw 'Ive and one ha| * hours afterward. — Steele's Fourteen Weeks in Physiology. 
 
The Blood. 77 
 
 Albumen in the Blood. — But the most remarkable of all the ingredients 
 of the blood are its albuminous matters. It is these substances which give 
 to it its thick and animal consistency, and which also act the most important 
 part in the nutrition of the body. They are of two different kinds, which 
 are naturally mingled together in the blood in a liquid form. 
 
 Albumen. — The first of these is the albumen. We can obtain a tolerably 
 correct idea of the character of albumen from the fresh white of egg, which 
 has received a similar name. This is not exactly the same thing with the al- 
 bumen of the blood, but still the two resemble each other very closely. They 
 may both be coagulated by boiling, when they become solid, white, and 
 opaque. The principal difference between tliem is, that the fresh white of 
 egg is partly gelatinous in consistency, while the albumen of the blood is 
 perfectly fluid, and may readily be made to flow through the veins, cr to run 
 from one glass vessel into another. 
 
 Quantity of Albumen. — The albumen is about forty parts in a thousand, 
 or one twenty-fifth of the whole blood. It represents, in great part, the con- 
 centrated nourishment derived from the food, for it is probably into this sub- 
 stance that most of the albuminose is converted, after being absorbed from 
 the intestine in the digestive process. It is the material out of which the 
 tissues of the body are afterward formed. 
 
 Fibrine. — The other animal matter in the blood is the fihrine. Although 
 this is in very small quantity, namely, only two parts in a thousand, it is an 
 exceedingly curious and important ingredient. For it possesses a property 
 which does not belong to any other animal substance, namely, the property 
 of " spontaneous coagulation" — that is, it will coagulate by itself without be- 
 ing boiled, or brought into contact with an acid, or treated by any other chem- 
 ical substance. We shall see hereafter what an important character this 
 property gives to the blood. 
 
 Other Substances. — But these substances are only the liquid portions of 
 the blood. They are all dissolved in each other, and form a perfectly trans- 
 parent and almost colorless fluid. Besides them there are a multitude of little 
 rounded bodies contained in the liquid mixture, which make the blood opaque, 
 and give to it its red color. They are so abundant that they are crowded to- 
 gether by thousands in each drop of blood, and so minute that they are only 
 visible by the aid of the microscope. They are called the blood-globules. 
 
 Described Globules of the Blood. — If we examine a drop of blood un- 
 der the microscope, we see the blood-globules floating in profusion in the 
 fluid parts. Each one is a delicate circular plate or disk, somewhat like a 
 piece of money in form, only with the edges rounded, and rather thicker than 
 the central part. In human blood they are about ginrff ^f an inch in diam- 
 
Y8 Home aijd Health. 
 
 eter, when measured across their flat surfaces, and about ewff ^^ *^ ^^^h in 
 thickness. 
 
 Remarkable Characteristics of the Globules. — The blood-globules are 
 exceedingly soft and flexible in consistency. In fact, they are nearly fluid, 
 like drops of very thick oil or honey, only they do not dissolve m the other 
 parts of the blood, but retain their own form and substance. Consequently, 
 when moving about in the fluid, as they often do under the microscope, fol- 
 lowing accidental currents in the blood, passing through narrow channels, and 
 -.urning corners among the other globules, they may be seen to twist about, 
 ind bend over, and elongate in various ways, and then resume their natural 
 Sgure as before. This peculiar semi-fluid and flexible consistency is one of 
 Iheir greatest peculiarities. 
 
 Color of Blood-Globules. — When seen by transmitted light and in thin 
 layers, they are of a very pale amber color, and nearly transparent. Never- 
 theless, they contain all the red color of the blood, and when seen heaped 
 together in layers only five or six deep, they show distinctly the ruddy color 
 which belongs to them. Besides, if they are separated by filtration or any 
 other means, or if they are not formed in their natural quantity, the blood 
 becomes paler exactly in proportion as its globules are deficient. 
 
 Opacity of the Blood. — They also communicate to the blood its opacity. 
 Although each globule by itself is transparent, yet, when they are crowded 
 together, and mingled with the fluid parts of the blood, the whole becomes 
 opaque, and apparently impenetrable to light. This is because the globules 
 of the blood and its fluid parts are of a different nature and composition. 
 The same thing will happen when oil is emulsioned by a watery alkaline 
 solution. The oil is transparent by itself, and the alkaline liquid is transpa- 
 rent by itself ; but if you mix the two together the whole becomes white and 
 opaque like milk. So the globules of the blood and its fluid parts, mingled 
 together, produce a thick red and opaque liquid. 
 
 The red globules are the vivifying elements of the blood.. They communi- 
 cate to it its animating and stimulating properties, by whicc all the organs 
 are maintained in a condition of vital activity. 
 
 White Globules. — Besides the red globules, the blood contains ather little 
 bodies of a different form and aspect. These are the white globules. They 
 are very much less numerous than the red, as there are not more than three 
 or four of them for every thousand of the others. They are of a little larger 
 size, measuring about ^xiTo ^^ ^^ inch, in diameter, of a rounded form and a 
 finely granulated texture. They are usually concealed for the most part, in 
 the greater abundance of the red globules. 
 
 When the ingredients of the blood are examined by analysis, they are found 
 
The Blood. Y9 
 
 to be mingled together in the following proportions — the proportion being 
 that in one thousand parts : — 
 
 Water 795 
 
 Globules 150 
 
 Albumen 40 
 
 Fibrine 2 
 
 Other animal matters 5 
 
 Mineral substances 8 
 
 1,000 
 
 Coagulation of the Blood. — Such are the properties and constitution of 
 the blood while circulating in the interior of the body. But if it be with- 
 drawn from the vessels a very remarkable change takes place, which alters 
 its whole appearance. This change is its coagulation. 
 
 Time for Coagulation. — When a patient is bled from the arm or is acci- 
 dentally wounded, the blood runs from the opened vein in a perfect liquid 
 stream ; but soon afterward it begins to appear thicker than before, and will 
 not run in drops, nor moisten the fingers so easily when touched. When 
 this alteration has once commenced it goes on rapidly increasing, the blood 
 growing thicker and thicker, until it finally sets into a uniform, firm, elastic, 
 jelly-like mass. It is then said to be " coagulated " or " clotted." This 
 change is usually complete in about twenty minutes after the blood has been 
 withdrawn from the veins. 
 
 Cause of Coag^ation. — This coagulation of the blood is entirely depend- 
 ent upon its fibrine. This substance alone has the property of coaguiating 
 spontaneously. None of the other ingredients can solidify in this way, and if 
 the fibrine be taken out, the blood loses altogether its power of coagulation. 
 The fibrine, though in a very small quantity as compared with the other sub- 
 stances in the blood, is diffused uniformly throughout the whole ; and when 
 it coagulates, therefore, on being withdrawn from the vessels, it entangles all 
 the other ingredients with it, and holds them imprisoned in its own substance. 
 The water of the blood, accordingly, the albumen, the globules, etc., are all 
 mechanically retained by the coagulating fibrine. 
 
 Serum of the Blood. — But not long afterward a partial separation takes 
 place between them. The fibrine solidifies still more ; and, by contracting 
 upon itself, squeezes out the liquid portions of the blood from between its 
 meshes. Drops of a clear, amber-colored fluid begin to exude from its sur- 
 face, and these drops, growing larger and larger, run together into little pools, 
 which still increase in size until the entire surface is covered with the trans- 
 parent liquid. The remainder grows at the same time smaller and firmer, un 
 
so Home a^t> Health. 
 
 til at last the whole is permanently separated into two parts, a solid and a 
 liquid. The solid part is called the dot ; the liquid part is the serum. 
 
 A " Olot " of Blood. — If we examine a cupful of blood, at the end of 
 twelve hours after it has been drawn from the veins, we will find that it is 
 no longer a uniform mass, but a solid clot floating in the transparent serum. 
 The clot at this time is still firm, red, and opaque, since it contains all the 
 globules of the blood as well as the fibrine. For these globules cannot 
 escape from the clot, owing to their form and size, and are therefore retained 
 by the meshes of the coagula led fibrine. The serum, on the other hand, is 
 transparent, and nearly colorless. It contains all the albumen, the water, 
 and other substances dissolved in them. 
 
 Importance of Coagulation.. — The coagulation of the blood is a prop- 
 erty of the greatest importance ; for it is the only thing which prevents our 
 bleeding to death after the slightest incision or injury to the blood-vessels. 
 Whenever these vessels are opened by an accidental cut in the skin or in the 
 muscles, the blood at first flows with great freedom, according to the 
 size of the wound. But if we press firmly upon the injured part with a 
 bandage or with the fingers, and then, after a short time, remove the 
 pressure, we find that the bleeding has stopped altogether. This is because 
 the thin layer of blood between the edges of the wounded vessels has coag- 
 ulated and blocked up the opening. No matter how thin this layer may be, 
 it still coagulates ; for every particle of the blood, however small, contains 
 its due proportion of fibrine, and, consequently, solidifies at the proper time. 
 The clot thus formed adheres to the edges of the wounded parts, and so acts 
 as a continuous bandage or plug, until the tissues have again grown together 
 and become permanently united. 
 
 Coagulation Stops Bleeding. — It is in this way that the bleeding from 
 all ordinary wounds is usually arrested by nature. No matter how freely the 
 blood may flow at first, if you keep the parts steadily compressed for twenty 
 minutes or half an hour, the fibrine will then be coagulated and the bleeding 
 will stop. But when the wound is very deep, or when any of the principal 
 arteries have been severed, this means will not succeed ; for the blood comes 
 with so much force from those larger vessels that it cannot be kept back by 
 ordinary pressure, and no time is allowed for its permanent coagulation. 
 Then we must call for the assistance of the surgeon, who is often compelled 
 to search for the blood vessels in the deeper parts of the wound, and to tie 
 up their open mouths with a fine cord or ligature. Why this operation is 
 successful requires a further explanation. 
 
 Coagulation in the Interior of the Body. — It is a curious fact that the 
 blood '»7ill coagulate, not only when it is discharged externally, but also even 
 \u the interior of the body, whenever it is withdrawn from the ordinary 
 
The Blood. 81 
 
 tourse of the circulation. Thus, if we receive a bruise, and the little vessels 
 beneath the skin are torn, the blood which flows from them coagulates in 
 the neighborhood of the injury. Any internal bleeding produces, after a 
 time, a clot in the corresponding situation where the blood is effused. After 
 death, also, coagulation takes place in the cavities of the heart, and in the 
 great veins near it ; and whenever any part of the body is so injured as to 
 stop its circulation, the blood necessarily coagulates in its vessels. 
 
 The Ligature and Coagulation. — When the surgeon places the ligature 
 u])on a wounded vessel, he stops the circulation through it. The blood is 
 imprisoned in the neighborhood of the ligature, and soon afterward coagu- 
 lates and blocks up the cavity of the vessel with its solidified fibrine. After 
 a time the ligature separates and is thrown off, and the wounded parts unite 
 by the healing of the tissues. 
 
 Coagulation Spontaneous. — The coagulation of the blood is a proper- 
 ty, therefore, that belongs to the fibrine, and it is spontaneous. As soon 
 as the fibrine is formed it possesses this property, by which it is distin- 
 guished from all other substances. It is not manifested immediately, for it 
 requires a certain time for its completion ; but owing to the very nature of 
 the fibrine, wherever it may be, within a short period after it is shut off from 
 the circulation it exhibits this peculiar character, and coagulates inevitably. 
 
 Why Coagulation does not Stop the Circulation. — Why, then, does it 
 not coagulate in the vessels, and thus stop the circulation of the blood ? To 
 understand this, we must remember that the history of all the animal sub- 
 stances in the living body is one of incessant change. None of them re- 
 main the same, but all undergo successive transformations. The albuminose 
 formed in digestion is no sooner taken up by the blood-vessels then it is 
 converted into albumen. The oily matters absorbed with the chyle, and the 
 sugar produced in the liver, are also rapidly decomposed, as we have seen, 
 and disappear in the circulation. What is destroyed in this way for the 
 purposes of nutrition is constantly replaced by a fresh quantity formed in 
 the same organs. 
 
 This is also true of the fibrine. That which is circulating in the blood- 
 vessels to-day is not the same fibrine which was there yesterday, but a new 
 supply, freshly produced in the process of daily nutrition. It is estimated 
 by physiologists that all the fibrine which exists in the blood is destroyed 
 and reproduced at least three times over in the course of a single day. What 
 the new substances are which are formed by its decomposition is still un- 
 known, for we cannot yet follow out all the details of these changes which 
 take place so rapidly in the living body. But there is every reason to believe 
 that the renovation of the fibrine in the blood takes place as constantly and 
 rapidly as that of its other i^xgredients. 
 
 a 
 
82 Home and Health. 
 
 The blood, therefore, does not coagulate while the circulation is going on, 
 because its fibrine is being incessantly altered and converted into new sub- 
 stances. It has been found that in certain of the internal organs, especially 
 in the liver and kidneys, the fibrine disappears, and that little or none of it 
 is contained in the blood returning from them. When we come to learn 
 with what rapidity the circulation is carried on, we shall easily understand 
 how coagulation may thus be prevented. But if the blood be withdrawn 
 from the circulation altogether, or confined in any part by a ligature, then its 
 fibrine can no longer go through with the natural changes of its decompo- 
 sition, and it accordingly coagulates, as we have above described. 
 
 Two Different Kinds of Blood in the Body. — Finally, there is a most 
 remarkable difference in the appearance of the blood in different parts of 
 the body. In one half of the circulation, that is, in all those vessels which 
 are called " arteries," it is of a brilliant scarlet hue ; while in the " veins " 
 it is of a deep bluish-purple, almost black color. These two kinds of blood 
 follow each other in the circulation, changing alternately from one color to 
 the other ; so that, although there is always red blood in the arteries, and 
 always blue blood in the veins, yet the same blood is alternately scarlet and 
 purple, as it passes from one set of vessels to another. The dark, impure 
 blood of the veins is purified in the lungs by the air. 
 
 FOOD AND HEALTH. 
 
 Food Makes Blood for the Body. — We have already noted the rela- 
 tion of the blood to life and healtli. The relation of water to health has 
 also been shown. Blood is derived chiefly from the food we eat. The nu- 
 tritious part of the food after being taken into the stomach is converted by 
 the process of digestion into blood, and then into living, healthful tissues. 
 
 Amount of Food Daily Needed. — To replace the daily outgo we need 
 about two pounds of food and three pounds of drink. With the eight hun- 
 dred pounds of oxygen taken from the air a man uses in a year about a ton 
 and a half of material. Our bodies are but molds in which a certain quan- 
 tity of matter receives a definite form. They may be likened to an eddy in 
 a river which retains its shape for a while, yet every instant each particle of 
 water is changing. Our sti ength comes from the food we eat. The food 
 contains within it a latent force, which it gives up when it is decomposed. 
 Putting food into our bodies is like placing a spring within a watch; every 
 motion of the body is only a new direction given to this spring-force, as every 
 movement of the hand on a dial is but the manipulation of the power of the 
 bent spring in the watch. We use the pent-up energies of meat, bread, and 
 
Food and Health, 83 
 
 vegetables which arc phiccd at our service, and transfer them to a higher 
 sphere of action. 
 
 Kinds of Food Needed. — In order, therefore, to produce heat and 
 force, w<f require something that is combustible, something with which oxy- 
 gen can jombine. Three kinds of food are needed. 
 
 1. Nitrogen. That which contains a considerable proportion of nitrogen. 
 This is a prominent constituent of the tissues of the body, and is necessary 
 to their growth and repair. The most common forms are whites of eggs, 
 which are nearly pure albumen, caseine, the chief constituent of cheese, lean 
 meat, and gluten, the viscid substance that gives tenacity to dough. Bodies 
 that have much nitrogen I'cadily oxidize. 
 
 2. Carbon. The next is carbonaceous food, or that which contains much 
 carbon. This consists of two kinds : first, the sugars. These contain hy- 
 drogen and oxygen in proportion to form water, and about the same amount 
 of carbon. They may, therefore, be considered as water with carbon dif- 
 fused through them. In digestion, starch and gum are changed into sugar. 
 All these are burned to produce heat. The second are the fats, which are 
 like sugars in composition, but contain less oxygen, and not in the proportion 
 to form water. They combine with more oxygen in burning, and thus give 
 off more heat. 
 
 3. Mineral Matters atid Water Needed in Food. Food should contain 
 mineral matter in addition to water — such as iron, sulphur, magnesia, 
 phosphorus, salt, and potash. About three pints of water are needed daily 
 to dissolve the food, and carry it through the circulation, to float off waste 
 matter, to lubricate the tissues, and by evaporation cool the system. A man 
 weighing one hundred and fifty-four pounds contains one hundred pounds of 
 water ; enough if collected in a body to drown him. Iron goes to the blood 
 disks ; lime combines with phosphorus and carbonic acid to give solidity to 
 the bones and teeth ; phosphorus is essential to the activity of the brain ; 
 salt is necessary to the secretions of some of the digestive fluids, and also to 
 aid in working off the waste products. 
 
 Process of Digestion. — Nature has provided an entire laboratory for the 
 process of digestion. The food is chewed, mixed with the saliva of the 
 mouth, and swallowed. It is then acted upon by the gastric juice in the 
 stomach, pafsed into the intestines, where it receives the bile, pancreatic 
 juice, and other liquids Avhich completely dissolve it, absorbing the nourish- 
 ing parts in the stomach and intestines ; the remainder goes to the blood- 
 vessels, and enters the general circulation. 
 
 Nutritious and Healthy Articles of Food. — There are some articles 
 of food of the greatest nutritive value. We mention the following : Beef, mut- 
 tor., fish, milk, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, corn, oat-meal, rice, ripe fruits, 
 
84 Home aitd Healtr. 
 
 tomatoes, peas, beans, etc. »11 of which articles of food are more or less 
 nutritive. 
 
 Beef and mutton possess ,he greatest nutritive value of any of the meats. 
 
 Lamb is less strengthening, but more delicate. Like the young of all ani- 
 £nals, it should be thoroughly cooked, and at a high temperature, to properly 
 develop its flavor. 
 
 Pork has much carbon, and hence is very heating ; the delicate and sed- 
 entary have no need of such food. It sometimes contains a parasite called 
 trichina, which may be transferred to the human system, and produce disease 
 and death. If eaten it should be cooked thoroughly. 
 
 Fish is rich in phosphorus, and is commended as food for the brain. It 
 loses its mineral constituents and juices when salted. 
 
 Oysters are highly nutritious, and are more easily assimilated when eaten 
 raw. 
 
 Milk is a model food, containing albumen, starch, fat, and mineral matter. 
 
 Cheese is very nourishing, one pound being equal in value to two of meat. 
 
 Bffffs are most easily digested when cooked " aoft." 
 
 A Suggestive Conversation. — Many comparatively healthy persons eat 
 pork ; but such persons usually toil at out-of-door work, and because of the 
 great strength of their physical constitutions they can endure even the use of 
 pork. The hog is the filthiest of animals ; and experiments show that when 
 the flesh is made the only or chief article of food for a few days the phys- 
 ical system begins rapidly to suffer. Scrofulous persons suffer the soonest 
 and the most largely, and there is good reason to believe that much of the 
 scrofula prevalent in this country is caused by pork-eating, either by the 
 patient or by his parents. 
 
 "But it is often difficult to get other meat than pork." 
 
 " My answer is. Eat pork if you must^ in other words, from necessity ; never 
 from choice.''^ 
 
 " How should pork be cooked ? " 
 
 *' I will answer in the language of a veteran physician : ' CooTc it done.'' 
 Other meats may be eaten rare if desired ; pork must be cooked thoroughly. 
 My advice to you is. Unless you are an out-of-door la'.>/rer, eat pork rarely 
 and sparingly, and see to it that the cook puts it over a hot fire, and keeps it 
 there until it is ' twice done.' " 
 
 Onions. — Few people dream of the many virtues of onions. Lung and 
 liver complaints are certainly benefited, often cured, by a free consumption 
 of onions, either cooked or raw. Colds yield to them like magic. Don't be 
 afraid of them. Taken at night all offense will be wanting by morning, and 
 the good effects will amply compensate for the trifling annoyance. Taken 
 regularly, they greatly promote the health of the lungs and the digestive 
 
Food and HeaZth. 85 
 
 organs. An extract made by boiling down the juice of onions to a syrup 
 and taken as a medicine, answers the purpose very well, but fried, roasted, 
 or boiled onions are better. Onions are a very cheap medicine, within every 
 body's reach, and they are not by any means as " bad to take " as the costly 
 nostrums a neglect of their use may necessitate. 
 
 Tomatoes. — The tomato is one of the most healthful as well as the most 
 relished of all vegetables. Its qualities do not depend on the mode of prep- 
 aration for the table ; it may be eaten thrice a day, cold or hot, cooked or 
 raw, alone or with salt or pepper or vinegar, or altogether, to a like advan- 
 tage, and to the utmost that can be taken with an appetite. Its excellence 
 arises from its slight acidity, and the seeds which it contains. The acidity 
 refreshes and tones up the system in the same manner as fruit, while the 
 seeds act as mechanical, gentle irritants to the inner coating of the bowels, 
 causing them to throw out a large amount of fluid matter, and thus keeping 
 them free. The tomato is also very nutritious.* 
 
 Healthful Bread. — The nutritive value of all food depends much upon the 
 amount of gluten which it contains, as this is the substance which goes to 
 form muscle. The proportions of gluten in whole grain, bran, and fine flour 
 are as follows : Whole grain, twelve per cent. ; fine flour, ten per cent. By 
 sifting out the bran we therefore render the flour less nutritious as well as 
 less wholesome. As bran constitutes from one eighth to one fourth of the 
 whole weight of wheat, on the average one sixth, there is a great waste of 
 muscle-forming material by bolting. 
 
 G^'aham Bread when made well is especially healthy for dyspeptics. 
 
 Unground Wheat. — A very healthful and relishable dish for breakfast, 
 dinner, or supper, can be made from unground wheat, boiled. The freshest 
 and cleanest wheat, with the plumpest kernels, should be selected. The 
 white and the amber-colored wheats cook the most readily, and they are also 
 preferable on account of having a thinner skin. Time is saved in picking it 
 over, to have it first run through a smut machine and then washed, though 
 t he looking over is indispensable. Put it to boil with five or six parts water 
 to one of wheat, by measure. Cover close, and after it begins to boil set 
 it where it will barely simmer. Cook it four or five hours, or until the kernels 
 mash readily between the thumb and finger. Hard wheat of any kind will 
 require still more time, and some kinds may be cooked all day without soft- 
 ening. When done it should be even full of water or juice, which thickens 
 
 * The tomato season ends with the frost. If the vines are pulled up before frost comes, 
 and are hung up in a well-ventilated cellar with the tomatoes hanging to them, the "ove- 
 apple" will continue ripening until Christmas. The cellar should not be too dry nrtoo 
 warm. The knowledge of this may be improved to great practical advantage for the '^ne- 
 flt of many who are invalids, and who ar« foad of tb« tomato. 
 
86 Home and Health. 
 
 and becomes gelatinous on cooking. Salt, and send to the table warm, tc 
 eat with mea ;s and vegetables at dinner. It can also be eaten by itself, 
 trimmed witK sugar or butter, or both, or syrup, or milk. It molds nicely, 
 and may be »3rved cold at breakfast or supper, or it may be steamed up and 
 served hot at breakfast. The long cooking it requires of course precludes 
 its being served fresh at that meal. After it has once cooled, however, it 
 cannot be made so soft and liquid as at first by any subsequent cooking. 
 Like other starch, when it once sets, it loses its liquidity. 
 
 A Very Nutritious Bread. — Valuable economy in the manufacture of 
 nutritious bread is secured by the following process : Gluten to the amount 
 of ten or twelve per cent, is extracted by boiling water from bran, and the 
 flour is kneaded with this infusion, whereby from twenty to thirty per cent, 
 more bread is obtained. The bread, of course, is not so white as that of 
 first quality, but is much more nutritious. 
 
 Fresh or Stale Bread, Which ? — Fresh bread and warm biscuits are 
 less digestible and less nutritious than old bread. In Germany bakers are 
 prohibited from selling bread until twenty-four hours after it is baked. Noth- 
 ing is more common in Germany than to hear the buyers at bake-shops ask 
 for "Alt gebackenes Brod." Is German robustness to be attributed to this 
 fact? 
 
 Oat Meal. * — Oat meal is a food of great strength and nutrition. It is 
 especially serviceable as a brain-food. It contains phosphorous enough to 
 keep a man doing an ordinary amount of brain-work in good health and 
 vigor. All medical authorities unite in the opinion that, eaten with milk, it 
 is a perfect food ; and, having all the requisites for the proper development of 
 the system, it is a pre-eminently useful food for growing children and the 
 young generally. Oat meal requii*es much cooking to effectually burst its 
 starch-cells, but when it is well cooked it will thicken liquid much more than 
 equal its weight in wheaten flour. The oats of this country are superior to 
 those grown on the Continent and the southern parts of England, but cer- 
 tainly inferior to the Scotch, where considerable pains is taken to cultivate 
 
 * Til 3 two principal ways of cooking oatmeal are as porridge and cake, for which the 
 following are good recipes : To three pints of boiling water add a level teaspoonful of salt 
 and » pint of coarse meal, stirring while it is being slowly poured in ; continue stirring 
 ur.til the meal is diffused through the water — about eight or ten minutes. Cover it closely 
 then, and place it where it will simmer for an hour; avoid stirring during the whole of 
 thAt time. Serve hot, with as little messing as possible, accompanied with milk, maple 
 sjTup, or sugar and cream. To make oatmeal-cake, place in a bowl a quart of meal, add 
 1 1 it as much cold water as will form it into a soft, light dough, cover it with a cloth 15 
 minutes to allow it to swell, then dust the paste-board with meal, turn out the dough and 
 give it a vigorous kneading. Cover it with the cloth a few minutes, and proceed ac once to 
 roll it out to the eighth of an inch in thickness ; cut in five pieces, and partly cook them oa 
 A griddle then finish them by toasting them in front of the fire. 
 
Food and Healtn.. 87 
 
 them , and it is needless to point out that the Scotch are an example of 
 a strong and robust nation, which result is justly set down as being derived 
 from the plentiful use of oat meal. Dr. Guthrie has asserted that hi? 
 countrymen have the largest heads of any nation in the world — not even 
 the English have such large heads — which he attributes to the universal use 
 of oat meal. 
 
 Professor Forbes, of Edinburgh, during some twenty years, measured the 
 breadth and height, and also tested the strength of both the arms and loins, 
 of the students in the University — a very numerous class, and of various 
 nationalities, drawn to Edinburgh by the fame of his teaching. He found 
 that in height, breadth of chest and shoulders, and strength of arms and 
 loins, the Belgians were at the bottom of the list ; a little above them, the 
 French ; very much higher, the English ; and highest of all, the Scotch and 
 Scotch Irish, from Ulster, who, like the natives of Scotland, are fed in their 
 early years with at least one meal a day of good oat meal porridge. 
 
 Poisonous Properties of Moldy Bread. — A recent case of fatal poi- 
 soning has been directly traced to the use of moldy bread for pudding. 
 The pudding was eaten by the cook, the proprietor of the eating-house in 
 which it was prepared, several children of the proprietor, and a number of 
 8tranger3. All were made alarmingly sick, and two, a child and an adult, 
 died. The doctors attending the case ascribed the effects to poisonous fungi 
 in the mold. 
 
 Healthfulness of Fruits. — The liberal use of various fruits as food is 
 conducive to good health. Fruit is not a solid and lasting element like beef 
 and bread, and does not give strength to any great extent. But fruits con- 
 tain those acids which refresh and give tone to the system during the season 
 when it is most needed. They should never be eaten unless thoroughly ripe 
 or cooked. Stale fruits or those which have been plucked some time are 
 unhealthy in the extreme. The proper time to eat fruit is in the morning 
 and early afternoon. At night it is "leaden," according to the Spanish, who 
 call fi uit " golden in the morning and silver at noon." 
 
 Fruit Saves Doctors' Bills. — An experienced physician in the West 
 writes as follows: "My bills are cut down in families in proportion as they 
 eat fresh fruit. Strawberries, currants and tomatoes are better medicine 
 than calomel or jalap, and ' rather better to take.' Apples freely eaten do 
 the work of vermifuge or lozenges. Every fruit or berry has its mission to 
 man hidden away within it. Therefore, set out a strawberry bed, if you 
 haven't one. If there is no other place, border your garden walks, and 
 with a sharp hoe and straight line keep the edges cut clearly, leaving a rich 
 mat of vines two feet wide. Plant currants. A fresh cutting will grow if 
 you but stick it in the ground. Border the fence with raspberries. Walk 
 
88 Home and Health. 
 
 around your place during the early spring days, and make a mental inventor; 
 of every spot where you can stick in a fruit tree or a berry bush. Plant 
 something." 
 
 Danger )f Eating Fruit to Excess. — In the use of fruit excess shou.d 
 be avoided. While advantageous when consumed in moderate quantity, 
 fruits prove injurious if eaten in excess. Of a highly succulent nature, and 
 containing free acids and principles prone to undergo fermentation and 
 change, they are, when eaten out of due proportion to other food, apt to act 
 as a disturbing element, and excite derangement of the stomach and bowels. 
 This is particularly likely to occur if eaten either in the unripe or overripe 
 state: in the former case, from their acidity and unfitness for digestion; in 
 the latter, from their strong tendency to ferment and decompose within the 
 alimentary canal. The prevalence of etomach and bowel disorders, no- 
 ticeable during the height of the fruit season, afiPords proof of the incon- 
 veniences to which the too free use of fruit, especially if unripe, may give 
 rise. 
 
 Special Danger in Summer Vacation. — There is special danger to per- 
 sons who leave the large towns for a vacation in the country during the early 
 fruit season. The children often indulge in eating unripe fruit, and in this 
 way suffer so much harm as to lessen if not to neutralize the benefits of a 
 summer vacation. Will mothers read this, and enter upon a line of greater 
 watch and care ? 
 
 Are Nuts Healthful ? — Most kinds of nuts are only suited to persons of 
 strong powers of digestion, while some are positively baneful to all. A 
 good rule is to eat them sparingly, and only those found by personal ex- 
 perience to be suitable. 
 
 Salt with Nuts. — Here is a suggestive record by a physician : " While 
 enjoying a visit from an Englishman, hickory nuts were served in the even- 
 ing, when my English friend called for salt, stating that he knew of a case of 
 a woman eating heartily of nuts in the evening who was taken violently ill. 
 The celebrated Dr. Abernethy was sent for, but it was after he had become 
 too fond of his cups, and he was not in a condition to go. He murmured 
 ' Salt ! salt !' of which no notice was taken. He went to the place next morn- 
 ing, and found the patient a corpse. He said had they given her salt, it 
 would have relieved her ; and that if he was allowed to make an examina- 
 tion he would convince them. When the stomach was opened, the nuts 
 were found in a mass. He sprinkled salt on it, and it immediately dissolved. 
 I have known of a sudden death myself, which appears to have been the 
 effect of the same." 
 
Hints Ahoict Healthful Eating. 89 
 
 HINTS ABOUT HEALTHFUL EATING. 
 
 A Good Appetite Healthful. — Many persons regard a hearty desire for 
 food as something unrefined, indelicate, and to be constantly discouraged. 
 This is a great mistake. The people who strive to check a wholesome and 
 natural appetite regard dinner merely as a " feed," not an agreeable social 
 custom, and as the domestic event of the day. A good appetite is a good 
 thing, and is just as necessary to the health of the man who works only with 
 his brain as it is to the day-laborer who earns his bread by the sweat of his 
 brow, "breaking stones or plowing." The stomach and the brain are 
 brethren, the former being the elder, and having prior right to care. Let 
 that be well provided for, and it will sustain its brother. 
 
 Appetite not an Infallible Guide. — The opinion prevailing among many 
 that if people like a thing they may eat it without harm is a great mistake. 
 If sweetened drinks, candies or things containing poison be given to children, 
 they ^^ill eat them readily without detecting the danger. Brute animals are 
 guided in the selection of food by their instinct, and their wonderfully de- 
 veloped organs of smell. Human individuals do not show such instinct, but 
 are, or should be, governed by their superior intelligence. 
 
 Evil of Rapid Eating. — Eat slowly, thoroughly masticating your food. 
 Rapid eating is one of our national evils, and is the chief cause of dyspepsia. 
 The saliva does not flow too rapidly to mix with the food to promote digestion, 
 and the coarse pieces swallowed resist the action of the digestive fluid. The 
 food washed down with drinks which dilute the gastric juice and hinder its 
 work will not supply the place of the saliva. Failing to get the taste of the 
 food by rapid mastication, we think it insipid, and hence use condiments 
 which over-stimulate the digestive organs. In these ways the system is over- 
 worked, and, the tone of the stomach being affected, a foundation is laid for 
 dyspepsia.* 
 
 Ho'vtr to Regulate the Quantity of Food. — If the food be swallowed 
 no faster than the gastric fluid is prepared to be mixed with it, hunger or the 
 desire for food will cease when just enough has been taken ; but if the food 
 is crowded down rapidly, after the manner of thousands of American eaters, 
 the appetite will continue until more than enough is eaten, and often until 
 two or three times too much is eaten. Remember that the appetite will only 
 ctase with the secretion and flow of the gastric fluid ; hence we should eat 
 ilowly, or we shall eat too much. The slow eater should stop with the cesaa- 
 
 * " In this country rapid eating is a prevailing: evil. Every year its slain are counted by 
 thousands. Not long since a friend wrote me inquiring why it is that there are so many 
 more dyspeptics in America than in other populous countries? 'Because,' I responded, 
 'there are nir>re rapid eaters.' " — Hi»NEy Luson, M. D 
 
90 Home and Health. 
 
 tion of his appetite ; the rapid eater before. Rapid eating frequently begets 
 irritabiUty, dyspepsia, or disease of the stomach. 
 
 fjating too Much. — Eating too fast generally involves eating too much- 
 more than is needed fof the support and nutrition of the body — and the rea- 
 son for this is, that the organs of taste, which are our guide in this matter, 
 are not allowed sufficient voice ; they are not allowed time to take cogm'zance 
 of the presence of food ere it is pushed past them into the recesses of the 
 stomach. They do not, therefore, have opportunity to represent the real need 
 of the system, and hence allow the crowding of the stomach. " I hold," 
 wrote Dr. Jackson, " that thirty minutes should be spent at each meal, and 
 spent, too, in chewing the food a good portion of the time, and not in contin- 
 ued putting in and swallowing, but in pleasant chat and laugh, instead of the 
 continuance of the intense nervous pressure of the office or library. If you 
 arrange to spend thirty minutes in this way at your meals, you may rest as- 
 sured you will not eat too much, and what you do eat will be in the best con- 
 Jition for appropriation to the needs of your system." 
 
 Food should be Thoroughly Chewed. — There is one simple rule, the 
 observance of which will go a great way toward securing the full benefit oi 
 what we eat, and so will be conducive to good health; it is, that all food 
 should be thoroughly chewed before being swallowed. The effects, both me- 
 chanical and chemical, of thorough mastication, are the preUminary condi- 
 tions for healthy digestion and nutrition. Aside from the grinding, the 
 service which the saliva is capable of performing, if we give it time, is simi- 
 lar to, if not identical with, that of the juice of the stomach. And in a 
 general way, it may be said that the more nearly the food is reduced to a fine 
 pulp in the mouth, the less remains for the rest of the digestive apparatus to 
 do, the more completely their task is performed, and the more perfect is th-e 
 preparation of the food for its purpose — the formation of blood and the nu- 
 trition of the whole body. 
 
 Hint about " Small Mouthfuls." — Our children will receive a great serv- 
 ice from us, if we require them early to form the habit of eating in small 
 mouthfuls and chewing their food well. The same rule holds good for every 
 age, and should be especially regarded in advancing years, when the teeth 
 become imperfect and mastication less effective. Adherejice to this simple 
 [ule will not only be of great benefit to health, and largely contribute to pre- 
 vent indigestion and dyspepsia, but will increase the pleasures of the table, 
 and retain the natural strength of the digestive organs, which exert so wide 
 an influence upon bo*h bodily and mental comfort. 
 
 How Much Shall We Eat ? — Great eaters never Uve long ; spare eatera 
 never accomplish much. The best rule is. Eat moderately. Never eat so much 
 as to feel uncomfortable. If more food is taken than sufficient for the wants 
 
Hints About Healthful Eating. IM 
 
 of the system, it remains undigested, and becomes a source of irritation and 
 oppressiDn. The quantity of the food required varies with the age and hab- 
 its of a person. The diet of a child should be largely vegetable and abun- 
 dant. A sedentary occupation requires less food than an active, out-door 
 life. The greatest workers should be the greatest eaters, as a posrerful en- 
 gine needs a corresponding furnace. Cheerfulness is essential to digestion. 
 A good laugh is the best of sauce. Care and grief are the bitterest foes of 
 digestion. A bright face and a light heart are friends to a long life, anvl 
 nowhere do they serve better than at the table. God designed that we should 
 enjoy eating, and that, having stopped before satiety was reached, we should 
 have the satisfaction always attendant on a good work well done. To eat 
 until one can eat no longer is gluttony, and should never be indulged. One has 
 said that as many lives have been destroyed by gluttony as by drunkenness. 
 
 Loss of Appetite, and How to Recover it. — The appetite is often 
 lost through excessive use of stimulants, food taken too hot, sedentary occu- 
 pation, liver disorder, and want of change of air. To ascertain and remove 
 the cause is the first duty. Exercise, change of air, and diet will generally 
 prove sufficient to recover the appetite. Children, if they have plenty of out- 
 door exercise, are regular in their habits, and eat only plain, nourishing food, will 
 seldom, if ever, complain of a lack of appetite. See, also, chapter on exercise. 
 
 Rest Before and After Sating. — A season of rest after dinner pays well, 
 but it is not more important than the rest before eating, if one is very weary. 
 This rule is of the utmost importance to business men, or pei'sons engaged in 
 brain labor, and its violation is one of the chief causes of dyspepsia. The 
 length of time required to complete digestion varies according to various cir- 
 cumstances, such as the healthy condition of the stomach, the kind and quan- 
 tity of food taken, exercise, etc. Ordinarily from two to five hours, or longer, 
 are needed. 
 
 Eating Between Meals. — This is another of the causes of dyspepsia, 
 for which the foundations are laid in childhood. When the ordinary meals of 
 the day are sufficiently near each other, nothing should be taken into the 
 stomach between meals. Even fruit, which so many consider healthy at all 
 times, rol^s the stomach of its needed rest.* 
 
 Best Times for Meals. — Breakfast should be eaten as soon as possiltle 
 after rising. If not convenient to eat at once, a single cup of warm wheat or 
 
 • Conveksation with a Doctor. — "Well, doctor, is it injurious to eat between msals f " 
 "That depends on the length of the interval." 
 
 " I mean the ordinary or usual meals of th« day, as observed in communities generally." 
 " It is ; the stomach, after being taxed with the work of digestion after the ordinary 
 
 meals, needs rest, and D\ust liave it, or it will suffer sooner or later." 
 " Then you thiiilc the eating of fruits between meals is not well ? " 
 " I do. The only proper rule is to give the stomach its necessary rest; rob it of that, and 
 
 «oon the penalty must come." 
 
92 Home and Health. 
 
 corn, coffee or chocolate, with plenty of milk, will remove the feeling of 
 languor and faintness for an hour or more. 
 
 Dinner should be eaten late in the afternoon cr early in the eve.ling. It is 
 the principal meal of the day, and, to be enjoyed as well as digested, admits 
 of neither hurry nor interference. The work of the day should be over ; and 
 a long rest should follow before bed-time. Eat no late suppers. 
 
 Jjxmclieon in the middle of the day is the meal most abused. It is rarely 
 that sufficient time is taken for it. This meal should consist of substantial 
 food, but light ir. quantity. The pressure of work at midday is so great that 
 the digestive organs should not be heavily taxed at that time. Take all meals 
 at regular hours,* 
 
 Comparative Value of Different Modes of Cooking. — All meats, pork 
 excepted, are the most healthful when cooked so as to retain their juices. 
 This is best done by roasting. Broiling ranks next, then comes boiling, and 
 last we have frying. Cook meat, as far as possible, in its own juices. Veg- 
 etables follow the same rule.f 
 
 Variety of Vegetables at the Same Meal. — "Shall we eat several 
 kinds of vegetables at the same meal ? " is a question often asked. A well 
 known physician answered it thus : " I would not burden you with severe re- 
 strictions here ; but if my good wife should ask me for ' mine good opinion,' 
 I would gently hint to her to cook not more than two." " Should she ask for 
 the reason, what then ? " "I would answer, that most vegetables digest 
 more easily alone. Indeed, this is true of most kinds of food, I think, tak- 
 
 * " Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in 
 due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness ! " — Ecclesiastes x, IT. 
 
 " The natural division of the day for necessary repasts, is Breakfast, evjht, or iMlf after ; 
 Dinner, one. or half after ; Supper, eight, or half after. And these, or even earlier 
 hours, were formerly observed in these countries. Then we had scarcely any such thing as 
 gnit, and no nerrorts disorders. 
 
 "In ancient nations the custom was to eat but once; and then about midday." — Dr. 
 Adam Clabkk, in loo. 
 
 t A Conversation : " Doctor, how shall we cook vegetables ? " 
 
 " I will give you the same general rule as before : The best mode is to cook them bo as to 
 .eta\r. their own juices. Baking, therefore, is my preference. Beets baked are far prefera- 
 ble to boiled beets. In boiling, much of the most valuable ingredients which ai-e In the 
 juice, is lost." 
 
 " You surprise me ; I have never eaten Jbaked beets." 
 
 "Then try them. Have your cook thoroughly bake them. In eating, slice them, and 
 spread with butter. In some sections of Europe the baked beet is sold to the peasantry as 
 a good substitute for the bread-loaf, and is eaten in the same way. I need not say that It is 
 relished." 
 
 * Now, as to o'^^her vegetables ? " 
 
 ' I need not teil you that baked potatoes are the best; fried are the worst Let the rule 
 be to cook them with as Httle grease as possible. Milk is much more healthful with vege- 
 tables than grease." 
 
Hints About Healthful Eating. 93 
 
 ing society as it is, the best advice I can gire you is to eat a variety of food, 
 but not many kinds at the same time." 
 
 " How Long to Starve." — A man will die for want of air in five minutes, 
 for want of sleep in ten days, for want of water in a week, for want of food 
 at varying intervals, dependent on constitution, habits of life, and the cir- 
 cumstances of the occasion. The captain of a Boston whaler was wrecked. 
 For eight days he could not get a drop of water, nor a particle of food. On 
 the day of the wreck he weighed a hundred and ninety pounds ; when res- 
 cued he weighed one hundred pounds. A teaspoonful of brandy was given 
 to each sailor ; but before they could be taken aboard the vessel which saved 
 them they became unconscious, and remained so for two days, but all event- 
 ually recovered. Many persons have been killed by eating too much after 
 having fasted for a long time ; the safe plan of procedure, and which every 
 reader should bear in mind, is to feel the way along, as persons who are 
 traveling in the dark and fear a precipice ahead ; there can be no one rule giv- 
 en, because there are so many modifying circumstances. Give a tea-spoon- 
 ful of hot drink at a time, and if no ill result, repeat in five minutes, and 
 the same amount of soft food, boiled rice, or softened bread, or gruel ; for 
 the stomach is itself as weak as the sufferer in proportion, and can only 
 manage a very small amount of food. 
 
 FOOD FOR THE SICK. 
 
 Toast and Water. — Toast about three inches of the crust of bread till 
 it is of a light brown on both sides ; then plunge it into cold water, and 
 let it stand for half an hour in a covered vessel. When the crumb is used 
 it soon sours in a warm room, and when made with boiling water it is insipid 
 and unrefreshing. 
 
 Barley Water. — Get some pearl-barley, wash it in four waters — that is, 
 water poured on it four times and thrown away, so that it may be clean; 
 rub two or three pieces of sugar on a lemon cut open, and put them in a 
 jug with the washed barley and a few slices of lemon ; then pour boiling 
 water on the whole, and cover it over until it is cold. 
 
 Barley Gruel. — Boil two ounces of pearl barley in half a pint of water 
 to extract the coloring matter, throw this away and put the barley into three 
 pints and a half of boiling water, and let it boil till it is one half the quan- 
 ,ity ; then strain it for use. 
 
 Oatmeal Gruel. — Take two table-spoonfuls of oatmeal, half a blade 
 of mace, a piece of lemon peel, three quarters of a pint of water or milk, 
 ft little sugar. Mix two spoonfuls of oatmeal very smooth in a little water. 
 
94 Home and Health 
 
 and put it gradually to three quarters of a pint ; add a little lemon peel, and 
 half a blade of mace ; set it over the fire for a quarter of an hour, stirring 
 it constantly. Then strain it, and add sugar to taste. 
 
 Parched Corn Gruel. — There are frequently sick people whose stomachs 
 reject all kinds of nourishment until conditions follow that in many cases 
 of this kind terminate fatally. In many cases where the popular sick-bed 
 nourishments are prescribed and rejected, a simple saucei of parched corn 
 pudding or bowl of gruel will seldom be refused. The corn is roasted 
 brown, precisely as coffee is roasted, ground as fine as meal in a coffee mill, 
 and made either into mush, gruel, or thin cakes, baked lightly brown, and 
 given either warm or cold, clear, or with whatever dressing the stomach will 
 receive or retain. 
 
 Ground Rice Milk. — This is an agreeable way in which to administer rice 
 to the sick : Boil together two tablespoonfuls of ground rice with a pint of 
 aiilk. Sweeten it according to taste, adding the juice of a lemon. Let the 
 whole boil half an hour over a moderate fire. Eat it warm. 
 
 Bread Jelly. — Take one roll, one lemon, one quart of water, and sugar 
 10 taste. Or take the crumb of a penny roll; cut it into thin slices, and 
 toast them of a pale brown on both sides. Put them into a quart of spring 
 water. Let it simmer over the fire till it has become a jelly. Strain it 
 through a thin cloth, and flavor it immediately with a little juice and sugar. 
 
 Iceland Moss Jelly. — Wash and bruise Iceland or Irish moss, and soak it 
 all night ; dry and boil it, putting an ounce to a quart, till it is reduced to 
 one half the quantity of water; strain it through a sieve. Take it with 
 milk, or flavored to taste. It may be boiled in milk and turned into a shape 
 when cold. 
 
 Apple Tapioca. — Pare, core, and quarter eight apples ; take half a spoon- 
 ful of tapioca ; put it to soak and swell all night in the water ; put in half a 
 teacupful of white sugar and a little lemon peel ; put this into a stew-pan, 
 and let the tapioca simmer ten minutes, then put in the apples and stew ten 
 minutes more. When the tapioca is clear, it will form a jelly around the 
 apples. 
 
 Tapioca Jelly. — Take four tablespoonfuls of tapioca ; rinse it thoroughly, 
 then soak it five hours in cold water, enough to cover it. Set a pint of cold 
 water on the fire ; when it bolls, mash and stir up the tapioca that is in 
 water, and mix it with the boiling water. Let the whole simmer gently, with 
 a stick of cinnamon or mace. When thick and clear, mix a couple of table- 
 spoonfuls of white sugar with half a tablespoonful of lemon-juice ; stir it 
 uito the jelly ; if not sweet enough, add more sugar, and turn into cups. 
 
 Meat Jelly. — Take half a pound of mutton, half a pound of beef, and 
 
Food for the Sick, 9^ 
 
 half a pound of veal or pork, with a small piece or bone of bacon ; put in 
 water enough to keep it from burning, and cover it close ; let it simmer for 
 three or four hours till the juice of the meat is entirely out, then strain it 
 off, and let stand till cold. If there is any fat, it can then be removed. A 
 person recovering from an illness must not be left all night without food. 
 Some of this jelly placed beside him, where he can reach it easily is a very 
 excellent thing. 
 
 To Make Arrow-root. — Put one teaspoonf ul of arrow-root into a basin ; 
 rub it very smooth with two spoonfuls of cold water; pour over this half & 
 pint of boiling jvater or milk in such a proportion as may be allowed, stirring 
 wel' tl e whok time. It is generally better to boil it for two or three min- 
 utes. Sweetei to taste. 
 
 Apple Water. — Slice two large apples, put them into a jar, and pour over 
 them one pint of boiling water. Cover close for an hour ; pour off the 
 fluid, and sweeten if necessary. 
 
 Apple Tea. — Roast eight fine apples in the oven, or before the fire ; put 
 them in a jug with two spoonfuls of sugar, and pour over them a quart of 
 boiling water. Let it stand one hour near the fire. 
 
 Currant Drink. — To a pint of fresh-gathered currants (stripped) put a 
 pint of water ; let them boil together ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, 
 then strain and sweeten to taste ; a few raspberries added give a pleasant 
 flavor. The same may be produced in winter by simmering two tablespoon 
 fuls of currant jelly in half a pint of water. 
 
 Beverage of Figs and Apples. — Have two quarts of water boiling ; split 
 six figs, and cut two apples into six or eight slices each ; boil the whole to- 
 gether twenty minutes ; pour the liquid into a basin to cool, and pass through 
 a sieve when it is ready for use. The figs and apples may be drained for 
 eating with a little boiled rice. 
 
 Ice Cream and Beef Juice. — Here is the prescription for a relishable 
 dietary article highly commended by an Illinois physician : — 
 
 ^ Cream, 120 grams 
 
 Sugar, 30 " 
 
 Extract of vanilla, . . . . 8 " 
 
 Beef juice, 8 " 
 
 Any confectioner can make it, or it may readily be prepared at home with 
 a freezer. Its uses are obvious. 
 
 Broth from Foinrls. — Take an old fowl ; stew it to pieces with a couple of 
 wions. Season lightly with pepper and salt ; skim and strain it. 
 
 Chicken Broth. — Cut up a young fowl into several pieces, put in a stew- 
 pan witli three pints of spring-water set Oft th.Q tstovc fire to boil ; skim avcIL, 
 
96 Home and Health. 
 
 and add a little salt ; take two tablespoonfuls of pearl barley, wash it in bev- 
 eral waters, and add it to the broth, together with one ounce of marsh-mal- 
 low roots cut into shreds, for the purpose of better extracting its healing 
 properties. The broth should then boil one hour, and be passed through a 
 napkin into a basin, to be kept ready for use. 
 
 To Cook Birds for Convalescents. — Lay them upon the gridiron ; broil 
 ontil they have a light brown color, then put them in a stew-pan; pour 
 over hot water enough to cover them. Let them stew until tender. Season 
 with a little fresh butter, pepper and salt. Chickens, birds, and squirrels, 
 stewed in a double kettle, are very delicate for invalids. If permitted, stuff 
 the fowls and birds with minced oysters. 
 
 Mutton Broth. — Take one pound of scrag of mutton, put it into a sauce- 
 
 T)an with two pints of water and a little salt ; let it simmer gently for two 
 
 ours ; strain it through a sieve, and when cold carefully remove every parti- 
 
 ,'.e of fat. It may be thickened with a little arrow-root or ground rice, as 
 
 •equired. 
 
 A Strong Broth. — One pound of veal ; one pound of beef ; one pound of 
 the scrag end of a neck of mutton ; a little salt ; three quarts of water. 
 Put the above quantities into three quarts of water, with a little salt, and a 
 few whole peppers. Boil it until reduced to on« quart. 
 
 Calves' Feet. — Take two calves' feet ; two pints of water ; one pint of new 
 milk ; a little lemon peel or mace. Put the ingredients into a jar, cover it 
 down, and keep it in the oven for four hours. When cold, remove the fat. 
 Flavor it with lemon peel or mace, as preferred. This is very strengthening 
 if taken the first thing in the morning and the last at night. 
 
 Nourishing Soup. — Two pounds of lean veal or beef; a quarter of a 
 pound of peail barley ; a little fresh celery ; a little salt. Boil two pounds 
 of lean veal or beef, with a quarter of a pound of pearl barley in a quart of 
 water very slowly, until it becomes the consistency of good cream ; flavor it 
 with a little fresh celery. Strain it when done through a fine hair sieve, and 
 serve. This soup will only keep until the next day, therefore not more than 
 the quantity required must be made. 
 
 Honey should not be eaten by the sick and feeble, as it continues for a 
 long time in the stomach, and frequently causes '* sourness " and flatu^pnce. 
 
 Isinglass may be put into the invalid's tea, morning and evening, a good 
 pinchful for a teacup. It may also be introduced, as much as possible, into 
 the food of the weak, as it is most strengthening. 
 
 Brewis. — This is very good food for children. It is nothing more thaL' a 
 thick top crust of bread put into the pot where salt beef irf boiling, and is 
 
Food for the Sick. 97 
 
 nearly doL? ; it 'jlraws the fat, becomes relishing with the flavor of meat and 
 salt, and is nourishing to the stomach. 
 
 S?iet and Milk. — One tablcspoonful of shredded beef-suet ; half a pint of 
 fresh milk. Mix these ingredients, and warm them sufficiently to melt the 
 suet completely. Skim it. Warm the cup into which you pour it, and give 
 it to the invalid to drink before it gets cold. 
 
 Mucilage of Gum-arabic. —One ounce of gum-arabic in powder; mix we.l 
 with two tablespooufuls of honey ; shave a little rind of lemon ; clean off the 
 white pith, and cut the lemon in slices into a jug; then stir on it, by degrees, 
 a pint and a half of boiling water. This is particularly good in any com- 
 plaint that affects the chest, as cough, consumption, measles, etc. 
 
 Strong Tonic Drink. — A quarter of an ounce of camomile flowers ; a 
 quarter of an ounce of sliced gentian root ; a quarter of an ounce of bruised 
 calumba ; a quarter of an ounce of dried orange peel ; fifty cloves, bruised ; 
 a pint and a quarter of cold spring water. Put these ingredients into a jug, 
 and pour over them rather more than a pint of cold water ; let it stand twen- 
 ty-four hours, then pour off the clear liquor. Take three tablespooufuls for 
 a dose, fasting every morning. 
 
 Bran Tea. — This is sometimes invaluable for softening the throat, ana 
 most nourishing for the sick and aged. Take two or three tablespooufuls of 
 middle-sized bran, (not coarsest, as that is greasy,) put it into a jug, and pour 
 on it one quart of boiling water ; let it stand for about a quarter of an hour, 
 and then pour off the water from the bran. The tea may be sweetened with 
 white sugar or fine honey. When wine has been ordered for the patient, it 
 may be added, or a little lemon juice. It is, however, not unpleasant without 
 either of these additions. A wine-glass full of this tea may be taken many 
 times in the day. Several persons in France have been kept alive with no 
 other nourishment for weeks. 
 
 Savory Custard. — A savory custard, much relished by sick people, \% 
 made in the following manner : Take the yolks of two eggs, and the white of 
 one, and put in a small basin ; add one gill of beef-tea, and a quarter of a 
 salt-spoonful of salt ; whip up the eggs and the beef -tea ; take a small cup, 
 which will hold the mixture, and butter it ; take a piece of white letter paper, 
 and butter that, and tie it on the cup ; have a sauce-pan with hot water, and 
 put it on the fire to boil ; when the water is boiling put in the cup so that the 
 water stands below the top of the cup ; let it simmer for a quarter of an 
 hour ; serve hot. 
 
 Raw Beef. — Physicians often administer to consumptives and persons of 
 
 frail constitutions a diet of finely chopped raw beef, properly seasoned with 
 
 salt, and heated by placing the dish containing it in boiling water. This food 
 
 is given, also, in cases where the stomach rejects ahuost every other fonn of 
 
 7 
 
98 Home and Health. 
 
 food. It assjmi.ates rapidly and affords nourishment, while patients learn to 
 long for and like it. 
 
 Some of the severest forms of that distressing ailment called dysentery are 
 sometimes entirely cured by the patient eating a heaped tablespoonful of raw 
 beef at a time, cut up very fine, and repeated at intervals of four hours until 
 cured, eating and drinking nothing else in the meanwhile. 
 
 Recipe for Beef Tea. — Mince finely one pound of lean beef, placed in a 
 J reserve jar or other suitable vessel, and pour upon it one pint of cold water, 
 Sdr, and allow them to stand for about an hour, so that the goodness of the 
 meat may be dissolved out. Next place the jar or vessel in a sauce-pan of 
 water over a fire, and let the water boil gently for an hour. Remove the jar 
 and strain. The beef tea which runs through contains a quantity of fine sedi- 
 ment, which is to be drunk with the liquid, after being flavored with salt to 
 suit. The jar may also be placed in an oven for an hour, instead of in the 
 water, as above. Beef tea, thus prepared, represents a highly nutritive and 
 restorative liquid, with an agreeable, rich, meaty flavor. The old method 
 of boiling the beef over a fire in a saucepan makes a soup or broth, not a 
 tea.* 
 
 ♦Beef Tea. — Some of the medical profession differ regarding the action of beef tea. 
 Some declare it very inferior as a food ; others believe it a most nseful substance to sustain 
 the body under great exhaustion. It is an established fact, that the greater portion of the 
 albuminous tissue in the body is furnished by animal or nitrogenous food, and there seems 
 no reason to doubt that the same elements can be supplied to the body in the more concen- 
 trated form of beef tea, or meat-juice, such tea thus making one of the most valuable tis- 
 sue builders we possess. It has certainly had a great reputation from the earliest times, 
 and there are many instances in which it has saved lives. 
 
 Among many cases we may cite a strii<ing example of the useful and nutritive efficacy of 
 beef tea in a case of inanition in an infant now six months old. The mother of the patient 
 had three children, the first of which was still-born, the second died nine days afterbirth from 
 Inanition, and the third began to decline when she was three weeks old. Knowing the tend- 
 ency to death in her second child, and suspecting it was due, probably, to the inefficiency of 
 the mother''s milk, a thoroughly supporting treatmentwas adopted, and fifteen drops of "Val- 
 entine's preparation of meat-juice," three times a day, together with diluted cv>w s'milk and 
 lime-water were given. The mother's supply of milk was also kept up. The cow's mi'.k 
 had a tendency to curdle, in spite of the lime-water, and so was discontinmd. The child 
 began to improve in a few days, and, in the words of the mother, "got fat and ^olid." In 
 the course of a few months the stock of meat-juice became exhausted, and the mother con 
 eluded to do without it, " since the child had improved so remarkably." She was, however 
 obliged to resume it again, as she relates "that on the second day after the meat-juice was 
 left off, the little girl went quite thin and soft, over the whole body, and became very fret- 
 ful ;" but on its renewal, in three or four days the child became healthy and well again. 
 The meat-juice furnished more than the salts which it contains, as the child became fat, and 
 her flesh hardened, showing an improvement in the muscular structure. Milk is the natu- 
 ral and suitable food for infants, but in this case, and doubtless in many others, the chila 
 would have been reduced to starv.aticn if compelled to depend alone upon the mother's 
 breast for nonrishnent. 
 
Water — Its Relation to Health. 99 
 
 WATER-ITS RELATION TO HEALTH. 
 
 The water we drink has been correctly described as a " life-giving and life- 
 destroying element." Pure water, like pure air, is essential to good health. 
 Polluted water, like impure air, is one of the most common sources of disease. 
 Its natural history reveals the secret of its true quality. 
 
 Its Source. — Traced to its origin, water, in its continuous circulation 
 through the atmosphere and oceans of our globe, is first pure distilled water, 
 evaporated at comparatively low temperature by the heat of the sun, and 
 raised far up in mid-air, and drifted slowly toward the poles of the earth by 
 the return trade-winds. When warm air-currents, saturated with watery 
 vapor, meet with colder ones, their capacity for holding water in solution is 
 diminished ; a portion of the latter is condensed and is precipitated in the 
 form of rain, snow, hail or dew, in a state of almost absolute purity, upon 
 the mountains and lowlands. Thus it comes down pure upon the ground, 
 filters through a wholesome soil, issues in abundant springs, gravitates to- 
 ward the water basins of the earth, and gradually drains into the ocean, 
 from which, in process of time, it will again be converted into vapor, and 
 re-enter into its ceaseless circulation. All supplies of fresh water are, there' 
 fore, derived from condensation of the watery vapor contained in the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 Spring and Well-water in the Country. — In rural districts the water of 
 springs and wells is comparatively pure. The pure rain (always pure when 
 it first falls unless the air through which it passes is filled with noxious 
 gasses) percolates through the soil, and filtrates into the subterraneous water 
 strata or fountains, and thence issues in a comparatively pure condition at 
 the open spring or well. Of course, the " purer the soil filter, the purer the 
 spring." 
 
 How Water Becomes Polluted. — The pure water after falling from the 
 clouds firi;,"^ through the soil, and carries from the rocks and soil certain solu- 
 ble parts, the nature and amount of which depend upon the nature of the rock 
 and soil, ic is always contaminated by passing through a drainage area of 
 polluted giound. In this respect, the increasing density of population and 
 the encroachment of civilization upon the primeval state of the earth's sur- 
 face have largely altered these conditions for a supply of pure water. Not 
 only in crovded centers of population and industry, but also in some agri- 
 cultural ditf ricis, the soil is more or less contaminated with sewage and all 
 kinds of effete or decaying matters. 
 
 Well-water Often Dangerous. — Few wells, as ordinarily constructed, are 
 free from surface pollution. Their walls are open from bottom to top foi 
 the inflow of the water from the contaminated soil and surface-water 
 
100 Home and Health. 
 
 around. A densely crowded population soon impregnate the surface soil 
 with filth, which drains into the water-course below, especially if such water 
 is near the surface ; the walls of the wells are so constructed as not to pre- 
 vent its inflow, " Artesian wells" and " deep driven wells " from which the 
 surface water is excluded furnish the best water, (except pure rain water,) which 
 can be obtained with the expense of lengthy and tightly-closed conduits, in 
 which the water is brought from a distance and from unpolluted reservoirs. 
 
 Caution in Locating Wells. — Every well should be widely separated fron 
 barn-yards, cess-pools, pens, sinks, and similar places, and should not be sim- 
 ply stoned up with loose stones or bricks, so that any surface liquid that fil- 
 ters through the soil has free access ; but its walls should be made water-tight 
 with cement, so that nothing can reach them except that which has been fil 
 tered through dense beds of unpolluted ground below. If this precaution is 
 neglected, the best and deepest well may become continually contaminated 
 by infiltration from the surrounding surface. If, at any time, no good drink- 
 ing water can be had, or its purity appears doubtful, the only way to remove 
 its dangerous qualities is to filter the water through thick layers of fine sand, 
 or, better, through ground charcoal or animal charcoal. 
 
 Care in Constructing Cisterns. — Cisterns should be constructed of suita- 
 ble material, carefully built and covered, and so placed that no foul air can 
 pass through or over the water they contain. The overflow pipes from cis- 
 terns should be free from connection with any other pipes. Roofs and gut 
 ters supplying cisterns must be frequently inspected, and some simple cor- 
 trivance should be adopted to insure their careful cleansing before the water 
 is allowed to run into the cistern. Cistern water ought to be frequently ex- 
 amined, and be kept free from color, odor, or other indications of impurity. 
 
 How to Examine Suspected Water. — A simple method of examination 
 is bj dissolving a lump of loaf-sugar in a quantity of the suspected water in 
 a clean bottle, which should have a close-fitting glass stopper. Set the bottle 
 in the window of a room where the sunlight will fall on it. If the water re- 
 mains bright and limpid after a week's exposure, it may be pronounced fit for 
 use. But if it becomes turbid during the week it contains enough impurity 
 to be unhealthy. Such water should not be used for drinking purposes until 
 it has been boiled and filtered ; after which it should be aerated by any sim- 
 ple process, such as pouring several times from one vessel into another in the 
 open air. This is Heinsch's water test. 
 
 Purifying Water With Alum. — It is not generally known that pounded 
 alum possesses the property of purifying water. A tablespoonful of pulver- 
 ized alum sprinkled into a hogshead of water (the water stirred at the time) 
 will, after the lapse of a few hours, by precipitating to the bottom the im- 
 pure pjirti'^^ss, so purify it that it will be found to possess all the freshness 
 
Water — Its Relation • to Health. 101 
 
 and clearness of the finest spring water. A pailful containing four gallons 
 may be purified by a single teaspoonful. 
 Is Soft Water Better than Hard Water for Drinking Purposes ? — 
 
 Waters which contain only small quantities of these lime and magnesia com- 
 pounds are said to be " soft," while those which contain them in greater pro 
 portion are described as being " hard." It is not advisable to use habitually 
 a very hard water either for culinary or dietetic purposes ; the presence, how 
 ever, of a fair amount of these saline impurities — the occurrence of which 
 constitutes "hardness" — rather increases than impairs the value of water as 
 a beverage Tliere are, though, it should never be forgotten, certain other 
 impurities sometimes found hi water which render it quite unfit for use, and 
 which have, indeed, been the cause of much disease and suffering, when 
 water containing them has been used for dietetic purposes. Spring water 
 is best adapted for drink when it is soft, although it is often oppressive 
 to weak stomachs. It often proves injurious to domestic animals when they 
 are confined to it, and is particularly disliked by horses. 
 
 Water-Cure or Hydropathy. — Water has been used in the treatment of 
 disease from very early times. By the Priessnitz system water alone is used 
 as a cure for nearly all diseases. Among the processes of hydropathy are 
 the Sitz bath, the douche, the shower bath, and cold water compresses. For 
 the beneficial application of water treatment in various diseases, the reader 
 is referred to the ensuing pages. 
 
 Water a Powerful Absorbent. — Few persons know how certainly and 
 rapidly water imbibes the impurities of the air. Many of us think if the 
 water be clear and cold it must be perfectly pure, though it has stood in a 
 close bedroom twenty-four hours ; but this is far from true. If a pitcher of 
 water be set in a room for only a few hours it will absorb nearly all the re- 
 spired and perspired gases in the room, the air of which will have become 
 purer, but the water utterly filthy. The colder tlie water is, the greater the 
 capacity to contain these gases. At ordinary temperatures, a pail of watei 
 can contain a great amount of ammonia and cai^bonic-acid gas ; and its capac- 
 ity to absorb these gases is nearly doubled by reducing the water to a tem- 
 perature of ice. 
 
 Caution Concerning Standing Water. — The inference is, therefore, plain 
 and irresistible that water kept in a room over night is totally unfit for drink- 
 ing purposes, and should not be used to gargle in the throat ; also, that a 
 large pail of water standing in a room would help to purify the atmospheret 
 but should be thrown away the next morning ; it also teaches us the reason 
 that the water from a pump should always be pumped out in the morning be- 
 fore any is v.sed. 
 
 Distilled Water.— Absolutely pure water is only to be obtained by distil 
 
102 HoM'Si ^NB JlEALiH. 
 
 laticn. It is then so insipid that we are unable to drink it, because it doee 
 not contain the solid matter we are accustomed to drink. 
 
 Do Lead Pipes Poison the Water ? — So general is the impression that 
 water becomes impregnated with the poison by standing in lead pipes and 
 metallic lined water pitchers that many writers on hygiene recommend that 
 lead pipes should be avoided when possible ; and then when used the water 
 sl.ould " run awhile before using." This precaution can do no harm, and yet 
 t) e question whether wa ter is poisoned by flowing through lead pipes was 
 lately discussed in the French Academy of Sciences, with results that are 
 calculated to quiet the apprehensions of those who get their water supply 
 through such pipes. M. Dumas stated that in his chemical lectures he had 
 long been accustomed to employ a very simple experiment for the purpose of 
 showing that water corrodes lead only under special conditions. He takes 
 distilled water, rain water, spring water, river water, etc., and drops into each 
 a piece of lead. It is found that only the distilled water acts on the lead, the 
 salts of lime in the rest of the specimens preventing the reaction. M. Bel- 
 grand read to the Academy a memoir giving the results of his investigations 
 into this subject. The ancient Romans employed lead water pipes on a large 
 scale, but yet no Latin medical writer says any thing of lead poisoning pro- 
 duced by the water. According to M. Belgrand, one sixth of a grain of cal- 
 careous salts to the quart prevents the dissolution of the lead. He exhibited 
 to the Academy pieces of lead pipes which had been in service from the time 
 of Louis XIV., without showing any sign of corrosion ; and analysis of water 
 that had passed through a long line of lead pipes showed the complete ab- 
 sence of lead. 
 
 ICE WATER AND HEALTH. 
 
 Ice Water Hinders Digestion. — Cold water is a less rapid solvent than 
 warm water, aa cold air is a better preservative than warm air. So ice water 
 taken into the stomach chills the coats and contents of that organ, and thus 
 suddenly checks and hinders the digestion of the food. 
 
 Iced Drinks Affecting the Head. — An intelligent and influential medical 
 journal says very sensibly, " Drinks should be sipped, not gulped," and adds : 
 " The intimate connection between stomach and brain is known to every body, 
 and it must be obvious that to pour an iced draught into the stomach must at 
 once send the blood to the head. Very few who have indulged in the rapid 
 drinking of these beverages have failed to notice that a sudden pain in the 
 head was the result. It may have been a sharp shoot, or a mere feeling of 
 dullness, and it may have passed off in a moment, but it was at least incipi- 
 ent congestion of the brain." 
 
lee Water cmd Health. 103 
 
 Other Evils of Iced Drinks. — Another eminent hygienic authority urges 
 that "no well man has any business to eat ices or drink iced liquids in anj 
 shape or form, if he wants to preserve his teeth, protect the tone of his stom- 
 ach, and guard against sudden inflammations and prolonged dyspepsia. It is 
 enough to make one shudder to see a beautiful young girl sipping scalding 
 coffee or tea at the beginning of a meal, and then close it with a glass of ice- 
 water ; for at thirty she must either be snaggle-toothed, or wear those of the 
 dead or artificial." 
 
 A Suggestive Caution about Ice. — Dr. W. W. Hall, in one of his Health 
 Tracts, has these suggestive words: "If the reader is down town or away 
 from home on a hot day, and feels as if it would be perfectly delicious to 
 have a glass of lemonade, soda-water, or brandy toddy, by all means let hira 
 resist the temptation until he gets home, and then take a glass of cool water, 
 a swallow at a time, with a second or two interval between each swallow. 
 Several noteworthy results will most assuredly follow. 
 
 "After it is all over, you will feel quite as well from a drink of water as if 
 you had enjoyed a free swig of either of the others. 
 
 " In ten minutes after you will feel a great deal better. 
 
 " You will not have been poisoned by the lead or copper which is most often 
 found in soda-water. 
 
 " You will be richer by six cents, which will be the interest on a dollar for a 
 whole year ! 
 
 " You will not have fallen down dead from the sudden chills which some- 
 times result from drinking soda, iced water, or toddy in a hurry." 
 
 How to Cool Drinking Water without Ice. — Fresh spring or well water 
 is abundantly cool for any drinking purpose whatever. In cities where wa- 
 ter is artificially supplied, the case is somewhat different; but even» then 
 there is no good excuse for drinking ice-water, because, even if the excuse 
 were good in itself, the effects on the stomach and teeth are the same. 
 
 Make a bag of thick woolen doubled, lined with muslin ; fill it with ice ; 
 have in a pitcher an inch or two of water above the faucet, and let this bag 
 of ice be suspended from the cover within two inches of the surface of iie 
 water. The ice will melt slowly and keep the water delightfully cool, but not 
 ice cold. A still better effect will be produced if the pitcher is also well en 
 veloped in woolen. Again, water almost as cool as it can be, unless it has ice 
 actually in it, may be had without any ice at all by enveloping a closed pitcher 
 partly filled with water with several folds of cotton, linen, or bagging, and so ar- 
 ranging it that these folds are kept wet all the time by water dripping from 
 another vessel, on the principle of evaporation. 
 
 Water which is not iced may be drank freely throughout the meal, as tb« 
 natural thirst demands. 
 
104 Home ajs^d Health. 
 
 SUMMER BEVERAGES. 
 
 Avoid all Alcoholic Drink. — Any diink which contains alcohol, (eveu 
 cider, beer, and domestic cordials,) is not only not harmless, but positively 
 injurious, because a single atom of alcohol, by using the strength of the 
 present, leaves the system just that much weaker than it would have been li«d 
 not that atom of alcohol been taken. The atom of alcohol has not one par- 
 ticle of nutriment, and hence cannot supply the system with one atom of 
 strength. See chapter on " Alcoholic Drinks." 
 
 Good Cool Water. — The first and the best, because the safest, drink for 
 laborers, invalids, the sedentary, for all times of the day and night, is half a 
 glass at a time, repeated in ten minutes, if desired, of common water. As al- 
 ready indicated in the chapter on " AVater," it should not be used too cold, 
 nor in large quantities at a time. All the water taken into the stomach must 
 pass away. If it be in excessive quantities, the strain upon the system will 
 be too great. The skin, the kidneys, bowels, lungs, all are drawn upon. The 
 result is, as may be naturally expected, exhaustion. For this reason, the man 
 who drinks much water, particularly during the summer, and in the hottest 
 weather, is less able to endure fatigue. The excess of water is of no benefit 
 to him. A safe rule is to drink only a little at a time. 
 
 To Allay Thirst Without Drinking. — Cold water apphed to the head 
 ifl very refreshing to harvesters. Wading in water abates thirst. Persons 
 cast away at sea will suffer less from thirst if the clothing is kept wringing 
 wet with salt water. A piece of silk fitted in the hat at an equal distance 
 from the hair and top of the hat is a great protection to the head against sun 
 heat ; it is an absolute protection if one side is well covered with gold leaf. 
 As there is always a space between the top of the head and the crown of the 
 hat, hatters should utilize this idea. 
 
 The Best Kind of Water. — According to Dr. Gautier, the best drinking 
 water should be destitute of any particular taste, and must be positively re- 
 jected should it contain any odor whatever. Its temperature should be com- 
 prised between forty-two degrees and sixty degrees Fahrenbeit. As the water 
 introduces not only oxygen and hydrogen into the system in the proportions 
 necessary to form water, but also such mineral substances, in solution, as are 
 indispensable to life, it will be readily understood that absolutely pure water 
 is not suited for the sustenance of life. There must, however, be a limit to 
 the quantity of such foreign ingredients, under the penalty of injury to 
 health. 
 
 Lemonade and Lemons. — Lemonade is a simple and grateful beverage. 
 To make it " best," roll the lemons on something hard till they become soft ; 
 cut or grate off the rinds, cut the lemons in slices, and squeeze them in a 
 
Summer Beverages. 105 
 
 pitcher, (a new clothes-pin will answer for a squeezer in lieu of something 
 better ;) pour on the required quantity of water, and sweeten according to taste. 
 After mixing thorou^ily, set the pitcher aside for half an hour, then strain 
 the liquor through a jelly strainer, and put in the ice. Do not drink lemon- 
 ade if your physician tells you there is an excess of acid in your system. 
 
 Lemon Sugar for Travelers. — Travelers who find it inconvenient to use 
 lemons can carry a box of lemon sugar, prepared from citric acid and sugar, 
 a little of which in a glass of water will furnish quite a refreshing drink, and 
 one that will help oftentimes to avert sick-headache and biliousness. Citric 
 acid is obtained from the juice of lemons and limes.* 
 
 Lemons for Excessive Thirst. — When persons are feverish and thirsty 
 beyond what is natural, indicated in some cases by a metallic taste in the 
 mouth, especially after drinking water, or by a whitish appearance of the 
 greater part of the surface of the tongue, one of the best " coolers," inter- 
 nal or external, is to take a lemon, cut off the top, sprinkle over it some 
 loaf sugar, working it downward into the lemon with the spoon, and then 
 suck it slowly, squeezing the lemon, and adding more sugar as the acidity in- 
 creases from being brought up from a lower point. 
 
 Lemons for Invalids. — Invalids with feverishness may take two or three 
 lemons a day in this manner, with the most marked benefit, manifested by a 
 sense of coolness, comfort, and invigoration. 
 
 Lemons at " Tea-time." — A lemon or two thus taken at " tea-time," as 
 an entire substitute for the ordinary " supper " of summer, would give many 
 a man a comfortable night's sleep and an awakening of rest and invigora- 
 tion, with an appetite for breakfast, to which they are strangers who will 
 have their cup of tea or supper of " relish " or " cake " and berries or 
 peaches and cream, f 
 
 Organic Matter in Drinking Water. — The presence of organic matter 
 in waters has been considered one of the principal causes of any injurious 
 
 * While traveling recently, says Dr. A. N. Bell in the Sanitarian, our attention was in- 
 conveniently called one morning to empty water tanks. But there were others, children 
 especially, who, on crawling out of the sleeping bunks, were in want of water more than we 
 were — to drink. It was long, however, before the cars halted, and the tanks were filled 
 from a road-side stream. Of this the thirsty drank. We ventured to suggest to the porter 
 that possibly this water was not wholesome. But the suggestion that "water as clear as 
 that" was not clean, to him was absurd. The same suggestion to the conductor was equally 
 Incomprehensible. It is just such water that collects and holds in soluticn the poison of 
 typhoid fever, which summer travelers so often take home with them. 
 
 t The lemon thus eaten was the great physical solace of General Jackson in his last ill- 
 ness, which was consumption combined with dropsy. Itloosenec' the cough, and relieved 
 him of much of that annoying hacking and hemming which attends diseases of the throat 
 and lungs, being many times more efficient, speedy, and safe than any lozenge or " trocho" 
 ever swallowed. 
 
106 Home and Heai^th. 
 
 qualities they may possess ; to their presence being attributed the develop- 
 ment of such diseases as diarrhoea, dysentery, intermittent fever, typhoid 
 fever, etc. Of these ingredients, carbonate of lime is the most common, 
 and of this there may be, without inconvenience, 10-100 to 20-100 of a 
 gramme to the litre. An appreciable percentage of phosphate of lime ren- 
 ders the water unfit for domestic and industrial uses ; and for general pur- 
 poses there should not be a greater percentage than 2-100 to 5-100 of a 
 gramme to the litre. Small percentages of the chlorides generally affect 
 water disadvantageously for drinking purposes. The maximum, however, 
 should be 8-100 to 10-100 of a gramme to the litre. 
 
 Various Drinks. — If any thing is added to the summer drink it should 
 contain some nutriment, so as to strengthen the body as well as to dilute the 
 blood for the purpose of a more easy flow through the system ; as any one 
 knows that the thinner a fluid is the more easily does it flow. Some of the 
 nutritious and safe drinks are given below, especially for those who work in 
 the sun of summer, all to be taken at the natural temperature of the shad- 
 iest spot in the locality. To any of them ice may be added, but it is a 
 luxurious, not a beneficial, ingredient nor a safe one. 
 
 1. Buttermilk. 
 
 2. A pint of molasses to a gallon of water. 
 
 8. A lemon to half a gallon of water and a teacupful of molasses, or as 
 much sugar. 
 
 4. Vinegar, sugar, and water are substitutes, but the vinegar is not a nat- 
 ural acid, contains free alcohol, hence is not as safe or healthful. 
 
 5. A thin gruel made of corn or oats, drank warm, is strengthening. 
 
 6. A pint of grapes, currants, or garden-berries to half a gallon of wat€ " 
 is agreeable. 
 
 Orangeade Medically Prescribed. — Dr. Walter Lewis, in describing 
 tlie precautions against cholera adopted at the General Post-office, in Lon- 
 don, Eng., says : " The men employed in sorting letters and newspapers 
 suffer much from thirst, especially in the hot weather, and consequently 
 drink much water while engaged in their duties. Although the post-office is 
 supplied with excellent water, much diarrhoea was, nevertheless, the result 
 of this practice. To remedy this, the officers, clerks, and men of all classes, 
 have of late been supplied from the medical department with a most agree- 
 able drink, which not only assuages the thirst, but has, moreover, strong 
 antiseptic and anti-diarrhoea properties. It is called orangeade, and is thus 
 composed: Take of dilute sulphuric acid, concentrated infusion of orange 
 peel, each twelve drams ; syrup of orange peel, five fluid ounces. This quan- 
 tity is added to two imperial gallons of water, A large wine-glassful is 
 taken for a draught, mixed with more or less water, according to taste. The 
 
Summer Beverages. , 107 
 
 officers drink this with pleasure. It is being consumed in large quantities 
 daily, and I am convinced it will be the means of warding off a great deal of 
 sickness." 
 
 Ices and Ice-cream. — The growing use of ices, and the custom of taking 
 ice-water or other very cold drinks or food, as ice-cream, etc., cannot but 
 prove unfavorable to health, especially when one has low vital power, with 
 insufficient power of the stomach to react and restore the degree of heat act- 
 ually demanded that digestion may proceed naturally. Digestion is ai rested 
 as soon as the temperature of the stomach falls below about 90 degrees 
 Fah., and when cold drinks are taken by the weak, at least some consider- 
 able time must elapse before it is restored ; in some instances hours, at- 
 tended by great waste of power, and a derangement of the stomach. Cold 
 drinks also excite and inflame the throat, causing an artificial thirst, never 
 satisfied by such drinks, to say nothing of the danger of contracting colds by 
 this unnatural chilling of the stomach, often followed by bowel derange- 
 ments, inflammation of the stomach, and by still worse ailments. 
 
 TEA AND COFFEE AND HEALTH. 
 
 How Tea is Grown. — The tea-plant is a native of China, and resembles 
 the low whortleberry bush in many respects. The Chinese raise it very much 
 as we raise corn — three to five plants in a hill, raised from the seed. The 
 plants are not allowed to grow more than one and a half feet high. Only the 
 medium-sized leaves are picked, the largest being left to favor the growth of 
 the plant. The picking occurs (1) in April, of the young and tender leaves; 
 ^2) about the first of May, of the full-sized leaves ; and (3) about the middle 
 of July, the last making an inferior quality of tea. 
 
 Preparation of Tea for Market. — Tea leaves are first wilted in the 
 sun, then trodden in baskets by barefooted men to break the stems, next 
 rolled by the hands into a spiral shape, then left in a heap to heat again, and 
 finally dried for the market. This constitutes black tea, the frequent expos 
 ure to the air and to heat giving it its dark color. 
 
 For green tea the leaves, instead of being first exposed to the air, are fiied 
 for a short time as soon as gathered, then rolled and quickly dried ovei' a fiie. 
 
 The green tea of commerce is artificially colored with tumeric powder and 
 a mixture of gypsum and Prussian blue, the latter in very minute proportions. 
 
 Canton teas are usually scented by the infusion of the blossoms of certain 
 aromatic plants. 
 
 In this country damaged teas and the " grounds " left at hotels are re- 
 rolled, highly colored, packed in old tea-chests, and sent out as new teas. 
 
108 Home and Health. 
 
 Certain varieties of black tea, even, receive a coating of black lead to 
 make them shiny.* 
 
 The Chinese always dr'nk black tea, using no milk or sugar, and prepare 
 it, not by steeping, but by pouring hot water on the tea, and allowing it to 
 stand for a few moments. 
 
 The Tea Plant in Respect of Quality. — The tea plant will bear a 
 wide range of climatic variation without serious deterioration. The richness 
 of the soil ani the mode of cultivation exercise a paramount influence on 
 the quality of the tea. In this respect the tea-plant is like the tobacco- 
 plant or the mulberry-tree. 
 
 The youngest leaves give the best tea ; hence the high price of choice 
 teas, for to produce any considerable weight of young leaves a great number 
 of plants are required, while the same weight of old or full-grown leaves is 
 produced by a comparatively small number of plants. The age of tea leaves 
 may be ascertained by a chemical examination of the ash left on burning 
 them. As the leaves grow they lose in potash and phosphoric acid, both abso- 
 lutely and relatively, and gain in lime and silica. Examinations made at 
 periods of fourteen days asunder exhibit these phenomena with sufficieot 
 distinctness. In the practical examination of teas there is a very valua'jle 
 and simple rule : Much potash and phosphoric acid, together with little limr and 
 silica, means good tea, and the reverse poor tea.\ 
 
 Tea and Digestion. — Tea possesses an active principle called theine. It 
 contains tannin, which, if the tea is strong, coagulates the albumen of the 
 food — actually tans it — and thus delays digestion. 
 
 Tea-Drinking and Sick-Headache; An Illustration. — The import- 
 ance of the question involved in this caption leads us to insert here — though 
 in a re-arranged form — the history of a case, reported originally by R. B. 
 Gregg, for the Homeopathic Quarterly Revieiv, and later printed by permis- 
 
 * A splendid specimen of tea, grown in the Himalayas, was chemically examined by 
 ZoUer, and the following results obtained. In 100 parts of the tea there were 4.95 parts of 
 moisture, and 5.63 parts of ash. The ash contained in 100 parts, showed the following in- 
 gredients : 
 
 Potash 39.22 
 
 8oda 0.65 
 
 Magnesia 6.47 
 
 Lime 4 24 
 
 O.xide of iron 4.38 
 
 Protoxide of manganese 1 (»3 
 
 Phosphoric acid 14.55 
 
 t " Oolon g " — A variety of black tea, possessing the flavor of green tea, 
 "^Hufion " — A. fragrant species of green tea. 
 
 " Onn pored er" — A species of green tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a small ball or 
 lellet 
 '^ Hoiichong'" — A kind of black tea. 
 
 Sulphuric acid trace. 
 
 Chlorine 3.S1 
 
 Silica 4.35 
 
 Carbonic acid 24.30 
 
 Total 100.00 
 
Tea and Coffee and Health. 109 
 
 sion in a health magazine edited by one of the compilers of the present vol- 
 ume. The entire case is presented in the language of the writer — a compe- 
 tent witness. 
 
 The Doctrine Stated. — The writer says: "From considerable observa- 
 tion I have come to view tea as a more prolific cause of that terrible suffer- 
 ing, so aptly described by the phrase sick-headache, than any other one thing, 
 if it is not the cause of more cases of this disease than all else betides ; an i 
 I will give examples which seem to confirm this view m >st positively. 
 
 A Home Case. — "The first of these, and one of the cleaiest and most 
 positive in its evidence, occurred in my own family, and although it may be 
 regarded by some as a violation of propriety in such matters to so definitely 
 designate the patient, still the case seems of too much importance, too clear 
 in its proof, to allow any alternative, or tolerate, in short, any doubt to ari:>e 
 as to its genuineness by withholding the name. Besides, it will readily be 
 seen that a physician could hardly become so familiar with all the details of 
 a case, and remain so for so long a time, outside of his own household. 
 
 Was the Case Hereditary ? — " My wife was several years a victim to 
 frequent and most terrible paroxysms of sick-headache. She commenced 
 suffering from it in the twenty-fourth year of her age, soon after the birth of 
 our first child. Her father, mother, and grandmother upon the mother's 
 side, were also all great sufferers from the same — the grandmother till she 
 died, the father and mother are so still. From this fact I attributed its ap- 
 pearance in my wife's case to a strong hereditary predisposition, developed 
 into activity by the change her system had recently passed through, and so 
 regarded it for four or five years. And believing, as I do, that inherited dis- 
 eases ought to be cured so long as they remain functional, or before any real 
 organic changes have taken place in them, I gave my attention to the 
 means of cure, without regarding the cause beyond what has just been men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Failure of Remedies. — " In regard to curing, however, I was doomed to 
 disappointment, for not the slightest curative action was established in her 
 case. During the first throe or four years medicines frequently mitigated the 
 severity of the paroxysm, but these would recur just as often ; in fact they 
 increased in frequency from year to year,*tintil they occurred commonly every 
 week, and became so A'iolent that nothing afforded any relief ; and then she 
 used to say that, in addition to the frequent paroxysmal attacks, she did not 
 pass a minute at any time, when awake, without more or less pain in the 
 head. Under this state of things other and more serious symptoms began 
 also to manifest themselves, which appeared as though they must sooner or 
 later lead to paralysis, if they were not arrested. 
 
110 Home and Health. 
 
 More Careful Investigation. — " Medical aid having now, for so long a 
 time, completely failed to do what it certainly seemed that it ought, and what 
 results in the treatment of other maladies would lead us to expect, I began 
 more seriously to consider the cause of her trouble, to see U this was not in 
 part, at least, to be found in some daily habits of living, instead of its all 
 being hereditary ; or if not this, then to see if there ^vas not something m 
 those habits which was continuously acting in a manner to pre rent medicines 
 from developing their curative effects. 
 
 The True Cause Suspected. — "I then recalled the facts, that she had 
 never drank tea until aft§r she was married; that she had drank it, in- 
 variably, three times a day from that time — she was not in the habit of 
 drinking coffee ; that she never had a sick headache until some three years 
 after commencing the use of tea ; and that she never went without it one 
 meal after the headaches began to trouble her but she was szire to have one 
 of her most severe paroxysms. From this last fact, and the more I reflected 
 upon it, the more confident I became that the tea had something, at least, to 
 do either in causing or aggravating her disease. 
 
 The Usual Answer. — " Upon this conviction becoming more fully im- 
 pressed upon my mind, I urged her to leave off drinking tea entirely, and 
 substitute cold water for it. This, however, she thought both very unpleasant 
 and difficult to do. So time passed on for a year or two longer, and with it an 
 increase of suffering, until it became still more clear that something must 
 be done, or very serious consequences in the way of paralysis, or some kin- 
 dred disease, would certainly ensue. 
 
 First Efforts for Relief. — " She then abstained from her tea entirely. 
 I told her she would no doubt suffer severely for a few days, as this ap- 
 peared unavoidable, from the fact that she always experienced such increased 
 severity of pain from going without it one meal ; and we were not disap- 
 pointed. For nine or ten days her sufferings were continuous, and about 
 half of this time they were terrible. On the fourth day the pain in the head 
 was 80 extreme it seemed that congestion and inflammation of the brain 
 must result, if it continued. She was writhing in agony the most of that 
 day, entirely unable to sit up, yet found it almost impossible to lie down, 
 therefore was constantly changing her position in bed, to find a Httle relief 
 After this worst day, however, the intensity of the pain subsided in a 
 measure, though she still suffered, much of the time greatly, until the tenth 
 day, when all the acute pain ceased, but the whole head, both internally and 
 externally, was left very sore. 
 
 Relief at Last. — " The soreness continued a week or more, when that, 
 too, passed off, giving place to a very weak fe<jling through the head, of some 
 days' duration ; and then she went along s< me three weeks before another 
 
Tea cmd Coffee omd Health, 111 
 
 attack of headache, longer than she had gone before in two or three years, 
 and this was much lighter, and of shorter duration, than former paroxysms. 
 After this she went six or seven weeks before another attack, and this was 
 still lighter, and soon passed over entirely, leaving the head more free from 
 all symfttoms than it had been for years. Following this she had no more 
 trouble until the succeeding December, about six months from the last par- 
 oxysm, above mentioned. 
 
 Relapse and Recovery. — " At that time our little daughter had scarlet 
 fever, and my wife seemed to contract diphtheria from it. At least, she had a 
 severe attack of this disease, as did very many other adults in this city, that 
 winter, in families where children had the scarlatina. This left her throat so 
 sensitive for a short time that she could not drink cold water, but drank tea 
 three or four days, when she was seized with another severe paroxysm of 
 sick-headache. Then she abstained from it the second time, and from that 
 day to the present, nearly three years, she had had but little distress of any 
 kind from the head, until during a short illness last February, when she 
 drank tea again, for a week or ten days, and in that time it commenced de- 
 veloping all the old symptoms. Upon this she wholly abandoned the idea of 
 ever again using it, convinced that it is one of those agents that her system 
 will not tolerate. 
 
 Was the Case " Peculiar ?" — ** Now, all this might, with some plausi- 
 bility, be said to be the result of a very unusual peculiarity of constitution, 
 a highly-marked idiosyncrasy, and, therefore, not important in its bearing 
 upon other cases. But let us consider this point. Fortified with the facts 
 that this case furnished me, I have advised all patients consulting me the 
 last two years, for sick-headache, to abandon at once and wholly the use of 
 tea, of any and all kinds. It has been difficult, though, to induce any to do 
 so, the hold which habit had upon them being so strong, and utterly im- 
 possible to persuade others to make the sacrifice. 
 
 A Remarkable Test. — " Of the few who have complied with my request 
 there were three men past middle age, and otherwise tolerably healthy, but 
 who were among those the worst afflicted with this malady of any that I have 
 ev er met. One of these was upward of sixty years of age, and had suffered 
 his entire lifetime, or from his earliest recollection, with sick-headache, fre- 
 quently as often as every week, and sometimes for two days at a time. I 
 pi-escribed for him several times, but with no other result than to partially 
 relieve the seventy of the attacks — did not break in at all upon the fre- 
 quency of their recurrence— so finally prevailed upon him, two years ago 
 last spring, to abstain from the use of tea. 
 
 As he lived out of the city I never learned the result until three or four 
 months since, when I one day met him upon the street, and he remarked, 
 
112 Home and Health. 
 
 * Well, doctor, I got rid of my sick-headaches by stopping tea.' He further 
 said that his pain was much greater than common for a few days after leaving 
 it off. h\. t he then went much longer than usual before another attack, which 
 was also less severe, and after two or three such recurrences, each at longer 
 intervals and in less violence, they disappeared entirely. And that of late 
 he had tried to use tea again, but even when taken very weak it brought on 
 many of ihe former symptoms. 
 
 A Second Remarkable Test. — "Another of the three cases was thai 
 of a man aged about fifty years. He had been afflicted some thirty yearf 
 or o\ er, or from his early manhood, with sick-headache. For some two years 
 or more I was called to him repeatedly for attacks of this disease, and in 
 several instances had to attend him two and three days before the symptoms 
 would yield. His distress at such times was really terrible. No other ex- 
 pression would at all adequately describe it. He would sometimes go two 
 and even three days without sleep, and all the time under apparently as ex- 
 treme pain as a man could endure and retain his consciousness. Indeed, 
 during two or three of these attacks he did become very delirious. And 
 finally, also, he began to show marked symptoms of paralysis, his extremities 
 becoming numb, and in several instances losing the use of his legs in a great 
 measure, during the severity of the paroxysm. I had urged him repeatedly 
 to leave off the use of tea, and finally about a year since, during one of the 
 worst attacks he had ever had, I told him there was no need of all this, and 
 no sense in his refusing longer to abandofi what I believed to be the cause of 
 it all ; and that there was not a doubt in my mind that his legs would be 
 paralyzed in another year if he continued it. He stopped the tea then in 
 the midst of that attack, had but one or two light returns of it afterward, 
 passed the winter free from them, and left here for the West this last spring, 
 saying he had not been so well in years. 
 
 A Third Remarkable Test. — " The third and last of these three cases 
 was that of a man aged from forty-five to fifty years. He, too, was a great 
 and frequent sufferer from the disease under consideration, and had been for 
 many years, though the duration of the paroxysms was seldom, if ever, so 
 long as in either of the other cases ; and he found relief just the same in 
 abandoniig tea. 
 
 Relief for Most Headache Sufferers. — "Now, then, in view of these 
 cases, is it not important that all who suffer from sick-headache should be 
 warned against drinking tea ? It should be understood, however, that the 
 claim is not made that all such cases are canned by this agent, for I well know 
 the contrary to be true, having met with a few persons who suffered from it 
 that never drank tea. But from the two or three years observation, since my 
 mind was more especially called to the subject, I have no hesitation iu declar- 
 
Tea and Coffee and Health. 113 
 
 mg my belief tluit a large proportion, if not, indeed, a large majority, of those 
 afflicted with this disease who do drink tea, will find great, and many entire, 
 relief from abandoning at once and wholly the use of this beverage. 
 
 The Kinds of Tea Used — '* With regard to the kinds of tea, there seems 
 to be no particular difference in their effects upon the nervous sjsten; in the 
 oases given, so that the drinkers of black teas can claim no advantages in this, 
 as is done h. other respects, over those who use the green teas, jiovvice versa 
 The relief was just as prompt in abandoning the one as the other My wift 
 never drank any other than black tea, and always used it weak. The first 
 one of the three other cases reported drank black tea also, but stioag; the 
 next one used both black and green strong ; while the third, or last, generally 
 drank green tea very strong. Neither did it appear to make any diff,»rence 
 in regard to temperaments with these cases, one of the four having black hair 
 and black eyes, another dark brown hair and hazel eyes, another sandy hair and 
 blue eyes, and the fourth more of a flaxen hair, and very light blue eyes. 
 
 Other Suspected Bad Effects of Tea. — " The possible effects of tea in 
 producing other and more serious diseased conditions than we have been con- 
 sidering should not be overlooked. ... It will have been seen that in two of 
 the cases reported there were marked indications of paralysis, and there were 
 certainly reasons to fear that it might become permanent in both. Then, 
 when we reflect that this disease is so alarmingly on the increase — that, con- 
 trary to what used to be the case, so many young or youngish persons are 
 becoming paralyzed — it is of the utmost importance to investigate its causes, 
 and see if tea may not be one of them in some of these cases. Delirium, 
 too, is not an uncommon attendant upon the severer paroxysms of sick-head- 
 ache, and may not this possibly afford a clue to the cause of a few, at least, 
 of the rapidly-increasing numbers of cases of insanity throughout the civil- 
 ized world ? " 
 
 Tea a Powerful Excitant. — It is not asserted that tea does operate as 
 a cause of such troubles, for there is no positive proof of it as yet. We all 
 know that this article is a powerful excitant of the nervous system, and from 
 this fact alone is as liable to produce insanity as many other agents which af- 
 fect the brain. 
 
 Tea a Powerful Astringent. — Again, the known astringent properties 
 of tea would seem as though they must make it a cause of chronic constipa- 
 tion with many who drink it. 
 
 How to Test Each Case Properly. — As for hoping to cwri sick-head- 
 ache by medical treatment, when tea-drinking is the cause of it, and this is 
 continued, it is utterly useless to waste time in the endeavor, and the height 
 of absurdity to expect to produce such a result. No disease was ever yet 
 really cured, wl ere, through the ignorance or perverseness of the patient, the 
 8 
 
ll-t Home and Health. 
 
 cause of it was constantly or frequently renewed. It is not possible that it 
 should be done ; therefore let the physician do his duty in all such cases, and 
 raise the warning voice ; then place the responsibility where it properly be- 
 longs, if his advice is not heeded. 
 
 How to " Stop " Drinking Tea. — If patients are advised to break off 
 " gradually," the gradual is seldom reached, and when it is, they see no im 
 provement for so long a time — from the fact that the weaker article is sufficient 
 tc keep the symptoms active after the resisting power of the nervous system 
 has once been broken down — that they will almost always abandon the eff jrt, 
 and stoutly maintain that tea has nothing to do with it. Besides, all the ben- 
 efits of the powerful reaction accruing from the sudden stoppage are lost, and 
 the patient will drag along for months, if not years, to reach that exemption 
 from the effects that those stopping suddenly will get in a few days, or at 
 most in a few weeks. When any thing is actually causing suffering, how ab- 
 surd to continue it in less strength, hoping that thereby we can compromise 
 with Nature and stop her protests ! 
 
 The Old Cry Stated. — But the old mistaken logic often comes to the 
 physician, thus : "Why, doctor, when I have the headache nothing gives me 
 so much relief as a good strong cup of tea." This is the best evidence that 
 it injures them. It is only the temporary relief afforded by a more powerful 
 re-stimulation, while the next paroxysm must come so much the sooner, or in 
 greater severity, as a result of the renewed attack upon the nervous forces. 
 In fact, though not so disreputable, it is only the old cry of the inebriate in 
 his cravings : " Give me my drinks, they are all that relieve me." 
 
 How Tea was Banished from a Minister's Table. — Rev. Dr. X., t 
 
 well-known minister, furnished us the following record of his experience oi 
 the tea question : Over twenty-five years ago I was in feeble health. Ont 
 day I visited an able physician, stated my case, and requested his counsel as 
 to the most suitable treatment. He responded, "Let us first determine, if 
 possible, the cause of your imperfect health : do you use tea ! " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " I thought so," said the doctor. 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 " Your countenance and your general physical symptoms told me the story.'' 
 
 " Then you really think the drinking of tea is hurtful ? " I inquired with 
 some emphasis. 
 
 " Often," carefully and considerately responded the doctor, adding, " It 
 certainly harms you." 
 
 I shall never forget the unpleasant surprise I felt at his opinion. I had nr. 
 confidence in its correctness, and left him with a feeling akin to contempt for 
 his judgment — not doubting, however, his sincerity. Soon after, I met an 
 
Tea and Coffee am^d Health. 115 
 
 other physician, of much larger experience, and of wider renown, espeeiaily 
 as to his knowledge of the pathology of disease. I asked his opinion. 
 
 "I would advise you to abstain from the use of tea," was his very first 
 word of counsel. 
 
 " But, doctor, how do you know I use it ? " 
 
 " The symptoms betray you ; I suppose they give correct witness ! " 
 
 I was nonplused again. After leaving the doctor, I considered the whole 
 question, and by the time I had reached the parsonage I had nearly deter 
 mined to test, by the most careful personal experience, the correctness of the 
 unexpected and doubtful professional opinion which had now been repeated. 
 My wife suggested that in a matter of so much importance as health, it would 
 be " better to err on the safe side ; " the omission could " do no harm." The 
 thing was settled — tea was banished from the table, except when guests were 
 present, and then it was only used by them. My general health began to im- 
 prove, and in less than three months the whole tone of my nervous system 
 became so transformed for the better as to be a matter of special notice anil 
 congratulation on the part of my friends. From that day to this neither my 
 wife nor myself have used tea of any kind as a beverage. We occasionally 
 sip it in " homeopathic doses " when abroad, so as not to excite remark, but 
 its use is only the record of twenty-five years ago. 
 
 Is Tea Good for Well People ? — Tea derives its beneficial qualities not 
 from its supply of n itrition, for it supplies none, but from its affording 
 theine, the effect of which in the system is to diminish the waste, thus 
 making less food necessary at the time tea is taken. Whether such effect is 
 needed depends largely upon the previous habits of the drinker. Its stimu- 
 lus is peculiarly grateful to the aged who have been accustomed to drink it, 
 Our advice to all, however, is never to drink strong tea^ except as a medicine, 
 and under the advice of a competent and reliable physician. Unless a stim- 
 ulus is required, some other warm drink, as " wheat-tea," " corn-tea," or 
 " rice-tea," etc., with the milk and sugar added, is always to be preferred. 
 The latter are much relished by those who are accustomed to use them. * 
 
 Coffee as a Beverage.— Coffee, though of a taste little allied to tea, de- 
 
 * It is an incontrovertible physiological fact, says Dr. Hall, that any artificial stimulus 
 ■iontinued for a few days makes the system feel the want of it, instinctively lean upon it, 
 and look for it ; but this is not all ; the same amount of stimulation is demanded every 
 day ; but to create that amount, a larger and an increasing quantity of the stimulus be- 
 comes necessary, or it must be more frequently supplied. No habitual user of spirits, or o( 
 2ea and coflfee, can possibly deny this after ten years' practice. As proof, see how much 
 oftener they drink, or smoke, or chew than when they first entered on the miserable, use- 
 less, and degrading career of self-indulgence. The truth is, tliere is no safety except in ab- 
 solute refus* oven to taste a drop or chew an atom. He who takes one drop may die in 
 the gutter ; bo who has the high moral courage to refuse that first drop, that first atom, 
 never aan 1 
 
116 IToME AND Health. 
 
 rives its efficien/:-y in precisely the same manner and from nearly the sam* 
 substances. Its value and effects in the system are therefore the same em 
 those above stated. Yet it must be generally conceded that a free coffee 
 drinker will almost invariably complain oi oiliousness and present a cadav- 
 erous appearance. For woi'king people, as a rule, coffee will seldom pro- 
 duce this effect; but for all persons of sedentary habits, who take but 
 little exercise, coffee is not to be recommended. In the case of coffee, as iv, 
 that of tea, it should not be di'ank strong^ except as a medicine. As a rule, 
 coffee is less harmful than tea. 
 
 Substitutes for Coffee. — Chocolate is generally much more healthful 
 than coffee ; but care should be used to get it pure. Corn coffee, whciit 
 coffee, and the other kinds of coffee made from the use of tie r\><v6ted 
 cereals, are to be preferred, as in the case of tea.* 
 
 THE AIR WE BREATHE. 
 
 The Wonder of Breathing. — The perfection of the organs of respira- 
 tion excites our wonder. "The hand that formed them must have been di- 
 vine." So delicate are these organs, that the slightest pressure would cause 
 exquisite pain, yet tons of air surge back and forth through their intricate 
 passages, and bathe their innermost cells. Every year we perform seven mill- 
 ion acts of breathing, inhaling one hundred thousand cubic feet of air, and 
 purifying over three thousand five hundred tons of blood. This gigantic 
 process goes on constantly, and never wearies or worries us, and we only 
 wonder at it when science reveals to us its magnitude. In addition, by a wise 
 economy, the process of respiration is made to subserve a second use no less 
 important, and the air we exhale, passing through the organs of voice, is 
 transformed into prayers of faith, songs of thanksgiving and praise, and 
 words of love and social enjoyment. 
 
 Fresh Air Constantly Needed.f — None of the wants of the human 
 body are so constant and pressing as that of air. Other demands may be 
 met by occasional supplies, but the air must be furnished every moment oi 
 we sicken and die. 
 
 * " Children who drink tea and coffee," says Dr. Ferguson, of England, " as a rule, only 
 grow four pounds per annum between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, whils those who 
 Irink milk night and morning grow fifteen pounds each year. When lisoases are prev- 
 alent in the neighborhood children who use these drinks have less power to resist sickness 
 Ihan others. 
 
 t Mr. Louis Winters, a sculptor and mason at Stoke-Newington, England, describes an 
 interesting natural curiosity in his house. Some years ago he observed on the banks of 
 the Thmaes, at Kew, a small wasp's nest. This he carefully secured, after stupefying the 
 in-sects by the fumes of wetted gunpowder. Kemoving the nest, then about the size of an 
 ordinary apple, to his house, he placed it in a glass case inside the outer wall of the build- 
 
The Air We Breathe. IIY 
 
 What is Pure Air ? — The air we breathe is composed of nitrogen, oxy- 
 gen, carbonic acid, and watery vapor. The first forms four fifths, the second 
 one fifth, the third about y^\^^, and the last a variable amount. The nitro- 
 gen and oxygen form so large a part, that they are considered in ordinary cal- 
 culations to compose the whole atmosphere. In the animal world the oxy- 
 gen is the life-giving element, and carbonic acid the destroyer, while in the 
 vegetable world this order is exactly reversed. Thus, deprived of plants we 
 should soon exhaust the oxygen from the air, supply its place with carbonic 
 acid, and die ; while they, removed from us, would soon exhaust the carbonic 
 acid, and die as certainly. The nitrogen is of a negative character, and 
 neither supports life nor destroys it. Yet we cannot live without it, for the 
 oxygen would be too active, and our life would be excited to a pitch of which 
 we can scarcely dream, and would sweep through its feverish course in a few 
 days. The watery vapor supplies the animal and vegetable worlds with wa- 
 ter. Were the air perfectly dry, our flesh would become shriveled like a 
 mummy's, a ud leaves would wither as in an African simoom. Any thing that 
 chaiiges the proportion of these elements render air impure. 
 
 How Fresh Air Purifies the Blood. — In the delicate cells of the 
 lungs the air gives up its oxygen to the blood, and receives in turn carbonic 
 acid gas and water, foul with waste matter which the blood has picked up in 
 its circulation through the body. The blood thus purified and laden with the 
 inspiring oxygen, goes bounding through the system, while the air we exhale 
 carries off the impurities. In this process the blood changes from purple to 
 red, while if we examine our breath we can readily see what it has removed 
 from the blood.* 
 
 ing, through which he bored a small hole for ingress and egress, and carved the figure of a 
 beehive on the outside. The wasps took kindly to their new abode, especially as several 
 gardens and nurseries adjoin the house. They have subsequently increased wonderfully 
 in numbers, and have enlarged the nest until it is nearly a foot in diameter. It is calcu- 
 lated that the present number of wasps must be at least several thousands. The glass 
 case, which is usually covered and darkened, permits the unflagging diligence of the little 
 •irchitects to be closely watched. But the most interesting feature of the community 
 within is their persistent and systematic attention to ventilation. In this respect they ar« 
 (I model to human householders. During the recent hot weather from four to six wasps 
 were continually stationed at the hole of egress, and, while leaving space for entrance or 
 exit, created tt steady cu7'rent of /re^ih air by the exceedingly rapid motion of their 
 icings. After a long course of this vigorous exercise, the ventilators were relieved by 
 other wasps. During the cooler weather only two wasps at a time were usually thus en- 
 gaged. The utmost harmony and industry appeared to pervade this ftrauge and crowded 
 establishment of interesting but much maligned little creatures. 
 
 * Let those who wish to test this, breathe into a jar, then lower into it a lighted candle. 
 The flame will be extinguished iujmediately, thus showing the presence of carbonic acid gas. 
 Or breathe upon a mirror, and a film of moisture will show the vapor. If the breath is con* 
 fined in a bottle for a time, the animal matter will decompose, andgivooff an ofltensive snaell. 
 -Stkblb. 
 
118 13LOME AJSTD Health. 
 
 Our exhaled breath, therefore, is the air robbed of its vitality, and containiug 
 m its place a gas which is as fatal to life as it is to a flame, and effete mattei 
 which at the best is disagreeable to the smell, injurious to the health, and may 
 contain the germs of disease. Air containing only three or four per cent, of 
 carbonic acid gas acts as a narcotic poison, and a much smaller proportion 
 will have an injurious effect. Careful investigations show that air containing 
 more than six tentJis of one per cent, of carbonic acid in one thoiisand parts 
 9/ air, is really adverse to comfort, and obnoxious to health, the vitiated con- 
 dition increasing in proportion to the increase of the carbonic acid. 
 
 Capacity of the Lungs for Air. — There are in an average sized and 
 
 Avell -developed human body about six hundred millions of air cells, into which 
 the air passes in order to purify the blood. According to Hutchinson, a man 
 of medium height will expel at a single full breath about two hundred and 
 thirty cubic inches, or a gallon, and for each inch in height between five and 
 six feet, there will be an increase of eight cubic inches. In addition, it is 
 found that the lungs contain about one hundred cubic inches which cannot 
 be expelled, thus making their entire contents about three hundred and thirty 
 cubic inches, or eleven pints. The extra amount always on hand in the lungs 
 is of great value, since thereby the action of the air goes on continuously, 
 even during a violent expiration. 
 
 Amount of Air we Breathe. — A full sized man takes into his lungs at 
 each breath about a pint of air; while in there all the life-nutriment is ex- 
 tracted from it ; and on its being sent out of the body, it is so entirely desti- 
 tute of life-giving power, that if re-breathed into the lungs again without the 
 admixture of pure air, the individual would suffocate, would die in sixty seconds. 
 As a man breathes about eighteen times in a minute, and a pint at each breath, 
 he consumes over two hogsheads of air every hour, or about sixteen hogsheads 
 during the eight hours of sleep ; that is, if a man were put in a room which 
 would hold sixteen hogsheads of air, he would, during eight hours' sleep, ex- 
 tract from it every atom of life-nutriment, and would die at the end of eight 
 hours, even if each breath could be kept to itself, provided no air came into 
 the room from without. 
 
 Healthful Respiration.* — Respiration consists of two acts, inspiration, 
 
 ♦ Sighing is merely a prolonged inspiration, followed by an audible expu-ation. 
 
 Cough 1 110 is a violent expiration in wbicb tbe air is driven tbrougb tbe moutb. 
 
 Sneezing differs from coughing, tbe air being forced tbrougb tbe nose. 
 
 Snoring is a sleeping accompaniment, in wbicb tbe air passes tbrougb tbe nose and 
 moutb . Tbe peculiar sound is produced by tbe palate flapping in tbis divided current ul 
 air, and so throwing it into vibration. 
 
 Laughing and Crying are very much alike, tbe expression of tbe face being necessary 
 to distinguisb between Ihem. The sounds are produced by short, rapid contractiou of tbe 
 diaphrag;m. 
 
The Air We Breathe. 119 
 
 Uking in the <aii-, and expiration, expelling it from the lungs. When we draw 
 in a full breath we straighten the spine, and throw back the head and shoul- 
 ders so as to give the greatest advantage to the muscles. At the same time 
 the diaphragm descends and presses the walls of the abdomen outward, both 
 of which processes increase the size of the chest. Then the elastic lungs 
 expand to occupy the extra space, while the air rushing in through the wind- 
 pipe pours along the bronchial tubes, and crowds into every cell. 
 
 When we forcibly expel the air from our lungs the operation is reversed. 
 This is called expiration. We bend forward, draw in the walls of the abdo- 
 men, and press the diaphragm upward, while the ribs are pulled downward — 
 all together diminishing the size of the chest, and forcing the air outward. 
 Ordinary, quiet breathing is performed mainly by the diaphragm, one breath 
 to every four beats of the heart ; or eighteen per minute. 
 
 Relief from Hiccough. — The following simple directions have proved 
 successful in numerous cases, and bear the indorsements severally of respon- 
 tible names : — 
 
 1. " Holding the breath " as long as possible. 
 
 2. Drinking as many successive swallows as possible without breathing. 
 8. Startling the patient by a sudden motion or communication. 
 
 4 Eating sugar, or drinking "sugared water." The latter is often given 
 to infants by their nurses as a " sure cure." 
 
 5. Concentrating the mind intensely upon some subject. 
 
 6. Hold up the right arm, extending the hand as far as possible, and 
 look at it. 
 
 How to Check Sneezing, Coughing, etc. — Dr. Brown-Sequard, in one 
 of his Boston lectures, says : " There are many facts which show that mor- 
 bid phenomena of respiration can be also stopped by the influence of arrest. 
 Coughing, for instance, can be stopped by pressing on the nerves on the lip 
 in the neighborhood of the nose. A pressure there may prevent a cough 
 when it is beginning. Sneezing may be stopped by the same mechanism. 
 Pressing in the neighborhood of the ear, right in front of the ear, may stop 
 coughing. It is so also of hiccough, but much less so than for sneezing or 
 coughing. 
 
 " Pressing very hard on the top of the mouth, inside, is also a means of 
 stopping coughing. And I may say that the will has immense power there. 
 
 niccough is confined to inspiration, and is caused by a contraction of the diaphragm, and 
 a constriction of the glottis. 
 
 Yawn 17)0 or gaping is like sighing. It is distinguished by a wide opening of the mouth, 
 and a deep, profound inspiration. Both processes furnish additional air, and, therefore, prob- 
 ably meet a demand of the system for more oxygen. Frequently they are like laughing, 
 sobbing, etc., a sort of contagion which runs through an audience, and seems almost irre 
 ftistible. 
 
120 * itoME AND Health. 
 
 There was a French surgeon who used to say, whenever he entered the wards 
 of the hospital, The first patient who coughs here will be deprived of his 
 .ood to-day. It was exceedingly rare that a patient coughed then. 
 
 " There are many other affections associated with breathing, which can he 
 stopped by the same mechanism that stops the heart's action. In spasm of 
 the glottis, which is a terrible thing in children, as you well know, as it some- 
 times causes death, and also in whooping-cough, it is possible to afford relief 
 by throwing cold water on the feet, or by tickling the soles of the feet, which 
 produces laughter, and at the same time goes to the matter that is pro- 
 ducing the spasm, and arrests it almost at once. I would not say that we can 
 always prevent cough by our will ; but in many instances those things are pos- 
 sible, and if you remember that in bronchitis and pneumonia, or any other 
 acute affection of the lungs, hacking or coughing greatly increases the trou- 
 ble at times, you can easily see how important it is for the patient to try to 
 avoid coughing as best he can." 
 
 Evil Effect of Breathing Respired Air. — If we take back into our 
 lungs that which has been expelled, we soon feel the effect. The muscles after 
 a time become inactive, the blood stagnates, the heart acts slowly, the food is 
 undigested, the brain is clogged. The constant breathing of even the slightly 
 impure air of our houses cannot but tend to undermine the health. The blood 
 is not purified, and is in a condition to receive the seeds of disease at any time. 
 The system uninspired by the energizing oxygen is sensitive to cold. The 
 pale cheek, the lusterless eye, the languid step, speak too plainly of oxygen 
 starvation. 
 
 In such a soil catarrh, scrofula, pneumonia and consumption run riot. 
 Black, in his " Ten Laws of Health," says, " The lack of what is so abun- 
 dant, and so cheap — good, pure air — is unquestionably the one great cause 
 of pulmonary consumption." 
 
 The foul air which passes off from the lungs and the pores of the skin does 
 not fall to the floor, but diffuses itself through the surrounding atmosphere. 
 A suigle breath will to a trifling extent taint the air of a whole room. 
 
 The Air in Rooms Vitiated by Lighted Fires. — It is estimated that 
 a light or a fire will vitiate as much air as a dozen persons. Carbonic oxj le 
 gas, a product of combustion more deadly than carbonic acid gas, leaks oat 
 from a stove through the pores of the hot iron, and, besides the air which it 
 draws from the room, it actually poisons that which we breathe. Many 
 breaths and lights rapidly unfit the air of a room for use. 
 
 Impure Air in Small Rooms and Tenement Houses. — Small, ill 
 ventilated sleeping rooms, in which re-heated air is ever present, are nurs- 
 eries of consumption, and an eminent physician says that this disease could 
 as effectually be guarded against by propc attention to ventilation, as small 
 
The Air We Breathe. 121 
 
 pox by vaccination. To a lack of pure air may be attributed tlie existence 
 of nearly all the prevalent diseases classed under the head of scrofulous dis- 
 eases. Some physicians attribute the prevalence of intemperance among ine 
 lower classes to the effect of bad ventilation in the crowded tenements, which 
 produces a degree of lethargy sufficient to drive them to the rum shop for 
 ^stimulants. 
 
 How to Ventilate Houses. — Every sleeping apartment should have a 
 G re-place with an open chimney, and in cold weather it is well if the grate 
 contains a small fire, enough to create a current and carry the vitiated air out 
 of the room. In such cases, however, it is necessary to see that the air drawn 
 into the room comes in from the outside of the house. Summer or winter, it 
 is well to have a free ingress for pure air. The aim must be to pui-ify the air 
 without causing a great fall of temperature. To accomplish this, the windows 
 may be drawn down an inch or two from the top, and a fold of muslin placed 
 over the aperture to prevent draught.* 
 
 Where the body is kept warm and pure air only inhaled, there is no more 
 danger of taking cold in sleeping directly between two windows all the year 
 round than there is of taking cold in riding in an open sleigh when thor- 
 oughly warmed by wrappings of furs and robes ; and such a thing as taking 
 cold under such conditions never occurs, providing, always, the thorough 
 warming of the feet and back, which are often neglected. 
 
 Air in Sick Rooms. — Fresh air is one of the most important and diffi- 
 cult things to obtain and retain in a sick room. The following simple ar 
 rangement will remedy the evil of foul gas, generated by burning a kerosen« 
 lamp all night in a nursery or sick room : — 
 
 Take a raisin-box or any other suitably sized box that will contain the lamp 
 when set up on end. Place the lamp in the box, outside the window, with the 
 open side facing the room. When there are blinds, the box can be attached 
 to each by leaving them a little open, and fastening with a cord ; or the lamp 
 box can be railed to the window casing in a permanent manner. The lamp 
 burns quite a^. '»**l outside, and a decided improvement of the air in the roon? 
 if experienced 
 
 Bad Air in School and Lecture Rooms. — Our school rooms, heated 
 cy furnaces or red hot stoves, often have no means of ventilation, oi, if provid 
 ed, these are seldom used. Pupils starved by scanty lung food (and we migb' 
 add brain food) are stupefied by foul air, and are listless and dull. This proc- 
 
 • Dr. August Smith gives a good rule for ascertaining the amount of carbonic fjcid in the 
 air of a hou^e: — 
 
 "Let us keep our rooms so that the air does not give a precipitate when a ten and bcil 
 ounce bottleful Is shaken with half an ounce of clean lime-water" — a sanitary regiUatlon 
 whi^h fan easily \w carrii'd out. 
 
122 Home and Health. 
 
 ess goes on from year to year, and the Aveakened and poisoned body at lasi 
 succumbs to disease, and a " mysterious Providence " is charged with sickness 
 and death. The voice of nature, as well as nature's God, cries aloud, "Do 
 thyself no barm ' " Those who violate the God-given laws of life and health 
 may expect the penalty. Whatsoever we sow we shall inevitably reap. If we 
 sow the seeds of disease, we must reap sickness and death. To breathe the 
 atmosphere of many school houses, lecture rooms, and theaters, is to breathe 
 the atmosphere of death. 
 
 Teachers and Bad Air. — With the vile atmosphere of the school room 
 constantly pouring over the lining membranes of the nasal cavities, surging 
 about the linings of the throat and vocal organs, driving down the bronchial 
 tubes, and deluging the lungs, what wonder the teacher first suffers from viti- 
 ated blood, then from clogged membranes, and lastly from catarrh, bronchitis, 
 dyspepsia, and perhaps pulmonary consumption ! It is next to impossible 
 that the more nervous constitutions should not succumb. 
 
 Foul Air in Churches. — We sit in our churches, from which the air and 
 light of heaven have been excluded six days out of seven, and, though venti- 
 lated as well as heated for the seventh, we bewail our listlessness and want ol 
 interest in the life-giving Gospel, and we c\.arge it either to the preacher or to 
 our own depravity, when the fact is, no temporary ventilation can take from 
 the carbonic-impregnated crypts and walls the depravity which has there fixed 
 its abode. The foul air left by the congregation on Sunday is often shut up 
 during the week and heated for the next Lord's day, when the people assem- 
 ble, to be re-breathed as polluted atmosphere. 
 
 How to Remove the " Foul Air " Evil from Churches. — The best 
 time to change the air in the churches is immediately after the congregation 
 has departed. When the services for the day are concluded, and while the 
 audience room is still warm, if the windows and doors are left open for a 
 short time the cooler air of out-doors will rapidly displace that which has 
 been breathed over and over again by the throng of worshipers. A better ar- 
 rangement would be to so provide for ventilation in the structure of the 
 church that the foul air shall be constantly passing out and fresh air shall be 
 constantly supplied ; but in the absence of such an arrangement the sexton or 
 janitor should, in the way here suggested, thoroughly ventilate the church 
 eriifice after each service. If the intervals between the services are long, it 
 may be well, also, to rechange the air a short time before the succeeding 
 service. 
 
 Bad Air vs. Religion. — An old number of the JSducat mal Monthly makes 
 some suggestive hints under this caption, which we quoie : " Many a farmer 
 and housekeeper wonders why it is that they must needs take a nap every 
 Sunday in sermon-time. When the parson gets comfortably into the eecond 
 
The Air We Breathe. 128 
 
 or third head of his discourse, and his congregation have settled into the 
 easiest position to Hsten, gentle sleep begins to steal over their faculties, and 
 the good man is surprised at finding his argument less cogent than it seemed 
 ^vhen prepared in the solitude of his study. At home the busy matron never 
 thinks of napping at eleven o'clock in the morning, and the man of business 
 would consider his sanity or common sense sadly called in question should a 
 friend propose a half -hour's nap at that hour of the day. Nevertheless, they 
 both sleep like kittens in their pews, and logic, rhetoric, eloquence, are alike 
 wasted in the vain attempt to rouse their sluggish souls. The question of the 
 poet, so often sung in our assemblies, 
 
 " • My drowsy powers, why sleep ye so ? * 
 
 is exactly in point, and we propose as an answer, ' Because we are all breath- 
 ing carbonic acid gas — deadly poison ; because the sexton did not let the foul 
 air of last Sunday's congregation out of the doors and windows, and the 
 fresh, pure air of heaven in.' 
 
 " Look round at the audience ; that feverish flush on the face isn't heat, it 
 is poison. The lady nodding over there, her nose and cheeks like a scarlet 
 rose, is not too warm, for the thermometer doesn't stand over 70 degrees ; 
 she is partially suffocated ; what she wants is fresh air. That hard-working 
 mechanic or farmer doesn't sleep because he watched with a sick child last 
 night, but simply for want of oxygen to keep the flame of intellectual and 
 physical activity brightly burning. 
 
 " Nobody can rise on wings of faith in a poisonous atmosphere. Oxygen 
 and religion cannot be separated in this unrighteous manner. We cannot 
 live in conformity to spiritual laws while in open violation of the physical. 
 
 " Is your sexton a man of intelligence sufficient to understand the necessity 
 and reason of ample ventilation ? Does he know that every human being 
 vitiates, at the least estimate, four cubic feet of air every minute ? Linger 
 when the congregation leaves, and see if he shuts every door and window 
 tight to keep in all the heat till evening service. Then see how thin the 
 lamps burn in the vitiated air; how hard the minister tries to raise hin self 
 and his listeners to the height of some great argument, and how stupid they 
 are — nothing but bad air. 
 
 *' Now for the remedy, which costs labor and money both, for ventilation i& 
 a question of dollars and cents. Saturday the sexton should be instructed :o 
 open all the doors and windows ; to let out all the dead and foul air, and let in 
 such as is fresh. It takes no more coal on Sunday morning to heat the 
 church to 70 degrees because of this purification. Sunday noon let the open- 
 ings of the church be again thrown wide — warmth and bad air will alike dis- 
 appea", and though extra coal may be required to raise the temperature, the 
 minister will preach so much better in consequence, and the hearers will listen 
 
124 Home and Health. 
 
 wilh such increased relish to the sacred word, that the loss of the pocket will 
 be infinitely compensated by the gain of the soul." 
 
 Night Air Healthy. — Many are afraid of night air. Florence Nighingale 
 replies to this objection by asking, "What can we breathe at night except 
 night air ? " Her rule is to keep the air within as pure as that without the 
 house. Don't be afraid to sleep by an open window. It is a common fallacy 
 that cold air is necessarily pure, and that apartments need less ventilation in 
 viuter than in summer. Coolness does not always indicate fre^nness, and 
 disagreeable warmth does not indicate chemical impurity. Draughts are per- 
 nicious in tueir effects, and must be avoided. In sleeping in an unavoidable 
 draught, turn the face to meet it. 
 
 Water as a Purifier. — A pan of water standing in an inhabited room 
 becomes utterly filthy and unfit for drink in a few hours. This depends on 
 the fact that the water has the faculty of condensing, and thereby absorbing, 
 all the gases, which it does without increasing its own bulk. The colder tlie 
 water is, the greater its capacity to contain these gases. The " breathed " 
 atmosphere of the room is, therefore, improved by the water, if often changed, 
 and proves a good purifier. 
 
 Sea Air. — Sea air, as a rule, is beneficial to health. This is shown by the 
 fact that the average life among seamen is larger than among those of most 
 vocations on land. The occupations of the former are such that, were it not 
 for the healthfulness of the sea air, their lives would probably be shorter 
 than those of the latter. The sea air is appetizing, and bracing to the gen- 
 eral system. 
 
 Air at the Seaside. — Physicians who have traveled widely and investi- 
 gated the subject thoroughly arrive at the conclusion that the healthfulness 
 of seaside resorts is owing more to the fact that those who go to such places 
 are in the habit of spending much time in the open air, than to any special 
 property the localities may possess. In short, if in all sections the people 
 were in the habit of being in the open air, their general health would be 
 greatly improved. 
 
 Are Winds Healthful ? — Stagnation in the air or water is always hai ni- 
 ful. The wind expels the stagnant air, and introduces fresh. Railway tra ins 
 or street cars passing rapidly and frequently by a dwellin 5 stir up the at- 
 mosphere, and in this respect render important service. It often occurs thai- 
 in localities where fevers prevail those persons who reside close to a railway 
 escape the disease. The writei knew a case in an eastern lown where nearly 
 every household suffered exc< ot those by the track of frequently pass- 
 ing cars. 
 
 The prevailing direction of the wind each month of the year is as foUowc : 
 In January, north-westerly ; in February, north-westerly ; in March, north- 
 
The Air We BreatJie. 125 
 
 westerly; in April, northerly; in May, southerly; in June, south-weiiicrly ; in 
 July, westerly ; in August, south-westerly, (easterly as often ;) in September, 
 easterly ; in October, south-westerly ; in November, northerly ; in December, 
 north-westerly. 
 
 Dampness of the Air and Health. — Dry air as a rule is healthier 
 than damp or humid air. Hence if rains continue long, or if fogs prevail for 
 several days, the system suffers by the increased saturation. While oxygen 
 and nitrogen and pure air itself are almost entirely diathermous, the absorp- 
 tive power of moisture is very great. It seems that a molecule of aqueous 
 Vapor has sixteen thousand times the absorptive power of an atom of ox'^geu 
 or of nitrogen ; and carbonic acid, marsh gas, ammonia, etc., are also ex- 
 tremely absorptive. Now, when the sun shines on an atmosphere that is diy, 
 his rays pass through it in all their power, but when the air is damp the rays 
 are much weakened before they reach the earth. On the other hand, -^vhcn 
 the air is dry, the heat from the earth radiates into space much faste than 
 when it is moist. The importance of these facts from a medical stand-point 
 is very great. All the agents just mentioned as powerful absorbents of heat 
 are found in greatest abundance near the earth ; consequently they absorb a 
 large amount of the heat radiated from the earth, which, it must be borne in 
 mind, is the chief source of the heat diffused in the atmosphere. Usually 
 over ten per cent, of the heat from this source is absorbed within ten feet of 
 the ground. 
 
 On the northern Atlantic coast the south and east winds are, as a rule, 
 moist winds ; next come the northerly ; next the south-west ; next the west ; 
 next the north ; and last the north-west. The sudden veering of a wind from 
 a southerly to a northerly wind is usually attended with a precipitation of 
 moisture ; and the same is true of a sudden change of a northerly to an 
 easterly. 
 
 Sea and Mountain Air Compared. — An able Italian physician. Dr. C. 
 Alberto, in a recent work says : " The marine air produces the same benefit as 
 that of the mountain, but each has a different modus efficiendi ; the former 
 acts more forcibly and energetically on the constitution which retains some 
 robustness and internal resources to profit by it, while the second acts more 
 gently, with slower efficacy, being thereby more suitable to the weaker, and 
 less excitable organizations. From this important distinction, the conscien- 
 tious physician who takes the safety of his patient much to heart, ought to 
 be able to discriminate whether the alpine or the marine atmosphere ir the 
 better suited to the case he has before him," 
 
 Mutual Diffusion of Air. — The physical law known as that of "mn- 
 tual diffusion " plays an important part in all questions relating to the mixture 
 of different gases, such as of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid, which make 
 
126 Home aistd Health. 
 
 up our atmosphe e. By virtue of this law it occurs that two gases when 
 brought together, no matter what their relative weights, become thorough] r 
 mixed together, in proportions which are stated as being inversely as the 
 square roots of their densities. 
 
 Carbonic acid is a gas so heavy that it may be decanted from one \ossol 
 into another; and hydrogen is so light that a balloon filled with it ascends, a? 
 we all know, into the air. Yet if a vessel filled with the latter be inverted 
 over one containing the former, and a piece of membrane be placed oetwcer 
 the mouths of the two, it will be found that, after a while, some of the car- 
 bonic acid has ascended into the upper vessel, and the hydrogen has descended 
 in the lower one, and mingled with the carbonic acid. A mixture will be 
 thus formed in both vessels. 
 
 It is the same in nature. Animals are perpetually exhaling carbonic acid 
 into the atmosphere, and were it not for this wonderful property of " diffu- 
 sion" a stratum of foul air would lie over the earth, and would possibly ex- 
 tinguish animal existence. The great value of connecting the air of our rooms 
 with the free and purer air outside is, therefore, apparent. 
 
 Our Great Enemies, the Marshes. — M. Lombard, of Geneva, shows, 
 from a great collection of statistical documents, that winter and spring are 
 the seasons of greatest mortality in the north and center of Europe. In the 
 south, on the contrary, summer and autumn are the most destructive seasons ; 
 but marsh miasm where it exists, transforms the period and character of the 
 mortality. The same influence, as M. Simmoneau has shown, is the great ob- 
 struction to the acclimatization of Europeans in hot climates. It is to the 
 perfect drainage of the soil that our efforts must be directed in both cases. 
 
 DISINFECTANTS-HOW TO PREPARE AND USE THEM. 
 
 Fresh Air and Sunlight. — First and always let in fresh air and sun- 
 light, that they may purify every place they can reach. Open and dry all 
 cellars and vaults, and keep the grounds and surfaces about dwellings as dry 
 and clean as possible. Sedulously cultivate habits of the strictest cleanliness 
 in person, clothing and habitation, indoor and out ; as well in the cellar as in 
 the parlor ; as well in the darkest closet as in the hall ; not neglecting a cor- 
 ner or a crevice in the whole building, keeping an eye to one point always, 
 that wherever there is dampness there is disease, and that moral purity and 
 filth in any form are absolutely incompatible. 
 
 Water. — We have already seen the value of water as an absorbent and 
 disinfectant. Dishes of water may be placed in any place required. Care 
 fhould l.« used to remove the water frequently. Cold water is better than 
 
Disinfectants. 127 
 
 warm for this purpose. A pailful of water in a freshly-painted room will 
 of .en remove the sickening odor of the paint. Try it. 
 
 Charcoal. — Powdered charcoal is one of the best of disinfectants. It is 
 very prompt in absorbing affluvia and gaseous bodies, as well as rendering 
 harmless and even useful those bodies which are easily changed. Charcoal 
 powder has long been used as a filter for putrid w^ater. When the impurities 
 aie absorbed they come in contact with condensed oxygen gas, which exists 
 In the pores of all charcoal which has been exposed to the air, and in this 
 way become oxidized and destroyed. A layer of pulverized charcoal will 
 prevent the escape of all offensive odor from any decomposing substance. 
 
 Charcoal and Lime. — These may be mixed with notable advantage in 
 many cases. This compound is known in the shops as ** Calx powder." It ia 
 useful in absorbing putrid gases. Use it dry and fresli. 
 
 Clay. — For many purposes dry clay is not only the cheapest bu t the best 
 deodorant. It destroys or absorbs the foul odors, instead of partially over- 
 coming them by substituting chlorine or coal tar in their place. The presence 
 of clay has a great influence upon the health of communities. There are 
 oftener cases of typhoid fever and dysentery on a sandy or alluvial soil than 
 on a clay soil. This is probably owing to the fact that the water used is 
 made pure by filtering through the clay soil, while in passing through sandy 
 soil it retains to some extent its impurities, or adds to them.* 
 
 Quicklime and Gypsum. — Quicklime and gypsiim or land-plaster are 
 good absorbents, and may be used advantageously in damp places, cellars, 
 gutters, etc. They should not, however, be used in drains, catch-basins, 
 sewers, soil-pipes, etc. ; nor where they are liable to be washed into such 
 places, lest they, by decomposing soap-water, form lime-soap, and obstru<^t 
 the passages. 
 
 Sifted Ashes are very useful in country water-closets, where they way 
 be scattered as often as any odor is perceptible. 
 
 Surface Soil. — Any surface soil or mold pulverized forms a convenient 
 and effective absorbent and deodorizer for use in out-houses. The fresh dug 
 earth is the best. It should be used in the same manner as above noted in 
 the case of clay. 
 
 Fresh Stone-lime. — To absorb moisture and putrid fluids use frc^a 
 stone-lime finely broken ; sprinkle it on the place to be dried, and !n damp 
 rooms place a number of plates or pans filled with the lime powder. 
 
 Copperas. — Common copperas, called sulphate of iron, in its crude state 
 
 * There is another advantage in the country in us^ng' cl.ay for privies. The remova{ of 
 the contents is no longer a disgusting operation, wM^ the former or gardener has a val 
 uable supply of fertilizing material for his grounds.. 
 
128 Home and Health. 
 
 can be purchased for five cents a pound ; this, dissolved in two gallons of 
 water, and thrown over ill-smelling places, is one of the cheapest, simplest, 
 and most convenient deodorizers, and is applicable to privies, sinks, gutters, 
 and heaps of offal. 
 
 Chloride of Lime. — To give off chlorine, to absorb putrid effluvia, and 
 to stop putrefaction, use chloride of lime ; and if in cellars or close rooms 
 the chlorite gas is wanted, pour strong vinegar or diluted sulphuric acid upon 
 plates of chloride of lime occasionally, and add more of the chloride. We 
 have known a large manufactory filled with deadly sewage air cleansed in 
 a single half houi by throwing a half bushel of chloride of lime into the 
 vaults from whic'" the poisonous gas emanated. Chloride of lime is often 
 deleterious in close dwellings because of the chlorine evolved. It may be 
 used safely in the open atmosphere. 
 
 Salt and Lime Paste. — A cheap and available disinfectant and deodor- 
 izer is made by dissolving a bushel of salt in a barrel of water ; then adding 
 enough unslacked, that is, fresh lime, which has never been exposed to damp- 
 ness, to make the whole into a thin paste, to be applied as often as necessary 
 to all places yielding offensive smells, such as gutters, sinks, cesspools, etc. 
 This is home-made chloride of lime. 
 
 Carbolic Acid. — A weak solution of carbolic acid may be used in saucers, 
 or shallow earthen dishes ; or a cloth saturated with it may be hung in the 
 room where the offensive odor is suspected. In large cities the streets in the 
 most densely populated wards have been watered on alternate days with a 
 weak solution of carbolic acid with excellent results. There is no doubt that 
 this excellent antiseptic and disinfectant has been very beneficial. The in- 
 habitants of those streets have often expressed satisfaction at the freshness 
 and removal of disagreeable smells which this acid produces, and thoy re- 
 gard it as an addition to their comfort. 
 
 Salt and Nitrate of Lead. — Dissolve half a dram of nitrate of lead 
 in a pint of boiling water, and two drams of common salt in a pail of water ; 
 then mix the two solutions and allow the sediment to settle. A cloth dipped 
 /n the liquid and hung up in the apartment is all that is required to purify 
 the most fetid atmosphere. It is recommended for its cheapness, a pound of 
 the materials costing about twenty-five cents. One pound of nitrate of lead, 
 dissolved in a pailful of water, is excellent for sinks, sink-drains and vaults. 
 
 " Disinfecting Mixture." — Common salt, three ounces ; black manganese, 
 oil of vitriol, of each one ounce ; water, two ounces. Carry this mixture in 
 a cup through the apartments of the sick. 
 
 General Disinfecting Compound. — For general disinfection the following 
 compound is available and valuable, and far better than most of the patented 
 
Disinfectants, 129 
 
 articles offered : Sulphate of iron, (copperas,) forty pounds ; sulphatt of lime, 
 (gypsum or plaster,) fifty pounds; sulphate of zinc, (white vitriol,) seven 
 pounds ; powdered charcoal, two pounds. Mix well and scatter dry, or wet 
 /t in small quantities and make into balls ready for use. Where a liquid ia 
 needed, stir in water in the proportion of a pound of the powder or ball to a 
 gallon of water, and sprinkle where needed. 
 
 Coffee as a Disinfectant. — Experiments with roasted coffee prove it to 
 be a powerful means of rendering harmless and destroying animal and ve^j;- 
 etable effluvia. A room in which meat in an advanced state of decomposition 
 has been kept can be instantly deprived of all smell by simply carrying 
 through it a coffee roaster containing a pound of newly-roasted coffee. The 
 best mode of using the coffee is to dry the raw bean, pound it in a mortar ; 
 and then roast the powder on a moderately heated iron plate, until it becomes 
 a dark brown color. Then sprinkle it in sinks and cesspools, or expose it on 
 a plate in the room to be purified. 
 
 Sunflowers as Disinfectants. — Experiments in France and Holland have 
 shown that sunflowers, when planted on an extensive scale, will neutralize 
 the pernicious effects of exhalations from marshes. This plan has been 
 tried with great success in the fenny districts near Rochef ort, France ; and 
 the authorities of Holland assert that intermittent fever has wholly disap- 
 peared from districts where the sunflowers have been planted. It is not yet 
 determined what effect the flower produces on the atmosphere — whether it 
 generates oxygen, like other plants of rapid growth, or whether, like the 
 coniferoe, it emits ozone, and thus destroys the organic germs of miasms that 
 produce fever. 
 
 Boiling for Infected Clothing. — When foul clothing or infected things 
 can be boiled, or have a boiling heat steadily applied and kept up for an 
 hour, this is one of the simplest and best modes of disinfection. But until 
 Buch high heat is actually applied to the infected things, some one of the 
 disinfecting solutions must be used. A common steam tub, in a laundry or 
 elsewhere, with a tight cover, is a good disinfecting vat. The clothing must 
 be thrown into the water at boiling heat, and that temperature should be 
 kept up for an hour. 
 
 Soaking for Foul Clothing. — Soiled, impure garments may be put to 
 soak in a half pound of sulphate of zinc (white vitriol) to three gallons of 
 water. It will not stain or discolor most fabrics. One ounce of chloride of 
 lead dissolved in a pint of hot water, and then a pailful of water added, into 
 which a handful of common salt has been thrown, serves a similar purpose ; 
 also a half ounce of permanganate of potash to a gallon of water. 
 . Boiling after Disinfection. — Permanganate of potassa may be used in 
 disinfecting clot^-ing and towels from cholera and fever patients during the 
 9 
 
130 Home and IIeai/ih. 
 
 night, or when such articles cannot be instantly boiled. Throw the soiled 
 articles immediately into a tub of water, in which there has been dissolved 
 an ounce of the permanganate salt to every three gallons of water. Boil 
 tie clothing as soon as it is removed from this colored solution. 
 
 Carbolic Acid for Clothing. — Carbolic acid, when used to disinfect 
 clothing, should be of good quality, thoroughly mixed with its own quantity 
 of strong vinegar, and next be dissolved in two hundred times its own quan- 
 tity of water before the clothing is immersed in it. This mixture with vin- 
 egar insures such complete solution of the carbolic acid that the clothing 
 will not be " burned " by undissolved drops of acid when disinfected in the 
 carbolic water. This weak solution — 1 part to 200 — will not injure common 
 clothing. But to destroy clothing as well as infection, instantly, use the acia 
 diluted only 10 to 30 times its quantity of water. The disinfecting and an- 
 tiseptic power of good carbolic acid is so great that 1 partto 50 or 100 parts 
 of water is sufficient for ordinary purposes. For drains, sewers, foul heaps, 
 stables, and privies, the cheap "dead oil" of coal tar, or the crude carbolic 
 acid, answers every purpose when freely applied. Coal tar itself is available 
 as a disinfectant to paint upon the walls of stables, privy vaults, and drains. 
 By mixing with sawdust or dry lime, coal or crude acid may be used on foul 
 grounds or heaps of refuse. 
 
 How to Fumigate Rooms. — To fumigate and cleanse the air of an 
 apartment, there is no more simple way than to heat a common iron shovel 
 quite hot, and pour vinegar slowly upon it. The steam arising from this pro- 
 cess is pungent, and of a disinfectant character. Open windows and doors 
 at the same time. 
 
 Another way is to fumigate with sulphurous acid, thus : Arrange to vacate 
 the room for twelve hours. Close every window and aperture, and, upon an 
 iron pipkin or kettle with legs, burn a few ounces of sulphur. Instantly 
 after kindling it, every person must withdraw from the place, and the room 
 must remain closed for the succeeding eight hours. 
 
 If any other kind of fumigation is resorted to, as that by chlorine, bro- 
 mine, or nitrous acid, a sanitary officer or chemist should superintend the 
 process. Fumigation should be resorted to in dwelling-houses only by official 
 orders or permission, as the disinfecting gases are very poisonous. 
 
 To Disinfect Water-closets. — To disinfect a water-closet or a quantity 
 of earth that is contaminated by cholera excrement, or liable to be infected, 
 use solution of cai'bolic acid and copperas, mixed, as follows: To every 
 cubic foot of soil or filth give from one to three pints of the strong solution. 
 To every privy and water-closet allow at the rate of one pint, to be poured 
 in daily at evening, for every person on the premises. This practice should 
 be kept up while cholera is in the country. This method of systematic dis 
 
Disinfectants. 131 
 
 infection would be useful in everY household ; but when cholera is present in 
 any city or country, such thorougn application of this means of protection 
 cannot be safely neglected in any city or place to which persons may come 
 from towns where cholera is epidemic. The best sanitary chemists advise 
 that the estimated quantity of these privy and sewer disinfectants required 
 for each person daily, in the presence of cholera, should be half an ounce 
 sulphate of iron, and half a dram or half a teaspoonful of carbolic acid. 
 
 To Disinfect Dead Bodies. — All chances of infection will be prevented 
 and all effluvia destroyed from dead bodies by wrapping them in sheets satu- 
 raUi with a solution of carbolate of camphor. 
 
 Comparative Permanent Value of Different Disinfectants. — Owing to 
 its cheapness, the impure sulphate of iron, ordinarily known as copperas, {green 
 vitriol,) ig the most available chemical disinfectant for sewage, outhouses, 
 etc. Tbe common mistake is in not_^ using it in sufficient quantity. Its value 
 does no . rest, it must be remembered, upon theory only, but also upon experi- 
 ment, in February, 1873, Albert Eckstein published an account of his at- 
 tempts to disinfect an outhouse which was used daily by one hundred persons, 
 and the results are so interesting that they are here transcribed : — 
 
 1. Two pounds of sulphate of iron in solution. After from two to three 
 hours all bad smell had disappeared, but in twelve hours all the influence of 
 the disinfectant was lost, 
 
 2. Sulphate of copper, {blue vitriol,) in solution, the same. 
 
 3. Two pounds of sulphate of iron in crystals ; its effect lasted two 
 days. 
 
 4. Sulphate of copper, the same. " 
 
 5. Sulphurous acid in solution rapidly lost its effect, and was exceedingly 
 irritating to the respiratory organs. 
 
 6. Two pounds of impure carbolic acid filled the house for two days with 
 such a disagreeable smell, that it was impossible to tell whether the original 
 odor was destroyed or covered up. 
 
 7. Two pounds of sulphate of iron in a parchment sack exerted a disin- 
 fecting influence for full three days, and when the parchment sack was drawn 
 up it contained only some dirty, odorless fluid. 
 
 8. Two pounds of the best chloride of calcium in the parchment sack dis* 
 nfeeted the outhouse for at least nine days. 
 
 In conclusion, to sum up the points* 
 
 1, It is usele<is to attempt to permanently disinfect the atmospliere, and, 
 therefore, gn «"., '.are should be exercised to destroy, as far as possible, the 
 poison -germs so soon as they leave the body. 
 
 2. Copperas is the most available disinfectant for ordinary purposes ; ia 
 certain cases, (chiefly for water-closets,) chloride of calcium is very good. 
 
132 Home and Health. 
 
 3. Carbolic acid, on account of its odor, is very disagreeable ; f \»rther, it is 
 not so efficient as some other substances. For the purpose of killing disease- 
 germs, and for the purifying of cholera discharges, copperas in solution or 
 powder is to be preferred. 
 
 Caution in Removing Foul Air from Wells. — It is well known that 
 many accidents occur to persons going down into wells to clean them, owing 
 to the noxious gas in such places. To remove the gas before descent is made 
 in any well, a quantity of burned but unslaked lime should be thrown down. 
 This, when it comes in contact with whatever water is below, sets free a great 
 Quantity of h'eat in the water and lime, which rushes upward, carrying all 
 the deleterious gas with it, after which the descent may be made with perfect 
 safety. The lime also absorbs carbonic acid in the well. Always lower 
 a light before descending ; if it is extinguished there is still danger of suf- 
 focation. 
 
 Precautions in Visiting Infected Rooms. — When the great philan- 
 thropist Howard was asked what precautions he used to preserve himself from 
 infection in the prisons, hospitals, and dungeons which he visited, he re- 
 sponded with his pen as follows : — 
 
 " I here answer once for all that, next to the free goodness and mercy of 
 the Author of my being, temperance a7id cleanliness are my preservatives. 
 
 *' Trusting in Divine Providence, and believing myself in the way of duty, 
 I visit the most noxious cells, and while thus employed / fear no evil. 
 
 " I never enter a hospital or prison before breakfast ; and 
 
 " In an offensive room I seldom draw my breath deeply." 
 
 No better precautions than these need be given. The answer of Howard 
 should be indelibly impressed on every memory. 
 
 Heat and Steam. — Heat has long been known as among the most effi- 
 cient of disinfectants. And the use of steam, as a facile means of commu- 
 nicating it, against yellow fever especially, was effectually demonstrated af 
 long ago as 1848. Since that time, in addition to the common use of stean 
 for the disinfection of vessels, it has been extensively used for the disinfec 
 tion of personal clothing and bedding, and to this end steam disinfecting 
 chambers, abroad, at least, have long since ceased to be a novelty. The first 
 one constructed in this country was in connection with the New York Quar- 
 antine hospitals, where it continues to be a prominent feature. 
 
 A New Disinfectant. — Dr. John Day, of Geelong, Australia, reccra- 
 mends for use in civil and military hospitals, and also for the purpose of 
 destroying the poison germs of small-pox, scarlet fever, and other infecticus 
 diseases, a disinfectant, ingeniously composed of one part of rectified oil of 
 turpentine and seven parts of benzine, with the addition of five drops of oil of 
 verbena to eich oimce. Its purifying and disinfecting properties are due to 
 
Disinfectants. 133 
 
 the power which is possessed by each of its ingredients of absorbing atmos- 
 pheric oxygen, and converting it into peroxide of hydrogen — a highly-active 
 oxidizing agent, and very similar in its nature to ozone. Articles of cloth- 
 ings furniture, wall paper, carpeting, books, newspapers, lettijrs, etc., may be 
 [perfectly saturated with it without receiving the slightest injury ; and when 
 it has been once freely applied to any rough or porous surface, its action will 
 \w. persistent fur an almost indefinite period. This may, at any time, be read- 
 ily shown by pouring a few drops of a solution of iodide of potassium ovoi 
 the material which has been disinfected, when the peroxide of hydrogen 
 which is being continually generated wjthin it, will quickly liberate the io- 
 dine from its combinat'on with the potassium, and give rise to dark brown 
 Btains.* 
 
 SUNLIGHT AND HEALTH. 
 
 Power of Sunlight. — Sunlight is one of the most powerful forces in na- 
 ture, l<indling the whole vegetable world into being, and making animal life 
 possible by its extraordinary chemical agency. 
 
 Seclusion from Sunshine. — Seclusion from sunshine is one of the great 
 misfortunes of our civilized life. The same cause which makes the potato 
 vines white and sickly when grown in dark cellars, operates to produce the 
 pale, sickly girls that are reared in our parlors. Expose either to the rays of 
 the sun, and tliey begin to show color, health, and strength. 
 
 Philosophy of the Influence of Sunlight. — Recent discoveries seem to 
 [)rove that there is conveyed to animals, by the direct action of the sun's rays, 
 a subtle current of iron. It does not exist in light, or but very slightly, if at 
 all, but it is a part of the sun's rays. Therefore, we must enjoy these rays if 
 we would feel their full effect. This iron it is which is supposed to give color 
 to plants and animals, and to impart strength and beauty. With strength 
 and beauty come health and good spirits, and despondency and fear are 
 banished. 
 
 Sunlight and Plants. — It is well known that no valuable plant can grow 
 well without beim; visited by the direct rays of the sun; no plant can bear 
 Beed, no fruit can ripen without it. Any vine grown in the dark is white and 
 Btrengthless. Grass, grain, and flowers do not thrive under the shadow of a 
 tree. 
 
 Sunlight and Domestic Animals. — It is Avell known that no valuable 
 domestic animals can thrive without being visited often by the sunshine. The 
 fish of the Mammoth Cave are white ; their eyes are not opened, because they 
 
 * British Medical Journal 
 
134 Home and Health. 
 
 have never felt the glorious light ; they are weak and imperfect, a kind of 
 idiots, if fish are liable to that wretchedness. 
 
 Swine which are shut under the farmers' barns, and where every thing is 
 favorable except the lack of sunshine, do not thrive as well as those whicii 
 have the ordinary run in the open air. 
 
 Cows and horses stalled continuously in dark stables become feeble and 
 u» healthy, and become useless in less than half the time of those Ahici run 
 in the open air, or whose stalls permit them to enjoy the influence of the suu 
 light. The same is true of all other domestic animals. 
 
 Dr. Ellsworth, of Hartford, says : " Take a rabbit and shut him from the 
 sunlight, and he will die of consumption in a few weeks. The tubercles will 
 te just as perfectly formed in his lungs as in the human species, and the 
 symptoms in every respect will be the same." 
 
 Sunlight and Human Life. — Sir James Wylie says that, " The cases 
 of disease ou the dark side of an extensive barrack at St. Petersburgh, have 
 been uniformly, for many years, in the proportion of three to one to those on 
 the side exposed to strong light." 
 
 Dr. Forbes Winslow in his volume entitled " Light, its Influence on Life 
 and Health," uses the following language : " It may be enunciated as an in- 
 disputable fact, that all who live and pursue their calling in situations where 
 the minimum of light is permitted to penetrate, suffer seriously in bodily and 
 mental health. The total exclusion of the sunbeam induces the severer forms 
 of chlorosis, green sickness, and other anaemic conditions depending upon an 
 impoverished and disordered state of the blood. Under these circumstances 
 the face assumes a death-like paleness, the membranes of the eyes become 
 bloodless, and the skin shrunken and turned into a white, greasy, waxy color; 
 also emaciation, muscular debility and degeneration, dropsical effusion, soft- 
 ening of the bones, general nervous excitability, morbid irritability of the 
 heart, loss of appetite, tendency to syncope and hemorrhages, consumption, 
 physical deformity, stunted growth, mental impairment, and premature old 
 age. The offspring of those so unhappily trained are often deformed, weak, 
 and puny, and are disposed to scrofulous affections." 
 
 Another Testimony. — " It is a well-established fact that, as the effect 
 of isolation from the stimulus of light, the fibrine, albumen, and red blood- 
 cells become diminished in quantity, and the serum or watery portion of the 
 rital fluid augmented in volume, thus inducing a disease known to physicians 
 and pathologists by the name of lukcemia, an affection in which white instead 
 of red blood-cells are developed. This exclusion from the sun produces the 
 sickly, flabby, pale, anaemaic condition of the face or exsanguined, ghost-like 
 forms rio often seen among those not exposed to air and light. The absence 
 of these elements of health deteriorates by materially altering the physical 
 
Sunlight am,a Health, 135 
 
 composition of the blood, thus seriously prostrating the vital strength, en- 
 feebling the nervous energy, and ultimately inducing organic changes in the 
 structure of the heart, brain, and muscular tissue." — Dr. Forbes Winslow. 
 
 Sunlight and Miners. — The lack of pure light and pure air in mines 
 tells seriously upon the health of miners, "Fourcault affirms that where life 
 is prolonged to the average term, the evil effects of the want of light are 
 seen in the stunted forms and general deterioration of the human race. It 
 appears that the inhabitants of the arrondissement of Chimay, in Belgium, 
 three thousand in number, are engaged partly as coal miners, and partly as 
 field laborers. The latter are robust, and readily supply their proper numocr 
 of recruits to the army ; while among the miners it is in most years impossi- 
 ble to find a man who is not ineligible from bodily deformity or arrest of 
 physical development." — Forbes Winslovv's Influence of lAght. 
 
 Paralysis Cured by Sunshine. — One of the ablest lawyers in our coun- 
 try, writes a physician, a victim of long and hard brain labor, came to me a 
 year ago suffering from partial paralysis. The right leg and hip were reduced 
 in size, with constant pain in the loins. He was obliged, in coming upstairs, 
 to lift up the left foot first, dragging the right foot after it. Pale, feeble, 
 miserable, he told me he had been failing for several years, and closed with 
 " My work is done. At sixty I find myself worn out." I directed him to lie 
 down under a large window, and allow the sun to shine on every part of his 
 body ; at first ten minutes a day, increasing the time until he could expose 
 himself to the direct rays of the sun for a full hour. His habits were not 
 essentially altered in any other particular. In six months he came running 
 upstairs like a vigorous man of forty, and declared, with sparkling eyes, " 1 
 have twenty years more of work in me." 
 
 Neuralgic, Rheumatic, and Hypochondriac Cures by Sunshine. — 
 Writes the same physician quoted above : " I have assisted many dyspeptic, 
 neuralgic, rheumatic, and hypochondriacal people into health by the sun cure. 
 I have so many facts illustrating the wonderful power of the sun's direct 
 rays in curing certain classes of invalids, that I have seriously thought of 
 publishing a work to be denominated the ' Sun Cure.' " 
 
 Florence Nightingale on Sunlight. — " Who has not observed the puri- 
 fying effect of light," says Florence Nightingale, " and especially of direct 
 sunlight upon the air of a room ? Go into a sick room where the shutters 
 are always shut, (in a sick room or bed-chamber tliere should nev ir be shut- 
 ters shut,) and, though the room has never been polluted by the bieathing of 
 human beings, you will observe a close, musty smell of corrupt air, i. e., un- 
 purified by the effect of the sun's rays. The mustiness of dark rooms aud 
 corners, 'ndeed, is proverbial. The cheerfulness of a room, the usefulness 
 of light in treating disease, is all-important. ' Where tkere is sun there is 
 
136 Home awd Health. 
 
 thought.' All physiology goes to confirm this. Where is the shady side ol 
 deep valleys, there is cretinism. Where are cellars and the unsunned side? 
 of narrow streets, there is the degeneracy and weakliness of the human race, 
 mind and body equally degenerating. Put the pale, withering plant and hu- 
 man being into the sun, and if not too far gone, each will recover healtii 
 and spirit." — Notes on Nursing. 
 
 Sunlight Shut Out by Parasols. — Many persons keep themselves palt 
 and sickly by means of parasols, umbrellas, shaded rooms, and indooi life 
 generally. Parasols should be dispensed with excepting in the hottest sea- 
 sons. Sailors who are ever in the pure air and sunlight, and children who 
 play much out of doors, generally present a ruddy, healthy appearance. The 
 following severe cut on our American house-keepers, from an editorial of a 
 Chicago daily, is well merited : " In this country there seems to be an impla- 
 cable feud between people and the sun — the one striving vigorously and even 
 fiercely to get into the houses, and the other striving just as fiercely and vig- 
 orously to keep him out. The average American house-keeper does not think 
 she has fulfilled her whole duty until she has made the rounds of the whole 
 household, shut all the doors, closed all the shutters, and drawn all the cur- 
 tains on the east and south sides of the house. This is the morning's job. 
 In the afternoon she makes the same grand round on the west side of the 
 house. She is not quite happy and contented until tlie sun has gone down 
 and darkness sets in. She is substantially aided in her raid against the sun- 
 light by the heaviest of shades, curtains, and lambrequins. Thus the fight 
 goes on day by day, and season by season. In summer she shuts out the sun 
 because it is too hot. In winter she shuts it out because it will spoil her car- 
 pets. In spring and fall she has other reasons. She has reasons for all 
 seasons. Thus she keeps the house in perpetual shade, in which the children 
 grow up sickly, dwarfed, full of aches and pains, and finally have to be sent 
 off into the country post-haste so that they may get into that very sunlight 
 which they have been denied at home, and in which the country childr»m run 
 and are glorified." 
 
 The Sunlight and Blinds. — " I wish God had never permitted man to 
 invent ' green blinds,' " said a thoughtful and brilliant woman. Why did she 
 say it? Because she saw, wherever she went over our fair and simshiny 
 land, that green blinds were closely shut upon our comfortable houses, ex- 
 cluding the sun's light, which we may be sure God sends down for some 
 blessed purpose. That blessed purpose is to promote growth, to give strength, 
 to impart color, to gild with beauty, to inspire good thoughts, and to insure 
 light hearts and cheerful faces. 
 
 Sunlight and Carpets. — " Do not be afraid of a little sunshine, either," 
 wrote another excellent authority on healthful housekeeping. "It may ij» 
 
Sunlight and Health. 
 
 -O k 
 
 crease your color, but a nut-like brownness is more becoming to a woman's 
 face than the deathly whiteness of the lily. Sunshine is quite as good in its 
 way as fresh air, and it should come into every room in the house. Does it 
 fade the carpet ? Then spread down a rug or a piece of drugget. A better 
 way is to select colors that will not run away from the sunshine. For bed- 
 rooms Canton matting is good. It will not fade ; it is easily swept ; it will 
 not hold dust readily, nor contract bad smells; it can be taken up anCk 
 cleaned, and the floor washed every month if desired. I like painted floors, 
 too, and, better still, I like the hard wood inlaid floors. Rugs may be placed 
 where wanted to stand upon. It is said that the French very seldom carpet 
 a v/hole house, and laugh at the idea as a New World notion. True, " French" 
 is out of fashion now, but I take a good thing wherever I find it, put my own 
 common sense to it, which I am obliged to do in order to make it serve me 
 harmoniously, and then make the most of it." 
 
 Give the Children Sunshine. — Children need sunshine quite as much 
 as flowers do. Half an hour is not enough. Several hours are required. 
 The most beautiful flowers that ever studded a meadow could not be made 
 half so beautiful without days and days of the glad light that streams through 
 space. Light for children. Sunshine for the little elves that gladden ihrs 
 otherwise gloomy earth. Deal it out in generous fullne.'e. to them. Let the 
 nursery be in the sunshine. Better plant roses on the dark side ol an ice- 
 berg than rear babies and children in rooms and alleys stinted of the light 
 that makes life. 
 
 " Yes, mothers," writes an intelligent friend from the country, " give your 
 children the sunshine. You could not give them a gift which would cost you 
 ess, nor yet one qualified to profit them more. It will make them what we 
 in the country call tough and hardy. They require sunshine just as much as 
 plants do. All scientific persons are now united in this decision. The world 
 is full of delicate and weakly women, and, my word for it, more of the cause 
 lies in an effort on our part to make ' fair ' ladies of our daughters than in 
 any thing else." 
 
 Sunlight in the School-Room. — Dr. Andrew AVinter, in the Pall Mcdl 
 Gazette, London, says : " Wl^en the St. Martin National School, leading out of 
 Endell-street was built some years ago, we noticed with pleasure that a play- 
 ground was built at the top of the school, where light and air was plentiful. 
 The necessity of light for young children is not half appreciated. Many of 
 the affections of children, and nearly all the cadaverous looks of those 
 brought up in great cities, are ascribable to this deficiency of light and air. 
 When we see the glass-rooms of the photographers in every street, high up 
 on the top-most story, we grudge them in their application to a mere personal 
 vanity. Why should not our nurseries be constructed in the same manner f 
 If mothers knew the value of light to the skin in childhood, especially to the 
 
138 Home and Health. 
 
 children of a scrofulous tendency, we should have plenty of these glass-house 
 nurseries, where children may run about in a proper temperature, free of much 
 of that clothing which at present seals up the skin — that great supplementary 
 lung — to sunlight and oxygen." 
 
 The " Solaries " of the Ancients. — The ancients often had terraces, 
 called solaries, built on the tops of their houses, where they were in the habit 
 of taking their solar air baths. Pliny says that, for six hundred years Rome 
 had no physicians. Using such natural methods of retaining or gaining phys- 
 ical power as vapor baths, manipulation, sunlight, exercise, etc., they became 
 the mightiest of nations. By this remark I throw out no slur against true 
 and wise physicians, who are a blessing to the community, but would call their 
 attention ) lore to nature's finer methods rather than to the use of so many 
 diugs blisters, moxas, bleedings, leechings, and other violent processes which 
 so weaken and destroy the beautiful temple of the human body. 
 
 Sunlight and Digestion — An Illustration.* — Very intimate relations 
 exist -between the sun and digestion. Digestion and assimilation becomes 
 weak and imperfect if the man or animal is not daily exposed to the direct 
 rays of the sun. Mr. P., one of our merchants, came to see me about hla 
 stomach. Dyspepsia was written all over his face, was shown in his move- 
 ments, and heard 'n his voice. The conversation between us was essentially 
 as follows : — 
 
 Mr. P. " Doctor, if you will excuse a street vulgarity, I am ' played out.' 
 I can't digest, I can't work, I have lost my courage, I feel I must stop." 
 
 " Tell me about your diet." 
 
 " If you will excuse me, I know that is all right. I have studied the iub- 
 ject, and I know my food is all right." 
 
 " How about your exercise ? " 
 
 *' I have a little gymnasium in my store, and exercise an hour or two every 
 day. I sometimes tire myself out with these exercises." 
 
 " How about your sleep ? " 
 
 *' Why, Doctor, I go to bed with the chickens. At any rate I am always in 
 bed by nine o'clock, and I rise by six o'clock in the morning, take a bath, a 
 plain breakfast, and go to my counting-room. Qnce in the forenoon, and 
 once in the afternoon, I exercise in my gymnasium half an hour or so, but I 
 am getting worse all the time. Isn't it curious ? " My wife thinks I must 
 have a cancer in the stomach. Nothing seems to help me. I live the most 
 physiological life, but my digestion grows worse and worse." 
 
 *' About your counting-room ; is that light ? is it sunny ? " 
 
 " No, that is one nuisance we have in our store. The store is every way 
 
 * N-anated by Dr. Dio Lewis, in Talks about Peojile's fHomjiahn. 
 
Sunliglit and Health. 139 
 
 pleasant, only that the counting-room is so dark, we have to use gas nearly 
 all the time." 
 
 " That's it, Mr. P., that explains your cancer." 
 
 " Of course, you don't mean that ; but I suppose it would be better if the 
 counting-room was sunny." 
 
 " Why, Mr. P., no plant or animal can digest in the dark. Try it. Plant 
 a potato in your cellar. Now watch it carefully. If there is a little light, 
 that potato will sprout and try to grow. But surround it with the best ma- 
 nure, water it, do the best you can for it, only keep it in the dark, it cannot 
 digest and grow. See how slender and pale it is. Now open a window in an- 
 other part of the cellar, and notice how the poor hungry thing will stretch 
 that way. Or give the stalk a little twist, and see how it will lie down. It 
 has no strength to raise itself again. No matter how much of the best food 
 and drink you give it, it can't digest. The process of digestion, the great 
 function of assimilation, can't go on without the sunshine. Why, Sir, M'ith 
 your excellent habits, if your counting-room were in a flood of sunlight, you 
 would be better in a week, and well in a month. Mr. P., did you ever go into 
 the country late in the summer ? Of course you have been. Well, did you 
 never notice, where grain is growing in orchards, that the part under the trees 
 is smaller than that outside and away from the trees ? The land is actually 
 richer there. For years the leaves have fallen and decayed, but notwithstand 
 ing this, the wheat is only half size, and never fills well. Now, what is the 
 difficulty ? The sun shines upon it more or less. Yes, that is true, but that 
 under the trees does not receive as much sunshine as that away from them. 
 That which is thus partly in the shade, can't digest so well. Why, Sir, if you 
 will move your counting-room upstairs, in front, and stand where the sun 
 can have a chance at you, even though it is only three or four hours a day, 
 you will begin to digest your beef better within three days. Have you ever 
 noticed that the only grapes that become perfectly ripe and sweet ; that the 
 only peaches that take on those beautiful red cheeks, and offer that luscious 
 sweetness, are those that are on the outside, entirely uncovered by the leaves, 
 and perfectly exposed to the sun ? God's laws are the same in the animal 
 world. It is just as true, the only girls with red cheeks and sweet breaths, 
 the only girls who become fully ripe and sweet, are those who baptize them- 
 selves freely in God's glorious sunshine. Don't you see a good many pale 
 girls in your store, girls with a bloodless, half-baked sort of face, whose walk- 
 tag, whose voice, whose whole expression, is devoid of spirit and force ? 
 fhose girls are in the green state. Look at their lips and cheeks ; they are 
 Qot half ripe. Send them out in the country, let them throw away their par- 
 asols, put on their little jockey hats, and live out in the sunshine three months, 
 and I would give more for one of them in any work requiring soul and spirit, 
 (han for a dozen of those pale things that live in the shade. A pale woman ! 
 5he makes a very good ghost, but not much of a woman." 
 
140 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HUMAN EYE. 
 
 The essential parts of the eye are inclosed in a tough outer coat, the 
 sclerotic, to which the muscles moving it are attached, and which in front 
 changes into the transparent cornea. A little way oft" the cornea the 
 crystalline lens is suspended, dividing the eye into two unequal cavities; 
 a smaller one in front, filled with a watery fluid, tlie aqueous humor. The 
 sclerotic is lined with a highly pigmented membrane, the choroid, and this 
 in turn is lined in the back half of the eyeball with the nearly transparent 
 retina, in which the fibers of the optic nerve ramify. The choroid in front 
 is continuous with the iris, which has a contractile opening in the center, the 
 
 Tbb Eyv. 
 
 MUSCLEB OF THE EYE-BALt. — 1 Muscle 
 
 ot the upper lid. 2. Muscles of the balU 
 3. Optic nerve. 
 
 Eye.. 
 
 Horizontal Section of Right Human Eye-ball, 
 SEEN FROM ABOVE.— tt, b. Conjunctiva ; c. Cornea ; 
 d, Sclerotic ; e, Choroid ; /, Ciliary Muscle ; g. Ciliary 
 Process ; h. Iris ; i. Suspensory Ligament : k. Poste- 
 rior Aqueous Chamber between // and i ; I, Anterior 
 Aqueous Chamber ; m. Crystalline Lens ; n. Vitreous 
 Humor ; o, Retina ; p. Yellow Spot ; Q. Center of 
 Blind Spot ; r, Artery of Retina in the center of the 
 Optic Nerve. 
 
 pupil, admitting light to the lens which brings the rays to the focus and 
 forms an image upon the retina, which light, falling upon deheate structures 
 called rods and cones, causes them to stimulate the fibers of the optic nerve 
 to transmit visual impressions to the brain. 
 
 How We See. — The eye is like the camera with which a photographer 
 takes pictures. The lens is like the glass lens in the end of the tube. The 
 lining of the cavity of the eyeball is colored dark, like the inside of the box 
 of the camera. The retina is like the sensitive plate which the photogra- 
 
Illustrations of the Hitman Eye. 141 
 
 pher puts in just before lie takes the picture. The brain behind the eye is 
 represented by the photographer himself looking through from behind his 
 instrument. 
 
 When we look at an object a picture of it is made on the retina. This 
 picture can be seen by a skilllul observer looking into the eye with an in- 
 strument called an ophthalmoscope. It may be seen by looking from be- 
 hind through an eye taken from an animal just killed, as the photographer 
 looks through his camera. 
 
 The retina, which is the ending of the optic nerve, carries in to the brain 
 the impression which makes the picture. It is not the eye that sees. If the 
 optic nerve is cut off we do not see, although a picture will still be formed 
 on the retina as before. It is the brain that sees. The eye is its instrument. 
 
 Causes of Trouble in the Eye. — The eye is sometimes weak, and gets 
 very tired and sore by use, simply because the whole body is weak. But 
 generally when there is redness, swelling, or pain in the eye, tliere is some- 
 thing wrong, in itself. It may be that the delicate lining of the lids, the 
 conjunction, is inflamed, just as the linkjg of the throat is inflamed at times. 
 The lids then feel rough, as if there were sand under them. 
 
 Too Long Sight. — One of the commonest causes of aching eyes and head, 
 after reading, is too long sight. When we look at a near object the shape 
 of the lens is changed a little by an effort of the eye. Too long-sighted 
 eyes have to make more effort to do this than eyes with natural sight. The 
 strain tires and irritates them, and may make them very weak. This trouble 
 can be entirely relieved by glasses. 
 
 Too Short Sight. — Short-sighted persons do not commonly have aching 
 and inflamed eyes. Their eyes do not have to make the effort that those 
 of long-sighted people do to see near objects. Reading does not tire them. 
 But siiort-sightedness is liable to increase. It makes tlie vision of every 
 thing more than a few feet away indistinct. It may be remedied by glasses, 
 but they are an inconvenient necessity. 
 
 Too short sight is very common among students. It is found that when 
 children begin to go to school few of tl-em are short-sighted. In c;ich 
 higher class there are more short-sighted pupils, and the number increases 
 so fast that we infer that there is something in the habits of school-children 
 that makes tliem short-sighted. 
 
 Causes of Too Short Sight. — If we inquire what this cause of short sight 
 is, we find that it is not any one thing, but many things. Every thing that 
 tires and strains the eyes of school ciiildren tends to make them short- 
 sighted. Causes of short sight are: 1. Too much use of the eyes. 2. Bad 
 light. 3. Wrong position when reading. 
 
142 Home and Health. 
 
 Functions of the Iris. — The iris constitutes a diaphragm which regu- 
 lates the amount of light entering the eyeball. Tiie aperture in the center, 
 the pupil, may be dilated by contraction of a system of radiating fibers of 
 involuntary muscle, or contracted by the action of another system of fibers 
 forming a sphincter at the margin of the pupil. The radiating fibers arc 
 controlled by the sympathetic, while those of the circular set are excited 
 by the third cranial nerve. The variations in diameter of the pupil are 
 determined by the greater or less intensity of the light acting on the retina. 
 A strong light causes contraction of the pupil ; with light of less intensity 
 the pupil dilates. In the human being, a strong light acting on one eye will 
 often cause contraction of the pupils of both eyes. 
 
 The pupil contracts under the influence : (1) Of an increased intensity of 
 light ; (2) of the efi'ort of accommodation for near objects ; (3) of a strong 
 convergence of the two eyes and (4) of such active substances as nicotine, 
 morphia, and physostigmine. It dilates under the influence: (1) Of a 
 diminished intensity of light ; (2) of vision of distant objects ; (3) of a 
 strong excitation of any sensory nerve; (4) of dyspnoea; and (5) of such 
 substances as atropine and hyoscyamine. The chief function of the iris is 
 to so moderate the amount of light entering the. eye as to secure sharpness 
 of definition of the retinal image. This it accomplishes by diminishing 
 the amount of light reflected from near objects; by cutting off the more 
 divergent rays and admitting only those approaching a parallel direction, 
 which,' in a normal eye, are focused on the retina. 
 
 CARE OF THE EYES. 
 
 The eye is one of the most delicate and sensitive organs of the human 
 body. It is most closely connected with the brain, and with the general sys- 
 tem of civilization. It shares with the brain in all the various conditions of 
 nervous excitement or depression, labor or repose. It is affected by all the 
 obstructions and irregularities of the general circulation, and suffers, there- 
 fore, from any injury or lack in the general health. 
 
 Strange Neglect of the Eyes. It is a remarkable fact that this organ is 
 more neglected than any other. " I have known," says a recent writer," * " fond 
 and doting mothers take their children of four and five years of age to have 
 their first teeth filled, instead of having them extracted, so that the jaw might 
 not suffer in its due development, and become in later years contracted, while 
 the eye, the most intellectual, the most apprehensive, and the most discrim- 
 inating of all our organs, receives not even a passing thought, much less an 
 
 • Harper's Magazine, ISW. 
 
Care of the Byes. 143 
 
 examination. It never seems to occur to the parents that the principal 
 agent in a child's education is the eye ; that through it it gains not only its 
 sense of the methods and ways of existence of others, but even the means 
 for the maintainance of its own ; nor does it occur to the parents for an in- 
 stant that many of the mental as well as bodily attributes of a gro^ ing child 
 are fashioned, even if they are not created, by the condition of the eye alone 
 A child is put to school without the slightest inquiry on the part of the parent, 
 and much less on the part of the teacher, whether it has the normal amount 
 of sight ; whether it sees objects sharply and well defined or indistinctly and 
 distorted ; whether it be near-sighted or far-sighted ; whether it sees with 
 one or two eyes ; or, finally, if it does see clearly and distinctly, whether it is 
 not using a quantity of nervous force sufficient after a time not only to ex- 
 haust the energy of the visual organ, but of the nervous system at large." 
 
 How the Eye is Kept Clean. — For us to be able to see objects clearly 
 and distinctly, it is necessary that the eye should be kept clean. For this pur- 
 pose it is furnished with a little gland, from which flows a watery fluid, (tears,) 
 which is spread over the eye by the lid, and it is afterward swept off by it, 
 and runs through a hole in the bone to the under surface of the nose, while 
 the warm air, passing over it while breathing, evaporates it. It is remark- 
 able that no such gland can be found in the eyes of fish, as the element in 
 which they live answers the same purpose. If the eye had not been furnished 
 with a liquid to wash it, and a lid to sweep it off, things would appear as they 
 do when you look through a dusty glass. 
 
 How the Eye is Protected from Irritation. — All along the edges of the 
 eyelids there is a great number of little tubes or glands, from which flow an 
 oily substance which spreads over the surface of the skin, and thus prevents 
 the edges from being sore or irritated, and it also helps to keep tears within 
 th.c lid. There are also six little muscles attached to the eye, which enable 
 us to move it in every direction ; and when we consider the different motions 
 they are capable of giving to the eye, we cannot but admire the goodness of 
 Him who formed them, and thus saved us the trouble of turning our heads 
 every time we wish to view an object. 
 
 How to Improve the Eyelashes. — If the eyelashes be irregular or short, 
 they can be lengthened by simply clipping the split ends once a month. 
 
 Ladies in Oriental lands often resort to this method with invariable success. 
 
 Over-straining the Eyes. — This is done by trying to read or work with 
 partial or imperfect light. How common is our habit of using the eyes in 
 the evening twilight and just before "lighting up." We desire to somplete 
 some work, as writing, reading, or sewing, by daylight, and so exert 5urselve? 
 with insufficient light. Every family should carefully guard against this. So 
 also care should be used that there shall be sufficient light after nightfall 
 
ltl:4: Home ajstd Health. 
 
 When needed for the comfort or convenience of the eyes, another candle, 
 lamp, or gas-burner must be lighted. The extra cost to the person will be 
 more than saved in the preservation of the sight. 
 
 Eye-strain Sometimes the Cause of Headache. — Kecent experiments 
 show what the earher physicians suspected, but could not demonstrate, that 
 very troublesome headaches are sometimes the immediate res .il if straining 
 the eyes. In order to test such cases. Dr. Wm. Thomson (Am. Journal oj 
 Medical Science, 1870) recommends the use of "test disks." The simplest 
 and most convenient one, that described by Dr. Mitchell as a piece of 
 closely -perforated Bristol -board or card, may be made to answer as a quali- 
 tative test. If we pierce m a card, close together, half a dozen pin holes, and 
 view with one eye through these a tip of gas-jet or a small candle flame at 
 least fifteen feet distant, if there be myopia or hypermatropia, the patient 
 will see a number of points of light, while the perfect, normal eye will see 
 but one. If the disordered eye be astigmatic, the multiplied images will be 
 spread out laterally, if the defect be in the horizontal meridian, or will be at 
 right angles to this if it be in the perpendicular meridian. Physicians out 
 of reach of the resources of the great cities will find Dr. Thomson's test 
 disks well worth learning to use. Without it or more complex means no 
 one can feel sure that in any case of headache the cause may not be in the 
 organs of vision. If found there, its treatment will be at once suggested. 
 
 Danger of Too-Continuous Use. — Even when the light is abundant, the 
 eye often wearies after continuous use for a few hours. Especially is this 
 true after some physical debility. When such weariness arises work should 
 be stopped for a time. A brief rest of the eyes will generally bring relief, 
 and permit a renewal of the work without danger. It may be well to close 
 the eyes for a little while, or to walk out and use the eyes on distant ob 
 jects, or else so change the work in-doors for a little time as to lessen the 
 fatigue. 
 
 Proper Distance of the Object. — Great care should be used in holding 
 the object at a proper distance from the eye. Generally, persons have the 
 bad habit of lowering the head to the object. In most cases 12 inches 
 should be the leant and about 20 inches the maximum distance for the book 
 or work from the eye, in ordinary cases. Seats ought always to be so ad- 
 justed to the height of tables or desks, that it shall not be necessary for 
 persons to stoop over into a " rcund-shouldered " position in order to work 
 or to read or write. 
 
 Proper Quantity of Light. — It is well known that we cannot look at the 
 sun with impunity. Even luminous objects, far less brilliant than the sun. 
 cause a painful sensation when theii' rays strike directly upon the eye. The 
 more uniformly the light is dispersed and the less directly its rays penetrate 
 
Ccvre of the Eyes. 145 
 
 the eyi3, the mure beneficial is its action. The lyiiformly- dispersed daylight 
 serves as the best example. Every violent and sudden contrast between 
 light and darkness is disagreeable, and becomes injurious if frequently re- 
 peated. Flickering light is likewise unpleasant and fatiguing. The simul- 
 taneous action of luminous contrasts is also harmful. Such contrasts are 
 j.roduced when a bright light is covered by a dark shade. The small space 
 lighted ie intensified by the broad dark zone of shadow around it ; and under 
 the influenco of such contrary states of illumination, the eyes are strained 
 and so tire easily. A shade of ground glass or porcelain, covering the 
 flame and causing a somewhat subdued but uniform illumination, is far 
 preferable to a dark shade. In these materials we possess a powerful means 
 of softening the dazzling light by dispersion of its rays. 
 
 Best Direction of the Light. — The best authorities assure us that " sky- 
 light," or light from above, is the best light for all work not requiring a 
 Dcnt position of the head, and, therefore, deserves a far more general ap- 
 plication in the construction of factories, work-shops, schools, and other 
 buildings, or in the methods of artificial illumination. In writing or similar 
 handwork the work should strike from the left side, in order to avoid the 
 shadow cast by the right hand ; and in all cases it is far better that the 
 light should come from above than from below. For this reason, those 
 window-shades that raise and lower from the bottom, are preferable to the 
 ordinary ones that are rolled at the top, or to the window-awnings that shut 
 out the light of the sky, and admit it only from below. It is, therefore, 
 important that parents and teachers in schools should also see to it that 
 pupils do not study with the direct rays of the sunshine falling on the book, 
 or desk, or floor, and that they do not, on the other hand, sit directly facing 
 low windows, as the eyes become dazzled by either of these errors and in- 
 jury may result. 
 
 The Use of Colored Glasses. — When there is perceived any great sensi- 
 tiveness of the eyes toward very bright or excessive light, toward white 
 and reflecting objects of work, or toward the reflection of the sun-light from 
 snow and other white surfaces, the use of spectacles with plain light-blue or 
 gray (so-called London smoke) glasses is generally safe and a great relief 
 and protection ; as it softens the painful brilliancy, without interfering with 
 ready sight. Blue veils, to some extent, answer the same purpose as blue 
 glasses. 
 
 Relieving Near and Far-sightedness. — Near-sightedness is remedied by 
 wearing concave glasses, and far-sightedness by convex glasses. Some think 
 that by manipulation of the eyes, such as pressing them if too convex, and 
 rubbing them up from the corners if too concave, will remedy the effect, but 
 all this actic»n is not only useless, but also injurious. For the kind of glasses 
 consult an optician, and for any defect r r disease of the eyes, consult an 
 10 
 
146 Home and Health. 
 
 oculist. The eye is too delicate an organ to be treated except by a skillful 
 physician. 
 
 Changing Sight not a Cause for Alarm. — As a rule the sight begins to 
 fail about the fortieth year. The first sign is a disposition to hold things at a 
 distance to see them well, as in reading. The circumstance may alarm a 
 man, who may hastily infer that disease is surely upon him. Eyes are some- 
 times put out by false notions with regard to this condition of the sight. 
 Kesovt is had to artificial helps, as globes, manipulations, eye-washes, and 
 perhaps salves. In the first place, the reader should ascertain whether his 
 age is not the natural cause. He should then procure an eye-glass adapted 
 to his sight in such a way that he can see easily and readily what he could 
 not before. 
 
 Use Glasses as Soon as Needed. — The opinion prevailmg with some that 
 the early use of glasses is harmful " in the end," is erroneous. When eye- 
 glasses will improve the sight, they should be worn ; any delay will be liable 
 to injure the eyes by straining their already impaired power. Nearly all 
 persons should use glasses to read with as soon as they begin to hold a book 
 more than eight inches from the eyes. 
 
 Double Glasses sometimes Useful. — A New York optician has suc- 
 ceeded in helping eyesight wh^ch requires a very short focus. This he does 
 by putting together two plane-convex lenses with their convex sights toward 
 ?.ach other. 
 
 Squinting and its Remedy. — This painful affection of the eyes gen- 
 erally appears about the fifth year, though sometimes as late as the eight- 
 eenth. The former of these ages points to the methodical employment of 
 the eyes upon near work, as in learning to read, etc. There are times in all 
 cases of strabismus (squinting) when it is only observable during near 
 vision ; and the squint alternates, as sometimes one eye is used, sometimes 
 the other ; or one may be used for near, the other for distant sight. And 
 soon the patient gets into the habit of using one eye only, and the one dis- 
 used becoT^es less and less sensitive to the rays of light, until it is nearly or 
 quite blind. Thus no further calls are made for exertion upon the ciliary 
 muscle, the internal muscle relaxes, the external asserts itself; and the 
 strabismus commences to disappear; but if the vision were now tested, the 
 eye will be found blind. 
 
 The obvious treatment for extreme strabismus is to prevent its confirma- 
 tion by putting correcting glasses on the child while the sight is still good 
 for distant vision. The objections often urged against the use of glasses by 
 children — " risk of breakage " and " appearance " — are unworthy of answer. 
 What is the temporary loss of a few cents, or of temporary change of the 
 child's appearance, compared to a permanent loss of sight ! 
 
Care of the Eyes, 147 
 
 A skillful surgeon will generally cure strabismus by cutting the ligamoiit 
 which, by contraction, draws the eye out of place. The operation is neithei 
 dangerous nor very painful. 
 
 Near-sightedness in Children. — Children troubled by near-sightednes « 
 should not lean forward at their work, as thus the vessels of the eye bo- 
 come overcharged with blood. They should avoid fine print, and spare tl cir 
 eyes in every possible way. If a person reach middle age without especiAl 
 difficulty of sight, he is comparatively safe. 
 
 How to Remove Foreign Bodies from the Eye. — If any foreign sub- 
 stance, (as cinders, grains of sand, and broken eye-lashes,) gets into the eye, 
 it should be removed before inflammation takes place. If cinder or dust get 
 into the eye, and no surgeon is at hand, the eyes should be closed that tears 
 may accumulate in sufficient quantity, then take the point of a cambric hand- 
 kerchief, and opening the eye so as to turn back the lid, the substance can 
 be removed. Some use a small loop made from fine smooth wire, which may 
 be moved around under the lid. 
 
 " Eye-stones " or Grain of Flaxseed for the Eye. — The popular idea 
 of the charm of "eye-stones " is a delusion. While they seem to remove cin- 
 ders, they really raise the eyelid and allow the tears to do their proper work. 
 A grain of flaxseed answers quite as well. 
 
 " Wild Hairs," or hairs which have grown on the inner side of the lid, 
 must be extracted with forceps, and all matter which may have collected 
 around the root washed away. 
 
 "Cataract" in the Eye. — Cataract is a disease in which the crystalline 
 lens or its capsules become opaque, and thus obscure the vision. A skillful 
 surgeon can remove the lens or cause it to be absorbed, and the wearing of 
 convex glasses will remedy the defect. The treatment of such cases must 
 always be referred to competent medical authority. 
 
 Color-blindness. — The most frequent of this peculiar blindness (or Dal- 
 tonism) is, that the patient cannot distinguish red ; next green ; while such 
 blindness for blue is rare. Persons have been known to be blind in respect 
 of two of the base colors, and occasionally for all colors. 
 
 In an examination of 1,154 persons in Edinburgh, 5 6 per cent, were found 
 color-blind; and among 611 students of Harvard University and the Boston 
 Institute of Technology, 5 per cent, of the number were found to be affected bj 
 it. Among the 3,000,000 of persons thus affected in France, the number ol 
 females as compared with men is about one to ten. Experience has proven 
 that a great number are thus defective in this resi>ect without themselrei or 
 others suspecting it. 
 
 Color-blindness Explained. — This strange fact is explained by our senses 
 of the exterior world being in a manner entirely practical. Objects are per- 
 
148 Home and Health. 
 
 maneni Ij invested by us with qualities which are first noted. Thu; if we say 
 this carpet is red^ it will afterward seem to us to be a red carpet. So not only 
 by the color do we recognize it, but by a complex combination of qualities 
 among which the real sensation of color plays a small part. Thus we :earn 
 the sky is blue, grass green, bricks red. 
 
 The Question of Color-blindness Important. — The traveling public, 
 both on sea and land, know the use of red and green signals is universal. 
 The only security against collisions and other accidents — especially at night — 
 is a proper interpretation of such colors. Hence the importance of securing 
 for important posts employes of whose correct sight there can be no doubt. 
 Among the examining tests which have been tried, the simplest and best 
 seems to be the one used more than twenty years ago by Wilson, of Edinburgli, 
 more recently revived by Holingren; and which is now generally adopted in 
 Europe. The person examined is directed to match different-colored wors- 
 teds. 
 
 Cure of Color-blindness. — In nine out of ten cases it may be easily cured 
 in young subjects. The best method of treatment consists in methodical ex- 
 ercise of the eyes on colored objects. The women of a family ought to un- 
 dertake the development of the chromatic sense in children, and especially 
 those who may commit errors in the denomination of colors. They should 
 be careful not to ridicule these *' Daltonians." In future no one ought to be 
 admitted into the service of the railways, the marine, or schools of painting 
 without an examination as to colors. " Daltonians " should never be intrusted 
 with any service connected with colored signals. Regular exercises in colors 
 should be instituted, both in the marine and army. Examinations and exer- 
 cises in colors should be established in all schools. 
 
 Medical Treatment of Color-blindness. — By a recent discovery Dalton- 
 ism, or "color-blindness," can be cured by looking through a layer of ftcscine 
 (a dark-colored substance obtained from animal oil) in solution. A practical 
 application of this discovery has been made by M. Joval, in France, by inter- 
 posing between two glasses a thin layer of gelatine. 
 
 False Sight Explained. — Dr. Clarke's attention being drawn to this 
 subject by striking cases of hallucination of siglit, explains these phenom- 
 ena as according with the accepted facts of anatomy and physiology, " The 
 apparatus of human vision," he says, " may be described as a mechanism con- 
 sisting of fine organs, closely connected and in intimate communication with 
 each other. Each member of this apparatus has its special furiiion, and 
 each one h supposed to do its own part or duty honestly ; that is, never to 
 send a report to a station above which it has not received from below. Nev- 
 ertheless, modified by disease, disturbed by drugs, or influenced by the brain 
 itself, it sometimes plays false.^ Dr. Clarke clr 1ms that false sight is analo- 
 
Care of the Eyes, 149 
 
 t^oiis to tliat well known false sensation of pain in a linb days or weeks after 
 amputation, and describes seve^'al forms of false sight (pseudopia) arising 
 fi'oin different cerebral omditions ; sometimes provoked by an abnormal habit 
 like somnambulism and somnolentia, and sometimes by active cerebral disor- 
 der like delirium tremens; sometimes by febrile excitement, soraetimes by 
 anxiety and mental strain, by stimulants ; and by an act of volition aided by 
 habit, association and emotion. 
 
 How to Treat a Sty. — The sty is a small boil protruding from the eye« 
 lid. It will usually pass away of itself, but its cure may be hastened by ap- 
 plying a warm poultice of bread and water in a small linen bag. Apply 
 three or four times a day, and each time foment the eye with warm milk and 
 water. 
 
 Important hints Concerning Eyesight. — Unless circumstances demand 
 ft, it is better that no one should read, sew, or use the eyes for any close work 
 on objects near by before breakfast or immediately after a full meal. 
 
 Bad air and bad food often cause diseased eyes. 
 
 Cold water is about the safest application for inflamed eyes. louHicea 
 should never be used. 
 
 Avoid all sudden changes between light and darkness. 
 
 Avoid looking suddenly from a near object to one in the distance. 
 
 Never sleep so that on awaking the eyes shall open on the light of the wiu^ 
 dow. 
 
 Do not use eyesight by light so scant that it requires an effort to diserim! 
 nate. 
 
 Never read or sew directly in front of the light of a window 
 
 It is best to have the light from above, or obliquely, or over the left shoulder. 
 
 Too much light creates a glare, and pains and confuses the sight. The mo- 
 ment you are sensible of an effort to distinguish, that moment stop and talk, 
 walk or ride. 
 
 As the sky is blue and the earth green, it would seem that the ceiling 
 should be a bluish tinge, the carpet green, and the walls of some melloiv 
 tint. 
 
 The moment you are instinctively inclined to rub the eyes, that mora8D« 
 cease to use them. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HUMAN EAR-HOW WE HEAR. 
 
 In man and the higher vertebrates the organ of hearing is very compli- 
 cated, and is divisible into three parts: the external ear, wliicli includes 
 the pinna, or auricle and meatus, or external opening; the middle ear, 
 drum, or tympanum ; and the internal ear, or labyrinth. 
 
150 
 
 Home and Health, 
 
 SECTioNAii View of the Human Ear of the Left Side.— 
 aa, Helix ; b, Antihelix ; c, Fossa of the Antihelix ; d. Antitra- 
 pus ; e, Tragus ; /, Lobule, or Lobe ; g, Concha ; h, External 
 Auditory Meatus, or Auditory Canal ; ?, Tympanic Membrane; 
 A', Tympanum ; ?, Mallens; m, Incus ;?(, Stapes; o, Vestibule ; 
 p, Cochlea ; q, Three semicircular Canals ; r. Auditory Nerve ; 
 s. Eustachian Tube. 
 
 Bones of the Left Ear, Seen from the Inside.— l, Ham- 
 mer; 2, Anvil ; 3. Stirrup ; 4, Stapedius. 
 
 The waves of air enter the external auditory canal and strike the drum- 
 head. They make the drum-head vibrate. Across the cavity of the drum, 
 
 from the drum-head to the 
 opposite wall, ihe three 
 little bones of the ear — 
 the "hammer," the "an- 
 vil," and the " stirrup " — 
 are stretched in a chain. 
 The hammer is joined to 
 the drum-liead and to the 
 anvil, and the anvil to 
 the stirrup. 
 
 "When the drum-mem- 
 brane vibrates, these lit- 
 tle bones are made to 
 vibrate. The last one in 
 the chain, the stirrup, is 
 joined to a small mem- 
 brane in the inner wall of the drum, which is like a little drum-head. 
 On the other side of this little drum-head is the inner ear, which is filled 
 with water. As the stirrup vibrates it sets the little innor ear vibrating, 
 and the little waves strike the ends of the nerve of hearing, and by it the 
 impression is carried in to the brain. 
 
 The middle ear is a cavity connected by the Eustachian tube with the 
 pharynx, separated from the opening of the external ear by the tympanic 
 membrane, and containing a chain of three small bones or ossicles, named 
 malleus, incus, and stapes, which connect this membrane with the inter- 
 nal ear. The essential part of the internal ear where the fibers of the 
 auditory nerve terminate is the membranous labj^rinlh, a complicated system 
 of sacs and tubes fihed wnth a fluid (the endoljmiph), and lodged in a 
 cavity, called the bony labyrinth, but is partially suspended in it in a fluid 
 (the perilymph). The bony labyrinth consists of a central cavity, the 
 vestibule, into whicli tliree semicircular canals and the canal of the coch- 
 lea (spirally coiled in mammals) open. The vestibular portion of the mem- 
 branous labyrintli consists of two sacs, the utriculus and sacculus, con- 
 nected by a narrow tube, into tlie former of wl:ich three membranous semi- 
 circular canals open, while the latter is connected witli a membranous 
 tube in the cochlea containing the organ of corti. By the help of the ex- 
 ternal ear the sonorous vibrations of the air are concentrated upon tlie 
 tympanic membrane and set it vibrating; the chain of bones in the middle 
 ear transmits these vibrations to the internal ear. 
 
How We Hear. 151 
 
 An ear-aclie is commonly caused by inflammation of the lining of the 
 drum. It swells, and discharges a fluid tliat fills the cavity, and makes pain 
 by pressure. Sometimes, as the inflammation subsides, the fluid is absorbed. 
 Sometimes the drum-membrane bursts and lets out the fluid, and then the 
 pain stops. A discharge from the ear commonly comes from an inflamed 
 middle ear through a hole in the drum-head. If the hole is small it may 
 heal up when the discharge stops. If a large part of the drum-raembrane 
 is gone it will not lieal up. 
 
 The loss of the drum-head does not destroy the hearing, but it impairs it. 
 
 Ear-wax is made b}' glands in the skin lining the auditory canal. It is 
 not a safe practice to dig it out with hair-pins or other instruments. Ear- 
 wax is necessary to keep the canal and drum-head soft and moist, and it 
 will take care of itself. If it forms hard lumps, and stops the ear, as it 
 sometimes does, it may be removed by carefully syringing with warm water. 
 
 A tuning fork may be set vibrating if its own particular note, or one har- 
 monic with it, be sounded in its neighborhood. In other words, it will 
 vibrate under the iiittuence of a particular set of vibrations, and no others. 
 If the vibrating ends of the tuning fork were so arranged as to impinge 
 upon a nerve, their repeated minute blows would at once excite this nerve. 
 
 Suppose that of a set of tuning forks, tuned to every note and distinguish- 
 able fraction of a note in tlie scale, one were thus connected with the end 
 of every fiber of the cochlear nerve, then any vibration communicated to 
 the perilymph would affect the tuning fork which could vibrate with it, 
 while the rest would be absolutely or relatively indifferent to that vibra- 
 tion. In other words, the vibration would give rise to the sensation of one 
 particular tone and no other, and every musical interval would be repre- 
 sented by a distinct impression on the sensorium. It is believed that the 
 fibers of Corti are competent to perform the function of such tuning forks ; 
 that each of them is set vibrating to its full strength by a particular kind 
 of wave sent through the perilymph, and by no other ; and that each affects 
 a particular fiber of the cochlear nerve only. 
 
 The fibers of the cochlear nerve may be excited by internal causes, such 
 as tlie varying pressure of the blood and the like. And in some persons 
 such internal influences do give rise to veritable musical spectra, sometimes 
 of a very intense character. But for the appreciation of music produced 
 external to us we depend upon the intermediation of the scala media and 
 its Cortian fibers. 
 
 It has already been explained that the stapedius and tensor tympani mus- 
 cles are competent to tighten the membrane of the fenestra ovalis and that 
 of the tympanum, and it is probable that they come into action when the 
 sonorous impulses are too violent, and would produce too extensive vibra- 
 
152 Home and Health. 
 
 tions of these membranes. They therefore tend to moderate tlie effect of 
 intense sound in much the same way that, as we shall find, the contraction 
 of the circular fibers of the iris tends to moderate the effect of intense light 
 in the eye. 
 
 The cochlea discriminates the quality rather than the quantity or inten- 
 sity of sound. There is great reason to believe that tlie excitement of any 
 single filament of the cochlear nerve gives rise, in the mind, to a distinct 
 musical impression, and that every fraction of a tone which a well-trained 
 ear is capable of distinguishing is represented by its separate nerve fiber. 
 Thu^ the scala media resembles a key-board in function as well as in appear- 
 ance, the fibers of Corti being the keys, and the ends of the nerves represent- 
 ing the strings which the keys strike. Tf it were possible to irritate each 
 of these nerve fibers experimentally, we should be able to produce any musi- 
 cal tone at will. 
 
 The function of the Eustachian tube is probably to keep the air in the 
 tympanum, or on the inner side of the tympanic membrane, of about the 
 same tension as that on the outer side, which could not always be the 
 case if the tympanum were a closed cavity.* 
 
 CARE OF THE EAR. 
 
 How Sound is Produced. — Whenever one body strikes another in the 
 air, waves are produced, just as when we throw a stone into the water a se- 
 ries of concentric circles surround the spot where it sinks. These waves of 
 air strike upon the membrane. This vibrates and sends the motion along 
 the chain of bones in the middle ear to the fluids of the labyrinth. Here, 
 bristles, sand, and stones pound away, and the wondrous harp of the coch- 
 lea, catching up the pulsations, carries them to the fibres of the auditory 
 nerve, which conveys them to the brain, and gives the mind the idea of 
 sound. 
 
 Careful Attention and Treatment. — The ear needs the greatest care. 
 Cold water should not be allowed to enter the external ear. If the wax ac- 
 cumulates, never remove ' i with a hard instrument, but with a little warm 
 water, turning the head to let it run out. The hair around the ears she aid 
 never be left wet, as it may chill this sensitive organ. 
 
 Temporary Deafness. — This may be caused by the gathering and Ijard- 
 ening of ear-wax, in which case the cause may be removed as shown above. 
 Temporary deafness, sometimes from imperfect action of the Eustacian tube,* 
 
 * The Eustacian tube extends from the mouth to the middle ear, or cavity inside the ear 
 4riim. for tlie piirjiose of admitting tlie air freely Inside of tin- tvinnannm or (Ar-drmii. 
 
Ca/re of the Ea/r. 158 
 
 caused by iiiflammatiou of the ear. In such cases the muscles that o} en the 
 tube should be kept in action by a gargle of alum, or chlorate of potash, or 
 cold water. 
 
 Insect in the Ear. — If an insect gets into the ear, pour a little sweet oil 
 hito it an 1 kill it, and then remove it with warm water. If this treatment 
 fails, plug the external meatus with a piece of " cotton-wool," thoroughly sat- 
 urated with a strong solution of common salt or vinegar, and large enough to 
 close the orifice completely. After its introduction, turn the patient on the 
 eide affected, and press the hand firmly on the ear. In a few minutes the 
 noise and irritation caused by the insect, will cease, and, if the plug be 
 withdrawn, the insect will probably be found partially imbedded in its sub- 
 stance. 
 
 Other Small Bodies in the Ear — To remove small bodies, a stream of 
 water may be thrown gently into the canal, or a scoop or bent probe may 
 be used. 
 
 Fungus in the Ear. — Exposure of the external ear to an impure, damp at- 
 mosphere, coupled with neglect to cleanse the ear, often results in the growth 
 of fungus, which can be detected by the microscope. One physician reports 
 that he can "count such cases by the hundred." The fungus affects the 
 walls of the external ear. One physician reports the case of a cobbler who 
 was accustomed to sit on a bench with his left side close to a window open- 
 ing into a damp, low atmosphere. He became nearly deaf in that ear from 
 the growth of the fungus " on the old wax." 
 
 Remedy for Fungus. — Wash away the large masses with a syringe, and 
 apply a weak solution of sulphate of zinc — eight grains to the ounce ; after 
 the fungus is removed, to prevent its return, keep the meatus of the ear free 
 and dry. 
 
 " Singing in the Ear." — Michael, who was well acquainted with the se 
 dative influence of nitrite of amyl on the sympathetic system, and especially 
 on the vaso-motor nerves, resolved {^Archives Med. Beiges) to try whether it 
 would not prove equally successful in singing in the ear, and eventually ob- 
 tained good results in nineteen cases out of twenty-seven. 
 
 From two to five drops of nitrite of amyl were inhaled in one dose. The 
 inhalation was continued as long as the following symptoms lasted, viz., a 
 iushed face and injection of the vessels of the eye, and was discontinued the 
 raoment the patient began to feel giddy. It was noticed that all the patients 
 who subsequently improved, complained that the noise in the ears increased 
 during inhalation, but as soon as the flush began to disappe ir on the face, 
 the singing noise decreased, and was less than before inhalation. In some 
 patients the improvement lasted only one hour, in others for some weeks, bui 
 Rs fl rule i', lasted from two to ten days. A second inhalation, if not made 
 
154 Home and Health. 
 
 too soon after the first, had much more marked effects. The author fhmks 
 that at least two days must be allowed to elapse between two inh.i/ations ; 
 and that the second must not be taken m cases of acute catarrh, or whero 
 the singing noise is due to some mechanical cause. — London Medical Record^ 
 May 16, 1879. 
 
 Remedies for Earache. — 1. Dr. Browning, of Mississippi, earnestly 
 commends the following prescription as a remedy for acute earache: To 
 bac oo, (cut fine,) one drachm ; glycerine, one ounce ; mix, and put five drops intt 
 the ear once a day. 
 
 2. A case is related of a person suffering with intense pain from earache, 
 who, after trying all other remedies without relief, was finally cured by pour- 
 ing vinegar upon a hot brick, and with a funnel conducting the steam into 
 the ear. Relief was quick and permanent. 
 
 3. Take a small piece of cotton-wool, making a depression in the center 
 with a finger, and fill it with as much ground pepper as will rest on a five- 
 cent piece, gather it into a ball and tie it up, dip the ball into sweet oil and 
 insert it into the ear, covering the latter with cotton-wool, and use a bandage 
 or cap to retain it in its place. Almost instant relief will be experienced, 
 and the application is so gentle that an infant will not be injured by it, but 
 experience relief, as well as adults. 
 
 4. Generally heat is an efficient remedy. Apply a warm poultice or warm 
 oil to the ear. Rub the back of the ear with warm laudanum. In case of a 
 fetid discharge, carefully syringe the ear with warm milk and water. In all 
 cases keep the ear thoroughly cleansed. Relief is often given by rubbing 
 the back of the ear with a little hartshorn and water. 
 
 Earache Relieved by Arnica. — A physician endorses the following: 
 There is, however, one remedy which the experience of twenty years has 
 taught LS is unfailing. We have seen it repeatedly tried in our own family, 
 and have frequently recommended it to others, always with the same satis 
 factory result. No house should be without its bottle of arnica. It is indis- 
 pensable in cases of cuts, burns, and bruises, and in earache it is a sovereign 
 cure. As soon as any soreness is felt in the ear, which feeling mostly pre 
 cedes the regular " ache," let three or f jur drops of tincture of arnica be 
 ponred in, and then the orifice filled with a little cotton to exclude the air, 
 and in a short time the uneasiness is forgotten. If the arnica is not resorted 
 to until there is actual pain, the cure may not be so speedy, but it is just as 
 certain. If one application of the arnica does not effect a cure, it will be 
 necessary to repeat it, it may be several times. It is a sure preventive of 
 gathering in the ear, which is the usual cause of earache. We have never 
 yet known any harm or serious inconvenience to attend the use of arnica ; 
 though if the spirits with which it is made are strong, it may be diluted with 
 
Care of the Ea/r. 155 
 
 A little water, as the spirits, not the arnica, will sometimes cause a temporary 
 dizziness of the head, which is vmpleasant. 
 
 Don't Treat the Ear for Toothache. — It is a bad practice to put cot- 
 ton-wool soaked in laudanum or chloroform into the ear for the relief of 
 toothache. It is true that it may sometimes prove effectual and procure a 
 night's rest, for the connection between the teeth and the ear is very close. 
 But let it be borne in mind that the ear is far too delicate and valuable an 
 organ to be used as a medium for the application of strong remedies for dis- 
 orders of the teeth, and that both laudanum and chloroform, more especially 
 the latter, are powerful irritants, and that such applications are always ac- 
 companied with risk. The teeth should be looked after for themselves by 
 some competent dentist ; and if toothache spreads to the ear, this is another 
 reason why they should be attended to at once, for prolonged pain in the 
 head, arising from the teeth, may itself injure the hearing. In earache every- 
 thing should be done to soothe it, and all strong, irritating applications should 
 be avoided. Pieces of hot fig or onion should on no account be put in ; but 
 warm flannels should be applied, with poppy fomentations, externally, if the 
 pain does not soon subside. 
 
 Don't "Box the Ears." — The practice of boxing children's ears is ex- 
 ceedingly reprehensible. It is known that the passage of the ear is closed by 
 a thin membrane, especially adapted to be influenced by evei'y impulse of the 
 air, and with nothing but the air to support it internally. "What, then, can 
 be more likely to injure this membrane than a sudden and forcible compres- 
 sion of the air in front of it ? If any one designed to break or over-stretch 
 the membrane, a more efficient means could scarcely be devised than to bring 
 the hand suddenly and forcibly down upon the passage of the ef.r, thus driv- 
 ing the air violently before it, with no possibility of its escape but by the 
 membrane giving way. Medical authorities assert that children are in this 
 way made more or less deaf by boxing on the ear. 
 
 CARE OF THE NOSE.-SMELLING. 
 
 The Sense of Smell. — The nostrils open at the back into the pharynx, 
 and are lined by a continuation of the mucous membrane of the throat. The 
 olfactory nerves enter through a sieve-like bony plate at the roof of the 
 nose, and are distributed over the inner surface of the two olfactory cham- 
 bers. The purpose of the sense of smell is to warn us of the presence of 
 foul air, and to aid us in the selection of food. 
 
156 Home and Health. 
 
 The Object May be Distant. — The object to be smelled need not touch 
 the nose, but tiny particles borne on the air enter the nasal passages. Three 
 quaiters of a grain of musk placed in a room causes a very powerful odor for 
 a considerable length of time, without any sensible diminution in weight. 
 Odors are transported by the air a long distance. Navigators state that the 
 winds bring the odors of the spice islands to them when far away at sea. 
 
 Foreign Substances in the Nose. — Beans, cherry-pits, peas, etc., ofteu 
 cause considerable, but not serious, inconvenience among children. The sim- 
 plest way of getting rid of the intruder is to close the opposite nostril, and 
 blow forcibly into the patient's mouth. Sometimes sneezing, caused by snuff 
 introduced into the nostril, will dislodge the object. In place of this, a stream 
 of water carried into the nostril by means of a nasal douche, may wash out 
 the material. When simple measures fail, a physician must be called, and 
 the forceps resorted to. 
 
 Bleeding from the Nose. — The causes which commonly produce bleeding 
 from the nose, are those which send the blood too strongly to the head, such 
 as strong coffee, too full living, exposure to heat, excess in drinking; any 
 violent mental excitement, constipation, etc. It is also caused by tight lacing, 
 tight neck-cloths, blows on the nose, etc. In the majority of cases it is ben- 
 eficial, but may be so persistent as to endanger life. 
 
 Treatment of Excessive Nose-Bleed. — The patient should be exposed 
 to cool air. The head should not hang over a bas^iu, but be kept raised. Find 
 which nostril the blood escapes from, and on that side i*aise the arm perpen- 
 dicularly, and hold the nose firmly with the finger and thumb. At the same 
 time a towel wet with ice-water may be laid on the forehead. A piece of ice, 
 a snowball, or cold water compress applied to the back of the neck will often 
 stop the bleeding. The popular remedy of placing a cold key between the 
 clcjthes and the back should not be forgotten. A more powerful remedy, one 
 which seldom fails, is that of blowing, by means of a quill, powdered gum- 
 arabic into the nostrils. When clotted blood forms in the nostrils it should 
 be disturbed as little as possible. 
 
 Simple Remedy for Nose-Bleed. — A friend who has tried it, says : 
 " Put a piece of paper in your mouth, chew it rapidly, and it will stop youi 
 nose from bleeding. This remedy has been tried frequently with success." 
 
 A physician says that placing a small roll of paper or muslin above the 
 front teeth, under the upper lip, and pressing hard on the same, will arrest 
 bleeding from the nose, checking the passage of the blood through the arteries 
 leading to the nose. 
 
 Catarrh of the Nose. — This disease is not usually absolutely painful, but 
 it is yet in many cases intensely harassing. It is universal, for neither sex 
 and no age is free from liability to acute attacks of it. The one great cause 
 
Care of the Nose. 157 
 
 of it is exposure to cold, sitting in draughts, wetting the feet, arid all circum- 
 stances that conspire to close the pores of the skin, may bring on a severe 
 attack in a few hours. The chief predisposing causes are confinement in 
 over-heated rooms, and the eating and drinking of hot substances. 
 
 Treatment of Nasal Catarrh. — No two cases can be treated exactly 
 alike. The special remedy to be used, and the strength of the solution must 
 be determined by the progress of the case. In almost all cases weak solu- 
 tion of chlorate of potash, applied by means of a syringe, will prove beneficial. 
 Carbolic acid, nitric acid, Lugol's solution, iodine and glycerine, tannin and 
 glycerine, are also beneficial, and are to be applied in the same manner, or in 
 the absence of a syringe, be snuffed into the nostrils. 
 
 CARE OF THE TEETH. 
 
 Number of the Teeth. — The teeth are classed with the mucous mem- 
 brane, as are the hair, nails, horn, and scales, which though always found in 
 connection with the skeleton, are neither bone nor are they formed in the 
 same manner as bone. They are thirty-two in number, sixteen in each jaw, 
 similarly shaped and arranged. 
 
 How the Teeth are Classified. — There are eight teeth in each half jaw, 
 making thirty-two in all. In each half jaw the two nearest the middle of 
 each jaw have wide, sharp, chisel-like edges fit for cutting, and hence are called 
 incisors. The next one in each half corresponds to the great tearing or 
 holding tooth of the dog, and is called canine (from canis, a dog) or eye tooth. 
 The next two have broader crowns with two points or cusps, and hence are 
 called the bicuspids. The remaining three on each side in each jaw are much 
 broader, and as they are used to crush the food they are called grinders or 
 molars. The incisors and eye teeth have one fang or root, the others have 
 two or three each. 
 
 Order and Period of their Growth. — We are provided with two sets 
 of teeth. The first or " milk teeth," are small and are only twenty in num- 
 ber. The middle incisors are usually cut about the age of seven months, and 
 the others at the age of nine months ; the first molars at the age of twelve 
 months; and the canine at the age of eighteen months; tLie remaining 
 molars at two and three years of age. The lower teeth precede the corre- 
 sponding upper ones. At six years of age, when the first set are usually still 
 perfect, the jaws contain the crowns of all the second except the wisdom 
 teeth. About this age, to meet the wants of the growing body, the crowns of 
 the second set begin to press against the roots of the milk teeth which, be- 
 
158 Home and Health. 
 
 coming absorbed, leave the loosened teeth to drop out^ tvhile the new ones rise 
 and occupy their places. The central incisors appe».r at about seven years of 
 age, the others at eight ; the first bicuspids at mn<^, the second at ten ; the 
 canines at eleven or twelve; the second molar? at thirteen, and the dejis 
 sapientiac or " wisdom teeth" (further back) in thi twenty-second year. Some- 
 times these are cut at a later period. 
 
 The Composition of Teeth. —The interior of the tooth consists of den- 
 fiwf, a substance resembling bone. In the tuik of the elephant it is known 
 as vory. The crown is protected by a sheath of enamel^ a hard, glistening 
 white substance, containing only two and a half per cent, of animal matter. 
 The fang ife covered by a thin layer of true oone. At the center of the tooth 
 is a cavity filled with a soft, reddish-wh/te pulpy substance full of blood, 
 vessels and nerves. This pulp is very sensitive and toothache is caused by 
 its irritation. The tooth is not set in the jaw like a nail in wood, having the 
 fang in contact with bone, but the socket is lined with a membrane which 
 forms a soft cushion. AVhile this is in a healthy state it deadens the force 
 of any shock, but when inflamed becomes the seat of excruciating pain. 
 
 Causes of Decay. — The decay of t/^e teeth is commonly caused by portions 
 of food which become entangled bet''"een them, and on account of the heat 
 and moisture quickly decompose. As the saliva evaporates it leaves on the 
 teeth a sediment which is called tartar. This collects the organic matter 
 which rapidly changes and also affords a soil in which a sort of fungus 
 speedily springs up. From these causes the teeth are injured and the breath 
 becomes offensive. The teeth can only be preserved by keeping them clean. 
 
 Want of Cleanliness. — This is, perhaps, the most direct of the preventable 
 causes of the most common dental disease, namely, decay ; for this is always 
 the result of chemical action, progressing from without inward. Food al- 
 lowed to remain in the crevices and interstices of the teeth soon decomposes, 
 sided as it is by the heat and moisture of the mouth ; an acid being gen- 
 firated attacks the tooth structure, gradually but surely decomposing it — and 
 this docay so formed is capable of again reproducing itself by its attack 
 ipon the so^nd bone beneath it. Time only is needed for the complete de- 
 Jtruction of the structure, the rapidity of which is retarded or not by th(j 
 ?ircun>3t.''UC'"s of constitution, vital force, etc. 
 
 Dej^out i Tartar Injurious. — An earthy substance, commonly known as 
 tartar, is In greater or less quantities deposited on all teeth, which, if allowed 
 to accumulate and harden, works great mischief by pressing the gums from 
 their normal position, causing inflammation in them, and instead of being 
 firm are spongy, bleeding from the slightest pressure. The roots of the teeth 
 being thus partially exposed, they gradually become loose and sore, and often 
 teeth which are so perfect in formation as to resist the action of decaying 
 
Care of the Teeth. 159 
 
 agents, perfectly sound in themselves, lose so much of their vital connection 
 with their sockets as to drop out. So insidiously do both of these diseased 
 conditions progress, especially the latter, that many are just startled from 
 complacent reflection on the fact of never having had toothache, to lament 
 over irrecoverable loss. 
 
 How to Care for Permeinent Teeth. — The value of the permanent teeth 
 depends largely upon healthfulness of the first or temporary set. The milk 
 teeth should be cared for and preserved till nature is ready to supply theii 
 places with the permanent organs; so that the arch of the mouth maj be 
 preserved, and that the roots may be absorbed and the material therein may 
 not be lost to the system in the development of the new tooth. Irregularity 
 cf the second set w-ould be almost unknown if by frequent visits to a com- 
 petent dentist the first teeth were retained until nature should have no fur- 
 ther use for them, and then, removed. 
 
 How to Oare for the Teeth Early. — The child should be taught at five 
 to dampen the brush in water every morning, rub it over a cake of castile 
 soap, and then brush the teeth well, inside and out, front and rear; until, 
 with the aid only of the saliva, the mouth is full of soap-suds : then rinse 
 with tepid water, twirling the brush sideways over the back part of the 
 tongue, so as to cleanse it fully of the soap and leave a good taste ; after 
 each meal the mouth should be well rinsed with tepid water, as also the last 
 thing on retiring. The mouth maintains a temperature of ninety-eight de- 
 grees ; hence, if any food lodges about or between the teeth, it begins to rot 
 very soon, giving out an acid which immediately begins to eat into tke tooth, 
 preparatory to an early decay ; if solid particles aic observed to lodge between 
 the teeth, the child should be taught to use a very thin quill to dislodge it, 
 but not without ; for the more a quill is used the greater space between the 
 teeth, which is a misfortune, as it necessitates the use of a toothpick for all 
 after life, consuming a great deal of valuable time. A clean tooth does not 
 decay. 
 
 How Often Should the Teeth be Washed ? — Grown people should 
 clean their teeth at least five times in the course of the twenty-four hours — 
 on rising in the morning and on going to bed at night, and after each meal 
 A brush as hard as can be borne without pain should be used, and the bes I 
 of all applications is pure soap and water, always luke-warm. 
 
 Use of Aromatic Water. — It is the custom in some parts of England 
 and France to rinse the mouth with warm aromatic water after eating. It is 
 well to remember that this precaution not only tends to keep the teeth clean, 
 but to clear the voice of those about to sing or converse. 
 
 A Mixture for the Teeth. — Dissolve two ounces of borax in three piuis 
 of boiling water, and before it is cold add QUe teaspoonful of spirits of cam 
 
160 tloME AND Health. 
 
 phor, and bottle for ase. A tablespuonful of this mixture, mixed with an 
 equal quantity of tepid water, and applied daily with a soft brush, jireservee 
 and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous adhesions, arrests decay, in- 
 duces a healthy action of the gums, and makes them look pearly white. 
 
 Tooth-Powders often Injurious. — Most kinds of tooth powders are in- 
 jurious both to the enamel and the gums ; and if employed, every particle of 
 them should be removed from the mouth by careful rinsing. The habit which 
 Bome women have of using a bit of lemon, though it may whiten the teeth, 
 and give temporary firmness and color to the gums, is fatal to the enamel, as 
 are all acids. 
 
 " Cracking Nuts with the Teeth." — No one, young or old, should turn 
 their jaws into nut-crackers ; and it is dangerous even for women to bite off, 
 as they often do, the ends of thread in sewing. 
 
 Importance of Healthful Gums. — Wholesome gums are more essential 
 even than the teeth to the beauty of the mouth. They should be of a firm 
 texture and a lively red color, and well spread over the base of each tooth, 
 but they are often pale or livid, shrunken, fleshless, and sometimes even ul- 
 cerated. The excessive use of sugar and candies does great mischief. It is 
 not chiefly the bad effect of the acids produced by their composition, but the 
 grittiness of these substances which wears away the gum, bares the roots of 
 the tooth, and spoils the mouth. This is the chief danger of the use of tooth- 
 powders. 
 
 Teething. — Young children, while cutting their first set of teeth, often 
 suffer constitutional disturbance. At first they are restless and peevish, but 
 not unfrequently these svmptoms are followed by convulsive fits, and some- 
 times under this condition the child is either cut off suddenly, or the founda- 
 tion of serious mischief to tl>e brain is laid. The remedy, or rather safe- 
 guard, against these circumstances consists merely in lancing the gum cover- 
 ing the tooth which is making its way through. 
 
 Keep close watch over the gums, and when they are swollen and red have 
 them lanced immediately. The teeth will probably come through the day 
 after lancing, but if they do not, and the cut heals, and a scar forms, there is 
 nothing to be feared, as, when the teeth finally appear, the scar will give way 
 much more easily than the uncut gum. If the teeth do not come through 
 after two or three days, the lancing may be repeated ; and this is especially 
 needed if the child seems in much pain. The relief children experience in 
 the course of two or three hours from the operation is often very remarkable. 
 
 "Toothache Cures." — 1. Relief from toothache or neuralgic affections 
 arising from teeth in any stage of decay, may often be obtained by saturating 
 a small bit of clean cotton or wool with a strong solution of ammonia, and 
 applying it immediately to the affected tooth. The pleasant contrast in- 
 
Care of the Teeth. 161 
 
 stantaneously produced sometimes causes a fit of laughter, although a mo- 
 ment before extreme suffering and anguish prevailed. 
 
 2. One dram of collodium flexile added to two drams of Calvert's car- 
 Dolic acid is a most excellent appliciition. A small portion should be inserted 
 into the cavity of the tooth by means of a bit of lint. 
 
 8. Powdered alum and salt mixed in equal quantities, and placed on a small 
 piece of damp cotton, and put into the cavity, sometimes gives permanent 
 relief. 
 
 At a meeting of the London Medical Society, Dr. Blake, a distinguished 
 practitioner, said that he was able to cure the most desperate case of the 
 toothache, unless the disease was connected with rheumatism, by the appli- 
 cation of the following remedy : Alum, reduced to an impalpable powder, 
 two drams ; nitrous spirits of ether, seven drams ; mix, and apply to the 
 tooth. 
 
 4. Two or three drops of essential oil of cloves put upon a small piece of 
 lint or cotton-wool, and placed in the hollow of the tooth, will be found to 
 have the active power of curing the toothache without destroying the tooth 
 or injuring the gums. 
 
 5. Toothache may be temporarily alleviated by scrupulously cleaning out 
 the cavity of the tooth — as decay has generally hollowed it at some part — 
 and dropping into this cavity a piece of cotton-wool soaked in creosote, or a 
 strong solution of alum. After using the creosote, etc., the hollow of the 
 tooth should be filled up with a pellet of cotton-wool saturated with a solu- 
 tion of gum-mastic in ether, or with a piece of gutta-percha softened in boil- 
 ing water. The condition of the stomach and bowels should in all cases of 
 toothache be attended to. 
 
 6. A Paris journal states that Dr. Bouchard, of that city, finds the use of 
 electricity very efficient in cases of severe toothache, a perfect cure, even 
 where the teeth are greatly decayed, being not unfrequently obtained, and 
 temporary relief almost invariably ensuing. In numerous instances where alle- 
 viation was at first of short duration, the effect became more and more marked, 
 and longer, as the treatment was repeated. The method pursued by Dr. 
 Bouchard, in applying the electricity, is to place the positive pole of the cur- 
 rent on the cheek opposite the diseased tooth, and the negative upon the an- 
 terolateral portion of the neck ; and, to avoid ulcerations, the electrodes are 
 made very large, and their places frequently changed. The application is 
 continued for about half an hour, although relief is frequently experienced 
 in ten to fifteen minutes. A battery of about ten elements is used. 
 
 What to Do with Decayed Teeth. — Decayed teeth should have atten- 
 tion at once. If only partially destroyed, the decayed part may be cut away, 
 and a filling inserted ; but a tooth much decayed should never be allowed to 
 remain in the mouth, as it will destroy its neighbors. 
 U 
 
162 Home and Health. 
 
 Artificial Teeth. — When teeth become so troublesome as to habitually 
 disturb the nervous system, they should be removed. Many diseases are 
 earned, and most other's greatly aggravated, by toothache. *' Stop the ache, or 
 remove the tooth," should be universally obeyed. Thousands of persons suf- 
 fer for years in great discomfort to themselves and to all around them, until 
 their constitutions are permanently impaired, when the removal of a single 
 tooth would bring permanent relief. 
 
 CARE OF THE HAIR. 
 
 Growth of the Hair. — At the root of each hair is a tiny bulb, in which 
 the nutriment is supplied. As long as these bulbs (papillae) remain in a 
 healthy condition, the hair will continue to grow. It is of the first impor- 
 tance, therefore, that the scalp be kept clean, the pores open, and the pro- 
 cesses of the nutritive supply free and active. 
 
 How to Preserve the Hair. — Wash the scalp often and thoroughly 
 with soft water, and wipe it dry with a towel. Keep the head well ventilated. 
 If the hat is close, lift it often and let in the fresh air. A hat with a crown 
 in which there is room for a reservoir of air, is much better than a close-fit- 
 tmg cap. Hats should not be worn in-doors. 
 
 Why Ladies are not Bald. — Ladies, notwithstanding they wear long 
 hair, (which is more likely to fall out,) seldom are bald-headed. Their heads 
 are not kept covered in-doors, and when out-doors they are not closely covered. 
 In sleeping none should confine the hair in a close night-cap. 
 
 Why the Hair Falls Out. — Hair falls out for want of nourishment. It 
 dies just as a blade of grass dies in a soil where there is no moisture. This 
 want of nourishment is only "functional," the papillae sacs and other appa- 
 ratus remain, but are inactive. The mechanism which supplies it, the appa- 
 ratus, is there to make it ; but it is out of order,* and makes it imperfectly ; 
 &o the hair being imperfectly nourished, is dry, scant, or a mere furze, accord- 
 ing to the degree of the defective nourishment. 
 
 How to Prevent the Hair from Falling Out. — As to men, when the 
 hair begins to fall out, the best plan is to have it cut short, give it a good 
 brushing with a moderately-stifE brush while the hair is dry, then wash it well 
 with warm soap suds, then rub into the scalp, about the roots of the hair, a 
 liitle bay rum o\ camphor water. Do these things at least once a week. The 
 brushing of the scalp may be profitably done twice a week. Dampen the 
 hair with water every time the toilet is made. Nothing ever made is better 
 for the hair than pure soft water, if the scalp is kept clean in the way vq 
 have named. 
 
Care of the Hair, 163 
 
 " Organic Baldness " Incurable. — " Organic " baldness is when the de- 
 fect of nutriment arises from the destruction of the papillae, the apparatus 
 which made it. When the scalp is in any part entirely bare of hair, and shiny 
 or glistening^ that is organic baldness, and there is no remedy. 
 
 " Functional " Baldness Curable. — When the bulbs are uninjured, that 
 is, the nutritive organs remain, but have become partially or wholly inactive, 
 this is "functional baldness," and can be remedied radically and perma- 
 nently in only one way and that is by taking means to improve the general 
 Sealth 
 
 How to Cure Functional Baldness. — If there is not that shining, 
 glistening appearance, but a multitude of very small hairs, causing a " furzi- 
 ness " over the scalp, that is " functional " baldness ; and two things are to 
 be done. Keep the scalp clean with soap-suds — that is a " balm of a thou- 
 sand flowers." More especially and principally seek to improve your general 
 health by eating plain, substantial food three regular times a day, and by 
 spending three or four hours between meals in moderate exercise in the open 
 air or in somf engrossing employment. 
 
 A little turpentine applied to the bald patches by means of sponges, will 
 hasten the first appearance of the hair, and the growth of hair, when it re- 
 commences, may be stimu'ated by constant shaving. 
 
 Avoid Heiir-Dyes. — Hair dyes, or so-called " hair-restorers," should be 
 strenuously avoided, as they tend to fill the pores of the skin, and almost in- 
 variably contain poisonous matters, which the system absorbs. 
 
 Caution in Using " Hair-Oils." — The frequent use of " oils," " bear's 
 grease," " arcturine," " pomades," '* lustrals," " rosemary washes," and such 
 like upon the hair, is a practice not to be commended. These oils and greasy 
 pomades are manufactured from lard-oil and simple lard. No " bear's grease " 
 is ever used. If it could be procured readily it should not be applied to the 
 hair, as it is the most rank and filthy of all the animal fats. 
 
 A Good Hair Dressing. — There are many persons whose hair is natu- 
 lally very dry and crisp ; and in most families there is a want of some inno- 
 cent and agreeable wash or dressing, which may be used moderately and 
 judiciously. The mixture which may be regarded as the most agreeable, 
 cleanly, and safe, is composed of cologne spirit and pure castor-oil. The fol- 
 lowing is a good formula : Pure, fresh castor-oil, two ounces ; cologne spirit, 
 (ninety-five per cent.,) sixteen ounces. The oil is freely dissolved in the spirit, 
 and the solution is clear and beautiful. It may be perfumed in any way to 
 suit the fancy of the purchaser. 
 
 Value of Castor-Oil for the Hair. — A competent writer in the Boston 
 Journal of Chemistry urges that the oil of the castor-bean has for many 
 
* 
 
 164 Home and Health. 
 
 years been employed to dress the hair, both among the savage and civilized 
 nations, and it possesses properties which admirably adapt it to this use. It 
 does not dry rapidly ; and no gummy, offensive residuum remains, after tak- 
 ing on all the chemical changes which occur in all oils upon exposure to light 
 and air. It is best diffused by the agency of strong spirits, in which it dis- 
 solves, the alcohol or spirit rapidly evaporates, and does not, in the slightest 
 degree, injure the texture of the hair. This preparation for dressing the 
 nair of children or ladies will meet nearly or quite all requirements. 
 
 A Preparation of Glycerine and Rose-water Recommended.- -A 
 
 cheap and very good dressing is made by dissolving four ounces of perfectly 
 pure, dense glycerine in twelve ounces of rose-water. Glycerine evaporates 
 only at hi^'^. temperatures ; and therefore, under its influence the hair is re- 
 tained in a moist condition for a long time. 
 
 Relative Value of Other Oil Preparations. — As a class, the vegeta- 
 ole oils are bettor for the hair than animal oils. They do not become rancid 
 and offensive so rapidly, and they are subject to different and less objection- 
 able chemicax changes. 
 
 Olive-oil, and that derived from the cocoa-nut, have been largely employed, 
 but they are far inferior, in every respect, to that from the castor-bean. 
 
 How to Prevent the Hair from Turning Gray. — The hair may be 
 prevented, generally for a considerable time, from turning gray, by keeping 
 the head cool, and by using occasionally sage tea with a little borax added. 
 With a small sponge apply to every part of the head just before or at the 
 time of dressing the hair. 
 
 Washing the Hair with Soda-watei, Relieves Headache. — Many per- 
 sons find speedy relief for nervous headache by washing the hair thoroughly 
 in weak soda-water. I have known severe cases almost wholly cured in ten 
 minutes by this simple remedy. A friend finds it the greatest relief in cases 
 of " rare cold," the cold symptoms entirely leaving the eyes and nose after 
 one thorough washing of the hair. The head should be thoroughly dried 
 afterward, and drafts of air avoided for a little while. 
 
 Sudden Changes in the Color of the Hair. — Sudden and severe 
 frights have sometimes so affected the nerves connected with the papillae at 
 the roots of the hair, as to produce instantaneous changes in the color of the 
 hain A German medical magazine, now before us, reports two recent cases. 
 
 A Remarkable Case in Berlin. — A physician of Berlin, a strong, 
 healthy, and less than middle-aged man, sent his wife and one daughter to 
 spend last summer at a watering-place. The day that he expected a letter in- 
 forming him of their arrival, there came one saying that his daughter had 
 been taken sick very suddenly, and was already dead. The shock was terri- 
 
Care of the Hair. 165 
 
 ble, and instantly his hair became entirely gray. He had to visit some pa- 
 tier.*^ tliat same aftemoou, and they scarcely recognized him. Their pecuUar 
 actions revealed the change to him. 
 
 A Remarkable Case in Rotterdam. — Another case was that of a 
 man thirty-five years old, living in the Netherlands. He was one day passing 
 the canal in Rotterdam, when he saw a child struggling in the water. He 
 plunged in and brought it to land, but it was already dead by the time he 
 had rescued its body. Bending over to try to restore life, he discovered that 
 the dead child was his own son. The blow, so sudden and unexpected, and 
 coming upon hiui when he himself was so much exhausted, turned his hair 
 entirely gray, and left him scarcely recognizable. 
 
 Sudden Changes of Color without Fright. — That eminent savan, 
 Dr. Brown-Sequard, in his Archives de Physiologic, discovered a rapid transi- 
 tion in color, on certain portions of his face, while he was in perfect health. 
 After detailing the particulars in the case, he says that, without any apprecia- 
 ble caifse, other than that which at a certain age makes the beard turn white, 
 there took place in his case a very rapid change of color, from black to white, 
 in a considerable number of the hairs upon his face. As far as he could as- 
 certain, this change occurred always in the night. He did not examine the 
 whitened hairs with the microscope. He concludes that this experience of 
 his puts beyond a doubt the possibiUty of a very rapid transformation (proba- 
 bly in less than a night) of black hairs into white. 
 
 Utility of Beards. — A recent writer in one of our standard magazines 
 strongly puts the case as follows : There are more solid inducements for wear- 
 ing the beard than the mere improvement of a man's personal appearance, 
 and the cultivation of such an aid to the every-day diplomacy of life. Nature 
 combining, as she never fails to do, the useful with the ornamental, provides 
 us with a far better respirator than science could ever make, and one that is 
 never so hideous to wear as that black seal upon the face that looks like a 
 passport to the realms of suffering and death. The hair of the moustache 
 not only absorbs the moisture and miasma of the fogs, but it strains the iir 
 from the dust and soot of our great cities. It acts, also, in the most scien- 
 tific manner, by taking heat from the warm breath as it leaves the chest, and 
 supplying it to the cold air taken in. It is not only a respirator, but, with 
 the beard entire, we are provided with a comforter as well ; and these 
 are never left at home, Uke umbrellas, and all such appUances, whenever 
 they are wanted. Moffat and Livingstone, the African explorers, and many 
 other travelers, say that in the night no wrapper can equal the beard. A re- 
 markable thing is, too, that the beard, like the hair of the head, protects 
 against the heat of the sun ; but, more than this, it becomes moist with th^ 
 peJsi)iration, and then, by evaporation, cools the skin. 
 
166 Home and Health. 
 
 To Remove Dandruff. — 1. Wash the head thoroughlj and often with pure 
 Boft water, and brush it thoroughly until the hair is dry. 2. The white of an 
 egg rubbed thoroughly into the hair with the fingers, and then washed out 
 with plenty of tepid water, is very good. 3. Borax removes the dandruff 
 quickly and perfectly, but is apt to make the hair dry and stiff. 4. Am- 
 monia, and all other alkalies, should be avoided. 
 
 CARE OF THE FEET. 
 
 Warm Feet Essential to Health.— Unless the feet be kept varm the 
 circulation of the blood to the extremities is prevented, the whole system be- 
 comes deranged, and fever of any kind becomes aggravated as a result. A 
 distinguished medical man declares that, as a result of many years' careful 
 observation in a large practice in his profession, he believes a large part of 
 the sickness prevalent in any community is " nearly or remotely the result of 
 cold feet." 
 
 How to Cure the Habit of Cold Feet. — The feet should be placed n 
 a basin of cold water every morning for a few seconds, just deep enough to 
 cover the toes ; wipe dry, dress, and walk off. Once or twice a week the 
 feet should be held in water, made comfortably warm, for some ten minutes, 
 adding hot water from time to time, using a little soap ; if at the end of 
 this bathing at night the feet were placed in a pan of cold water, toe-deep, 
 for less than a quarter of a minute, it would greatly aid in giving tone to the 
 skin, vigor to the circulation, and softness to the skin, and thus do much to- 
 ward keeping them comfortably warm. 
 
 A tablespoonful of chloride of lime in a basin of warm ^ater is an excel- 
 lent wash for removing foot odor. 
 
 How to Sleep with Warm Feet. — Before retiring to bed, especially in 
 fire time of year, hold both feet before a blazing fire, stockings removed, for 
 ten minutes at least, rubbing them with the hands all the time until they feel 
 perfectly dry and warm ; such a process will warm the feet more effectually 
 in five minutes than can be done in an hour by holding them to the fire with 
 Btockings and shoes on. 
 
 Waking up w^ith Cold Feet. — Sometimes, without apparent cause, a 
 person will suddenly wake up to the knowledge that his feet are coii, and a 
 disagreeable sensation is caused which pervades the whole body, md the 
 mind and temper become fretful and morose. This is often the case in the 
 very midst of summer. When this is observed you are taking cold, and you 
 Bhould instantly treat the feet to a blazing fire as named above. If this is 
 not practicable, give them a hot foot bath as just directed. In either case 
 
Ca/re of the Feet. 167 
 
 you will not only avert the cold, but you will also experience a feeling of com- 
 fortableness which is delightful. This same kind of bath is the speediest 
 and most comfortable means of warming the feet when they are found to be 
 uncomfortably cold after coming in from a walk, or a long day's work. 
 
 To Keep the Feet Dry. — Many ways have been devised for rendering 
 the upper leather of shoes impervious to water; a much better plan is to 
 keep out of the water, for whatever will keep water out ivill also keep the 
 perspiration and ill odor always in. To make leather impervious is to make 
 it board-like, hard, unyielding, and hot as fire of a summer's day ; but if it 
 be absolutely necessary at any time to wear a shoe which shall exclude water, 
 the application of castor oil or petroleum with a brush, and then allow it to 
 dry, is perhaps the most familiar, accessible, and facile mode known. 
 
 Short and High-heeled Shoes. — Thousands of people lose their natu- 
 ral ease and grace of motion, and become stiff and awkward walkers, simply 
 from wearing short-heeled shoes, and thereby losing their natural elasticity 
 of step. Another effect of flattening the arch of the foot is to increase its 
 length, and the foot is often lengthened in this way to the extent of half or 
 three-quarters of an inch. The matter is made still worse by wearing the 
 heels very high, and many a foot has been ruined by this pernicious practice. 
 Short and high-heeled shoes also readily permit the easy turning over of the 
 ankle, and many a strained and weakened ankle is the result of them. 
 
 Cause of Chilblains. — These are slight inflammations which occur on the 
 toes and fingers, and sometimes the nose and ears — generally in winter, and 
 where a part has been rapidly heated when it was very cold. They consist 
 of red and swollen patches, sometimes accompanied with blisters, and these, 
 upon breaking, are apt to become ulcerated, and to occasion much annoy- 
 ance. 
 
 To Cure Chilblains. — In the simpler forms, some stimulating liniment, 
 such as equal parts of spirit of wine and vinegar, or spirit of camphor, will 
 prove sufficient to cure chilblains, but when ulcerations occur, some stronger 
 remedy will be found necessary. 
 
 One very good remedy is to place red-hot coals on a pan, throw a handful 
 of corn meal over them, and hold the suffering feet in the den.se smoke. 
 
 Severe weather may produce a recurrence of the trouble at intervals, but 
 persistent use of this remedy will prevent it as well as cure it. It has been 
 known to effect very marked cures, where the persons were unusually ex- 
 posed, and when all other remedies were useless. 
 
 A foreign medical journal thinks the cause of chilblains is often due to im- 
 poverishment of blood and a languid, weakly condition of the whole system 
 not to be met by any local remedy. Yet there are local applications which 
 sometimes afford relief, if a person can strike on the right one. Turpentine 
 
168 Home and Health. 
 
 is to many a great blessing. Glycerine is a good thing to rub into tl e hands 
 before washing with castile soap and tepid water. Warm vinegar sometinies 
 avails. Kid gloves, lined with wool, are recommended, and, in general, care 
 must be taken to keep the hands and feet from wet and cold. The London 
 Chemist recommends a lotion, which should be used with some caution ; lini- 
 ment of belladonna two drams, liniment of aconite one dram, carbolic acid 
 ten drops, collodion one ounce, to be painted over the surface with a brush. 
 If the skin is broken, the aconite should be left out. This will form a film 
 or varnish which will keep the air out. 
 
 How to Prevent and How^ to Remove Corns. — For prevention of 
 corns use daily friction of cold water between the toes. For their removal, 
 the following suggestions are given : — 
 
 1. Hard corns may be carefully picked out by the use of a small, sharp- 
 pointed scalpel or teuolomy knife, and if well done the cure is often radical, 
 always perfect for the time. 
 
 2. They may be equally successfully removed by wearing over them for a 
 few days a small plaster made by melting a piece of stick diachylon and 
 dropping on a piece of white silk. The corn gradually loosens from the ad- 
 jacent healthy skin, and can be readily pulled or picked out. 
 
 3. Soft corns require the use of astringents, such as alum dissolved in 
 white of egg, or the careful application of tincture of iodine. 
 
 4. A simple cure for both hard and soft corns, which rarely fails, is a 
 poultice of bread dipped in cider vinegar and applied every night until cured. 
 
 5. Lemon juice effects only a temporary cure, unless applied before the 
 corn has gained ground firmly. 
 
 6. A large cranberry or raisin split open and bound to the toe is very good. 
 V. The strongest acetic acid (vinegar) applied night and morning with a 
 
 camel-hair brush to either soft or hard corns, will remove them in one week's 
 time. 
 
 8. The heart of a potato boiled in its skin, placed on a corn and, left there 
 for twelve hours will give temporary relief. 
 
 9. Apply a good coat of gum-arabic mucilage over them every evening on 
 going to bed, 
 
 10. Apply castor-oil, after paring closely, every night before going to bed. 
 This softens the corn, and it becomes as the other flesh. 
 
 11. Take a little-sweet oil, on getting up in the morning and before retir- 
 ing at night, and rub it on the corn with the tip of the finger, keeping the 
 corn well pared down. This relieves the friction, which causes corns, and will 
 cure them in a short time. 
 
 12. Apply with a brush morning and evening a drop of a solution of the 
 per-chloride of iron. After a fortnight's continued application, without pain, 
 a patient who had suffered martyrdom for nearly forty years, from a most 
 
Ca/re of the Feet. 169 
 
 painful corn on the inner side of each little toe was entirely relieved. Pres- 
 sure was no longer painful, and Dr. B. believed the cure radical. Two other 
 similar cases were equally successful. 
 
 13. After removing the stocking at night, with the nails of the thumb and 
 forefinger loosen the corn at the edges, and gradually peel it across until it 
 comes off. This is done with entire ease when the toe is not inflamed and 
 sore, and if the corn hardens again in a few weeks, as it will be apt to, the 
 process is easily repeated. The main point is, don't pinch the feet with tight 
 elioes. 
 
 14. Soak the feet well in warm water, then with a sharp instrument pare 
 off as much of the corn as can be done without pain, and bind up the part 
 with a piece of linen or muslin, thoroughly saturated with sperm oil, or, what 
 is better, the oil which floats upon the surface of the pickle of herring or 
 mackerel. After three or four days the dressing may be removed, and the 
 remaining cuticle removed by scraping, when the new skin will be found of a 
 soft and healthy texture, and less liable to the formation of a new corn than 
 before. 
 
 Cause of " Ingrowing Toe-nail." — This affection is of more consequence 
 than is usually supposed. It is sometimes a serious matter to the patient and 
 causes much pain. One principal cause comes from the fashion of wearing 
 very small-toed boots, and another from wearing much-darned stockings. It is 
 aot usually the nail that is in fault, but the skin surrounding it. This becomes 
 thickened and ulcerated and gradually the nail becomes overlapped. The 
 nail then becomes bent and grows irregularly, but it is the highly sensitive 
 skin that gives the pain. 
 
 Remedies for Ingrowing Nail. — 1. Mr. Wood, surgeon of King's Col- 
 lege Hospital, recommends broad-toed boots, also scraping the center of the 
 nail thin with a piece of glass. A plug of cotton under the edge of the nail 
 will aid in restoring it to proper shape and position. 
 
 2. A Liverpool physician has, for the past twenty years, employed com- 
 pressed sponge very successfully in the treatment of ingrowing nails. His 
 method is to render the sponge compact by wetting, and then tying it tightly 
 until it is thoroughly dry. A bit of the sponge, in size less than a grain of 
 ri ;e, is placed under the nail, and secured by strips of adhesive plaster. In 
 this way the point of the nail is kept up from the toe until the surrounding 
 soft parts are restored to their normal condition by appropriate means. Of 
 course there is no pain in this remedy, and its application requires only ordi- 
 nary skill. 
 
 3. It is stated that cauterization by hot tallow is an immediate cure for in- 
 growing nails. Put a small piece of tallow in a spoon, and heat it over a 
 lamp until it becomes very hot, and drop two or three drops between nail and 
 
lYO Home and Health. 
 
 granulations. The effect is almost magical. Pain and tenderness are at once 
 relieved, and in a few days the granulations all go, leaving the diseased parts 
 dry and destitute of all feeling, and the edge of the nail exposed, so as to 
 admit of being pared away without any inconvenience. The operation causes 
 little if any pain if the tallow is properly heated. 
 
 Remedy for Blistered Feet. — On going to bed rub the feet with tallow, 
 dropped from a Ughted tallow candle into the palm of the hand. 
 
 Bunions. — These may be checked when they first appear by binding the 
 joint with adhesive plaster and keeping it on until all indications of an en- 
 largement disappear. An inflamed bunion demands large shoes and a poul- 
 tice. Ar. ointment, to be rubbed on gently twice or three times a day, may 
 be made of iodine, twelve grains, lard or spermaceti ointment, half an ounce 
 
 To Cure " Frosted Feet." — Warm some pine tar, and apply with a 
 feather to the affected part ; heat it by the fire before going to bed. In very 
 bad cases it may need the second or third application. It is a sure cure, and 
 the tar can easily be removed with lard and soap. 
 
 Treatment of Scalded Feet. — AVhen the legs and feet are scalded, they 
 should be plunged as soon as possible into cold water, and kept immersed in 
 it a considerable length of time before the stockmgs are removed. By this 
 means blisters are often prevented. 
 
 I 
 
 CARE OF THE SKIN. 
 
 Use of the Skin. — The skin is not only a covering and a protection for 
 the body, but also the medium of perspiration. This perspiration consists 
 of ninety -nine parts of water and one part of solid matter. It is called in- 
 sensible because the vapor is not recognized by the senses, except where its 
 flow is excessive and interrupted, forming drops on the surface which are 
 called in common language, sweat. The daily exhalations through the skin 
 aggregate about an average weight of two pouvids ! The skin also possesses 
 a remarkal^le absorbing power, and to such a degree that substances may be 
 imbibed through its pores as a medicine, or as a partial relief from thirst and 
 hunger. As an exhalant and absorbent the skin in its functions has been 
 compared to the lungs. Some writers on physiology describe it as "the 
 third lung of the body." By carefully-conducted experiments it has been 
 found that the skin acts in the same way as the lungs in absorbing oxygen 
 from the air, and giving off carbonic acid to an appreciable amount.* 
 
 * In some of the loAver animals the skin plays a still more important part. Frogs, for 
 Instance, deprived of their lungs, breathe with almost undiminished activity, and often 
 B\u-vive for days, and snakes get their main supply of air through the skin. 
 
Care of the Skin, 171 
 
 Color of the Skin. — Underneath the outer skin are minute cells covj 
 laining the particles of coloring matter. The particles are about ^nJVff ^f an 
 inch in diameter. " In the varying tint of this coloring matter liea the differ- 
 ence of hue between the blonde and the brunette, the European and tlie 
 African. In the purest complexion there is some of t^iis pignjent, which, 
 however, disappears as the fresh, round, soft cells of the cutis change into 
 the old, flat, horny scales of the cuticle. Scars are white, because this part 
 of the cuticle is not restored. The sun has a powerful effect upon the col 
 oring matter, and so we readily ' tan ' on exposure to its rays. If the co.oi 
 gathers in spots, it forms freckles.* " 
 
 The Pores of the Skin. — These are fine tubes about g^-y of an inch in 
 diameter, and a quarter of an inch in length, which run through the cutis, 
 and then coil up in httle balls. They are very numerous. In the palm of 
 the hand there are about 2,800 in a single square inch. On the back of the 
 neck and trunk, where they are the fewest, there are yet 400 to the square 
 inch. The entire number on the body of an adult is estimated at about 
 2,500,000. The mouths of these pores may be seen with a pocket lens along 
 the fine ridges which cover the palm of the hand. Through these pores the 
 body throws off its excess of water and various impurities from the blood, 
 and imbibes oxygen and other substances with which the skin comes into 
 contact, f 
 
 * This action of the sun on the pigment of the skin is very marked. Even among the 
 Africans, the skin is observed to lose its intense black color in those who live for many 
 months in the shades of the forests. It is said that Asiatic and African women confined 
 within the walls of the harem, and thus secluded from the sun, are as fair as Europeans. 
 Among the Jews who have settled in Northern Europe are many of light complexion, 
 while those who live in India are as dark as the Hindoos. The black pigment has been 
 known to disappear during severe Illness, and a lighter color to be developed in its place. 
 Among the negroes are sometimes found people who have no complexion, i. e., there is no 
 coloring matter in their skin, hair, or the iris of their eyes. These persons are called Al- 
 binos. — Steele. 
 
 t Persons frequently poison their hands with the cOinmon wood-ivy. Contagious diseases 
 are caught by touching a patient, or even his clotliing. Painters absorb so much lead 
 through the jiores of their hands that they are attacked with coHc. Snuff and lard are 
 frequently rubbed on the chest of a child suffering with the croup to produce vomiting, fk?^- 
 men in want of water drench their clothing in salt spray, and the skin will absorb en gt 
 to quench thirst. 
 
 On an occasion of great solemnity, Pope Leo X. caused a young child to be completely 
 covered with gold leaf, closely applied to the skin, so as to represent, according to the idea 
 of the age, the golden glory of an angel or seraph. In a few hours after contributing to 
 this pageant of pride the child died ; the cause being suffocation, from stopping the ex- 
 halations of the skin ; although, in the ignorance of the coumion people of those days, the 
 death was of course attributed to the anger of the Deity, and looked upon as a circumstanca 
 of evil omen. 
 
 If one is called \ipon t> handle a dead body, it is well, especially if the person has died 
 of a contagious disease, to rub the hand with lard or olive-oil. Poisonous matter has been 
 
172 Home and Health. 
 
 Keeping the Skin Clean. — In view of the nature and functions of the 
 skin, the great importance of keeping it clean and healthy is apparent. It 
 should be one of the chief themes in the list of our duties in caring for the 
 health of the body to keep its pores open. To this end the bath, clean 
 bed-linen, and clean, fresh clothing become not only a luxury but a necessity. 
 The skin, so commonly neglected claims, and should receive, the careful at- 
 tcntion of parents and instructors. 
 
 Diseases of the Skin — Warts. — Warts are over-grown papillae. 
 
 1. They may be removed by the application of glacial acetic acid, or a 
 drop of nitric acid, repeated until the entire structure is softened. Care must 
 be taken not to let the acid touch the skin. 
 
 2. The easiest way to get rid of warts is to pare off the thickened skin 
 which covers it, cut it off by successive layers ; shave it until the surface of 
 the skin is reached, and until blood is drawn in several places. Kub the part 
 thoroughly over with lunar caustic and the wart will generally disappear. li 
 it does not, cut off the black spot caused by the caustic, and apply it again. 
 Acetic acid may be used instead of caustic. 
 
 " Grafting the Skin." — A celebrated French physician (M. Reverdin) re- 
 ported to the Academy, as early as 1872, that he had for ten years been aq^ 
 customed to perform veritable transplantations of the skin. He did not sew 
 over the small granulations small pieces of skin, but he covered the whole 
 with large flaps of skin. The cure then takes place. The pieces of skin 
 may be taken either from the patient himself, or from other individuals. 
 He took most of his grafts from limbs amputated on account of accidents 
 occurring to men otherwise healthy. In some cases he had been obliged 
 to take the pieces of skin from the patient himself in order to do away with 
 the pain of the operation. The experiment proved the possibility of trans- 
 planting tissues which had been subjected to a low temperature. At that 
 period he demonstrated that pieces of periosteum first frozen and tlien trans- 
 planted under the skin of another animal, could not only retain life, but also 
 produce osseous tissues. Before practicing cutaneous transplantation he ap- 
 plied to the skin a freezing mixture composed of ice and salt. When the 
 skin was frozen, that is to say, when it was white, bloodless, and insensible, 
 
 fatally absorbed through the breaking of the cuticle by a long nail or a simple scratch. 
 There is a story that Napoleon I., when a lieutenant of artillery, in the heat of battle, 
 seized tne rammer and worked the gun of an artillery -man who had fallen. From the wood 
 which the soldier handled, Napoleon absorbed a poison which gave him a skin -disease, by 
 which he was annoyed the remainder of his life. 
 
 Cosmetics, powders, hair-dyes, etc., are exceedingly injurious, not only because thej tend 
 to fill the pores of the skin, but because they often contain poisonous matters which are ab 
 sorbcd into the 83'8tem. — Stkeuc's Putysioijooy. 
 
Care of the Skin, 173 
 
 he cut out pieces comprising the whole of the dermis, which, when trans- 
 planted on the surface of a wound, became perfectly ingrafted. 
 
 Dr. Griffin, of Pavia, claims to have had great success by this operation 
 Jn several cases of extensive burns. The grafting pieces, six in number, 
 (vere solidly united after the third day, and on the twelfth the excoriations 
 were reduced to half their original surfaces. 
 
 Greased bandages, in place of adhesive strips, are preferable, as they can 
 be readily removed for cleansing without danger of dragging out the grafts. 
 
 The union of the grafts is aided by the condition of the wound, and the 
 thickness and extent of the graft. Pieces from two to four millimetres in 
 diameter unite most readily. It is very necessary to include part of the 
 derma. 
 
 The edges of the wound should be slightly pared whenever union is 
 effected ; suppuration diminishes, the granulations become larger, the con- 
 dition of the wound improves, and cicatrization is favored and accelerated. 
 
 Cutaneous grafting as shown by high authority : 
 
 1. In all wounds in full and uniform granulation when we wish to acceler- 
 ate healing. 
 
 2. In chronic wounds of old or cachetic persons ; in varicose ulcers with 
 callous margins. 
 
 3. In those cases of extensive wounds where spontaneous cicatrization 
 would be attended with considerable retraction of the parts — burns. 
 
 4. In wounds of hard surfaces covered with skin only, as the front of the 
 tibia. 
 
 To Remove Warts. — Warts are not only very troublesome, but disfigure 
 the hands. They may be cured so as to leave no scar. 1. Take a small piece 
 of raw beef, steep it all night in vinegar, cut as much from it as will cover the 
 wart, and tie it on ; or, if the excresence is on the forehead, fasten it on with 
 strips of plaster. It may be removed during the day, and put on every night. 
 In one fortnight the wart will die and peel off. The same prescription will 
 cure corns. 
 
 2. Apply the juice from the milk-weed (Asclepias cornuti) to the wart once, 
 and it will assume a chalky state, disappear, and not return. 
 
 8. Pass a pin through the wart ; apply one end of the pin to the flame of 
 a lamp ; hold it there until the wart fries under the action of the heat. A 
 wart so treated will leave. 
 
 4. If the wart is hard, a good method is to cut it off with a knife or scissors, 
 and apply a little caustic to the roots. 
 
 5. If the wart has a narrow neck, tie a silk thread or horse-hair around it, 
 and it will soon drop off. A little caustic applied to the roots will prevent it 
 from growing again. 
 
174: Home and Health. 
 
 Chapped Lips and Hands. — 1. A good salve may be male in this way ; 
 Take two 3unces of white wax, one ounce of spermaceti, four ounces of oil 
 of almonds, two ounces of English honey, quarter of an ounce of esseuce of 
 bergamot, or any other perfume. Melt the wax and spermaceti ; then add 
 the honey, and melt all together, and when hot add the almond oil by degrees, 
 stirring it till cold. This is superior to glycerine for chapped hands, sunburns, 
 or any roughness on the skin. 
 
 2. The following is a well-tested, excellent remedy for chapped hands and 
 sores of this nature : Put together equal weights of fresh, unsalted butter, 
 tallow, beeswax, and stoned raisins ; simmer until the raisins are done to a 
 crisp, but not burned. Strain, and pour into cups to cool. Rub the hands 
 thoroughly with it, and though they will smart at first, they will soon feel 
 comfortable and heal quickly. 
 
 Freckles. — 1. For the benefit of young persons aiflicted with freckles, we 
 would inform them that powdered nitre, moistened with water, applied to the 
 face night and morning, will soon remove all traces of them. 
 
 2. A French journal recommends the following: Take naphthaline, ten 
 parts ; biphenate of soda, one part ; tincture of benzoin, cologne, each two 
 thousand parts. Mix. A tablespoonful of this is to be added to a glass of 
 cold water, four to eight fluid ounces, and the face then bathed with it every 
 night and morning. 
 
 3. Apply a lotion of Yichy water for two or three minutes, night and 
 morning. The skin should be allowed to dry without wiping it. 
 
 Tan and Sunburn. — Ladies who have spent the summer in the country 
 and at the seaside, may be glad to know of some simple remedies for tan and 
 sunburn. When the face is burnt by exposure, it is best to bathe it with a 
 little cold cream ; this simple and pleasant wash will remove the discoloration 
 and swelling as if by magic, and leave the skin cool and smooth. To prevent 
 tan and sunburn, take the juice of a fresh lemon and rub it in thoroughly be- 
 fore going into the open air, allowing it to dry on the face ; at night dust a 
 little oatmeal upon the skin, and next morning, after washing it off, apply a 
 little cold cream or buttermilk. Such a simple and harmless treatment will 
 be found much more effectual than the use of cosmetics, which close up the 
 pores, and dry and roughen the finest complexion in a frightful way and in 
 a short space of time. 
 
 Cause and Cure of Moles. — A low tone of the blood, with a torpid 
 liver, often cause the appearance of moles. The best remedy is to be foumd 
 m an invigorated circulation. This will cleanse and renew the skin. 
 
 Pimples and Sores. — Sores and pimples show that the skin does not act 
 its normal part in throwing off the effete matter or waste of the system ; its 
 pores having become clogged, different forms of illness result. 
 
The Human Skin, 
 
 175 
 
 THE HUMAN SKIN-ILLUSTRATION. 
 
 Tapillse. 
 
 Sweat 
 duct. 
 
 Epidermis 
 "or cuticle. 
 
 This section of the skin is 
 represented as greatly en- 
 larged under the niicro- 
 scope. The top layer, or 
 epidermis^ has neither 
 nerves nor blood-vessels, 
 and is not itself painful to 
 the touch. From that part 
 of it covering the scalp dry 
 scales or dandruft'are con- 
 stantly passing off, a large 
 part of which are visible 
 to the unaided eye. These 
 scales are composed of the 
 waste matter which pass 
 out through the pores, and 
 form on the surface of the 
 skin. Smaller scales, chiefly 
 invisible to the naked eye, 
 also pass out through the 
 pores which abound in 
 parts of the skin. These 
 small scales when exam- 
 ined under the microscope 
 appear exactly similar to 
 the particles of dandruff, 
 tlie only difference being in 
 the size. The constant issue 
 of this dead and useless 
 waste will suggest to the 
 reader the great impor- 
 tance of frequent and 
 tliorough washing of the 
 surface of the body. 
 
 Under the microscope we can clearly see the round cells of the cutis, 
 and how they become flattened and hardened as they are forced to the sur- 
 face. Says Hartley: "In one square inch of the cuticle, counting only 
 those in a single layer, there are more than a billion of horny scales," 
 
 Sweat 
 glaud. 
 
 Derma, or 
 cutis vera. 
 
 J 
 
176 Home and Health 
 
 BATHING AND HEALTH. 
 
 Fresh and Salt Water Bathing. — Salt water is a stimulant to the skin, 
 and in many cases is to be preferred for the bath. It is, however, more ex- 
 haustive to the system, and special care should be taken m its use by invalids 
 that it should .lot be prolonged or severe. The sea water is found by experi- 
 ment to be milder than salt water artificially prepared, and to possess tonic 
 properties superior to the latter. 
 
 Bathing at the Sea-side. — The sea-side resort for bathing has its special 
 advantages. The shore and beach are more Ukely to be free from all products 
 of decay. This does not exist in towns where the populations are massed, 
 nor cai . we have it in the streams in the country where marshes and forced 
 or neglected vegetation, and various other circumstances, often upset the equi- 
 librium which Nature has so beautifully established between production and 
 decay. " Ah ! " said one, " I love the sea, for there is no dust there." That 
 seems really an adequate reason. " When we find," says another, " dust to 
 mean millions of invisible particles, some of which represent life unfavorable 
 to human hfe, or decay in too concentrated a form, we readily rejoice that on 
 the sea and close by the sea we may be rid of many a dust-mote of disease." 
 
 Tonic Value of Sea-side Air. — In connection with sea-side bathing 
 there is value in another sense. In the air by the sea-shore carbonic acid and 
 gaseous impurities are almost entirely absent, while the chlorides of the sea 
 seem to impart to the air especial tonic properties. It is bracing, not merely 
 in sensation, but in an actual sense. It seems as if the lungs were enabled 
 to take in more oxygen, and with it more of those slight stimulants which sea- 
 air contains. Under this influence the system is aroused to greater activity, 
 and the effete products of the blood are more fully consumed. Then there is 
 more active assimilation and construction to make up for this lawful destruc- 
 tion. It has been well said that this " is the kind of blood-purifier that does 
 not need a patent, and has a real significance." 
 
 A Caution in Sea-side Bathing. — " We love this air of the sea," writes 
 a correspondent, " and taken aright, which one soon learns, it is a tonic to 
 diink in with exquisite delight. That does not mean that an invalid should 
 face an ocean storm, or that he should ever allow himself to get chilly; for, 
 though -old is often healthful, real chilliness never is. To be borne at all, it 
 must be very temporary. If you do not know how to breathe, and forget that 
 the nose is the chimney, and rush to the sea with the mouth wide open and a 
 5'ell, you may get as hoarse as the waves, and be the shoi^n lamb to which the 
 wind will not be tempered. But, if only very briefly, you will adjust yourself 
 to th :• changed air, avoid at first the dampness of morning or evening, and 
 have changes of clothing ready to adjust to changes of temperature, it 
 
Bathing and Health. 177 
 
 IB not difficult to avoid contingencies, and to get the full vigor of the ocean 
 life." 
 
 Peril at Crowded Sea-side Resorts. — A great danger has arisen at 
 some of the attractive localities opened for the convenience of bathers. This 
 danger has come from the large crowds of people which gather there, and the 
 close contact of residences and other buildings, the lack of good drainage, 
 and of waste removal, and of the consequent befoulment of the air. Wheic 
 this danger exists, the visits of the bathers should be of brief duration. No 
 one can afford to breathe, even for a night, an atmosphere polluted by the 
 excreta of a crowded population where there is a deficiency of good drainage. 
 
 Season for Sea-Bathing. — In the middle Atlantic States the bathing 
 season extends from the middle of June to the middle of September. Far- 
 ther north the season is shorter, and farther south longer. In the middle 
 States, if there are no indications of unhealthfulness of the place, the sea- 
 son may be safely extended from four to six weeks later. 
 
 Duration of the Sea Bath. — On this head much ignorance prevails, and 
 much damage to health and needless delays in the cure of disease are caused 
 by such ignorance. Very many persons, especially of the younger class, stay 
 in the \\ ater until they are tired, and are often surprised that they should pay 
 the tax for their rashness in subsequent suffering from some one or more of 
 the following disorders, namely : Defective reaction, as shown by paleness of 
 the skin, blueuess of the lips, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, rheumatic pains, 
 headache, bronchitis in those with a delicate chest, earache, fullness of the 
 head, giddiness, and various spasmodic affections. From the same cause arises 
 disturbed digestion, manifested by pains of the stomach, nausea, and diarrhoea. 
 
 Proper Limitation of Sea-Bathing. — The allowable range is far short 
 of that in common practice. It ought to be from a single immersion, plunge, 
 or dip, to a bath of a quarter of an hour's duration. We refer now in a more 
 particular manner to invalids. Nervous women, long affected witt disease, 
 and depressed by other causes, ought not to take more ti*^an one or two, or, 
 at the most, three immersions. Children of a tender age, and of a 1) mphatic 
 constitution, should not remain longer in the water than from one mmute to 
 three minutes. Equally restricted should be the period allowed to very young 
 girls and young women who are subject to cough, and shooting pains through 
 the breast and shoulders ; and so on, in graduating scale, for other classes 
 of invahds. 
 
 Those who have palsy of the lower limbs bear, and even require, a bath of 
 tweity, and even twenty-five minutes, alternating with a douche or spout 
 bath over the spine. Invalids in this class, and strong subjects, who are suf- 
 ferers from nervous pains of a rheumatic character, bear two baths daily, 
 namely, in the morning and in the evening. 
 12 
 
178 Home and Health. 
 
 Plunge- Bathing. — The practice of plunging head foremost into tlie watei 
 is not to be commended. Some of the kinds of headache attributed to bath- 
 ing originate, in reality, from this precipitate kind of immersion. Only the 
 strong should practice it. 
 
 Surf-Bathing. — This kind of sea-bathing is a luxury to those who are 
 strong and vigorous. An eminent physician, however, expresses the opinion 
 that the high surf which many seek, is more harmful than helpful to a ma- 
 jority of those who indulge in it. A low or gentle surf is to be preferr?d. We 
 strongly recommend the erection of strong inclosures in the surf in such man- 
 ner as to permit the free ebb and flow of the tide, and yet break the force of 
 the surf wave. Such enclosures in time of the heavy surf would be exceed- 
 ingly serviceable to a large proportion of sea-side bathers. 
 
 Best Hour of the Day for Bathing. — A rule of the most general, if not 
 universal, application is, that the bath should be taken before a meal, and 
 never on a full stomach, or during the first stages of digestion. By general 
 consent, a morning hour is preferred for sea-bathing. Comparatively few, 
 however, choose the time before breakfast for the purpose. Invalids with a 
 cold skin and languid circulation will require a slight refreshment — a cup of 
 good chocolate, a plate of plain soup, or a soft-boiled egg with a roll — before 
 bathing. If an early or noon-day dinner be taken, an evening bath may be 
 used with advantage, and in some cases it is found to agree better with inva- 
 lids than in the morning. 
 
 For the most part, bathing at the watering places in the United States is 
 undoubtedly begun too soon after breakfast, certainly before the digestion of 
 the meal in the stomach is half completed. As a general rule, we are safe in 
 directing invalids to bathe before breakfast, if they rise with a warm and even 
 hot skin, and reach the water before they can be said to have lost the warmth 
 of the bed, or after they have been put in a glow by exercise. 
 
 Condition of the Body Before Bathing. — To persons who awake in i 
 perspiration, or whose skin at the time is moist with sweat, bathing under suca 
 circumstances would be injurious. The rule is, to bathe when the skin is 
 warm, or hot and dry, and not when it is chilled or perspiring. Reaction and 
 glow Avill follow in the first case ; chilliness and headache, and pains in the 
 limbs will be no uncommon result in the last. Great exhaustion after fatiguing 
 exercises forbids the use of the sea to the same extent as the fresh water bath ; 
 and hence there is danger in rushing immediately into the sea after a long 
 and fatiguing jouruey. 
 
 Helpful Accessories to Bathing. — Exercise. — In most cases the benefit 
 of the bath would be considerably increased if followed by light and instant 
 exercise. Walking in the open air at such a time is to be preferred. This 
 keeps up the glow obtained by the thorough towel rubbing of the body m 
 
Bathing and Health. 179 
 
 dressing, and extends tlu- benefit of such glow to the internal organs of the 
 body. 
 
 Avoid Exposure. — Avoid ehilling the body by sitting or standing un 
 dressed on the banks or in boats, after having been in the water, or remain- 
 ing too long in the water, but leave the water immediately there is the slight- 
 est feeling of chilliness. 
 
 Bathing In-doors. — This should be frequent and thorough. The bath 
 room ^Biiould be an essential part of every dwelling. Every person should use 
 it for ''health's sake" once a week, at least. In many cases twice a week 
 would be still better, and in some cases a daily bath would be useful. When 
 taken frequently, it should be used only for a few minutes. 
 
 Benefit of a "Towel Bath." — A thorough rubbing daily, first with a 
 coarse and then \s ith a soft towel, immediately after the morning wash, is al- 
 ways healthful, provided it can be done without chilliness or exhaustion of the 
 strength. Continue the towel exercise until the body is thoroughly dry, and 
 until the glow of the skin becomes assured. 
 
 Temperature of Baths. — The cold bath is a tonic, and must be used with 
 caution. The tepid and warm bath is slightly tonic and sedative, and induces 
 sleep. It should generally be taken immediately before retiring. Hot baths 
 are debilitating when used for any length of time. It is very rarely beneficial 
 to take hot baths unless they are followed at once by a cold shower-bath to 
 tone down the system. 
 
 It is the custom of many persons to have a cold water bath immediately on 
 leaving their beds as a daily habit. Nevertheless, but few persons know how 
 to use cold water judiciously for bathing purposes. Delicately-organized ladies 
 frequently have established the same course, considering it conducive to 
 health. There is an impression that it invigorates the individual, hardens the 
 uiuscles, and strengthens the constitution. The sudden abstraction of caloric 
 or vital warmth in that way has not only injilred but destroyed more than 
 were ever benefited thereby. The reaction, as it is called, a glow of warmth 
 that subsequently follows, is a direct draft upon the system to ineet a sudden 
 loss of vitality, and is by no means so beneficial as theoretically imagined. A 
 tepid bath makes no such injurious demands, and therefore it is not so injur- 
 ious 01 perilous for those of a frail structure. 
 
 The Best Bath for Children. — We have no hesitation in recommending 
 a warm bath early in the day, followed by a simple douche of cold water, as 
 far preferable to the cold bath ; or a warm bath at night for the sake of 
 cleanliness, and none at all in the morning. It may be taken as a rule that, 
 in the case of children, sudden changes of temperature are dangerous, and 
 that 58 degrees to 60 degrees may be taken a*? the safe average temperature 
 in which they should be constantly kept. 
 
180 Home and Health. 
 
 Turkish and Russian Baths. — The only difference between Turkish and 
 Russian baths is, that in the former the bather is first submitted to hot air, 
 and in the latter to hot vapor. The processes of shampooing, showering, 
 plunging, rubbing, and kneading, are the same in both. In both baths the 
 bather reclines for some time, until he is thrown by the hot air or vapor into 
 a profuse perspiration. He is then rubbed by an attendant, and afterward 
 receives a shower or douche of cold water. The duration of the bath de- 
 pends upon the constitution and habits of the bather, and may be two 
 minutes or two hours. These baths are of excellent service in rheumatism, 
 neuralgia, and various nervous conditions, aside from their general cleansing 
 an 1 invigorating qualities. 
 
 Medicated Baths. — The alkaline bath is especially efficient ui curing 
 itching and other diseases of the skin, and is made by putting eight ounces 
 of impure carbonate of potash into thirty gallons of tepid , water. 
 
 The nitro-muriatic bath is for diseases of the liver, and is composed of two 
 ounces of nitric acid, three ounces of muriatic acid, and ten and a half gallons 
 of water. 
 
 Convenient Vapor Baths. — Simple and convenient vapor baths may be 
 made by placing a large pan or pail containing boiling water under a cane- 
 bottom chair. The patient seats himself upon it, enveloped from head to foot 
 in a blanket, which covers the bath as well. * Sulphur, spirit, herbal, and 
 other baths, may be obtained in the same manner. They should not be taken 
 unless prescribed by a physician. 
 
 Electric Baths. — In these baths electricity is diffused through the water 
 of the bath-tub. Special advantages arise from the improved method of 
 applying electricity in the treatment of disease, over the more ordinary meth- 
 ods. The friends of this system argue that water, at blood temperature, is a 
 better conductor of electricity than the human body ; hence the diffusion of 
 the electric current through the water, and to the whole periphery of the body, 
 intensifies and insures more certain results. Moreover, they claim its influence 
 thus conditioned, in promoting the absorption of medicines dissolved in the 
 water, and its power "through chemical affinity, to facilitate the elimination 
 from the body of certain metallic substances, and to further the absorption of 
 morbid deposits." A number of cases are related in support of the theories 
 advanced, and a category of diseases given deemed to be especially amenable 
 tr this kind of treatment. 
 
 Hot Sand Baths. — One of the most attractive therapeutical novelties for 
 some lime past in London — recently introduced from the Conime.it — consists 
 in the erection of establishments for administering hot sand baths as a 
 remedy for rheumatism, recent cases of nervous disorders, affections of the 
 kidneys, and all cases where heat is needed as the chief remedial agent. The 
 
Bathing cmd Health. 181 
 
 R(l vantages claimed in behalf of this jnethod of treatment arc, that it does not 
 suppress respiration, like the hot water bath, but rather mereases it, and doea 
 not interfere with the respiration, after the manner of the steam bath or 
 Turkish bath. It is found that the body can endure the influence of thia 
 kind of bath for a much longer time, and a much higher temperature can he 
 appHed. 
 
 Bathing Dresses. — A bathing dress for the summer is almost as much a 
 nne qua non as a morning dress, for few ladies like to subject themselves to 
 the chances of such as can be hired from the proprietors of bathing-houses ; 
 while for those who spend the summer near salt water the cost of the mate- 
 rial would be absorbed in a very few days. There is no doubt that the less 
 cumbersom* the clothing the more beneficial the bath, and ladies who are for- 
 tunate in having private bathing places will find a flannel dress, made with a 
 loose blouse waist and short closed drawers, very nearly perfection ; but for the 
 ordinary bather, who has to take her chances with many others, there is no 
 better design than the one which serves also as a gymnastic suit, and consists 
 of a sailor blouse, skirt f^Dd trousers. The skirt is plain in front, and there 
 is no more fullness in either blouse or skirt than is necessary to its good ap- 
 pearance. The amount of material required for this entire suit is little less 
 than nine yards. Twilled flannel, dark blue or Russian gray, is the most serv- 
 iceable material for bathing dresses, as it does not chill or hold the water. 
 White, black, or red braids are the usual trimmings, put on broad and in 
 clusters, or simply as bindings, according to taste. 
 
 Twenty-two Brief Hints to Bathers. — In the preceding paragraphs we 
 indicated the principles and methods which should govern the habit of bath- 
 ing. We now subjoin a summary of directions to bathers, which are con- 
 densed from an admirable work by Dr. R. M. Trail : 
 
 1. Never bathe soon after eating. 
 
 2. A full bath should not be taken less than three hours after a full meal. 
 
 3. Do not take any cold bath when in a state of chilliness or fatigue. 
 
 4. Always have the feet comfortably warmed, by fire, hot water, or exer- 
 cise, at the time of taking any cold bath. 
 
 5. If inclmed to headache, wet the head with cool svater before bathing. 
 
 6. Never drink cold water just before bathing. 
 
 7. Do not eat soon after bathing. An hoUr should elapse after a full batk, 
 and half an hour after a local bath before taking the meal. 
 
 8. Local baths, as hip, foot, etc., may be taken an hour after a light, and 
 I wo hours after a full meal. 
 
 9. Patients who are able should exercise before and after bathing. 
 
 10. If not able to exercise, and inclined to chilliness, they should cover up 
 in bed for an hour after bathing. 
 
182 Home and Health. 
 
 11. No strcng shock, by means of the shower or douche, should be made 
 on the head. 
 
 12. After bathing do not sit in a draught of cold air, nor allow the feet to 
 become cold, 
 
 13. Avoid all very cold or very hot baths in all cases of great debility, 
 local congestions, or determinations of blood to particular parts ; also al) 
 processes which disturb the circulation, as shower, douche, and plunge baths. 
 
 14. Great heat of the body is no objection to any form or kind of bath, 
 providing the respiration is not disturbed, nor the patient in a state of fa- 
 tigue. 
 
 15. When two or more baths are administered daily the principal and cold- 
 est one should be taken in the fore part of the day. 
 
 16. All full baths, except the warm, are better in the morning or forenoon 
 than in the afternoon or evening. 
 
 17. When baths are taken regularly every day, they should be omitted oc- 
 casionally, as one day in a week, or two or three days in a month. 
 
 1 8. Whenever the patient feels dependent on any particular form of bath, 
 and persists that he cannot do without it, some other should be substituted 
 for a few days. 
 
 19. Patients should never take a bath so cold that fatiguing exercise is 
 necessary to " get up reaction." The better way is to use water of a milder 
 temperature. 
 
 20. Very feeble persons should have the water for all bathing purposes at 
 nearly the neutral temperature, which is ninety degrees, varying but a few 
 degrees above or below. 
 
 21. Pleasurable sensations for the time are no evidence that the bath is 
 useful. Very cold or very hot baths may be succeeded by agreeable feelings, 
 but be very wasteful of vitaUty. 
 
 22. The temperatire of the bathing-room should always be comfortably 
 warmed and well vei tilated. For invaUds the temperature should be ^event) 
 to eighty degrees. 
 
 SLEEP AND HEALTH. 
 
 Sleep a Necessity. — Sleep is a necessity. Without it we would suffer 
 speedy dissolution. Every act that we perform, every movement we make, ev 
 ery thought that passes through our minds, every emotion that stirs our souls, 
 breaks down a certain amount of nervous tissue, and leaves us weaker than 
 before. These broken cells can be repaired during sleep only. The system, 
 exhausted by physical and mental labor during the day, n:iust be built up and 
 strengthened for the next day's work during the dark, still hours of niglit. 
 
Sleep mid Health. 183 
 
 while the senses are locked in slumber, and the mind and muscles are all re- 
 laxed ; for at no other time is this process of building up earned on. 
 
 What Sleep will Cure. — The cry for rest has always been louder than 
 the cry for food. Not that it is more important, but it is often harder to get. 
 The best rest comes from sound sleep. Of two men or women, otherwise 
 equal, the one who sleeps the best will be the most devotional, healthy, and 
 efficient. Sleep will do much to cure irritability of temper, peevishness, un- 
 easiness. It will cure insanity. It will build up and make strong a weary 
 r.ody. It will do much to cure dyspepsia, particularly that variety known as 
 nervous dyspepsia. It will relieve the languor and prostration felt by con- 
 sumptives. It will cure hypochondria. It will cure the headache. It will 
 cure neuralgia. » It will help cure a broken spirit. It will help cure sorfow. 
 
 How We Go to Sleep. — The muscles which move the arms and legs 
 usually become relaxed before those which maintain the body in an erect po- 
 sition. In relation to the social senses, that of sight is the first lost, the eye- 
 lids forming a barrier between the retina and the external world ; but, inde- 
 pendently of eyelids, if they had been removed by the surgeon, or could not 
 be closed by disease, this is still the first sense whose function is abolished. 
 Some animals, as the hare, do not shut their eyes when asleep ; and in cases of 
 somnambulism, the eyes remain open, although the sense of sight is tempo-, 
 rarily abolished, and their acuteness is much lessened. 
 
 Taste is the next to disappear, and then smell ; hearing follows, and touch 
 is the most persistent of the senses. So, conversely, a person is most easily 
 awakened by the sense of touch ; next in order by sounds, and then by smell. 
 
 Position During Sleep. — The recumbent position has much to do with 
 sleep. Undoubtedly sleep may occur in the sitting posture, and even while 
 standing ; but these cases are exceptional. It is certain, also, that sleep in 
 bed is generally sounder with a low pillow than with a high one. If, there- 
 fore, there l)e a state of wakefulness at night, the head should be kept low ; 
 if, on the contrary, there is undue sleepiness, the head should be kept high. 
 The degree of sleep, and its amount, may be regulated by simply taking care 
 that the head is in the right position. If prolonged recumbency is a neces- 
 sary part of the treatment, the tendency to sleep too much during the day 
 And too little at night may be thus corrected. 
 
 Why High Pillows are Injurious. — It is often a question among peo- 
 ple who are unacquainted with anatomy and physiology, whether lying with 
 heed exalted or on a level Avith the body is the more unwholesome. Most, con- 
 suliiug their o^ : case on this point, argue in favor of that which they prefer. 
 Now, although many delight in bolstering up their heads at night, and sleep 
 soundly without injury, yet it is a dangerous habit. The vessels in which the 
 blood passes from the heart to the head are always lessened in their cavities 
 
18 J: Home and Health. 
 
 when the head is resting in bed higher than the body ; therefore, in all dis 
 eases attended with fever the head should be pretty nearly on a level with 
 the body ; and people ought to accustom themselves to sleep thus and avoid 
 danger. 
 
 Sleeping on the Back or Side, Which? — It is not best to sleep mtinly 
 on the back, but it is well to alternate, and sleep occasionally on either side, 
 not always on the right, nor always on the left, but on both. The right side 
 is better of the two sides to lie upon for any length of time, as it leaves the 
 action of the heart free, and precludes the probability of undue pressure on 
 any of the large blood-vessels ; but generally the body may be allowed to 
 select its own position. 
 
 Evil Eflfects of Sleeping Exclusively on One Side.,^The question 
 is often put to physicians, " Why is my head lop-sided or larger on one 
 side ? " It may be accounted for by always lying on one side. Young moth- 
 ers are apt to place the child always in one position when putting it to bed, 
 and the skull being soft and thin, the brain grows most on the under side, 
 and finally assumes permanently this irregular and uneven shape. In cholera 
 times, or when the bowels are cold, constipated, and inactive, it is well to lie 
 on the breast, and thus keep the bowels warm. 
 
 Amount of Sleep Necessary. — It is impossible to lay down rules regu- 
 lating the amount of sleep necessary for each individual ; some persons need 
 much more than others. The amount necessary depends much upon the age, 
 health, temperament, and climate. 
 
 Testimony of an Experienced Farmer. — Said one of the oldest and 
 most successful farmers in this country : " I do not care to have my men get 
 up before five or half-past five in the morning, and if they go to bed early 
 and can sleep soundly, they will do more work than if they got up at four or 
 half-past four. We do not believe in the eight-hour law, but nevertheless 
 are inclined to think that, as a general rule, we work too many hours on the 
 farm. The best man we ever had to dig ditches seldom worked, when digging 
 by the rod, more than nine hours a day. And it is so in chopping wood by 
 the cord ; the men who accomplish the most work the fewest hours. They 
 l)ring all their brain and muscle into exercise and make every blow tell. A 
 slow, plodding Dutchman may turn a grindstone or a fanning-mill better than 
 an energetic Yankee, but this kind of work is now mostly done by horse- 
 power, and the farmer needs above all else a clear head, with all his facul- 
 ties of mind and muscle light and active, and under complete control. Much, 
 of course, depends on temperament ; but as a rule such men need sound sleep 
 and plenty of it,* 
 
 * When a boy on the farm I was told that Napoleon needed only four hours' sleep, and 
 the old nonsense of "five hours for a man, six hours for a woman, and seven hours for 
 
Sleep and Health. 185 
 
 Waking Children. — We caution parents particularly not to allow their 
 children to be waked up in the mornings ; let nature wake them up ; she will 
 not do it prematurely ; but have a care that they go to bed at an early hour ; 
 let it be earlier and earlier, until it is found that they wake up themselves in 
 full time to dress for breakfast. Being waked up early and allowed to en- 
 gage in difficult or any studies late, and just before retiring, has given many 
 a beautiful and promising child brain fever, or determined ordinary ailments 
 to the production of water on the brain. Infants cannot sleep too long, and 
 it is i^ favorable symptom when they enjoy a calm and long-continued rest. 
 They shouid^ever be awakened, and thus deprived of the greatest support 
 nature has given them. 
 
 Best Hours for Sleeping. — Sleep obtained two hours before midnight, 
 when the negative forces are in operation, is the rest which most recuperates 
 the system, giving brightness to the eye and a glow to the cheek. The differ- 
 ence in the appearance of a person who habitually retires' at ten o'clock and 
 that of one who sits up until twelve, is quite remarkable. The tone of the 
 system, so evident in the complexion, the clearness and sparkle of the eye, 
 and the softness of the lines of the features, is, in a person of health, kept 
 at " concert pitch " by taking regular rest two hours before twelve o'clock, 
 and thereby obtaining the '* beauty sleep " of the night. There is a heaviness 
 of the eye, a sallowness of the skin, and an absence of that glow in the face 
 which renders it fresh in expression and round in appearance, that readily 
 distinguishes the person who keeps late hours. 
 
 Kiss the Children a " Happy Good Night." — If we go to sleep in a 
 happy frame of mind it will help much toward a refi^eshiug slumber. A 
 cheerful *' good night " and an affectionate kiss (if there is sufficient sponta- 
 neity about it to make it worth any thing) are decidedly healthful for the lit- 
 tle ones. Never scold or give lectures, or in any way wound a child's feelings 
 as it goes to bed. Let all banish business and worldly care at bed-time, and 
 let sleep come to a mind at peace with God and all the world. 
 
 The Great Pleasure of Sleep. — Let us all cherish the thought of our 
 approach to sleep, of which some unknown writer has beautifully said: "It 
 is a delicious moment: the feeling that we are safe, that we shall drop gently 
 to i>leep. The good is to come, not past. The limbs have been just tired 
 
 fool," Is often quoted, but the truth is, that Napoleon was enabled, in a great measure, to ac- 
 coinpHsh what he did from the foculty of sleeping soundly — of sleeping when he slept and 
 wo/king when he worked. His favorite traveling carriages were so arranged that he 
 could lie down at full length, and when dashing through the country as fust as eight horses, 
 frequently changed, could carry him, he slept soundly, and when he arrived at his destina- 
 tion was as fresh as if he had risen from a bed of down. Let farmers, and especially farm- 
 ers' boys, have plenty to eat, nothing to " drink," and all the sleep they can take. — Ameri- 
 ciiv y J' icuUurist. 
 
18G Home and Health. 
 
 enough to render the remaining in one position delightful, and the labor ol 
 the day is done. A gentle failing of the perceptions comes slowly creeping 
 over us ; the consciousness disengages itself more and more with slow and 
 hushing degrees, like a fond mother detaching her hand from that of her 
 sleeping child ; the mind seems to have a balmy lid closed, closed altogether, 
 viid the mysterious spirit of sleep has gone to take its airy rounds." 
 
 " Sleeping Alone." — It is not well to place a very young person in the 
 same bed with a very old one, as the younger in such a case will suffer by a 
 loss of vitality and heat. One in a bed is better than two, especially whei": 
 there is a great contrast in age. ^ 
 
 Are Feather-beds Unhealthy ? — Feathers make a very unhealthy 
 bed, because they retain the heat and keep the temperature of the body too 
 high, thus debilitating the skin and rendering the system liable to contract 
 colds ; they also retain the moisture and waste matter thrown out by the 
 lymphatic, which is absorbed, producing disease. A dry straw bed, or, what 
 is better, a hair mattress, should be used. 
 
 In what Direction Shall the Bed Stand ? — Sleeping-rooms should al- 
 ways be so arranged, if possible, as to allow the head of the sleeper to be 
 turned toward the north. Frequently, in cases of sickness, a person will 
 find it impossible to obtain rest if his head is in any other direction, and 
 often a cure is retarded for a long time. This arrangement for the sleeper 
 puts him in harmony with the electrical currents caused by the motion of 
 the earth on its axis. Try this and see. 
 
 Sleep for the Invalid. — An eminent English physician says that a large 
 allowance of sleep to the invalid is possessed of eminent sanitary advantages. 
 " Nothing," he remarks, " is equal to eight or nine hours of undisturbed re- 
 pose. Take it through the night, or partially through the day and night, but 
 secure enough, and the beneficial effects will not fail to show themselves." 
 In one portion Of his essay he adds a hint specially for city invalids : " Go to 
 bed by nine o'clock and sleep till six or seven. Do not sit up till ten or 
 eleven and rise at five, for if you do, no dieting or exercise can supply the 
 vaste of the system." 
 
 Lack of Sleep Causes Leanness. — Dr. Dio Lewis puts the following sug- 
 gestive incident on record : — 
 
 A very thin young lady of about twenty years, with a friend, came to con- 
 Bult me about her " skin and bones." I had frequently met her when she 
 seemed even more emaciated, but now she " would give the world to be 
 plump." Sitting down in front of me, she began with : — 
 
 " Don't you think, doctor, that I look very old for twenty ?" 
 
 I admitted that she looked rather old for twenty. 
 
 " Can any thing be done for me ? What can I do ? I would be willing to 
 
Slee][> cmd Health. 187 
 
 take a hundred bottles of the wors: stuff in the world if I could onlj^ gel 
 some fut on these boues. A friend of mine (her beau) was saying yesterday 
 that he would give a fortune to see me round and plump." 
 
 " Would you be willing to go to the Cliff Springs in Arkansas? " 
 
 "I would start to-morrow." 
 
 "But the waters are very bad to drink," I said. 
 
 "I don't care how bad they are; I know I can drink them." 
 
 " I asked you whether you were willing to go to the Arkansas Springs tc 
 test the strength of your purpose. It is not necessary to leave your home. 
 Nine people out of ten can become reasonably plump without such a sac- 
 rifice." 
 
 '•Why, doctor, I am delighted to hear it; but I suppose it is a lot of some 
 bitter stuff." 
 
 "Yes, it is a pretty bitter dose, and has to be taken every night." 
 
 " T don't care; I would take it if it was twice as bad. What is it? What 
 is the name of it? 
 
 " The technical name of the stuff is htdibus nined'dockihus.'''' 
 
 " Why, doctor, what an awful name ! I am sure I will never be able to 
 speak it. Is there no common English word for it ? " 
 
 " 0, yes. The English for it is, ' You must be in bed every night at nine 
 o'clock.' " 
 
 " 0, that is dreadful ! I thought it was something I could takey 
 
 " It is. You must take your bed every night before the clock strikes nine." 
 
 "No; but what I thought was that you would give^me something in a 
 bottle to take." 
 
 " Of course, I know very well what you thought. That's the way with all 
 of you." 
 
 One person eats enormously of ricli food till his ptomach and liver refuse 
 to budge ; then he cries out, " 0, doctor, wliat can I take ? I must take some- 
 thing." 
 
 Another fills his system with tobacco until his nerves are ruined, rmd 
 then, trembling and full of horrors, he exclaims, " 0, doctor, what shall 1 
 take?" I write a prescription out for \\\m — Quitibus Ghaivibus et Smokihns 
 
 I will suppose my patient is not a classical scholar, as I am sure my reader 
 is, and so I translate it for him into English. He cries out at once: — 
 
 "0, doctor, I thought you would give me something to take." 
 
 Another sits up till thirteen or fourteen o'clock, leads a life of theaters and 
 other dissipations, becomes pale, dyspeptic, and wretched, and then Hies to 
 the doctor, and cries, " 0, doctor, what shall I take? What shall I take? " 
 
 " Now, madam, you are distressed because your lover has been looking at 
 your skin and bones." 
 
 "But, doctor, you arc entirely — " 
 
188 Home and Health. 
 
 "0 well, we'll say nothing about him, then. But tell me, what time do 
 
 you go to bed ? " 
 
 ** Generally about twelve o'clock." 
 
 " Yes, I thought so. Now, if you will go to bed every night for six months 
 at nine o'clock, without making any change in your habits, you will gain ten 
 pounds in weight and look five years younger. Your skin will become fresa, 
 and your spirits improve wonderfully." 
 
 " I'll do it. Though, of course, when I have company and iuring the opera 
 ^ can't do it." 
 
 It is regularity that does the business. To siL up till 12 o'clock three 
 nights in the week, and then get to bed at 9 o'clock four nights, one might 
 think would do very well, and that at any rate it would be " so far so good." 
 I don't think this every other night early and every other night lale is much 
 better than every night late. It is regularity tliat is vital in the case. Even 
 sitting up one night in the week deranges thenervons system for the wliole 
 ^eek. I have sometimes thought that those people who sit up till 1 1 oi ^ ? ' 
 o'clock every night get on <^'ute as well as those who turn in eavly six nighth 
 and then sit up once a week till midnight. 
 
 Regularity in sleep is every bit as important as regularity in food. 
 
 At length my patient exclaimed, "Doctor, I will go to bed every night foi 
 p'xx months b'^ore nine o'clock if it kills me, or rather if it breaks the hearts 
 '.{ all my frieiit/s." 
 
 She did it. Twenty-one pounds was the gain in five months. Her spirits 
 were happily enlivened, and she spent half her time in telling her friends of 
 her deligla with the new habit. She had no further cause to complain ol 
 skm and he aes, and she had the special gratification of appearing more at- 
 tractive in the eyes of her lover. 
 
 Sleeplessness — How to Prevent It. — Sleep is a powerful antidote to a 
 long list of nervous ailments. Sleeplessness is an evil which should be re- 
 moved without delay. The following are among the good rules which, if ob- 
 served, will usually bring relief to those afflicted with chronic sleeplessness 
 
 1. A good clean bed. 
 
 2. Sufficient exercise to produce weariness, and pleasant occupation. 
 
 5. Grood air and not too warm a room. 
 4, Freedom from too much care. 
 
 6. A clear stomach. 
 
 6. A clear conscience. 
 
 7. Avoidance of stimulants and narcotics. 
 
 Sleeplessness — How to Cure It. — Nervous persons, who are troubled 
 with wakefulness and exc itability, usually have a strong tendency of blood 
 to the brain, with cold extremities. The pressure of blood on the brain 
 keeps it in a stimulated or wakeful state, and the pulsations in the head ar^ 
 
Sleejp cmd Health, 189 
 
 often painful. Let such persons note the following suggestions, which are 
 collected from various sources : 
 
 Rise and chafe the body and extremities with a crash >'wel, or rub 
 smartly with the hands to promote circulation, and withdraw the excef^sive 
 amount of blood from the brain, and sleep will follow in a few mini:i«3. 
 
 A cold bath, or a sponge bath and rubbing, or a good run, or a rapid walk 
 in the open air, or going up and down stairs a few times just before retiring, 
 will aid in equalizing circulation and promoting sleep. 
 
 Wet half a towel, apply it to the back of the neck, pressing it up toward 
 the base of the brain, and fasten the dry half of the towel over so as to 
 prevent the too-rapid exhalation. The effect is prompt and charming, cool- 
 ing the brain and inducing calmer, sweeter sleep than any narcotic. Warm 
 water may be used, though most persons will prefer it cold. To those suffer- 
 ing frcm over-excitement of the brain, whether the result of brain-work or 
 of pressing anxiety, this simple remedy is an especial boon. 
 
 Sometimes any mental exei cise which concentrates the mind on one sub- 
 ject will bring relief. 
 
 Playing a game of skill, such as checkers or chess, demonstrating a diffi- 
 cult proposition in geometry, or solving an arithmetical oi algebraical prob- 
 lem, has often led to this mental condition, and been followed by a good 
 sleep, which otherwise seemed impossible. 
 
 One of the very best meth(yds of "courting sleep" is that of counting. 
 Breathe deeply and slowly (wilhout any straining effort) and with every res- 
 piration count one, two, three, etc., up to a hundred. Some persons will «)e 
 asleep before they count fifty in this manner. Others will count ten, twenty, 
 or thirty, and then forget themselves and cease counting. In such c.^es al- 
 Tays commence again at one. Very few persons can count one hunr'.red and 
 find themselves awake ; but should this happen repeat the dose until cured. 
 Counting in some other language, as German or Latin, is very good. 
 
 If sleepless at night on account of the heat, try the effect of warm water 
 upon the feet. If that does not give relief, try the virtues of a warm bath, 
 out not often, as its frequent use debilitates. 
 
 An Eminent Clergyman's Advice. — Dr. Alexander was often heard 
 10 say in substance as follows: "Clergymen, authors, teachers, and othei 
 men of reflective habits, lose much health by losing sleep, and this because 
 they carry tlicir trains of thought to bed with them. The best thing one can 
 do is take care of the last half hour before retiring. Devotions being ei.ded, 
 something may be done to quiet the strings of the harp, which otheiwise 
 would go on to vibrate. Let me commend to you this maxim, which I some- 
 where learned from Dr. Watts, who says that in his boyhood he received it 
 from the lips of Dr. John Owen — a very good pedigree for a maxim : Break 
 the chain of thoughts at bed-time by something at once serious and agreeable. 
 
190 Home ajstd Healih. 
 
 By all i.^^ins break the continuity, or sleep will be vexed, if not driven awa). 
 If you wish to know my method, it is to turn over the pages of my English 
 Bible, alighting on a passage here, a passage there, backward and forward 
 without plan, and without allowing my mind to fasten on any, leaving any 
 place the moment it ceases to interest me. Some tranquilizing word often 
 becomes a divine blessing of peace. ' He giveth his beloved sleep.' " 
 
 Slumber at Will. — The following is given in " Bliim's Anatomy of Sleep ; 
 cr, the Art of Procuring Sound and Refreshing Slumber at Will," published 
 m Loudon in 18i2. The principal feature of Blinn's system is for the patient 
 to fix his att<,'ntion on his own breathing. " He must depict to himself that 
 be sees the breath passing from his nostrils in a continuous stream, and the 
 very instant that he brings his mind to conceive this, apart from all other 
 ideas, consciousness and memory depart; imagination slumbers, fancy be- 
 comes dormant, thought subdued ; the sentient faculties lose their suscepti- 
 bility, the vital or ganglionic system assumes sovereignty — and he no longer 
 V. aI-Cs, but sleeps." 
 
 Sleep Procured by Medicine is .sreiy as beneficial as that secured 
 laturally. The disturbance to the nervous system is often sufficient to coun- 
 terbalance all the good results. The habit of seeking sleep in this way, with 
 o'it tl'.e advice of a physician, is to be deprecated. The dose must be con- 
 siantly increased to produce the effect, and thus great injury may be caused. 
 Often, tco, where laudanum or morphine is used, the person unconsciously 
 '•omes into a terrible and fatal bondagt. Especially should infants never bo 
 dr.fed with cordials, as is the common iamily practice. The damage done to 
 helpless childhood by the ignorant and reckless use of soothing-syrups i* 
 frightful to contemplate. 
 
 " A Pillow for the Sleepless." — A friend once told me, says Rev. H. 
 Woodv ard, that, among other symptoms of high nervous excitement, he had 
 been pamfully harassed for the want of sleep. To such a degree had this pro- 
 ceeded, that if in the course of the day any occasion led him to his bed- 
 chamber, the sight of his bed made him shudder at the idea of the wretched 
 and restless hours he had to pass upon it. 
 
 In this case it was recommended to him to endeavor, when he laid down at 
 night, to fix his mind on something at tlie same time vast and simple — such 
 as the wide ocean, or the cloudless vault of heaven ; that the little hurried 
 and disturbed images that flitted before his mind might be charried away, or 
 hushed to rest, by the calming influences of one absorbing thought. 
 
 Though not at all a religious man at the time, this advice suggested to his 
 nund that if an object, at once vast and simple, was to be selected for medi- 
 tation, nothing could serve his purpose so well as the thought of God. He re- 
 so ved to make the trial and think of him. The result exceeded his mos* 
 
Sleep and Health. 191 
 
 sanguine hopes; in thinking of God he fell asleep. Night after night he re 
 sorted to the same expedient. The process Ijecame delightful ; so much so 
 that he used to long for the usual hour for retiriug, that he might fall asleep, 
 as he termed it, in God. What began as a mere physical operation, grew \v' 
 imperceptible degrees into a gracious influence. The same God who was hi* 
 repose by night was in all his thoughts by day, and at the time this pcrscit 
 epoke to me, God, as revealed in the Gospel of his Son, was " all his ^alvatioc 
 and all his desire." So various arc the means and inscrutable the ways br 
 wliich God can " fetch home the banished." 
 
 Sleeping Hints. — Sleep is the best known form of rest, and yet it is only 
 pai-tial, for scarcely any part of the body is completely at rest. The heart 
 beats, the blood courses, the lungs and skin are active. 
 
 In sleep the volume of blood in the brain is dimini.slicd. Remedies which 
 diminish the amount of blood in the brain (as bromide of potassium) are pro- 
 motive of sleep. 
 
 Sleep is a good thermometer of health. Whatever improves the sleep of 
 an invalid betters his condition. ' 
 
 Sleep with the mouth shut. Will to do it and persevere, and you will suc- 
 ceed. 
 
 Wash the body before sleeping, especially after a day of dust or sweat- 
 ing. 
 
 Exhalations through the skin are more abundant while asleep than when 
 awake ; therefore the bed should be well aired before it is made up. 
 
 In youth more sleep is needed tlian in old age, when nature makes few per- 
 Tianent repairs, and is content with temporary expedients. In general, one 
 should sleep until he naturally wakes. 
 
 " I have nothing to say about feather beds," says a lecent writer. *' None 
 of our family like them ; but I would willingly provide one for an elderly per- 
 son to whom habit had made it seem a necessity." 
 
 Short Sleepers. — Lord Brougham, and many other great statesmen and 
 lawyers, contented themselves with a remarkably small quantity of sleep. Fred- 
 erick the Great slept only five hours out of every twenty-four ; John ITimtor, 
 five hours ; General Elliot, the hero of Gibraltar, four hours , the Did<c of 
 Wellington, in some of his campaigns, less than four hours ; Wes'(\v, A^ix hours. 
 The brevity of their sleep did not prevent their enjoyment of good health, 
 nor their living to a good old age. 
 
 Living Without Sleep. — Five young men in Berlin lately m ide an agree- 
 ment, for a wager, to see who of them could keep awake for a whole week. 
 They all held out for about five days and a half i^y diinking largely of stroiiL' 
 coffee, and keeping up a constant round of active exercises and exciting 
 amusements. At the end of that time t^o «€ them yielded to drowsiness ; 
 
192 Home and Health. 
 
 a third soon fell asleep while riding, tumbled from bis Badlle, and broke hi'^ 
 arm ; a fourth was attacked by severe sickness, and compelled to retire from 
 the list ; the fifth held out to the end, but lost twenty-five pounds of flesh in 
 winning the wager. Long ago, Frederick the Great and Voltaire m. de a simi- 
 lar experiment, making use of the same stimulant of strong coffee, but the^ 
 did not succeed in driving away sleep for more than four days. " Tired 
 nature " obstinately refuses to accept of any substitute for her " sweet re- 
 storer," 
 
 Curious Oases of Long Sleeping. — In the middle of the last century 
 a young Frenchwoman, at Toulouse, had, for half a year, fits of lengthened 
 sleep, varying from three to thirteen days each. About the same time a girl, 
 at Newcastle-on-Tyne, slept fourteen weeks without waking, and the wakmg 
 pi ocess occupied three days to complete. 
 
 Dr. Blanchet, of Paris, mentions the case of a lady who slept for twenty 
 days together, when she was about eighteen years of age, fifty when she was 
 about twenty, and had nearly a whole year's sleep, from Easter Sunday, 1862, 
 till Harch, 1863. During this long sleep (which physicians call hysteric 
 coma) she was fed with milk and soup, one of her front teeth being extracted 
 to obtain an opening into her mouth. 
 
 Stow, m his "Chronicles," tells us that "The 2'7th of April, 1546, being 
 Tuesdaie in Easter weeke, W. Foxley, pot maker for the Mint in the Tower 
 of Londca, fell asleep, and so continued sleeping, and could not be waked with 
 prickinj^, cramping, or otherwise, till the first day of the next term, which 
 T^as full fourteen dayes and fifteen nights. The causes of his thus sleeping 
 could not be knowTie, tho' the same were diligentlie searched for by the king's 
 physicians and other learned men ; yea, the king himself examined ye said 
 'iV. Foxley, who was in all points found at his waking to be as if he had 
 slept but one night." 
 
 Soft or Hard Beds, Which? — On this question there are wide differ- 
 epces of opinion, some persons advocating soft, and others hard beds. The 
 difference between them is, that the weight of a body on a soft bed presses 
 on a larger surface than upon a hard bed, and consequently more comfort is 
 enjoyed. Hard »jeds should never be given to little children, and parents who 
 fuppose that such beds contribute to health by hardening and developing the 
 constT-tutiou, arc surely in error. Eminent physicians — both here and in En- 
 gland — conc'jr in this opinion, and state that hard beds have often proved 
 mjurious to the shape of infants. Birds and animals cover their offspring 
 with the softest materials they can obtain, and also make soft beds for them ; 
 and the softness of a bed is not evidence of its being unwholesome. But if 
 It is not kept sweet and clean by daily airings and treqaent beatings — v hether 
 ft is hard or soft — it is surely injurious to health. 
 
Sleep and Heactn. 193 
 
 Warm or Cold Sleeping-Rooms, Which ? — There is an old notion, and 
 a foolish one, that it is better to sleep in a cold room than in a moderately 
 warm one. Given good ventilation, and a fire in a sleeping-room in cold 
 weather is healthy. There J? n? gain in the chillinpss of dressing and un- 
 dressing in a temperature near the freezing point, bat thv rfh<x~k to the system 
 is positively injurious. Cold bed-chambers always imperil healtn, ind invite 
 fatal diseases. Robust persons may safely sleep in a temperature of forty or 
 under, but the old, the infantile, and the frail, should never sleep in a room 
 where the atmosphere is much under fifty degrees Fahrenheit. 
 
 Thorough Ventilation of Sleeping-Rooms. — All persons spend more 
 time in their sleeping-rooms than in any other room in the house. As a rule 
 about one-third of human life is thus spent. The sleeping-room, therefore, 
 should be the best aired, the most comfortable, and in all other respects the 
 most healthful room. Ample ventilation is needed at all hours ; but especial 
 attention should be paid to ventilation during sleep. There is no danger in 
 having a sleeping apartment well ventilated, p' vidsd one sleeps warm, being 
 well protected by an abundance of blankettj. 
 
 Time Required for Airing the Beds. — *tae desire of an energetic 
 housekeeper to have her work done at an early hour in the morning, causes 
 her to leave one of the most important items of neatness undone. The most 
 effectual purifying of bed and bed-clothes cannot take place if the proper 
 time is not allowed for the free circulation of pure air to remove all human 
 impurities which have collected during the hours of slumber. At least two 
 or three hours should be allowed for the complete removal of atoms of insen- 
 sible perspiration which are absorbed by the bed. Every day this airing 
 should be done ; and occasionally bedding constantly used should be carried 
 into the open air, and when practicable, left exposed to the sun and wmd for 
 half a day. 
 
 Dreaming and Somnambulism. — Those cases in which the brain is hard 
 at work during sleep Instead of being totally oblivious of every thing, may 
 be called dreaming or somnambulism, according to the mode in which the 
 activity displays itself. Many of them are full of interest. Some men have 
 done really hard mental work while asleep. Condorcet finished a train of cal- 
 culations in his sleep which had much puzzled him during the day. In 1 756 
 a collegian noticed the peculiarities of a fellow-student who was rather stupid 
 than otherwise during his waking hours, but who got through some excellent 
 work in geometry and algebra during sleep. Coleridge composed Kuhla Kahn 
 while asleep. 
 
 The Cause of Nightmare. — Nightmare is caused by remaining so long 
 in one position that the blood ceases to circulate. How hard we try to run in 
 orr sleep, somotimes, to get ori" rjf the wav of some terrible danger! J* 
 13 
 
194: 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 does such a person no good to ask what's the matter. Don't waste time m 
 asking a question, but give relief to the sleeper by an histantaneous shake, or 
 jven a touch of the body, which breaks the dreadful spell in an instant, because 
 it sets the blood going toward the heart. 
 
 Snoring, and How to Stop It. — Not long since, John A. Wyeth, M.D,, 
 described in the Popular Science Monthly* a novel invention for stopj)ing 
 snoring. We give the description in his own words : — 
 
 To those unacquainted with the mysterious parlance of the anatomist, the 
 use of strictly scientific terms might prove discouraging and fail to interest. 
 I shall, therefore, discard the scientific in favor of the every-day phrases, in 
 explanation of the following figure (1) which, it will be observed, represents 
 
 a human head split from 
 above downward through 
 the central line. 
 
 Through the only two 
 channels in which the ai« 
 travels in going to tht 
 lungs, namely, througl 
 the nose and mouth, ar< 
 drawn two arrows, o 
 and b. These two pas^ 
 sages unite in a common 
 cavity at /, and from 
 that point there is but 
 one tube leading to the 
 lungs. 
 
 At c is a bone called the 
 hard palate, which forms 
 the roof of the mouth 
 and the floor of the nose, separatmg these two air-channels from each other. 
 At the inner or posterior end of the bone, c, is seen a little body, d, called 
 the soft palate, made of muscle and covered with a delicate skin. This soft 
 palate is attached at one end to c, the hard palate ; the other end hangs loose, 
 and moves or flaps in the act of breathing, something like a window-curtain 
 when acted upon by a current of air. This is its condition while we are asleep 
 or awake, though during sleep it lacks in tovAcity, being much more re- 
 laxed, or flabby, than when we are awake. At e is represented the tongue. 
 
 Now, in order to snore, one must keep the mouth open, as well as the nose, 
 and in this conaition the two currents of air, a and b, passing in and out to- 
 gether during the acts of breathing, catch this little curtain, d, between them, 
 
 Fig. 
 
 * Ihf article was suhspqupntly imlilished also in Tlie Chruliain Advocate, Now York. 
 
Sleej} and Health, 
 
 195 
 
 ftfltl throw it into rapid vibration. This vibration, more or less intense and 
 sonorous, is what we call snoring. 
 
 It is only with the mouth open that snoring can be accomplished during 
 sleep. Awake, if the nose is closed by the thumb and finger, by taking a 
 forcible breath, it is possible to snore, and the same result may be accom- 
 plished with the mouth shut and the nose open ; but the muscular effort neces- 
 sary to its accomplishment is more than we can command during sleep, and 
 would wake up the individual who might unconsciously make the effort. 
 
 If the mouth be closed, (the natural condition during slumber,) but one 
 current of air will pass to and from the lungs. This current, pressing about 
 {.'•[ually upon all sides of the canal indicated at «, will picss the noft palate^ 
 d. forward and downward until it is applied to the tongue, e, and will hold 
 
 it there gently, thus preventing any sonorous 
 vibration. 
 
 It follows that any device which prevents 
 . j^ ^ . the lower jaw from dropping down during the 
 
 I ^^."^^^ ^^ relaxation of sleep, and opening the mouth, 
 
 will shut out the one unnatural current of air 
 and prevent snoring. 
 
 I have devised the apparatus represented 
 in Fig. 2, which consists of a simple cap, a, 
 fitting the head snugly ; a cap of soft ma- 
 terial, 6, fitting the chin ; and a piece of elas- 
 tic webbing, c, tacked to the chin-piece, and 
 to the head-cap near the ears. The webbing 
 can be made more or less tense as may be re- 
 quired to effect the closure of the mouth. 
 The apparatus is so simple that any one can make it ; and the writer 
 hopes this explanation will recommend itself to those individuals who, from 
 the possession of this unfortunate habit, are a nuisance to every body — ex- 
 cepting themselves. 
 
 Are Plants in Sleeping-Rooms Injurious ?— Dr. J. C. Draper in a 
 paper in the Galaxy furnishes a very clear and able discussion in reference 
 t,o this question. We condense and quote: — 
 
 Plants Give out Carbonic Acid During the Night. — " Though the 
 air is dependent for the renewal of its oxygen on the action of the green 
 leaves of plants, it must not be forgotten that it is only in the presence and 
 under the stimulus of light that these organisms decompose carbonic acid. 
 All plants, irrespective of their kind or nature, absorb oxygen and exhale 
 carbonic acid in the dark. The (juantity of noxious gas thus eliminated i? 
 however, exceedingly s.Tiuil when compared with the oxygen thrown o'lt dw 
 
 Fig. 
 
196 Home and Health. 
 
 'ng the day. When they are flowering, plants exhale carbonic acid in con- 
 Ciderable quantity, and, at the same time, evolve heat. In this condition, 
 therefore, they resemble animals as regards their relation to the air ; and a 
 number of pUnts placed in a room would, under these circumstances, tend 
 to vitiate ine air." 
 
 Plovrering Plants more Injurious than Others. — " While the phan- 
 erogamia, or flowering plants, depend on the air almost entirely for their sup 
 ply of carbon, and are busy dui'ing the day in restoring to it the oxygen that 
 has been removed by animals, many of the inferior cryptogamia, as the fungi 
 and parasitic plants, obtain their nourishment from material that has already 
 beet organized. They do not absorb carbonic acid, but on the contrary they 
 act like animals, absorbing oxygen and exhaling carbonic acid at all times. It 
 is, therefore, evident that their presence in a room cannot be productive of 
 good results.'' 
 
 Plants Exhale Other Noxious Substances. — " Aside from the highly 
 deleterious action that plants may exert on the atmosphere of a sleeping- 
 room, by increasing the proportion of carbonic acid during the night, there is 
 another and more important objection to be urged against their presence in 
 such apartments. Like animals, they exhale peculiar volatile organic princi- 
 ples which, in many instances, render them unfit for the purposes of respira- 
 tion. E^ en in the days of Andronicus this fact was recognized, for he says, 
 in speaking of Arabia Felix, that ' by reason of myrrh, frankincense, and hot 
 3pices there growing, the air was so obnoxious to their brains that the very in 
 habitants at some times cannot avoid its influence.' What the influence on 
 the brains of the inhabitants may have been does not at present interest us ; 
 we have only quoted the statement to show that long ago the emanations from 
 plants were regarded as having an influence on the condition of the air ; and, 
 in view of our present ignorance, it would be wise to banish them from our 
 Bleeping apartments, at least until we are better informed regarding their true 
 p roperties." 
 
 Sleep and Death. — As men grow to be about fifty years old, especially 
 if of sedentary habits, the feeling on rising in the morning is as if they had 
 not gotten sleep enough, not as much as they used to have, and as if they 
 would like to have more, but they cannot get it. They look upon a healthy 
 child sleeping soundly with a feeling of envy. But it is curious to observe 
 that there is a bliss to all in the act of going to sleep, a bliss we become cog- 
 nizant of only when we happen to be aroused just as we are falling into 
 sound sleep ; and there are strong physiological reasons to suppose that this 
 state is a counterpart of that great event that is to come upon all, the act of 
 dying. In fact, those who have in rare cases been brought back to life when 
 on the verge of death, and in several cases those who have been reco7ere<^ 
 
Sleep and Health. 197 
 
 from drowning;, and other modes of strangulation or simple smothering, called 
 " asphyxia" hy physicians, the expressions have been, on coming to conscious- 
 ness, " How delicious ! "Why did yot: not let me go ? " An eminent man thus 
 brought back represented that the last-remembered sensations of which he 
 was conscious were as if he were listeniug to the most ravishing strains of 
 music. 
 
 CLOTHING AND HEALTH. 
 
 The Most Healthy Clothing. — Tlie most healthful clothing for our 
 climate, the year round, is that made of wool. If worn next the skin by all 
 classes, in summer as well as winter, an incalculable amount of coughs, colds, 
 diarrhoea, dysenteries, and fevers would be prevented, as also many sudden 
 and premature deaths from croup, diphtheria, and lung diseases. Winter 
 maladies would be prevented by the ability of a woolen garment to keep the 
 natur;il heat about the body more perfectly, instead of conveying it away as 
 fast as generated, as linen and flaxen gai-ments do, as also cotton and silk, 
 although these are less cooling than Irish linen, as any one can prove by no- 
 ticing ilie different degrees of coldness on the application of a surface of six 
 inches square of flannel, cotton, and linen to the skin the moment the cloth- 
 ing is removed. The reason is, that wool is a bad conductor of heat.* 
 
 Flannel in Summer as well as Winter. — The incalculable benefit of 
 wearing flannel next the body, in summer as well as winter, cannot be esti- 
 mated. Flannel is not so uncomfortable in warm weather as many believe. 
 Frequent colds and coughs are almost unknown when flannels are worn. 
 Some women object to tliem because they are bulky about the waist. This 
 objection can be obviated by shaping them in tight sack fashion, or cutting 
 tliom out like waists and buttoning them behind. The sudden and frequent 
 changes of our climate are scarcely felt, and certainly do very little injury to 
 those persons who wear flannel constantly. Above all, mothers should clothe 
 the tender bodies of their little ones with under-garments of this material. 
 Warmth is almost as necessary to healthful development as food, and parents 
 should endeavor to clothe their children so as to secure the greatest amount 
 for tliem. 
 
 Best Color for Clothing. — In an article upon "TheClothing We Wear,"* 
 Dr. Nichols, of the Boston Journal of Chemistry^ says : " The color of cloth- 
 ing is by no means a matter of indifference. White and light-colored clothes 
 reflect the heat, while black and dark-colored ones absorb it. White is the 
 comfortable and fashionable color for clothing in summer. It reflects heat 
 
 * Dr. HaU. 
 
198 Home and Health. 
 
 well, and prevents the sun's rays from passing through and heating tLc bod) 
 If white is the best color for summer, it does not follow that black is the best 
 for winter. It must be remembered that black radiates heat with gi'eat rap- 
 idity. Give a coat of white paint to a black steam radiator, which is capable 
 of rendering a room comfortably warm at all times, and the temperature will 
 .all at once, though the heat-producing agency remains the same as before. A 
 black garment robs the body of a larger amount of heat than white, and con- 
 sequently the latter color is the best for winter garments. It is the best 
 color for both sunmier and winter. Although this statement may seem like 
 blowing hot and cold, it is nevertheless true. Let those who are troubled 
 with cold feet, and who wear dark stockings, change to white, and see if the dif- 
 ficulty is not in part or wholly removed." 
 
 The Texture of Clothing should not be Close. — For all seasons the 
 more porous the clothing is, the better. Porous clothes will give ready es- 
 cape to the perspiration and a free admission of air to the skin. For this 
 reason woolens, which excel in that quality, should be worn constantly. 
 
 Evil of Insufficient Clothing. — One of the great evils induced by 
 fashion is the unequal distribution of clothing upon the person. One part 
 over-clothed, and another not half clad, is a very common condition, espe- 
 cially among women and children. Women are governed by fashion, children 
 are governed by women, and it is the great resource of fashion to produce 
 new effects by piling on the textures, now here and now there, and by leaving 
 other parts exposed. If the declared purpose were to induce disease, no surer 
 or more effectual way could be found to do it than this. The dei'angement 
 of the circulation is direct and immediate; its healthy equilibrium is de- 
 stroyed, the thinly-dressed parts lose their blood to the more vascular, and 
 internal derangements give rise to various chronic bodily ailments. 
 
 Evil of LoTV-Necked Dress. — The fashion of wearing low-neck dresses 
 on certain occasions, thus leaving the neck and the upper part of the chest 
 bare, is fraught with evil consequence. It would be less objectionable in 
 countries uniformly warm ; but that our daughteri, here in the frigid and 
 changeable climate, should expose to the chilBiig winds a vital part of the 
 body, is one of the evils of fashion which should be discountenanced by every 
 mother, and father, and brother. Of the unseemliness and reckless immod- 
 esty often connected with this exposure, it is not necessary to spe;|}f in this 
 discussion. * 
 
 High-Heeled Boots and Shoes. — Says the Journal of Chemistry: " Wf 
 shall not quarrel with the httle jaunty hats of the ladies, for they are indecv. 
 
 ♦A lady in New York has just died from consumption produced by a cold which sh« 
 caught by crossing to and from the different hotels at Saratoga, in the evening, in thin satiii 
 ■Uppers and low-necked evening dress, and nothing over her shoulders. 
 
Clothmg omd Health. 199 
 
 pretty, and no harm results from them, as of all parts of the body the head 
 needs the least clothing. But, to pass to the other extremity, we have to say 
 that the detestable high heels to boots and shoes, running, as they do, almost 
 to a point, are spoiling the gait and ruining the ankle-joints of children and 
 young misses. "W e are careful to order our shoemakers to remove such heels 
 from shoes before permitting them to be brought into our dwelling. Heela of 
 moderate height and good breadth are of great service in elevating the feet, 
 so as to avoid direct contact with moist earth, and they also give support and 
 add firmness to the step. Why should Fashion push good devices to absurd 
 extremes ? We must aid in dethroning the tyrant when her decrees lead to 
 the physical or moral injury of the race." 
 
 Newspapers as Protectors from Cold.— A newspaper, folded several 
 times and laid across the chest during a cold walk or ride, is a most excellent 
 protector. If the bed-clothing is not sufficiently warm, especially at hotels, 
 two or three large newspapers spread on the bed between the blankets will 
 Kecure a comfortable night, as far as cold is concerned. A thin shawl may 
 jQ made warm by folding a paper inside it. The paper is impervious to the 
 yind and cold air from outside, and prevents the rapid escape of the warm 
 air from beneath it. If you suffer from cold feet on a journey, fold a piece 
 of newspaper over your stockings ; this is better than rubbers. 
 
 Wiarm Clothing for the Feet. — The lower Umbs, especially the feet, 
 should be warmly clothed, both in winter and summer. The fashion that 
 rules otherwise is cruel and deadly. An eminent physician estimates the 
 number who die from ailments induced directly or indirectly from the insuffi- 
 cient clothing of the legs and feet, at nearly one-third of tJie cases of mortality 
 071 record ! 
 
 Frequent Change of Clothing for the Feet. — On no account should 
 this be neglected. Concerning this subject the Sciefitijic American very truly 
 says : " Many are careless in the keeping of the feet. If they wash them 
 once a week they think they are doing well. They do not consider that the 
 largest pores of the system are located in the bottom ot" the foot, and tliat 
 the most offensive matter is discharged through the pores. They wear stock- 
 ings from the beginning to the end of the week without change, which be- 
 come completely saturated with offensive matter. Ill-health is generated bj 
 such treatment of the feet. The pores are not repel lants, but absorbents, and 
 this fetid matter, to a greater or less extent, is taken back into the system. 
 The feet should be washed every day with pure water only, as well as the 
 arm-pits, from which an offensive odor is also emitted, unless daily allution 
 is practiced. Stockings should not be worn more than a day or two at a time. 
 They may be worn one day, and then aired and sunned and worn another day, 
 if necessary." 
 
200 Home akd Health. 
 
 How to Wear Under-Clothing.— All under-clothing should be sus- 
 pended from the shoulders, in order to relieve the waist, and it is needless to 
 Bay corsets should be abandoned. To do this, the two principal articles 
 should be joined, forming a garment something like children's night-drawers, 
 but fitting closer to the body. The petticoats and skirts should be hung from 
 the shoulders by straps made of muslin, or other light material. 
 
 Bad Effects from Using " Garters." — One of the most frequer.t 
 and flao-rant causes of obstruction in the circulation is the ordinary elastic 
 garter. Children should never wear them at all, as the stockings can be per- 
 fectly well kept up by attachment of elastic straps to the waistband. If 
 garters are worn, it is important to know how to apply them with the least 
 risk of harm ; at the bend of the knee the superficial veins of the leg unite, 
 and go deeply into the under part of the thigh beneath the ham-string ten- 
 dons. Thus a ligature below the knee obstructs all the superficial veins, but 
 if the constriction is above, the ham-string tendons keep the pressure off the 
 veins which return the blood from the legs ; unfortunately, most people, in 
 ignorance of the above facts, apply the garter below the knee. Elastic bands 
 are the most injurious. They follow the movements of the muscles, and 
 never relax their pressure upon the veins. Non-elastic bands, during muscu- 
 lar exertion, become considerably relaxed at intervals, and allow a freer cir- 
 culation of the blood. 
 
 Muflling the Throat.— There is nothing that makes the throat delicat 
 and sensitive more than muffling it closely in wraps of woolen and fur. Tht 
 rule is, that the neck should be kept as cool as comfort will allow. 
 
 Tight collars frequently cause diseases of the throat and lungs. The neck 
 should be dressed lightly. From the many movements which are made by 
 the larynx in speaking, it is inferred that it is a matter of great importance 
 that the neck in health should be always loosely dressed. Tight cravats arc 
 sure to obstruct the proper function of this organ, and bring on irritation, 
 which may lead to bronchitis or consumption. An eminent physician, who 
 devotes his whole attention to the throat and lungs, says that about 
 three fourths of all throat diseases would get well by wearing very 
 loose collars, and no neck-tie at all. He also adds : " If you have a disease 
 of the throat, let nature do the curing, and the physician just as little a* 
 possible." 
 
 Remove Wet Clothing. — Some one inquires, " What shall be dom 
 when caught in a shower ? " We answer : Put on dry clothing as soon aa 
 possible. "Why?" Because damp clothes rapidly chill the surface of the 
 body, the heat being carried off by evaporation. " Suppose your clothes have 
 been wet for some time ? " Then give the body a thorough rubbing with » 
 coarsie towel at the time of changing the clothes. 
 
Clothing cmd Health. 201 
 
 Poisonous Clothing — Gloves. — A recent London journal describes the 
 case of a lady whose hands were covered with very irritable blisters. Upon 
 investigation it was found that she had purchased a pair of new silk gloves, 
 and that after wearing them a short time these blisters appeared, and had 
 troubled her ever since. She wore the left glove more than the right, and the 
 left hand was consequently more affected than the right. The gloves were of 
 spun gilk, dyed a light brown color — the dye apparently being an aniline dye 
 of coal-tar origin. The use of articles so dyed is dangerous. 
 
 Other Cases of Glove Poisoning. — Several English and German papers 
 now before us call special attention to dangerous gloves. In one of them a 
 writer describes the poisonous effect of a pair of the fashionable "bronze- 
 green " silk gloves, when worn by a member of his family. After wearing 
 them a day or two, the patient was attacked with a peculiar blistering and 
 swelling of both hands, which increased to such an extent that for two or 
 three weeks she was compelled to carry her hands in a sling, suffering acute 
 pain, and being, of course, unable either to feed or dress herself. Inquiries 
 among the writer's friends discovered three other ladies similarly afflicted. A 
 German medical journal reports a case of very serious poisoning by a pair of 
 navy-blue kids. 
 
 Poisonous Socks. — A clergyman in New York recently purchased a half 
 dozen pair of white cotton socks, having on the top two or three " rounds " of 
 red yarn. After wearing a pair for a couple of days, he found that both legs 
 were poisoned in the parts touched by the red tops of the socks ; and, al- 
 though the red-top socks were discarded, he suffered for three months, a part 
 of the time severely, from the effects of the poison which had been imbibed 
 into the blood. Indeed, the case required very careful treatment by a skill- 
 ful physician. In the Museum of the College of Surgeons, London, are pre- 
 served some brightly-dyed children's socks, which gave rise to a similar af- 
 fection on the feet of a child. 
 
 Other Poisonous Clothing. — Dress goods, of woolen, silk, and cotton, 
 have been found to contain arsenic in dangerous quantities ; so, also, gentle- 
 men's underclothing, hat linings, and the linings of boots and shoes. Profes- 
 sor Nichols, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reports the exam- 
 ination of a lady's dress which contained eight grains of arsenic to the square 
 foot. In Troy, New York, lately, the death of a child was attributed to ar- 
 senic sucked from a veil which had been thrown over the child's crib to keep 
 off flies. 
 
 How to Avoid Such Poisoning. — Use all possible precaution in the 
 purchase of clothing. Buy only of respectable dealers. There are a multi- 
 tude of shops throughout the country, and especially in the large cities, where 
 goods are exposed for sale by irresponsible and reckless persons, who care 
 
202 Home amd Health. 
 
 nothing for the health of their customers or for the public good. Shun such 
 shops Shun, also, most of the vagrant, itinerant, and strange pedlars, who 
 carry nuch goods from house to house, whether in the city or country. Their 
 goods as a rule, have been purchased at cheap and villainous auctions, and 
 are often positively dangerous to the health of those who use them. 
 
 H-^w to Cure Such Poisoning. — On the first appearing of such poison, 
 throw oif the garment, and either destroy it or submit it to a thorough reno- 
 ration, by boiling, before wearing again. Use at once the recognized reme- 
 dies to neutraUze the poison in the system. For these, see chapter on 
 "Poisons." If need be, consult your physician without delay. 
 
 How to Protect the Public from Such Clothing. — The Scientific 
 Americ/in, in an article referring to the great extent of the villainous traffic 
 above described, says : " At this rate, it will soon become necessary to test for 
 arsenic all goods purchased before venturing to wear them ; or else the label, 
 * warranted to contain no poisonous dye,' will have to be adopted by all honest 
 and reliable makers. Hitherto, we believe, the retail dealer has not been 
 held legally responsible for damage done in this way. "We do not know that 
 he can be, except on the charge of dispensing poisons without a license. 
 Evidently, however, something should be done to put a stop to the rapidly- 
 increasing evil. If the obnoxious tints cannot be secured safely as well as 
 cheaply, then they ought to be prohibited, and another process of dyeing 
 made imperative. Our young chemists will find a fruitful field for the exer- 
 cise of their inventive powers in the production of the needed dyes." 
 
 Injurious Dress of Many School-girls. — A gifted female writer in an 
 ti'ticle in one of our educational journals, discussing the prospects of the suc- 
 cess of girls in our public schools and seminaries, says : " By means of corsets, 
 band, or belt, her liver is divided into an upper and a lower section ; the one 
 forced up, to crowd the heart, lungs, and stomach ; the other down, to find 
 room as it can, where there is no room for it. Every vital organ is displaced 
 or cramped. Blockades are established by tight shoes, tight gl^es, tight 
 garters, tight corsets, or, still more murderous tight skirt-bands ; and there 
 the blood must run, by extra force of pumpiug, every time it passes from the 
 heart to the extremities or back. ... To study in such a costume is to burn 
 the candle at both ends — but the spirit of the age is upon her ; the ages to 
 coTQC press or. her ; study she must, and die she must." 
 
 How Fashionable Dress Interferes with Education. — A student at 
 the Michigan University having remarked that men have more endurance than 
 women, a lady present answered that she would like to see the thirteen hun- 
 dred young men in the University laced up in steel-ribbed corsets, with hoops, 
 heavy skirts, trails, high heels, paniers, chignons, and dozens of hair-pins 
 sticking in their scalps, cooped up in the house, year after year, with no ex- 
 
Clothing and Health. 203 
 
 hilarating exercise, no hopes, aims, or ambitions in life, and see if tliey could 
 stand it as well as the girls. Nothing, said she, but the fact that women, 
 like cats, have nine lives, enables them to survive the present reywne to 
 which custom dooms the sex. 
 
 An Increasing Demand for Healthy Clothing. — As a result of better 
 instruction on the general subject above discussed, public opinion seems to be 
 setting in in favor of strong and healthy girls. Pale faces are not thought so 
 interesting nowadays as they used to be. A sneer goes round at the ineffi- 
 ciency of the feeble women who work for a living and ask for good wages. 
 Young men ridicule the idea of tying themselves for life to the sickly girU 
 who exhibit loads of expensive dry-goods upon their persons along the svJm 
 walks, and they begin to praise openly rosy cheeks and stout figures. Indeed, 
 it seems as though the pale and weak young ladies, who, if they were of n< 
 jST-i', tical use in the world, were at least admired and praised as interesting on 
 account of their pallor ani languor, were going to have a pretty hard time ot 
 it now. But how are women to become healthy ? A long stride toward the 
 desired end Mill be made by wearing proper clothing. 
 
 The Tyranny of Fashion. — A lady of extensive and intelligent obser- 
 vation, tells the story of the tyrani.y of fashion, and of the evil results of 
 fashionable dress: "Fashion kiKs more women than toil and sorrow. Obe- 
 dience to fashion is a greater transgression ^f the laws of woman's natiu-e, a 
 greater injury to her physical and mental consL'tution, than the hardships of 
 poverty and neglect. The slave-woman at her task will live and grow old, 
 and see two or three generations of her mistresses fade and pass away. The 
 washer-woman, with scarce a ray of liope to cheer her in her toils, will live to 
 see her fashiona1)le sisters die all around her. The kitchen-maid is hearrv 
 and strong, when her lady has to be nursed like a sick baby. 
 
 '* It is a sad truth that fashion-pampered women are almost worthless for all 
 the good ends of liuman life. They have but little force of character; the} 
 h\<'e still less power of moral will, and quite as little physical energy. Th«v 
 live for no great purpose in life; they accomplish no worthy ones. They are 
 only doll-forms in the hands of milliners and servants, to be dressed and fed. 
 They dress nobody, they feed nobody, they instruct nobody, they bless nobody. 
 They write no books ; they set no example of virtue and womanly life. If 
 they rear children, the latter are left to the care of servants and nurses. And 
 when reared what are the children ? What do they ever amount to but weak 
 scions of the old stock ? Who ever heard of a fashionable woman's child 
 exhibiting any virtue or power of mind for which it be* -ime eminent ? Reaa 
 the biographies of our great and good men. Not one of them had a f».shion- 
 able mother. They nearly all sprang from strong-mindto women, who had a« 
 little to do with fashion as the changing clouds." 
 
20-4 Home and Health. 
 
 TIGHT LACING AND HEALTH-IMPORTANT TESTIMONY. 
 
 Physical Effects of Tight-pressing Garments. — The free and easy 
 Dansion of the chest is obviously indispensable to the full play and di 
 tation of the lungs ; whatever impedes it, either in dress or in position, ia 
 ■>rejudicial to health, and on the other hand, whatever favors the free expan- 
 sion of the chest equally promotes the healthy fulfillment of the respiratory 
 I'unctions. Stays, corsets, and tight waistbands operate most injurio^idy, by 
 compressing the thoracic cavity, and impeding the due dilatation of the lungs, 
 ind in many instances they give rise to consumption. I have seen one case in 
 which the liver was actually indented by the excessive pressure, and long- 
 jontinued bad health and ultimate death was the result.* 
 
 Effect on Respiration. — Referring to this subject, a writer states that 
 
 aen can exhale at one effort from six to ten pints of air, whereas in women 
 
 ,he average is only from two to four pints. In ten females, free from dis- 
 
 ase, whom he examined, about the age of eighteen, the quantity of air 
 
 hrown out averaged three and a half pints, v/hile in young men of the same 
 
 ige he found it to amount to six pints. Some allowance is to be made for 
 
 natural differences in the two sexes, but enough remains to show a great 
 
 'iminution of capacity in the female, which can be ascribed to no other 
 
 w^iuse than the use of stays. 
 
 Effect on Size. — The organs on which growth depends, namely, the 
 .ngs, stomach, and liver, are reduced by the corset to half the natural size 
 .\id activity. These two causes, with living in the shade, explain the alarm- 
 Uig decrease in the size of American women, f 
 
 Investigations by Herbst. — Dr. Herbst, of Gottingen, has lately been 
 performing some curious experiments in relation to the quantity of air thai 
 is breathed. Now, a person of any understanding will appreciate fiom them 
 '-•8 comfort of full and unrestrained breathing. Dr. Herbst says that a 
 'd die-sized man, twenty years old, after a natural expiration or emission 
 of air, inspired or took in eighty cubic inches when dressed, and one hun- 
 dred and sixty when his tight dress was loosed. After a full dilatation of 
 the chest, he inhaled one hundred and twenty-six inches when dressed, and 
 one hundred and eighty-six when undressed. Another young man, aged 
 twenty-one, after a natural expiration, took in fifty when dressed, and ninety- 
 Fix when undressed. Had Dr. Herbst made his observations on some of t)io 
 ladies who carry the use of the corset to extremes, we apprehend he would 
 Have obtained results of a nature really alarming. 
 
 High Medical Testimony. — A report sent out by the .eading medical 
 
 ♦ Dr. John M. Howe. t Dio Lewis. 
 
Tight Lacing and Health. 205 
 
 association of Great Britain, bears the following testimony: "The chest 
 may be deformed by compression during infancy, and by many of the in- 
 jurious practices of mothers and nurses ; but the chief agents in distorting 
 this part of the skeleton are the various kinds of corsets. It is especially 
 from the sixth to the last rib that this? pressure is exercised ; these, from 
 their greater flexibility, are pressed inward, and all the organs within them — 
 lungs, heart, stomach, liver, etc. — are more or less changed in their positioji 
 and form ; the amount of air introduced into the lungs is lessened, the cir- 
 culation of the blood through the heart is impeded, the stomach cannot per- 
 form properly its functions of digestion, and the liver is displaced downward 
 and presses upon the intestines, laying the foundation for diseases of the 
 chest, consumption, heart-disease, dyspepsia, constipation, and many other 
 ills which shorten and embitter the lives of most of the votaries of fashion.* 
 
 Case Reported by the " British Medical Journal." — A female ser- 
 vant died suddenly a short time since in London. The doctor could not ac- 
 count for the death, and made a post mortem examination, which showed 
 that the stomach had been reduced to the size of a litttle child's, and 
 the heart pushed out of its proper place through tight lacing. 
 
 Tight Lacing Pollutes the Blood.f — So does our mode of dressing 
 pollute the blood. One of the worst of blood poisons is the waste matter 
 of the system when not thrown off by its natural channels. And one of the 
 most important of these channels is the lungs. But in order to act properly 
 the lungs must have free play, and this they cannot have with our present 
 style of dress. Originally, the lungs were mad^ to bear an exact proportion 
 to the wants of the body in this respect. An_;y ^ing, then, which dimin- 
 ishes their capacity destroys the balance, and pollutes the blood by retaining 
 the waste matter in the system. This may develop consumption, scrofula, 
 catarrh, and even some diseases the origin of which is sometimes popular' ' 
 ascribed to the lower vices. And no woman in ordinary society dresses i. 
 
 * A young lady of our acquaintance called on one of our physicians the other day *» 
 prescribe for a rush of blood to the head. "I have been doctoring myself," said tbo .f'- 
 guid fair one, with a smile, to the kind M. D., while he was feeling her pulse. " .f\v i 
 liave taken Brandreth's Pills, Parr's Pills, Strangburg's Pills, Sand's Sarsaparilla, .j ay ^* t 
 Expectorant, used Sherman's Lozenges and Plaster, and — " 
 
 " My heavens I madam," interrui*ted the astonished doctor, " all those do your coa i-i.. ti.. 
 no good I" 
 
 " No! Then what shall I take?" pettishly inquired the patient. 
 
 '' Take," exclaimed the doctor, eyeing her from head to foot ; " take 1" exclaimed ht 
 after a moment's reflection, " why — madam— take — take off your corsets ! " 
 
 It is needless for us to stale that she is still suffering from the disease.— J/iV^^Mri Jour- 
 nal. 
 
 tThls paragraph, and the one whi'^fc follows, were written by IVi^sB Jidia Co.iaan for 
 Y<wi« and HtadK. 
 
2()0 Home aio) flEALrn. 
 
 as to wholly avoid such results, unless she has made a special study of the 
 matter and planned her dress accordingly. 
 
 Weak and Silly Excuses Described. — But how many give the subject 
 this study, or, indeed, any serious thought at all ? We will only reply by re- 
 ii^rring to the exasperatingly stupid assertion made by almost any woman 
 -^ ou meet, learned or unlearned, thoughtful or silly, that her dress is " not 
 tight 1 " Why, the ordinary dress that men wear diminishes their breathing 
 capacity one fourth ; and what woman wears her clothing so loose as that ? 
 I call a dress too tight that you hit when you draw in the fullest possible 
 breath. " But my waist is naturally slender," says one woman. She means 
 *.hat she has inherited small lungs. Her ancestors, more or less of them, 
 ».ompressed their lungs in the same way that we do, and it has become in 
 uer case a congenital deformity. This leads us to one of the worst aspectn 
 m the whole matter— the transmitted results of indulgence in this deadly 
 vice, and it shows itself in diminished vitality and liability to take on dis- 
 ease of many kinds. 
 
 .Ind then the waists. It is prettv well understood now^ that large waists 
 ire ine commg s-'yle. That is just the way with fashion alw-ays — get all to 
 'dIIow it, and then, hey, presto ! whirl around to the very thing, whatever ii 
 may be, which it will be the most difficult to follow. Here the whole servile 
 crowd that have been literally killing themselves to please fashion find them- 
 selves deserted and their " naturally slender " waists held up to pitiless mock 
 ery. One would think they would feel outraged by it ; but, poor things, like 
 the eels, they take it patiently ; " they are used to it." 
 
 The only agony is to learn how to obey the dictate. " It is a great dea' 
 tasier to squeeze the ribs in than to get them out again," says a despairing 
 wasp. 
 
 " Well, let's see ; take off the corsets." 
 
 *' 0, I can't live without them ' I can't hold myself up." 
 
 We smile at that, but it comcri too near the literal truth. For although 
 I here is a backbone in there somewhere, it is possibly \'ery crooked ; or, if 
 not, the muscles that ought • steady it have now been so long replaced by 
 corsets that they are not a iiy weak but largely absorbed ; they are shriv- 
 eled down to mere rudiments. That is the inevitable result of the pressure 
 fljid the lack of use. 
 
 If you really cannot sit up, lie down, and have some one use your muscles 
 tor you. Once, twice, Jr thrice a day have them rubbed or worked with the 
 hand of an attenda it an hour or more as you can bear it. Then lean over 
 and have the spine ^ crcussed with the edges of the hands. The idea is to 
 have muscles which we cannot exercise exercised for us. Then the blood 
 will flow to them and nourish them until they are strong enough to be exer- 
 cised in the ordinary way. 
 
Tight Lacing cmd Health. 207 
 
 Yow want shoulder-braces? Not a bit of it. You have dwarfed your 
 abilities with artificial muscles long enough. You want to use your own 
 rauseles, now. Very few, however, will need all this nursing, and you must 
 be brave and strong as you can, for since large waists are the fashion, you 
 must have one, you know. 
 
 Are you aware that ladies complained in the same way when corset« 
 boards went out of fashion some years ago ? And did it never occur to you 
 to inquire how a great many women live without corsets entirely? How 
 delicate little boys and girls are held together without corsets or other tight 
 o'lothing ? Pel haps some such reflections will convince you that the latter 
 are not wholly indispensable, and that, in spite of your feelings at first, you 
 will soon be able to do without them. 
 
 Tight Lacing and General Weakness. — A learned and eloquent, 
 though sarcastic lecture,* was delivered some time ago by a physician of 
 extensive observation, upon this subject. He began by saying that many 
 causes combined to produce the much-lamented delicacy of American women. 
 Chief among these was the system of torture procured by the contrivance 
 called a corset, or corsets. He was always giving hints of this to his lady 
 patients, but never found one who " laced tight," as they called it. They 
 wore "the thing," they acknowledged, but while gasping for breath would 
 declare, " I can put my whole hand between my waist and corset ! " And it 
 would not do to contradict them ; he could only intimate his unbelief. He 
 did wonder, he said, where some young ladies stowed away their dinner, for 
 it was a curious fact, that as they contracted the space for receiving food,' 
 they seemed to enlarge the quantity to be received. It could not, of course, 
 fine room inside the whalebone, and so the stomach must be pushed out of 
 place in'order to do its work properly, bringing on dyspepsia and its train of 
 miseries. Then the lungs were compressed, and the heart pushed out of its 
 proper limits, and a little record of rebellion was kept within the system, in 
 place of the beautiful, harmonious account of a grand, healthful action of 
 the whole human machinery. There was the back-bone made for bending, 
 and how could it be bent while splintered and bandaged like a broken limb ? 
 Any part of the body made for action, if not allowed to act, grew weak for 
 want of exercise, and a lady should go through, every day, those graceful 
 undulations of form which keep the spine and limbs in healthful action. 
 
 Absurdity of Tight Lacing. — There would be no tight lacing if girls 
 could be made to understand this simple fact — that men dread the thought 
 of marrying a woman who is subject to fits of irritable temper, to bad head- 
 aches, and other ailments we need not mention ; all of which, everybody 
 knows, are the direct and inevitable product of the compression of the waist. 
 
 * Reportod by Miss E. A. Bainln-idge. 
 
208 Home and Health. 
 
 An unnaturally-compressed waist is far n ore certain of detection than a masa 
 of false hair or a faint dusting of powder. If the young lady who, to ob- 
 tain the appearance of a dragon-fly, has been subjecting herself to consider- 
 ible physical pain, and who has been laying up for herself a pretty store of 
 ailments, which only want time to pronounce themselves, could only see the 
 Btare of scarcely-disguised contempt and understand the scornful pity, whict 
 greet the result of her labor, we should have a change of the fashion — and 
 it is merely a fashion. Through all changes women remain true only to one 
 fashion. Whether her clothing is as long and lank as that of a Grecian vir- 
 gin, or whether she builds around the lower half of her figure a rotund and 
 capacious structure of steel, she is ever faithful to the tradition of a small 
 waist ; and she will weaken her circulation, she will make her hands red, she 
 will incur headache, she will crack her voice, and she will ruin her digestion, 
 all to produce a malformation which wise men regard with pity and fools 
 with derision. * 
 
 The General Question Illustrated, f — " 0, indeed, my dress is not tight ! 
 My waist is naturally small ; I never could wear a tight dress." Such is the 
 universal observation. No lady dresses tightly, none whose dress is not 
 loose. Even the Empress of Austria, who has the enviable reputation of 
 having the smallest waist in the world, would doubtless say her dress was quite 
 loose ; and no doubt it is. So the subject of my essay will not apply to any 
 one. I will merely speak of it in the abstract. 
 
 First, how we would suppose it would affect the bones. They are appa- 
 rently hard and unyielding structures, yet will grow in any form or position 
 in which they may be doubled up. In proof whereof, see the thousands of 
 bent spinal columns, from children spending so many hours every day 
 bending over school-desks. " Just as the twig is bent the tree inclines," 
 or, " Mar the young sapling, and the gnarled oak will tell of thee for cen- 
 turies." 
 
 Man is the only animal that is made to look up ; but these stooped shoul- 
 ders and bent spinal columns prevent this, to some extent, and diminish, 
 also the cavity given to the lungs, interfering more or less with their func- 
 tions. I'his, of itself, is a serious evil ; and, like all other deformities, moie 
 apt to come on in young persons, when the bones are somewhat cartilaginous, 
 and yield readily to these forced positions. Yet even in old age the bonet" 
 are still changing structures, and grow as tliey are placed. We are told ol 
 an old lady who spent the last years of her life in an alms-house, bent over 
 knitting. The bones grew in that cramped position, till across the shoid- 
 
 * AthencRum. 
 
 tThe remainder of this chapter was written as a separate paper by Mrs. Mary Dixon 
 Tones. M.D., and placed in the hands of one of the present compilers for publication in 
 '/mhic und Health. 
 
Tight Lacing and Health. 
 
 209 
 
 der measured ouly five inches, and from lop of sternum to pelvis only nine 
 inclies. 
 
 TJic heart and lungs are encased in a bony structure, as if to give them a 
 more secure protection. The vertebral, or spinal column, is placed posterially. 
 the sternum, or breast-bone, in front, and the ribs around. Only seven of tlie 
 ribs are joined directly to tlie sternum; and they by cartilaginous attachment?. 
 The rest are more or less floating, so 
 as to allow the fullest expansion to 
 the chest, and the greatest freedom 
 to the lungs. In that form the chest 
 should be naturallj' expanded, and the 
 ribs free. But the young lady com- 
 mences with gentle pressure, grad- 
 ually drawing nearer and nearer to-' 
 gether the floating ribs, diminishing 
 more and more the size of the chest, 
 giving less and less room to the lungs, 
 
 and in that position the ribs grow, and hence will follow the permanent 
 deformit'ij of a small ivaist. 
 
 The ribs which curve off so beautifully and gracefully can be brought 
 partly together, or quite, or even be made to lap over. Dr. Merideth Reese 
 dissected a woman in which they were completely lapped, and the flesh 
 seemed bruised. From the lower part of the sternum to the back-bone 
 should measure eight or ten inches, yet so can these bones be compressed and 
 
 brought together that there are in- 
 stances of its measuring only one and 
 three fourths inches ! Isn't this in- 
 terfering with the very sources of 
 our existence? We look with horror 
 at the Chinese compressing their feet, 
 and at the flat-headed Indians com- 
 pressing their skulls. Both customs 
 seem absurd and ridiculous in the 
 extreme, but ours is far more bar- 
 barons and injurious. Better com- 
 press the feet, head, or any part of the body, than right here, at tlie very 
 fountain-head, the very citadel of life. 
 
 The soft extremity of the sternum, too, is sometimes bent in, and grows 
 and ossifies in that position ; yet we wonder that consumption is so universal, 
 and so generally on the increase. The only wonder is that such persons 
 live at all. 
 
 Again, bones become soft from want of exercise, and as our ladies uni- 
 14 
 
210 Rome and Health. 
 
 versallj dress, the bones of the chest have no freedom of action. Kept in 
 active thej become more and more softened, and more and more pliable, and 
 how easy from this condition may follow lateral curvature of the spine. Some 
 physicians have asserted that all fashionably-reared young ladies have thi? 
 condition to some extent ; that it is a universal condition among women , 
 sometimes only a little so — just enough to be graceful ! But always it will 
 irteriere with the action of the lungs. 
 
 The lungs consist only of air-cells, composed of the finest and most deli 
 cate mucous membrane. Myendie said there was a great problem to be dem- 
 onstrated in the construction of the lungs, viz., to establish an immense 
 extent of surface between the atmospheric air and the blood in the small 
 space occupied by the lungs. He might have thought of greut vessels or 
 large tubes. No one could have conceived of making six hundred millions of 
 little air-cells, and arranging around their walls millions and millions more 
 of blood-vessels, so that the blood could be brought into immediate contact 
 with the air, over this immense extent of surface, and all wrapped in so small 
 A space. Nothing can exceed the beauty of such a structure. Into these 
 millions of air-cells fresh, pure, invigorating air comes rushing in, filling every 
 one, uniting there with the impure, worn-out particles of the body, and car- 
 rying them off in the form of carbonic-acid gas. 
 
 But if the chest is compressed the air-cells cannot expand, the air cannot 
 get in, the blood has no way of parting with its impurities, so these impuri- 
 ties are carried back into the circulation, rendering every tissue of the body 
 sickly and every organ unhealthy. The brain suffers with the rest, for to 
 it must come the impure, unhealthy blood to nourish it ; its structure becomes 
 diseased, it cannot act healthily, nor is it possible for it to show its full power 
 or activity. The whole nervous system partakes of this same morbid condi- 
 tion, producing a thousand morbid feelings and unpleasant sensations. No 
 doubt this accounts for much of the indisposition and ill-health so general 
 among women. A medical journal lately asserted that " the vitality of Ameri- 
 can women has been constantly decreasing for many years ; " and one of our 
 New York daily papers lately informed its readers that our American women 
 were weak m the back, dyspeptic in the stomach, and nervous to the verge 
 of insanity. 
 
 It is impossible that the blood saculd be thoroughly purified unless everj 
 one of these millions of air-cells has the fullest and freest expansion. We 
 cannot afford to dispense with any one of them. And how easy it is to pre- 
 vent this expansion. Composed of such fine, delicate membranes, they can- 
 not bear up against much force or p-essi-re. Even the weight of a gentle- 
 man's clothing is said to interfere wivi) his breathing one fourth, and how 
 much more the cruel coinjirut^sion of corsets, whalebones, and steel, oftea 
 times requiring all the yoimg giiTs strength to uull them together! 
 
Tight Lacing and Health. 211 
 
 if the air-cells are not fully expanded they flab together ; in time adhesion 
 •^iust take place, then inflammation, then ulceration — a direct road to con- 
 «*amption. In effect it renders the lungs smaller, which of itself is a pre 
 'lisposing cause of disease. Large and well-developed lungs are the best 
 inheritance we can have ; and thus diminishing their size and capacity 
 •iiniinishes our vigor, power, and vitality, and lessens our hold upon life. 
 The larger our lungs are, and the more we breathe, other things being equal, 
 :he longer we are going to live, and the more power and vigor we will have. 
 I know they are very unfashionable, yet when we consider how very use- 
 ful they are, that the larger our waists the better we are off both as tc 
 length of life and enjoyment of it, as well as strength and activity of mind, 
 we might have the courage to stem the tide, to dare even to have waists. 
 Not many years ago a rich man died in England, leaving a certain annuity 
 to the bravest man. It was difficult to decide, so for decision it was referred 
 to the brave old Duke of Wellington, and he declared it was the man who 
 shut the gate of a certain city against the surging of battle ; so the bravesl 
 woman is she who in fashionable life dares shut the gate against the flood- 
 tide of destructive fashion. 
 
 Even little girls are brought to this altar of fashion to be sacrificed. 
 Their waists are compressed, their gait rendered unsteady and ungraceful, 
 their vivacity of spirit destroyed. Pale faces, dull eyes, heavy headaches, 
 and a life-time of feebleness and sickness, tell the sequel. Very seldom 
 do we find a young girl dressed so as to give the lungs their proper 
 freedom. 
 
 Bringing the ribs together as shown must necessarily press all the in- 
 ternal organs out of place. The liver is pushed and squeezed out of shape, 
 at times pressed quite below tbe waist; the stomach carried out of position ; 
 the colon, which lies just below the waist, was in one instance found in the 
 lower part of the abdomen. A professor once said in the dissecting-room to 
 ills class, that to "find the position of the internal organs ihey need never 
 lock at a female subject, for in them they are always out of place! The 
 abdominal organs falling down upon the movable uterus topple it over ou 
 the floor of the pelvis, bringing op. a long train of evils. 
 
 The whole process of breathing is by the action of the muscles. Tli« 
 chest is formed largely of muscular structure, great immense muscted 
 branching in every direction — an immense muscular apparatus to expand 
 the chest and help in the process of breathing, to give us the breath of lifa. 
 It is wonderful how this immense machinery of muscles is arranged to ac- 
 complish this end. Besides, the great muscles of the abdomen are brought 
 into play to help — in fact, almost every muscle of the body seems to *>« 
 brought into action to accomplish more fully and effectually this great 
 act of breathing ; and to do this effectively they must have the freest ^ 4.io'» 
 
212 Home and Health. 
 
 and the fullest action, no obstruction in any way. Muscles involuntarily 
 shrink from any impediment. 
 
 But this multitude of muscles which God has arranged so beautifully 
 around the body we keep inactive, bind them down with ligatures, press 
 them with heavy clothing, and impede their action by every incumbrance. 
 The breathing apparatus, instead of being free aud active, the chest fully 
 and largel}^ expanding about the waist, is bound down and immovably 
 fixed, only a little panting at the upper part of the chest. How fearfully we 
 interfere with the designs of the Creator— how we abuse this beautiful 
 
 organism ! 
 
 "We have wronged it, we do wrong it, 
 'Tis majestically dumt)." 
 
 The muscles, from being thus inactive, grow weak and powerless, nnd fur- 
 get their cunning; even so weak that when the corsets, those unnatural su[)- 
 ports, are removed, the muscles have so lost their power, are so feeble, they 
 can no longer sustain the body, and the young gu'l will say she feels as if she 
 was all falling to pieces, or would break in two. And as the muscles grow 
 yet weaker and more debilitated, she will tell you she cnn't go without the 
 corsets. I have known some conscientiously try to lay them aside, but would 
 feel so wretched, so miserable without them — so long accustomed to this 
 artificial support that there is no strength in the muscles to hold the body up, 
 or the organs in position, and going without them produces indefinably un- 
 pleasant sensations. 
 
 The stomach, liver, and intestines whicli lie immediately under the abdomi- 
 nal muscles are not only misplaced by the weakness of the muscles, but es- 
 sential to the health of these organs is the constant stimulus of the contrac- 
 tion and relaxation of these same muscles. And when these muscles are 
 kept in a state of inactivity, as is always the case in our mode of dressing, 
 these organs alwa5rs suffer ; the liver becomes torpid, the stomach dyspeptic, 
 bowels constipated, and general inefficiency of every function, either of which 
 conditions will follow legitimately from tight lacing, and either one is suffi- 
 cient of itself to produce any sickness. And with the complication, how 
 can any one escape general ill-health ? 
 
 This one cause is doing more to undermine the health of American people 
 than any other thing. It is working more destruction. There is not a 
 function of the human body that is properlj' performed, not an organ that 
 does its duty. As one writer has said, " It has slain more women in a score 
 of years than the sword does men in a century; stifled more children than 
 the Ganges." It is an historical fact that the same woman invented corsets 
 who instigated St. Bartholomew's massacre ; aud she has worked more destruc- 
 tion by the former than the latter. 
 
 "Why is it so universal ? Does it add to the beauty of the person ? Only 
 
Tight Laci7ig and TTealth. 213 
 
 our poiveitcd tixstes prevent us from regarding it witli the utmost horror. 
 When a Swiss once saw a fine-looking Englishman, he exclaimed. " What a 
 pity he has not the goiter." So, we are so accustomed to mutilated waists, 
 that when we see a naturally -formed woman we are apt to say, " What a pity 
 slie has not a small waist." If we look at the beautiful specimens of ancient 
 statuary we find no small, contracted chests, nor did Powers t ike for his model 
 one of our fashion-plates. If they are correct he certainly showed a Dlen- 
 tiful lack of taste. 
 
 Furthermore, it destroys all gracefulness of carriage. When any muscles 
 of the body are cramped, the movements cannot be easy ; there is a certair 
 wiggle — a " divine wiggle." How is the human race to have health with thi 
 mode of dressing? Only fashion makes us think it is beautiful, or tolerat* 
 it for a moment. We would not otherwise endure the misery it imposes 
 but so accustomed are some to suffering, that they are hardly conscious of it, 
 :hey don't know when they are dressing tight, don't know when the breath 
 .ng is oppressed. 
 
 When Lady Mary Wortley Montague was traveling in Turkey, while pre- 
 parmg for *he bath, laying aside her corsets, one of the women of the Turkish 
 harem tooK up this" little instrument of torture, surveyed it in all directions, 
 ar.d turning to Lady Mary said, " Does your husband make you wear this ? " 
 A greater tyrant than our husbands imposes them upon us. If we would on'"* 
 recollect what Carlyle reminds us of, that " rags " are not of as much imporl- 
 naoe as the person. 
 
 EXERCISE AND HEALTH. 
 
 Toil and Activity Necessary to Health. — Frederick the Great said: 
 " As for my plan of not sparing myself, I confess it the same as before. 
 The more one nurses one's self, the more feeble and delicate does the body 
 become. My trade requires toil and activity, and both my body and mina 
 must adapt themselves to their duty. It is not necessary that I should ':ve 
 but it is necessary that I should act. I have always found myself the bette. 
 for this method. However, I do not prescribe it for any one else, and am 
 content to practice it myself." 
 
 Severe Exercise after Eating Injurious. — Do not take severe exer- 
 cise immediately after eating. Sir Busick Harwood made a thorough test of 
 this question in this wise. Having fed two hungry pointers with the same 
 kind of food and with the same amount, he allowed one of ihem to rest in 
 liis kennel while he kept the other in constant exercise for a couple of hours. 
 Both dogs were then killed, and their condition carefully examined. It was 
 
214 HoMF, A-ND Health. 
 
 found that in the dog which had remained in his kennel digestion was nearly 
 completed, while in the other the digestive process had scarcely commenced. 
 The inference was conclusive, namely, tL« «»vere exercise should not be 
 taken immediately after a hearty meal. 
 
 Light Exercise after Eating is Healthful. — This question has been 
 thoroughly tested in many ways. Light exercise, instead of hindering, pro- 
 motes digestion, and in this way is helpful to the physical system. It should 
 be light, however, as after a full meal the digestive organs are taxed to their 
 utmost, and repose to the other parts of the system will be helpful. 
 
 These Rules Apply also to Mental Exercise. — The brain should not 
 be heavily taxed immediately after a hearty me^'. Doing so leads to indi- 
 gestion and to other disorders consec{uent thereto. The same law holds 
 good in physical and mental work. Indeed, literary men and tnose intensely 
 and severely devoted to business are the greatest sufferers from indigestion. 
 
 Early Walking and Its Value. — For persons in ordinary health, walk 
 ing is a very valuable and economic exercise, and every one who can do so 
 should habituate himself to it. A little walk of half an hour upon arising is 
 advisable for strong persons, but cannot be endured so early by persons iq 
 delicate health. But to those who can bear it, the early walk, not too brisk, 
 is a most healthful luxury. 
 
 How to Make the Walk Most Healthful. — Walking, aowever, should 
 be walking, and not sauntering. Carry the head erect, expand the chest, and 
 drink in the pure air, and move briskly enough to secure your end. Let the 
 eye turn from one object to another, and not be fixed on the ground in con- 
 templation ; note the beauties or deformities of the landscape ; take a com- 
 panion with you if you can, to whom you can refer your opinions on what 
 you see and f i-om whom you can receive suggestive thoughts in return ; stop 
 at times and sit upon a rock or fence both for rest and the enjoyment of 
 some striking scene, and let not the pleasure be turned to weariness by any 
 overstraining for the name and fame of a fast walker. 
 
 Walking Combined with Useful Investigation. — To those citizehs 
 who can spare a week or more in the summer let us recommend the pedes- 
 trian journey as a renovator of body and mind. With the physical exercise 
 may be joined geological or botanical, oi- geographical or historical investiga- 
 tion, and the delighted mind will help the body to its rejuvenescence. Or. 
 Lf you are an artist, you can use your sketching powers on mountain or 
 stream, and so provide memorials of your tour. 
 
 In Walking the Dress Should be Loose. — A tightly-dressed person 
 cannot enjoy walking. One cannot inflate the lungs with the increased quan- 
 tity of air needed for the increased activity of the system. To promote tlil 
 tiierc should be a gentle movement of the arms. All untrammeled men ant) 
 
Exercise and Health. 215 
 
 iromeu, and boys and girls, naturally move their arms more or less in walk- 
 ing. It is not needful to swing them like a steam engine, but a natural move- 
 ment of this kind will be graceful in persons otherwise graceful. This also 
 gives character to the gait and bearing of the individual, and imparts life and 
 animation. 
 
 Walk Untrammeled. — Ladies should break up the pernicious fashion 
 of always carrying something in their hands. With a short walking-dress 
 the hands would seldom be needed to manage that. With a broad-brimmed 
 hat the face may be shaded enough to make the carrying of a parasol super- 
 fluous, except in the hottest part of the day in hot weather. If a long dress 
 must be worn, let the skirt be hooked or pinned up, so that the hands and 
 arms may he free. 
 
 Effect of Tight Lacing on Walking. — Tight lacing weakens the action 
 of all the muscles directly. They are so intimately bound together that if 
 one suffers, all the others suffer with it. Bind any animal about the middle 
 so that the muscles there cannot work, and all the other principal muscles 
 must work under restraint. So, set one of these ligatured bodies to 
 walking, and the whole operation is a very constrained and mechanical 
 affair ; the lower limbs move mostly by themselves, and the lay figure slides 
 along very much as if on castors. This gives the characterless gait some- 
 what peculiar to our American women. The upper pai't of the figure is 
 still. The ligature about the waist has cut off the sympathy which should 
 exist between the two, and so cheats the walker out of nearly all the benefit 
 to be derived from the exercise. She says that walking hurts her, and in 
 that she is right. Then she desists from walking, and in that she is wrong. 
 She should put herself into proper condition for walking, and persist in it, 
 though discreetly, of course ; not to utter exhaustion. 
 
 Exercise for Delicate Women. — Perhaps it would be better for deli- 
 cate women to take a large proportion of their exercise in other ways at 
 first. Croquet, riding, and driving might be tried, but nothing will help them 
 much until they dress right. Rambling in the fields and woods, berrying, 
 gathering flowers and botanizing, are among the best forms of exercise for 
 women, next to out-of-door work. Gardening is the best, perhaps, all thiug^< 
 considered. It is active, gently exciting, tasteful, and available to most 
 women, for very few of those who read these pages are so shut up that 
 they do not have a chance in a court-yard at least, however small it 
 may be. And it is surprising to see what can be done in some of our city 
 yards 
 
 Wear the Right Kind of Shoes. — Our foot-gear also affects our walk- 
 ing. T'le shoes at present worn are strong and thick-soled, and that is well, 
 bvit il stiff enough to make corns, that mars the pleasures of walking. Iligb 
 
216 Home and Health. 
 
 heols will also do that by driving the foot painfully into the forward part of 
 the shoe. Insist on having all the heel removed, and then have only one or 
 two thicknesses of leather or " lifts " put on, quite as wide as the sole and 
 as long as the heel. Then, if your shoes are large enough, you will enjoy 
 your walking as you never could with high and narrow heels. Besides, by 
 wearing these unnatural heels we derange the whole basis of our physical 
 structure, and sow the seeds of our innumerable ills which we are but just 
 beginning to reap. Ladies (and gentlemen, too,) are almost as perverse 
 about tight shoes as they are about tight dresses, and shoemaking is in a 
 very barbarous state. 
 
 Exercise a Cure for Many Diseases. — There are many diseases, at 
 least many foi'ms of indisposition, which, with a strong will, may be walked 
 away, provided the exercise be taken systematically and rendered a promi- 
 nent feature in the daily treatment. Tone is imparted by this means to both 
 mind and body, cheerfulness replaces gloom, and sympathy for others a 
 morbid dwelling on self. The exercise should be active, and not consist of 
 either strolling or sauntering out of doors, or even amateur gardening. A 
 brisk walk may be taken by a strong person at a pace of at least three miles 
 an hour, but always stopping short of fatigue. 
 
 Exercise " About the House " Not Enough. — People will be often 
 heard to say that they take plenty of exercise about the house, and that 
 they are on their legs many hours of the day. What is wanted for the 
 health is exercise without fatigue, for fatigue is exhaustion, and the desired 
 object is only to be gained on the terms just stated. 
 
 Exercise by Rule Firmly Observed. — The distance walked could be 
 increased daily, and it will be found that increasing strength will give the 
 readiness and wish for increasing exercise. There is an accumulation of in- 
 capability in those who are afflicted with what are vaguely called nervous 
 disorders, which render such persons restless, fidgety, irritable, and full of 
 strange fancies, and which is best brought down to a healthy standard by 
 exercise in the open air, and its concomitant change of scene and new trains 
 of thought. 
 
 Exercise as a Cure for Low Spirits. — Exercise of body and mind has 
 been well described as the grand constituent of health and happiness, the 
 central point upon which every thing turns. Motion seems to be a great pre- 
 ser-ving principle of nature, to which even inanimate things are subject ; for 
 the winds, waves, the earth itself, are restless, and the waving of trees, 
 shrubs, and flowers, is known to be an essential part of their economy. A 
 fixed rule of taking several hours' exercise every day, if possible, in the open 
 air, if not, under cover, will be almost certain to secure one exemption from 
 disease, as well as from attacks of low spirits, evnui — that monster who ig 
 
Exercise a/rtd Health. 217 
 
 evei waylaying the rich indolent. " Throw but a stone, the giant dies,'" Low 
 spirits cannot exist in the atmosphere of bodily and mental activity. 
 
 Abuse of Physical Exercise. — One of our magazine writers has well 
 stated tliat those who have gone through the severest training become, in the 
 end, dull, listless, and stupid, subjec't to numerous diseases, and in many in- 
 stances the ultimate victims of gluttony and drunkemiess. Their unnatural 
 vigor seldom lasts more than five years. It was especially remarked by the 
 Greeks that no one who in boyhood won the prize at the Olympic games ever 
 disting'iished himself afterward. The three years immediately preceding 
 seventeen are years of great mental development, and nature cannot at the 
 same time endure any severe taxing of the physical constitution. Prudence, 
 therefore, especially at this critical period of life, must ever go hand in hand 
 with vigor, for the evils of excess outweigh by far the evils of deficiency. 
 
 False Criticism Concerning Exercise Answered. — A modern author, 
 after discussing the general question of sedentary occupations, and referring 
 to the fact that the number thus engaged has become very large, goes on to 
 say that occasionally such persons break away for a day's active exercise. 
 A large number go into the country for a month during the summer. Once 
 at the old homestead, or in the mountains, they plunge into the hay-field or 
 climb the hill. Most of them are led to doubt the value of exercise because 
 of the effects which follow these exertions. Without doubt, the labor is gen- 
 erally excessive for such persons ; but if they would manage their table habits 
 rightly, the results would generally be more than satisfactory. 
 
 When a man is tired, he is tired all through — the stomach not less than the 
 legs. Now, what is the usual custom ? After a walk of twenty miles, or a 
 day at haying, when every fibre of the body is exhausted, the stomach is 
 stuffed with hearty food. The man goes to bed with flushed face and rapid 
 pulse, and awakens in the morning with a bad taste in his mouth, loss of ap- 
 petite, and a sense of languor. If he had taken a cup of tea and a slice of 
 toast instead, he would find himself the next morning none the worse for the 
 previous day's work and perspiration. 
 
 Wc all understand well when the body is weak from fever that the stom- 
 ach pai takes in the general weakness, and must not be overloaded. But 
 when the body is exhausted from labor, and every part is pleading for rest, 
 then we crowd the stomach full of beef, pudding, pies, and fruit, and spend the 
 next day iu declaring to our friends that exercise is not what it is said to be. 
 
 When we are tired we should seek restoration in sleep — not in calling upon 
 the legs, the arms, the back, the stomach, or any other part, to undertake 
 five or six hours of continuous hard 'abor. The laboring man would find 
 himself much better in the morning if Aie third meal were made more light in 
 qujintity and easy of digestion. 
 
218 Home and Health. 
 
 Riding and Rowing, and Other Kinds of Exercise. — " Horse-back 
 riding " and boat-rowing are valuable kinds of exercise, and should be often 
 resorted to by those who have the opportunity. Nearly all work about the 
 house, or in the shop or field, (except that which fails to use the lower limbs,) 
 is to be recommended in the department of exercise. In doing such work 
 care should be taken to give freedom and fullness to the breathing and to the 
 circulation of the blood. Let the neck^ waist, arid feet be free. 
 
 Swimming as Exercise.* — Swimming, when done at the right hdurs, and 
 Qot to excess, is an appropriate and healthful exercise. If we go in several 
 Umes a day, soon after eating, or when much fatigued, and stay in long, it 
 will injure us. In order that swimming may prove beneficial as well as pleas- 
 ant, the following rules, referred to more fully in the chapter on bathing, 
 should be observed : — 
 
 1. Never go into the water less than two hours after eating; it is better 
 still to make it three. 
 
 2. Never go into the water when feeling much exhausted. It will do no 
 harm to go in when you are warm and perspiring, if you are not tired. 
 
 3. Never go into the water when you feel cold and chilly. 
 
 4. Never stay in long enough to make you feel chilly. 
 
 5. Swim and exercise vigorously while in the water. 
 
 6. Wipe dry before dressing. If the sun shines, expose the body to its 
 rays a short time before dressing. 
 
 Y. As a rule, do not go in more than once a day. 
 
 * Paddling versus Swimming. — The advantages of "paddling" and "treading water," 
 as a means of escaping from drowning when one is suddenly precipitated into deep water, 
 are sot forth by a writer in the Sunitary Record. The motions performed in the acts cf 
 paddling and treading require no previous instruction, and in the great majority of cases 
 would save Ufe. In swimming the mouth is on a level with the water in the intervals of the 
 strokes ; in paddhng the head is well elevated — the individual is able to look about, he can 
 deliberate as to what is best to be don«, and he is much less liable to take water into the 
 larynx or glottis. Without prejudice to the art of swimming, children should be exercised 
 from the tenderest age in the art of paddling and treading water, so as to impart conidence 
 to them. Even without any preliminary practice whatever, there is nothing to hinder man. 
 woman, or child, from beating the water with the hands and feet, just as the lower animals 
 do, and so keeping themselves afloat for a protracted period — a period that in a multi 
 tude of instances would be sufficient to invite rescue and preserve life. The action of the 
 feet alone will sustain the body ; a fortiori, the action of both feet and hands will prove 
 i yet more effectual. In this, as in many other things, man is often unaware of his owii 
 IromenBe capacities. 
 
Crying, Laughing, cmd Singing. 210 
 
 CRYING, LAUGHING, AND SINGING. 
 
 Crying and Health. — Probably most persons have experienced the ef 
 feet of tears in relieving great sorrow. It is even curious how the feelings 
 are allayed by free indulgence in groans and sighs. A French physi- 
 cian publishes a long dissertation on the advantages of groaning and crying 
 111 general, and especially during surgical operations. He contends that 
 groaning and crying are two grand operations by which nature allays an- 
 guish ; that those patients who give way to their natural feelings more 
 speedily recover from accidents and operations than those who suppose it 
 unworthy a man to betray such symptoms of cowardice as either to groan or 
 cry. He tells of a man who reduced his pulse from one hundred and twenty- 
 six to sixty in the course of a few hours by giving full vent to his emotions. 
 " If people arc at all unhappy about any thing, let them go into their room 
 and comfort themselves with a loud boo-hoo, and they will feel a hundied 
 per cent, better afterward." Then let the eyes and mouth be regarded as 
 the safety-valve through which nature discharges her surplus steam. 
 
 Laughing and Health. — It is said by good medical authority that there 
 is not the remotest corner or little inlet of the minute blood vessels of the 
 human body that does not feel some wavelet from the convulsion occasioned 
 by good hearty laughter, and also that the " central man " or life principle, 
 is shaken to its innermost depths, sending new tides of life and strength to 
 the surface, and thus materially tending to insure good health to the persons 
 who indulge therein. The blood moves more rapidly — probably caused by 
 some chemical or electric modification occasioned by the convulsion — and 
 conveys a different impression to all the organs of the body as it visits them 
 on that particular mystic journey, when the man is laughing, from what it 
 does at other times. For this reason every good hearty laugh in which 8 
 person indulges tends to lengthen his life, conveying as it does new and dis- 
 tinct stimulus to the vital forces. 
 
 The Laughing Cure. — " We doubt not the time will come," says another 
 authority, *' when physicians, conceding more importance than they now do to 
 the influence of the mind upon the vital forces of the body, will prescribe to 
 the torpid and melancholy patient a certain number of hearty peals of 
 laughter, to be undergone at stated periods, and believe that they will, in so 
 doing, find the best and most effective method of producing the required 
 effect upon the patient. Our advice to all is, indulge in' good, hearty, soulfid 
 laughter, when the opportunity offers, and if you do not derive material bene- 
 fit therefrom, charge us with uttering false principles of materia medica.^'' 
 
 Physical Influence of Singing. — So many injuries to the health have 
 been attributed by the public — and perhaps also by a portion of the medical 
 profession — to frequent and prolonged use of the voice, as to demand just 
 
220 Home and Health. 
 
 sncn a caierul and impartial investigation of the alleged ill consequences aa 
 has lately been made by a Russian author, and published m a German jour- 
 nal in St. Petersburg. Although the paper presents no very novel views, it 
 is of value as showing the result of his examination of two hundred and 
 twenty-two singers, whose ages varied from nine to fifty-three years. These 
 were examined with reference to size, chest circumference, and breathing capac- 
 ity. Among the principal deductions to be drawn from these examinations, we 
 observe in particular that vocal training appears to exert a remarkably beneficial 
 influence upon cases having a tendency to consumption. Contrary also, to the 
 popular impression, emphysema is not superinduced by this form of exercise. 
 The following are some of the conclusions of the author of the paper. 
 
 The circumference of the chest is greater in vocalists than in non-singers 
 This difference increases, not only with variations in size or age, but also 
 with the number of years spent in singing. The greatest difference between 
 these classes is observed in the period of life immediately following puberty. 
 Persons of consumptive and intemperate antecedents, have, other things 
 being equal, smaller-sized chests. 
 
 The chest circumference is absolutely and relatively greater in singers. In- 
 temperance checks the growth of the chest. 
 
 Not only the circumference but the chest capacity is greater in singers. 
 It increases with the size (up to the average) with age, (up to 24 years,) and 
 with the number of years of vocal training ; more of course in their earlier 
 than in their later years. 
 
 Although the chest movements are restricted in persons of consumptive 
 habit, they are still more so in persons of equal age who are intemperate. 
 
 The pulmonary alveoli are not lessened but increased in size by singing. 
 Both inspiratory and expiratory strength is clearly related to the general 
 constitutional condition. 
 
 Vital capacity of the lungs is greater in singers, and increases with size and 
 years spent in singing. It is greater even in singers of consumptive families 
 than in other healthy persons, while it is still less in chronic tipplers. While 
 laryngeal catarrh is common, bronchial catarrh is quite rare among singers. 
 
 Their mortality is slight. Few die of consumption. A not unfrequent 
 affection, even among temperate singers, is Bright's disease of the kidneys. 
 
 Singing is an excellent prophylactic against consumption, and is the best 
 means of developing and strengthening the chest, ranking indeed above or- 
 dinary gymnastics. The cause of this lies in the training of the lungs to 
 deeper and stronger respiration. 
 
 Age for Vocal Training. — A distinguished vocal-music teatfier, after 
 carefully hT«<^ing the question whether the voices of girls may be safely 
 trained bexween the ages of thirteen and seventeen, says : " My pupilt at such 
 ages respon-led more successfully to the vocal discipline than did those who 
 
Cry my, Laughing, and Singing. 221 
 
 were oldei . The period of greatest difficulty I found tc bo between seven- 
 teen and twenty-two years. During these years the voice was treacherous, 
 husky, dull, or wanting ; the throat tender, liable to frequent colds, or even 
 to temporary loss of voice. This was true not only of those who had pre- 
 viously studied, but of those who at that age attempted their first musical 
 note. . . To me it seems like a libel upon nature to assert that for an im- 
 portant fraction of human existence woman at that period (thirteen to sev- 
 enteen years of age) is disqualified to critically perform the important 
 function of vocalization. Looking at the question in the light of phys- 
 iology, I find every thing to oppose the notion ; while, in reviewing my ex- 
 perience, I can truthfully say that I have never in one single instance seen 
 the year, the month, the day, nor the hour, when, with functional respiration 
 and lar}Tigeal efforts, youthful voices have shown the faintest suspicion of 
 a greater degree of fatigue, or even huskiness, than at an earlier or later 
 age. On the direct and fortunate contrary, they were at that period more 
 clear, more bright, more enduring, save in instances of precociously bad mus- 
 cular habits, than at any later period ; while to reformatory discipline they re- 
 sponded with an alacrity never to be expected from their senior sisters, 
 whose greatest difficulty, be it observed, was the means of fofckig muscular 
 habits engendered during this very period of advised neglect 
 
 OCCUPATIONS AND HEALTH.-VITAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Mental Labor and Health. An Illustration. — To the question, " Is 
 severe intellectual work incompatible with good health ? " a negative answer 
 jiust be given. Here is an illustrative case : The renowned Jeremy Bentham, 
 a most able and powerful writer on jurisprudence, the author of more than a 
 hundred different works, died in England, in 1832, at the age of eighty-five. In 
 early life he was puny and exceedingly feeble in health, and this continued for 
 sixteen years ; the whole remainder of his life exhibited this fact, that the 
 greater his mental application, the better was his physical health. 
 
 There are Hundreds of Similar Oases. — Bentham's was not an excep- 
 tional case. A multitude of similar instances could be cited. Indeed, a care- 
 lul observation of the tables of statistics compiled to show the aA'crage lon- 
 gevity of persons of diiferent occupations, assures us that, as a rule, those 
 who are engaged largely in intellectual pursuits, live longer than those of less 
 mental occupation. Here are a few instances : — 
 
 Halley 86 
 
 Voltaire 85 
 
 Baron Von Humboldt 90 
 
 Benjamin Franklin 84 
 
 Sir John Herschel 84 
 
 Galileo 78 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton 86 
 
 Lord Bacon 78 
 
 Thomas Jefferson 83 
 
 John Quincy Adams 81 
 
999, 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 All these are eminent examples, and the list might be indefinitely extended. 
 A friend, himself a physician, carefully went through one of the encyclope- 
 dias and noted down the ages of one hundred of the greatest men of history 
 He found that the aggregate ages of these men was 7,500, giving an averag.*, 
 of seventy-jive years ! 
 
 Average Longevity of Diverse Avocations. — The following table wjii 
 leportcd by Dr. Jarvis, giving the average longevity in some of the leadiuj; 
 occupations in the States of New York, Massachusetts, aiid Rhode Island. The 
 table was compiled with great care : — 
 
 Occupations. Deaths. ^ S® 
 
 Clergymen 389 55-36 
 
 Lawyers 576 54-26 
 
 Physicians 540 54-32 
 
 Blacksmiths ...... 822 51-51 
 
 Carpenters 2,052 49-72 
 
 Masons 492 48-29 
 
 Occupations. Deaths. *^ ?* 
 
 Merchants & Clerks, 2,386 47-46 
 
 Tanners 230 47*90 
 
 Cabinet-makers 253 46-34 
 
 Shoe-makers 3,233 43-03 
 
 Painters 500 43-37 
 
 Tailors 486 41-08 
 
 A study of such figures gives abundant assurance that mental pursuits are 
 conducive to health, rather than injurious to it. Our Creator has so wisely 
 made us that the employments of the mind and heart — our higher nature — 
 bring with them the fullest possible reward. Diligence in study, provided 
 it be coupled with daily physical exercise, will increase rather than shorten 
 life. 
 
 Order of Mortality in Certain Classes of Manual Labor. — Thirty 
 years ago the British returns gave the following as the order of comparative 
 freedom from mortality in several different branches of manual labor : — 
 
 1. Farmers, 3. Weavers, 5. Carpenters, 7. Laborers, 9. Bakers, 
 
 2. Shoe-makers, 4. Blacksmiths, 6. Sailors, 8. Miners, 10. Butchers. 
 
 Comparative Ages of Persons Active in Business.— The registry in 
 the city of Boston gave the following average ages of persons then cov.nted 
 and still actively engaged in the different pursuits compared : — 
 
 Av'ge Age. 
 
 305 Laborers 40-30 
 
 69 Marines 38-59 
 
 35 Tailors 39-08 
 
 32 Merchants 58-81 
 
 32 Traders 49-68 
 
 33 Carpenters 45-76 
 
 22 Painters 40*36 
 
 8 Farmers 57-12 
 
 6 Ship-carpenters .... 51 16 
 
 6 Physicians 48*80 
 
 6 Clergymen 53 80 
 
 4 Coopers 40-60 
 
 AT'ge Age. 
 
 45 Clerks 32-98 
 
 20 Shoe-makers 24-35 
 
 Teamsters 34-40 
 
 Printers 39-46 
 
 10 Masons 40-20 
 
 9 Machinists 33-77 
 
 8 Bakers 38-62 
 
 Blacksmiths 35-00 
 
 Curriers 28-50 
 
 Engineers 45*75 
 
 Lawyers 60*20 
 
 15 
 11 
 
UGCUj)ation8 and Health. 223 
 
 Vital Statistics — Births. — In countries where the records of births are 
 Kept, it is found that the annual number of births to each 1 ,000 of the pop- 
 ulation varies from 29 to 40, more in some countries than in others, and more 
 in the rural districts than in cities. Fewer births occur in cold than in warmer 
 climates. More boys are born than girls, the proportion being in Russia 109 
 boys to 100 girls ; the mean proportion for Europe being 106 boys to 100 girl^. 
 In Great Britain the average proportion is 104 boys to 100 girls. More cl./'l- 
 (hen are born during the first three months of the year than during any otlior 
 (luarter. Of 1,000 births, 312 occur between midnight and 6 A.M.; 240 be- 
 tween 6 A.M. and noon 183 between noon and 6 P.M. ; and 256 between 6 
 P.M. and midnight. 
 
 Vital Statistics — Marriage. — Under ordinary circumstances, marriage is 
 favorable to longevity. Married men from 25 to 30 years of age die at the 
 rate of 6 ; unmarried, at the rate of 10; and widowers, at the rate of 22 per 
 1,000 per annum; and from 30 to 35 years of age, married men at the rate 
 ^f 7^; unmarried, 13; and widowers, 17^ per 1,000 per annum. From 30 
 to 35 years of age, maids die at the rate of 11, and married women at the 
 rate of 9 per 1,000 per annum. A man married at 25 will live to the age of 65, 
 »vhile an unmarried man at the same age will live only to the age of 60. A 
 married woman at 25 will attain the age of 65, the unmarried that of 56 only. 
 Less crime is committed by the married ; more by the widowed ; and most 
 by those who have never married. The chances of females being married be- 
 fore the age of 20, are as 1 to 5 of all their probabilities of ever marrying ; 
 at the age of 20 the chances are one fifth less; at 25, two thirds less; and 
 at 30, six sevenths of all their probabilities are lost. 
 
 Vital Statistics — Deaths. — The greatest numljer of deaths occur during 
 the third quarter of the year, and the smallest number during the fourth 
 quarter. The other two quarters have nearly the same proportion. Esti- 
 mates vary as to the time of day when the most deaths occur, some claiming 
 the hours from midnight to 6 A.M. as the most fatal, and others from 6 A.lil 
 to noon. More deaths occur during the first half of the day than the last 
 half. Of all the deaths that occur throughout the world, about one half aie 
 of children under five years of age. 
 
 Expectation of Human Life. — After the first year th'.' chances of liv- 
 mg increase up to the fourth year, and then slowly decline. Rural laboiera 
 may expect to live, on an average, 45*32 years ; carpenters, 45"28; domesiic 
 servants, 42*03 ; bakers, 41-92 ; shoe-makers, 40*87 ; weavers, 41-92 ; tailors, 
 ?9'40; hatters, 38-91; stone-masons, 38-19; plumbers, 38-13 ; mill operatives, 
 38-09 ; blacksmiths, 37-96 ; brick-layers, 37*70 ; printers, 3666 ; clerks, 34-99 , 
 and the average population, 39-88. 
 
 The accompanying table shows the average yearly decrease of human lit'f 
 
224 
 
 Home and IIealte. 
 
 out of a given number born, and the " expectation of life," or average num 
 ber of years persons may expect to live at any period of life. The table was 
 compiled by Dr. Wiggleworth, after many years of intelligent research, and 
 lias justly been regarded as authority by the courts in estimating the value 
 of life estk-.ee : 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 ■a 
 
 a . 
 
 "se = 
 
 rl 
 
 •S--Q 
 
 34 
 
 '3 
 a 
 S 
 
 o 
 
 a . 
 
 o 
 
 Q 
 
 38 
 
 O £ a5 
 
 .2>-.S 
 a c S 
 
 to 
 
 < 
 68 
 
 be 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 § 
 s 
 Si 
 
 a . 
 
 g J 
 
 o 
 
 Q 
 
 87 
 
 o 2 ■ 
 5 » a 
 
 fs| 
 
 Pi 
 
 At birth. 
 
 4893 
 
 1264 
 
 23.15 
 
 1772 
 
 80.24 
 
 772 
 
 12.43 
 
 1 
 
 3629 
 
 274 
 
 " 
 
 85 
 
 1737 
 
 35 
 
 28.22 
 
 69 
 
 735 
 
 87 
 
 " 
 
 2 
 
 3355 
 
 188 
 
 u 
 
 36 
 
 1702 
 
 35 
 
 a 
 
 70 
 
 693 
 
 87 
 
 10.06 
 
 8 
 
 3167 
 
 132 
 
 u 
 
 37 
 
 1667 
 
 35 
 
 (1 
 
 71 
 
 601 
 
 37 
 
 " 
 
 4 
 
 3035 
 
 84 
 
 ik 
 
 38 
 
 1632 
 
 35 
 
 u 
 
 72 
 
 624 
 
 37 
 
 «< 
 
 5 
 
 2951 
 
 58 
 
 40.87 
 
 39 
 
 1597 
 
 35 
 
 (( 
 
 73 
 
 587 
 
 87 
 
 k( 
 
 6 
 
 2893 
 
 55 
 
 u 
 
 40 
 
 1562 
 
 35 
 
 26.04 
 
 74 
 
 549 
 
 37 
 
 u 
 
 7 
 
 2S38 
 
 47 
 
 <i 
 
 41 
 
 1527 
 
 35 
 
 " 
 
 75 
 
 511 
 
 37 
 
 7.83 
 
 8 
 
 2791 
 
 40 
 
 u 
 
 42 
 
 1492 
 
 35 
 
 (( 
 
 76 
 
 474 
 
 37 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 2751 
 
 36 
 
 u 
 
 43 
 
 1457 
 
 35 
 
 ki 
 
 77 
 
 437 
 
 87 
 
 " 
 
 10 
 
 2716 
 
 28 
 
 89.23 
 
 44 
 
 1423 
 
 34 
 
 " 
 
 78 
 
 400 
 
 37 
 
 i« 
 
 11 
 
 2687 
 
 27 
 
 u 
 
 45 
 
 1396 
 
 27 
 
 23.92 
 
 79 
 
 363 
 
 87 
 
 ti 
 
 12 
 
 2660 
 
 27 
 
 n 
 
 46 
 
 1369 
 
 27 
 
 '( 
 
 80 
 
 326 
 
 35 
 
 5.85 
 
 13 
 
 2633 
 
 27 
 
 u 
 
 47 
 
 1342 
 
 27 
 
 u 
 
 81 
 
 291 
 
 34 
 
 H 
 
 14 
 
 2606 
 
 27 
 
 " 
 
 48 
 
 1315 
 
 27 
 
 n 
 
 82 
 
 257 
 
 34 
 
 " 
 
 15 
 
 2579 
 
 42 
 
 86.16 
 
 49 
 
 1310 
 
 27 
 
 a 
 
 83 
 
 223 
 
 84 
 
 (i 
 
 16 
 
 2537 
 
 43 
 
 " 
 
 50 
 
 1288 
 
 27 
 
 21.16 
 
 84 
 
 189 
 
 84 
 
 (( 
 
 17 
 
 2494 
 
 43 
 
 " 
 
 51 
 
 1261 
 
 27 
 
 «i 
 
 85 
 
 155 
 
 21 
 
 46T 
 
 18 
 
 2-451 
 
 48 
 
 u 
 
 52 
 
 1234 
 
 27 
 
 i. 
 
 86 
 
 134 
 
 21 
 
 H 
 
 19 
 
 2408 
 
 43 
 
 It 
 
 58 
 
 1207 
 
 27 
 
 n 
 
 87 
 
 118 
 
 21 
 
 » 
 
 20 
 
 2365 
 
 43 
 
 84.21 
 
 54 
 
 1180 
 
 27 
 
 >1 
 
 88 
 
 92 
 
 20 
 
 (i 
 
 21 
 
 2322 
 
 42 
 
 " 
 
 55 
 
 1153 
 
 27 
 
 18.25 
 
 89 
 
 72 
 
 20 
 
 U, 
 
 22 
 
 2280 
 
 42 
 
 it 
 
 56 
 
 1126 
 
 27 
 
 n 
 
 90 
 
 52 
 
 8 
 
 8.78 
 
 23 
 
 2238 
 
 42 
 
 " 
 
 57 
 
 1099 
 
 27 
 
 u 
 
 91 
 
 44 
 
 7 
 
 " 
 
 24 
 
 2196 
 
 42 
 
 11 
 
 58 
 
 1072 
 
 27 
 
 (1 
 
 92 
 
 37 
 
 T 
 
 (« 
 
 25 
 
 2154 
 
 40 
 
 82.82 
 
 59 
 
 1045 
 
 27 
 
 (t 
 
 93 
 
 80 
 
 7 
 
 » 
 
 26 
 
 2114 
 
 38 
 
 n 
 
 60 
 
 1018 
 
 27 
 
 15.48 
 
 94 
 
 28 
 
 7 
 
 it 
 
 27 
 
 2076 
 
 38 
 
 n 
 
 61 
 
 991 
 
 27 
 
 ti 
 
 95 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 1.62 
 
 28 
 
 2038 
 
 88 
 
 u 
 
 62 
 
 964 
 
 27 
 
 i( 
 
 96 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 » 
 
 29 
 
 '2000 
 
 88 
 
 It 
 
 63 
 
 937 
 
 27 
 
 li 
 
 97 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 tt 
 
 30 
 
 1962 
 
 38 
 
 80.24 
 
 64 
 
 910 
 
 27 
 
 u 
 
 98 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 it 
 
 31 
 
 1924 
 
 88 
 
 " 
 
 65 
 
 8S3 
 
 37 
 
 12.48 
 
 99 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 82 
 
 1886 
 
 38 
 
 " 
 
 66 
 
 846 
 
 37 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 88 
 
 1848 
 
 83 
 
 (I 
 
 67 
 
 809 
 
 87 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 DWELLINGS AND HEALTH. 
 
 Importance of a Healthful Location. — The healthiness of dwellinga 
 depends upon their faultless situation, construction, and management. It is, 
 therefore, of primary importance that the foundation of houses be on dry 
 ground free from decaying matters. Houses built upon a soil saturated with 
 putrid moisture, or upon .J swamps or cess-pools or similar filthy ground, 
 are notoriously unhealthy, because such a soil, especially in the warm season, 
 evolves deleterious exhalations, and vitiates the water of the ground and the 
 
Dwellings and Health, 225 
 
 air. In the construction of buildings it is also necessary to protect their 
 foundations against dampness from underground, by means either of drain- 
 age or of a damp-proof ground floor. A construction conducive to a free and 
 ample supply of light and air is, then, the main condition for a healthy hab- 
 itation ; however large or small, elegant or plain, the house may be, its salu- 
 brious condition may be maintained and regulated by these two simple and 
 cheap correctors, Light and Air. 
 
 Remove from a Foul District. — If you live in a district soddened witl 
 foulness, change. Shoe leather is cheaper than medicine. It will be better to 
 get up at five " to go to work," than to get up at two " to lay somebody out ; " 
 besides, you will have better heart for every thing. Read Rtskin's " Athena," 
 if you can ; and bear in mind that when you bar out the goddess Athena, 
 Queen of the Air, you bar in a serpent whose subtle poison will shorten the 
 number of your days, lessen your strength, and undermine all the glory which 
 should bless them. Have water that looks clean, tastes clean, and whenever 
 you lift the lid from a kettle or saucepan, smells clean. If in doubt, catch 
 some rain water and filter it. Then remove to another locality. 
 
 Location of Dwellings in Cities. — Dwellings which face on free and 
 open streets, are to be preferred to those which open into courts, because the 
 motion of the air is freer in the former. In a closely-built city the corner 
 house, having the sweep of two streets is, in this respect, better located 
 than others in the block. It is not well that high blocks of dwellings should 
 so surround the rear court as to shut out the wind, nor that streets should 
 terminate against the middle of a block at right angles to it. 
 
 In the country any open, dry portion of land will make a good building 
 spot. A slight eminence is preferable. 
 
 Shade Trees Around Our Dwellings. — Farm-houaes or other dwell- 
 ings, whether for man or beast, should not be closely shaded, as such shade 
 obstructs both sunlight and air currents. The aim should be to so arrange 
 the trees in the lawn as to permit the ingress of the sun's rays, and of the 
 free and healthful air. 
 
 High Ceilings and Health.— Lofty ceilings are regarded by Fome as a 
 principal means of insuring a sufficient measure in cubic feet for each per- 
 son. Unless ventilation is secured for the upper portion of a room, a lofty 
 ceiling only makes that portion of space above the tops of the windows a 
 receptacle for foul air which accumulates and remains to vitiate the stratum 
 below. 
 
 Capacity of Bricks for "Dampness."— As to the capacity '»r ibsorp- 
 
 tion, three bricks from a building in process of erection, took up in twenty- 
 
 four hours from eight to fifteen ounces. From a certain brick-yard, samples 
 
 of face-brick and pressed brick absorbed ten and a half and eleven ounces; 
 
 . 15 
 
226 Home and Health. 
 
 and from another, pressed brick drank up twenty and a half and eighteen 
 And a half ounces all in the same time. These results are startling. We 
 tannot suppose that lateral or horizontal absorption, as, from driving rain, 
 could be much different from that which proceeds upward from wet founda- 
 tions. Cannot some process of brick making be found that will prevent thie 
 action ? 
 
 Damp Walls and Their Relation to Health. — Porous walls in damp 
 Wnjations, absorbing moisture and water, give rise to various evils. Dr. Dean 
 L«.s made some tests as to the absorbent capacity of bricks.* He first ex- 
 amined in dry weather brick from an old one-story building upon high ground, 
 dry, well-sewere(^ and well exposed to sunshine. A face-brick next above 
 the foundation, contained one ounce of water ; four feet higher, one half ; 
 viid just under the roof, one twelfth. In a building differently circumstanced, 
 notoriously damp and unwholsome, on high but " made " ground, a face-brick 
 in the fourth row from the foundation was found to contain eighteen ounces 
 of water ! 
 
 Dampness of Other Walls. — Most kinds of sandstone are so jA^roui 
 that water and air easily pass through them. Solid or quarried limest'ji>£9 
 are scarcely permeable by air, but as they are of irregular shapes, and requii*-. 
 much mortar, they are not much more air-tight than walls made of regular 
 bricks and thin layers of mortar. Observations have been taken of the aver- 
 age quantity of mortar used with different building stones. We may suppose 
 that taking the wall as a whole, it is equal to one third with quarried Ih. ♦, 
 stone, one fourth with tufaceous limestone, one fifth to one sixth with bricka 
 and one sixth to one eighth with cubes of sandstone. Thus, the quantity of 
 the mortar used assists in keeping the walls pervious to air to a certain 
 degree. 
 
 Why Damp Walls are Injurious. — Wet walls are air-tight, and conse- 
 quently injurious : — 
 
 1. By impeding ventilation and diffusion of gases through their pores be- 
 ing closed up or narrowed by water. 
 
 2. By disturbing the heat-economy of our bodies. Damp walls act as JtV 
 *;orbents of heat by their evaporation and increase heat-loss by one-sideu 
 radiation. Diseases known to be often caused by cold are particularly frequent 
 in damp dwellings : rheumatism, catarrh, and chronic lung disease, BrightV 
 disease of the kidneys, etc. 
 
 In a house using one hundred thousand bricks of ten pounds weight eairK 
 > hi, V have absorbed the average quantity of water, one hundred thousand 
 
 * l~)anip brick walls are common, especially in houses in the country where they 8r>°i pt 
 posted upon the north and eiist sides. So common is lhi« ttat, in many places in the coun 
 u-y H "^ii'iiit.' (•rtomlicr oxists nf^nsl brick '^o-isos on .">'•'•>. nnt of their constant dampwsf 
 
Dwellings a/ad Health. '2'2i1 
 
 pounds, or ten tliousand gallons, or fifty tons of water, must leave the walls 
 before they become habitable. How is this to got rid of ? By full and per- 
 fect ventilation. 
 
 How to Dry Damp Walls.— The most eifective method is by letting 
 them evaporate the water into the air. This is best accomplished by heat 
 mg all the chimneys and stoves, and the constant ventilation of all the rooms 
 ui\til the necessary degree of dryness is obtained. 
 
 Ventilation is also constantly necessary to maintain the proper degree of 
 drniess to counteract their tendency to re-absorb the various gases, and the 
 emanations resulting from inhabitation, and the vapors arising from the cul- 
 inary department. 
 
 How to Prevent Walls from Becoming Damp — A Successfril Ex- 
 periment. — A gentleman having a brick house exposed on all sides, and suf- 
 fering from dampness in the kitchen, which was in a wing upon the most 
 exposed side, tried an experiment which has proved very i^atisfactory. A 
 barrel of the best cement * was purchased, and a common tin wash-basin used 
 for mixing it. The cement was mixed with water till about the consistency 
 of cream, and then applied thickly with a large paintbrush. Of course the 
 mixture had to be constantly stirred to prevent the cement from t^ettling l 
 the bottom. And on account of its very rapid settling it could only be mixed 
 in very small quantities ; half a gallon is about as large a quantity as can be 
 readily handled at a time. When first dried it seemed somewhat of a failure, 
 because it could be so easily brushed off, but after it had had twenty-four 
 hours to harden it formed a strong, durable coating. The color is a neutral 
 tint, somewhat like Ohio stone. The coating kept the wall perfectly drji^ and 
 as it is not expensive and does not need skilled labor in its application, ought 
 to be extensively used. The coating should be brushed into all the crevices 
 and openings of the work, and it may be found desirable to apply two coata 
 in order that all the openings, etc., may be completely closed. 
 
 The covering of brick walls with several coats of good oil paint, also pre- 
 vents them from imbibing moisture. The walls should be first covered with 
 a thorougl coat of sizing. 
 
 * CwTient is much stronger than mortar, and can be nsed to great advantage in many 
 f laces instead of lime, even in the face of the fact that it is much more costly than lime, ex- 
 cel)! in a few favored localities where it is made. The usual proportions are one pa»t of the 
 cemont to five of sand. In pointing, the proportion is sometimes as low as three parts sand 
 to one of the cement. Coarse, clean sand — almost pibbles — can be used to the extent of 
 three parts to one of the cement. Some advise mortar to be allowed to set, and then wet 
 and worked again. This coura will not answer with cement, which is greatly injured by 
 such a method of working. The greatest enemy of both mortar and cement is the frost. 
 The power with whjch water expands at the freezing point is practically unlimited, an •! 
 where it penetrates into the crevices and ' jres of mortar and freezes, or when wet inortJW 
 is allowed to freeze, its strength is de»*^ • -v* 
 
228 Home ^\d Health. 
 
 Damp Closets and Health. — All closets should be so constructed thai 
 they may be of tec thoroughly aired. Closets that are darup are dangerous 
 enemies to hei'/> If your closets are damp and engender a m< Id wliich en- 
 cases not only boots and shoes, but also other articles of wearing apparel, ob- 
 tain a half peck of unslacked lime and put in a shallow dish in the closet, 
 and it will absorb the dampness. When it becomes quite damp it should be 
 renewed. 
 
 Caution Against Damp Floors. — Floors of cellars and basements should 
 not be made of brick or similar soft and porous material ; apparently these 
 can be easily kept clean, but they absorb and retain moisture, and not only 
 remain cold and damp, but by their porosity expose the impurities of the ab- 
 sorbed moisture to evaporation, and thus pollute the air and render otherwise 
 healthy cellars and basements damp and unwholesome. Floors of water-tight 
 cement or of wood, well ventilated underneath, are therefore preferable. 
 
 How to Make Dry Cellar Floors. — For making floors, the following 
 method is said to produce very desirable results: Four parts coarse gravel, or 
 broken stone and sand, and one part each of lime and cement, are mixed in 
 a shallow box, and well shovelled over from end to end. The sand, gravel, 
 and cement are mixed together dry. The lime is slacked separately and 
 mixed with just water enough to cement it well together. Six or eight inches 
 of the mixture is then put on the bottom, and when well set, another coating 
 is put on, consisting of one part cement and two of sand. This will also 
 answer for making the bottom of a cistern that is to be cemented up directly 
 upon the ground without a lining of bricks. 
 
 Danger from Vegetables in Cellars. — Most cellars contain a large 
 amount of decomposing vegetable matter in the form of decaying fruits and 
 vegetables, which give off their foul and poisonous gases during the process 
 of decay. These gases give origin to diphtheria, typhoid and scarlet fever, 
 and many other serious illnesses. Then, again, cellars are usually close, un- 
 ventilated, and unsunned Air which is kept confined and without the puri- 
 fying influence of sunlight, soon becomes impure and unfit to breathe, and if 
 to this we add the dampness and constantly-escaping gases of decomposing 
 vegetation, we have che condition of the atmosphere of cellars. The cellar 
 should be thoroughly cleansed, aired, and sunned as often as foul air becomes 
 noticeable, and all accumulations of rubbish or vegetable matter should be 
 removed as soon as they begin to decay. 
 
 Danger from Wetting Coal in Cellars. — The habit of wetting coal in 
 bulk in the cellar, which is sometimes practiced, causes it to emit poisonous 
 gases deleterious to health, and it should be carefully avoided. 
 
 Sitting-Room* and Bed-Rooms and Health. — Dwellings, and particu- 
 larly sitting-rooms and bed-rooms, should be so constructed as to allow, at all 
 
Dwellings and Health. 229 
 
 ,*e«».i«0Ti8, regular ventilation, as moisture and the exhalations of their occu- 
 pants accumulate and are absorbed by the porous walls, by carpets, beds, and 
 furnitura The importance of ventilating bed-rooms is a fact in which every 
 oody is vitally interested, and which few properly appreciate. If two men 
 ire to occupy a bedroom during a night, let them step upon weighing-sc-iles 
 18 they retire, and then again in the morning, and they will find that theii ac- 
 aal weight is at least a pound less in the morning. JVequently there will b( 
 i loss of two or more pounds, and the average loss throughout the year will 
 be mor-e tlian one pound ; that is, during the night there is a loss of a pound 
 of matter, which has gone off from their bodies, partly from the lungs, and 
 partly through the pores of the skin. The escaped material is carbonic acid 
 and decayed animal matter, or poisonous exhalations. 
 
 The Kitchen Sink and Health. — A little sink near a kitchen dooi step, 
 i/iadvertently formed, has been known, although not exceeding in its dimen- 
 sions a single square foot, to spread sickness through a whole household. 
 Hence, every thing of the kind should be studiously obviated, so that there 
 should be no spot about a farm-house which can receive and hold standing 
 water, whether it be the pure rain from the sky, the contents of a wash-basin, 
 the slop-bowl, or the water-pail. 
 
 Ripe Fruit in Sitting or Sleeping-Rooms. — Care should be taken not 
 to permit large quantities of ripe fruit in our sitting-rooms. Especially be- 
 ware of laying it about a sick-chamber for any length of time. That com- 
 plaint which some people make, of a faint sensation in the presence of fruit, is 
 not fanciful ; they may be really affected by it, for two Continental chemists 
 have shown that from the moment of plucking, apples, cherries, currants, and 
 other fruits are subject to incessant transformation. At first they absorb 
 oxygen, thus robbing the surrounding air of its vital element ; then they evolve 
 carbonic acid, and this in far greater volume than the purer gas is absorbed^ 
 so that we have poison given us in the place of pure air, with compound in- 
 terest, warmth accelerating it. 
 
 The Out-door Parts of the House. — These should be looked after with un- 
 lemitting and ever-persistent care. If there is a cesspool it must be preveuted 
 from emitting any foul odors. Disinfectants must be used promptly until a com- 
 plete change is effected. The out-door privy, if there is one, should have free 
 access to the air.' Exclude all slops or rain-water from it. If there is odor from 
 it, use odorless disinfectants until it is corrected. If too foul for use, cover it 
 v'ver with " calx powder," and have under the seats some receptacle — such as the 
 patent pail, or a half barrel or tub — which can be frequently removed, and 
 alternately replaced by another. A privy built above ground, with water-tight 
 receptacle, by the use of dry earth, powdered wood-charcoal, dry sifted ashes, 
 and occasional copperas-water, is easily kept neat and clean, if cleansed each 
 
^30 Home and Health. 
 
 spring and fall. Heaps of rubbish and decayed wood, fruit or vegetables, sliould 
 be removed. An offensive pig-sty, " hen-roost," stable, or other mclosure, should 
 be cleansed at once and kept so. To do this will require only a httle care. 
 
 House Cisterns and Health. — Dr. Stevenson Macadam, F.R.S.E., Leo- 
 turer on Chemistry in Edinburgh, has been making a series ot researches 
 which throw an interesting light on what is one of the most fertile and ire- 
 quent, but one of the most easily controlled, sources of the contamination of 
 our hcuse drinking-water. He has made a series of analyses of water dra vn 
 from mains and from ordinary house-cisterns in Edinburgh, and by experi- 
 ment has shown the effect upon the water from the mains of being retained 
 in vessels containing a number of samples of cistern deposits. The results, 
 Dr. Macadam says, demonstrate that the water-supply of a town or populous 
 place, which may be every thing that is desired at the fountain-head, and even 
 at the supply pipe as delivered to the house-holders, is liable to very serious 
 contamination when retained in house-cisterns containing deposits or sedi- 
 ments which are composed in part of finely-divided-lead compound and decay- 
 ing or putrescent organic matter ; and he is ".onfident that in many cases the 
 water-supply of both towns and mansion-ho» v^ ^s rendered unwholesome 
 froni being retained in dirty cisterns. 
 
 How to Remedy the Evil of Bad Cisterns. — The remedy for the evil 
 lies in the periodic cleansing of the house-cistern, which should be regularly 
 done every month or two, according to its position and its hability to become 
 impregnated with dust and sediment. The cleansing should be carried out 
 with a very soft brush, and every care must be taken that the natural skin of 
 the lead be not disturbed. A cover of wire or perforated zinc might b« 
 placed over the cistern to keep out mice, pieces of plaster, etc. ; but a tight 
 cover, which hinders the aeration of the water, should not be used. In ordin- 
 ary cases, it is seldom or never that cisterns are purposely cleaned out, unless 
 there be occasion to run off tlie water in order to execute repairs, and prob- 
 ably bot even then, unless special instructions be given to clean out the cis- 
 tern. Many towns and populous places are specially favored with water of 
 excellent quality, as delivered into the towns and into the cisterns, and indeed 
 each house is placed on the same footing for water-supply as if the foun- 
 dations rested on the hills or other country district from which the water is 
 drawn ; and it is a matter of regret that gross inattention to the condition of 
 house-cisterns should lead to these receptacles being sources of contamination 
 of the water, which otherwise is of the most wholesome and suitable quality 
 for all domestic purposes. 
 
 " Death in the Kitchen Dishcloth." — A lady correspondent of the Rural 
 World, having been startled by typhoid fever in her neighborhood some time 
 ago, gives the following good advice about dishcloths : — 
 
Dwellings and Health. 231 
 
 If they are black and stiff, and smell like a barnyard, it is enough ; throw 
 them in the fire, and henceforth and forever wash your dishes with cloths that 
 are white, cloths that you can see through, and see if you ever have that dis- 
 ease again. There are sometimes other causes, but I have smelled a whole 
 house full of typhoid fever in one "dishrag." I had some neighbors once- 
 clever, good sort of folks ; one fall four of them were sick at one time wil'j 
 typhoid fever. The doctor ordered the vinegar barrels whitewashed, and 
 threw about forty cents' worth of carbolic acid in the swill-pail and dei)art- 
 ed. I went into the kitchen and made gruel ; I needed a dishcloth, and 
 looked around and found several, and such " rags ! " I burned them all and 
 called the daughter of the house to get me a dishcloth. She looked around 
 on the table. "Why," said she, "there was about a dozen here this morn- 
 ing," and she looked in the wood-box and on the mantelpiece, and felt in the 
 cupboard. " Well," I said, " I saw some old black rotten rags lying around 
 and I burned them, for there is death in such dishcloths as those, and you 
 must never use such again." I took turns at nursing that family for weeks, 
 ■ind I believe those dirty dishcloths were the cause of all that hard work. 
 
 Therefore, I say to every housekeeper, keep your dishcloths clean. You 
 may only brush and comb your head on Sundays, you need not wear a collar 
 unless you go from home — but you must wash your dishcloths. You may 
 only sweep the floor when the sun gets right ; the windows don't need wash- 
 ing, you can look out of the door ; that spider's web on the front porch don't 
 nurt any thing — but as you love your lives, wash out your dishcloths. Let 
 tlie foxtail grass grow in the garden, (the seed is a foot deep anyway;) let tlie 
 \iole8 in the heels of your husband's foot-rags go undarned ; let the sage go ' 
 luigathered ; let the children's shoes go two Sundays without blacking; let 
 the hens set four weeks on one wooden egg — but do wash out your dishcloths. 
 Eat without a tablecloth, wash your faces and let them dry, do without a cur- 
 tain for your windows and cake for your tea — but, for heaven's sake, keep 
 -our dishcloths clean. 
 
 Secure General Home Sanitary Inspection. — When families are 
 housed near each other, every family has a right to expect and to demand 
 protection from the civil authorities with regard to the presence of any foul 
 odors arising from the lack of proper care on the part of others. A writer in 
 one of our metropolitan journals has well said that " there will be household 
 ere who, from thoughtlessness, ignorance, or poverty, do not secure for them- 
 selveg or for others the needed sanitary conditions. Charity, the public wel- 
 fare, and the necessary incidents of city life, require regulated and definite 
 provision against all those nuisances which imperil the life and health of the 
 populace." The same writer very properly insists " upon systematic preven- 
 tion, instead of waiting for that loss which disease always involves when it is 
 artiliiiiil, cv when we are compelled to meet an epidemic hurriedly If your 
 
232 Home and Health. 
 
 authorities do not act, move by voluntary associations, which shall exhibit th^ 
 facts and so compel action. There is no waste so great as that of preven- 
 tible disease, which disables not only the sufferers, but puts a tax on labor, 
 capital, and life, much more direful than a well-directed expenditure to pre- 
 vent it. Epidemics are to be dreaded ; but our greatest losses are from a 
 chronic death and sickness rate, which has a permanent base of supply in 
 prevalent unsanitary conditions, not remedied, as they should be and can be. 
 Public health is common wealth. Can you not do something to reduce the tax 
 levy which forced diseases impose upon the citizens of your city, township, 
 and State ? To the degree that sickness and invalidism is unnecessary, it 
 means hard times and ill-content. Every motive of comfort and interest re- 
 quire that we plan to prevent all those ailments which are within the range 
 and duty of our control." 
 
 SCHOOL-ROOMS AND HEALTH. 
 
 Near-Sightedness in Schools. — Prof. Cohn, Dr. of Medicine and Phi- 
 losophy in the University of Breslau, * on examining 10,000 pupils, found 
 1 ,004 affected by myopia, or " near-sightedness." All the schools in which he 
 made his investigations included some near-sighted individuals, but in the vil- 
 lage schools these unfortunates were found in the proportion of only 1*4 per 
 cent., whilst in city schools 11 "4 in every hundred were affected with my- 
 opia. Furthermore, in the primary city schools the proportion was 6*7 per 
 cent. In schools of the second grade, myopes were met with in the propor- 
 tion of 10*5 per cent. In normal schools the percentage rose to IQ'V ; and in 
 the Gymnasia, or highest schools, to 26*2. In the first class of the Gymnasia 
 more than half the pupils were near-sighted. 
 
 An Alarming Fact. — From the researches of Prof. Cohn, with those of 
 others, it seems indubitable that the work of reading and writing in imper- 
 fectly-arranged school-houses, brings about a lamentable development of myo- 
 pia. Now it is certain that myopia is hereditary, and that, according to the 
 great law of the extinction of the unfit, the children of myopic parents are 
 predisposed to the development of this disease, so that they will certainly 
 suffer from it, if exposed to conditions which would be apt to engender near- 
 sightedness in normal eyes quite free from any taint of hereditary tendency. 
 We a»e, therefore, as a people, threatened with an infinite increa'se of myo- 
 pia, unless we can devise some efficient sanitary precautions for counteracting 
 the injurious effects of prolonged application in the school-room upon our 
 visual organs. 
 
 * American Journal of Medical Science, 1879. 
 
Sehool-room,s and Health. 233 
 
 How to Remedy the Evil. — Among the general deductions reached bj 
 Cohn and others, the following are the most important : — 
 
 1. In the first place, study-rooms should be well-lighted during the day, and 
 especially toward evening, because a feeble or badly-arranged light compels us to 
 diminish the distance between the eye and the book whilst reading or writing, 
 
 2. Light should be allowed to enter from the left side. Illumination from 
 the front is more or less dazzling, and obliges the pupils to bend forward toe 
 much, or to sit side wise in constrained and fatiguing positions. Again, light 
 coming frcm behind is entirely insufficient, because in great measure cut off 
 by the head or upper part of the body of each scholar. 
 
 3. The A^'indows of a school-room should be large and high, be arranged 
 along the left side of the apartment so as to shed the light upon desks placed 
 in rows at right angles to the wall in which they are cut. 
 
 4. The light from above furnished by a sky -light is not so good as that de* 
 rived from lateral illumination. The light of lamps is recommended as being 
 preferable to gas, and the gas-light shining through ground-glass globes is 
 condemned as particularly objectionable. 
 
 5. The inclination of the desk at which the pupil sits to read or write is a 
 matter of no small importance. Desks which are horizontal, or only slightly 
 inclined, favor the development of myopia by compelling the scholar to bend 
 the head over a good deal whilst reading or writing. Such a position brings 
 on, as a mere result of weight of the blood, passive congestion of the head 
 and eyes, and this results in an intra-ocular tension, insensible, perhaps, when 
 it first appears, but very marked in its effects when long and constantly con- 
 tinued. Besides, a child who acquires the habit of leaning forward in this 
 manner, is very apt to bend nearer and nearer his book as the muscles of the 
 back become fatigued, and thus, by straining his power of accommodation at 
 short focus, promote the rapid development of myopia. The desks of school 
 children should, therefore, be sharply inclined at an angle of 40° or 45° when 
 used for reading, and their seats should not be too high, and should be fur- 
 nished with comfortable backs. 
 
 How the Evils are Caused. — The faults of school-furniture, which give 
 li'je to injurious postures, are so conducive to myopia and asthenopia, as well 
 as tn scoliosis or lateral curvature of the spine, are: — 
 
 1 Want of, or unsuitable backs. 
 
 2 Toe great a distance between the seat and the desk. 
 
 8. Disproportion ; generally too great a difference between the height oi 
 the seat and that of the desk. 
 
 4. Wrong form and slope of the desk. 
 
 Liebreich, * in his lectures in 1878, gives a very clear exposition of the way 
 
 * Consulting Surgeon in St. Thomaa' Hosi)it.al, London. 
 
234 Home and Health. 
 
 in which these defects cause the diseases already mentioned, and concludes 
 w^ith the subjoined recommendations, which he considers, however, less advan- 
 tageous than what he calls the American plan of having the seat and desk 
 ma le to every child's measure ; or the Swiss system, when seven or more 
 different sizes of seats and desks are manufactured to suit the different 
 ck eses : — 
 
 "1. One and the same size and model of desk should be used for children 
 ind grown-up persons of both sexes. 
 
 " 2, The adaptation to the height of each child should be effected by vary- 
 ing the height of the seat and the foot-board. 
 
 " 3. The edge of the table is always to be in a perpendicular line above 
 (hat of the seat. 
 
 " 4, No seat is to be without a back, and the top of this is always to be 1 
 inch lower than the edge of the table for boys, and 1 inch higher than the 
 edge of the table for girls. 
 
 "5. In all the classes where the boys change places, the height of the seat 
 is to be regulated in proportion to the average height of the pupils. 
 
 " 6. In all girls' schools, in all those boys' schools where the children do not 
 change places, in boarding-schools, and in private school-rooms, the seat of 
 each child should be accurately regulated in proportion to its height." 
 
 The support for the back sliould incline only a few degrees from the per- 
 pendicular, and be so shaped as to press upon the spinal column just above 
 the hips of the pupil. The breadth of the seat ought to be considerable, in 
 order to support most of the thighs, and its height just such as to allow the 
 feet to rest easily upon the foot-board. The desk should be so arranged, by 
 means of a hinged flap or otherwise, so as to hold the book at an angle of 
 40° or 46° whilst reading, and the paper at an angle of 20° whilst writing is 
 being performed by the scholars. 
 
 CARE OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Early Food of Children. — The nursing child finds its earliest and best 
 foo<i in the mother's milk.* In most cases nothing more is needed until the 
 first teeth apjjcar. If the mother's milk is not sufficient, diluted milk from 
 the cow may be used to supply the lack. If the mother does not nurse the 
 chil 1 cow's milk may be substituted. In such case, the milk should consist, 
 for the first month, of milk one part and water tvro parts, with about a half 
 t^aspoonful of pure sugar to a half tumbler of the diluted milk. Condensed 
 milk may be used instead, in which case the proportion should be one part 
 
 •The exceptions to this rule are when the mother is sufifering from disease, or is of a con- 
 sumptive family or habit. 
 
Care of Children. 235 
 
 condensed milk and ten parts water. Experience shows this mixture to be 
 the best first food next to the mother's milk. Unless advised by an expe- 
 rienced physician, no " wet nurse " should be employed. As far as possible 
 the infant should be trained to nursing at regular, though frequent, intervals 
 
 Changes of Early Diet — Weaning.— As a rule the child should be 
 weaned when from ten to twelve mouths old. Except in case of teething 
 the time should not extend beyond that period, and may terminate at the age 
 of eight months. The nursing should not cease at once, as the abruptness of 
 such change might prove unhealthf ul. It is well to wean the child first from 
 day nursing, later from night nursing. Food may now be given consisting of 
 milk and sweetened water with a little bread or cracker soaked therein. 
 If convenient, arrowroot or rice flour, sago, or weak gruel of oatmeal may be 
 added. It is best that the early food be neither cold nor hot — " milk warm " 
 is better. No tea or coffee or highly-seasoned food should be given. A little 
 tender meat finely divided, or a little beef -tea may be given once a day, after 
 the teeth for masticating food appear. 
 
 Best Rule as to the Exact Time for Weaning. — Between the dentition 
 of the four anterior molar teeth and the canines there is an interval of sev- 
 eral months. This interval is recommended by that distinguished French 
 medical professor and author, Foussagrives, as the most favorable time for 
 weaning. All mothers should know this fact, and, when possible, weaning 
 should be deferred until the child has twelve teeth. This rule is infinitely 
 better than any one founded on age. Forced weaning at the time of den- 
 tition leads to disorders of the digestive passages. Hence it is dangerous to 
 begin weaning during a teething crisis. 
 
 Arrangement of Regular Meals for Children. — Later, as well as earlier, 
 these meals should be as regular as possible, and the children should not be 
 allowed to eat " between meals." The younger the child the more frequently 
 should the meals be given. The habit of regularity cannot too strongly be 
 insisted upon. And yet not one mother in ten observes this rule. The ex- 
 ercise of a little care with a little common sense will early enable the mother 
 to arrange the plan of regular meals and keep it. 
 
 Is the Mother's Health Injured by Nursing ? — The rule is never. Dr 
 Beard very properly says : " It is an error to suppose that the constitution 
 suffers from suckling. Very many women have improved health from per- 
 forming this most feminine of all offices. Many very delicate females have 
 experienced the best effects from nursing their children ; and many of the 
 complaints incident to woman are removed or alleviated by it. Fewrr women 
 die when nursing than at any other period. The spirits during this period are 
 generally more lively and uniform, the temper milder and more even, and 
 the general feeling more healthy and pleasant than before." 
 
236 Home and Health. 
 
 The Mother's Food while Nursing. — The mother's food sLould b« 
 simple and easy of digestion. It is an oft-repeated truth that the food which 
 agrees best with the mother's health while nursing also agrees best with the 
 child's health during the same period. The mother's food should be ample, 
 though in respect of quantity as well as quality that which is best for the 
 mother is best for the child. Our Creator has wisely arranged these matters 
 so that there is perfect harmony. 
 
 A Common Artificial Food Condemned. — Concerning a very populai 
 favorite article, Dr. Zimmerman, as quoted by Liebig says : " Pap is a poison, 
 the use of which senseless custom has consecrated. Many millions are nour- 
 ished with pap, but it has also cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. The 
 well-known Parisian physician, Dr. Vandermonde, shares my opinion, that pap 
 is the worst food for children, the source of most of their maladies, their de- 
 formities, and death." And adds Liebig, " The evil effect of the much-used 
 'pap' given to children, both in the country and in towns, is well known to 
 physicians ; for it is quite intelligible that good cow.*!' milk is not improved 
 but depreciated, because wheaten flour, on account of its deficiency of the 
 nutritive salts, is a very incomplete sort of food." 
 
 Objections of the same serious character apply to nearly to all the kinds of 
 artificial food which are found in common use. They either do not comprise 
 the elements of food in proper or sufficient quantity, or the elements them- 
 selves are rendered almost nugatory by dilution or adulteration. 
 
 Early Baths for Children. — For convenience, and to prevent chilliness, 
 the child from the first should be washed in a sitall tub, with the body except 
 the head immersed in milk-wamn water. For thorough cleansing this should 
 be done every morning and every evening. Not only is such a bath healthful 
 in itself, but it also accustoms the child to the water. The warm bath should 
 be used until one and a half or two years old, when a cool bath should be 
 substituted. The bath should be very brief — at first not more than "two 
 minutes." The child's body should be quickly wiped dry and quickly clothed. 
 No wet or soiled napkins should be allowed to remain on the child. 
 
 Early Clothing for Children. — The clothing should be wftm and light, 
 A.S a rule, let long clothes be worn for about six months ; then change, not 
 to short clothes, but to those half-way between short and long ; later, (when 
 the child should learn to walk,) to short clothes. Great care should be taken 
 to keep the feet warm and dry. It is well to have fine soft flannel worn next 
 to the ekin. This should always be loose. 
 
 Early Sleep of Children. — The best-informed medical advisers tell us 
 that, when in health, children for the first month should sleep two-thirds of 
 the time, and then a little less, and so on, until about fifteen months old, 
 when their sleep should be about twelve hours in twenty-four. A child 
 
Care of Children. 237 
 
 should be encouraged as long as possible to take a nap in the middle of the 
 day, though after the age of two years it will be found difficult in many 
 cases to induce a continuance of the habit. Parents should insist that their 
 children go to bed at regular hours. The earlier the hour the better, and 
 nothing, neither callers at home nor company away from home, should allow 
 interruption to the rule. 
 
 Shall Children be Rocked to Sleep ? — If the child be accustomed to 
 sleep in the crib from the first, it will demand nothing else, and good habits 
 of sleep with less exposure will be likely to continue. The best advisers now 
 urge that the habit of rocking children to sleep, of carrying them about the 
 room in order to entice them to sleep, is a great evil. A child with well regu- 
 lated habits will sleep much more successfully and pleasantly than in the 
 old and common way of rocking, or carrying, or jolting in the lap or arms. 
 Kindly and tenderly, but certainly, put the child in bed, and leave it there un- 
 less seriously ill. Resist its cries which may demand the arms at first. Ac- 
 custom the child to sleep after nursing, not while nursing. 
 
 Shall Feather Pillows be Used for Babies' Heads ? — Important tes- 
 timony in response to this question is given by Dr. Dio Lewis. He says : 
 " The proximate, if not the original, cause of a large proportion of deaths 
 among American babies is some malady of the brain. When we suppose 
 the death to result from dysentery or cholera infantum, the immediate cause 
 of the death is an affection of the brain supervening upon the bowel disease. 
 The heads of American babies are, for the most part, little furnaces. What 
 mischief must come from keeping them buried twenty-four hours out of every 
 twenty-four in feather pillows. It makes me shiver to think of the number 
 of deaths among these precious little ones, which I have myself seen, where 
 I had no doubt that cool straw pillows would have saved them. The hair 
 pillow is inferior to straw, because it cannot, like straw, be made perfectly 
 clean and fresh by frequent change. Do not fail to keep their little heads 
 cool." 
 
 Babies' Bow-legs, and How to Prevent Them. — It is well kn©wn that 
 "bow-legs" are among the common deformities of humanity, and wise moth- 
 ers assert that the crookedness in either case arises from the afflicted one 
 having been put upon his or her feet too early in babyhood. But a Man- 
 chester physician. Dr. Crompton, who has watched for the true cause, thinks 
 differently. He attributes the first-mentioned distortion to a habit some 
 youngsters get in of rubbing the sole of one foot against that of the other ; 
 some will go to sleep with the soles pressed together; they appear to enjoy 
 the contact only when the feet are naked ; they never attempt to make it 
 when they are socked or slippered. So the remedy is obvious : keep the 
 oaby's soles covered. 
 
238 Home and Health. 
 
 Babies' "Knock-knees," and How^ to Prevent Them. — "Knock- 
 knees," another common deformity, the physician ascribes to a different child- 
 ish habit : that of sleeping on the side, with one knee tucked into the hollow 
 behind the other. He has found that where one leg has been bowed inwardly 
 more than the other, the patient has always slept on one side, and the upper- 
 most member has been that most deformed. Here the preventive is to pad 
 the inside of the knees, so as to keep them apart, and let the limbs grow 
 freely their own way. 
 
 How to Care for Children's Feet. — It has been well said that life-long 
 discomfort, disease, and sudden death often come to children through the in- 
 attention or carelessness of the parents. A child should never he allowed to go 
 to sleep roith cold feet. The thing to be last attended to is, to see that the feet 
 are dry and warm. Neglect of this has often resulted in a dangerous attack 
 of croup, diphtheria, or a fatal sore-throat. 
 
 Always, on coming from school, on entering the house from a visit or errand 
 in rainy, muddy, or thawing weather, the child's shoes should be removed, 
 and the mother should herself ascertain if the stockings are the least damp ; 
 and if so they should be taken off, the feet held before the fire and rubbed 
 with the hand till perfectly dry, and another pair of shoes be put on, and the 
 other shoes and stockings should be placed where they can be dried, so as to 
 be ready for future use at a moment's notice. 
 
 Early Exercise for Children. — They should be much in the open air, 
 and for this purpose the "baby carriages," now largely introduced into all 
 large towns, are a great boon to society. All violent exercise should be 
 avoided. Tossing up and down, or jolting in a chair, is not well, especially 
 during the first months. In carrying the child around in the arms or car- 
 riage, it should be kept in a horizontal position. 
 
 Giving Spirits or Cordials to Babies. — One of the best known and 
 most successful physicians in America writes : " Spirits given to a baby, or, 
 what is much the same, drank by the mother, is poison for the body, and may 
 be the starting of a habit which leads to ruin. Most of the cordials for chil- 
 dren are evil, and only evil, and that continually." 
 
 Are Candies Healthful for Children ? — Sugar is not injurious, but 
 should not be given to children often, or it will lessen or disturb the appetite. 
 Most candies which are found in the small shops, or which are hawked about 
 the ftreets, have been adulterated, and are positively injurious. See chapter 
 on "Adulteration of Food." Candies should either be made "at home" or 
 purchased of an honest dealer. The simpler and milder candies are best. 
 
 Children in the Care of Servants. — Remarkable testimony upon this 
 question has recently been given. Here is the record : A number of physi- 
 cians, practicing in New York and Brooklyn, having " compared notes," have 
 
Gave of Children. 239 
 
 concluded that one leading cause of the mortality among children arises Trom 
 their being left too much to the care of servants. It has been observed tLat 
 children who are taken care of by their parents, undressed and put to bed by 
 them, and by them dressed in the morning, and kept under a loving mother's 
 eye dunng the day, are, as a general thing, far more healthy, good-tempered, 
 and intelligent than such as are left almost exclusively to the care of ser- 
 vants. In addition to this, it must be remembered that most of the accidents 
 which happen to children, whereby they are seriously injured, and sometimes 
 crippled, maimed, and rendered idiotic, occur through the negligence of tho»e 
 m whose care they are left by unthinking or unloving parents. 
 
 Lack of Appetite in Children. — The Boston Journal of Chemistry says 
 ihat children must have an abundance of out-door exercise, fun and frolic. 
 Make them regular in their habits, and feed them only on plain, nourishing 
 food, and they will seldom, if ever, complain of a lack of appetite. But keep 
 them overtasked at school, confined close to the house the rest of the time, 
 frowning down every attempt at play, feed them upon rich or high-seasoned 
 food, candies, nuts, etc., allow them to eat between meals and late in the 
 evening, and you cannot expect them to have good appetites. On the con- 
 trary, you may expect they will be pale, weak, and sickly. Don't cram them 
 with food when they don't want it, or have no appetite for it ; such a course 
 is slow murder. If they have no appetite, encourage, and if need be, com- 
 mand them to take exercise in the open air. 
 
 Age, Studies, and Habits of Children at School. — The faculty of a 
 Massachusetts medical college, after carefully considering the influence of 
 public schools upon the health of children, authorized the publication of the 
 following opinions : — 
 
 1. No child should be allowed to attend school before the beginning of his 
 sixth year. 
 
 2. The duration of daily attendance, including the time given to recess and 
 physical exercises, should not exceed four and a half hours for primary 
 schools ; five and a half for other schools. 
 
 3. There should be no study required out of school — unless at high school ; 
 and this should not exceed one hour. 
 
 4. Recess-time should be devoted to play outside the school-room— unless 
 during stormy weather— and, as this time rightfully belongs to the pupils, 
 they should not be deprived of it except for serious offenses ; and those who 
 are not deprived of it, should not be allowed to spend it in study ; no child 
 should ever be confined to the school-room during an entire session. The 
 minimum of recess-time should be fifteen minutes each session, and in pri- 
 mary schools there should be more than one recess in each session. 
 
 5. Physical exercise should be used in school to prevent nervous and mns- 
 
24:0 Home and Health. 
 
 cular fatigue, and to rtUeve monotony, but not as muscular training It 
 should be practiced by both teacher and children in every hour not broken 
 by recess, and should be timed by music. In primary schools every half hour 
 should be broken by exercise, recess, or singing. 
 
 6. Ventilation should be amply provided for, by other means than by open 
 windows, though these should be used in addition to special means during 
 recess and exercise time. 
 
 Y. Lessons should be scrupulously apportioned to the average capacity of 
 the pupils ; and in primary schools the slate should be used more and tlie 
 book less ; and the instructions should be given as much as possible on the 
 principl" of "object teaching." 
 
 THE SICK-ROOM AND HEALTH. 
 
 Light in the Sick-Chamber. — Except in extraordinary cases, light is 
 indispensable to the best relief of the sick. It should be softened and sub- 
 dued, and not glaring. The light should be admitted in large quantities. It 
 is an element of cheerfulness, and on that account should be admitted to as 
 large an extent as the patient can bear without inconvenience. As shown in 
 a previous chapter, the sun-light has a direct and powerful influence for good 
 upon the physical system, and on this account, also, its presence should be 
 regarded as a prime necessity. Blinds or curtains may be provided to screen 
 the eyes, if the latter are too weak or sensitive to bear the direct rays ; but 
 no substitute can perform its powerful service as a sanitary agent in the sick 
 chamber. 
 
 Cheerful Walls and Cheerful Prospects. — The walls should be of a 
 cheerful tint ; if possible, some sort of out-door glimpse should be visible 
 from the bed or chair where the invalid lies, if it is but the top of a tree and 
 a bit of sky. Eyes which have been traveling for long, dull days over the 
 pattern of the paper-hangings, till each bud and leaf and quirl is familiar 
 — and hateful — brighten with pleasure as the blind is raised. The mind, 
 wearied of the grinding battle with pain and self, finds unconscious refresh- 
 ment in the new interest. 
 
 The Inspiration of Pleasant Contrasts. — Ah, there is a bird's shadow 
 litting ac 'OSS the pane ! The tree-top sways and trembles with soft rustlings 
 —a white cloud floats dreamily over the blue — and now, delight and won- 
 ier ! the bird himself conies in sight and perches visibly on the bough, dress- 
 ng his feathers, and quivering forth a few notes of song. All the world, 
 then, is not lying in bed because we are, is not tired of it^ surrotmdings — has 
 u( t the back-ache! What a refreshing thought! And thougli this glimpse 
 
The Sick-Room and Health. 211 
 
 of another life, the fresh natural life from which wc are shut out — that life 
 which has nothing to do with pills and potions, tip-toe movements, whispers, 
 ai^l doctors' boots creaking in the entry — may cause the hot tears to rush 
 suddenly into our eyes, it does us good, and we begin to say, with a certain 
 tremulous thrill of hope, " When I go out again I shall do " — so and so. * 
 
 The Healthful Influence of Pleasant Variety. — If friends knew how 
 irksome, how positively harmful, is the sameness of a sick-room, surely love 
 and skill would devise remedies. If it were only bringing in a blue, flower to- 
 day, and a pink one to-morrow; hanging a fresh picture to vary the monotony 
 of the wall, or even an old one in a new place — something, anything — it is 
 such iulinite relief. Small things and single things suffice. To see many of 
 his surroundings changed at once, confuses an invalid ; to have one litt « nov- 
 elty at a time to vary the point of observation, stimulates and cheers. Give 
 him that, and you do more and better than if you filled the apartment with 
 fresh objects. 
 
 The Inspiration of Beautiful Flowers. — Many argue that flowers should 
 be carefully kept away from sick people, lest they exhaust the air, or communi- 
 cate to it some harmful quality. This may, in a degree, be true of such 
 strong, fragrant blossoms as lilacs or garden lilies, but of the more del- 
 icately-scented ones no such effect need be apprehended. A well-aired room 
 will never be made close or unwholesome by a nosegay of roses, mignonette, 
 or violets, and the subtle cheer which they bring with them is infinitely reviv- 
 ing to weary eyes and depressed spirits. 
 
 Caution as to Reading Aloud in the Sick-Room. — " With regard to 
 
 reading aloud in the sick-room," says Florence Nightingale, "my experience 
 is, that when the sick are too ill to read to themselves, they can seldom bear 
 to be read to. Children, eye-patients, and uneducated persons are excep- 
 tions, or where there is any mechanical difficulty in reading. People who like 
 to be read to have generally not much the matter with them ; while in fevers, 
 or where there is much irritability of brain, the effort of listening to reading ■ 
 aloud has often brought on delirium. I speak with great diffidence, because 
 there is dn almost universal impression that it is sparing the sick to read 
 aloud to them." 
 
 Read Slowly to the Sick. — If the patient desires reading, or if read- 
 ing aloud is not trying to the nerves, it should be done slowly. " People often 
 think that the way to get it over with least fatigue to him is to get it over in 
 least time. They gabble, they plunge and gallop through the reading. There 
 never was a greater mistake. Houdin, the conjurer, says that the way to 
 make a story seem short is to tell it slowly. So it is with reading to the sick. 
 
 * Scribner''s Monthly. 
 
 16 
 
242 Home and Health. 
 
 I have often heard a patient say to such a mistaken reader, ' Don't read it to 
 me ; tell it me.' Unconsciously he is aware that this will regulate the plung- 
 ing, the reading with unequal paces, slurring over one part, instead of leav- 
 ing it out altogether if it is unimportant, and mumbling another," 
 
 Read in a Natural, Pleasant, Colloquial Voice. — If the reader lets 
 nis own attention wander, and then stops to read up to himself, or finds he 
 lias read the wrong bit, then it is all over with the poor patient's chance oi 
 nut suflfe.'ing. Very few people know how to read to the sick ; very few read 
 aloud as pleasantly even as they speak. In reading they sing, they hesitate, 
 they stammer, they hurry, they mumble ; when in speaking they do none of 
 these things. Reading aloud to the sick ought always to be rather slow, and 
 exceedingly distinct, but not mouthing ; rather monotonous, but not sing-song ; 
 rather loud, but not noisy. 
 
 Evil of Reading Aloud Only Fragmentary Paragraphs. — The ex- 
 traordinary habit of reading to one's self in a sick-room, and reading aloud 
 to the patient any sentences which will amuse him, is exceedingly thoughtless. 
 What does such a reader think the patient is thinking of during his gaps of 
 non-reading ? Do you think that the patient amuses himself upon what you 
 have read for precisely the time it pleases you to go on reading to yourself, 
 and that his attention is ready for something else at precisely the time it 
 pleases you to begin reading again ? Whether the person thus read to be 
 sick or well ; whether he be doing nothing, or doing something else while be- 
 ing thus read to, the self-absorption and want of observation of the person 
 who does it, is equally difficult to understand — although very often the patient 
 is too amiable to say how much it disturbs him. 
 
 Evil of a Rough Voice in the Sick-Room. — Many attendants or 
 visitors have little intelligent care as to their voice in the sick-room. A per- 
 son sometimes has a rough, stentorian voice, and forgets to control it, or mel- 
 low it when using it in the presence of the sick. The sick cannot endure, 
 either, the rough or ever *' thundering " voice, and will be likely to say, at 
 least in a whisper, when the visitor has gone away : " Never let that man 
 come to me again ; never let him enter the door again ; his voice was enough 
 to distract my poor head ; / cannot endure it. 
 
 Evil of an Indistinct Voice in the Sick-Room. — The other extreme 
 is also a real evil. The attendants speak gently enough, it may be, yet so in- 
 distinctly that the poor patient cannnt understand what is said. The latter is 
 worn out and distracted with the nervous effort to lay hold of some precious 
 instruction and spiritual comfort, perhaps from the minister, which he strives 
 in vain to understand. A little care upon the part of the speaker will enable 
 him to adjust his voice so as not to tax the nerves of the sick man. Distinct- 
 ness is verv great value imder such circumstances. 
 
The Sick-Room and Health. 243 
 
 Great Tenderness of Manner Required. — A nmn lying on a bed of 
 sickness must be treated with a great deal of tenderness and consideration 
 in regard to voice and manner, as well as in regard to the matter and measuic 
 of the instruction which you give him. And if a truly consistent Christian 
 comes in to visit him, and his voice is so gentle that it does not disturb him 
 by a loudness which he cannot bear, and, at the same time, is so distinct that, 
 without difficulty, he can catch every word that is spoken, the impression will 
 be quite different. He says, when his instructor is gone, " 0, what a nice 
 gentleman that was ! How soft and gentle his voice was ! and yet so clear 
 and distinct that without the least difficulty I could understand every word 
 that he said. Whenever he comes let me see him." * 
 
 How to Move a Patient. — Sometimes, when patients are greatly ex- 
 hausted, or after severe surgical operations, it may be dangerous to bring 
 them into a sitting position, but they may be safely and easily moved if the 
 body is kept horizontal in the following manner : Place the head of one bed- 
 stead against the foot of the other. Having procured two hard-wood poles 
 six feet long and one and a half inches in diameter, place one on each side 
 of the patient near the edge of the sheet on which he rests, and roll them 
 firmly into the sheet to within six inches of the patient's body. Two per- 
 sons should stand on each side of the bed, facing the two on the other side, 
 and grasping the poles firmly with both hands, separated about eighteen in- 
 ches apart, they should first pull firmly against each other until the sheet on 
 which the patient lies is converted into a stretcher. Then continue to pull, 
 and lifting the body horizontally and moving downward together, they easily 
 deposit the patient in the fresh bed, without danger or suffering. The sheet 
 on which he has been moved can then be readily slipped out from beneath 
 the body. It is astonishing with what ease a thing can be done when done 
 in the right way. 
 
 Heat and Ventilation in the Sick-Room. — Wheie the entire dwelling 
 is heated by a furnace, or by steam, it will probably be unnecessary to have 
 other means of warming the sick-room ; but the fire-place should be always 
 open, and kept ready for a wood or a coal fire whenever the patient shall 
 express a desire for one. The fire-places are excellent ventilating flues even 
 without a fire, but are nearly perfect when supplied with a wood fire, the 
 brisk blaze of which creates a strong ascending current, and continually car- 
 ries off the ever-accumulating exhalations of the sick-room. If there is no 
 fire-place, a window opened a short distance from the bottom, in the room in 
 which the patient is lying, and one let down from the top in the other large 
 room, witl. the doors opened between the two, will form an effectual draught 
 during any but the warm days of summer, and will not be too strong for the 
 most delicate patient who is protected from the direct draught by the high 
 head-board of the bed. In cold weather the window opened from the bottom 
 
244 Homp: and Health. 
 
 will often be found sufficient. On very cold days we may trust to an entire 
 change of air several times each day, effected by raising all the windows 
 for a few moments at a time, during which the patient must be thoroughly 
 protected by extra blankets and a shawl about the head. 
 
 Cleanliness and Neatness in the Sick-room. — The aphorism that 
 Cleanliness is next to godliness," is nowhere more imperative than in the 
 sick-room. Cleanliness absolutely enforced will stamp out any infectious 
 disease, and mitigate all diseases to a marked degree. In enforcing cleanli- 
 ness in the sick-room we must look to the patient's bed, the patient's body, 
 the nurse, and all utensils, vessels, etc. In the model sick-room there should 
 be two narrow beds of equal height on easy-rolling castors, having hair mat- 
 tresses, low headboards, and absolutely free from all abominations in the way 
 of canopies. The patient may thus have a fresh bed for the night and another 
 for the morning. In the morning the freshly -made bed, covered with one 
 sheet, can be trundled up to the bed which has been occupied during the 
 night, and the patient can easily be slid on the same level on to a deliciously 
 fresh bed. The mattress and bedding of the bed vacated can be rolled up, 
 quietly taken into an adjoining room, where, with open windows, they can be 
 shaken, thoroughly ventilated during the day, and made ready for the night. 
 
 Directions in Contagious Sickness. — The following general directions 
 are useful for nurses and others in contagious or infectious sickness : — 
 
 1. The sick person should be restricted to one room, or a part of the house 
 separated from the other inmates. 
 
 2. Secure proper ventilation of the sick-room, without producing draughts. 
 Smell is an excellent guide as to the state of air ; if the air is sweet there is 
 but little dread to be felt. 
 
 3. The virulence of any poison which causes the spread of disease is 
 greatly increased by concentration in close rooms, and decreased by dilution 
 and free circulation of air. 
 
 4. The linen, clothing, bedding, utensils, and every object touched by or 
 in contact with the sick, should be isolated, and, such as will permit, should 
 be thrown into boiling water, there to remain at least for half an hour. 
 
 6. The nurse should be restricted to the sick-room or otherwise isolated. 
 
 6. Remember that disease is communicated by both the poisoned air about 
 the sick, and by the clothes and other articles used or touched by them. 
 
 v. After the patient leaves the sick-room, it should be purified and disin- 
 fected. Boil every thing that will admit of it ; scald all utensils ; scrub tlie 
 floors ; whitewash ceiling and walls. Empty the room entirely, and leave 
 doors and windows open for at least a day or two. 
 
 Important Qualities of a Good Nurse. — A good nurse will be full of 
 kindness. She will control by gentleness combined with decision. She will 
 
The Sick-Room cmd Health. 245 
 
 bo most decisive if no one suspects that she is so at all. It is the triumph 
 of supremacy to become unconsciously supreme. Nowhere is this decision 
 more blessed than in a sick-room.* Where it exists in its genuineness the 
 sufferer is never contradicted, never coerced ; all the little victories are as- 
 sumed. The decisive nurse is never peremptory, never loud. She is distinct, 
 it is true — there is nothing more aggravating to a sick person than a whisper 
 — but she is not loud. Though quiet, she never walks on tip-toe ; she nevet 
 makes gestures ; all is open and above-board. She knows no diplomacy of 
 finesse^ and of course her shoes never creak. Her touch is steady and en- 
 couraging. She does not potter. She never looks a.t you sideways. You 
 never catch her watching. She never slams the door, of course, but she 
 never shuts it slowly, as if she were cracking a nut in the hinge. She never 
 talks behind it. She never peeps. She pokes the fire skillfully, with firm, 
 judicious penetration. She caresses one kind of patient with genuine sym- 
 pathy ; she talks to another as if she were well. She is never in a hurry. 
 She is worth her weight in gold. 
 
 « 
 
 Twenty-oneBrief Suggestions to Nurses. — Be scrupulously neat in 
 person and dress. 
 
 Be cheerful and buoyant to the last degree possible. 
 
 A few drops of hartshorn in the water used for daily bathing will remove 
 the disagreeable odors of warmth and perspiration. 
 
 Never speak of the symptoms of your patient in his presence, unless ques- 
 tioned by the doctor, whose orders you are always to obey implicitly. 
 
 Remember never to be a gossip or tattler, and " always to hold sacred the 
 knowledge which, to a certain extent, you must obtain of the private affairs 
 of your patient, and the household in which you nurse." 
 
 Try to give as little trouble to the servants as possible, and make them feel 
 that you have come to help them in the extra work that sickness always brings. 
 
 Never contradict your patient, nor argue with him. 
 
 Never let your patient see that you are annoyed about any thing. 
 
 Never whisper in the sick-room. If your patient be well enough, and 
 wishes you to talk to him, speak in a low, distinct voice, on cheerful subjects. 
 
 Don't relate painful hospital experiences, nor give details of the maladies 
 I if former patients. 
 
 Never startle the patient with accounts of dreadful crimes or accidents 
 t liat you have read in the newspapers. 
 
 Wvite down the orders that the physician gives you as to time for giving 
 the medicines, food, etc. 
 
 Give an account of your patient to the physician in as few words as 
 [)0S8ible. 
 
 • Good Health. 
 
246 Home aijd Health. 
 
 Keep the room bright (unless the doctor orders it darkened). 
 
 Let the air be as pure as possible, giving it fre'^h supplies from outside. 
 
 Keep every thing in order, but without being fussy and bustling. 
 
 To remove dust, wipe every thing with a damp cloth. 
 
 Remember to carry out all vessels covered. Empty and wash them imme- 
 diately, and keep some disinfectant in them. 
 
 Remember, that to leave the patient's untasted food by his side from Tieal 
 to meal, in hopes that he will eat it in the interval, is simply to prevent him 
 from taking any food at all. 
 
 Medicines, beef -tea, or stimulants, should never be kept where the patient 
 can see them, or smell them. 
 
 Remember "that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves," but 
 that God is ever wilUng to grant us strength to perform our duties, if we pray 
 to him in the name of our Blessed Saviour. 
 
 ALCOHOL AND HEALTH. 
 
 Alcohol Cannot be Classed as Food. — Omitting in this connection all 
 reference to the social and moral relations of this question, we invite at- 
 tention to its hygienic aspects. The highest medical and chemical authorities 
 now indorse the conclusion that alcohol is not a food, but a poison, like 
 opium, and a substance abhorrent to the human economy ; that it does not 
 in the slightest degree nourish the body, or even prevent the waste of tissue, 
 but that it arrests digestion, destroys the appetite, lessens muscular force 
 and vital heat, excites the lower passions, predisposes the drinker to disease, 
 and retards his recovery. 
 
 Liebig's Testimony. — Professor Liebig has shown that alcohol conta.ns 
 no element which can be converted into nutriment ; and the experiments of 
 MM. Lallemand, Perrin, Duroy, Dr. Edward Smith, and other physiologists, 
 demonstrate that alcohol is ejected from the system in the state in which it 
 is introduced, no trace of any derivative of alcohol being found in the blood ; 
 therefore, no quantity of alcohol can be of benefit to healthy persons ; on 
 the contrary, it must, in every case, exercise a poisonous influence. 
 
 Dr. Richardson's and Prof. Silliman's Testimony. — Prof. Silliman, 
 M.D., of Yale Medical Institute, quotes Dr. Richardson's conclusion on this 
 question, after thorough investigation, as follows : " Speaking honestly, I 
 cannot, by any argument yet presented to me, admit the alcohols through 
 any gate that might distinguish them as separate from other chemical bodies. 
 I can no more accept them as foods than I can chloroform, or ether, or 
 aiethylal. That they produce temporary excitement is true, but as their gen 
 
Alcohol a/nd Health, 247 
 
 eral action is quickly to reduce animal heat, I cannot see how they can supply 
 animal force. I see clearly how they reduce animal power, and can show a 
 reason for using them in order to stop physical or to stupefy mental pain ; 
 but that they give strength, that is, that they supply material for the con- 
 struction of fine tissue, or throw force into tissue supplied by other mateiiaj, 
 must be an error as solemn as it is wide-spread." 
 
 Alcohol not the Source of Physical Force. — The authority quoted 
 al)ove, adds : " The true place of the alcohols is clear ; they are agreeable 
 temporary shrouds. The savage, with the mansions of his soul unfurnished, 
 buries his restless energy under their shadow. The civilized man, overbur- 
 dened with mental labor, or with engrossing care, seeks the same shade, but 
 it is shade after all, in which, in exact proportion as he seeks it, the seeker 
 retires from perfect natural life. To search for force in alcohol is to my 
 mind equivalent to the act of searching for the sun in subterranean gloom 
 until all is night." 
 
 Similar Testimony from Others. — Hundreds of testimonies similar in 
 their teachings have been given. " It seems doubtful," says Dr. T. K. Cham- 
 bers, " if on the healthy nervous system alcohol is ever a stimulant, even in 
 the most moderate dose, and for the shortest periods of time." In another 
 part of his work, on "Renewal of Life," Dr. Chambers says, "It is clear 
 that we must cease to regard alcohol as in any sense an aliment, inasmuch as 
 it goes out as it went in, and does not, as far as we know, leave any of its 
 substance behind." Dr. Edward Smith, F.R.S., asserts that " alcohol is not 
 true food ; and it neither warms nor sustains the body." * 
 
 Does Alcohol Help Digestion ? — Alcohol is said to increase the flow of 
 the gastric secretions when used in moderate quantities, and so to promote 
 the digestion of food. The limit, however, to its acting thus is a very re- 
 stricted one. If used in any quantity it never fails to irritate the lining 
 membi-ane of the stomach, and so produce the very opposite effect to that 
 stilted ; a small quantity, however, soon loses the effect sought ; as the 
 amount is increased the deterioration which over-stimulation is certain to in- 
 duce is brought on, and the terrible indigestion of the tippler is established. 
 
 Alcohol Useless in Nearly All Cases. — Put against the above the re- 
 s^'.ts of accredited and intelligent experience and observation, that in tin 
 long run of surgical ailments no aid is required from stimulants, but, on th( 
 contrary, these complaints " are much better managed without alcohoV 
 
 A Distinguished Surgeon Uses Alcohol in Only One Case out ol 
 Fifty! — "At this moment," says Dr. Macleod, "at the moment I addresa 
 
 ♦ Aloohol an AN.E8THETIC. — III a paper upon " The Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Liquors," 
 Dr. W. L. Schenck supports with considerable ability the idea that alcohol is neither a food 
 nor a fitiumlant, but a true anuesthetic. 
 
248 Home and Health. 
 
 you I have under my care more than fifty surgical cases, and only one — and 
 she is a very weakly woman, with blood poisoning — is taking alcohol. Among 
 the cases I allude to are many who have undergone serious operations, and 
 many old and feeble people. I mention this to show that, while I resolutely 
 defend the use of alcohol in certain cases, I am but little given to its ad 
 ministration in the usual practice of my profession. 
 
 Patients Require Food Rather than Stimulants. — If food of a nour- 
 ishing and concentrated kind can be taken and assimilated, that is what will 
 recuperate our patients and prolong their lives. Alas, it is the want of this 
 power of assimilation which baffles us so frequently in dealing with disease, 
 and that is not unf requently the offspring of previous intemperance. 
 
 Careless Use of Alcohol Dangerous. — We cannot be too strenuous in 
 warning persons against the careless way in which too much stimulant is 
 prescribed in the sick-room. Occasionally one hears friends told to "be 
 good to the patient," or to take care and "keep up his system," or to "stim- 
 ulate him freely." No such lax and injudicious mstructions should ever be 
 given, but the exact quantity scrupulously laid down, and care taken that it 
 is adhered to. Weak, nervous, worn-out persons will put a very liberal in- 
 terpretation on any mere general instruction, and thus you come to discover 
 that food is neglected for alcohol — truly, " One halfpennyworth of bread to 
 this intolerable deal of sack." Never allow the bottle containing the stimu- 
 lant to be kept in the sick room, but let the precise amount to be consumed 
 in the twenty-four hours be put into a separate phial, so that its progressive 
 use may be judged of accurately. 
 
 Alcohol a Brain Poison. — Science has shown that alcohol has a special 
 affinity for the brain. On its introduction into the system it rushes to that 
 vital organ, and makes there its first and most powerful assault upon life. 
 If the quantity is sufficient it causes instant death. 
 
 In common doses it produces disturbances ranging from trifling congestion 
 to delirium tremens. It literally hardens the brain. A professor of surgery 
 assured his class that he could tell the brain of a drunkard in the dark by 
 passing the dissecting knife through it. 
 
 An agent classed by all toxicologists with deadly poison, that has an affinity 
 for the brain so strong that it crowds not only the channels of the circula- 
 tion, but the substance of the brain itself, cannot fail to produce serious 
 disturbances in the delicate organ of thought. And facts agree. Brain 
 diseases, such as congestion, paralysis, apoplexy, epilepsy, and insanity, are 
 caused or aggravated by intoxicating drinks to a fearful extent. 
 
 Alcoholic Rheumatism. — A writer in the British Medical Journal thus 
 aP'ides to a disease, new in name if not new in experience, in this country.* 
 
 1. Alcoholic rheumatism is the result of a distinct cause. 
 
 J 
 
Alcohol cmd Health. 249 
 
 2. It ie pioduoed by drinking alcoholic beverages. 
 
 3. It is slow in eifeeting a marked change in the system. 
 
 4. It does not usually appear before middle life. 
 
 5. Its effects are produced by the accumulation of the alcoholic fluids 
 taken into the system. 
 
 6. It causes stupidity, stiffness in the body, hobbling gait, and ul.imate 
 lameness. 
 
 1. It causes changes of structure and produces chronic alcoholism. 
 8. The remedy is abstinence from the use of all fermented alcoholic drinks 
 and taking vigorous exercise in the open air. 
 
 How Alcoholic Drinks Cause Apoplexy. — It is the essential nature 
 of all wines and spirits to send an increased amount of blood to the brain. 
 Tlie first effect of taking a glass of wine or stronger form of alcohol is to 
 send the blood there faster than common, hence the circulation that gives 
 the red face. It increases the activity of the brain, and it works faster, and 
 so does the tongue. But suppose a man keeps on drinking, the blood is sent 
 to the brain so fast, in such large quantities, that in order to make room foi 
 it the artei'ies have to enlarge themselves ; they increase in size, and in doing 
 so they press against the more yielding and flaccid veins which carry the 
 blood out of the brain, and thus diminish their size, their pores, the result 
 being that the blood is not only carried to the arteries of the brain faster 
 than is natural or healthful, but it is prevented from leaving it as fast as 
 usual"; hence a double set of causes of death are in operation. A man may 
 drink enough brandy or other spirits in a few hours, or in a few minutes, to 
 bring on a fatal attack of apoplexy. 
 
 No Risk in Disusing Alcohol Suddenly and Fully. — It is a very grati- 
 fying fact that there is no risk in withdrawing alcohol at once and fully from 
 inebriates. Indeed, this is generally the only method very hopeful in the di- 
 rection of recovery. "Half-measures always fail. Let it be absolutely for 
 bidden in any form and quantity, and though I am not very sanguine as to 
 success in the case of confirmed drunkards, yet for those less hopelessly 
 ibandoned there is, by following rigid abstinence, a chance of reform. Nour- 
 ishing, fatty food, sugar, plenty of fresh air, and mental enjoyment, will he'p 
 b > wean the victim from his poison." 
 
 Physicians Should Especially Promote Abstinence from Alco- 
 hol. — " Tlie medical profession may do much to promote temperance, and it 
 is its boundcn duty to exercise its wide-spread influence to such a good end. 
 One v/f the most painful sights ever seen, was the graves of three young med- 
 ical practitioners, all victims to intemperance, which lay side by side, on the 
 sunny slope of a Highland hill, beneath the shadow of an ancient cross, 
 which had been erected by the self-denying Anchorites of the early faith. 
 
250 Home and Health. 
 
 One after another, they had gone to practice their divine art, and, in succes- 
 sion, fell victims to their self-indulgence, a melancholy picture of neglected 
 talents and wasted lives." 
 
 Testimony of a Great Surgeon. — "Gentlemen," said the same lec- 
 turer, " let us determine that we will avoid all such vices, and fulfill the old 
 promise which Hippocrates, the father of surgical science, imposed on his 
 disciples, (and which is almost exactly reproduced in the declaration you will 
 m sign on graduation here.) ' I will follow that system of regimen which, ac- 
 cording to my abil'ty and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, 
 and abstain from whatever is deleterious or mischievotis. I will give no deadly 
 medicine to any one, if asked, or suggest any such counsel, and, with purity 
 and holiness, I will pass my life and practice my art.' These are, indeed, 
 noble words — which were the sentiments of a Pagan, but they would do honor 
 to the most exalted Christian." 
 
 Inconsiderate Prescription of Alcoholic Liquors by Physicians 
 — Testimony of 300 Leading Physicians. — The following opportune 
 document, signed by three hundred of the leading physicians of London, 
 appeared in the papers of that city just before Christmas : — 
 
 As it is believed that the inconsiderate prescription of large quantities of alcoholic liquid 
 by medical uien for their i)atients has given rise, in many instances, to the formation of in- 
 temperate habits, the undersigned, while unable to abandon the use of alcohol in the treat- 
 ment of certain cases of disease, are yet of opinion that no medical practitioner should 
 prescribe it without a sense of grave responsibility. 
 
 They believe that alcohol, in whatever form, should be prescribed with as much care as 
 any powerful drug, and that the directions for its use should be so. framed as not to be in- 
 terpreted as a sanction for excess, or necessarily for the continuance of its use when the oc- 
 casion is past. They are also of opinion that many people imraen.sely exaggerate the value 
 of alcohol as an article of diet and since no class of men see so much of its ill effects, and 
 possess such power to restrain its abuse, as members of their own i)rofession, they hold that 
 every medical practitioner is bound to exert his utmost influence to inculcate habits of great 
 moderation in the use of alcoholic liquids. 
 
 Being also firmly convinced that the great amount of drinking of alcoholic liquors among 
 the working classes of this country is one of the greatest evils of the day, destroying- 
 more than anything else — the health, happiness, and welfare of those classes, and neutraliz- 
 ing, to a large extent, the great industrial prosperity which Providence has placed within the 
 reach of this nation, the undersigned would gladly support any wise legislation which 
 would tend to restrict, within proper limits, the use of alcoholic beverages, and gradually 
 introduce habits of temi)erance. George Burrows, M.D., F.E.S., President of the Royal 
 Cciege of Physicians, Physician Extraordinary to the Queen ; George Rusk, F.R.S., Presi- 
 dent of the Royal College of Surgeons, and others. 
 
 General Physiological Effects of Alcohol. — A valuable paper was 
 furnished recently at a meeting of one of our State Medical Associations, in 
 which, after discussing thoroughly the whole question of the physiological ef- 
 fects of alcoholic beverages, the author gave the following, among other con- 
 clusions, which he had reached in his researches : — 
 
Alcohol and Health. 251 
 
 1. Alcohol, when present in the blood, causes fatty degeneration of the 
 organs. 
 
 2. It dilates the blood vessels, and increases the force and frequency of 
 the heart, by its action on the nervous centers. It does not give additional 
 strength, but merely enables a man to draw on his reserve energy. It may 
 thus give assistance in a single effort, but not in prolonged exertion 
 
 3. It has the same effect upon the action of the heart. 
 
 4. By dilating the vessels of the skin, alcohol warms the surface at the ex- 
 pense of the internal organs. 
 
 5. The symptoms of intoxication are due to paralysis of the nervous sys- 
 tem. It is through paralysis of the medulla that alcohol usually causes 
 death. 
 
 6. The apparent immunity possessed by drunken men from the usual ef- 
 fects of serious accident, is due to paralysis of the nervous mechanism through 
 which shock could be produced in a sober condition. 
 
 Alcoholic Drinks Greatly Shorten Life. — A celebrated French phy- 
 sician. Dr. Everat, has furnished statistics showing that the mortality from 
 this cause is annually 50,000 in England, 40,000 in Germany, 15,000 in Rus- 
 sia, 4,000 in Belgium, 8,000 in Spain, and 15,000 in France. Notwithstand- 
 ing the universality of this vice among nearly all classes of society, few 
 persons are aware of how materially human life is abbreviated by the use 
 of alcohol. 
 
 Interesting Illustrative Statistics. — Mr. F. G. P. Nelson, an actuary, of 
 London, from a series of careful observations, has deduced some valuable 
 statistics regarding this subject, which prove that the average duration of life, 
 after beginning the use of hquor as a beverage, is as follows: Among beer- 
 drinkers, 21-7 years; among spirit-drinkers, 16-7 years; among those who 
 drink spirits indiscriminately, 16-1 years. The death-rate among different 
 drinkers Mr. Nelson found to be : Among beer-drinkers, 4*597 per cent, year- 
 ly; among spirit-drinkers, 5-996 per cent, yearly; among mixed-drmkers, 
 6"194 per cent, yearly. 
 
 Table Showing the Comparative Expectation of Life for Drink- 
 kers. — The subjoined table, prepared by Nelson, contrasts the " Expectation 
 of Life " for teinperate and intemperate persons : — 
 
 Ages. 
 
 Temperate. 
 
 Intemperate. 
 
 Loss of Lifa 
 
 20 
 
 44*2 years. 
 
 15*5 years 
 
 28-7 years. 
 
 30 
 
 36-5 " 
 
 13-8 " 
 
 22-7 " 
 
 40 
 
 28-8 " 
 
 11-6 " 
 
 17-2 " 
 
 50 
 
 21-2 " 
 
 10-9 •• 
 
 10-8 " 
 
 60 
 
 14-3 " 
 
 8-9 " 
 
 5-4 " 
 
252 Home and Health. 
 
 The expectation of liquor-drinkers, from the time of becoming such, 
 varies with the vocation : 
 
 Among mechanics, working and laboiing men 18 years. 
 
 Among traders, dealers, and merchants 1*7 " 
 
 Among professional men and gentlemen 15 " 
 
 Among females 14 " 
 
 It will be noticed that professional men addicted to strong drink, are shorter 
 lired than drinkers of other pursuits. 
 
 Why Some Liquor-Drinkers Have Long Lives. — While the above 
 tables, carefully compiled, show the average of the lives of hquor-drink 
 ers to be much less than that of the abstemious, there are occasional instances 
 in which even the intemperate live to old age. Certain physical constitutions 
 become transformed in the functional condition of the system, so that they 
 live on in an abnormal way, enduring, and even enjoying, a poisonous physical 
 condition. Some persons seem to enjoy better health in a malarious atmos- 
 phere than out of it. Their bodies have undergone the transformation of 
 " acclimation." In exceptional cases, such persons may survive, even to old 
 age. The average, however, is in the other direction. No man has a right 
 to place himself in the small prospective list of exceptions. 
 
 Alcoholic Intemperance Hereditary. — It is now well-known that in- 
 temperance becomes hereditary, and begets various forms of insanity. Dr. 
 George H. B. Macleod, F.R.S.E., Regius Professor of Surgery in the Univers- 
 ity of Glasgow, and Surgeon in Ordinary to the Queen, in an address on the 
 subject of alcohol in the treatment of the sick, says, concerning the question 
 of inheriting a taste for alcohol : " We perceive, in dealing with the children 
 of intemperate i-ersons, their ailments, mental and corporeal, not unfrequently 
 take a complexion of their own from the habits of the parents. The low vi- 
 tality, the stunted growth, the late maturity, the epileptic seizures, the hydro- 
 cephalus, and numerous other morbid conditions met with, occasionally own 
 the intemperance of the progenitor as their cause." 
 
 Darwin Confirms this View. — Darwin writes more strongly on this 
 point. He says : " It is remarkable, that all the diseases that spring from 
 drinking spirituous and fermented liquors are liable to become hereditary 
 eren to the third generation, gradually increasing, if the cause be continued^ 
 till the cause becomes extinct," 
 
 Hereditary Drunkenness Illustrated. — Not more pitiful are the ap- 
 proaches of madness than are the well-understood symptoms which signify to 
 the hereditary drunkard the hour of his inherited passion. " I knew in 
 Texas," says a correspondent, " a young man who was heir to such a woeful 
 heritage. He was physically one of the handsomest of men, and possessed oi 
 
Alcohol and Health. 253 
 
 great and varied talents, which he had carefully cultivated. Moreover, he 
 had served his country with distinguished bravery, and was then holding a 
 high position of trust and honor. 
 
 '* But. with a regularity that was terrible, there came to him — no matter 
 where he was, over his ledger, in the church, by the side of the woman he 
 loved- -a craving for brandy that possessed him like a demon, and drove him 
 forth from among his fellows. 
 
 " With set lips and despairing face he would deliver to a friend the keys of 
 his office, and betake himself to his room — not as men go to a carousal, but 
 as they go to meet a fearful reckoning — and for two or three days drink in 
 sullen silence, till the craving was appeased. Some one was one day praising, 
 in his presence, his vast stores of acquired information, and his delicate fancy 
 as an artist. 
 
 *' ' Yet I shall die like a brute,' he said, sadly ; and the despairing look of a 
 hunted animal came into his eye, as he added : ' My father died drunk ; i-/iy 
 motlier, too, (God forgive her !) ; my grandfather shot himself in delirium 
 tremens. You know, boys, how poor Patrick died ; it will be the same with 
 me.' His prophecy was too soon fulfilled." 
 
 Great Peril in Using Alcohol as Medicine. — There is always a very 
 great risk in prescribing spirituous liquors as a medicine, to be used even in 
 small quantities. The history of many a young man shows that, insidiously, 
 the habit grows and the appetite becomes intensified. Multitudes die annually 
 because of the tyrannical power of habits formed while using alcoholic stim- 
 ulants as a medicine. Physicians, surgeons, and nurses cannot be too cau- 
 tious in prescribing alcohol. 
 
 Sad Results of Prescribing Alcohol. — A pastor furnishes the following 
 narrative : " Some time since, a person who had been for a long period in 
 feeble health, but was of excellent moral character and amiable disposition, 
 recovered from his enfeebled state, and was able to resume his calling in life. 
 It was found, however, to the dismay of his young and lovely wife, and to the 
 bitter grief of his friends, that he was rapidly falling into habits of intemper- 
 ance, and at length of open and shameless drunkenness. No entreaties of 
 those nearest and dearest to him seemed to be of any avail to stop his dread- 
 ful course. 
 
 *' As the pastor and friend of his family, we were apprised of the melancholy 
 state of things, and besought to use all the influence possible to reclaim and 
 save the sadly-erring and falling man. His business was soon neglected, and at 
 length given up ; self-respect was lost ; want, that had never been known in 
 his home, began to be felt. For a long time now, never had he read the chap- 
 ter, or bowed the knee in prayer at the family altar, as had been his custom 
 in the early days of his happy married life ; and never now did he come to 
 
254 Home aistd Health. 
 
 the house of God. There was an entire change in the circumstances and 
 habits, disposition and character, of the man."" 
 
 Fruitless Efforts for Recovery. — " As requested, and drawn by a fond 
 desire to do him good, and bring gladness and hope again to that now sad 
 family, we repeatedly saw and conversed and prayed with the changed and 
 unhappy man. When free from the influence of strong drink, he would freely 
 talk with us, at times confess his folly and sin, weep most bitter tears, and 
 make promises almost with the intense earnestness of a desperate man, that 
 he Avould never touch the accursed drink again. And as we would bow to- 
 gether in prayer for the grace that alone could sustain in keeping from the 
 terrible evil and in doing the right, he would add his most emphatic Amen to 
 the petition. Yet, ere long, he would fall again as low or lower than before, 
 and thus continued reforming and refalling, and becoming more and more the 
 utter wreck and ruin of himself, until at length he died a terrible death." 
 
 The Victim's Sorrowful Experience. — " Now, what was the history of 
 this terrible change in that man ? This was a question that we often pon- 
 dered, and after vainly seeking for some time an account of it from himself, 
 he one day spoke in substance as follows : ' Up to the time of my long dechn- 
 ing health no man ever had a greater abhorrence of the drunkard's cup 
 and the drunkard's curse than I ; never was ardent spirits in any form put into 
 my mouth, and in no sense had I the slightest desire for it. But,' said he, 
 'after I had been ailing some time, my physician directed me to procure a 
 particular kind of ardent spirits, and take a portion of it every day. I hesi- 
 tated, however, about it, not from any particular fear, but because I could not 
 bear the taste of it. But he insisted it would do my system good ; so we ob- 
 tained it, and I began to drink it. The effect seemed beneficial, and my 
 physician told me to continue to take it. The repugnance I had to it gradually 
 wore off, and finding it exhilarated me and made me feel better, I more and 
 more willingly took it, and after a time would look forward with pleasure, 
 and even longing, for the appointed season or hour for taking it, and thus it 
 went on ; but,' said he, with an awful pause, and a look of indescribable 
 agony and despair, * why shall I tell you any more ? You see the beginning, 
 and here I am a slave to a habit, and a doomed man. I have tried to stop — 
 0, God only knows how hard I have tried ! — but I cannot. The desire for 
 it comes upon me at times with an overpowering force, and I mtcst have it — 
 I mtist, I MUST ! ' and he rushed from the room. 
 
 " It was not long after this he died, and sad were the thoughts and feelings 
 of the funeral day." 
 
 Dr. Rush's Noble Testimony. — Strong and noble, and even stately, was 
 the course of the excellent Dr. Benjamin Rush in this matter. Long before 
 the temperance reform, a missionary from the. West Indies sought medical ad- 
 
Alcohol and Health. 255 
 
 vice of Dr. Rush, and when an unpalatable medicine was presented, the pa- 
 tient asked if he could not take a little "good old Jamaica" with it. 
 
 " No, sir," the doctor decidedly replied. 
 
 "Why, sir, what harm will it do?" demanded the West Indian. 
 
 "What harm will it do?" continued Dr. Rush. "I am determined that no 
 man shall rise on the day of judgment and say, 'Dr. Rush made me a drunk- 
 ard.' " 
 
 Drinking Paroxysms: Periodic Attacks. — In some cases the drinking 
 paroxysms come on suddenly and after considerable periods of abstinence. 
 Sometimes there is no premonition, but more frequently there is an alteration 
 in appearance and temper that forewarns those who have any thing to do with 
 the patient. In the case of a married man, the wife can almost always tell 
 when an attack is coming on. The length of these attacks varies very much, 
 more especially according to the duration of the disease in the patient. In 
 the early history of the disease, the drinking bouts often last from one to 
 three weeks, and during that time the patient is constantly drinking. As he 
 cannot get the quantities of liquor that he requiies outside anywhere, he takes 
 to drinking in his own rooms or house. Nothing will stop him. If hi-s friends 
 or servants try to get him to leave off, he storms and rages and terrifies them 
 into submission to his ways and wants. 
 
 The Excuse for these Periodic Paroxysms. — His excuse for drinking 
 is always that he is excessively weak and nervous and requires support, and 
 that it is absolutely necessary for his life that he should have stimulants. 
 His appetite soon disappears, and he only makes vain efforts to partake 
 of any food that is brought to him. Great sleeplessness and restlessness 
 comes on, and, in fact, the patient is often on the verge of delirium 
 tremens when the disease abates, either gradually or suddenly, and he gets 
 fairly well. 
 
 Sudden End of the Drinking Paroxysms.— When it ends suddenly, it 
 is generally from an attack of acute or subacute gastritis, for which he re- 
 quires and seeks medical aid. The craving for drink having also disap- 
 peared, he willingly submits to medical direction, and under judicious treat- 
 ment recovers. When the attacks go off gradually, there are less severe 
 gastric symptoms, and the craving having become less, there is a diminution 
 in the gastric and nervous troubles. 
 
 Increase of the Paroxysms. — After patients have lived for several years 
 with these periodical attacks, the duration of attack diminishes in length, and 
 they increase in frequency ; the cause of this being chiefly due to the effects 
 on the gastric system. The stomach much sooner resents the large quantities 
 of alcohol put into it, and consccpiently the drinking fits are cut short by at- 
 tacks of gastritis, and often also enteritis. Rut from the attack being shorter,. 
 
256 Home ajstd Health. 
 
 the interval of diminution in drinking also becomes shorter, so that the pa 
 tient gradually goes from bad to worse. 
 
 How Alcohol Injures the Physical System. — Dr. N. S. Davis having 
 instituted a series of sphygxnographic observations of the effects of alcohol on 
 the circulation, thus sums up the results in the Chicago Medical Examiner — 
 
 1. Its presence in the blood directly interferes with the normal plaj of 
 vital afFmities and cell action in such a manner as to diminish the rapidity of 
 nutrition and disintegration, and consequently to diminish the dependent func- 
 tions of elimination, calorification, and innervation ; thereby making a posi- 
 tive organic sedative, instead of a diffusable stimulant, as is popularly sup- 
 posed, both in and out of the profession. 
 
 2. That the alcohol itself acts in the system exclusively as a foreign sub- 
 stance incapable of assimilation or decomposition by the vital functions, and 
 is ultimatelj ex jreted or eliminated without chemical change. 
 
 The important bearing of these conclusions on the therapeutic and hygienic 
 uses of alcoholic drinks must be obvious to all, and especially demands the 
 careful attention of every member of the medical profession. 
 
 Patent " Bitters " are Strong Liquors Drugged. — Nearly all the patent 
 " bitters " are strong liquors drugged and doctored, and labeled medicine, for 
 the sake of those whose appetites are stronger than their temperance prin- 
 ciples, and who want their daily dram without being known as even " moder- 
 ate drinkers." The wine-bottle of the side-board is better than the bitter- 
 bottle in the closet ; or, in other words, it is better to drink openly at meals 
 than to drink irregularly and in secret between meals. It is better to drink 
 honest wine than hypocritical bitters.* 
 
 Patent " Bitters " the Worst Form of Alcohol. — " If one must drink 
 alcoholic liquors," said a distinguished physician to us lately, " let him drink 
 them pure, not drugged with nameless poisons, and passed off on the com- 
 munity on false pretenses." Of all temperate drinking the drinking of bit- 
 ters is the most dangerous. And he who gets his prescription for indigestion 
 from the advertising columns of the newspapers, no matter how conclusive the 
 indorsements, nor how respectable the journal, may be morally sure that he 
 is getting gin, whiskey, or rum, under pretense of medicine. 
 
 " Cure of Drunkenness." — The first business of the intelligent attendant 
 should be to shut off the supply of liquor, and the second to get the terrible 
 poison out of the patient's system. The former work may be done at once ; 
 the latter will require considerable time, the length being proportioned to the 
 extent of the inroads made upon the physical system, and to the thorough- 
 ness of the remedial treatment. 
 
 * Christian Weekly. 
 
Alcohol and Health. 257 
 
 The " Tapering-off System " Exploded.— The most rigid experimenta 
 show that it is better to stop the liquor supply at once, instead of gradually 
 dii«inishing the amount used until all is banished. An eminent physician, 
 after carefully testing both the " gradual stoppage " and the " sudden stop- 
 page " systems, gives the following opinion : " I am firmly convinced tliat the 
 latter has every advantage over the former, and especially in those cases in 
 which, at first appearance, it seemed that in cutting off at once the ent'ie 
 supply thero would be the greatest i)cril." 
 
 Treatment of Inebriates in Delirium Tremens. — In tl« "Archives 
 Generales de Medicines," November, 1871, Dr. Decaisne wrote : "The use of 
 opium in the treatment of delirium tremens is not unattended with danger 
 on account of the large doses which it becomes necessary to arrive at pro- 
 gressively in the majority of cases. I resolved to submit a certain number 
 of patients to an entirely expectant plan of treatment, to determine whether 
 simple regime and a withholding of the cause of the disease would give a re- 
 sult similar to those caused by the principal medicinal agents recommended 
 for this disease. Eight patients were submitted to the following regime: 
 entire abstinence from wine and spirits : Some beer and an infusion of or- 
 ange leaves were given as drinks. The diet was low ; a warm bath was 
 given every day, and every morning each patient took a purgative draught 
 containing sulphate of magnesia. This mode of treatment is capable of 
 being often used with advantage. 
 
 Delirium tremens must be carefully treated, in a way to restore physical 
 strength speedily. If there is vomiting, give lime-water and milk, one tea- 
 spoonful of the former to two or three of the latter, with a small piece of 
 ice given every fifteen minutes for two hours. If this fails, then a large 
 mustard plaster, should be given, applied over the abdomen, and the remedy 
 first named repeated. As soon as the stomach will bear it, beef-tea should 
 be given at short intervals, beginning with a tablespoonful and increasing 
 gradually to a teacupful as needed ; it can be seasoned with black pepper, 
 salt, and a small pinch of ground cloves. Chicken-tea will sometimes be 
 borne more readily than beef-tea. From fluids we can soon pass on to some- 
 thing more solid, such as eggs, toast, mutton-chops, etc. 
 
 What to Avoid. — Two things are to be especially avoided in treatment. 
 1. The use of tobacco* in any form; and 2. Water, except in limited quan- 
 iities; although the thirst for it may be very great, there is danger in grati- 
 fying it. Medical tinctures should not be used; hop-tea, wormwood-tea, 
 capsicum, and highly-seasoned soups can be dispensed with as tending to 
 keep up a desire for drink. Tobacco must be entirely avoided. 
 
 ♦Statistics show that nineti/-foiir per cent, of inehriates use tobacco. 
 17 
 
258 Home and Health. 
 
 Sleep and food are the main restoratives in the treatment, and the rem- 
 edies should be directed to produce sleep, and enable the victim to take 
 proper nouiishment and food. A convalescent inebriate possesses usually a 
 Rreat appetite and rapidly gains flesh, and is hungry for his meals for weeks, 
 after baring starved his system on alcohol. 
 
 TOBACCO AND HEALTH, 
 
 Effects of Tobacco on the System. — Some years ago, the French Gov- 
 ernment directed the Academy of Medicine to inquire into the influence of 
 tobacco on the human system. The report of the commission appointed by 
 the Academy states that a large number of the diseases of the nervous sys- 
 tem and of the heart, noticed in the cases of those affected with paralysis 
 or insanity, were to be regarded as the sequence of excessive indulgence in 
 the use of this article. The report also stated that tobacco seems primarily 
 to act upon the organic nervous system, depressing the faculties, and influ- 
 encing the nutrition of the body, the circulation of the blood, and the num- 
 ber of red corpuscles in the blood. Attention was also called to the bad di- 
 gestion, benumbed intelligence, and clouded memory of those who use tobacco 
 to excess. 
 
 Another Testimony. — A late article in the Journal of Science Review 
 gives us the mischievous results of the use of tobacco, as shown by many 
 experiments, and sums up as follows : — 
 
 " Tobacco adds no potential strength to the human frame. Its work is 
 destruction, and not construction. It cannot add one molecule to the plasm 
 out of which our bodies are built up. On the contrary, it exerts upon it a 
 most deleterious influence. It does not supply, but it diminishes, vital force. 
 Tobacco belongs to the class of narcotic and exciting substances. It has no 
 food value. Stimulation means abstracted, not added, force. It evolves the 
 narcotic paralysis of a portion of the functions, the activity of which is es- 
 sential to healthy life. 
 
 "It will be said that tobacco soothes and cheers the >veary toiler and sol- 
 aces the overworked brain. All such expedients are fallacious. When a 
 certain amount of brain-work or hand-work has been performed, nature wants 
 time to rest and recuperate, and all such devices for escaping from this neces- 
 sity will fail. It is a bad poUcy to set the house on fire to warm our hands 
 by the blaze. Let it then be clearly understood that the temporary excite- 
 ment produced by tobacco is gained by the destruction of vital force, and 
 that it contains absolutely nothing that can be of use to the tissues of the 
 bodv." 
 
Tobacco and Health. 259 
 
 other Testimonies.— Dr. Gibbons says: "Tobacco impairs digestion, 
 poisons the blood, depresses the vital powers, causes the limbs to tremble, 
 and weakens and otherwise disorders the heart." 
 
 Dr. Willard Parker says that the manufacturers and users of tobacco " can- 
 not recover soon, and in a healthy manner, from cases of injury or fever. 
 They are more apt to die in epidemics, and more prone to apoplexy and 
 paralysis." 
 
 Dr. Hassock makes the use of tobacco one cause of " the alarming fre- 
 .luency of apoplexy, palsy, epilepsy, and other diseases of the nervous 
 system." 
 
 Another result of the habit is the creation of a thirst, of which Dr. Rush 
 says : " It cannot be allayed by water, for no sedative, or even insipid liquor, 
 will be relished after the mouth and throat have been exposed to the stimu- 
 lants of the smoke or the use of tobacco." 
 
 Dr. Stephenson says that the salivary glands are so exhausted that " brandy, 
 wbisky, or some other spirit is called for." 
 
 We have before us excerpts, similar to the above, taken from the profcb- 
 sional opinions of hundreds of able medical authorities. 
 
 Tobacco Specially Harmful to the Young.— A writer in the Buffalo 
 Medical Journal puts on record the following warning : " The use of tobacco 
 is bad enough when begun in mature life, but it is infinitely worse when the 
 foundations of the habit are laid in early years, as it seems to be the case 
 here." 
 
 A distinguished French physician, (M. Dccaisne,) has investigated the effect 
 of smoking on thirty-eight boys, between the ages of nine and fifteen, who 
 were addicted to the habit. Twenty-seven presented distinct symptoms 
 of nicotine poison. In twenty-two there were serious disorders of the circu- 
 lation, indigestion, dullness of intellect, and a marked appetite for strong 
 drinks. In three there was heart affection ; in eight decided deterioration of 
 blood ; in twelve there was frequent epistaxis ; ten had disturbed sleep, and 
 four had ulceration of the mucous membrane of the mouth. 
 
 All assert that its use is most injurious to young persons. Even the " Or- 
 gan of the Tobacco Trade " admits that " Few things could be more per- 
 nicious for boys, growing youths, and persons of unformed constitutions, than 
 the use of tobacco in any of its forms." 
 
 Tobacco and Paralysis. — A Buffalo cori-espondent of one of our dailies 
 reports the following : " A case in my own intimate acquaintance has this 
 very week appalled a large circle of friends in this city. The victim was 
 exactly my own years, and a companion from early childhood. For thirty 
 years, at least, he has been a daily smoker of the choicest cigars, but in all 
 his other habits temperate and regular, and of excellent constitution — one, 
 
260 Home and TlEALTn. 
 
 « 
 
 who, of all men, would have laughed at the suggestion that tobacco was kill- 
 ing him. A week ago last Saturday night he was stricken with a progressive 
 paralysis, characteristic of nicotine, and on Sunday night he died. 
 
 Tobacco and Early Physical Weakness .^-Says the Scalpel: "So far are 
 we fronr. doubting its power over the moral and physical welfare of the race, that 
 we have not a doubt that it has infinitely more to do with the physical imperfec- 
 tion and early death of the children of its votaries, than its great associate, 
 drunkenness itself. The deficiency of virile power in many instances of long- 
 continued smoker? is very marked. Every surgeon of experience must have 
 observed it. The local surgical and medical treatment most effective in these 
 cases proves conclusively that it is to the debilitating and exhausting influ- 
 ence of tobacco that these sad consequences are due." 
 
 Tobacco Pollutes the Atmosphere. — A person who is saturated with 
 tobacco, or tobacco-poisoned, acquires a sodden or dirty yellow hue ; two 
 whiffs of his breath will scent a large room ; you may nose him before he 
 takes his seat. Of this he is entirely unconscious ; he will give you the full 
 force of his lungs, and for the most part such people have a great desire to 
 approach and annoy you. " AVe have been followed," writes a physician, 
 "round a large office-table by them, backing continually to escape the nui- 
 Bance, till we had made a revolution or two before our motive was perceived." 
 
 The Tobacco Appetite often Hereditary. — One of the most alarming 
 facts brought out is the hereditary influence of this indulgence. The evil ef- 
 fects of the habit are sometimes scarcely seen in the parent, but are manifest 
 in the children. Not only the appetite, but disease and physical weakness 
 are transmitted to the children. This fact, well authenticated, should awaken 
 thoughtful consideration on the part of parents who are addicted to this use- 
 less habit. 
 
 The Excuses of Tobacco Users Trivial. — The pleas set forth for the 
 use of tobacco are generally trivial and easily answered. The evil effects are 
 so many and so evident that, as with intoxicating drinks, the only safe plan 
 is total abstinence. The habit is disagreeable to friends, is injurious to the 
 user, and has very little in its favor. Even its victims admit that it is use- 
 less, if not positively injurious, and there are thousands who regret that they 
 ever acquired the appetite. The only relief is a prompt and determined 
 abandonment of tobacco, in every form and for all time. 
 
 Smoking Worse than Chewing. — Smoking is less filthy than chewing, 
 but is more injurious to health. Dr. Dixon, of the Scalpel, in an article 
 strongly condemning the use of tobacco in every form, says : — 
 
 " Our remarks apply in a much more forcible manner to smoking than to 
 chewing. Some people are so silly as to suppose, because they do not spit 
 while smoking, that no harm can ensue ; but they should remember that the 
 
Tobacco and Uealth. 261 
 
 oil of tobacco, which contains the deadly nicotine, is volatilized, and circulates 
 with the smoke through the delicate lining membrane of the mouth at each whiff 
 of the cigar, and is absorbed by the extensive continuation of this membrane that 
 lines the nostrils, and acts upon the whole body. The smoke of tobacco is in- 
 deed much more rapid in its stupefying effect, as every professed smoker knows. 
 It is usually called ' soothing ' by its votaries ; but this is, of course, only the 
 first stage of stupefaction ; it acts precisely as opium or other narcotics do " 
 
 Tobacco in the Form of Snuff. — " Tobacco in the form of snuff," ^ays 
 Dr. Rush, " seldom fails of impairing the voice by obstructing the air." At 
 a council of physicians held in London, the question of " snuff-using " came 
 up for discussion, but it engaged the attention of the council for only a few 
 minutes, the discussion being broken off by the unanimous adoption of a res- 
 olution declaring the use of snuff to be " a useless and pernicious habit." 
 
 " But I Can't Quit It ! " — Let the testimonies of the many thousands 
 who have discontinued the use of tobacco — some of them in advanced age — 
 answer. Said James Parton, who was a slave to the practice for thirty years, 
 and who heroically broke from his chains on the instant of his resolution to 
 do so ; "I have less headache, I enjoy exercise more, and step out much more 
 vigorously. My room is cleaner, I think I am better tempered, as well as 
 more cheerful and satisfied. I endure the inevitable ills of life with more 
 fortitude, and look forward more hopefully to the coming years. It did not 
 pay to smoke, but it decidedly pays to stop smoking." 
 
 Testimony of John Q. Adams. — " In my early youth I was addicted to 
 the use of tobacco in two of its mysteries — smoking and chewing. I was 
 warned by a medical friend of the pernicious operation of this habit upon 
 the stomach and the nerves ; and the advice of the physician was fortified 
 by the results of my own experience. More than thirty years have passed 
 away since I deliberately renounced the use of tobacco in all its forms ; and 
 although the resolution w^as not carried into execution without a striggle of 
 vitiated nature, I never yielded to its impulses ; and in the space of three or 
 four months of self-denial, they lost their stimulating power, and I have never 
 since felt it as a privation. I have often wished that every individual of the 
 human race afflicted with this artificial passion could prevail upon himself to 
 try but for three months the experiment which I have made, feeling sure 
 that it would turn every acre of tobacco-land into a wheat-field, and add five 
 years of longevity to the average of human life." 
 
 Great Extent of the Tobacco Habit. — A writer in Blackwood's Mag- 
 azine estimates the whole amount of tobacco grown on the face of the globe 
 at four thousand millions of pounds ; and a close estimate shows that the 
 world's tobacco costs, directly, at least one thousand millions of dollars annu- 
 ally. To this has to be added the loss of the land on which it is grown, and 
 
202 Home and Health. 
 
 of the thousands of persons engaged in its cultivation and manufacture. The 
 wealth-producing power of both land and men is lost, because the product of 
 their toil does not add wealth to the country, or increase the nation's power 
 of producing wealth. Besides, the effect of tobacco growing is to impover- 
 ish the soil. Gen. John H, Cooke, of Virginia, says : " Tobacco exhausts the 
 land beyond all other crops. As a proof of this, every homestead from the 
 Atlantic border to the head of tide-water is a mournful monument. It has 
 been the besom of destruction, which has swept over this once fertile region." 
 The use of tobacco is a tax on the health and wealth of the user, and money 
 thus spent is worse than wasted. 
 
 OPIUM-EATING AND HEALTH. 
 
 Powerful Effects of Opium. — The quantity of opium necessary to cause 
 death varies according to the circumstances and age of the person. Infants 
 can bear a very small quantity — one drop of laudanum has been known to 
 kill a child. Children are extremely susceptible to its influence. Two drams 
 have been known to kill an adult. Opium kills in from four to twelve hours. 
 Liquid preparations of opium and the salts of morphia act very rapidly. 
 
 Symptoms of Opium Poison. — The patient trembles, becomes giddy, 
 drowsy, and unable to resist the tendency to sleep, the stupor deepens 
 until insensibility ensues. The pupils become contracted, the eyes and face 
 congested, the pulse becomes slow and feeble. The respiration becomes slow 
 — the breathing stertorous, profuse perspiration occurs, the coma becomes 
 deeper, and death ensues. 
 
 Treatment of Poison by Opium. — The stomach should be emptied by 
 the stomach-pump, or by emetics. Twenty grains of zinc, or ipecac, or a 
 tablespoonful of mustard or common salt will suffice to eject the poison. 
 Copious draughts of warm-water should be given to keep up the vomiting. 
 Strong coffee is an antidote, and brandy and ammonia should be frequently 
 given by the mouth, or by injection. 
 
 Opium-Chewing. — This terrible habit prevails muca more widely than 
 many suspect. The appetite for it is generally caused by the use of the 
 drug in prescriptions during sickness. Physicians and patients should 
 carefully and intelligently guard against such evil effects, and in order to do 
 this the drug should be used sparingly, and only when imperatively needed. 
 
 Symptoms of Opium-Chewing. — Persons addicted to the use of opium 
 are recognizable by the face, w^hich is sallow, pinched, and has a parchment- 
 like appearance. The eyes become glassy and receding when deprived of the 
 drug, there is an unsteady, trembling gait, depression of spirits, and great 
 mental and even physical suffering. 
 
Opittm-eating cmd Health. 263 
 
 Treatment for Cure. — Opium consumers must cut the habit off short ; 
 no matter how terrible may be the craving, it is rarely expedient to gratify 
 it. Total abstinence is the sure cure, as the appetite will remain if indulged 
 in ever so little. Large doses of bromide of potassium are recommended as 
 serviceable in counteracting the cravings experienced by the victims of this 
 horrible vice. 
 
 CLIMATE AND HEALTH. 
 
 Time Required for Complete Change of Body.— We have noted in 
 a previous chapter the fact that our bodies are continually wasting away, and 
 that by food and drink they are as constantly repaired. We lose the fleshy 
 particles of our bodies once a year, and the bones in seven years. Hence, in 
 seven years we have possessed seven bodies of flesh and blood, and one 
 frame of bones. We have not now a particle of flesh and bones we had seven 
 years ago. The water we have drank, the flesh and vegetables we have 
 eaten, being made of the component parts of our bodies, cause us to hanker 
 and long for the same substances of which our bodies are composed. Like 
 substances in us call for like substances without to supply the waste of the 
 system. 
 
 The Philosophy of Acclimation Explained. — Now, suppose we sud- 
 denly change our climate from forty to thirty degrees north latitude. Tlie 
 air, water, fruits, vegetables, and flesh all differ. The old particles composing 
 our bodies, and brought from forty degrees north latitude, fly off as usual. 
 This produces hunger and thirst, and we supply our wants by the water and 
 food of thirty degrees north latitude, and continue for weeks to do so. This 
 creates a conflict between the old substances of our bodies and the new flesh 
 and blood continually forming, throws the electro-nervous force out of bal 
 ance, and engenders disease. If we live and struggle on for seven years wc 
 become acclimated^ because our old flesh and bones, formed by the substances 
 of one latitude, have disappeared, and our entire systems are made of tlie 
 substances of another latitude. 
 
 Effects of Dry and Moist Climates. — It is not generally known, but 
 it is nevertheless true, that a pure, moderately-dry air generally produces 
 groat mental sprightliness, especially with full-blooded persons. A cloudy 
 and moist atmosphere, on the other hand, produces mental relaxation, and, 
 with many, mel'ancholy. This explains why suicides so often happen when 
 the sty is overcast. The depressed mental state is thus further enhanced. 
 Villeneuve reports that of every ten suicides which were committed in Paris 
 during two years, nine took place in the rainy season. The influence of tlie 
 
264 Home and Health. 
 
 climate is also well exemplified in the case of mountaineers. Tli«^y are 
 quicker, more active, and excitable. 
 
 Remarkable Facts Incident to a Moist Climate. — A speakei", in a re- 
 cent address in one of our chief cities, alluded particularly and approvingly 
 to the fact that the influence of a moist atmosphere is strikingly illustrated 
 in the case of individuals who hare been weakened by previous illness, fron 
 the great number of suicides committed at the close of the year 1828, in 
 the Dutch places Groningen and Sneek, Most of the unfortunates had 
 suffered from the epidemics of 1826 and 182*7. In the city of Sneek, with 
 6,000 inhabitants, not less than four suicides took place in one week, and 
 among those was a boy eight years old. * 
 
 Influence of Climate upon National Characteristics. — The Swiss 
 
 naturalist, Desor, in a recent essay, describes the climate of North America 
 as very changeable and dry. After having explained a number of phenomena 
 produced by the climate in general, he depicts its influence upon the inhab- 
 itant of this country. He derives from the climate his activity, acuteness, 
 his tall stature, his eagerness for gain, his practical talent, and his love of 
 adventure. It is also well known that the inhabitants under a preponderating 
 clear sky possess more talent for art, while those under a gloomy sky have 
 more propensity for speculation and thought. 
 
 Influence of Trees upon Climate. — The subject of " foresting," or the 
 planting of trees, upon the climate of a country, and of " deforesting," or 
 destroying the forest growth, continues to excite much interest throughout 
 the world, as it is now well established that the climate of many localities 
 has been materially altered by the one or the other of these processes. Sys- 
 tematic efforts have been made, in different parts of the world, for intro- 
 ducing a growth of trees where these had either disappeared or had never 
 been known, from which important results have followed in many instances. 
 In consequence of which, Egypt, which formerly had only about six rainy 
 days every year, since being replanted on a large scale, has already attained 
 to twenty-four. 
 
 Effect of Water upon Climate. — If we are to believe M. Rayet, the 
 climate of the Isthmus of Suez will undergo a transformation in consequence 
 of the arrival of the sea in Lake Timsah and in the basin of the Bitter 
 Lakes, and the creation of two immense sheets of water in a region where 
 there existed nothing but marsh land occasionally inundated by the Nile. 
 This modification of climate has already become observable. f According to 
 the evidence of persons who have resided on the spot as old employes of the 
 
 • Condensed from a report of one of the New York Club meetings, 
 t Medical Reporter. 
 
Climate cmd Health. 265 
 
 Suez Company, the rains are much more frequent than they were five or six 
 years since. Apropos of this report, M. Buys-Ballot has addressed to the 
 Academy of Sciences of Paris the conclusions of a work published some time 
 mice, in which he has shoAvn that the draining of Harlem Lake has mod- 
 ified the climatic condition of the country. The result of numerous investi- 
 gations is, that since the drying of these 19,000 hectares the temperature 
 has risen half a degree in summer, and has fallen half a degree in winter. 
 
 How to Relieve Certain Malarious Districts. — Sixteen square miles 
 of the swampy, unhealthy country along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, in 
 the Department of the Landes, were planted with millions of trees — especially 
 the cork oak and swamp pine — with surprisingly beneficial results. The 
 trees drained the land so as to destroy the swamp fevers, and to change it 
 into a healthy country with pine forests. Biscay law requires that for every 
 tree cut doAvn two shall be planted, and it is said to be executed with rigor- 
 o\ e severity. 
 
 Evil Effect of Sudden Transitions in Climate. — The diseases espe- 
 cially affected in this way are phthisis, pulmonalis, pneumonia, bronchitis, 
 Bright's disease, diseases of the brain and nervous system, and diseases in 
 general of persons who have reached the age of seventy years and upward. 
 Scarlatina and diphtheria are also subject to the same influences. Persons 
 affected by these diseases, who might live much longer under favorable cir- 
 cumstances, often die suddenly through quickly-succeeding alternations of 
 heat and cold, dryness and dampness. Invalids weakened by old age are 
 naturally more susceptible of these ill effects than others ; but children are 
 not particularly affected by them except in cases of pulmonary disease. 
 
 Are Frequent Rains Beneficial ? — The relative humidity or degree 
 of saturation of the air is of greater sanitary significance than the rainfall, 
 but both are important. In a city the rain washes the air, as well as the 
 streets and sewers, of many impurities, the presence of which would be 
 prejudicial to health. It should be remembered that the relative humidity 
 is not always, or even generally, high when rain falls, which is easily 
 understood when it !s borne in mind that the state of the higher atmos- 
 phere may be and is very different, generally, from that of the lower. 
 In most of the Middle States, especially those near the sea coast, De- 
 cember is the month in which the relative humidity is highest, but it is 
 the one in which the rainfall is least. The following is the order of the 
 months, according to their mean relative humiditj beginning with the one in 
 which it is the highest : December, January, August, November, September, 
 March, October, February, July, (same as last,) June, April, May. The fol- 
 lowing is the order for ISYV : January, October, December, Novembe'-, Sep 
 tcmber, August, March, June, February, April, May. 
 
266 Home and iIealth. 
 
 The following is the order of the months according to the rainfall, begui- 
 ning with the one in whi3b it is greatest : July, September, March, Novem- 
 ber, June, February, October, August, April, January, May, December. The 
 following is the order for 1877: October, July, June, November, March, Sep- 
 tember, April, January, May, February, December, August. 
 
 TEMPERAMENT AND HEALTH. 
 
 Varieties of Physical Temperament. — Temperament is the peculiai 
 physical and mental character of an individual arising from the relations 
 and proportion between the constituent parts of the body. The tempera- 
 ment is the visible measure of a man's life-force. Mere vegetative life is 
 the sum total of the powers that resist decay. We call its degree the con- 
 stitution, and each man has his own in common with other animals. A man 
 has a strong or weak vital force, he breathes powerfully or feebly, he feels 
 to advantage or disadvantage. If he has strong vital force he is usually fond 
 of animal food, and is very active and energetic in his movements. If he is 
 weak in his vital force, or lymphatic in temperament, he is more sluggish in 
 his movements, and is satisfied with food which yields less fibrine and red 
 globules to his blood. Vegetarians are generally " cold-blooded " and phleg- 
 matic. Temperaments are classified as sanguine, hilious, lymphatic, encephalic, 
 and nervous. 
 
 Sanguine Temperament. — A man of fine physical conformation and with 
 plenty of red blood flowing through his face, with clear, bright, blue or gray 
 eyes, capacious lungs, broad shoulders, and wavy brown hair and beard, is of 
 the highest sanguine temperament. He has high vital force, and if he has a 
 well-organized brain and a good early education, he is susceptible to the best 
 influences. 
 
 Bilious Temperament. — A lean man with well-defined and hard muscles, 
 and .ittle or no fat, tall and slender-limbed, with brown hair and beard and 
 gra) eyes, very active and energetic in his movements, has the highest de- 
 gree of executive and vital force combined ; he is sanguinerbiliou?, the bile 
 hidhig the red blood in his face makes him darker. 
 
 Lymphatic Temperament. — A man with full and well-rounded person, 
 and a much paler face, and whiter, straight hair and beard, with short limbs 
 dud fingers, and built like a fat person, is slower in his movements and pas- 
 sions, and colder in temperature. He is lymphatic in temperament. 
 
 Encephalic Temperament. — This temperament is characterized by an 
 unusual development of the anterioi brain. Vital vigor is indicated by a 
 
Tempera/ment and Health. 267 
 
 broad base to the head, a broad and full development of the lower brain, a 
 healthy and lively color to the skin. Those possessing the sanguine tempera- 
 ment, with its accompanying mental vigor, have great capacity in executing 
 all the functions of their organs, but they attain a far less degree of longevity 
 than those of the mixed temperaments, encephalic and bilious sanguine. 
 
 Nervous Temperament. — The nervous temperament is characterized bj 
 greater excitability and sensibility than the bilious, by mental activity, by 
 greater delicacy of person, and less muscular development, is produced by a 
 head of less occipital strength than the bilious, and less basilar development 
 than the sanguine. As the basilar organs are not very deep, the person is 
 not very fleshy, nor the muscular system stout. This temperament does not 
 produce the greatest extremes of virtue or vice. It is adapted to pursuits 
 which require intelligence and readiness, with respectable or moderate force 
 of character. It is much more easily affected by medicine than the bilious 
 temperament, and much more liable to diseases from slight causes, but less 
 iable proportiouably, to obstinate chronic attacks. 
 
 PRECAUTIONS AND HEALTH. 
 
 Eating, Sleeping, and Speaking — Simple Precautions. — Never eat 
 nurriedly, because it causes indigestion. 
 
 Never dine in excitement, because the blood is called to the brain which 
 ought to aid digestion. 
 
 Never swallow food without thorough chewing, because it brings on dys- 
 pepsia. 
 
 Never eat when you do not want it, because when you shall want you can- 
 not eat. 
 
 Never sleep with your mouth open, because the air breathed with carbonic 
 acid disturbs the mucous membranes. 
 
 Never go to rest without washing the hands and face, because more dirl 
 accumulates on the skin in the day than in the night, and is re-absorbed 
 during the night. 
 
 Never begin a journey until breakfast is eaten. 
 
 After speaking, singing, or preaching in a warm room in winter, do not 
 leave it immediately. In leaving, close the mouth, put on the gloves, wrap 
 up the neck, and put on a cloak or overcoat before passing out of the door. 
 The neglect of these simple precautions has laid many a good and useful 
 man into a premature grave. 
 
 Never speak under a hoarseness, especially if it requires an effort, or pain 
 ful feeling. 
 
268 Home and Health. 
 
 Danger from Wet Clothes. — Few persons understand fully the reason 
 why wet clothes exert such a chilling influence. It is simply this : Water, 
 when it evanorates, carries off an immense amount of heat, in what is called 
 the latent t cm. One pound of water in vapor contains as much heat as nine 
 or ten pounds of liquid water, and all this heat must, of course, be taken 
 iTora the body. If our clothes are moistened with three pounds of water — 
 ^hat is, if by wetting they are three pounds heavier — these three pounds will, 
 in drying, carry off as much heat as would raise three gallons of ice-cold water 
 to the boiling point. No wonder that damp clothes chill us. 
 
 Danger from Cosmetics. — Ladies who use cosmetics to give an artificial 
 "vhiteness and softness to their complexions, will do well to read a little pam- 
 phlet published by Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, of New York, describing three cases 
 of lead palsy which have come under his notice. In these three cases the 
 disease was clearly attributable to the lead, which is an essential ingredient 
 in nearly all the nostrums sold under the names of "Bloom of Youth," 
 ■' Beautifying Lotion," and the hke. By the use of proper remedies the pa- 
 tients recovered, but for a long time they were as completely palsied as paint- 
 ers are who work much with white lead paint. The poison is absorbed by the 
 4Rin and penetrates to the nerves. 
 
 Danger from Lamp Explosions. — Scarcely a week passes but we read 
 jiccounts of frightful accidents from kerosene lamps exploding, and killing or 
 .earring for life men, women, and children. A simple knowledge of the in- 
 flammable nature of the liquid may put a stop to nearly all the accidents. As 
 the oil burns down in the lamp, inflammable gas gathers over the surface. 
 When the oil is nearly consumed, a slight jar will inflame the gas, and an ex- 
 plosion follows. K the lamp is not allowed to burn over half way down, acci- 
 dents are almost impossible. " What, then, shall we do ? " Fill your lampn 
 in the morning. 
 
 How to Test Dangerous "Kerosene." — There is one simple, and, for 
 rvactical purposes, satisfactory method of determining the character of all 
 such mixtures, and which applies equally as well to the common oils. Let a 
 few drops be poured into a saucer, and apply a match ; if the material burns, 
 reject it as unsafe. The fact that the material can be set on fire at the 
 ordinary temperature of our dwellings, should be sufficient evidence to a per- 
 son of ordinary intelligence that, when employed in the household, it may at 
 the first thoughtless or careless act become the cause of a frightful ac- 
 cident. 
 
 Caution in Cleansing Wells. — As a rule, never descend into a well with- 
 out first lowering down a candle or lamp, to be sure that it does not contain 
 foul air. Wells in barn-yards that are used in winter for stock, and seldom 
 used in summer, are very liable to be foul at this season. While the spring> 
 
Precautions and Health. 2o9 
 
 are low, in August or September, is a good time to clean them out, but let no 
 one go down without using the above precaution.* The " foul air " is car- 
 bonic acid, and no one can live in it an instant. If a candle or lamp will 
 burn freely, there is no danger. The carbonic acid is heavier than common 
 air, and accumulates at the bottom of wells. The candle will go out as soon 
 as it strikes the carbonic acid, and thus show how much there is in the we'.l. 
 To get it out is not difficult, provided there is water in the well. All that is 
 needed is to pump out the water and dash it in again. The water will absoi I) 
 an equal volume of cai'bonic acid, and the agitation will mix sufficient air witii 
 it to allow combustion to proceed, and if a bundle of straw is ignited and 
 lowered into the well, the heat will cause the foul air to ascend. We hai^e 
 succeeded in getting out the carbonic acid from a well simply by dropping 
 bunches of burning straw into it. The blaze would at first be extinguished 
 when it struck the carbonic acid, but the heat is more or less retained, and 
 sets the air in motion. 
 
 Caution Concerning the " Tea-pot." — When any tin-lined vessel, espe 
 cially the tea-pot, becomes rusted or blackened inside, there is danger in its use. 
 The acid contained in the tea combines with the iron of the exposed portions 
 of the vessel, and forms a chemical compound, not unlike ink. It corrodes 
 and darkens the teeth, and cannot be inoffensive to the stomach. I have seen 
 the discoloration both of natural and artificial teeth prove so obstinate from 
 this cause as to require several scourings with soap and ashes, with a stiff 
 brush, to remove it. When housekeepers hear any of the family remarking, 
 " This tea tastes like ink," it is time to examine, possibly to throw away, the 
 tea-pot. The most palatable and wholesome tea is made by steeping in a 
 bright tin or porcelain cup, then pouring into a freshly-scalded earthen tea- 
 pot. Thus treated it will never acquire the astringent quality so deleterious 
 to the teeth and to health. 
 
 Caution About Laughing Gas. — The use of nitrous oxide gas should be 
 avoided in all cases of diseases of the lungs in which the breathing is much 
 embarrassed, and when there is evidence of either serious brain or heart 
 disease. 
 
 Caution Concerning Ice-Cream. — An eminent physician in France hap 
 
 investigated the article known in cities as street-corner ice-cream, and find- 
 it to contain poisonous coloring matter, which produces serious ^ymptoms 
 when taken in a continued course, and is a prolific cause of scrofulous erup- 
 tions and dropping out of the hair among the lower classes. 
 
 Caution in Carrying Lead Pencils. — There is often danger in carrying 
 lead pencils in the pocket. Several cases of deaths are recorded of persons 
 
 * American Agriculturisl. 
 
2Y0 IIoME AND Health. 
 
 who were pierced by pencils carried in the pocket. We should be careful to 
 place the pencil, or other sharp instrument, in such a way in the pocket as to 
 provide against such danger. 
 
 Visiting Infected Rooms. — Avoid entering a sick-room while in th? 
 3tate of perspiration, because in cooling off the pores absorb freely ; uoi 
 should a person sit between the sick and the fire. Do not approach con- 
 tagious diseases with an empty stomach. 
 
 Dangerous Medicines. — Thousands of deaths take place every year 
 from the unauthorized use of dangerous medicines. They often occur on this 
 wise : A person is suffering; the family physician is called ; he writes a pre- 
 scription ; it is taken ; grateful relief is experienced ; patient desires to know 
 the name of the marvelous remedy, bears it in mind, and if there is some- 
 thing similar he ventures to send for it (the remedy) direct to the druggist. 
 On being relieved again he becomes enthusiastic, and volunteers advice to his 
 friends. They are relieved — sometimes — and forthwith he begins to think 
 he knows "about as much as any of the doctors." A little later, it is not 
 
 unusual to see a record in the newspapers that Mr. was " found dead in 
 
 his bed this morning." Remember, that a prescription providing a remedy 
 for one disease, may prove perilous in another. 
 
 Dangerous Medicines — Two Good Rules. — 1. Never to keep danger- 
 ous medicines in the house. 
 
 2. Never to use a dangerous drug, except by the immediate advice of your 
 family physician. 
 
 Mistakes in Prescriptions. — The number of perilous mistakes in put- 
 ting up prescriptions by druggists has become alarmingly frequent. A phy- 
 sician assures us, that eleven times during the last year his prescriptions 
 were answered by the return of substances not requested. Sometimes mis- 
 takes are alleged to be owing to the careless handwriting of the physicians. 
 Not a few of them are said to be made by assistants who were too young to 
 be employed in such business. In some countries the number of apothecary 
 shops is limited by law, and no one can be principal or assistant who has not 
 studied a certain time, and passed certain examinations. The requirements 
 in England and France are very rigid in this respect, as they ought to be in 
 our^wn country in so serious and responsible a business. 
 
 Using: Medicines as Stimulants — Danger. — When in the use of any 
 feniedy you find yourself inclined to employ it oftener, or in larger quanti- 
 ties, to produce the same effects, whether it be spirits, tobacco, snuff, tea, 
 coffee, chloroform, ether, or any other stimulant or poison, be assured that 
 you are on the very verge of destruction, and that you are liable, any day, to 
 instant death. When you find yourself inclined to " take " anything, even a 
 cup of tea or coffee, to enable you to perform any work in hand, menial or 
 
Precautions and Health. 271 
 
 bodily, avoid it as you would a deadly poison. The three greatest men of 
 this century, in our country, in pulpit, bar, and forum, died drunkards ; and 
 long before their deaths it was known to their friends that they were " inca- 
 pable of an effort " without being first " fortified by a glass of brandy." 
 
 How to Escape Fever Infections.* — In a properly-chosen, well-lighted, 
 well-aired, well-scrubbed dwelling, with thoroughly-washed inmates, there is 
 comparatively little fear of infectious poisons. But it is well for every on<i 
 to be acquainted with some of the easiest means of resistance and of escape, 
 when that gigantic evil approaches, or when duty compels us to go within its 
 range. Knowledge of the reality will prevent foolish exaggerations and diir • 
 inish useless fear. 
 
 Fever Infections— Avoid the Poison. — All infectious fevers (typhus, 
 scarlatina, small-pox, etc.) arise from the reception of a subtle poison into 
 the blood, which, spreading through the. system, is exhaled from it princi- 
 pally by the skin and lungs. This poison has been actually condensed out 
 of impure air poisoned by filth and decay, and appears in the form of a 
 dirty-looking, half-solid, half-fluid, half-gelatinous stuff, a few drops of 
 which inserted into the veins of a dog will inoculate that dog with typhus 
 fever. 
 
 Fever Infections — Ventilation. — The poisonous infection is lighter 
 than air, and ascends. If we allow it to escape at the top of the room the 
 air below is safe. This is the reason why in fever wards few cases of in- 
 fection occur ; without the ventilators in the ceiling they would be dens of 
 death. The circulation of fresh air in a fever-chamber by open doors and 
 windows must be produced several times a day, (care being taken that the 
 patient be not directly exposed to the draught,) or, still better, let the upper 
 part of a window be kept permanently open, and if the patient be in a box- 
 bed let there be several holes bored through the roof of the bed, to allow 
 the exit of infectious vapor in the direction of the open window. 
 
 Fever Infection — Avoid Absorbing It. — A person may breathe infec- 
 tion a thousand times over without any bad results ; the poison is innocent 
 unless it enters the blood. The thin delicate skin of the lungs, composed of 
 minute cells, is an active absorbent, and whatever is inhaled comes in con 
 tact with the absorbing surface, and is liable to pass into the blood. A 
 medical man may be exposed to infection ninety-nine times with impunity, 
 but on the hundredth occasion the absorbent vessels may be pec .liarly ac- 
 tive, they suck in the poison, and he falls a victim. When the pulse is weak 
 absorption is strong and active ; when the pulse is strong absorption is weak ; 
 regular and nourishing food and fresh air will, therefore, diminish the risk 
 
 ♦Kobert Fairman, M.D. 
 
272 Home and Health. 
 
 of the poison entering the blood, while want of sleep, and fasting, and im 
 pure air, will of course greatly increase it. 
 
 When infection is not destroyed or dispersed by proper ventilation, it ad- 
 heres to article? of furniture and clothing, but especially to cotton and 
 woolen material, and everything must be done to secure its dispersion by ven- 
 tilating these also. They should be exposed to a free current of air, or 
 steeped for twelve hours in cold water before washing, and not folded up 
 for some time. Black or dark substances absorb infection more easily than 
 white ; light dresses are therefore safest for nurses, and hence, too, one of 
 tlie advantages of white-washing in the dwellings of the poor. 
 
 Fever Infection and Flannel — Wear Flannel. — Cold, damp, and shiv- 
 ering chilliness also produce debility, which will render the absorbing vessels 
 active ; the use of flannel next the skin is therefore of the greatest impor- 
 tance. -It is stated that the ancient Italians who lived near the poisonous 
 Pontine marshes of Italy, suffered less from fever than the moderns, as 
 they wore warm and fleecy clothing, and that now the evil has been greatly 
 arrested by flannel again coming into use. Laborers in such places fall 
 victims in great numbers unless this precaution be adopted. 
 
 Fever Infection and Fear. — As far as possible avoid fear. Fear is 
 also a fruitful source of infection, for it weakens the pulse and the whole 
 frame. Travelers in the East have told that when a dog is suddenly bitten 
 by a rattlesnake, the wound is not considered half so deadly as when the 
 dog has seen the reptile, and stood trembling before it ; fear in this case aids 
 and quickens the poison. Chai*m& and amulets, met with occasionally among 
 the poor of our country, and frequently in foreign ones, may thus actually 
 be useful by inspiring confidence, although it is the confidence of supei'- 
 stition. 
 
 Poisonous Soap. — A common and annoying form of skin-disease, "ek- 
 zema," is sometimes produced by bad soap. The soap that seems to suffer 
 most in analytical experiments is the cheaper kind of " Old Brown Windsor," 
 which is made from putrid animal matter extracted from heaps of decaying 
 bones, which are described as emitting a stench that is intolerable. The 
 brown color which is given to the higher-priced Brown Windsor by artificial 
 means this cheaper soap gets quite sufficiently from the filthy fat from whicn 
 it is made ; and the stench, which even the saponifying process does not quite 
 •-emove, is disguised by the perfume which is afterward added. 
 
 Death from Nicotine. — A case of death from nicotine recently occurred 
 under the following circumstances : The father of a little girl, in an endeavor 
 to "heal a sore on her lip," applied to it the contents of a " rank " pipe-stem. 
 The victim was almost immediately seized with the peculiar symptoms of to 
 bacco-poisoning, and died a few hours afterward. 
 
Precatitions mid Health. 273 
 
 Poison of Quinces. — In France, recently, a lady was poisoned to death 
 by the exhalations of quinces. She slept in a room in which they were kept, 
 with doors and windows closed, and died in a short time. The odor of quince 
 blossoms is also highly injurious. 
 
 Orange Peel Poisonous. — Fatal consequences may follow the swallow- 
 ing of the rind of oranges The oil of the rind is highly acrid, and adds 
 greatly to the noxious quality of the indigestible mass. 
 
 Quite recently a child something over a year old was attacked with vio 
 lent dysenteric symptoms, for which no cause could be assigned. The attack 
 came on during the passage of a steamer from San Diego. The symptoms 
 were so identical with those which arise from poisoning by orange peel, that 
 the physician inquired particularly if the child had had an opportunity of 
 getting this substance in its mouth. He was informed that it had been play- 
 ing with an orange, and nibbling at it, just before the attack of the disease. 
 The discharges from the bowels were frequent, and consisted of blood and 
 mucus. After a week of severe enteric inflammation the child died. Thousrh 
 but a small quantity must have been swallowed, yet a very small quantity of 
 such an indigestible and irritating substance will often produce most serious 
 consequences. 
 
 Danger in Carrying Friction Matches. — Many persons have the habit 
 of carrying friction matches loosely in their pockets, and using these at the 
 same time quite indiscriminately for carrying tobacco, candies, cakes, and 
 other eatables. Aside from the danger of ignition of the matches, which 
 might cause serious burns, a greater danger arises from the fact that the tips 
 of the matches, highly charged with phosphorus, are liable to break oif and 
 mix with those eatables in the pocket, and in that way find their way into 
 the stomach, and occasion fatal accidents of poisoning. Several such cases 
 have occurred, and point to the necessity of greater care in carrying and 
 using matches. 
 
 Care Concerning Poisonous Candies. — In no class of articles intended 
 for consumption is the use of poisons so free as in candies and confections. 
 Arseniate of copper, copperas, white lead and litharge, (or red lead,) and the 
 aniline colors, red, green, or blue, and other poisons, mineral and vegetable, 
 are frequently employed in the manufacture of candies. There are confec- 
 tioners who do not use such dangerous drugs, or who use them so sparuigly 
 that they work no immediate appreciable harm to the consumer ; but otters 
 are neither so scrupulous nor so well informed about the real nature of the 
 poisons which impart the desired vividness of color or fineness of flavor to 
 their products. Bright, highly-colored, handsome candies always sell better 
 than dull, plain varieties. The beautiful tints can be had most cheaply and 
 satisfactorily hy the use of the virulent mineral poisons — chiefly arseuiates 
 18 
 
274 Home and Health. 
 
 and preparations of copper and lead. Be cautious, therefore, in purchasing 
 candies to buy only of manufacturers or dealers who are scrupulously carefu] 
 in their preparation. 
 
 Death from Chloroform. — Dr. Charles Anderson, of Cincinnati, calls 
 attention, iu the A77ie7'ican Jotirtial of Medical Science^ to a very singular 
 circumstance attending the inhalation and use of chloroform. Many of those 
 who have died from its use have taken it repeatedly, and often for a consid- 
 erable time, without any unpleasant symptoms, whereas, an attempt to give it 
 a short time afterward has proved fatal. Thus, one patient who had taken it 
 frequently during ten years, died from forty drops. Another had taken it 
 one hundred times, and had once been under its influence five hours ; the last 
 dose, which was fatal, consisted of an inhalation or two from a chloroformed 
 handkerchief. Dr. Anderson expresses the opinion that in these cases there 
 exists a sort of floating idiosyncrasy — "one that may be in him to-day, and 
 off to-morrow ; but if, while under its influence, he inhales the vapor of chlo- 
 roform, he is almost sure to die. I was on the point of saying, that if he 
 inhales the slightest quantity of the vapor of chloroform it will prove 
 fatal." 
 
 Care Concerning Ice-Cream. — Ice-creams may be colored as freely as 
 any other confections. The brilliant red tint of strawberry cream may be 
 attained by litharge or rosaline ; the splendid green tint of pistachio cream 
 (so-called) may be derived from arseniate of copp^ more economically than 
 from the pistachio nut. It does not follow that the confectioners who make 
 these colored creams know that they are using poisonous ingredients for pro- 
 ducing tints or flavors. They may obtain the articles from other persons 
 who manufacture and sell them. 
 
 Danger of Green-Colored Materials. — In the use of green papers, 
 tarlatans, artificial flowers, and other green-colored materials, great care and 
 discrimination should be exercised, as the color frequently contains arsenic 
 in the form of the brilliant, but very poisonous, arseniate of copper, known 
 as Schiele's Schweinfurt, and Paris Green. Such paper is sold in many stores 
 for ornamental purposes, and even used in wrapping candies, and for Kin- 
 dergarten material and toys. These colors and materials containing them, 
 among which are green wall-paper and window-shades, and the bright green 
 tarlatans and crapes used for evening dresses, etc., are not only dangerous in 
 the hands of children, lest they may get particles of the poisonous color into 
 their mouth or inhale its dust, but also from the comparatively large amount 
 of arsenic they contain, and by the fact that the color is slowly decomposed 
 by moisture and heat, and passes poisonous arsenious gases into the air. The 
 use of bright green wall-papers and window-shades in sitthig and sleoping- 
 rooms should never be permitted, unless the color be tested and found free 
 
Precautions a/rid Health. 275 
 
 of arsenic. Wall-paper in particular has caused many deaths and cases oJ 
 severe illness, 
 
 Ho'w to Detect Arsenic in Colors. — The green arsenious colors an- 
 soluble in ammonia water, (hartshorn;) if, therefore, a little amraouia water 
 16 poured on strips of the paper or crape in a plate, a disappearance of the 
 color or such a change in it as indicates the removal of green, makes the 
 presence of arsenic probable. To identify its presence, strips of the paper 
 or fabric should be immersed in a little ammonia water for a few minutes , 
 about ten drops of the water are then poured upon a glass pan or plate, ana 
 a small ciystal or piece of a crystal of nitrate of silver is placed in the cen- 
 ter of the liquid. If a yellow turbidity forms around the crystal, it indicates 
 the presence of arsenic. 
 
 Be Cautious of Poisonous Vegetables. — There are many beautiful and 
 innocent-looking forms of vegetable life to be met with in our gardens and 
 hedges, which are yet full of deadly poison, while others, from their close re- 
 semblance to nutritious articles of food, are often partaken of by mistake, and 
 fatal accidents are consequently of too frequent occurrence. Here is a partial 
 Ust of them : " Monkshood," or aconite ; " fool's-parsley," a species of hem- 
 lock ; buttercups (often poisonous to children's hands;) laburnam seeds; 
 deadly-nightshade (half a berry of the dark purple has caused death ; ) bella- 
 donna (poison lies in the fruit answering to the potato apple ; ) leaves of the 
 common laurel ; the wild arum ; and one kind of mushrooms. The mush- 
 rooms proper to be used in cookery grow in the open pasture land, for those 
 that grow near or under trees are poisonous. The eatable mushrooms first 
 appear very small, and of a round form on a little stalk. They grow very 
 rapidly, and the upper part and stalk are w^hite. As they increase in size, 
 the upper part gradually opens, and shows a fringed fur of a very fine salmon 
 color, which continues more or less till the mushroom has gained some size, 
 and then turns to a dark brown. These marks should be attended to, and 
 likewise whether the skin can be easily parted from the edge and middle, and 
 whether they have a pleasant smell. Those which are poisonous have a 
 yellow skin, and the under part has not the clear flesh -color of the real mush- 
 room ; besides which they smell rank and disagreeable, and the fur is white 
 or yellow. 
 
 ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS-HYDROPHOBIA. 
 
 Animals Affected by Hydrophobia. — Man, and many of the lower an 
 imals, are subject to madness, or hydrophobia. In animals the disease is 
 called rabies, or canine madness. Dogs, cats, and wol\ es arc mostly its sub- 
 jects, but sometimes goats, pigs, horses, and cows are the victims. The poi 
 
276 Home and Health. 
 
 son is communicated by means of the saliva through wounds made by the 
 teeth, and may occur at any season of the year. 
 
 Period 0*^ Development. — The period of its develoyment, after the 
 subject hae been bitten, and the virus communicated, varies considerably 
 CTsually it appears within two months. Cases have been mentioned, where 
 the disease did not develop for ten, or twelve, or fifteen months. 
 
 Symptoms of Hydrophobia. — In hydrophobia, the victim becomes mel- 
 ancholy, and his fear keeps him on the watch for some development of the 
 disease. If the part bitten becomes painful, and begins to inilame, his an- 
 guish becomes intensified. The skin becomes hot and dry, the pulse rapid 
 and weak, and there is much thirst. In two or three days the muscles of the 
 throat, especially those of deglutition, become sore and stiff. Attempts to 
 swallow are attended with spasmodic contraction of these muscles, and of the 
 respiratory muscles. Convulsive movements become more frequent, and easily 
 excited by pouring out water, cold currents of air, changing of bed-clothes, or 
 shutting doors hastily. Sometimes general convulsions occur. The thirst be- 
 comes intense, but the patient fpars to relieve it, for fear of bringing on the 
 spasms, or of choking. The eyes are blood-shot and staring, saliva flows from 
 the mouth, the voice is husky, and the countenance manifests extreme terror. 
 As death approaches, the skin becomes clammy and cold, the pulse almost 
 gone, and respiration irregular. Convulsions, or exhaustion, soon terminate 
 the sufferings of the unfortunate victim. 
 
 Treatment of Hydrophobia. — 1. The wound inflicted by the bite of an 
 animal suspected of rabies should be washed and sucked as in cases of 
 wounds incurred in dissections, and afterwards cauterized thoroughly. Cut- 
 ting out the wounded part is better, in most cases, than cauterizing. Some 
 recommend a tight ligature placed around the limb above the wound, before 
 washing, and excision, to prevent absorption of the poison. This is more 
 useful when the bite is on the finger or toes. The excision should extend 
 some distance into the healthy tissue, and the Avound be afterward thoroughly 
 cauterized. Resort should be had to a physiciiin the first moment possible — 
 washmg and sucking the wound is of the first importance. 
 
 2. Spirits of hartshorn is said to be an excellent remedy. The wound 
 Bhould be bathed constantly with it, and three or four doses taken inwardly 
 during the day. The hartshorn decomposes chemically the virus insinuated 
 into the wound, and immediately alters and destroys its deleteriousness. 
 
 3. The following is reported as a " sure cure " for hydrouhobia : " The bite 
 must be bathed, as soon as possible, with warm vinegar ana water, and when 
 this has dried, a few drops of muriatic acid poured upon the wound will de- 
 stroy the poison of the saliva, and relieve the patient from all present and 
 future danger." 
 
Antidotes for Poisons — Hydrojphohia. 277 
 
 4. I'he following remedy was habitually used by the late Mr. Youatt, a well- 
 icnown veterinary surgeon, who was bitten by mad dogs eight times. The 
 remedy was to allow the common nitrate of silver, easily procured, to filter 
 into the wound. It decomposes the saliva, and in doing this destroys the 
 virus. Sir Benjamin Brodie acted upon this, with complete success, in a case 
 where a mad dog had licked the inside of a child's mouth. The best mode 
 of application of the nitrate of silver is by introducing it solidly into the 
 wound. 
 
 5. A new cure for rabies was recently discovered by chance in France. A 
 farmer, whose horse was affected, had him taken to a steep bank of a lake 
 and thrown off into the water, supposing that the sudden plunge, and the fall 
 together would kill the animal speedily. A few moments after, the horse 
 rose to the surface, and the farmer was surprised to find that all symptoms 
 of madness had vanished, and the horse soon made for the shore. On being 
 taken out, he was found perfectly docile, and continued so, to the farmer's 
 great delight, no traces of the disease ever reappearing. The theory resulting 
 trom this incident is this : Hydrophobia, or rabies, is a disease of the brain, 
 n which fear is predominant. In the case of the horse, the terror produced 
 by the sud len plunge into the cold water was so far superior to that of the 
 disease, as to act homeopathically upon the animal, and when the overpower- 
 mg effect had passed, and the animal was fairly in the water, the cooling 
 plunge had a beneficial effect. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that mad dogs will always shun the water. On 
 the contrary, they will often rush eagerly to it, and try to drink, although they 
 *re generally unable to do so, because of paralysis of the jaw. 
 
 ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS-SNAKE AND INSECT BITES. 
 
 What Snakes are Poisonous. — Among the principal venomous reptiles 
 nay be enumerated the whip-cord snake, cobra di capello, rattlesnake, viper, 
 and adder. According to Dr. J. W. Howe, the bites of the first two produce 
 a fatal result more quickly than the others. Rattlesnake bites stand next in 
 order of virulence. Viper and adder bites are fatal only to very young ani- 
 luals, or to children of tender years. In the more deadly classes the sym- 
 toms following a bite, and the action of a poison, are the same. Rattlesnake 
 bites are not uncommon in the Southern and Western States, and the mor- 
 tality attending them is very great. The venom of this reptile is contained 
 in a small sac situated at the base of the sharp tooth or fang. The tooth is 
 channeled throughout the center to make a place of exit for the poison. 
 When the tooth is inserted into the tissues, the poison-sac is compressed, 
 .lUtl the venom ejected into the wound. 
 
278 Home and Health. 
 
 Symptoms of Snake-Poison. — Persons bitten by one of these reptiles 
 experience after a few minutes a feeling of great depression and faintness. 
 The wound begins to swell rapidly, very soon, sometimes becoming of dark 
 red color, and sometimes a bluish black. A sharp and intense pain is felt 
 in the wound extending along the course of the principal nerves. Sometimes 
 there is congestion of the brain and there may also be congestion of the 
 lungs and mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. The pulse ia 
 feeble, intermittent, and rapid. The pupils of the eyes become dilated, pain 
 is felt over the abdomen, and vomiting and sometimes purging takes place. 
 Delirium generally appears. The surface and extremities of the body grow 
 cold and clammy, and breathing becomes difficult, stupor sets in, growing 
 worse rapidly, and death terminates the sufferings soon. 
 
 Antidotes for Snake-Bites. — 1. The general treatment should be the same 
 as that pursued in cases of hydrophobia. Various internal remedies may be 
 recommended, of which the best is carbonate of ammonia in doses of ten or 
 twenty grains every half hour. Friction to the surface of the body, with 
 pieces of flannel dipped in hot alcohol, is also beneficial. 
 
 2. Sweet oil is a very good remedy. A plain farmer says : " It is now over 
 twenty years since I learned that sweet oil would cure the bite of a rattlesnake, 
 not knowing it would cure other kinds of poison. Practice, observation, and 
 experience have taught me that it will cure poison of any kind, both on man 
 and beast. The patient must take a spoonful of it internally and bathe the 
 wound for a cure. To cure a horse it requires eight times as much as for a 
 man. One of the most extreme cases of snake-bites occurred eleven years 
 ago. It had been thirty days standing, and the patient had been given up 
 by his physician. I gave him a spoonful of the oil, which effected a cure." 
 
 3. Dr. Wier, of Philadelphia, states that the application of carbolic acid, 
 immediately on the receipt of the injury, prevents both local and general 
 poisoning. The pure acid, however, if applied in too great quantity, is 
 liable to produce sloughing and even dangerous symptoms ; hence it is best 
 used in the proportion of two parts of acid and one of alcohol. Given in- 
 ternally, or applied to the wound at a late period, it produces no eflert It 
 is believed to act, not by neutralizing the poison, but by causing contract'.on 
 of the small vessels, and thus preventing its absorption. 
 
 4. Prof. Halford, of the Uni\'ersity of Melbourne, Australia, has found an 
 antidote for snake-poison which has proved successful in the most critical 
 cases. It is simply liquid ammonia ejected into the vei^s. A small syringe, 
 with a sharp point for the purpose of making the injection, is manufactured 
 and sold in Melbourne, and now few travel in that country without one. 
 
 Bites of Venomous Insects. — Among the symptoms following the bitef- 
 of scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, spiders, bees, hornets, etc., are head 
 
Antidotes for Poisons — Snake cmd Insect Bites. 279 
 
 ache, vertigo, dimness of sight, and feverishuess. Sometimes the wound is 
 not much inflamed, while in other cases it becomes red, painful, and swollen, 
 ending in suppuration. 
 
 Treatment of Insect-Bites. — 1. Cleanse the wound and spongt it thor- 
 oughly with a strong solution of ammonia, and afterward cover it w.th linen 
 :)r other suitable cloth, wet with solution of ammonia. 
 
 2. Poison from bees, hornets, spider-bites, etc., is instantly arrested by the 
 ijiplieation of equal parts of common salt and bicarbonate of soda, well 
 rubbed in on the place bitten or stung. 
 
 ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS-MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Poison Ivy and Oak: Remedies. — 1. The common wild turnip, or 
 " Jack-in-the-Pulpit," as it is called, is an excellent remedy when scraped and 
 applied to the poisoned par'' When the blisters have flattened, apply cold 
 cream to heal there soonex. 
 
 2. A good remedy for poison by ivy is to dissolve a tablespoonful of cop- 
 peras in two thirds of a teacup of boiling water, and when cold apply with a 
 cloth to the poisoned places. 
 
 3. Rubbing frequently with sweet oil is one of the best remedies. Some 
 use salt and water, and find relief from that. 
 
 4. A standing antidote for poison by dew, poison oak, ivy, etc., is to take a 
 handful of quick lime, dissolve in water, let it stand half an hour, then paint 
 the poisoned parts with it. Three or four applications will never fail to cure 
 the most aggravated case. 
 
 5. Olive oil is said to be a certain cure. In severe cases it is to be taken 
 inwardly as well as applied externally. Dose : two tablespoonfuls three times 
 a day, keeping the affected parts well oiled all the time. Anointing exposed 
 parts with the oil will prevent poisoning. 
 
 6. A few drops of kerosene oil, pubbed in with the point of the finger or a 
 piece of sponge, is a certain and sptedy cure for the effects of the poison oak 
 llopeat for three or four days. 
 
 Lead Poisoning. — In cases where people frequenting freshly-painted 
 rooms are affocted in a disagreeable manner, the poisoning is due to the pres- 
 ence of lead i^ the pa\nt. Painters are often poisoned by washing paint from 
 their hands bj means of turpentine. The turpentine brings the particles of 
 lead into such a condition that they are easily absorbed by the skin. Lead is 
 also found in hair dyes in large quantities, and the glazed visiting cards, so 
 much in vogue a few years ago, owe their resemblance to " mother of pearl " 
 to salt of lead. 
 
280 Home and PIealth. 
 
 Antidotes for Lead Poisoning. — The topical application of cold in lead 
 poisoning has been tried in Clichy, by Professor Monneret, in over forty cases 
 with complete success. Iced drinks and injections, the cold shower-bath 
 two or three times a day, and ice-bags or ice-poultices (of fragments of ice 
 laid in dry linseed meal) are used. The pain and other symptoms disappear, 
 " as if by enchantment," and in two or three days the bowels are natural. A 
 red-lead manufacturer of France has discovered that the use of milk at their 
 meals, which he has made obligatory on his workmen, to the extent of one 
 liter daily, preserves those employed in lead works free from any symptoms cf 
 lead-disease. 
 
 Poisoning by the Filling of Teeth.— A young lady of St. Louis has 
 been suffering for several years past from symptoms of mercurial poisoning. 
 For a long time no cause could be ascertained, but a dentist finding that she 
 had her teeth filled with mercurial amalgam, came to the conclusion that the 
 chlorine contained in her saliva might have generated corrosive sublimate. 
 He therefore removed the amalgam and put in gold. She has since recovered 
 her health. 
 
 Poisoning by Wall-Paper. — The habit of putting ou the wall layer after 
 layer of wall-paper is very pernicious. Several cases have been discovered 
 lately where there was a mass of decayed paste and paper two inches thick, 
 with a large growth of fungi. The sickness of several members of the fam- 
 ilies was attributed to the paper. 
 
 Phosphorus Poisoning. — Commercial oil of turpentine is a good anti- 
 dote for poisoning by phosphorus. There is no fatty degeneration of the tis 
 sues, nor is there any free phosphorus found in the system of the animals 
 experimented on. Phosphorus and turpentine oil form in the stomach a com- 
 pound resembling spermaceti, which is readily excreted. 
 
 Poisoning by Opium. — 1. Bisulphide of carbon will cure serious cases of 
 poisoning by opium. Cloths should be saturated with it, and laid along each 
 side of the spinal column its entire length, and covered to prevent evaporation. 
 
 2. Fluid extract of belladonna, administered in doses of twenty drops eve^'y 
 ten minutes, will arrest the progress of the opiate. 
 
 3. Electricity will cure where everything else fails. 
 
 Rovrto Act vrhen Poison has been Swallo-wed : General Directions. 
 — 1. Whatever is done must be done quickly. The instant a person is known 
 to have swallowed poison, by design or accident, give water to drink, cold or 
 warm, as fast as possible, a gallon or more at a time, and as fast as vomited 
 drink more; tepid water is best, as it opens the pores of the skin and pro- 
 motes vomiting, and thus gives the speediest cure to the poisonous article. 
 If pains begin to be felt in the bowels, it shows that part, at least, has passed 
 downward ; then large and repeated injections should be .given, the object in 
 
Antidotefi for Poison — MiscelloMeous. 281 
 
 hot! c'iisc8 being to dilute the poison as quickly and as largely as possible. 
 Do not wait for warm water ; take that which is nearest at hand, cold or 
 warm, for every second of time saved is of immense importance ; at the same 
 time send instantly for a physician, and as soon as he comes turn the case into 
 his hands, telling him what you have done. Drinking a gallon or two of 
 simple water will not cure every case of poisoning, but it will cure many. 
 
 2. If a poison swallowed is known to be an acid by the name on the bottle, 
 jr by the discolored spots on the dress, or having a sour taste when the 
 iongue is applied, alkalies will be the proper antidote — such as chalk, magnesia, 
 soda, whhiug mixed with milk, or plaster torn from the wall, if nothing better 
 is at hand. If, on the other hand, poisoning has occurred by an alkaline 
 substance, such as pearl-ash, vinegar would arrest its progress. The antidote 
 for corrosive sublimate, is eggs ; and for sugar-of-lead, epsom salts. 
 
 3. A poison of any conceivable degree of potency which has been swallowed 
 intentionally or by accident, may be rendered instantly harmless by swallow- 
 ing two gills of sweet oil. An individual with a very strong constitution 
 should take twice the quantity. This oil will neutralize every form of vege- 
 table or mineral poison with which physicians or chemists are acquainted. 
 
 4. Arsenic may be rendered inactive in the stomach by a dose of hydratcd 
 peroxide of iron, which is prepared by pouring a solution of green vitriol 
 boiled with nitric acid, or of chloride of iron, into ammonia or soda, and wash- 
 ing the precipitate. Both arsenic and peroxide of iron can then be removed 
 by the stomach pump or an emetic. 
 
 EMERGENCIES-HOW TO MEET THEM. 
 
 Loss of Blood a Real Loss. — Many deaths from wounds might be pre- 
 vented if the means were immediately at hand for stopping the flow of 
 blood. In any case the loss of blood is a disaster from which it takes a long 
 time to recover. The means to be taken to save life must be adopted in- 
 stantly, before a surgeon can be called, and therefore ought to be very com- 
 nionly understood. 
 
 Bleeding from Veins. — 1. Ordinary bleeding from small cuts or injuries 
 may be stopped by cold water, or ice, or pressure, until a clot has had time (o 
 form. The wisdom of our Maker has made this wonderful provision, that as 
 soon as blood ceases to circulate in its proper channels, or comes in contact 
 with the air, it will coagulate. By this means a plug is formed at the mouth 
 of an open vessel to stop the flow of blood. Cold water and various styptics, 
 like sulphate of iron, tannin, alum, and matic^o, hasten this I'esult. 
 
 2. It is said that bleeding from a wound, on man or beast, may be itopped 
 
282 Home and Health. 
 
 \)y a mi sture of wlieat flour and common salt, in equal parts, bound on with 
 a cloth If tin; bleeding l)e profuse, use a large quantity, say from one to 
 three pints. It may be left on for hours, or even days, if necessary. 
 
 Bleeding from Arteries. — Blood may often be seen to flow from one 
 Somali point of the wound. This indicates the opening of a small artery. 
 S iglit pressure with one finger, or the ball of the thumb over the spot, will 
 stop it as long as the pressure is kept up, and often altogether, even after 
 ihe pressure is removed. 
 
 2. Bleeding from a larger artery is indicated at once, by coming in jets at 
 each beat of the heart, and being of a bright scarlet color instead of purple. 
 If the wound be of such a character that the end of the artery can be seen, 
 it can be readily taken up with a hook, or sharp-pointed fork, by any one who 
 keeps his wits about him in spite of the sudden alarm, and tied with a strong 
 thread. Otherwise, tie the limb between the wound and the heart, the sim- 
 plest device being to bind the handkerchief around, and running a stick be- 
 neath the knot, twisting it up until the requisite pressure be attained to stop 
 the bleeding. 
 
 Bleeding from the Teeth. — The following is an excellent remedy for 
 hemorrhage arising from the extraction of teeth : Cut a piece of clean dry 
 sponge inttj cone shape. This should be compressed tightly and introduced 
 into the cavity left by the tooth. As soon as the sponge -is dampened it be- 
 gins to swell, and thus will, in most cases, effectually close the cavity, and 
 prevent bleeding. 
 
 N. B. — For remedy for bleeding from the nose, see page 146. 
 
 Rupture of a Large Blood-vessel. — In case a large artery or vein is 
 cut, especially in a limb, make a knot in a handkerchief, and tie it loosely 
 about the limb, placing the knot on the wound. Then with a stick twist the 
 handkerchief until the flow of blood ceases. A pad can be used instead of a 
 knot. If the artery is ruptured, apply the pressure between the wound and 
 the heart. If a vein, beyond the wound. 
 
 Fracture of the Skull. — Send for the phj'sician. If there be a collapse, 
 hot bottles and blankets should be applied to the extremities, and the circula- 
 tion stimulated by friction with the hands. Diluted injections may be given. 
 These efforts must cease when reaction is secured. 
 
 [ Partial Fainting, and its Relief. — In mild cases of fainting, where 
 ' partial consciousness remains, stimulating substances, as vapor of ammonia or 
 cologne-water, may be inhaled, and cold water sprinkled in the face, and fresh 
 air introduced into the apartment. 
 
 Apparent Insensibility. — No violent measures should be used to arouse 
 a patient who may, or may not, be insensible. Lay him in bed, loosen his 
 clothes, and let him have a free access of air, notice whether the breathing 
 
Emergencies — Eov:) to Meet Them. 288 
 
 w quiet or noisy, regular or irregular, whether there are any couvulsive ruove- 
 menls of the limbs, whether the urine or feces are passed invohmtarvly, 
 whether the pupils of both eyes are alike, or larger or smaller than usual, or 
 w hether the patient will bear to have his eyes touched, and whether he can 
 be aroused at all. In all cases of apparent insensibility, the attendant should 
 be careful to say nothing to the patient within his hearing, for while he can 
 neither speak nor move, he may yet be perfectly conscious of all that is pass- 
 ing around him, and the effort to speak may do him great injury. 
 
 Complete Unconsciousness and its Remedy. — Place the patient im- 
 mediately in a recumbent position, with the head lower than tlie shoulders. Re- 
 move all superfluous clothing from the chest and throat. Neck-ties, collars, 
 etc., hinder recovery. Moisten the nostrils with ammonia. Throw cold water 
 into the face, and strike the palms of the hands, and rub them rapidly. Dip 
 a plate in hot water and place it over the stomach and breast-bone. Should 
 all these means fail, try galvanism, placing one pole of the battery at the up- 
 per part of the spinal column, and move the other up and down, over the 
 back-bone and the breast-bone. 
 
 Dislocation, and its Treatment. — This is the displacement of two or 
 more bones where articular surfaces have lost wholly, or in part, their natural 
 connection, either owing to external violence, or to disease of some of the 
 parts about the joint. Dislocation is complete when the bones have entirely 
 lost their connection ; incomplete, when they partly preserve it ; and compound, 
 when a wound communicates with the dislocated joint. The first thing to be 
 done is to reduce the protruded bone to its original place, then to retain it in 
 that position by means of splints, ligatured as tightly as the circulation will 
 allow. The circulation must, by no means, be impeded, otherwise mortifica- 
 tion will ensue. 
 
 Sprains, and How to Cure Them. — A spi aiu is often more painful and 
 dangerous than a dislocation. It requires immediate attention. The injured 
 part should be wrapped in flannels wrung out of hot water, and covered with 
 a dry bandage, or, what is better, oiled silk. The limb should not be allowed 
 to hang down, but kept in a quiet, easy position, until after all pain lias 
 ceased. 
 
 Fracture of the CoUar-Bone. — If the collar-bo7ie is fractured, the 
 attendants must keep the patient in bed without a pillow, with the arm on 
 the injured side folded across the chest. Keep the part moist with water 
 '• until the doctor comes." 
 
 Fracture of the Ribs. — If the ribs are fractured, the patient should re- 
 main in bed, have a spittoon within reach, so that the expectorations may be 
 duly noted by the physician when he arrives. 
 
284 Home ai^d Health. 
 
 Dislocations.— The limbs must be extended by force, until the contrac- 
 tion of the muscles is overcome, when the bone may be readily pushed into 
 its proper place. In case of dislocation of the jaw, the operator must thrust 
 both thumbs (covered by linen cloths) as far as possible into the mouth, while 
 the fingers press externally the jaw ; then press downward and backward until 
 the back end of the jawbone is restored to its place. 
 
 Clothing on Fire — Presence of Mind Needed. — Many persons lose 
 their lives by want of presence of mind when a small portion of their clothes 
 catches fire ; and many lives are lost by others in the room also losing their 
 presence of mind. The first impulse of fear is to ring the bell, rush madly 
 about the room, or into passages full of draughts, so that the fire is fanned, 
 and in a few minutes the unfortunate sufferer is hopelessly burned. 
 
 Clothing on Fire — What to Do. — The first thing to do is to snatch up 
 a hearth-rug or table-cloth, or any woolen thing that may be nearest, and roll 
 it tightly round the person. This will exclude the air, and extinguish the 
 flame. If water is within reach, it should be sluiced over the burning parts. 
 Do not go in search of it — a moment's delay is fatal. If a person is alone in 
 a room, and there is nothing better to be had, the best plan is to roll over and 
 over on the carpet till the fire is extinguished. 
 
 To Prevent Clothing from Taking Fire. — There is a very simple 
 process by which muslins, used for ladies' and children's dresses, can be pre- 
 vented from getting on fire. Dissolve a small piece of alum in the water in 
 which muslins are rinsed. When dry, if a light be put to them, they will 
 smoulder slowly away, but not break out into a blaze. And this, so far from 
 being injurious to muslin, improves its appearance greatly. 
 
 Cures for Lock-jaw. — Take a small quantity of turpentine, warm it, 
 and pour it on the wound, no matter where it is, or of what nature it is, and 
 relief will follow in less than one minute. Lobelia has been successfully 
 used in several cases of lock-jaw. 
 
 Relief from Choking. — 1. To relieve choking, break an egg into a cup and 
 give it to the patient to swallow. The white of the egg seems to catch 
 around the obstacle and remove it. If one egg does not answer the purpose 
 try another. The white is all that is necessary.* • 
 
 2. Often a smart blow between the shoulders, causing a compression of 
 the chest and a sudden expulsion of air from the lungs will throw out the 
 substance. 
 
 ♦ Eggs in Case of Trouble. — The white of an egg is said to be a specific for fish- 
 bones sticking in the throat. It is to be swallowed raw, and will carry down a bone easily 
 and certainly. There is another fact touching eggs which it will be well to remember. 
 When, as sometimes by accident, corrosive sublimate is swallowed, the white of one or two 
 eggs taken will neutralize the poiscjn, and change the effect to that of a dose of calomel. 
 
Emergencies — How to Meet Them. 285 
 
 8. If the person can swallow, give plenty jai bread and potatoes, and water 
 to wash it down. 
 
 4. Press upon the tongue with a spoon when perhaps the substance may 
 be seen and drawn out with a pair of dull scissors. 
 
 5. If these fail, give an emetic of ipecac, or mustard and water. 
 
 Frost-Bites — Instant Remedy. — Frost-bites are frequently so sudden 
 that one is not aware when they occur. In Canada, it is not uncommon foi 
 persons meeting in the street to say, " Mind, sir, your nose looks whitish." 
 The blood cools and runs slowly, and the blood-vessels become choked and 
 swollen. Keep from the heat. Rub the part quickly with snow, if necessary 
 for hours, till the natural color is restored. If one is benumbed with cold, 
 take him into a cold room, remove the wet clothes, rub the body, dry, cover 
 with blankets, and give a little warm drink. On recovering, let him be 
 brought to a fire gradually.* 
 
 General Treatment for Burns and Scalds. — In both large and small 
 burns, protect carefully from the air. Cover the wound immediately with 
 cotton-batting, or dredge it with flour. A piece of oil silk will do good ser- 
 vice. Wrap a dry bandage upon the outside. Remove the patient to a bed 
 warmly-covered. Do not remove the bandage until it becomes stiff and irri- 
 tating ; then remove gradually, and redress and cover quickly. Do not ex- 
 pose any wound to the dust and infinitesimal living germs of the air. Put 
 no salve on a hum. 
 
 1 . A solution of bi-carbonate of sodium applied to burns promptly and per- 
 manently relieves pain. 
 
 2. Cotton-batting saturated with a solution of carbolic acid is very good in 
 cases of severe burning. It is also good in cases of gunpowder burns, as it 
 prevents discoloration of the skin. 
 
 3. It is said of oakum as a dressing for burns, that it induces the healing 
 of extensive sores with remarkable rapidity ; it induces healing action in those 
 indolent ulcers that are the result of defective hygienic conditions ; it pre- 
 vents all smell ; it is cheap, saves time and trouble ; and most important of 
 all, the resulting scars do not contract. 
 
 4. In cases of scalding or burning the body, immersing the part in cold 
 water gives entire relief, as instantaneously as the lightning. Meanwhile, get 
 some common dry flour, and apply it an mch or two thick on the injured part 
 the moment it emerges from the water, and keep sprinkling on the flour 
 
 ♦ Stbele. — If you are caught in a snow-storm, look for a snow-bank in the lee of a hill, 
 or a wood out of the wind, or a hollow in the plain filled with snow. Scrape out a hole 
 big enough to creep into, and the drifting snow will keep you warm. Men and animals 
 have been preserved after days of such imprisonment. Kemember that if you give way to 
 Bleep in the open field, you will never awake. 
 
286 Home and Health. 
 
 through any thing like a pepper-box cover, so as to put it on evenly. Do 
 nothing else, drink nothing but water, eat nothing, until iruprovement com- 
 mences, except some dry bread softened in very weak tea of some kind. 
 Cures of frightful burnings have been performed in this way, as wonderful 
 as they are painless. 
 
 5. A varnisher of metals, in Paris, one day got his hand badly burned, and 
 in his agony thrust it into a pot of varnish at his side. To his astonishment 
 the pain at once ceased, and the wound rapidly healed. This cure being re- 
 ported around, peisons in the neighborhood who had got burned, came to the 
 varnisher and were cured in like manner. The news circulated far and wide, 
 and finally reached the medical faculty, and the varnisher was sent for to try 
 his skill in the hospital. He responded to the call and succeeded in curing all 
 on whom he operated. The philosophy of the cure is, the vai'nish keeps the 
 burn from the air, and gives nature a chance to supply a new skin under its 
 protection. 
 
 6. The white of an egg has proved of late the most efficacious remedy foi 
 burns. Seven or eight successive applications of this substance soothe the 
 pain and effectually exclude the burn from the air. This simple remedy seems 
 preferable to collodion or even cotton. Extraordinary stories are told of the 
 healing properties of a new oil which is easily made from the yelks of hens' 
 eggs. The eggs are first boiled hard, the yelks are then removed, crushed, 
 and placed over a fire, where they are carefully stirred until the whole sub- 
 stance is just on the point of catching fire, when the oil separates and may 
 be poured off. It is in general use among the colonists of Southern Russia 
 as a means of curing cuts, bruises, and scratches. 
 
 7. A bath in oil is one of the best remedies for serious burns. A German 
 ballet-girl, whose dress had caught fire, and who had been horribly burned in 
 consequence, was put info a bath full of oil by the chief physician of the 
 Leipsic Hospital. She was suffering excruciating agonies, but the oil caused 
 her pains to cease almost immediately. She remained in the bath nine days 
 and nights, the oil being renewed five times during that period, and her burns 
 were then so far healed that she could be taken out without pain or danger. 
 Three weeks after she had completely recovered. This is an admirable form 
 of cure, because it suppresses the intolei'able tortures which do more to kill 
 the victims by fire than the actual gravity of the wounds. Unfortunately, like 
 most f^ood things in life, it is a remedy Ijeyond the reach of small purses. 
 
 Cut-Wounds — How to Heal Quickly. — Protect the wounded parts 
 from the air and dust instantly if possible. Press the parts together and 
 keep them so by adhesive plaster or bandage, and give them instant and per- 
 manent rest till healed, which in most cases will be rapidly accomplished. 
 It is the inherent property of all wounds (on surface or deep) to heal by 
 "first intention." 
 
Emergencies — How to Meet Them. 287 
 
 How to Relieve Pain from Wounds. — A correspondent of the Countrji 
 Gentleman gives the following remedy for painful wounds : " Take a pan or 
 shovel with burning coals, and sprinkle upon them connnon brown sugar 
 and hold the wounded part in the smoke. In a few minutes the pain will be 
 allayed, and recovery proceed rapidly. 
 
 Pain from Nail in the Foot — Instant Remedy.* — The same writer says : 
 " 1)1 my own case a rusty nail had made a bad wound in the bottom of iws 
 foot. The pain and nervous irritation was severe. This w-as all removed by 
 holding it in the sugar-smoke for fifteen minutes, and I was able to resume 
 my reading in comfort. We have often recommended it to others with like 
 results. Last week one of my men had a fiuger-nail torn out by a pair of 
 ice-tongs. It became very painful, as was to be expected. Held in sugar- 
 smoke for twenty minutes, the pain ceased, and it promises speedy recovery." 
 
 Sunstroke — Its History. — The earliest case on record is the one men- 
 tioned in the Bible. 
 
 " Manassas was her husband, who died in the early harvest : for as he 
 stood among them and bound sheaves in the field, the heat came upon his 
 head, and he fell on his bed, and died in the city of Bethulia." The sec- 
 ond instance relates to the son of the Shunamite woman, who was restored 
 to life by the prophet Elisha : " And when the child was grown, it fell on a 
 day that he went out with his father to the reapers. And he said unto his 
 father, '■My head^ my head.'' And when he had taken him and brought him 
 to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died." 
 
 Sunstroke Does not FoUovr Short Exposure. — It does not depend 
 upon a short exposure to the direct rays of the sun ; the exposure must have 
 been continued for a day or two. Nor does sunstroke necessarily arise from 
 solar heat. Prolonged confinement in the heated atmosphere of a building 
 may likewise produce it. 
 
 Most Dangerous Time for Sunstroke. — About the third or fourth day 
 from the commencement of a heated term, sunstrokes usually appear. The 
 sufferers in most cases are exposed to the heat for some days preceding the 
 attack. In the summer of 1866, the majority of simstroke cases — generally 
 laboring-men — were brought to Belle vue Hospital in the morning or early in 
 the day. 
 
 Premonitory Symptoms of Sunstroke. — The symptoms of sunstroke 
 
 * Here is another, which comes strongly endorsed : " To relieve from the terrible effects 
 of running a nail in the foot of man or horse take [leach-leaves, bruise tbem, apply to the 
 wound, and confine with a bandage. Thoy cure as if by magic in most cases. Renew th< 
 Bi)plication twice a day, if necessary, but one applic.itioii usually does the work. It lia^ 
 cured both man and horse in a few hours, when they were apparently on the point of liaving 
 the lock-jaw. This recipe, remembered .and practiced, will save wauy valuaMe lives." 
 
288 Home aio) Health. 
 
 are usually headache, vertigo, dimness of vision, nausea, often developing 
 into coma, or %ven delirium or convulsions, ending in many cases in insanity, 
 softening of the brain, or death. 
 
 Hints for the Prevention of Sunstroke. — For the prevention of sun- 
 stroke^ the following are hints, especially when there is tendency to a hot 
 brain : 
 
 Wear a light-colored, well- ventilated hat. 
 
 Avoid meats and other heating foods. Eat plenty of fruit. 
 
 Wet the hair on the temples and top of the head often, but not behind. 
 
 If the hot brain pressure is felt coming on, dash cold water on the face 
 and temples, or in the absence of that, clasp and squeeze both temples with 
 fhe fingers to crowd the blood back, and rub the back of the neck powerfully 
 to draw the blood from the brain. 
 
 Where special danger is apprehended, wear a cool, wet bandage around the 
 forehead and head. 
 
 Treatment of Sunstroke. — The patient should be removed at once to a 
 cool room, and placed in a recumbent position near an open window. The 
 clothes are then stripped off, and a stream of water poured over the body. 
 The vessel containing the liquid is to be held four or five feet above the pa- 
 tient, in order that he may receive the benefit of the shock. The stream of 
 water should at first be directed on the head, then on the chest and ab- 
 domen, and finally on the extremities, and thus alternating from one part to 
 another, until consciousness returns. Ice rubbed over the body is liked by 
 some ; the cold douche is, however, preferable. 
 
 Internal medication is useful in all cases. Among the numerous drugs em- 
 ployed, bromide of potassium has been found most efficient. The best resulta 
 were obtained from its use in Bellevue Hospital, in the years 1866 and 1868. 
 This drug may be administered in all stages of the affection. When the pa- 
 tient is unable to swallow, it can be given by injection, always remembering 
 to increase the dose one quarter more than when given by mouth. In mild 
 cases, from five.to ten grains may be given, at intervals of from half an hour 
 to one hour," until the grave symptoms disappear. In several forms from ten 
 to thirty grains may be administered every half hour; when the pulse be- 
 comes weak or intermittent, stimulants are needed. Stimulation should be 
 resorted to in all cases where exhaustion is the prominent feature. Brandy 
 and milk, or brandy with ammonia, must be introduced into the stomach or 
 rectum. The cold douche must be sparingly employed in this latter class of 
 cases. If the skin is cold, it will do no good whatever. 
 
 Treatment of Sunstroke after Recovery. — After consciousness has 
 returned, mustard plasters or bhsters are to be applied to the back of the 
 neck. The bromide need not be discontinued for one or two weeks. As soon 
 
Emergencies — How to Meet Them. 289 
 
 dS convenient, the patient should be sent to a cool district in the country, and 
 kept free from excitement. The brain nuist rest from all work. Exercise in 
 the open air and nourishing diet are essential ; regular habits must be rigi lly 
 enforced. A continuance of this treatment for several months prevents, or 
 at least lessens, the danger from nervous affections which follow sunstroke. 
 
 Lightning Stroke : Preliminary Dangers : Important Hints. — Aftei 
 a thorough examination, an able medical professor states that "when persons 
 happen to be overtaken by a thunder-storm, although they may not be terrified 
 by lightning, yet they naturally wish for shelter from the rain which usually 
 attends it ; and, therefore, if no house be at hand, generally take refuge under 
 the nearest tree they can find. But in doing this they unknowingly expose 
 themselves to a double danger ; first, because their clothes being thus kept 
 dry, their bodies are rendered more liable to injury, the lightning often pass- 
 ing harmlessly over a body whose surface is wet ; and, secondly, because a 
 tree or any elevated object, instead of warding off, serves to attract and con- 
 duct the lightning, which in its passage frequently rends its trunks or branches, 
 and kills any person or animal who happens to be close to it at the time. In- 
 stead of hay-rick, pillar, wall, or hedge, the person should either pursue his 
 way to the nearest house, or get to a part of the road or field which has no 
 object that can draw lightning toward it, and remain there until the storm 
 has subsided. 
 
 " It is particularly dangerous to stand near leaden spouts or iron gates at 
 such times ; metals of all kinds have so strong a conducting power for light- 
 ning as frequently to lead it out of the course it would otherwise have taken. 
 
 " "When in the house avoid standing near a window, door, or walls during a 
 thunder-gust. The nearer you are placed to the middle of a room the better. 
 
 " When a person is struck by lightning, strip the body and throw buckets 
 full of cold water over it for ten or fifteen minutes ; let continued frictions 
 and inflations of the lungs be also practiced ; let gentle shocks of electricity 
 be made to pass through the chest, when a skillful person can be procured to 
 administer them ; and apply blisters to the chest." 
 
 Apoplexy: Nature and Cause. * — Apoplexy is caused by an unnatural 
 amount of blood in the brain. Whatever sends too much to the brain may 
 cause apoplexy. Whatever keeps the blood from coming from the brain dams 
 it up, and may cause apoplexy. This is the kind of apoplexy which seems 
 
 • From the suddenness of the attack and the apparent causelessness of it, the Greeks 
 connected it in their minds with the idea of a stroke of lightning as coming from the Al- 
 mighty hand ; it literally means "a stroke from above." As instantaneous as the hurling of 
 a thunderbolt in a clear sky, there comes a loss of sense, and feeling, and thought, and mo- 
 tion ; the heart beats, the hmgs play, but that is all— they soon cease forever. The Eoman? 
 considered the person to be " thunderstruck " or planet-strack, as if it were of unearthl> 
 ongin. — J. W. Howe. 
 19 
 
290 Home ai^d Health. 
 
 to come without any apparent adequate cause. Tying a cord around the neck, 
 or holding the head downward too long, can bring on an attack of apoplexy, 
 by damming up the blood in the brain, and keeping it from returningc to thn 
 body. A sudden mental emotion can send too much blood to the brain, or 
 too great mental excitement does the same thing. 
 
 Immediate Treatment of Apoplexy. — When a man is asleep his pulse 
 beats and his lungs play ; he is without sense, and can be easily awakened. 
 
 If a person faints, he too is without sense, but he has no pulse, and does 
 not breathe. Apoplexy is between the two ; the heart beats, the lungs play 
 as in sleep, and there is no sense as in fainting, but you can't shake the man 
 back to life. 
 
 In sleep the face is natural. 
 
 In a fainting fit it has the pallor of death. 
 
 In apoplexy it is swollen, turbid, and fairly livid. 
 
 If a man is asleep, let him alone ; nature will wake him up as soon as he 
 has got sleep enough. 
 
 When a person faints, all that is necessary is to lay him down on the 
 floor, and he will " come to." 
 
 In apoplexy set a man up* Then give him rest. Keep the head raised, 
 and put cool cloths upon it. Put mustard plasters on the calves of the legs. 
 These may draw the blood from the head. In difficult cases, strong purga- 
 tives should be given, and sometimes these should be accompanied by electric 
 or galvanic action. After recovery the extent of the liability of another at- 
 tack cannot be estunated. In a majority of cases, among persons of prudent, 
 careful life, there is no relapse. 
 
 How to Treat Delirious Patients. — Avoid any roughness in dealing with 
 8uch cases, but be firm, and do not permit them to know you are afraid of 
 them or inclined to let them have their own way. Do not attempt to argue 
 with them or contradict any of their assertions, but at the same time it is well 
 to appear interested in their conversation. See that all escape is prevented 
 See that there are no knives or dangerous weapons within reach. Immediate 
 aid should be within call. 
 
 Convulsions, and How to Stop Them. — Some children are liable to 
 convulsions from derangement of the digestive organs. They sometimes oc- 
 cur when a child is teething. The attack is (yften preceded by involuntary 
 
 * In apoplexy, as there is too much blood in the head, every one can see that the position 
 Is to set a man up, and the blood naturally tends downward — as much so as water will como 
 out of a bottle when it is turned upside down, if the cork is out. 
 
 If, then, a man is merely asleep, let him alone, for the face is natural. 
 
 If a man has fainted, lay him flat on his back, fur his face is Jeadly pale. 
 
 If a man is apoplectic, set him in a chair, because the face is swollen and livid witb ita ex 
 cess of blood. 
 
 n 
 
Emergencies — How to Meet Them. 
 
 291 
 
 movements of the mouth or eyelids ; then the eyes become JBxed and the body 
 rigid, the bre;ithing is irregular, often suspended for a few moments, and the 
 face and surface of the body becomes dark red or livid. This is followed by 
 twitching or jerking of the limbs, and often the arms and the legs, and 
 the muscles of the face. The attendant should at once prepare a warm bath, 
 and the child be immersed in the water up to the head, which should have 
 cold water applied to it. It should be kept in the bath until the convulsions 
 ceasr, keeping up the temperature to about 98°. After the bath, wrap the 
 child in a warm blanket. 
 
 EMERGENCIES-DROWNING. 
 
 What to Do in Case of Drowning.* — When a drowned person is taken 
 from the water he must be treated on the spot, in the open air. On no ac- 
 count waste precious time by removing him to a house, unless the weather 
 is intensely cold. Secure a return of breathing first — protecting him from 
 the severe cold by coats, blankets, etc., if necessary — and then take him 
 into a house Keep bystanders off twelve or fifteen feet, while three (or, at 
 most, four) stout persons manage the patient. Loosen all tight clothing. 
 
 To Restore Breathing. — Place the patient upon his face^ with his chest 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 resting on a good cushion, (as a coat folded,) and one arm brought under his 
 forehead, (see Fig. 1.) In this position the fluid will escape from the mouth, 
 
 ♦Reprinted from The PJnjxio- Med teal Recorder^ Cincinnati, by the courtesy of whose 
 editor and publisher, Wm. H. Cook, M.D., the article, with its illustrations, is here inserted. 
 
292 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 throat, and mostly from the lungs. The tongue itself will also fall forward, 
 md thus leave the entrance to the windpipe free. The mouth may be wiped 
 ^ut quickly with a fold of the handkerchief over one's forefinger. Press 
 gently between the shoulder-blades and on the sides. On no account lift the 
 patient to his feet, or even to a sitting posture, even for a moment, as such 
 a position causes the water to sink to the bottom of the lungs, and might 
 utterly strangle a patient who was gasping for breath. 
 
 Possibly the patient may struggle into breathing so soon as the water 
 escapes from his mouth. If so, manage him as hereafter described for this 
 stage of recovery. If he should not now recover, do not keep him on his 
 face more than one-fonrth of a minute at the furthest ; but remove the 
 hands from making pressure on the sides and back, and turn him fully upon 
 one side, no matter whether right or left, as in Fig. 2. Support the head 
 
 Fie. 9. 
 
 while doing this, and Silso hold up the arm that was previously under the 
 forehead. Some smelling-salts or snuff may be placed to the nose in the 
 hope of exciting a breathing effort, but not too abundantly ; or a feather 
 may be used to tickle the throat. Be careful not to roll the patient so far 
 upon his back as to have the tongue fall back upon the windpipe ; and if it 
 is observed thus to fall, pull it forward quickly. 
 
 The position upon the side must not be maintained longer than a few sec- 
 onds. If the patient then show no signs of returning life, he must be rolled 
 up(m the face, precisely as in the position first named — making pressure 
 between the shoulder-blades and upon the sides of the chest, as before. This 
 position upon the face causes (or imitates) the natural action of lungs and 
 chest in the expiration of breath ; while the position upon the side imitate? 
 
 2 
 
Emergencies — Drowning. 
 
 293 
 
 the inspiration of breath. These two movements may now be repeated reg- 
 ularly, as a close resemblance to the natural act of breathing. They should 
 be made at the rate of not more than fifteen times in a minute, or once in 
 four seconds. There is much liability that they will be made oftener ; but 
 this must be carefully guarded against. The turning upon the side had bet- 
 ter be alternated from right to left. At the moment of turning from the face 
 to the side, all pressure must be removed from the trunk ; and it will be well 
 also to lift upward the free arm, so that its weight shall not drag across the 
 chest and compress the lungs. If the tongue should be disposed to fall back- 
 ward, it had better be drawn pretty well forward by passing a cord behind 
 Its thick part and out of the corners of the mouth — then tying the cord under 
 the chin. Smelling salts may be applied occasionally, but not too often nor 
 too freely. 
 
 Fio. 8, 
 
 While caiiying on the above operations, dry the hands and feet gently 
 without much rubbing, and gently put on dry clothing ; and be sure not to 
 let the act of changing the clothes interfere in the least with either the 
 regularity or the completeness of the above movements. These movements 
 often suffice to restore signs of life in a few minutes. If no such signs are 
 apparent after eight or ten minutes of such efforts, the position may be 
 changed, and different movements made as follows : — 
 
 The water being thoroughly worked out of the lungs by the above move- 
 ments, place the patient upon his back upon a board or other flat surface. 
 Let this incline upward a little from the feet to the head. Support the head 
 and shoulders on a small but firm cushion, extending down to the lower edge 
 of the shoulder-blades, such as a folded coat. Draw the patient's tongue 
 Ptrongly forward, even beyond the lips, and keep it thus by a tape or strhig, 
 
291 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 as before named. Now take a position at the patient's head, grasp hia arma 
 just above the elbows, and draw them gently (but steadily and firmly) upward, 
 as in Fig. 3. Keep them well stretched in this position for two seconds. 
 This movement elevates the whole ribs, enlarges the capacity of the chest, 
 and puts the parts in a position favorable for the ingress of air. Next bend 
 the patient's elbows, turn the arms downward, and press them gently but 
 firmly against the sides of the chest, as in Fig. 4. Keep them in this posi- 
 tion for two seconds, during which time the air will be pressed out of the 
 lungs. The first or upward position of the arms is now to be resumed ; and 
 these movements are thus to be continued perseveringly at the rate of not more 
 ihamjifteen times to the minute. This latter plan is called the Sylvester plan. 
 These movements must be continued without any remission whatever ; nor 
 «*hould such efforts cease because signs of life do not return soon. It is not 
 
 Fis 4 
 
 uncommon for such efforts to prove successful at the end of two hours ; and 
 several cases are on record in which no symptoms of returning life were seen 
 until the fourth, and even the fifth, hour of unremitting labor, and then the 
 attendants were rewarded by the recovery of the patient. 
 
 To Restore Circulation. — The above measures are directed wholly to re 
 storing the breath. This is the first necessity. There should be no rubbing 
 of the surface, except gently, to dry it, while this is going on. Should the 
 inclemency of the weather demand the removal of the patient in-doors, the 
 above movements must be kept up, even while he is being removed ; and on 
 no account should he be taken into a warm or crowded room. 
 
 When the patient begins to breathe, commence rubbing the limbs. Rub 
 them upioard with considerable briskness and pressure. Use flannels some 
 
Einergencies — Drowning. 295 
 
 A^hat warmed ; throw a quilt or blanket over the patient, and continue fric- 
 tion under this. Put two or three layers of warm flannel on the stomach ; 
 and warm bricks, or bottles of warm water, may be put at the feet, between 
 the thighs, and under the arm-pits; but be very careful not to have these 
 things too warm, or much above the temperature of the healthy body. As . 
 they get cool, replace them with others of the right warmth. As conscious- 
 ness returns, give him a spoonful of weak ginger-tea every five minutes, and, 
 as he gets stronger, use the tea stronger and in larger quantities, or give a 
 tea of composition instead of ginger. Brandy, and other alcoholic drinks 
 are the worst stimulants that could be given. Black pepper, red pepper, or 
 allspice, are far better. When the pulse has been restored, encourage a dispo- 
 sition to sleep. 
 
 Recovery Twelve Hours after Drowning. — A correspondent of the 
 Christian Advocate sends us an account of the drowning at Osceola Mills, 
 some five years ago, of two little boys, Willie and Charlie, aged four and six 
 years. They were on the bank of the Big Moshanon Creek, fishing, and both 
 fell in. They were seen by the father, near by, who hastened to their relief, 
 but were not recovered until life was apparently extinct. Charlie was under 
 water eight or ten minutes. The correspondent adds : — 
 
 The children were carried home by the parents, a physician sent for to 
 Philipsburgh, a distance of five miles. In the meantime a fire was made in 
 the cook-stove, a lounge placed behind it, and Charlie placed thereon, rolled 
 up in warm blankets, and thoroughly rubbed with brandy ; brandy was also 
 forced down his throat. The physician came, but could do nothing more than 
 had been done. The neighbors came and went until midnight, leaving Charlie 
 for dead. Though all others gave up the hope of restoring Charlie, the 
 mother continued to rub him, and keep him warm until three o'clock the next 
 morning, when he opened his eyes, and, looking his mother in the face, ex- 
 claimed, " Mamma, what am I doing here ? " The accident happened about 
 three o'clock the previous afternoon, making twelve hours from the time he 
 was drowned until he showed life, or spoke. 
 
 How to Bring a Drowning Person to Shore. — The proper method 
 of bringing a drowning man to shore, is to approach him from behind. Seize 
 him with your left hand by the hair, coat-collar, or shoulder. Turn him upon 
 his back, and then place his head upon your chest, and, with your right arm 
 free, swim upon your back to the land. (If by the left hand alone it be too 
 difficult to turn him upon his back, apply, in addition, the right hand to his 
 right shoulder, and the turning will be easily accomplished.) If he be con- 
 scious, encourage him, and direct him to straighten out his legs. * 
 
 ♦ If the drowning man be out of sight under the water, watch carefully for the rising ol 
 a bubble upon the surface; he will usually be found directly below it. 
 
^96 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
Poultices and Their Ajypkcation. 297 
 
 POULTICES AND THEIR APPLICATION. 
 
 G-eneral Purpose of a Poultice. — The use of poultices. is to promote 
 warmth and moisture ; hence those which keep warm and moist the longe-^ 
 are the best. They are employed in the treatment of abscesses, suppurating 
 wounds, inflammation, and pain. In making them the attendant should have 
 iiem smooth, light, and as hot as they can be made without burning in their 
 application. 
 
 1. Bread Poultice. Cold, light wheat bread, soaked in sweet milk, makes 
 good ones. 
 
 2. Beet Poultice. A beet fresh from the garden, and pounded fine, makes 
 an excellent poultice. 
 
 3. lAnseed-meal Poultice. In preparing this, the basin should be scalded 
 in which it is made. Pour in boiling water, according to the size of the poul- 
 tice required. Add gradually sufficient linseed-meal to form a thick paste, 
 stirring it one way until it is of the proper consistency and smoothness ; then 
 spread it on linen or muslin, and apply it. 
 
 4. Charcoal Poultice. Take two ounces of bread in crumbs, soak for ten 
 minutes in boiling water — say ten ounces ; then mix and add gradually a half 
 an ounce of pulverized charcoal and a half an ounce of linseed-meal, well 
 stirred together; spread as above, and apply. 
 
 5. Chlorinated Soda Poultice is made like linseed-meal poultice ; consisting 
 of two parts of linseed-meal poultice, to one of chlorinated soda, mixed with 
 boiling water. 
 
 6. Yeast Poultice is made by mixing a pound of flour or linseed-meal with 
 half a pint of yeast ; heat it, and stir it carefully. All poultices are made 
 with boiling water, except yeast, and with this the temperature should not 
 be over 100°. 
 
 1. Mustard Poidtice. Take a sufficient quantity of powdered mustard to 
 make a thin paste of the required size. It should be mixed with boiling 
 water, with a small quantity of vinegar added, if a very strong poultice is re- 
 quired. Spread it on brown paper or linen, with a piece of thin muslin over 
 it. It should be kept on from ten to twenty minutes. If the skin is very 
 irritable afterward, a little flour should be sprinkled over it. By mixing the 
 mustard with the white of an egg, the poultice will not cause a blister. 
 
 8. Mustard and Linseed Poidtice. These poultices are often mixed with 
 linseed-meal when a milder form is required than of mustard alone. After 
 the use of any kind of mustard poultice, the skin should be carefully wiped 
 with something very soft, so that no mustard be left behind. One of the best 
 mustard poultices is the paper plaster now sold by every druggist. It is al- 
 ways ready, and can be carried by a traveler. It has only to be dippetl in 
 vater, and applied at once. 
 
298 Home and Health. 
 
 BRIEF CURES FOR VARIOUS DISEASES. 
 
 Colds — Seven Important Remedies. — A cold, like measles or mumps, 
 or other similar ailments, will run its course of about ten days in spite of what 
 may be done for it, unless remedial means are employed within forty-eight 
 hours after its inception. Many a useful life will be spared to be increas- 
 ingly useful by cutting a cold "short off" before it has taken firm hold on 
 the system. The following are safe, simple, and authenticated remedies : — 
 
 1. On the first day of taking a cold there is a very unpleasant sensation 
 of chilliness. The moment you observe this, go to your room and stay there ; 
 keep it at such a temperature as will entirely prevent this chilly feeling, even 
 if it requires a hundred degrees of Fahrenheit. In addition, put your feet in 
 hot water, half a leg deep, as hot as you can bear it, adding hot water from 
 time to time for a quarter of an hour, so that the water shall be hotter when 
 you take your feet out than when you put them in it : then dry them thor- 
 oughly, and then put on warm, thick woolen stockings, even if it be summer, 
 for summer colds are the most dangerous ; and for twenty-four hours eat not 
 an atom of food, but drink as largely as you desire of any kinds of warm 
 teas, and at the end of that time, if not sooner, the cold will be effectually 
 broken without any medicine whatever. 
 
 2. Dio Lewis's remedy is the use of cold water as follows : " Eat no sup- 
 per. On going to bed drink two tumblers of cold water. On rising in the 
 morning drink freely of cold water. For breakfast eat a piece of dry bread 
 as large as your hand. Go out freely during the morning. For dinner eat 
 about the same as you ate at breakfast. During the afternoon take a sharp 
 walk, or engage in some active exercise which shall produce a little perspira- 
 tion. Go without your supper and retire early, drinking, before you jump 
 into bed, as much cold water as you can swallow." 
 
 3. Many colds are from over-eating or eating gross food. Strong persons 
 with large lungs who exercise a great deal and breathe much, can dispose of 
 a large quantity of food, but the feeble and sedentary must eat moderately, 
 or break down early ; for this kind of a cold one preventive is worth a dozen 
 cures, namely, cut off the supjilies. 
 
 4. Dr. Paillon, of France, announces what he considers to be a new method 
 oi curing a cold in the head. It consists in inhaling through the nose the 
 emanations of ammonia contained in a smelling-bottle. If the sense of smell 
 is completely obliterated, the bottle should be kept under the nose until the 
 pungency of the volatile alkali is felt. The bottle is then removed, but only 
 to be reapplied after a minute ; the second application, however, should not 
 be long, that the patient may bear it. Tliis easy operation being repeated 
 seven or eight times in the course of five minutes, but always very rapidly, 
 except the first time, the nostrils bocouic free, the sense of smell is restored. 
 
Bi'ief Cures fon' Various Diseases. 209 
 
 and the secretion of the irritating mucus is stopped. This remedy is said to 
 be peculiarly advantageous to singers. 
 
 5. JPorax has proved a most effective remedy in certain forms of colds. 
 In sudden hoarseness or loss of voice in public speakers or singers, from colds, 
 relief for an hour or so, as by magic, may be often obtained by slowly dis- 
 solving and partially swallowing a lump of borax the size of a garden pea, or 
 about three or four grains, held in the mouth for ten minutes before speaking 
 or singing. This produces a profuse secretion of saliva, or " watering " of 
 the mouth and throat, probably restoring the voice or tone to the dried vocal 
 cords, just as " wetting " brings back the missing notes to a flute when it is 
 too dry. 
 
 6. The following is an excellent and safe remedy for children : Take onions, 
 slice thin, and sprinkle loaf-sugar over them ; put in the oven, and simmer 
 until the juice is thoroughly mixed with the sugar. It makes a thick syrup, 
 very nice. Give a teaspoouful as seems to be needed, four or five times a 
 day. 
 
 7. Dr. George M. Beard, (Allopathist,) a well-known medical lecturer and 
 writer, strongly recommends the following formula or prescription, suggested 
 originally by one of his patients, and since often given by Dr. B. Take of 
 camphor, two parts ; powdered opium, one part ; carbonate of ammonia, two 
 parts. Dissolve the camphor to the thickness of cream, and then add the 
 opium and ammonia. Let it be prepared by the druggist. Keep the bottle 
 tightly corked, and take a dose just before retiring at night. Dose, from 
 three to six grains in a little water. The druggist who puts up the powder 
 will show the buyer the quantity to be taken. It should be kept on hand at 
 all times, and should be first taken immediately after being chilled through, 
 and should be repeated the following night. 
 
 How to Relieve Severe Coughs — Seven Qood Recipes. — 1. The 
 paroxysm of coughing may often be prevented or cured by using a little dry 
 salt as a gargle. Let those who doubt try it. It will relieve the tickling in 
 the throat. 
 
 2. Equal parts of hoarhound, elecampane root, comf rey root, spikenard, 
 and wild-cherry bark. Boil in one gallon soft water down to one quart ; 
 strain, and add one pound of honey. Take a tablespoonful three times a 
 day, or when the cough is troublesome. 
 
 3. Roast a lemon very carefully without burning it ; when it is thoroughly 
 liot, cut and sciuceze it into a cup upon three ounces of sugar, finely pow- 
 dered. Take a spoonful whenever your cough trouljles you. It is good and 
 agreeable to the taste. Rarely has it been known to fail of giving relief. 
 
 4. Take one quart thick flaxseed tea, one pint of honey, half pint of vin- 
 egar, two spoonfuls saltpeter. Boil all together in a new earthen pot that is well 
 glazed, until it becomes a pretty thick syrup ; keep stirring while boiling with 
 
300 Home and Health. 
 
 a pine Btitk; if fresh from a greet tree the better. Dose, one tablespoon- 
 ful three or four times a day. 
 
 6. A medical writer says : " We are often troubled with severe coughs, the 
 result of colds of long standing, which may turn to consumption or prema- 
 ture death. The remedy I propose has been often tried by me, with good re- 
 sults, which is simply to take into the stomach before retiring for the night « 
 piece of raw onion, after chewing. This esculent in an uncooked state is 
 very heating, and tends to collect the waters from the lungs and throat, 
 Pausing immediate relief to the patient." 
 
 6. Common sweet cider, boiled down to one half, makes a most excellent 
 syrup for coughs and colds for children — is pleasant to the taste, and will 
 keep for a year in a cool cellar. In recovering from an illness, the system 
 has a craving for some pleasant acid drink. This is found in cider which is 
 placed on the fire as soon as made, and allowed to come to a boil, then cooled, 
 put in casks, and kept in a cool cellar. 
 
 7. Take a handful of hops, put it into three pints of hot water ; let it boil 
 one half hour, or xmtil the strength is out. Strain and add one and one half 
 cups of best kind of molasses, and one cup of white sugar. Boil down slowly 
 in a bright dish or enameled kettle to about one quart. Then bottle up, and 
 it is ready for use. Drink a little when you cough. 
 
 Cures for Sore Throat.— 1. Powdered potash held on the tongue and 
 allowed to dissolve is very good for sore throat when there are " white 
 spots." 
 
 2. For clergymen's sore throat, use fluid extract Callinsonia and simple 
 syrup, equal parts. Take a teaspoonful three or four times a day. 
 
 3. Take the whites of two eggs and beat them in with two spoonfuls of 
 white sugar; grate in a little nutmeg, and then add a pint of luke-warm 
 water. Stir well and drink often. Repeat the prescription, if necessary. A 
 practical physician thinks it will cure the most obstinate case of hoarseness 
 in a short time. 
 
 4. One of the best of cures is a cold-water compress. Before going to 
 bed, wet a cotton-rag in cold water and wring it partially dry. Put it closely 
 around the throat, and wrap around it a large piece of flannel to keep the 
 moisture in. In the morning, bathe the throat in cold water and rub briskly 
 with a coarse towel to prevent catching cold. 
 
 5. Every body has a cure for this trouble, but simple remedies appear tc 
 be most effectual. Salt and water is used by many as a gargle, but a little 
 alum and honey dissolved in sage-tea is better. Others use a few drops of cam- 
 phor on loaf sugar, which very often affords immediate relief. An applica- 
 tion of cloths wrung out of hot water and applied to the neck, changed as 
 often as it begins to cool, has the most potency in removing inflammation. 
 
Brief Cures for Various Diseases. 301 
 
 Headache — Five Different Remedies Suggested. — 1. Much sick, 
 headache is caused by overloading the stomach — by indigestion. It may 
 be relieved by drinking very freely of warm water, whether it produces 
 vomiting or not. If the feet are cold, warm them or bathe them in water 
 as hot as you can bear it. Soda or ashes in the water will do good. If 
 the pain is very severe, apply a cloth wrung out of hot water to the head — 
 pack the head as it were. To prevent it, let plainness, simplicity, and tem- 
 perance preside at your table. In some cases medicine is necessary ; but if 
 the above is properly carried out, almost immediate relief is experienced. 
 
 2. One-fourth of a grain of ipecac, repeated every half hour or hour, has 
 iclicved many cases of nervous sick-headache, and if the ipecac is continued 
 in one to three-grain doses three or four times daily, a cure will frequently 
 result — at least the intervals will be prolonged. 
 
 3. " The people about the Jumna and Tonsee rivers, India," says Mr. Wil- 
 son, " have this way of treating a common headache : They lie down by 
 the fire, and with the forehead as near to it as bearable. It is a very good 
 one, I believe. I have tried it myself with success when my own remedy failed.* 
 
 4. Dr. Warburton Begbie, of Edinburgh, advocates the use of turpentine 
 in the severe headache to which nervous and hysterical women are subject. 
 " There is, moreover," he says, '* another class of sufferers from headache, 
 and this is composed of both sexes, who may be relieved by turpentine. 
 I refer to the frontal headache, which is most apt to occur after prolonged 
 mental effort, but may likewise be induced by unduly sustained physical 
 exertion — what may be styled the headache of a fatigued brain. A cup of 
 very strong tea often relieves this form of headache, but this remedy with 
 not a few is perilous, for, bringing relief from pain, it may produce general 
 restlessness, and, worst of all, banish sleep. Turpentine in doses of 20 to 30 
 minims, given at intervals of an hour or two, will entirely remove the 
 headache. 
 
 5. A much simpler cure than any of the above, and one more likely to be 
 permanently effective, is to stop drinking tea. Try it. See our chapter on 
 " Tea and Coffee and Health," p. 103. 
 
 Indigestion and Dyspepsia — Four Remedies. — 1. Many of the Welsh 
 peasants live almost wholly upon oatmeal-cakes and buttermilk, and seldom 
 suffer from indigestion. The acid {lactic add) in the buttermilk is regarded 
 as a promoter of digestion. 
 
 2. Dyspepsia is cured by muscular exercise, voluntary or involuntary, and 
 in no other way can it be cured, because nothing can create or collect the 
 gastric juice except exercise ; it is a product of the human machine. Na- 
 ture only can make it. 
 
 ♦ Medical and Surgical Reporter. 
 
302 Home and Health. 
 
 3. A dyspeptic once read that by sending a dollar to a person in New 
 York he would receive a cure for dyspepsia. On sending the money he was 
 sent a printed slip with these words : " Stop drinking and hoe in the gar- 
 den." The man was angry at first, then laughed, and finally stopped drink- 
 ing and "hoed in the garden." The result was in a short time he was as 
 well as ever. There is more in this cure than would appear at first sight.* 
 
 4. A Southfrn gentleman says: "For something near two years I had 
 suffered with dyspepsia and soreness of the gastric organs. During that 
 time I used several different preparations, and advised with every physician 
 I rnet, but still could get no permanent relief. Four or five months ago I 
 commenced the use of a remedy that has proved very beneficial to me. 
 Here it is: Every night before I retire, and every morning just as soon as I 
 rise, I give myself a good pounding all over the breast and stomach, breath- 
 ing long, full breaths frequently during the operation, and throwing my arms 
 in every direction. I followed this course energetically for some time. Now 
 I have no symptoms of dyspepsia, and the soreness in my stomach, which 
 gave me an untold amount of annoyance, has almost entirely disappeared. 
 Of course the pounding must be light and moderate at first. This remedy 
 is simple, and can be used by all." 
 
 Biliousness — Its Symptoms and Cvire.— Bad blood, too much blood, 
 giving headache, bad taste in the mouth mornings, variable appetite, sick- 
 ness at stomach, chilliness, cold feet, and great susceptibility to taking cold ; 
 no one person may have all these symptoms when bilious, but one or more is 
 always present. 
 
 Sometimes a bilious person has a yellow tinge in the face and eyes called 
 " bilious," because the bile, which is yellow, is not withdrawn from the 
 blood ; it is the business of the liver to do that, but when it does not do it 
 it is said to be lazy, does not work, and the physician begins at once to use 
 remedies which are said to " promote the action of the liver." 
 
 It has been discovered within a few years that acids " act on the liver," 
 such as nitric acid, elixir vitriol, vinegar ; but these are artificial acids, and 
 do not have the uniform good effect of natural acids — those which are found 
 in fruit and berries. 
 
 Almost all persons become bilious as the warm weather comes on ; nine 
 
 * A Vert Stjqgestivr Curk. — If any dyspeptic young lady will take five pounds of 
 loose-waistedness, four of short skirtedness, three of bodily cleanliness and warmly-clothed- 
 ness, and with these take a stomach moderately full of unseasoned fruits and vegetables, 
 and unbolted, unfermented bread, two or three times a day, with nothing between excepting 
 occasionally a gill, or half a gill, of pure soft water, mixed well with out-of-door exercise, 
 pure fresh air, and plenty of sunshine for both S'>ul and body, she will be cured of the dys- 
 pepsia, or almost any other ill that flesh is heir to, without " aloes," " alcohol,"' or any other 
 poisonous abominations. 
 
Brief Cures for Various Diseases. 303 
 
 times out of ten nature calls for her own cure, as witness the almost univer- 
 Bal avidity for "greens," fo;- " !?pinach," in the early spring, these being 
 eaten with vinegar; and soon after, by the benign arrangement of Provi- 
 dence, the delicious strawberry comes, the raspberry, the blackberry, the 
 whortleberry ; then the cherries and peaches and apples, carrying us clear 
 into the fall of the year, when the atmosphere is so pure and bracing that 
 there is general good health every-where. 
 
 The most beneficial anti-bilious method of using fruits and berries as 
 health promoters is to take them at dessert, after breakfast and dinner; 
 to take them in their natural, raw, ripe, fresh state, witliout cream or sugar, 
 or any thing else beside the fruit themselves. 
 
 Half a lemon eaten every morning on rising, and on retiring, is often effi- 
 cacious in removing a bilious condition of the system, giving a good appetito 
 and greater general health. 
 
 First, on getting up and going to bed, drink plenty of cold water. Eat 
 for breakfast, until the bilious attack passes, a little stale bread, say one 
 slice, and a piece as large as your hand of boiled lean beef or mutton. If 
 the weather is warm, take instead a little cracked wheat, or oatmeal porridge. 
 For dinner take about the same thing. Go without your supper. Exercise 
 freely in the open air, producing perspiration, once or twice a day. In a 
 few days your biliousness is all gone. This result will come, even though 
 the biliousness is one of the spring sort, and one with wliicli you have, 
 from year to year, been much afflicted. Herb drinks, bitter drinks, lager- 
 beer, ale, whisky, and a dozen other spring medicines, are simply barbar- 
 ous.* 
 
 Diarrhoea and Dysentery — Nine Remedies. — 1. In all cases of diar- 
 rhoea, dysentery, etc., perfect rest should be enjoined, which adds more to 
 the removal of the difficulty than the too-frequent use of medicine. A re- 
 cumbent position is best. 
 
 2. Parched corn and meal, boiled in skimmed milk, and fed frequently to 
 children suffering from summer diarrhoea, will almost always cure, as it will 
 dysentery in adults, and often the cholera in its earliest stages. 
 
 3. Common rice, parched brown like coffee, and then boiled and eaten in 
 the ordinary way, without any other food, is, with perfect quietude of the 
 body, one of the most effective remedies for troublesome looseness of the 
 bowels. 
 
 4. Put a quarter pound of oat-meal, an ounce and a half of sugar, half a 
 teaspoonful of salt, and three pints of water, into a stew-pan, boil slowly 
 twenty minutes, stir continually. Before serving, add one pint boiled miik. 
 one ounce butter, and a little pounded spice. 
 
 * Dio Lewis.. 
 
304 Home anb Health. 
 
 5. A spoonful or two of pure, raw wheat-flour, thinned with»ater so it can 
 be easily drunk. Three or four doses, taken at intervals of ten or twelve hours, 
 will generally cure any case not absolutely chronic. To make the dose pal- 
 atable for children, it can be sweetened, and flavored with some drops not 
 acid. 
 
 6. A physician says : " My attention was called, a short time since, to a 
 novel, but nevertheless successful, remedy. While rendering medical assist- 
 ance to an extremely sick patient with an obstinate attack of cholera morbus. 
 all my remedies were of no effect until, by request, a large onion was peeled 
 and cut in half, and one half placed in each arm-pit. In several attacks since 
 that time have I seen this remedy promptly control the incessant vomiting, 
 and relieve the distressing nausea." 
 
 '7. Take one gill of rice, and place in a spider over the fire, stirring it con- 
 stantly until thoroughly brown. Do not burn it. As soon as it is thoroughly 
 brown, fill the spider with boiling water, and let it boil till the mass is of the 
 consistency of thin paste. If the rice is not cooked perfectly soft, add a lit- 
 tle more water and let it boil away again. Be careful at the last moment 
 that it does not burn on the bottom. When cooked soft, turn into a bowl, 
 sweeten with loaf or crushed sugar, and salt to suit the taste. Eat in milk. 
 
 8. For diarrhoea in children, take one cup wheat flour, and tie in a stout 
 cloth, and drop in cold water ; then set over the fire and boil three hours 
 steadily. After it is cold, remove the cloth and crust formed by boiling. The 
 ball thus prepared can be kept ready for use for any length of time. To use, 
 grate a tablespoonful for a cupful of boiling water and milk — each one-half. 
 Wet up the flour with a very little cold water ; stir in, and boil five minutes. 
 Sweeten to taste. Use a little salt, if desired. 
 
 9. Nothing is easier to check than chronic diarrhoea, if it is of the genuine 
 kind, which you may know by the symptom of a clean, very smooth tongue. 
 If the tongue is not clean and smooth, the diarrhoea may be an effort of na- 
 ture to clean you out, and you had best let it alone. If it is really chronic 
 diarrhoea, take pills of opium and tannin, (provided they are prescribed by 
 your physician,) one grain of each, at intervals during a few days, and it will 
 stop the trouble. But stop using the pills as soon as possible, or you may 
 have trouble of an opposite kind. 
 
 Constipation — Cause and Cure. — Over-indulgence in animal food is a 
 frequent cause of constipation. No nation consumes such quantities of flesh 
 meats, and so many times a day, as the American. Dyspepsia and constipa- 
 tion result. The rapidity with which we eat, and which causos dyspepsia, ii» 
 equaled by the carelessness, the hvirry, and the neglect which we inflict upon 
 the colon and rectum. A neglect of a regular and proper hour to evacuate 
 the bowels often induces constipation. 
 
Brief Cures for Va/n'ious Diseases. 305 
 
 Abstaiu from tea and coifce, eat plenty of f^-esh vegetables, drink a glasa 
 of water immediately after rising in the morning, eat slowly, and masticate 
 the food well, avoid salt meats and salt fish, and take one tablespoonful of 
 sulphur every other night upon retiring. 
 
 Cures for Boils. — 1. An experienced and well-known New York phy- 
 sician * prescribes the following cure for boils : Procure one ounce horse-rad- 
 ish root, one ounce yellow-dock root, and one quart of cider. Boil ten min- 
 utes. Drink a wine-glassful three times a day. The physician referred 
 to hinted, suh rosa, that the cider need not be continued after the boils are 
 cured. 
 
 2. As soon as the characteristic culminating point of a boil makes its ap- 
 pearance, put in a saucer a thimbleful of camphorated alcohol, and, dipping 
 the ends of the middle fingers into the liquid, rub the inflamed surface, es- 
 pecially the middle portion, repeating the operation eight or ten times, con- 
 tinuing the rubbing at each time for about half a minute. Then allow the 
 surface to dry, placing a slight coating of camphorated olive-oil over the af- 
 ''ected surface. One such application, in almost all such cases, causes boils 
 to dry up and disappear. The application should be made at morning, noon, 
 and in the evening. The same treatment will cure whitlows, and all injuries 
 of tips of fingers. As soon as pain and redness appear, the fingers should 
 be soaked for ten minutes in camphorated sweet-oil. The relief is said to be 
 immediate, and three applications are generally enough to afford a cure. 
 
 To Prevent and Cure Ulcers. — 1. Dried and pulverized clay applied 
 to an ulcer will cure it in a short time, and leave no scar. 
 
 2. Petroleum has been used, with good results, as an external application 
 to ulcers and wounds. It may be used undiluted or diluted with equal parts 
 of oil or glycerine. 
 
 3. Ulcers caused by cyanide of potassium, so much used by photographers, 
 may be guarded against by rubbing the hands, when soiled with it, with a 
 mixture of photo-sulphate of iron reduced to a very fine powder, and linseed 
 oil. 
 
 Felons— Eight Thoroughly-Tested Cures. — 1. Take a pint of com- 
 mon soft soap, and stir in air-slaked lime till it is of the consistency of 
 glazier's putty. Make a leather thimble, fill it with this composition, and in- 
 sert the fingers therein, and a cure is certain. 
 
 2. As soon as the parts begin to swell, get the tincture of lobelia, and wrap 
 the part affected with a cloth saturated thoroughly with the tincture, and the 
 felon is dead. An old physician says he has known it to cure in scores of 
 cases, and it never fails if applied in season. 
 
 ♦Dr. Walter Palmer. 
 20 
 
306 Home and Health. 
 
 3. As soon as the disease is felt, put directly over the spot a fly blister, 
 about the size of your thumb-nail, And let it remain for six hours, at the ex- 
 piration of which time, directly under the surface of the blister, may be seen 
 the felon, which can be instantly taken out with the point of a needle or a 
 lancet. 
 
 4. When the felon first appears, procure some poke root, and roast a piece 
 sufficient to cover your finger. When it is roasted tender, cut it open and 
 l)ind it on the felon as hot as can be borne; repeat this when the root be- 
 comes dry, until the pain subsides. If the felon is too far advanced to "put 
 back," this same remedy will hasten it on and cure it in a few days, is it 
 softens the skin. 
 
 5. Probe the swelling of the finger, making a small incision where the pain 
 appears greatest. The pain of the operation may be lessened by the local ap- 
 plication of ether or inhalation of chloroform. The after-treatment is etiually 
 simple. The small wound is to be covered with lint and carbolic acid, and 
 bathed morning and evening in tepid water. In a few days it is perfeclly 
 healed. 
 
 6. Take an earthen crock, put in a quantity of live coals, throw on a hand- 
 ful each of hops, rye flour, and brown sugar ; then steam the affected part for 
 about fifteen minutes, repeating two or three times, by holding it over the 
 vessel. The better way is to bore a hole through a board, thus having 
 the affected part only coming in contact with the steam. This is guaranteed 
 as a certain cure. 
 
 7. Elder Evans, the Shaker, says : " For the past ten years we have treated 
 felons with hot water, and with unerring success. No cutting, no blistering, 
 no any thing, but immersing the finger, hand, or even the whole arm if 
 necessary, in water as hot as can be borne, until the pain is gone, and the 
 core is loosened and drawn from the bone. When rusty nails have produced 
 wounds, the same course has been pursued. If on the hand or foot, keep it 
 in hot water." 
 
 8. Take the root of the plant known as dragon root, Jack-m-the-pulpit, or 
 Indian turnip, either green or dry; grate about one half a teaspoonful into 
 four tablespoonfuls of sweet milk ; simmer gently a few minutes, then thicken 
 with bread crumbs, and apply as hot as possible. This can be heated again 
 two or three times, adding a little milk each time. If the felon is just start- 
 ing, this will drive it back ; if somewhat advanced, it will draw it out quickly 
 and gently. It is well to put a little tallow on the poultice, especially after 
 opening, to prevent sticking. This same poultice is good for a carbuncle or 
 any other rising. 
 
 Cancers — Important Methods of Prevention and Relief. — 1. Gastric 
 
 juice has effected romarkMhlo euies. External applications must be made 
 
Brief Cures fo7' Various Diseases. 307 
 
 three times a day for about twenty days. The first application causes much 
 pain, but this may be lessened by the use of almond oil. 
 
 2 Several cases of cancer, and other malignant tumors, have been -: peedily 
 cured by the application of acetic acid. In some instances of cure by this 
 prescription, the cancers and tumors had been of long standing. 
 
 3. Take an egg and break it ; pour out the white, retaining the yoke in the 
 shell; put in salt, and mix with the yoke as long as it will receive it; stir 
 :hem together antil the salve is formed ; put a portion of this on a piece of 
 sticking-plaster, and apply to the cancer about twice a day. 
 
 4. The exquisite pain which belongs to open cancer is found to be best re- 
 lieved by the stramonium ointment which is employed in London. The fol- 
 lowing is the formula : Half a pound of fresh stramonium leaves, and two 
 pounds of lard ; mix the bruised leaves with the lard, and expose to a mild 
 heat until the leaves become friable, and strain through lint. The ointment 
 thus prepared is spread upon lint, and the dressing changed three times a 
 day.* 
 
 6. A large majority of the cases of cancerous tumors may be cured, or en- 
 tirely arrested and brought within safe limits, by the following management : 
 
 (1.) Wear a wet compress, covered with half a dozen thicknesses of dry 
 flannel, every night over the tumor. 
 
 (2.) Go out much in the sun. 
 
 (3.) Breathe /w/^ of the purest air day and night. 
 
 (4.) Eat the best beef and bread, and no trash. 
 
 (5.) Go to bed at eight o'clock, and sleep as long as possible. Lie down an 
 hour in the middle of every day, and try to sleep. 
 
 (6.) Cultivate a cheerful, jolly temper. 
 
 (7.) Exercise freely every day in the open air. 
 
 (8.) Keep your skin open by a regular morning bath in soap and water. 
 
 Treatment of Scabies. — With regard to the efficacy of sulphur in the 
 treatment of this disease, Dr. Carl H. Smith, of Kenton, Ohio, writes the 
 Boston Medical and Surgical Journal that he has employed it, mixed with 
 gtycerine, to the consistence of an ointment, in upwards of five hundred 
 cases, in civil and army practice, with unfailing success. In three or four 
 days the disease disappeared, in every instance, one or two applications hav- 
 ing been made daily. 
 
 Whooping-Cough — Two Views of Giving Medicine. — 1. Dr. Arnold, 
 of Maryland, discussed recently, at a meeting of the Medical Association, the 
 quention of whooping-cough, in the following strain : " I am more and more 
 impressed with the little reliability of therapeutic remedies in this disease. 
 We have so many medicines presented for our acceptance; some. based upon 
 
 *> Medical and Surgical Reporter. 
 
308 Home and Health. 
 
 certain pathological theories ; some upon no theory at all, and others upon a 
 delusion. In my own family this disease prevailed ; I did nothing for it, and 
 it got well in six weeks. If I had used medicines I would have thought that 
 I had cured it. We know nothing of its cause ; there is great diversity ia 
 regard to its pathology, and no unanimity of treatment. Many popular reme- 
 dies are in use, but in bad cases no remedy seems to be of any great benefit." 
 
 2 T. Prestwick, in the Lancet^ (December 9, 18*71,) reports over thirty cases 
 showing the value of cod-liver oil in whooping-cough. The improvement fol- 
 lowing the use of the oil in his practice has been such that he considers it 
 as a specific for whooping-cough. As the spasmodic attacks of this com- 
 plaint are almost always preceded by inflammatory or catarrhal symptoms, 
 these he treats in the usual manner, and afterward administers the oil. It \9 
 a remarkable circumstance that not one death has occurred when the oil has 
 been administered and has been retained on the stomach. 
 
 Croup — Six Methods of Instant Relief. — One teaspoonful of molas- 
 ses and a teaspoonful of goose-oil, given to a child inclined to the croup, will 
 generally relieve it at once. 
 
 For speedy relief, take a knife or grater, and shave or grate off in small 
 particles about a teaspoonful of alum ; mix it with about twice the quantity 
 of sugar or honey, to make it palatable, and administer as quickly as possible. 
 This will give almost instant relief. 
 
 A lady correspondent of the Maine Farmer says the following is an effect- 
 ive remedy for croup : " Half a teaspoonful of pulverized alum in a little 
 molasses. It is a simple remedy, one almost always at hand, and one dose 
 seldom fails to give relief. If it should, repeat it after one hour." 
 
 French physicians claim the discovery of a perfect cure for croup in flour 
 of sulphur exhibited in water. M. Lagauterie gives in croup teaspoonful 
 doses of a mixture of sulphur and water (a teaspoonful to a glass of water) 
 every hour with wonderful effects. Seven severe cases were cured in two 
 days. 
 
 J. K. Holloway, M.D., in a letter to the Medical and Surgical Jour7ial^ de- 
 scribes the successful cure of a very extreme case of croup by causing the 
 patient to inhale the evaporations of lime-water. The patient had been suf- 
 fering for thirty-six hours with membraneous croup, and without relief from 
 other medicines. No time was to be lost. Lime unslaked was put into 
 a pitcher. A blanket was then so thrown over the patient and the pitcher aa 
 to cause the inhalation of the free lime vapor. In twenty minutes the pa- 
 tient was fully relieved. 
 
 Dr. D. W. Williams, of Liverpool, communicates the following to the Brii 
 ish Medical Journal on the use of quinine in croup : — 
 
 " In 1862 I examined the trachea of three children who died of croup, and 
 found the mucous membrane covered with a yellowish-white substance like 
 
Brief Cures for Various Diseases. 309 
 
 gruel, (muco-pntriform matter,) the membrane itself being reddened. A crow- 
 quill could liave been passed down the tube without touching the substance 
 which lined its walls. There was nothing like blocking, nothing like tubes 
 of false membranes, (lymph,) yet my little patient died of slow suffocation. 
 
 " While thinking of these cases, one of my own children took the croup. 
 The usual reuiedies were adopted ; but in a few hours the result could be but 
 too easily foi-etold ; she was slowly choking. The restlessness and anxiety so 
 well known was great, and I asked myself these questions: 'Is this child dy- 
 ing from inflammation and blocking of the trachea, or from a blood-poison, 
 which manifests itself in local inflammation and spasms ?' Inclining to the 
 latter opinion, I gave her a grain of quinine, a large dose for a child twelve 
 months old. In twenty minutes the relief was surprising ; the restlessness, 
 etc., abated. In an hour a second grain was given, and the child fell asleep, 
 and made an excellent recovery, the quinine being continued in smaller doses. 
 Since this I have treated several cases in the same way, with similar result. 
 In bronchitis and pneumonia also, I find quinine of great value when the dis- 
 tress is out of proportion to the amount of disease." 
 
 Hay-fever — Class of Persons Affected. — In a book entitled " Ex- 
 perimental Researches on the Causes and Nature of Catarrhus ^stivus," 
 (Hay-fever or Hay-asthma,) Mr. Blackley published some very interesting 
 conclusions respecting this singular disease. He finds that it is peculiar to the 
 educated classes, but is not aristocratic, like the gout, being more common in 
 proportion to the spread of mental culture and the intensity of intellectual 
 occupation. And yet a highly-organized state of the mind is not the only ele- 
 ment in its propagation, for race-qualities seem to have a marked effect upon 
 it. Thus in Europe, it is most common in England, after which follow Ger- 
 many, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, Russia, and Ireland. 
 Climate, therefore, has no influence upon its propagation, for England and 
 Ireland, which are geographically contiguous, form the extremes of the above 
 list. Out of 152 patients, 81 were English, 36 Germans, and only 1 Irish. 
 
 Hay-fever — Causes. — As to the actual inciting cause of the disease, it 
 has been referred to summer heat, dust, ozone, the odors of flowers, the pol- 
 len of blossoms, and especially of grasses. The author's experiments led 
 him to the conclusion that it is to the pollen of flowering plants (including 
 passes) that the disease is due. He collected pollen-grains from the atmos- 
 phere, and gives curves showing the number of grains which gathered on a 
 square centimeter of surface, from May 28 to August 1, 1866 — the highest 
 number, 880, falling on June 28. 
 
 Hay-fever — Localities Most Affected.— By using kites he ascertained 
 the proportionate amount of pollen at high levels in the atmosphere, with the 
 eomewhat remarkable result, that at 1,500 feet above the earth the pollen 
 
310 Home and Health. 
 
 was found to be more abundant than on the surface. The author found that 
 germs and spores of other plants generally outnumbered the pollen, and he 
 thinks that " if these should resemble pollen in its capacity for absorbing 
 water and discharging granular matter under the influence of moisture, we 
 may have a form of finely-divided vegetable and animal matter thrown into 
 the air which the best modern instruments might fail to discover the nature 
 and origin of, but which might, nevertheless, be a powerful cause of disease." 
 As to the places least likely to be affected by the disease, the author found 
 hay-fever least common in those localities where pollen is least likely to be 
 plentiful, such as the centers of large cities, the sea-shore, and high-lying dis- 
 tricts given up to pasturage. 
 
 Remedies for Hay-fever. — Dr. George M. Beard, in a new treatise on 
 the subject of hay-fever, expresses the opinion (formed after extensive ob- 
 servation and investigation concerning over two hundred cases) that the dis- 
 ease is not amenable to any specific remedy ; that the leading indications are 
 prevention — avoidance of heat, light, worry, dust, vegetable and animal irri- 
 tants, and other exciting causes, fortifying the system by tonics, before and 
 during the attack, and relieving the symptoms by sedatives and anodynes ; 
 indications which are best met by resort to the sea-shore or to a sea- voyage, 
 high latitudes, and — for those who cannot avail themselves of such changes 
 — cool, closed, dark rooms. 
 
 Eruptive Fevers. — For the early stages, when the skin is hot, a warm 
 bath, or tepid sponging will be useful. Cleanse the eyes and nostrils with 
 water and a piece of lint as often as necessary. If small-pox, and the pus- 
 tules have burst, this is all that is practicable. Light poultices to the face 
 will prevent pitting. To allay itching, oil the pustules on the face and neck 
 with olive-oil and cold cream. The same will apply in scarlet-fever. In 
 small-pox, the nurse must examine the body ; and if she finds any signs of 
 abscesses forming, should report to the physician ; she should, also, use ev- 
 ery precaution against bed-sores. 
 
 Symptoms and Preventives of Fever. — Fevers, and many acute dis- 
 eases, are often preceded by a loss of appetite, headache, shivering, " pains 
 in the bones," indisposition to work, etc. In such cases, sponge with tepid 
 water, and rub the body till all aglow. Go to bed, place hot bricks to the 
 feet, take nothing but a little gruel, or beef-tea, and drink moderately of 
 warm, cream-of -tartar water. If you do not feel better the next morning, 
 call a physician. If that be impossible, take a dose of castor-oil, or Epsom- 
 salts. 
 
 Relief of Sea-sickness. — A distinguished physician writes : " In the 
 greater number of instances I allow the stomach to discharge its contents 
 once or twice, and then, if there is no organic disease, I give five drops of 
 
Brief Cures for Yariouf^ Diseases. 311 
 
 chloroform in a little water, and, if necessary, repeat the dose in four or six 
 hours. The almost instant effect of this treatment, if conjoined with a few 
 simple precautions, is to cause an immediate sensation, as it were, of warmth 
 in the stomach, accompanied by almost total relief of the nausea and sick- 
 ness, likewise curing the distressing headache, and usually causing a quiet 
 sleep, from which the passenger awakes quite well."' 
 
 To Avoid Sea-sickness. — While sitting, avoid resting the feet on the 
 floor. Be seated so that the roll of the ship shall not pitch you forward or 
 backward, but from side to side. Whenevever the premonitory symptoms of 
 sea-sickness occur, do not fix attention on any near object ; omit reading or 
 writing ; go to meals regularly ; eat sparingly, of plain food. 
 
 Temporary Relief for Neuralgia. — 1 . A New Hampshire gentleman 
 says : " Take two lai'ge table-spoonfuls of cologne, and two tea-spoonfuls of 
 fine salt ; mix them together ii; a small bottle ; every time you have any acute 
 affection of the facial nerves, or neuralgia, simply breathe the fumes into 
 your nose from the bottle, and you will be immediately relieved." 
 
 2. Prepare horse-radish by grating and mixing in vinegar, the same aa for 
 the table, and apply to the temple, when the face or head is affected ; or to 
 tlie wrist, when the pain is in the arm or shoulder. 
 
 Cure of Stammering. — The effectual cure mainly depends upon the de- 
 termination of the suif erer to carry out the following rule : Keep the teeth 
 close together, and before attempting to speak, inspire deeply ; then give 
 time for quiet utterance, and, after very slight practice, the hesitation will be 
 relieved. No spasmodic action of the lower jaw must be permitted to separ 
 rate the teeth when speaking. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS HEALTH NOTES. 
 
 Pine Woods and Health. — The pleasant odor emitted by fir-trees in a 
 bunny atmosphere has long been thought serviceable to invalids, and the 
 vi(;inity of pine woods has been declared salubrious. 
 
 Danger of Cold Water in the Pace. — It is dangerous to wash the face 
 it cold water when much heated. It is not dangerous, but pleasantly effica- 
 cious, if warm water is used. 
 
 A Most Refreshing Bath. — Sun baths cost nothing, and are the most re- 
 fieshing, life-giving baths that one can take, whether sick or well. Read 
 carefully our chapter on " Sunlight and Health." 
 
 To Prevent Harm from Drinking Cold Water. — It is a very safe rule 
 to wet your wrists before drinking cold water if at all heated. The effect is 
 
312 Home ant> Health. 
 
 Immediate and grateful, and the danger of fatal results may be warded off by 
 this simple precaution, 
 
 Ho"W to Avoid Pneumonia. — Never allow yourself to be chilled " through 
 and through ; " it is this which destroys so many every year, in a few days' 
 sickness, from pneumonia, called by some lung-fever, or inflammation of the 
 lungs. 
 
 Position After Being Tired. — If very tired physically, lie on the back, 
 knees drawn up, the hands clasped above the head, or resting on the elbows, 
 the fore-arm at right angles, and the hands hanging over by the bend of the 
 wrists. 
 
 Opening Abscesses Under Water. — According to the Vienna corres- 
 pondent of the Chicago Medical Examiner^ opening abscesses and buboes 
 under water, and applying plaster of Paris, is being tried there with satisfac- 
 tory results. 
 
 Pie-crust and Dyspepsia. — Whoever eats heavy pie-crust commits a 
 crime against his physical well-being, and must pay the penalty. The good 
 house-wife should see to it that all pastry and cakes are light; no others 
 should be eaten. 
 
 Little Things and Health. — The little causes must be looked for. There 
 are the little errors in diet, the little violations in our habits of exercise, 
 study, sleep, dress, etc., etc. The wise and prudent will carefully attend to 
 the little things. 
 
 Guarding against Diphtheria. — People cannot be too careful in regard 
 to diphtheria. No disease is so difficult to guard agamst after it has once en- 
 tered a household. But where people live comfortably and cleanly, sUght 
 precautions are sufficient to keep it away entirely. 
 
 Eating at Certain Intervals. — After fifty years of age, if not a day- 
 laborer, and sedentary persons after forty, should eat but twice a day — in the 
 morning and about four in the afternoon ; persons can soon accustom them- 
 selves to a seven hours' interval between eating, thus giving the stomach rest, 
 for every organ without adequate rest will " give out " prematurely. 
 
 Time Required for Digesting Food. — The following is the time re- 
 quired to digest certain articles of food : 1 pound of meat, 3 hours ; cheese, 
 3^ hours ; milk, 2 hours ; eggs, 3 hours ; veal, 4 hours ; fowls, 4 hours ; pork, 
 4 hours ; tripe, 1 hour ; bread, 3^ hours ; boiled potatoes, 3^ hours, roasted, 
 2 hours ; cabbage, 4^ hours ; beans, 2^ hours. 
 
 Oold or Warm Drinks. — Whoever drinks no liquors at all, will add years 
 of pleasurable existence to his life. Of cold or warm drinks, the former are 
 the most pernicious. Drinking at meals induces people to eat more than they 
 otherwise would, as any one can verify by experiment, and it is excess in eat- 
 ing that devastates the land with sickness, suffering, and death. 
 
Miscellaneous Health Notes. 313 
 
 How to Remove Bitter Taste. — To swallow a pill, place it under the 
 tip of the tongue and iake a drink of water. The largest will go down almost 
 without knowing it The taste left in the mouth after taking such bitter 
 medicines as quinine, aloes, etc., is instantly neutralized by chewing a piece 
 of liquorice root. 
 
 Most Healthful Seat in a Car. — Other things being equal, the forward 
 seats in a street or railway car are the most healthful. The forward motion 
 of the car causes a current of air backward, carrying with it the exhalations 
 fiom the lungs of the forward passengers. In all cases avoid as much as 
 l)ossible inhaling another's " breath." 
 
 Causes of Lung Congestion. — The causes that produce congestion of 
 the lungs are — cold feet, tight clothing, costive bowels, sitting still until chilled 
 after being warmed with labor or a rapid walk, going too suddenly from a 
 close room into the air, especially after speaking, too hasty walking, or run- 
 ning to catch a train, etc. 
 
 Spread of Pestilence is possible through the rag-picker, who takes con- 
 tagion to the very door of the rich man. The breath of the wretched beg- 
 gar, craving arms of the lady at her carriage-step, may waft to her the seeds 
 of death. The little street-wanderer, in brushing past your child, may render 
 vain the anxious care of years. The highly-recommended nurse-maid may 
 carry the infant into scenes and atmospheres the most dangerous. 
 
 Sewing-Machines and Health. — Dr. Decaisne (X' Union Medicate) 
 states, after a careful investigation of the cases of six hundred and sixty-one 
 female operatives upon the sewing-machine, that they were not more subject 
 than other working-women to disease, and that certain other cases which had 
 been reported were evidently simple coincidences, and the results of labor too 
 severe for the women's strength. 
 
 A Specific for Scrofula. — Cranberry wine, taken internally and applied 
 externally, is announced as a cure for scrofula. To make the wine, take the 
 ripe berries, mash them in a mortar to a fine pulp, put into a stone jar, add 
 one quart of water to two quarts of berries, stir it well, set away and let 
 it stand a w ?tk ; then strain it through cotton, and you have a beautiful wine, 
 \^hich, with a little sugar, makes at once a cooling and palatable drink. It 
 d )es not ferment. 
 
 Important Suggestion to Parents about Sitting. — A very common 
 position in sitting, especially among men, is with the shoulders against the 
 chair-back, with a space of several inches between the chair-back and the 
 lower portion of the spdne, giving the body the shape of a half hoop ; it is 
 the instantaneous, instinctive, and almost universal position assumed by any 
 consumptive on sitting down, unless counteracted by an effort of the will • 
 
314 Home and Health. 
 
 hence parents should regard such a position in their children with apprehen- 
 sion, and should rectify it at once. 
 
 Improper Sitting and its Evils.— Consumptive people, and all aflflicted 
 with spinal deformities, sit habitually crooked, in one or more curves of the 
 body. There was a time in all these when the body had its natural erect- 
 ness, when there was not the first departure on the road to death. The make 
 of oui' chairs, especially that great barbarism the unwieldy and disease-en- 
 ger dering rocking-chair, favors these diseases, and undoubtedly, in some in- 
 stances, leads to bodily habits from which originate the ailments just named, 
 to say nothing of piles, fistula, and the Uke. The painful or sore feeUng 
 which many are troubled with incessantly for years at the extremity of the 
 backbone, is the result of sitting in such a position that it rests upon the seat 
 of the chair a^ a point several inches forward of the chair-back. 
 
 Chewing Between Meals. — The habit of chewmg substances of any 
 kind between meals is always harmful to health. The chewing over-taxes the 
 organs which secrete the saliva, and exhaust them so that the chief agent in 
 promoting the digestion of food is diminished in quantity and efficiency. The 
 act of chewing always excites the flow of saliva. Persons who chew gum 
 soon become sensible of the exhaustion and fatigue of the sahvary glands. 
 The same is true of those who chew tobacco. In order to the best condition 
 of these glands they should rest " between meals." 
 
 Remedy for Feverishness. — When persons are feverish and thirsty be- 
 yond what is natural, indicated in some cases by a metallic taste in the mouth, 
 one of the best " coolers " is to take a lemon, cut off the top, sprinkle over 
 it some loaf-sugar, working it down into the lemon with a spoon, and then 
 suck it slowly. Invalids with feverishness may take two or three lemons a 
 day in this manner with most marked benefit, manifested by a sense of cool- 
 ness, comfort, and invigoration. A lemon or two thus taken at " tea-time " 
 is for some an excellent substitute for the ordinary supper in summer. 
 
 Cause and Cure of Leanness. — Leanness may be caused by insuffi- 
 <;ieut food, or over-exertion, or both. But the usual cause is disease ; the vi- 
 iii\ powers being more occupied in removing impurities and poisons, and over- 
 coming abnormal conditions, than in digesting and assimilating nutrient ma- 
 terial. The patient should eat all the plain nutritious food that he can assim- 
 ilate. Those lean persons who are not accustomed to fruit will find baked 
 sweet apples a good addition to each meal to begin with. Oat-meal mush, 
 with a sUce of wheat-meal bread, and two or three baked apples, make a 
 breakfast with which any lean individual may be justly content. 
 
 Cure of Obesity. — The diet advjsed for fat persons, by the best authori- 
 ties, consists of food containing a large percentage of nitrogen, to which some 
 vegetables without starcli, and cooked fruit are to be added, for the purpose 
 
Miscellameous Health Notes. 315 
 
 of mq^erating the excitation due to animal nourishment. Beer is forbidden. 
 Use very little sugar. Cheese, potatoes, rice, beans, peas, maize, macaroni, 
 tapioca, arrowroot, and soups are not allowed. The use of sulphate of soda 
 is recommended, as moderating the transformation of nitrogenous materials 
 and stimulating the oxidation of fat; and the use of mineral waters contain- 
 ing thf sulphate of soda in solution is considered of the greatest importance 
 in thio respect. The waters of Marienbad,* which are especially rich in thi? 
 salt, are stated to have, usually, the most happy eflPect. Their use, togetlioi 
 with that of some alkaline pills, and a strict adherence to the condition;- 
 above mentioned, caused a decrease in weight of from twenty-five to sixty 
 pounds in different individuals in the course of a few weeks. 
 
 Chief Causes of Sudden Death. — Very few of the sudden deaths which 
 are said to arise from diseases of the heart do really arise from that cause. 
 To ascertain the real origin of sudden deaths, an experiment was tried and 
 reported to a Scientific Congress at Strasburg. Sixty-six cases of sudden 
 death were made the subject of a thorough post-mortem examination; in 
 these cases only two were found who died from disease of the heart. Nine 
 out of sixty-six had died from apoplexy, while there were forty-six cases of 
 congestion of the lungs — that is, the lungs were so full of blood they could 
 not work, there not being room enough for a sufficient quantity of air to en- 
 ter to support life. 
 
 Medical Qualities of Pumpkins. — A prominent physician of New York 
 city, speaking of the properties of pumpkins, says that in his travels in Syria 
 he found pumpkin-seeds almost universally eaten by the people on account 
 of their supposed medical qualities. Not because they are diuretic, but as 
 an antidote against animalculae which infest the bowels. They are sold in 
 the streets as apples and nuts are here. 
 
 It is a medical fact that persons can be cured of tape-worm by the use of 
 pumpkin-seeds. The outer skin being removed, the seeds are bruised in a 
 mortar into an oily, pasty mass. It is swallowed by the patient after fasting 
 some hours, and it takes the place of chyle in the stomach, and the tape- 
 worm lets go its hold on the membrane and becomes gorged with this sub- 
 stance, and in some measure, probably, torpid. Then a large dose of castor- 
 oil is administered, and the worms are ejected before they are enabled to re- 
 new their hold. 
 
 To Keep White Hands. — Our readers need not suffer from having their 
 hands affected by water or soapsuds if the hands are dipped in vinegar-water 
 or lemon- juice immediately after. The acid destroys the corrosive effect of 
 the alkali, and makes the hands soft and white. 
 
 A Good Tooth-wash. — Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of 
 
 ■ ■ ■■ - - — — — ■ ■■ - ■ . , ■ ^ 
 
 * Mr. Scbiriil, iu Ifdvpers* Weekly, 
 
316 Home axd Health. 
 
 boiling water, and before it is cold add one or two teaspoonfuls of spirits of 
 camphor, and bottle for use. A tablespoonful mixed with an equal quantity 
 of tepid water, and applied daily with a soft brush, purifies and beautifies the 
 teeth, tends tq prevent the formation of tartar, and induces a healthy action 
 of the gums. 
 
 To Remove Moth from the Face. — The principal causes of moth spots 
 are biliousness, and a torpid liver. A distinguished and successful physi- 
 cian prescribes this remedy: "Put ten drops of elixir of vitriol into half a 
 tumbler of water, and drink the whole dilution twice daily." 
 
 Pimples on the Face. — Pimples about the face are extremely common 
 and very annoying. Dr. Dio Lewis writes : " The number of persons who 
 have written me about this difficulty must be thousands. In the absence of 
 any definite information about the particular condition of the general health, 
 I have always to say that the only remedy is to be sought in the improvement 
 m the systematic tone. Eating in moderate quantities nourishing and simple 
 food, keeping the bowels regular, exercising and sleeping wisely; in brief, 
 observing the laws of health, elevating and purifying the system, is the only 
 cure. The skin must be thoroughly bathed with soap and water every night 
 on going to bed, or every morning, as may be more convenient." 
 
 To Strengthen the Hair. — Dilute an ounce of borax and an ounce of 
 camphor in two quarts of water, and wash the hair thoroughly twice a week, 
 clipping the ends off occasionally. It will quickly grow long, thick, and 
 even. 
 
 To Cool a Room. — Wet a cloth of any size, the larger the better, and 
 suspend it in the room. Let the ventilation be good, and the temperature 
 will sink from ten to twenty degrees in less than an hour. 
 
 Protection from Damp Walls. — Boil one pound of powdered sulphur 
 in two quarts of water for half an hour. Apply with a brush while still 
 warm, and you will prevent the damp and unwholesome oozings from the 
 brick walls of your workshops. 
 
 To Make a Good Court-Plaster. — Balsam of benzoin one part, alcohol 
 twelve parts, mix — then isinglass two parts, and watJih' barely sufficient to 
 dissolve. Strain the two solutions separately, then mix them. For use, 
 place the bottle in warm water, and give the silk, previously strained ou 
 rollers, ten or twelve coats with a brush ; when dry, give it a coat of the fol- 
 lowing : Ohio turpentine one part, tincture of benzoin two parts. 
 
 To Relieve Whooping-Cough. — Dr. Snow has suggested the use of car- 
 bolate of lime. It has apparently produced a marked effect in diminishing 
 the frequency and severity of the paroxysms of coughing. Small quantities 
 of the carbolate of lime are placed in saucers in the room where the child 
 sleeps; merely sufficient to make the odor perceptible. The odor is like 
 
Miscellaneous Health Notes. 317 
 
 coal tar, and if not too strong is not unpleasant. The carbolate of lime is 
 about the same price as chloride of lime, and for all disinfecting purposes is 
 far more valuable than the chloride of lime. 
 
 Diphtheria — Its Symptoms. — Diphtheria is a kind of sore throat in 
 ^bich matter exudes from the raucous membrane. This stiffens into a pecul- 
 iar white substance, patches of which may be seen in the back part of the 
 moutli. Fever and debility accompany the disease, which is so sudden and 
 insidious in its advances as to be exceedingly dreaded. 
 
 Cause of Diphtheria. — Recents reports go to show that the principal 
 causes of this ailment are polluted wells, foul and wet cellars, or no cellar at 
 all ; and bad sewage, and cold, wet lands seem to afford the most favorable 
 conditions for its existence. A preceding summer's drought, with ensuing low 
 water in the wells and springs, have been noticed in connection with epidemic 
 prevalence. In one family, two fatal cases originated during extreme low- 
 ness of the water in the well, and while the water looked milky, and was re- 
 fused by the cow, that would suffer thirst for days before she would drink it. 
 
 Treatments of Diphtheria. — 1. The neck should be wrapped in a wet 
 bandage and covered with red flannel or a woolen stocking. Gargle the throat 
 with a solution of a teaspoonful of salt in a pint of water, or thirty grains of 
 chlorate of potash in a wine-glass of water. 
 
 2. Treatment consists in thoroughly swabbing the back of the throat with 
 a wash made thus : " Table salt, two drachms ; black pepper, golden seal, 
 nitrate of potash, alum, one dram each. Mix and pulverize, put into a 
 tea-cup, which half fill with boiling water, stir well, and then fill up with 
 good vinegar. Use every half hour, one, two, and four hours, as recovery 
 progresses. The patient may swallow a little each time. Apply an ounce each 
 of spirits turpentine, sweet oil, and aqua ammonia, mixed, to the whole of the 
 throat and to the breast bone every four hours, keeping flannel to the parts. 
 
 3. A simple and successful treatment of diphtheria may be found in the 
 use of lemon juice. Gargle the throat freely with it, at the same time swal- 
 lowing a portion, so as to reach all the affected parts. A French physician 
 claims that he saved his own life with this pleasant remedy. 
 
 4. It is said that diphtheria maybe speedily arrested, and sometimes cured, 
 by swallowing lumps of ice, continuously, until relief is afforded ; let them, as 
 much as possible, melt in the throat. Common sore throat is cured in the 
 same way sometimes. 
 
 5. A treatment which has the advantage of being short, if nothing else, 
 consists in simply using a gargle of phenic acid and distilled water, with ex- 
 ternal applications of new flannel ; the food and drink to be taken cold. 
 
 Infection Carried by Pet Animals. — Hair and fur absorb and retain in 
 & remarkable degree odors, gases, and minute substances discharged into, and 
 
318 Home and Health. 
 
 transmitted by, the air. Attention has recently been called to a number of 
 cases where scarlet fever has been proved to be conveyed, even after quite 
 a time, from one person to another by pet dogs and cats. 
 
 Plies as Poison Carriers. — Similar carriers of contagious material are 
 flies, which with great indifference for the most odious substances, pass 
 quickly from one surface to another, and from any diseased or foul matter to 
 material used for food or drink. They may thus convey, by means of their 
 feet and probosces, one substance to another, and it is, therefore, considered 
 highly probable that the communication of contagious or septic i)oisons by 
 their agency, is not by any means rare. 
 
 To Prevent After-taste of Quinine. — The mastication of some acid 
 fruit, as an apple or a pear, will permanently remove the disagreeable after- 
 taste of quinine. The first moutliful of food sliould be well masticated and 
 rolled through the jnouth, so as to cleanse the teeth, etc., and then ejected. 
 The second morsel may be swallowed, when it will be discovered that all 
 taste of the quinine will be removed. 
 
 Inflation of the Lungs. — Five minutes spent in the open air, after dress- 
 ing, inflating the lungs by inhaling as full a breath as possible, and gently 
 pounding the breast during the inflation, will greatly enlarge the chest, 
 strengthen the lung power, and very effectually ward off consumption.* 
 
 Diet for Dyspeptics. — If inclined to be dyspeptic, avoid mince pie, saus- 
 age, and other highly-seasoned food. Beware of eating too freely of soup ; 
 better to eat food dry enough to employ the natural saliva of the mouth in 
 moistening it. If inclined to over-eat, partake freely of rice, cracked wheat, 
 and other articles that are easily digested. Eat freely of ripe fruit, and avoid 
 excessive use of meats. Eat at regular hours, and lightly near the hour of 
 going to bed. Eat slowly. Thoroughly masticate the food. Do not wash it 
 down with continual drink while eating. 
 
 Personal Health Tests. — Xew methods are receiving attention in these 
 later years, given to health foods and health methods. Many intelligent 
 writers are furnishing tlie publishing public with the result of careful and 
 thorough experiments along the line of "practical hygiene." "How many 
 meals shall we eat daily?" Test this for yourself, and do it thoroughly. 
 Remember that as a rule the stomach is overtaxed both in times and quan- 
 tity. If the new teacher advises the omission of the "breakfast" as a 
 habit, try it and see. If some ministerial friend whose opinion you value 
 tells you that since he adopted the plan of omitting his morning meal until 
 after the morning sermon he preaches with greater vigor of thought to him- 
 self and to his congregation than hitherto, and with less tax upon his 
 physical strength, why may you not test the value of the suggestive hint 
 thus received by this statement? 
 
HOME EOONOMIOS. 
 
 WASTE IN THE KITCHEN. 
 
 Waste in the kitchen is often very great from apparently trivial sourcea 
 Housekeepers should read and ponder : — 
 
 In cooking meats, the water is thrown out without removing the grease, or 
 the grease from the dripping-j)an is thrown away. 
 
 Pieces of bread in the bread-box, and cake in the cake-box, are left to dry 
 and mold. 
 
 Scraps of meat are thrown away. 
 
 Cold potatoes are left to sour and spoil. 
 
 Preserves are opened, forgotten, and left to mold and ferment 
 
 Dried fruits are not looked after, and become wormy. 
 
 Vinegar and sauce are left standing in tin. 
 
 Apples are left to decay for want of " sorting over." 
 
 Corks are left out of the molasses and vinegar jugs. 
 
 The tea-canister is left open. 
 
 Victuals are left exposed to be eaten by mice. 
 
 Bones of meat and the carcass of turkey are thrown away, when they 
 could be used in making good soups. 
 
 Vegetables and puddings left from the dinner are thrown away. 
 
 Sugar, tea, coifee, and rice are carelessly spilled in the handling. 
 
 Soap is left to dissolve and waste in the water. 
 
 Dish-t<Hs'els are used for dish-cloths. 
 
 Napkins are used for dish-towels. 
 
 Towels are used for holders. 
 
 Brooms and mops are not hung up. 
 
 Coal is Avasted by not sifting the ashes. 
 
 More coal is burned than necessary, by not arranging dampers when not 
 using the fire. 
 
 Lights are left burning when not used. 
 
 Tin dishes are not properly cleansed and dried. 
 
 Knives and forks get rusty, for want of care. 
 
 Nice ones are spoiled by use in the kitchen. 
 
 Pails and wash-tubs fall to pieces, because left dry. 
 
 Potatoes in the cellar grow, and thus become unfit for eating. 
 
 Ashes are thrown out and wasted, when they could be utilized in different 
 ways. 
 
320 Home Economics. 
 
 Carpets are swept with stub brooms which wear out the carpet texture. 
 
 Good new brooms are used in scrubbing the kitchen-floors. 
 
 Sheets are scorched and injured by being used in ironing. 
 
 Silver spoons are used in scraping kettles. 
 
 Good forks are used and ruined in toasting bread. 
 
 The flour is sifted in a wasteful manner, or the bread-pan left with dough 
 sticking to it. 
 
 rie-crust is left and laid by to sour, instead of making a few tarts for tea, 
 ste. 
 
 Cole puddings are considered good for nothing, when often they can be 
 sttamed for the next day, or, in case of rice, made over in other forms. 
 
 Vegetables are thrown away that would warm for breakfast nicely. 
 
 Cream is left to mould and spoil. 
 
 Mustard is left to spoil in the cruse, or rust, etc. 
 
 Vinegar is allowed to stand until the tin vessel becomes corroded and 
 spoiled. 
 
 Pickles become spoiled by the leaking out or evaporation of the vinegar. 
 
 Pork spoils for want of salt, and beef because the brine wants scalding. 
 
 Hams become tainted, or filled with vermin, for the want of care. 
 
 Cheese molds, and is eaten by mice or vermin. 
 
 Lard is not well tried in the fall, and becomes tainted. 
 
 Tea and coffee-pots are injured on the stove. 
 
 Soap-suds are thrown away instead of being used as a valuable addition 
 to the soil in the garden. 
 
 Potatoes are " peeled " before boiling, thus losing a large fraction of the 
 substance. It is much more economical to boil before the rind is removed ; 
 then only the thin rind is lost. 
 
 Wooden-ware is unscalded, and left to warp and crack. 
 
 N. B. — The above list is partial. It could easily be extended. 
 
 KITCHEN FURNITURE.-CLEANING. 
 
 Healing New Iron. — Neio iron should be very gradually heated at first. 
 After it has become inured to the heat, it is not so likely to crack. 
 
 To Prevent Crust in Tea-kettles. — Keep an oyster-shell in your tea- 
 kettle. By attracting the stony particles to itself, it will prevent the forma- 
 tion of a crust. 
 
 To Clean Tea-kettles. — Kerosene will make your tea-kettle as bright as 
 new. Saturate a woolen rag and rub with it. It will also remove stains from 
 clean varnished furniture. 
 
kitchen Fiirniture. — Clea/ning. 32| 
 
 Glass should bo washed in cold water, which gives it a brighter and 
 clearer look than when cleansed with warm water. 
 
 Glass Vessels, and other utensils, may be purified and cleaned by rinsing 
 them out with powdered charcoal. 
 
 To Clean Coal-oil Cans. — After cleansing them as much as possible with 
 wood ashes and hot water, use nitric-acid in moderate quantities, which will 
 soon remove the difficulty. 
 
 Washing Knives and Forks. — Do not let knives be dropped into hot 
 dish-water. It is a good plan to have a large tin pot to wash them in, just 
 high enough to wash the blades without wetting the handles. 
 
 To Clean Knives. — Cut a small potato in two ; dip one half in the brick- 
 dust, and rub the knives, and rust and stain will disappear like magic from 
 their surfaces. 
 
 Scouring Knives. — Place a quantity of brick-dust on a board, and having 
 the knife perfectly dry, press it down hard and rub it back and forth cross- 
 wise of the blade. When bright, turn and scour the other side. Then wipe 
 off with chamois leather. Knives thus treated will retain their brightness 
 much longer, and have a new look after years of usage. 
 
 To Extract Stains from Silver. — Sal ammoniac, one part ; vinegar, six- 
 teen parts. Mix and use this liquid with a piece of flannel, then wash the 
 plate in clean water. 
 
 Silver Soap. — For cleaning silver and Britannia : One half pound of soap ; 
 three tablespoonfuls of spirits of turpentine, and half a tumbler of water. 
 Let it boil ten minutes ; add six tablespoonfuls of spirits of hartshorn. " Make 
 a suds of this, and wash silver with it. 
 
 To Clean Silver. — Cleansing silver is not an easy task ; the use of kero- 
 sene will greatly facilitate the operation. Wet a flannel cloth in the oil, dip 
 in dry whiting, and thoroughly rub the plated or silverware ; throw it into a 
 dish of scalding soapsuds, wipe with a soft flannel, and polish with a chamois 
 skin. 
 
 Another Method of Cleaning Silver. — Silver door-plates are most ex- 
 peditiously cleaned with a weak solution of ammonia and water ; say one tea- 
 spoonful of ammonia to a tea-cup of water, applied with a wet rag. It i8 
 equally useful in cleaning other silver-plate and gold jewelry. 
 
 Cleaning Tinware. — An experienced housekeeper says the best thing for 
 cleaning tinware is common soda. She gives the following directions : Dampen 
 a cloth, and dip in soda, and rub the ware briskly, after which wipe dry. Any 
 blackened ware can be made to look as well as new. 
 
 To Clean Tin Covers. — Get the finest whiting ; mix a little of it pow- 
 dered with the least drop of sweet oil, rub the covers well with it, and wipe 
 
 /v i. 
 
322 Home Economics. 
 
 them clean ; then dust over them some dry whiting in a muslin bag, and rub 
 bright with dry leather. This last is to prevent rust, which the cook must 
 guard against by wiping them dry, and putting them by the fire when they 
 come from the dining-room, for if but once hung up damp the inside will 
 rust. 
 
 To Polish Tins. — First rub them with a damp cloth ; then take dry flour 
 and rub it on with the hands ; afterward take an old newspaper and rub th« 
 flour off, and the tins will shine as well as if half an hour had been spent rub- 
 bing them with brick-dust or powder, which spoils the hands. 
 
 Papier-Mache Articles should be washed with a sponge and cold water, 
 without soap, dredged with flour while damp, and polished with a flannel. 
 
 Japanned Ware. — Wet a sponge in warm water, and dampen it over ; 
 then wipe off with a soft cloth. If a tray becomes spotted, take a bit of 
 woolen cloth and dip into a little sweet oil, and rub it as hard as possible, and 
 the marks, if effaceable, will disappear. 
 
 Cleaning Floor-boards. — Scrubbing them with a mixture made by dis- 
 solving unslaked lime in boiling water, will have the desired effect. The pro- 
 portions are, two tablespoonfuls to a quart of water. No soap need be used. 
 
 Another Method. — Lime, one part; sand, three parts; soft soap, two 
 parts. Lay a little on the boards with a scrubbing-brush, and rub thor- 
 oughly. Rinse with clean water, and rub dry. This will keep the boards of 
 a good color, and will also keep away vermin. 
 
 To Clean Painted Wainscot, or Other Wood-work. — Fuller's earth 
 will be found cheap and useful ; and on wood not painted, it forms an excel- 
 lent substitute for soap. 
 
 Cleaning Old Brass. — The best liquid for cleaning old brass is a solution 
 of oxalic acid. 
 
 To Clean a Brass Kettle. — Do this before using it for cooking ; use salt 
 and vinegar. 
 
 To Clean Brasses, Britannia Metals, Tins, Coppers, Etc. — These are 
 cleaned with a mixture of rotten-stone, soft-soap, and oil of turpentine, mixed 
 to the consistency of stiff putty. The stone should be powdered very fine and 
 sifted ; and a quantity of the mixture may be made sufficient to last for a 
 long while. The articles should first be washed with hot water, to remove 
 grease. Then a little of the above mixture, mixed with water, should be 
 rubbed over the metal ; then rub off briskly, with dry, clean rag, or leather, 
 and a beautiful polish will be obtained. 
 
 To Keep Iron from Rusting. — Kerosene applied by means of a moist- 
 ened cloth to stoves, will effectually keep them from rusting during the sum- 
 mer. It is also an excellent material to apply to all iron utensils used about 
 
Kitchen Furniture, — Clecmiiig. 323 
 
 the farm. Give plows, cultivators, and the like, a coating before they are put 
 away in the fall. 
 
 Paper for Cleaning Stoves, Tinware, Furniture, Etc. — After a stove 
 has been blackened, it can be kept looking very well for a long time by rub- 
 bing it with paper every morning. Rubbing with paper is a much nicer way 
 of keeping the outside of a tea-kettle, coffee-pot, and tea-pot, bright and 
 clean, than the old way of washing them with suds. Rubbing with paper ia 
 ;ilso the best way of polishing knives, tinware, and spoons ; they shine like 
 new silver. For polishing mirrors, windows, lamp-chimneys, etc., paper is 
 better than a dry (.-loth. 
 
 Cleansing Bottles. — Many persons clean bottles by putting in some small 
 shot, and shaking them around. Water dissolves lead to a certain extent, 
 and a film of this lead attaches itself to the sides of the bottle so closely that 
 the shaking or rinsing with water does not detach it, and it remains to be 
 dissolved by any liquid which has the least sourness in it, and if drank, lead 
 poison may be the result. Sometimes a shot becomes Avedged in at the bot- 
 tom of a bottle, to be dissolved by wine or cider. Therefore, it is better to 
 wash every bottle as soon as emptied with warm water and wood ashes, or 
 jaleratus, and put the bottle away, mouth open and downward ; but be care- 
 ful to wash again when used, as flies and other insects frequently get into 
 open bottles. Or, chop up a large potato very fine, and put it into the bottle 
 with some warm water, and shake it rapidly until it is clean. 
 
 SOAPS AND WASHING FLUIDS. 
 
 Hard Soap. — Five pails soft soap, two pounds salt, and one pound resin. 
 Simmer together, and when thoroughly fused, turn out in shallow pans so as 
 to be easily cut. 
 
 Soft Soap. — Boil twenty-five pounds of fried grease in two pails of strong 
 lye. Next day add another pailful of hot lye ; also on the following day, if 
 there is grease on the top of the soap. Afterward add a pailful of hot wa- 
 ter each day until the barrel is filled. 
 
 Excellent Soft Soap. — Take 16 quarts of lye of sufficient strength to 
 float an egg ; 8 pounds of clean grease ; 1^ pounds resin ; put the whole into 
 a five-pail kettle and boil it. At first it is apt to rise, in which case add a 
 little strong lye, and so continue to do until the materials are incorporated. 
 Then remove it from the fire, and add, by degrees, weak lye, stirring it at 
 every addition, till the kettle is full. 
 
 Common Hard Soap. — Put in an iron kettle five pounds unslaked lime, 
 five pounds soda, and three gallons soft water ; let it soak over night ; in the 
 
324 H^ME Economics. 
 
 morning pour off the water, then add three and a half pounds of grease, 
 boil till thick, turn into a pan until cool, and then cut in bars. 
 
 Labor-Saving Soap. — Take two pounds sal-soda, two pounds yellow bar- 
 soap, and ten quarts of water ; cut the soap into thin slices, and boil together 
 hvo hours ; strain, and it will be fit for use. Put the clothes to soak the night 
 before you wash, and to every pail of water in which you boil them add a 
 pound of soap. They will need no rubbing ; merely rinse them out, and they 
 will be perfectly white and clean. 
 
 Honey Soap. — Cut thin two pounds of yellow soap into a double sauce- 
 pan, occasionally stirring it till it is melted, which will be in a few minutes, if 
 the water is kept boiling around it ; then add a quarter of a pound of palm- 
 oil, quarter of a pound of honey, ten cents' worth of true oil of cinnamon ; 
 let all boil together another six or eight minutes ; pour out and stand it by 
 till next day, it is then fit for immediate use. 
 
 Using Soap. — Hard soap is fittest for washing clothes, and soft soap for 
 floors. It is a good plan to soap your dirtiest clothes, and soak them over 
 night in soft water. If you are at a loss to procure soft water for washing, 
 fill a barrel half full of wood ashes, and fill it up with water, and you will 
 have a lye whenever you want it. A gallon of strong lye put into a great 
 boiler of hard water, will make it quite soft. Some use pearl-ash, or pot-ash ; 
 but either injures the texture of the cloth. 
 
 Suggestions. — A tablespoonful of turpentine boiled with white clothes, 
 will greatly aid the whitening process. 
 
 Boiling starch is much improved by the addition of sperm, or salt, or both, 
 or a little gum-arabic, dissolved. 
 
 Washing Fluid. — Five pounds of sal-soda, one pound of borax, one-half 
 pound of fresh unslaked lime, four ounces of liquid ammonia. Pour one gallon 
 of boiling water upon the soda and borax ; when it has dissolved and has 
 cooled, add the ammonia. Slake the lime in one gallon of hot water, 
 and let it stand until entirely settled, when the clear fluid must be care- 
 fully poured off. Turn it upon the solution of soda and borax, and add to the 
 mixture eight gallons of cold water. Put the clothes to soak the night before 
 washing-day, with six tablespoonfuls of this fluid to a tub full of clothes. 
 
 To Make Hard Water Soft. — Dissolve one pound of white rock pot- 
 ash in one gallon of water, and then use half a gill of the preparation to a 
 tub of water. 
 
 To Clear Mdddy Water. — A little dissolved alum is very effective in 
 clearing muddy water. If thrown into a tub of soap-suds, the soap, curdled 
 and accompanied by the muddy particles, sinks to the bottom, leaving the 
 water above clear and pure. In times of scarcity of water this may be used 
 again for washing clothes. 
 
Washing Clothes. 325 
 
 WASHING CLOTHES. 
 
 To Clean a White Lace Veil. — Put the veil into a strong lather of whitv 
 soap and very clear water, and let it simmer slowly for a quarter of an hour. 
 Take it out and squeeze it well, but be sure not to rub it. Rinse it in two 
 cold waters, with a drop or two of liquid blue in the last. Have ready some 
 very clear gimi-arabic water, or some thin starch, or rice water Pass the 
 veil through it and clear it by clapping. Then stretch it out even, and pin i1 
 to dry on a linen cloth, making the edge as straight as possible, opening out 
 all the scallops, and fastening each with pins. When dry, lay a piece of thin 
 muslin smoothly over it, and iron it on the wrong side. 
 
 To Wash Fine, Colored Fabrics. — To wash colored stockings, or any 
 delicate colored fabrics, table-linen, lawns, or cambrics, etc., dissolve one 
 tablespoonful of sugar of lead in one gallon water. Soak the articles th«r- 
 oughly in the solution ; then dry. 
 
 To Wash Merino Stockings. — Boil the soap to make a lather, wash 
 them in this warm, and rinse in a second lather. If white, mix a little blue. 
 N'ever rinse in plain water, or use cold water. 
 
 To Make the Colors stand in Delicate Hose. — Turn the stockings 
 right side out, and wash in a lather of lukewarm water and white castile soap ; 
 then wash the wrong side. If very much soiled, two waters will be required. 
 Rinse in lukewarm water and then in cold water ; dry as soon as possible by " 
 heat, not by sun. It is better not to iron them, but when nearly dry, smooth 
 and pull them into shape by hand. 
 
 To Wash Chintz. — Boil two pounds of rice in two gallons of water till 
 soft, and pour it into a tub ; let it stand until it subsides into a moderate 
 warmth ; put the chintz in and wash it (without using soap) until the dirt 
 disappears ; then boil the same quantity of water and rice as before, but 
 strain off the rice and mix it in warm water. Wash the chintz in this till 
 (luite clean ; afterward rinse it in the water the rice was boiled in ; this will 
 answer for starch, and dew will not affect it. 
 
 Washing Prints. — To a suflScient quantity of hot water for washing a 
 dress add a tablespoonful of ox gall. Let the dress remain in this a few 
 minutes, then coo^. enough to wash out like other prints. Rinse immediately 
 in cold water and dry as quickly as possible in the open air. If there are 
 spots to bo removed, apply soap when dry. 
 
 Another. — Dissolve half an ounce of alum in sufficient water to rinse two 
 print dresses. Dip your prints in, and when sure that every part is wet, 
 wring them out ; then have a warm soapsuds, in which wash quickly and 
 f-inse in cold water. Then in second rinsing-water mix your starch, rinse, 
 \ring quickly, and hang to dry, not in the sun, but on a line where the wind 
 
326 Home Economics. 
 
 will dry them quickly. Immediately they are dry enough, irou them ; or if 
 this is not convenient, let them get quite dry and iron them through a damp 
 cloth. Prints should never be sprinkled. 
 
 To Make Use of Faded Prints. — Dingy print dresses can be bleached and 
 made into something serviceable and pretty. When the season of soap-making 
 approaches, have faded dresses ready to scald in lye. Let them be washed 
 and boiled in hot suds until all the color possible is extracted, then finish the 
 work by scalding with lye, washing with suds, and laying them on the fiist 
 young grass. 
 
 Cleansing Blankets. — Put two large tablespoonfuls of borax and a pint 
 of soft soap into a tub of cold water. When dissolved, put in a pair of 
 blankets, and let them remain over night. Next day, rub and drain them out, 
 and rinse thoroughly in two waters, and hang to dry. Do not wring them. 
 
 To Wash Flannel. — Never rub soap upon it. Make a suds by dissolving 
 the soap in warm water. Kinse in warm water ; very cold or hot water will 
 shrink flannel. Shake them out several minutes before hanging to dry. 
 Blankets are washed in the same way. 
 
 Restoring White Flannel. — To restore the appearance of white flannel 
 which has turned yellowish by lying for a long time or by wear, soak for one 
 hour in a weak solution of bisulphate of soda, then add a little diluted muri- 
 atic acid, stir well, and cover the vessel for twenty minutes. After this take 
 the flannel out, rinse in plenty of soft water, and dry in the sun. 
 
 Washing Woolen Clothing.— Articles of woolen washed in ordinary 
 Boap and water not only shrink, but acquire a pecuUar fatty odor, due to the 
 decomposition of the soap by the lactic and acetic acids present in the per- 
 spiration, and consequently precipitation of the greater part of the fat of 
 the soap in the fiber of the wool. To prevent these effects steep the articles 
 for several hours in a warm, moderately-concentrated solution of washing 
 soda, then after the addition of warm water and a few drops of ammonia, 
 wash and rinse them in lukewarm water. 
 
 How to Wash Table-Linen. — Put a teaspoonful of sugar of ead into 
 two-thirds of a pail of water, and when dissolved, soak the table-linen in it 
 fifteen or twenty minutes. Be careful in wringing the article from this water 
 that there is no cut or sore on the hands, as the sugar of lead is poisonous 
 Every thing that is liable to fade must be washed quickly, and not allowed to 
 soak in suds or rinsing-water, and hung in a shady place to dry. Never wash 
 flannel, silk, or colored things on a wet or cloudy day, but lay them aside for 
 a fair day ; and when washing such articles do not let them stand and soak, 
 but wash, rinse, starch (if needed) and hang out each thing as fast as possi- 
 ble, and then take the next. 
 
Washing Clothes. 327 
 
 To Preserve Olothes-Pins. — Clothes-pinaf boiled a few moments, and 
 quickly dried, once or twice a month, become more flexible and durable. 
 Clothes-lines will last longer and keep in better order if occasionally treated in 
 the same way. 
 
 STARCHING, FOLDING, AND IRONING. 
 
 To Prepare Starch. — Take two tablespoonfuls of starch dissolved in a& 
 much water ; add a gill of cold water ; then add one pint of boiling water, and 
 boil it half an hour, adding a small piece of spermaceti, sugar, or salt ; strain, 
 etc. Thin it with water. 
 
 Flour Starch. — Mix flour gradually with cold water, so that it may be 
 free from lumps. Stir in cold water till it will pour easily ; then stir it into 
 a pot of boiling water, and let it boil five or six minutes, stirring it frequently. 
 A httle spermaceti will make it smoother. This starch will answer very well 
 for cotton and linen. Poland starch is made in the same manner. 
 
 Glue Starch. — Boil a piece of glue, four inches square, in three quarts of 
 wjti,v.r. Keep it in a bottle well corked. Use for calicoes. 
 
 Gum-arabic Starch. — Get two ounces of fine, white gum-arabic; pound 
 it to powder ; put it into a pitcher, and pour a pint or more of boiling water 
 upon it ; cover it well. Let it stand all night, and the next morning pour it 
 carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle ; cork it, and keep for use. A 
 tablespoonful stirred into a pint of starch made in the ordinary manner will 
 restore lawns to almost their origmal freshness ; and it is also o-ood for thin 
 white muslin and bobbinet. 
 
 Starching Clothes. — Muslins look well when starched, and clapped dry, 
 while the starch is hot, then folded in a damp cloth, till they become quite 
 damp, before ironing them. If muslins are sprinkled, they are apt to be 
 spotted. Some clap muslins, then dry them, and afterward sprinkle them. 
 
 Sprinkling Clothes. — They should be sprinkled with clear water and laid 
 in separate piles ; one of flannels, one of colored, one of common, and one of 
 fine articles. 
 
 Folding Clothes. — Fold the fine articles, and roll them in a towel ; then 
 fold the rest, turning them all right side outward. Lay the colored articles 
 separate from the rest. They should not remain damp long, as the colors 
 might be injured. Sheets and table linen should be shaken and folded. 
 
 Gloss for Linen. — " Starch Luster " is a substance used for washing pur- 
 poses, which, when added to starch, causes the linen to which it is applied to 
 assume not only a high polish, but a dazzling whiteness. A portion, of the 
 size of a copper cent, added to half a pound of starch, and boiled with it for 
 
328 Home Economics. 
 
 two or three minutes, will produce the best results. This substance is noth- 
 ing more than stearine, paraffine, or wax, colored by a slight admixture of 
 ultramarine blue. The latter may be added at will. 
 
 To Make Flat-irons Smooth. — Rub them with clean lard, and wipe dry ; 
 or rubbing them with a little beeswax while hot will have the desired effect. 
 
 Another. — Rub them with fine salt, and it will make them perfectly 
 smooth. 
 
 To Preserve Irons from Rust. — Melt fresh mutton suet, smear over the 
 irons with it while hot, then dust it well with unslaked lime, powdered and 
 tied up in muslin. When not used, wrap the irons in baize, and keep them 
 in a dry place. Use no oil on them at any time except salad oil. 
 
 To Remove Starch or Rust from Flat-irons. — Have a piece of yellow 
 beeswax tied in a coarse cloth. When the iron is almost hot enough to use, 
 but not quite, rub it quickly with the beeswax, and then with a clean, coarse 
 cloth. This will remove it entirely. 
 
 Ironing. — In ironing a shirt, first do the back, then the sleeves, then the 
 collar and bosom, and then the front. Calicoes should be ironed on the right 
 side, as they thus keep clean for a longer time. In ironing a frock, first do 
 the waist, then the sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the skirt rolled while iron- 
 ing the other parts, and set a chair to hold the sleeves while ironing the skirt, 
 unless a skirt-board be used. Silk should be ironed on the wrong side, when 
 quite damp, with an iron which is not very hot, as light colors are apt to 
 change and fade. In ironing velvet, turn up the face of the iron, and after 
 dampening the wrong side of the velvet, draw it over the face of the iron, 
 holding it straight. Always iron lace and needlework on the wrong side. 
 
 Starching — Clear-starching, Etc. — To Make Starch for Linen, 
 Cotton^ Etc. — To one ounce of the best starch add just enough soft cold 
 water to make it, by rubbing and stirring, into a thick paste, carefully break- 
 ing all the lumps and particles. When rubbed perfectly smooth, add a pint 
 of boiling water, with blueing to suit, and boil for at least half an hour, taking 
 care to have it well stirred all the time, to prevent its burning. When act 
 stirring, keep it covered, to prevent the accumulation of dust, etc. Also keep 
 it covered when removed from the fire, to prevent a scum from rising upon 
 it. To give the linen a fine, smooth, glossy appearance, and prevent the iron 
 from sticking, add a little spermaceti — a piece as large as a nutmeg — to the 
 starch when boiling, and half a teaspoonful of the finest table-salt. In iron- 
 ing linen collars, shirt bosoms, etc., their appearance will be much improved 
 by rubbing them, before ironing, with a clean white towel, dampened in soft 
 water. All starch should be strained before using. 
 
 To Olear-starch Lace, Etc. — Starch for laces should be thicker and used 
 hotter than for linena. After your laces have been well washed and dried, 
 
StarcJiing^ Folding^ and Iromng. 329 
 
 dip them into the thick, hot starch in such a way as to have every part prop- 
 ei'ly starched. Then wring all the starch out, and spread them out smooth on 
 a piece of linen ; roll them up together, and let them remain for about half 
 an hour, when thej will be dry enough to iron. Some think that laces should 
 never be clapped between the hand, as it injures them. Cambrics do not re- 
 quire so thick starch as net or lace. Some people prefer cold or raw starcsh 
 for book-muslin, as some of this kind of muslin has a thick clammy appear- 
 ance, if starched in boiled starch. Fine laces are sometimes wound round a 
 glass bottle to dry, which prevents them from shrinking. 
 
 Ironing Laces. — Ordinary laces and worked muslin can be ironed by the 
 usual process with a smoothing or sad-iron ; finer laces cannot be. When the 
 lace has been starched and dried, ready for ironing, spread it out as smooth as 
 possible on an ironing-cloth, and pass over it, back and forth, as quickly as you 
 can, a smooth, round glass bottle containing hot water, giving the bottle such 
 pressure as may be required to smooth the lace. Sometimes you may pass 
 the laces over the bottle, taking care to keep them smooth. Either way is 
 much better than to iron. 
 
 REMOVING STAINS. 
 
 Grease-spots. — Cold rain-water and soap will remove machine-grease 
 from washable fabrics. 
 
 Stains from Acids can be removed by spirits of hartshorn, diluted. Re- 
 peat, if necessary. 
 
 Wine Stains may be taken out of articles by holding the spots in milk 
 while it is boiling. 
 
 Sal-volatile, or hartshorn, will restore colors taken out by acid. It may be 
 dropped upon any garment without doing harm. 
 
 Iron Rust. — Dip the rusty spots in a solution of tartaric or citric acid ; 
 or wet the spots with lemon- juice, and rub on hard, white soap, expose it to 
 the heat ; or apply lemon-juice and salt, and expose it to the sun. 
 
 To Take Out Scorch. — Lay the article scorched where the bright sun- 
 shine will fall upon it. It is said it will remove the spot, and leave it white 
 as snow. 
 
 Mildewed Linen. — This may be restored by soaping the spots; while 
 wet, covering them with fine chalk scraped to powder, and well rubbed in. 
 
 To Remove Mildew. — Remove mildew by dipping in sour butter-milk 
 and laying in the sun. 
 
330 Home Economics. 
 
 Another Method of Removing Mildew. — Pour one quart of boiling 
 water on two ounces of chloride of lime, and strain through a cloth ; then 
 add three quarts of cold water. Let the articles stand in this twelve hours, 
 then rinse thoroughly. It will not injure the cloth. 
 
 Coffee Stains. — Pour on them a small stream of boiling water before 
 putting the article in the wash. 
 
 Grass Stains. — Wash the stained places in clean, cold, soft water, with- 
 out Boap, before the garment is otherwise wet. 
 
 Tea Stains. — Clear, boiling water will remove tea stains, and many fruit 
 stains. Pour the water through the stain, and thus prevent its spreading over 
 the fabric. 
 
 Medicine Stains. — These may be removed from silver spoons by rub- 
 bing them with a rag dipped in sulphuric acid, and washing it off with soap- 
 suds. 
 
 Fruit Stains. — Freezing will take out all old fruit stains, and scald- 
 ing with boiling water will remove those that have never been through the 
 wash. 
 
 Fruit Stains on Napkins, Table-cloths, etc. — Pour hot water on 
 the spots ; wet with hartshorn or oxalic acid — a teaspoonful to a teacup of 
 water. 
 
 For Fruit and Wine Stains, mix two teaspoonfuls of water and one of 
 spirit of salt, and let the stained part lie in this for two minutes ; then rinse 
 in cold water ; or wet the stain with hartshorn. 
 
 Ink Stains. — Ink stains may sometimes be taken out by smearing with 
 hot tallow, left on when the stained articles go to the wash. 
 
 How^ to take Marking-Ink out of Linen. — A saturated solution of 
 cyanuret of potassium, applied with a camel's-hair brush. After the marking- 
 ink disappears, the linen should be well-washed in cold water. 
 
 Ink in Cotton, Silk, and Woolen Goods. — Saturate the spots with 
 spirits of turpentine, and let it remain several hours ; then rub it between 
 the hands. I will crumple away, without injuring either the color or the 
 texture of the article. 
 
 Ink Stains on Mahogany. — Put a few drops of spirits of niter in a tea- 
 spoonful of water, touch the spot with a feather dipped in the mixture, and 
 when the ink disappears, rub it over at once with a rag dipped in cold water, 
 or there will be a white mark not easily effaced. 
 
 Ink Stains on Silver — The tops and other portions of silver ink-stands 
 frequently become deeply discolored with ink, which is difficult to remove by 
 ordinary means. It may, however, be completely eradicated by making a 
 
Removing Stains. 331 
 
 little chloride of lime into a paste with water, and rubbing it upon the stains. 
 Chloride of lime has been misnamed " the general bleacher," but it is a foul 
 enemy to all metallic surfaces. 
 
 Ink and Iron Mould. — This may be taken out by wetting the spots in 
 milk, then covering them with common salt. It should be done before the 
 garment has h^nx washed. Another way to take out ink, is to dip it in 
 melted tallow. For fine, delicate articles, this is the best way. 
 
 How to Remove Stains from Floors. — For removing spots of grease 
 from boards, take equal parts of fuller's-earth and pearl-ash, a quarter of a 
 pound of each, and boil in a quart of soft water, and, while hot, lay it on 
 the greased parts, allowing it to remain on them for ten or twelve hours ; 
 after which it may be scoured off with sand and water. A floor much spot- 
 ted with grease should be completely washed over with thi« mixture the day 
 before it is scoured. Fuller's-earth or ox-gall boiled together, form a very pow- 
 erful cleansing mixture for floors or carpets. Stains of ink are removed by 
 strong vinegar, or salts of lemon will remove them. 
 
 To Preserve Steel Goods from Rust. — After bright grates have been 
 thoroughly cleaned, they should be dusted over with unslaked lime, and thus 
 left until wanted. All the coils of piano-wires are thus sprinkled, and will keep 
 from rust for many years. Table-knives, which are not in constant use, ought 
 to be put in a case in which sifted quick-lime is placed, about eight inches 
 deep. They should be plunged to the top of the blades, but the lime should 
 not touch the handles. 
 
 To Remove Paint Stains on Windows. — It frequently happens that 
 painters splash the plate or other glass windows when they are painting the 
 sills. When this is the case, melt some soda in very hot water and wash 
 them with it, using a soft flannel. It will entirely remove the paint. 
 
 Stains on the Hands. — A few drops of oil vitriol (sulphuric acid) in 
 water, will take the stains of fruit, dark dyes, stove blacking, etc., from the 
 hands without injuring them. Care must, however, be taken not to drop it 
 upon the clothes. It will remove the color from woolen, and eat holes in 
 cotton fabrics. 
 
 To remove ink or fruit stains from the fingers, take cream of tartar, half 
 an ounce ; powdered salt of sorrel, half an ounce ; mix. This is what is sold 
 for salts of lemon. 
 
 To Preserve Polished Iron Work. — Such work may be preserved from 
 rust by a mixture, not very expensive, consisting of copal varnish mixed with 
 as much olive oil as will give it a degree of greasiness, adding nearly as much 
 spirits of turpentine as of varnish. 
 
 If Rust has made its appearance upon grates or fire-irons, apply a mix- 
 ture of tripoli, with half its quantity of sulphur, mixed on a marble slab, 
 
332 Home Economics. 
 
 and laid on with a piece of soft leather. Emory and oil may be applied wit): 
 »n excellent effect. This will not only clean but polish. 
 
 To Extract Grease Spots from Books. — Gently tmrni the greased or 
 spottei part of the book or paper, and then press upon it pieces of blotting- 
 paper, one after another, so as to absorb as much of the grease as possible. 
 Have ready some fine, clear, essential oil of turpentine heated almost to a 
 boiling state, wai'm the greased leaf a little, and then with a soft, clean brush, 
 apply the heated turpentine both sides of the spotted part. By repeating this 
 application, the grease will be extracted. Lastly, with another brush, dipped 
 in rectified spirits of wine, go over the place carefully, until the paper be- 
 comes smooth and clean. 
 
 Removing Tar Spots. — The old remedy for removing tar is butter ; tar 
 is soluble in fat, and especially in butter ; when this is left on the tar-spot for 
 some time, both butter and tar are easily washed out by a sponge, with soap 
 and water. It is the same with resinous wagon-grease, A creamy mixture 
 of powdered extract of liquorice, with oil of anise-seed, will easily dissolve 
 tar, resin, pitch, Yenice turpentine, etc. It is afterward washed out with 
 soap and warm water. 
 
 Ammonia for 'Renovation. — Keep constantly in the house some strong 
 spirits of hartshorn in a ground-glass stoppered bottle. A teaspoonful in a 
 tablespoonful of water will clean combs and brushes. 
 
 In any case where an acid has taken the color from a fabric, ammonia will 
 restore it. Washing a carpet in ammonia-water — say a tablespoonful of 
 concentrated ammonia to a quart of warm suds — will take almost any stain 
 out of it. 
 
 In cleaning paint, glass, silver, or gold, it is invaluable, as well as for keeping 
 the hands soft and white after cleaning all these other things. 
 
 For cleaning windows, put a teaspoonful of strong ammonia in a half pint 
 of clear warm water, wring a cloth out, and rub sashes and glass, then rub 
 with a dry cloth. 
 
 Stains, pencil-marks, fly-specks, and all manner of dirt, disappear under 
 the ammonia treatment, with no injury to paint or varnish if not used too 
 strong. 
 
 Removing Grease from Silk. — Apply a little magnesia to the wrong 
 side, and the spots will disappear. 
 
 To Remove Grease from Coat Collars. — Wash with a sponge moist- 
 ened with hartshorn and water. 
 
 To Restore Crape. — A bit of glue dissolved in skim-milk will restore 
 
 crape. Ribbons of every kind should be washed in cold suds, and not rinsed. 
 
 To Clean Furs. — Shake and whip them well ; then brush ; boil some 
 
 1 
 
RcTTioving Stains. 333 
 
 flax-seed ; dip a rag in the water and wipe them slightly. This makes them 
 look nearly as good as new. 
 
 To Preserve Furs. — First, hang them out in the sun for a day or two ; 
 then give them a good beating and shaking-up, to be sure no moth is in them 
 already. Then wrap up a lump of camphor in a rag, and place in each ; then 
 wrai ui each in a sound newspaper and paste together, so that there is no 
 hole or ere rice through which a moth can gain entrance. 
 
 To Clean Velvet. — Wet a cloth and put it over a hot flat-iron, and a 
 dry one over that, then draw the velvet across it, brushing it at the same 
 time with a soft brush, and it will look as nice as new. 
 
 To Restore Silk. — The best method to make old silk look like new, and 
 one that is employed by millions, is to sponge over the outside with strong, 
 cold black tea. The silk should afterward be ironed outside. 
 
 Wrinkled Silk may be rendered nearly as beautiful as when new, by 
 sponging the surface with a weak solution of gum-arabic or white glue ; then 
 iron on the wrong side. 
 
 To Bleach White Silks or Flannels. — Wash the articles clean, rinse 
 in suds, and smoke with brimstone while wet ; the silk must be brushed or 
 washed with a sponge ; if rubbed it will never press smoothly ; expose the 
 goods to the air, and the odor will soon pass off. 
 
 To Clean White Ostrich Feathers. — Wash them well in soft water 
 with white soap and blue, if you can get the blue ; if not, use the white soap 
 alone ; rub them through white, clean paper, beat them on the paper, shake 
 them before the fire, dry them in the air by waving them with the hand to 
 and fro. Afterward curl them. 
 
 To Clean Feathers. — Dissolve four ounces of white soap, cut small, in 
 frur pounds of water, moderately hot, in a basin, and make the solution into 
 a lather by beating with a small rod. Then introduce the feathers, and rub 
 them well with the hands for five minutes. They are next to be washed in 
 clean water as hot as the hand can bear it. 
 
 To Make Cloth Water-proof. — In a pail of soft water put half a 
 pound of sugar of lead, half a pound of alum ; stir this at intervals until it 
 becomes cool; then pour it into another pail and put the garment thereiix, 
 and let it be in for twenty-four hours, and then hang it up to dry without 
 wringing it. 
 
 To Clean Black Cloth. — Dissolve one ounce of bicarbonate jf ammo- 
 nia in one quart of warm water. With this liquid rub the cloth, using a piece 
 of flannel or black cloth for the purpose. After the application of this solu- 
 tion, clean the cloth well with clear water, dry and iron it, brushing the cloth 
 from time to time in the direction of the fiber. 
 
334 Home Economics. 
 
 Cleaning Silk and Merinos. — Grate two or three large potatoes, add 
 to them a pint of cold water, let them stand a short time, pour off the liquid, 
 clear, or strain it through a sieve, when it will be ready for use. Lay the 
 silk on a flat surface, and apply the liquid with a clean sponge till the dirt is 
 well separated ; dip each piece in a pail of clear water, and hang up to dry 
 without wringing. Iron, while damp, on the wrong side. 
 
 To Color Kid Gloves. — Put a handful of logwood into a bowl, cover 
 with alcohol, and let it soak until it looks strong — one day, perhaps. Put 
 one glove on the hand, dip a small woolen cloth or sponge into the liquid, wet 
 the glove all over, rub it dry and hard until it sif'nes, and it will be a nice 
 purple. Repeat the process, and it will be black. 
 
 To Clean Kid Gloves. — Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, a 
 piece of white soap in another, a clean cloth folded two or three times. On 
 the cloth lay out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it 
 in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap on the wetted flannel, and 
 commence to rub the glove toward the fingers, holding it firmly with the left 
 hand. Continue this process imtil the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yel- 
 low, though clean ; if colored, till it looks dry and spoiled. Lay it to dry, 
 and the operator will soon be gratified to see that the old glove looks nearly 
 new. It will be soft, glossy, smooth, and elastic. 
 
 Washing Fid Gloves. — First, see that your hands are clean, then put 
 on your gloves, and wash them as though you were washing your hands, in a 
 basin of spirits of turpentine. This method is used in Paris. The gloves 
 should be hung in tbe air, or some dry place, to carry away the smell of tur- 
 pentine. 
 
 To Extract Grease from Papered Walls. — Dip a piece of flannel in 
 spirits of wine and rub the greasy spots gently once or twice. 
 
 To Clean Wall-Paper. — Tie a soft cloth over a broom, and sweep down 
 the walls carefully. 
 
 « 
 
 WHITEWASHING AND PAINTING. 
 
 Cracks in Plastering. — In some cases the plasterer has used too little 
 real plaster and too much lime. Pure plaster of Paris will never crack ; but 
 as it sets too quickly for the convenience of the operator, a Uttle lime is mixed 
 with it. If you try to plaster with lime alone, it will crack all over in drying, 
 and come off in patches. This indicates the necessity of always using as lit- 
 tle lime as possible, either in the sand used for brick-laying or m the plaster 
 used for coating the walls. 
 
 To Fill Holes in Walls. — Small holes in white walls can easily be re- 
 paired without sending for a mason. Equal parts of plaster of Paris and 
 
 
Whitewashing cmd Painting. 335 
 
 tvhite saud, such as is used in most families for scouring purposes, mixed 
 with water to a paste, applied immediately after removing the loose particles 
 of the walls, and smoothed with a knife or flat piece of wood, will make the 
 broken place as good as new. As the mixture hardens very quickly, it is beat 
 to prepare but a small quantity at a time. 
 
 Brilliant Zinc Whitewash. — The Manufacturer and Builder says: 
 " Mix oxide of zinc with common sizing, and apply it with a whitewash brush 
 to the ceiling. After this apply in the same manner a wash of the chloride 
 of zinc, which will combine with the oxide to form a smooth cement with a 
 shining face." 
 
 Cheap Whitewash. — Slake the lime as usual, except that the water used 
 should be hot, and nearly saturated with salt; then stir in four handfuls of 
 tine sand, to make it thick like cream. Coloring matter can be added to both, 
 making a light stone-color, a cream-color, or a light buff. 
 
 Making Paper Stick to Whitewashed Walls. — Make a sizing of 
 common glue and water, of the consistency of linseed oil, and apply with 
 whitewash or other brush to the wall, taking care to go over every part, and 
 especially top and bottom. Apply the paper in the ordinary way. 
 
 New Recipe for Whitewash. — The following recipe for whitewashing 
 has been found by experience to answer on wood, brick, and stone, nearly as 
 well as oil-paint, and is much cheaper: Slake half a bushel of unslaked 
 lime with boiling water, keeping it covered during the process. Strain it and 
 add a peck of salt, dissolved in warm water ; three pounds of ground rice 
 put in boiling water, and boiled to a thin paste ; half a pound of powdered 
 Spanish whiting, and a pound of clear glue, dissolved in warm water; mix 
 these well together, and let the mixture stand for several days. Keep the 
 wash thus prepared in a kettle or portable furnace, and when used put it on 
 as hot as possible, with a painters' or whitewash brush. 
 
 A Brilliant Stucco Whitewash. — Take clean lumps of well-burnt lime, 
 slake in hot water in a small tub, and cover it to keep in the steam. It 
 should then be passed through a fine sieve in a fluid form to obtain the flour 
 of lime. Add a quarter of a pound of whiting or burnt alum, two pounds 
 of sugar, three pints of rice-flour made into a thin and well-boiled paste, and 
 one pound of glue dissolved over a slow fire. It is said to be more brilUant 
 than plaster of Paris, and will last fifty years. It should be put on warm 
 with a paint brush. 
 
 To Color and Prevent Whitewash from Rubbing OflF. — Alum is one 
 of the best additions to make whitewash of lime which will not rub off. 
 When powdered chalk is used, glue-water is also good, but would not do for 
 outside work exposed to much rain. Give it the desired color by small qiian- 
 tities of lamp-black, brown sienna, ocher, or other coloring material. 
 
336 Home Economics. 
 
 Paint for Eitcnen Walls. — Paint on the walls of a kitchen is much better 
 than kalsomine, whitewash, or paper, since it does not absorb odors or peel 
 ofif, and can be quickly and perfectly cleaned. Any woman who can white- 
 wash can paint her own kitchen. The wall needs first to be washed with 
 soapsuds, then covered with a coat of dissolved glue, and then with paint. 
 A broad, flat brush does the work quickly. 
 
 Fire and Water-Proof Paint. — Slake stone lime by putting into a tub, 
 covered to keep in the steam ; when slaked pass the powder through a fine 
 sieve, and to every six quarts add a quart of rock salt and a gallon of water ; 
 then boil and skim clear ; to every five gallons of liquid add pulverized alum, 
 one pound ; pulverized copperas, one half pound, and stir slowly ; add pow- 
 dered potash, three fourths pound ; very fine sand, or hickory ashes, four 
 pounds ; then use any coloring matter desired, and apply with a brush. It 
 looks better than any ordinary paint, and is as durable as slate; will stop 
 small leaks in roofs, prevent moss from growing thereon, make it incombusti- 
 ble, and render brick impervious to water. 
 
 POLISHING FURNITURE. 
 
 Best French Naphtha Polish. — Solution of shellac three poimds, and of 
 wood naphtha three quarts. 
 
 Best French Spirit Polish. — Shellac, two pounds; powdered mastic 
 and sandarac, of each one ounce ; copal varnish, half a pint ; spirits of wine, 
 one gallon. Mix in the cold till dissolved. 
 
 Polish or Mahogany Color. — Two ounces of beeswax, cut fine ; spirits 
 of turpentine, one ounce ; one dram of powdered resin ; melt at a gentle heat, 
 and add two drams of Indian red to give it a mahogany color. 
 
 Simplest Polish for Oiled Furniture. — Rub oiled furniture with a 
 woolen cloth saturated slightly with oil. 
 
 Oil for Red Furniture. — Take linseed oil, put it into a glazed pipkin 
 with as much alkanet root as it will cover. Let it boil gently, and it will 
 become of a strong red color ; when cool it will be fit for use. 
 
 Polish of Oil and Alcohol. — One pint of linseed oil, one wine-glass of 
 alcohol; mix well together; apply to the cloth with a linen rag; rub dry 
 with a soft cotton cloth, and polish with a silk cloth. Furniture is improved 
 by washing it occasionally with soap-suds. Wipe dry and rub over with a 
 very little linseed oil upon a clean sponge or flannel. Wipe polished furni- 
 ture with silk. 
 
 Polish for Leather Cushions, etc. — Beat well the yelks of two eggs 
 and the white of one ; mix a tablespoonful of gin and a teaspoonful of sugar 
 
PolisJiing Furniture. 337 
 
 thicken it with ivory black, add it to the eggs, and use as common blacking ; 
 the seats or cushions being left a day or two to harden. This is good for 
 dressing boots and shoes. 
 
 To Give a Fine Color to Cherry-Tree Wood. — Take one ounce of 
 orchanetta ; cut it in two or three bits, and put it to soak for forty-eight 
 hours in three ounces of good olive oil. With this oil anoint your cherry- 
 tree wood after it is worked and shaped as you intend it, and it will give it a 
 fine luster. 
 
 To Stain Black Walnut. — To impart to common pine the color and ap- 
 pearance of black walnut the following composition may be used : One quar- 
 ter of a pound of asphaltum, one half a pound of beeswax, to one gallon of 
 turpentine. If found too thin, add beeswax ; if too light in color, add as- 
 phaltum, though that must be done with caution, as a very little will make a 
 great difference in the shade, and black walnut is not what its name implies, 
 but rather a rich dark brown. Varnishing is not essential, as the wax gives 
 it a good gloss. 
 
 Imitation Ebony Stain. — Mix up a strong stain of copperas and extract 
 of logwood, about equal parts ; add powdered nut galls, one-fourth part ; stain 
 wood with solution, dry, rub down well, oil ; then use French polish made 
 tolerably dark with indigo or finely-powdered stone blue. 
 
 To EboMize Various Woods. — Apple, pear, and walnut wood, especially 
 if fine-grained, may be " ebonized " by the following process : Boil in a glazed 
 vessel, with water, four ounces of gall-nuts, one ounce of logwood chips, half 
 an ounce of vitriol, and a half an ounce of crystallized verdigris ; filter while 
 warm, and brush the wood with the hot solution a number of times. The 
 wood, thus stained black, is then to be coated two or three times (being 
 allowed to dry completely after each coating) with a solution of one ounce of 
 iron filings in a quart of good wine vinegar. This is to be prepared hot and 
 allowed to cool before use. 
 
 Water and Varnished Furniture. — Water should never be applied to 
 varnished furniture, but the slats of bedsteads can be washed and dried, and 
 kerosene applied to the ends or joints of the bedsteads. Varnished furniture 
 should be cleaned with a woolen cloth dipped in linseed oil. 
 
 Cleansing Polish for Furniture. — Cold drawn linseed oil, one quart; 
 gin or spirits of wine, half a pint ; vinegar, half a pint ; butter of antimony, 
 two ounces ; spirits of turpentine, half a pint ; this mixture requires to be 
 well shaken before it is used, A little of it is then to be poured upon a rub- 
 ber, which must be well applied to the surface of the furniture. Several ap- 
 plications will be necessary for new furniture, or for such as has previously 
 been French polished or rubbed with beeswax. 
 
338 Home Economics. 
 
 I 
 
 Where and How to Varnish. — Varnish should alwa} s be appUed in a 
 warm room, as warm as a person can work in comfortably. At a lower tem- 
 perature there is always moisture in the air, and an invisible dew, which givt 8 
 the varnish a milky and cloudy appearance. This will happen even on a fine 
 summer day, and the only preventive is to employ artificial heat to produce 
 a temperature of at least seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit. At this tempera- 
 ture the moisture is not precipitated until the alcohol of the varnish has suf- 
 ficiently evaporated to leave a thin and smooth film of shellac. The gloss 
 and durability are entirely dependent upon this. 
 
 Varnish for Unpainted Wood. — A good surface may be produced on 
 unpainted wood by the following treatment : Sand-paper the wood thoroughly 
 as for French polishing, size it, and lay on a coat of varnish, very thin, with 
 a piece of sponge or wadding covered with a piece of linen rag. When dry, 
 rub down with pumice dust, and apply a second coat of varnish. Three 
 or four coats should produce a surface almost equal to French polish, if the 
 varnish is good and the pumice be well applied between each coat. The 
 use of a sponge or wadding instead of a brush, aids in preventing the 
 streaky appearance usually caused by a brush in the hands of an unskilled 
 person. 
 
 Blacking for Stoves. — May be made with half a pound of black lead 
 finely powdered, mixed with the whites of three eggs well beaten ; then dilute 
 it with sour beer or porter till it becomes as thin as shoe-blacking ; after stir- 
 ring it, set it over hot coals to simmer for twenty minutes ; when cold it may 
 be kept for use. 
 
 Brunswick Black for Varnishing Grates. — Melt four pounds of com- 
 mon asphaltum, and add two pints of linseed oil and one gallon of oil of tur- 
 pentine. This preparation is usually put up in stone-ware bottles for 
 sale, and is used with a paint brush. If too thick, more turpentine may be 
 added. 
 
 To Clean Bronzed Chandeliers, Lamps, etc. — These articles should 
 only be dusted with a feather brush, or soft cloth, as washing will take rfi 
 the bronzing. 
 
 For Cleaning Brasses Belonging to Mahogany Furniture. — Use for 
 
 this purpose, either powdered whiting or scraped rotten-stone, mixed with 
 Bweet-oil, and rubbed on with a chamois-skin. 
 
 To Clean Sinks. — Copperas, dissolved in boiling-water and applied with 
 a whisk-broom, is good for cleaning iron sinks and drains. For zinc, take one 
 fourth muriatic acid and three fourths water, thickened with whiting and ap- 
 plied with a cloth. Scour well with this mixture and then wash with warm 
 water. 
 
Articha for the Toilet. 339 
 
 ARTICLES FOR THE TOILET. 
 
 Rose Oil. — Put any quantity of dried rose-leaves into an earthenware 
 pipkin, cover them with olive-oil, and keep hot for some hours. The oil will 
 extract both odor and color. 
 
 Cologne Water. — A very fair article, that will improve with age, may be 
 made us fol.ows : One pint of alcohol, add twelve drops each of oils of ber- 
 gamot, lemon, neroli, orange-peel, rosemary, and one dram of cardamom seed. 
 
 Another recipe : One pint of alcohol, sixty drops of lavender, sixty drops 
 of bergamot, sixty drops of essence of lemon, sixty drops of orange-water. 
 To be corked up and well shaken. This also is better for considerable age. 
 
 To Wash Hair Brushes. — Hair brushes, however dirty, may be washed 
 and kept good for years, without loss of stiffness, by putting a small handful 
 of soda into a pint jug of boiling water When the soda is melted, put in 
 the brush and stir it about till clean. Rinse it in cold water, and dry in the 
 sun or by the fire. The quicker it dries, the harder the bristles will be. 
 
 A Paste for Sharpening Razors. — Take prepared putty one ounce, 
 saturated solution of oxalic acid enough to make a paste; this composition 
 is to be rubbed over the strop, and when dry, a little water may be added. 
 The acid having a great attachment for iron, a little friction with this pow- 
 der gives a fine edge to the razor. 
 
 Shaving Gream. — Take one pound of soft-soap in a jar ; add to it one 
 quart best alcohol ; set the jar in a vessel of boiling water until the soap is 
 dissolved. Perfume with essential oil to suit. This is a good article for 
 shaving, especially for those troubled with pimples on the face. Two or three 
 drops rubbed on the face with the end of the finger is enough for shaving. 
 Dip the end of the brush in a little hot water, brush the face briskly, and it 
 will raise a rich lather. 
 
 To Curl Hair. — Take two ounces of borax, one dram of powdered gum 
 Senegal, one quart of hot water, (not boiling ; ) mix, and as soon as the in- 
 gredients are dissolved, add two ounces of spirits of wine strongly impreg- 
 nated with camphor ; on retiring to rest, wet the hair with the above mixture 
 and roll it in papers as usual ; leave them till morning, when untwist and 
 form into ringlets. 
 
 To Remove Tight Rings. — To remove tightly-fitting rings from a finger 
 without pain, (says the London Lancet,) pass the end of a portion of rather 
 fine twine underneath the ring, and evenly encircle the finger from below up- 
 ward ( as whip-makers bind lashes on) with the remainder, as far as the cen- 
 ter of the finger, then unwind the string from above downward by taking 
 hold of the end passed under the ring, and it will be found that the ring will 
 gradually pass along the twine toward the tip of the finger. 
 
340 Home Economics. 
 
 Rose Lip-Salve. — No. 1. Oil of almonds, three ounces; alkauot, half an 
 ounce. Let them stand together in a warm place until the oil is colored, then 
 strain. Melt one ounce and a half of white wax, and half an ounce of sperm- 
 aceti with the oil, stir till it begins to thicken, and add twelve drops of 
 attar of roses. No. 2. White wax, one ounce ; almond oil, two ounces ; alka- 
 net, one dram. Digest in a warm place till sufficiently colored. Strain, and 
 stir in six drops of attar of roses.* 
 
 BIRDS AND BIRD-FOOD. 
 
 To Distinguish Canaries. — To distinguish the male bird from the hen, 
 observe the bird when it is singing, and if it be a cock you will perceive the 
 throat heaving with a pulse-like motion, a peculiarity which is scarcely per- 
 ceptible in the hen. 
 
 Place for Cages. — Place the cages so that no draught of air will strike 
 them. Avoid placing them near the stove, fire-place, or register. About 
 half way between the floor and the ceiling is best, as the temperature there 
 is preferable. The room should never be heated above seventy degrees. 
 
 Size of Cage Perches. — Very many mean to give their birds all things 
 needed to make them bright and happy, and at the same time are guilty 
 of great cruelty in regard to perches. The perches in a cage should be 
 each one of different size, and the smallest as large as a pipe-stem. If 
 perches are of the right sort, no trouble is ever had about the bird's claws 
 growing too long ; and of all things keep the perches clean. 
 
 Food for Canary Birds. — Give nothing to healthy birds but rape and 
 canary seed, water, cuttle-fish bone, and gravel-paper or sand on the floor of 
 the cage, no hemp-seed, and a bath three times a week. When moulting 
 (shedding feathers) keep warm ; avoid all draughts of air. Give plenty of 
 German rape-seed ; a little hard-boiled egg, mixed with crackers grated fine, 
 is excellent. Feed at a certain hour in the morning. By observing these 
 simple rules, birds may be kept in fine condition for years. For birds that are 
 sick or have lost their song, procure bird-tonic at a bird-store. 
 
 Care of Young Canaries. — Feed young canaries with white and yelk of 
 hard eggs, mixed together with a little bread steeped in water. This should 
 be pressed and placed in one vessel, while in another should be put some 
 boiled rape-seed, washed in fresh water. Change the food every day. When 
 they are a month old, put them in separate cages. 
 
 ♦ For other articles for the toilet consult previous chapters on health. 
 
Birds (md Bird-food. 341 
 
 Parasites upon Canaries. — The red mite, a minute insect, almost in- 
 visible to the naked eye, but easily seen through the microscope, is found in 
 large numbers in nearly all the cages containing canaries, particularly those 
 which are kept in dark rooms away from the light. These tiny creatures 
 shun the liglit, and generally leave the birds during the day, concealing them- 
 selves in the cracks and crevices of the cage until darkness arrives, when 
 they sally forth to attack the canaries. By continually irritating them, they 
 cause a loss of sleep which occasions many diseases and very often is the 
 source of their death. 
 
 How to Destroy these Parasites. — The presence of these insects is indi- 
 cated by the uneasy manner the birds exhibit, becoming dispirited, and sit- 
 ting in a drooping position on the perches or on the ground. It is difficult 
 to get rid of them. A plan simple and effectual is to place in the cage a 
 hollow reed with three or four gimlet holes along it, as a substitute for the 
 ordinary perch. The mites hide in the reed with the return of light, and 
 can be readily shaken from it. In a short time the insects can all be de- 
 stroyed by this easy process. 
 
 Food for Mocking-Birds. — 1. One medium-sized boiled potato (without 
 salt) and the yelk of one hard-boiled egg, chopped together very fine when 
 warm. In cold weather this may last two days, but in summer should be 
 made fresh daily. 
 
 2. Ground or bruised hemp-seed, sixteen ounces ; ground or bruised rice, 
 four ounces ; dust of butter crackers, eight ounces ; flax-seed meal, two 
 ounces ; mix and put in a pan with two ounces of lard, and cook until it has 
 a brown color, stirring with a spoon to "keep it from sticking or getting 
 into lumps. One or two tablespoonfuls a day, with grated carrot, is 
 sufficient.* 
 
 To Distinguish Thrushes — Food. — The male bird may be distinguished 
 from a hen by a darker back and the more glossy appearance of the feathers. 
 The breast also is white. Their natural food is insects, worms, and snails. 
 In a domesticated state they will eat raw meat, but snails and worms should 
 be procured for them. 
 
 Care of Young Thrushes. — Young birds are hatched about the middle 
 of April, and should be kept very warm. They should be fed with raw 
 meat, out small, or bread mixed in milk with hemp-seed well bruised ; when 
 they can feed themselves give them lean meat cut small, and mixed with 
 bread or German paste, plenty of clean water, and keep them in a warm, 
 dry, and sunny situation. 
 
 Food of Bullfinches. — Old birds should be fed with German paste, and 
 
 ♦ Foi'Mt and Stream. 
 
842 Home Economics. 
 
 occasionally rape-seed. The Germans occasionally give them a little poppy- 
 seed, and a grain or two of rice, steeped in Canary wine, when teaching them 
 to pipe, as a reward for the progress they make. Bird-organs, or flageolets, 
 are used to teach them to sing. 
 
 Care of Young Bullfinches. — Bullfinches breed three or four tiuies a 
 year. The young require to be kept very warm, and to be fed every two 
 hours, with rape-seed, soaked for several hours in cold water, afterward 
 scalded and strained, bruised, mixed with bread, and moistened with milk. 
 One, two, or three mouthfuls at a time. 
 
 Linnets and their Food. — Male birds are browner on the back than the 
 hens, and have some of the large feathers of the wings wliite up to the 
 quills. Canary and hemp-seed, with occasionally a little groundsel, water- 
 cress, chickweed, etc., constitute their food. 
 
 Blackbirds and their Food. — The cock-bird is of a deep black, with a 
 yellow bill. The female is dark brown. It is difficult to distinguish male 
 from female birds when young ; but the darkest generally are males. Their 
 food consists of German paste, bread, meat, and bits of apple. The same 
 treatment as given for the thrush applies to the blackbird. . 
 
 To Distinguish Skylarks. — The male bird is recognized by the largeness 
 of his eye, the length of his claws, the mode of erecting his crest, and by 
 marks of white in the tail. It is also a larger bird than the hen. 
 
 The Cages of Skylarks. — The cage should be of the following propor- 
 tions : Length, one foot five inches ; width, nine inches ; height, one foot 
 three inches. There should be a circular projection in front, to admit of a 
 fresh turf being placed every two or three days, and the bottom of the cage 
 should be plentifully and constantly sprinkled with river sand. All vessels 
 containing food should be placed outside, and the top of the cage should 
 be arched and padded, so that the bird may not injure itself by jumping 
 about. 
 
 Food of Skylarks. — Their food, in a natural state, consists of seeds, 
 insects, and also buds, green herbage, as clover, endive, lettuce, etc., and oc- 
 casionally berries. When coufined, they are usually fed with a paste made 
 in the following manner : Take a portion of bread, well-baked and stale, put 
 it into fresh water, and leave it until quite soaked through, then squeeze 
 out the water and pour boiled milk over it, adding two-thirds of the same 
 quantity of barley-meal well sifted, or, what is better, wheat-meal. This 
 should be made fresh every two days. Occasionally the yelk of a hard- 
 boiled egg should be crumbled small and given to the birds, as well as a 
 little hemp-seed, meal-worms, and elderberries. Great cleanliness should 
 be observed in the cages of these birds. 
 
Rules for Carving. 343 
 
 RULES FOR CARVING. 
 
 Carving Knives. — These should always " be put in edge " before the 
 guests are called to the table. Let them be light as well as sharp. Dispense 
 if possible with the " steel " after the guests are seated. However closely 
 the guests are compelled to sit, give the carver plenty of room. 
 
 Carving Dishes. — Joints which require carving sliould be placed on 
 plates of ample size, and the dish should be so placed as to give the oper- 
 atoi' complete command over the joint. 
 
 To Carve a Fowl. — To carve a fowl (which should always be laid with 
 the breast uppermost) place the fork in the breast, and take off the wings 
 and legs without turning the fowl ; then cut out the '* merry-thought," cut 
 slices from the breast, take out the collar bone, cut off the side pieces, and 
 then cut the carcass in two. Divide the joints in the legs of a turkey. 
 
 To Carve a Fillet. — To carve a fillet of veal, begin at the top, and 
 help to the stuffing with each slice. In a breast of veal separate the breast 
 and brisket, and then cut them up, asking which part is preferred. 
 
 To Carve a Round of Beef. — First cut away the irregular outside 
 pieces, to obtain a good surface, and then serve thin and broad slices. 
 Serve bits of the udder fat with the lean. 
 
 To Carve a Sirloin. — In carving a sirloin, cut thin slices from the side 
 next to you, (it must be put on the dish with the tenderloin underneath,) 
 then turn it, and cut from the tenderloin. Help the guests to both kinds. 
 
 To Carve a Leg. — In carving a leg of mutton or a ham, begin by 
 cutting across the middle to the bone. Cut a tongue across, not lengthwise, 
 and help from the middle part. 
 
 To Carve a Pig. — In carving a pig it is customary to divide it and 
 take off the head before it comes to the table, as to many persons the head 
 is revolting. Cut off the limbs and divide the ribs. The ribs are considered 
 very choice. 
 
 To Carve a Calve's Head. — Carve across the cheek, and take pieces 
 from any part that is easily reached. The tongue and brain-sauce are served 
 separate. 
 
 To Carve a Saddle of Mutton.— Cut thin slices parallel with the back- 
 Ijone ; or slice it obliquely from the bone to the edge. Saddles of pork or 
 lamb are carved in the same manner. 
 
 To Carve a Spare-Rib. — A spare-rib of pork is carved by separating 
 the chops, which should previously have been jointed. Cut as far as the 
 joint, then return the knife to the point of tlie bones, and press over to dis- 
 
844 
 
 Home Economics. 
 
 close the joiut, whicli may tlieii be relieved wiih the point of the knife. 
 Hams are cut in very thin slices from the knuckle to the blade. 
 
 To Carve Fish. — Fish are served with a fish-slice, or the new fish-knife 
 and fork, and requires very little carving, care being required, however, not 
 to break the flakes, which from their size add much to the beauty of cod 
 and salmon. Serve part of the roe, milk, or liver to eacli person. The 
 heads of cod and salmon, sounds of cod, are likewise considered delicacies. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS ON CARVING- ADDITIONAL NOTES. 
 
 wBi^iM or taer. 
 
 BODHD. OB BOMKO UBS, OP BEET. 
 
 UTCSBOKE or B£EF* 
 
 Notes.— The dotted lines above, in connection witli the previous directions, explain 
 themselves. Some carvers cut the top of the sirloin of beef from C to D ; but this is a 
 wasteful method ; the one from E to F is to be preferred ; in case of the under piece 
 (the tenderloin) the cross line only should be observed. Cut the aitchbone of beef from 
 A to B, slicing "thin " from top to bottom. In carving the fillets, slice round from the 
 top. The numerals in the seventh illustration show the method of cuttmg up and 
 designating the carcass of veal, thus: Hi)Hl-qtiarter: 1. Loin, prime joint; 2. Chnmp 
 end of loin, roasts or cutlets; 3. Fillet, best cutlets: 4. Hind knuckle, for boiling or 
 stewing; 10. Flank, for stews. Fore-quarler : 5. Fore knuckle; 6. Neck, best end of 
 neck; 7. Shoulder, roasting; 8. Bladebone, roasting; 9. Breast, braized or stew; 
 11. Head, eaten in various ways. 
 
Roasting and Carving Poultry and Game Birds. 
 
 ROASTING AND CARVING POULTRY AND GAME BIRDS. 
 
 Ducks are carved very much as turkeys, geese, and other fowls. If the 
 bird be a young duckling it may be carved like a fov^^l, namely, by first 
 taking off the leg and wing on either side; but in cases where the duckling 
 is very small it will be as well not to separate the leg fiom the wing, as 
 they will not then form too large a portion for a single serving. After the 
 legs and wings are disposed of the remainder of the duck will be also 
 
 IIOA5I TURtET. 
 
 Note. — In the roast turkey, G, C, D, show place of the "Merrythought," which can 
 be easily removed ; in the goose. A, A, A, the hue for the knife In severing the apron 
 covering the stuffing. By a little care all the other parts may also be readily dis- 
 juinted and removed. 
 
 carved in the same manner as a fowl, and not much difficuliy will be ex- 
 perienced, as ducklings are tender, and the joints are easily broken by a little 
 forcing, or penetrating by the knife. In cases where the duck is a large 
 bird the better plan to pursue is tlien to carve it like a goose. As to the 
 prime parts of a duck, it has been snid that the " wings of a flyer and the 
 legs of a swimmer" are severally the best portions. 
 
3.t6 
 
 Home Economics. 
 
 1 
 
 CARVING FISH-ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Salmon. — Run the knife along tlie side of the fish from A to B and 
 C lo D. Then lielp the tliick p;irt lengthwise from A to B and the thin 
 part breadthwise from E to F, supplyuig each person with a piece of each. 
 The thin part is from the belly, where lies the fat and rich piece of the fish. 
 
 Mackerel. — Run the knife sidewise from C to B down the backbone so 
 as as to divide the fish into halves ; remove the backbone neatly without 
 
 SALMON. 
 
 MACKEREL. COD'S HEAD AND SHOULDER. 
 
 breaking the flakes, then crosscut at A, A, and C, C, and as needed at in- 
 termediate placos. Be careful not to leave any of the choice and delicate 
 bits on the backbone, as that would be regarded as a real loss. 
 
 Cod's Head and Shoulder. — Run the k«ife as indicated, and bear in 
 mind the fact that lovers of the cod regard the parts around the head as the 
 greatest delicacies of that fish. 
 
 THE DINNB« TABIS. 
 
CuUiiig V^ Beef, 
 
 347 
 
 HIND QUARTER OP BEEP. 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
 NEW VORK. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 1. Tip end of sirloin. 
 
 First cut of ribs. 
 
 First cut of ribs. 
 
 ». Second cut of sirloin. 
 
 Porterhouse steak or sirloin roast. 
 
 Sirloin roast or steak. 
 
 3. First cut of sirloin. 
 
 Fiat-boned sirloin steak or roast. 
 
 Sirloin roast or steak. 
 
 4. Back of rump. 
 
 i {a) Large sirloin 
 
 Hip roast; also rump steak. 
 
 5. Middle of rump. 
 
 < (a) steaks or 
 
 Middle of rump. 
 
 6^ Face of rumpu 
 
 ' roasts. 
 
 Face of rump. 
 
 7. Aitchbone. 
 
 Aitchbone. 
 
 Tail end of rump. 
 
 8. Best round steak. 
 
 (and4^and 5^) Rump steak or roasts. 
 
 Best round steak. 
 
 9. Poorer round steak. 
 
 (and I2c) Round steak. 
 
 Poorer round steak. 
 
 i& Best pan of vein. 
 
 Best pan of vein. 
 
 Best pan of vein. 
 
 11. Poorer part of vein. 
 
 Poorer part of vein. 
 
 Poorer pan of vein. 
 
 13. Shank of round. 
 
 {d) Leg of beef. 
 
 Leg 
 
 IJ. Flank. 
 
 (f) Flank. 
 
 U) Flaak. 
 
 I. First cut of ribs. 
 t. Sc-cond cut of ribs. 
 3, Third cm of ribs. 
 <and 5. Best chuck ribs. 
 
 6 and 7. Poorer chuck ribs. 
 
 8. Neck piece. 
 
 9. Rattle-raa 
 
 to. Shoulder of muttoOk 
 
 II. Slicking piece. 
 
 11. Middle cut or rib plate. 
 \y. Navel eitd of bruiket. 
 
 14. Brisket piece. 
 
 15. Shin, thick end of brisket, part 
 '. of sticking pitce. 
 
 First cut of ribs, with lip o( sirloin. 
 
 Second cut of ribs. 
 
 Third cut of ribs. 
 
 Best chuck ribs. 
 
 Poorer chuck ribs. 
 
 Neck piece* 
 
 Plate piece. 
 
 [ Shoulder.of mutton. 
 
 > Navel end of brisket. 
 
 Brisket piece. 
 
 Shin and thick end of brisket. 
 
 First cut of ribs, with tip of tirloio. 
 
 Second cut of .ribs. 
 
 Third cut of ribs. 
 
 best chuck ribs. 
 
 Poorer chuck ribs. 
 
 Neck chuck. 
 
 Plate piece. 
 
 i Shoulder of multOD or bolef piece. 
 Sticking piece. 
 
 Navel end of brisket 
 
 Brisket piece. 
 
 Shin and thick end of brisket. 
 
348 Home Economics. 
 
 PASTE AND CEMENTS. 
 
 Rice Flour Cement. — This cement, much used in China and Japan, is 
 made by mixing fine rice-flour with cold water, and simmering over a slow 
 fire until a thick paste is formed. This is superior to any other paste either 
 for parlor or workshop purposes. When made of the consistence of plaster, 
 clay models, busts, bass-reliefs, etc., may be formed of it, and the articles 
 when dry, are susceptible of high polish, and very durable. 
 
 Paste that ■will Keep a Year. — Dissolve a teaspoonful of alum in a 
 quart of warm water. When cold, stir in flour to give it the consistency of 
 thick cream, being particular to beat up all the lumps. Stir in as much 
 powdered resin as will lay on a silver dime, and throw in a half a dozen 
 cloves. Have on the fire a tea-cup of boiling water ; pour the flour mixture 
 into it, stirring well all the time. In a few minutes it will be the consistency 
 of mush. Pour it into an earthen or china vessel ; let it cool ; lay a cover 
 on, and put it in a cool place. When needed for use take out a portion and 
 soften it with warm water.* 
 
 Liquid Glue. — Dissolve one ounce of borax in a pint of boiling water , 
 add two ounces of shellac, and boil in a covered vessel until the lac is dis- 
 solved. This forms a very useful and cheap cement ; it answers well for 
 pasting labels on tin, and withstands damp much better than the common 
 glue. The liquid glue made by dissolving shellac in naphtha is dearer, soon 
 dries up, and has an unpleasant smell. 
 
 A Lasting Paste. — Buy at a druggist's an ounce of the best gum traga- 
 canlh — the wliiiest is best. Pick it clean, and put it into a wide-mouth 
 glass or white-ware vessel wliieh will hold a quart. Pour on a pint and 
 a half of clear, culd soft water. Cover the vessel, and let it stand till next 
 day. The gum tragacanth will then be much swollen, and nearly to the 
 top of the vessel. Stir it down to the bottom with a stick, and add two or 
 three drops of oil of wintergreen or sassafras. This will prevetit the paste 
 from becoming sour or moldy. Stir it several times during that day, but 
 afterward do not stir it at all, leaving it to form a smooth, white mass, like 
 a very thick jelly. Then cover it closely, and set it away for use. 
 
 Paste for Labels. — Take linseed oil, varnish, and turpentine, of each 
 half an ounce, of glue an oinice, and of rye flour one pound. Make a paste 
 of the rye flour in the usual way, dissolve the glue and put it in, add the 
 other ingredients, and mix all thoroughly. Tliis will hold labels fast to 
 bottles in damp cellars. The mucilage used on most of our envelopes is 
 made by taking two ounces of glue, ten of water, four of rock candy, and 
 one and a lialf of gum arable. Dissolve all together and mix tlioroughly. 
 
Paste and Cements. 349 
 
 To Prevent Glue from Smelling Badly. — A tcaspoonful of saltpeter 
 added to a large pot full of glue will effectually prevent it froru smelling 
 badly ; besides, it causes it to dry faster and harder than it would without it. 
 
 Oenient for Iron and Stone. — Glycerine and litharge stirred to a paste 
 hardens rapidly, and makes a suitable cement for iron upon iron, for two 
 stone surfaces, and especially for fastening iron to stone. The cement is 
 insoluble, and is not attacked by strong acids. 
 
 Diamond Cement. — The diamond cement which is so useful in joining 
 cliiua, wood, leather, etc., is formed as follows : White glue, (or gelatine,) four 
 lbs. ; white lead, (dry,) one lb. ; soft water, four qts. ; alcohol, one qt. 
 Boil the glue and lead in the water by means of a water-bath ; when the glue 
 is dissolved, add the alcohol and stir until the whole is well mixed. Pour 
 into vials for use. 
 
 Cement for Metal and Glass. — The following cement will firmly attach 
 any metallic substances to glass or porcelain : Mix two ounces of a thick 
 solution of glue with one ounce of linseed-oil varnish, or three fourths of an 
 ounce of Venice turpentine ; boil them together, stirring them until they 
 mix as thoroughly as possible. The pieces cemented should be tied together 
 for two or three days. 
 
 Glue for Uniting Card-Board, etc. — For uniting card-board, paper, 
 and small articles of fancy work, the best glue, dissolved with about one- 
 third its weight of coarse brown sugar in the smallest quantity of boiling 
 water is very good. When this is in a liquid state it may be dropped in a 
 thin cake upon a plate, and allowed to dry ; when required for use, one end 
 of the cake may be moistened by the mouth and rubbed on the substances 
 to be joined. 
 
 A Cement Withstanding Heat and Moisture. — Pure white lead, or 
 zinc white, ground in oil, and used very thick, is an excellent cement for 
 mending broken crockery-ware ; but it takes a long time to harden. It is 
 well to put the mended object in some store-room, and not to look at it for 
 several weeks or even months. It will then be found so firmly united that 
 if ever again broken it will not part on the line of the former fracture. 
 
 Cement for Crockery. — To make a good cement for crockery, take one 
 jiound of white shellac pulverized ; two ounces of clean gum mastic ; put 
 these into a bottle, and then add one half pound pure sulphuric ether. Let 
 it stand half an hour, and then add half a gallon ninety per cent, alcohol, and 
 shake occasionally until it is dissolved. Heat the edges of the article to be 
 mended, and apply the cement with a pencil-brush ; hold the article firmly 
 together till the cement cools. 
 
350 Home Economics. 
 
 To Make Compound Glue. — Take very fine flour, mix it with white of 
 eggs, isinglass and a little yeast ; mingle the materials ; heat them well to- 
 gether ; spread them, the batter being made thin with gum- water, on even 
 tin plates, and dry them in a stove, then cut them out for use. To colof 
 them, tinge the paste with Brazil or vermillion for red ; indigo or verditer 
 Dtc, for blue ; saffron, turmeric, or gamboge for yellow. 
 
 HOUSEHOLD ORNAMENTS. 
 
 Pretty Hanging Ornaments. — Take a common pine cone, and plant in 
 its crevices a few canary seeds ; place this half way in a hyacinth water-glass, 
 and the seeds will sprout, and throw out delicate little green feathery blades 
 shortly, filling the whole upper portion with a little festoon of verdure. 
 
 Take a large turnip and scrape out the inside, leaving a thick wall all 
 around. Fill the cavity with earth, and plant in it some clinging vine or 
 morning-glory. Suspend the turnip with cords, and in a little time the vines 
 twine around the strings, and the turnip, sprouting from below, will put forth 
 leaves and stems that will turn upward and gracefully curl around the base. 
 
 Take a common tumbler or fruit can and fill it nearly full of soft water. 
 Then tie a bit of coarse lace or cheese-sacking over it, and press down into 
 the water, covered with a layer of peas. In a few days they will sprout, the 
 little thread-like roots going down through the lace into the water, and the 
 vines can be trained up to twine around the window ; or, what is prettier, a 
 frame may be made for the purpose. 
 
 The sweet-potato vine is also a curiosity ; few would believe, until they have 
 tried it, how pretty a sight might be made of it. Put a sweet potato in a 
 tumbler of water, or any similar glass vessel ; fill with water ; keep the lower 
 end of the tuber about one or two inches from the bottom of the vessel ; keep 
 on the mantel shelf ; sun it for an hour or two each day, and soon little roots 
 will appear — the eye will throw up a pretty vine, and grow rapidly over any 
 trellis-work above. 
 
 The morning-glory is one of the prettiest climbers for parlor windows. Give 
 it plenty of sun. 
 
 Pretty Mantel Ornaments. — A very pretty mantel ornament may be 
 obtained by suspending an acorn, by a piece of thread tied around it, within 
 half an incl of the surface of some water contained in a vase, tumbler, or 
 saucer, and allowing it to remain undisturbed for several weeks. It will soon 
 burst open, and small roots will seek the water ; a straight and tapering stem, 
 with beautiful, glossy green leaves, will shoot upward, and present a very 
 pleasing appearance. 
 
Household Ornaments, 351 
 
 Chestnut trees may be grown in this manner, but their leaves are not as 
 beautiful as those of the oak. The water should be changed once a month, 
 taking care to supply water of the same warmth ; bits of charcoal added to it 
 will prevent the water from souring. If the leaves turn yellow, add one drop 
 of ammonia into the utensil which holds the water, and it will renew their 
 luxuriance. 
 
 Take a saucer and fill it with fresh green moss. Place in the center a pine 
 cone, large size, having first wet it thoroughly. Then sprinkle it thoroughly 
 with grass seed. The moisture will close the cone partially, and in a day or 
 two the tiny glass spires will appear in the interstices, and in a week you will 
 have a perfect cone of beautiful verdure. Keep secure from the frost, and 
 give it plenty of water, and you will have a " thing of beauty " all the winter. 
 
 Rules for Arranging Cut Flowers. — The first thing to be considered in 
 arranging cut flowers is the vase. If it is scarlet, blue, or many-colored, it 
 must necessarily conflict with some hue in your boquet. Choose rather pure 
 white, green, or transparent glass, which allows the delicate stems to be seen. 
 Brown Swiss-wood, silver, bronze, or yellow straw conflict with nothing. The 
 vase must be subordinate to what it holds. Use a bowl for roses ; tall-spread- 
 ing vases for gladiolus, fern, white lilies, and the like ; cups for violets and 
 tiny wood flowers. A flower-lover will in time collect shapes and sizes to suit 
 each group. 
 
 Colors should be blended together with neutral tints, of which there are 
 abundance — whites, grays, purples, tender greens — and which harmonize the 
 pink, crimsons, and brilliant reds into soft unison. ' 
 
 Certain flowers assort well only in families, and are spoiled by mixing. Of 
 these are balsams, hollyhocks, and sweet-peas, whose tender liquid hues are 
 as those of drifting sunset clouds. Others may be massed with good effect. 
 In arranging a large basket or vase it is well to mentally divide it into small 
 groups, making each group perfectly harmonious with itself, and blending 
 the whole with green and delicate colors. And above all, avoid stiffness. 
 Let a bright tendril or spray of vine spring forth here and there, and wander 
 over and around the vase at its will. 
 
 The water should be warm for a winter vase — cool, but not iced, for a sum- 
 mer one. A little salt or a bit of charcoal should be added in hot weather, 
 to obviate vegetable decay, and the vase filled anew each morning. With 
 these precautions your flowers, if set beside an open window at night, will 
 keep their freshness for many hours even in July, and reward by their beau- 
 tiful presence the kind hand which arranged and tended them. 
 
 To Crystallize Grasses. — The best rule is to put in as much alum as the 
 water will dissolve ; when it will take no more, it is called a saturated solu- 
 tion. Then pour it into an earthen jar, and boil it slowly until evaporated 
 
352 Home Economics. 
 
 nearly one half. Now suspend the grasses in such a manner that their tops 
 will be under the solution. Put the whole in a cool place where not the least 
 draught of air or motion will disturb the formation of crystals. In twenty- 
 four or thirty-six hours take out the grasses, and let them harden in a cool 
 room. Beautiful blue crystals can be made by preparing blue-vitriol or sul- 
 phate of copper in the same manner ; but don't let it drop on your dress or 
 the carpet. Gold-colored crystals can be produced by adding turmeric to the 
 alum solution, and a few drops of extract of log-wood will make rich, purple 
 crystals. 
 
 To Take Leaf Impressions. — Hold oiled paper in the smoke of a lamp, 
 or of pitch, until it becomes coated with the smoke ; then take a perfect leaf, 
 having a pretty outline ; after warming it between the hands, lay the leaf 
 upon the smoked side of the paper, with the under side down, press it evenly 
 upon the paper, that every part may come in contact ; go over it lightly with 
 a rolling-pin, then remove the leaf with care to a plain piece of white note- 
 paper, and use the rolling-pin again ; you will then have a beautiful impres- 
 sion of the delicate veins and outline of the leaf. And this process is so sim- 
 ple that any person, with a little practice to enable him to apply the right 
 quantity of smoke to the oil paper and give the leaf proper pressure, can 
 prepare leaf impressions such as a naturalist would be proud to possess. 
 Specimens can be neatly preserved in book form, interleaving the impressions 
 with tissue paper. 
 
 Rockeries, Vases, and Hanging-Baskets. — They can, if properly 
 made, and furnished with suitable, healthy plants, be made very ornamental 
 additions to the lawn and piazza. Artificial rockeries should partake of a 
 natural appearance as much as possible. Ferns, alpine plants, cypress-vines, 
 vincas, lobelia, dwarf stocks, etc., are good plants for these. Vases, and hang- 
 ing-baskets, whatever their design, should be at least ten or twelve inches 
 in diameter, and six inches or more in depth. Be sure the drainage is good. 
 Glazed pots, and those without outlet for water, are not good. The soil 
 should not be over-rich, as it forces the growth too much for beauty and 
 gracefulness. Climbing and drooping vines may, however, be stimu- 
 lated. A good composition is one-third " scouring-sand, " the rest dark 
 loam and leaf-mold. The fallings around pine-trees are excellent. For 
 the center plant, dracena or achyranthus, or coleus, or centaurea is good. 
 Next to center, begonias of all sorts, pilea, verbenas, petunia, vincas, sedimes. 
 For edges, oxalis-lobelia, and various ivies and grasses. Water regularly. 
 
 Vases for Cut Flowers. — To tlie average person a bunch of flowers in 
 a vase must be harmonious and beautiful under all circumstances. The 
 artistic and educated taste knows that it is quite as easy for the combina- 
 tion to be most unpleasing. 
 
 a I 
 
Household Ornaments. 353 
 
 In a paper on the relations of vases to the cut flowers which they will 
 hold, a writer in Garden and Forest shows quickly that the subject is worthy 
 of consideration. " A flat circular dish," he says, " is needed for waterlilies, 
 and as the flowers are in this case large the containing vessel must be am- 
 ple in size, not merely to hold the flowers, but to preserve a proper sense 
 of proportion. Tall spikes require tall vases, which should not be cylindrical 
 but should be sensibly wider at the top than at the bottom. Roses and 
 flowers with comparatively short stems require low, broad vessels, flaring 
 at the top so as to admit of the graceful drooping which is so attractive with 
 both leaves and flowers. Not more than four or five differently shaped 
 flower vases are really necessary, the types of form being either flat or low 
 circular vessels, which may be widely fluted upon the edges to break the 
 too great uniformity of a plain circular rim, or round vessels which spread 
 more or less as the sides rise from the bottom, and which may also be widely 
 fluted at the top. All forms which bulge below, or which are in the small- 
 est degree bizarre in shape, mnst be rejected." 
 
 " If, with the Japanese, we consider a single beautiful flower enough at 
 a time, a narrow containing vessel may be used. The Japanese use a piece 
 of bamboo, which, from its irregular surface, loses the stiffness of the cylin- 
 drical form. "We have no bamboo to use, and imitations in glass, china, or 
 earthenware are, like all imit.ations, offensive to good taste. Flower vases 
 should always be of some opaque material, and, all things considered, good 
 unglazed earthenware is lo be preferred, only it should be impermeable to 
 water and not coarse in texture. It should also be without ornamentation 
 of any kiud, and of a single and uniform tint of color." 
 
 " Opaque white " vases usually present too strong a contrast, and all 
 colored glasses are to be rejected, together with white or colorless glasses, 
 which show the "usually unsightly" stem of the flower. To this last rule, 
 however, there is an admitted exception. 
 
 Umbrella Covers. — Cut a circle from paper of the desired diameter, and 
 cut this into eight triangular pieces. Take one of these pieces and fold the 
 two sides together ; begin'at the bottom of the triangle and cut off an inch, 
 narrowing the strip cut off till it reaches a point midway between the base 
 and the apex of the triangle. This makes the umbrella curve down when 
 it is opened. If not thus trimmed it will be flat on top. When the pattern 
 is cut lay it on the goods so tliat the selvage will be at the base of each tri- 
 angular section. Experiment with old muslin first, and then new goods may 
 be used. Sew the sections together with strong thread doubled, and long 
 enough to reach the entire length of the seam. With some ingenuity and 
 patience almost anyone can cover an umbrella and make a very passable job 
 
 of it. 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 Home and Health. 
 
 Fractures. — There are simple, compound, and comminuted fractures. 
 When a bone is broken in one place, without any external wound, it is 
 
 a simple fracture ; 
 when there is an ex- 
 ternal wound leading 
 down to the broken 
 bone, it is compound ; 
 and when a bone is 
 broken in two or 
 more places, as "when 
 a splinter of bene is 
 broken off, the frac- 
 ture is comminuted. 
 
 As soon as the frac- 
 ture is suspected, the 
 surgeon should be 
 summoned. He will 
 be able at once to 
 determine the nature 
 and extent of the 
 injury, and to sum- 
 mon to his aid one 
 of the various ap- 
 pliances which have 
 \been invented for re- 
 ;^ lief of patients in such 
 The 
 cuts 
 
 an emergency, 
 accompanying 
 
 irill illustrate the construction and application of some of the most useful 
 "splints" * for fractures thus far brought to the attention of the fublic. 
 
 The first splint is for the arm, the second for the leg. Both bear the highest 
 commendation, and are in extensive use by the medical profession, and may 
 be purchased at small cost. 
 
 * Invented by H. L. Richardson, M.D., Physician and Surgeon, "West Washington 
 Place, New York. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 HOMB. 
 
 Pagb 
 
 Only Man has a Home 9 
 
 Virtues of the Hearth are the Securities 
 
 of the People 
 
 Home Builds the House 9 
 
 Orifrin of the Family 10 
 
 How the Family Develops Character. .. 10 
 The Family often Ripens Rapidly those 
 
 who Carry Us Burdens 11 
 
 The Family Multiplies Happiness 11 
 
 The Family Blesses in Necessitating 
 
 Housekeeping 12 
 
 Marbiaqe. 
 
 What God thinks of Marriage 13 
 
 Priiicipk'S Governing Marriage 13 
 
 How TO Perpetuate the Honet-moon. 
 
 Continue your Courtship 16 
 
 Do not Assume a Right to Neglect 
 your Comjianion More after Marriage 
 than you did Before 16 
 
 Have no Secrets that you Keep from 
 your Companion 16 
 
 Do not Conceal your Marriage for an 
 Hour 16 
 
 Avoid the Appearance of Evil 16 
 
 Once Married never open your Mind to 
 any Change 16 
 
 Make the best of the Inevitable 10 
 
 Keep Stop in Mental Development 16 
 
 Keep a Lively Interest in the Business 
 of the Firm 16 
 
 Gauge your Expenses by your Reve- 
 nues 17 
 
 Start from where your Parents Started 
 Rather than From Where they Now 
 Are 17 
 
 Avoid Debt 17 
 
 Do not Both get Angry at the Same 
 Time 17 
 
 Do not Allow yourself Ever to Come to 
 an Open Rupture 17 
 
 Study to Understand your Companion's 
 Disposition, in Order to Please and 
 Avoid Friction 17 
 
 Study to Conform your Tastes and 
 Habits to those of your Compan- 
 ion IT 
 
 Chang and Eng were the Siamese Twins 17 
 
 How to be a Good Husbaitd 
 
 Pagi 
 
 Honor your Wife 17 
 
 Love your Wife 17 
 
 Show your Love 17 
 
 SufYerfor your Wife if Need be 18 
 
 Consult with Her IS 
 
 Study to Keep her Young 18 
 
 Study with Her 18 
 
 Help to Bear Her Burdens 18 
 
 Make yourself Helpful by Thoughtful- 
 
 ness 18 
 
 Express your Will, not by Commands, 
 
 but by Suggestions IS 
 
 Study your own Character as Husband. IS 
 
 Seek to Refine your Nature 19 
 
 Be a Gentleman, a.s Well as Husband. . . 19 
 Remember the Past Experience of your 
 
 Wife 19 
 
 Level Up 19 
 
 Stay at Home 19 
 
 Take your Wife with You into Society.. 20 
 
 How to be a Good Wife. 
 
 Reverence your Husband 20 
 
 Love Him 20 
 
 Do not Conceal your Love from Him . . 20 
 
 Forsake All for Him 20 
 
 ' 'onfide in Him 20 
 
 Keep His Love 20 
 
 Cultivate the Modesty and Dehcacy of 
 
 Youth 20 
 
 Cultivate Personal Attractiveness 21 
 
 Cultivate Physical Attracti\eness 21 
 
 Do not Forget the Power of Incidental 
 
 Attention 21 
 
 Make your Home Attractive 21 
 
 Preserve Sunshine 22 
 
 Study your Husband's Character 22 
 
 Cultivate His Better Nature 22 
 
 Study to meet your Duties as a Wife.. . 23 
 Seek to secure 3 our Husband's Happi- 
 ness 23 
 
 Study his Interest 23 
 
 Practice Economy 23 
 
 Facts fob Pabewts. 
 
 Paternity is Eartirs Highest Dignity. .. 23 
 
 Children are Boons 23 
 
 Children Give New Life to a Home 28 
 
356 
 
 lin)EX. 
 
 Paob 
 Children are Great Teachers of Theology 24 
 Parents put their Image and Superscrip- 
 tion upon their Character 24 
 
 Prepare for the Duties of the Parental 
 
 Kelation 24 
 
 Conduct your Home for your Children. 24 
 
 Remember that Children do Grow Old . 24 
 Recall, as distinctly as Possible, your 
 
 own Youth 24 
 
 Family Goveknment. 
 Forty-two Hints 24 
 
 8UQSE8TION8 TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Reverence your Parents 29 
 
 Appreciate your Parents 29 
 
 Do not shorten Childhood by Haste 28 
 
 Confide in your Parents 29 
 
 Mbubebs of tub Family. 
 
 Brothers in the Family 29 
 
 Sisters in the Family 29 
 
 How to Treat the Aged 20 
 
 A Mother-in-law in the Family 80 
 
 A Step-mother in the Family 80 
 
 Seevants in thk Family. 
 
 A good Master makes a good Servant . . 30 
 
 May expect Promotion from showing 
 Capacity 81 
 
 Should Identify Himself with the In- 
 terests of his Employer 81 
 
 Should Preserve the Strictest FideHty. . 31 
 
 Should Serve them out of Sight as 
 Scrupulously as when under the Em- 
 ployer's Eye 31 
 
 May Secure his wishes by Requests, 
 not by Commands 81 
 
 Should Seek to meet the "Wishes of the 
 Employer in Spirit 81 
 
 Should Secure Permanence of Engage- 
 ment by making himself Necessary.. 81 
 
 Should Carefully study the Duties As- 
 signed 31 
 
 Should avoid Habits and Manners dis- 
 tasteful to his Employer 31 
 
 Should avoid Talking Much 31 
 
 Should seek to Gain and Retain Re- 
 spect 81 
 
 Hints to Employees. 
 
 Employer should remember that all 
 Eights do not center in Himself 31 
 
 Identify himself with the Interests of his 
 Employes 81 
 
 Pay Honestly what he w^ould Expect in 
 a Reversed Case 81 
 
 Pay Promptly 81 
 
 Watch over the Morals of his Em- 
 ployes 81 
 
 Inspire Re«peet 81 
 
 FAe> 
 
 Encourage the Worker 81 
 
 Instruct With Kindliness 81 
 
 Correct in Authority and Gentleness. ... 81 
 
 Mistress in the Family. 
 
 Should Remember that her Position 
 
 gives her Certain Dignity 32 
 
 She Must Preserve Good Temper 32 
 
 Avoid Fault-finding 32 
 
 Improve your Servants by showing 
 
 them how they can do Better 32 
 
 Secure their Confidence in Your Kind- 
 ness 32 
 
 Keep them in Self-respect 32 
 
 Put your Servants into the Way of Self- 
 care 82 
 
 Insi>ire Them with the Sense of Life's 
 
 Worth 82 
 
 SUPEKIOES AND InFERIOES. 
 
 Proper Respect for Superiors is a due 
 Part of Liberty 82 
 
 Children should be Subordinate to Par- 
 ents 32 
 
 Superiors in Age, Office, and Station, have 
 Precedence 32 
 
 A Parent, Teacher, or Employer, may 
 Admonish 32 
 
 A Superior may use Language and Man- 
 ners of Freedom 82 
 
 Respect is Due from All to AU 83 
 
 It is the most Exalted Philosophy to ac- 
 cept Facts 83 
 
 Training Children foe Given Ends. 
 
 What is your Purpose in Training 83 
 
 Training for Usefulness 83 
 
 Training for Wealth 33 
 
 Training for Greatness 84 
 
 Training for Refined Society 34 
 
 Training for Heaven 84 
 
 Choosing a Calling. 
 
 But few are Elected to any one Particu- 
 lar CalHng or Trade 84 
 
 Study your Natural Proclivities 34 
 
 Study Providence 34 
 
 Do not Fret over your Natural Qualifi- 
 cations 34 
 
 Wishes are often Presentiments of Capa- 
 bihties 35 
 
 Having Settled the Calling, let it Re- 
 main Settled 85 
 
 Pith 86 
 
 How to Conduct Family Pbayee. 
 
 Conduct it according to your Strength.. 85 
 
 Have Family Prayer 85 
 
 Collect your Household 86 
 
 Have each Member take Part 85 
 
Index. 
 
 357 
 
 Paob 
 
 If the Father is not a Professing Chris- 
 tian, the Duty of Leadership De- 
 volves upon the Mother 85 
 
 If the Father cannot command Courage 
 to Lead in Prayer 86 
 
 It is a vahiai)lo Custom on the Sabbath 
 Morning for the Worship to be Va- 
 ried 86 
 
 It is Helpful to have a Koom where all 
 Meet for Prayer 86 
 
 Oraoe at thk Tablb. 
 
 Render unto God Thanks for Daily 
 Bread 86 
 
 How TO Profit by Habit. 
 Habit Becomes Destiny 86 
 
 Hints and Helps en Convkksation. 
 Eighty-four Hints and Helps 8T-41 
 
 Good Manners. 
 
 Politeness is Loving thy Neighbor as 
 
 Thyself 41 
 
 AflFectation is the Foe of Good Breeding 41 
 
 The Divine Law of Politeness 41 
 
 Gentleman and Gentlewoman 42 
 
 Good Manners are Important Helps 42 
 
 American Manners 42 
 
 Study, Observation, and Experiment.. . 42 
 
 Should be Taught to Children Gradually 42 
 A Few Brief Rules should be Suspended 
 
 in Every School-room 42 
 
 Table Manners. 
 
 Cleanliness is the First Element of De- 
 cency 42 
 
 Children should be Trained in the Family 43 
 
 Table Rules 43 
 
 Table Improprieties. (44 described) 44 
 
 Church Manners. 
 Thirteen RtJes 46 
 
 Introductions — How to Give Them. 
 
 Not Necessary to Introduce Every body 
 to Every body 46 
 
 Business Men 46 
 
 Inferior should be Introduced to the Su- 
 perior 46 
 
 In Presenting Persons, Speak Names 
 Plainly 47 
 
 If vou are the Inferior, be not First to 
 fixtend the Hand 47 
 
 In Introducing Members of your own 
 Family, Always Mention the Name.. . 47 
 
 If you are a Gentlemaa 47 
 
 Salutations, and How to Make Tbbu. 
 
 Pase 
 
 Salutation the Touchstone of Good 
 
 Breeding 47 
 
 A Great Rudeness not to Return a Salu- 
 tation 47 
 
 Receptions — Best Methods. 
 
 The Duty of Receiving Visitors 47 
 
 When one Enters, Rise Immediately. . . 47 
 
 If the Master Receives 47 
 
 If Several Come at Once 48 
 
 If Visitor is a Stranger 48 
 
 If Some who are Present Withdraw. ... 48 
 
 Visits and Calls. 
 
 Visits of Ceremony, Congratulation, Con- 
 dolence, and Friendship 48 
 
 Visits of Ceremony 47 
 
 Visits of Congratulation 48 
 
 Visits of Condole^nce 48 
 
 Visits of Friendship 48 
 
 Visiting Cards 43 
 
 A Gentleman Attending Ladies Making 
 
 Calls 48 
 
 In Terminating a Call 48 
 
 Morning Call 48 
 
 Soiled Over-shoes and Wet Wraps 48 
 
 Gentlemen Attending should be Prompt 48 
 
 Twenty-eight Rules 48 
 
 Hosts and Guests. 
 
 Hosts should give Guests Home Feeling 50 
 Guests should Show Hosts the Home 
 
 Feeling 50 
 
 Appointments. 
 
 Dinner Parties 51 
 
 Evening Parties 61 
 
 Christmas 51 
 
 The New Year 62 
 
 Weddings. 
 
 Custom gives Liberty to Follow Taste. . 5? 
 
 For a Stylish Wedding 53 
 
 For a Formal Wedding 53 
 
 In a Well-ordered Wedding 53 
 
 When Ceremony is performed in Church 58 
 
 Following Bridesmaids and Groomsmen 54 
 
 Order of Approach 54 
 
 If the Ring is used 54 
 
 Have only Ushers 64 
 
 Order Changes with Fancy 54 
 
 When Ceremony is Ended 54 
 
 If Ceremony performed in House 54 
 
 Bridegroom takes early occasion to 
 
 Ttiank Clergyman 64 
 
 Funerals. 
 
 When Member of Family Dies 64 
 
 A Funeral Service 64 
 
 Minister Not Expected to go to Grave. . 64 
 
358 
 
 Index. 
 
 Important Rules of Conduct. 
 
 Paok 
 
 Always Eespectful to Parents 55 
 
 Courteous to Brothers and Sisters 56 
 
 Dei.cate Attentions of Lover 55 
 
 Mutual Kindness between Employers 
 and Employed 55 
 
 Politeness. 
 Seven ty-two Important Rules for 55 
 
 Amusements— Their Importance. 
 
 To Keep Enemy out of Fort, Occupy 
 
 It Yourself 58 
 
 When Amusements become Sinful 58 
 
 Home Entertainment 
 
 Provide in the Home not only Instruct- 
 ive, but also Entertaining, Reading.. . 58 
 iTovide Good Supply of Pictures and 
 
 Toys for very young Children 59 
 
 filter into the'Sports of your Children. 59 
 Lead Children to Cultivate Fruits and 
 
 Flowers 59 
 
 Cultivate Music, Vocal and Instrumental 59 
 Collect Shells, Plants, and Specimens in 
 
 Geologv and Mineralogy 59 
 
 Give the "Boys Boxes of Tools 59 
 
 Give Little Girls Dolls, and nice Large 
 
 Dolls to Larger Girls 
 
 Interest the Children in Decorating the 
 
 Home 
 
 Celebrate Birthdays, Holidays, and Anni- 
 versaries ... 
 
 As far as possible let Each Child have a 
 Companion near its own Age, with 
 
 Congenial Tastes 59 
 
 Use Hospitality 60 
 
 Establish a Reading Cu-cle 60 
 
 Keep Up Family Relations After Leav- 
 ing Home 60 
 
 How AND Wuat to Read. 
 
 The Use of Books 60 
 
 A Course of Reading 60 
 
 A Few Books may Give Culture 60 
 
 Choosing Books is Important Business. 60 
 Some Books should be Read Whether 
 
 we Like Them or Not 61 
 
 Never Read Second-class Stories 61 
 
 Never Read what you Do Not Wish to 
 
 Remember 61 
 
 Health at Home. 
 
 Health is Wealth 62 
 
 Special Home Ministry 68 
 
 Ministry must Begin Early 68 
 
 Ministry Illustrated 68 
 
 Another 1 Uustration 68 
 
 Choobins a Phtsioiak. 
 
 Pas* 
 
 Select the Physician Parly 64 
 
 Select a Physician of Integrity 64 
 
 Choose a Physician ot Clean Lips 64 
 
 Having Chosen Hiin, Give Him Your 
 
 Confidence 64 
 
 He should be Able, Thorough as a Stu- 
 dent, of Untirintr luaustry 64 
 
 Which School of Medicine 65 
 
 Be Considerate of his Time and Rest. . . 65 
 Don't Abuse his Confidence by Trivial 
 
 Calls 65 
 
 Physician in the Intervals of Sickness. . . 65 
 Better to care for a Man's Health than 
 
 for his Disease 65 
 
 Why do Successful Medical Men often 
 
 Die Prematurely ? 66 
 
 Physician should be Reverential 66 
 
 Qualities of a Good Doctor, by a Doctor 66 
 
 Prevention of Disease. 
 
 Early and Strange Notions of Disease.. 67 
 
 What is Disease ? 6T 
 
 Many Diseases may b« Avoided 67 
 
 Methods of Prevention 68 
 
 Responsibility of Health Commissioners 68 
 
 The Divine Plan 68 
 
 Why Medicine is Taken 68 
 
 The Blood- 
 
 -It8 Relation to Life and 
 Health. 
 
 Change and Waste 
 
 Supply from the Blood 
 
 Quantity of the Blood 
 
 Etfects Produced by Loss of Blood 
 
 Transfusion of Blood 
 
 Composition of Blood 
 
 Water of the Blood 
 
 Mineral Ingredients 
 
 Albumen in the Blood 
 
 Albumen 
 
 Quantity of Albumen 
 
 Fibrine 
 
 Other Substances 
 
 Described Globules of the Blood 
 
 Remarkable Characteristics of the Glob- 
 ules 
 
 Color of Blood Globules 
 
 Opacity of the Blood 
 
 White" Globules 
 
 Coagulation of the Blood 
 
 Time for Coagulation 
 
 Cause of Coagulation 
 
 Serum of the Blood • 
 
 A " (.'lot" of Blood 
 
 Importuice of Coagulation 
 
 Coagulation Stops Bleeding 
 
 Coagulation in tlie Interior of the Body 
 
 Ligature and Coagulation 
 
 Coagulation Spontaneous 
 
 Why Coagulation does not Stop Circula- 
 tion 
 
 Two Different Kinds of Blood in the 
 Body 
 
 78 
 78 
 78 
 79 
 79 
 79 
 79 
 80 
 80 
 80 
 80 
 81 
 81 
 
 81 
 
 82 
 
Index. 
 
 359 
 
 Food and Health. 
 
 Pack 
 
 Food Makes Blood for the Body, 82 
 
 Aniovint of Food Daily Needed 82 
 
 Kinds of Food Needed 83 
 
 Process of Digestion 83 
 
 Nutritious and Healthy Articles of Food 83 
 
 A Suggestive Conversation 84 
 
 Onions 84 
 
 'I'oniatoes 85 
 
 Healthful Bread 85 
 
 ITnground Wheat 85 
 
 A Very Nutritious Bread 86 
 
 Fresh or Stale Bread. Which ? 86 
 
 Oat MeaL 86 
 
 i^oisonous Properties of Moldy Bread. . 87 
 
 llralthfuliiess of Fruit 87 
 
 Fruit Saves Doctors' Bills 87 
 
 Danger of Eating Fruit to Excess 88 
 
 8l)e(aal Danger in Summer Vacation 88 
 
 Are Nuts Healthful? 88 
 
 Salt with Nuts 88 
 
 Hints about Hkalthfcl Eating. 
 
 A Gkwd Appetite Healthful 89 
 
 Appetite not an Infallible Guide 89 
 
 Evil of Kapid Eating 89 
 
 How to Kegulate the Quantity of Food 89 
 
 Plating too Much 90 
 
 Food should be Thoroughly Chewed... 90 
 
 Hint about "Small MouihfuLs" 90 
 
 How Much shall we Eat? 90 
 
 Loss of Appetite, and How to Recover it 91 
 
 iJest Before and After Eating 91 
 
 Eating Between Meals 91 
 
 Best Times for Meals 91 
 
 Comparative Value of Diflferent Modes 
 
 of Cooking 92 
 
 Variety of Vegetiit)lcs at the Same Meal 92 
 
 " How Long to Starve " 93 
 
 Foon FOE THE SlOK. 
 
 Toast Water 93 
 
 Barley Water 93 
 
 iJariey Gruel 93 
 
 Oitmeal Gruel 93 
 
 I'arclied Corn Gruel 94 
 
 Ground Rice Milk 94 
 
 i;re;ul Jelly 94 
 
 l.cl.ind Moss Jelly 94 
 
 Apple Tapioca 94 
 
 iupioca Jelly 94 
 
 Me^jit Jelly 94 
 
 To make Arrow-root 95 
 
 Ai>ple Water 95 
 
 Apple Tea 95 
 
 Currant Drink 95 
 
 Beverage of Figs and Apples 95 
 
 Ice Cream and Beef Juice . . 95 
 
 Broth from Fowls 95 
 
 Chicken Broth 95 
 
 To Cook birds for Convalescents 96 
 
 Mutton Broth 96 
 
 A Strong Broth 96 
 
 C.'ilves' Feet 96 
 
 Nourishing Soup 90 
 
 Pa.jk 
 
 Honey 96 
 
 Isinglass 96 
 
 Brewis £6 
 
 Suet and Milk 97 
 
 Mucilage of Gum-arable 97 
 
 Strong Tonic Drink 97 
 
 Bran Tea 97 
 
 Savory Custard- 97 
 
 Raw Beef 97 
 
 Recipe for Beef Tea 98 
 
 Water — Its Relation to Health. 
 
 Its Source 99 
 
 Spruig and W-^ll Water in the Country.. 99 
 
 How Water Becomes Polluted 99 
 
 Caution in Locaung Wells 100 
 
 Care in Constructing Cisterns 100 
 
 How to Examine Suspected Water 100 
 
 Purifying Water wilh Alum 100 
 
 Is Soft Water Better than Hard Water 
 
 for Drinking Purposes? 101 
 
 Water Cure or Hydropathy ... 101 
 
 Water a Powerful Absorbent 101 
 
 Caution concerning Standing Water .... 101 
 
 Distilled Water 101 
 
 Do Lead Pipes Poison the Water 102 
 
 Ice-Watek and Health. 
 
 Ice-Water Hinders Digestion io2 
 
 Ice Drinks affecting the Head i02 
 
 Other evils of Iced Drinks los 
 
 A Suggestive Caution about Ice 103 
 
 How to Cool Drinking Water Without 
 Ice.. 103 
 
 Summer Betkraoes. 
 
 Avoid All Alcoholic Drinks 104 
 
 Good Cool Water 104 
 
 To Allay Thirst without Drinking 104 
 
 The Best kind of Water 104 
 
 Lemonade and Lemons 104 
 
 Lemon Sugar for Travehng 105 
 
 Lemons for F^xcessive Thirst 105 
 
 Lemons for Invalids 105 
 
 Lemons at " Tea-time " 105 
 
 Organic Matter in Drinking Water 105 
 
 Various I)rinks 106 
 
 Orangeade Medically Prescribed 106 
 
 Ices and Ice-cream 107 
 
 Tea, Coffee, and Health, 
 
 How Tea is Grown 107 
 
 Prepai-ation of Tea for Market 107 
 
 Tea Plant in Respect of Quidity 108 
 
 Tea and Digestion 108 
 
 Tea-drinking and Sick Headache ; an Il- 
 lustration 108 
 
 The Doctrine Stated 109 
 
 A Home Case 100 
 
 Was tne Case Hereditary ? 109 
 
 Failure of Remedies 109 
 
 More Careful Investigation 110 
 
 The True Cause Suspected 110 
 
360 
 
 Index. 
 
 PA.4E 
 
 Tlip UsniJ Answer 110 
 
 First Efforts for Relief 110 
 
 Relief at Last 110 
 
 Relapse and Recovery Ill 
 
 Was the Case " Peculiar " Ill 
 
 A Remarkable Teat Ill 
 
 A Second Remarkable Test 112 
 
 A Third Remarkable Test 112 
 
 Relief for Most Headache Sufferers 112 
 
 The Kinds of Tea Used 113 
 
 Other Suspected Bad Effects of Tea. ... 113 
 
 Tea a Powerful Excitant 113 
 
 Tea a Powerful Astringent 113 
 
 How to Test Each Case Properly 113 
 
 How to Stop Drinking Tea 114 
 
 The Old Cry Slated 114 
 
 How Tea was Banished trom a Minis- 
 ter's Table . . .... . . 114 
 
 Is Tea Good for Weil'People'?". ". '. '. '. '. "... 115 
 
 Coffee as a Beverage 115 
 
 Substitute for Coftee 116 
 
 The Aib We Bbeathb. 
 
 The Wonder of Breathing 116 
 
 Fresh Air Constantly Needed ng 
 
 What is Pure Air? 117 
 
 How Fresh Air Purifies the Blood 117 
 
 Capacity of the Lungs for Air us 
 
 Amoimt of Air We Breathe 118 
 
 Healthful Respiration 118 
 
 ReUef from Hiccough 119 
 
 How to Check Sneezing, Coughing, etc. 119 
 Evil Effect of Breathing Respired Air.. 120 
 Air in Rooms Vitiated by Lighted Fires 120 
 Impure Air in Small Rooms and Tene- 
 ment Houses 120 
 
 How to Ventilate Houses 121 
 
 Air in Sick Rooms 121 
 
 Bad Air in School and Lecture Rooms. . 121 
 
 Teachers and Bad Air 122 
 
 Foul Air in Churches 122 
 
 How to Remove the Foul Air from 
 
 Churches 122 
 
 Bad Air versus Religion 122 
 
 Night Air Healthy 124 
 
 Water as a Purifier 124 
 
 Sea Air 124 
 
 Air at the Seaside 124 
 
 Are Winds Healthful? 124 
 
 Dampness of the Air and Health 125 
 
 Sea and Mountain Air Compared 125 
 
 Mutual Diffusion of Air 125 
 
 Our Great Enemies, the Marshes 126 
 
 DrSXNFEOTANTS — HoW TO PREPARE AND 
 
 UsB Them. 
 
 Fresh Air and Sunlight 126 
 
 Water 126 
 
 Charcoal 127 
 
 Charcoal and Lime 127 
 
 Clay 127 
 
 Quicklime and Gypsum 127 
 
 Sifted Ashes 127 
 
 Surface Soil '127 
 
 Pack 
 
 Fresh Stone-lime . 127 
 
 Copperas 127 
 
 Chloride of Lime 128 
 
 Salt and Lime Paste 128 
 
 Carbolic Acid 128 
 
 Salt and Nitrate of Lead 128 
 
 " Disinfecting Mixture" 128 
 
 General Disinfecting Compound.. . .. 128 
 
 Coffee ae a Disinfectant 129 
 
 Sunflowers as Disinfectants 129 
 
 Boiling for Infected Clothing - . 129 
 
 Soaking for Foul Clothing 129 
 
 Boiling alter Disinfection 129 
 
 Carbolic Acid for Clothing 130 
 
 How to Fumigate Rooms 130 
 
 To Disinfect Water-closets 130 
 
 To Disinfect Dead bodies 131 
 
 Comparative Permanent Value of Diflier- 
 
 ent Disinfectants 131 
 
 Caution in Removing Foul Air from 
 
 Wells 132 
 
 Precautions in Ventilating Infected 
 
 Rooms 132 
 
 Heat and Steam 132 
 
 A New Disinfectant 132 
 
 Sunlight and Health. 
 
 Power of Sunlight 133 
 
 Seclusion from Sunlight 133 
 
 Philosophy of the Influence of Sun- 
 light 133 
 
 Sunlight and Plants 133 
 
 Sunlight and Domestic Animals 133 
 
 Sunlight and Human Life 134 
 
 Another Testimony 134 
 
 Sunlight and Miners 135 
 
 Paralysis cured by Sunlight 135 
 
 Neuralgia, Rheumatism, and Hypochon- 
 
 ria. Cured by Sunshine 135 
 
 Florence Nightingale on Sunlight 135 
 
 SunUght Shut out by Parasols, 136 
 
 The Sunlight and the Blinds . .' 136 
 
 The Sun brings Fhes 137 
 
 Sunlight and Sleep 137 
 
 Sunlightand Cars 137 
 
 Give the Children Sunlight 137 
 
 Sunlight in the School-room 137 
 
 The "Solaries " of the Ancients 138 
 
 Sunlight and Digestion — an Illustration . 138 
 
 Care of the Eyes. 
 
 Strange Neglect of the Eyes 142 
 
 How the Eye is Kept Clean 143 
 
 How the Eye is Protected from Irrita- 
 tion 143 
 
 How to Improve the Eyelashes 143 
 
 Overstraining the Eyes 143 
 
 Eye Sti-ain sometimes the Cause of Head- 
 ache 144 
 
 Danger of Too Continuous Use 144 
 
 Proper Distance of the Object 144 
 
 Proper Quantity of Light 144 
 
 Best Direction of the Light 145 
 
 The Use of Colored Glasses 145 
 
Index. 
 
 361 
 
 PAfJK 
 
 Relieving Near and Far-sightedness.. . . 145 
 Changing Light not a Cause for Alarm . UQ 
 
 Use Glasses as Soon as Needed ii6 
 
 Double Glasses sometimes useful 14(5 
 
 Squinting and its Remedy 1-40 
 
 Near-Sightedness in Children 147 
 
 How to Remove Foreign Bodie* from 
 
 the Eye 147 
 
 " Eye Stones," or Grain of Flaxseed for 
 
 the Eye I47 
 
 " "Wild Hairs" 147 
 
 " Cataract " in the Eye 147 
 
 Color-Blindness 147 
 
 Color-Blindness Explained 147 
 
 The Question of C/olor-Blindness import- 
 ant 148 
 
 Cure of Color- Blindness 148 
 
 Medical Treatment of Color-Blindness.. 148 
 
 False Sight Explained 148 
 
 How to treat a Sty 149 
 
 Important hints Concerning Eyesight.. 149 
 
 Care of the Eab. 
 
 How Sound is Produced 152 
 
 Careful Attention and Treatment 152 
 
 Temporary Deafness 152 
 
 Insect in the Ear 153 
 
 Other Small Bodies in the Ear. 153 
 
 Fungus in the Ear 153 
 
 Remedy for Fungus 153 
 
 Singing in the Ear 153 
 
 Remedies for Earaches 154 
 
 Earache Relieved By Arnica 154 
 
 Don"t Treat the Ear for Toothache 155 
 
 Don't " Box the Ears " 155 
 
 Cars of the Nose — Smelling. 
 
 The Sense of Smell I55 
 
 The Object may be Distant 156 
 
 Foreign Substances in the Nose 156 
 
 Bleeding from the Nose 156 
 
 Treatment of Excessive Nose-bleed 156 
 
 Simple Remedy for Nose-bleed 15G 
 
 Catarrh of the Nose 156 
 
 Treatment of Nasal Catarrh 157 
 
 Cabb of the Teeth. 
 
 Number of the Teeth 157 
 
 How the Teeth are Classified 157 
 
 Order and Period of their Growth 157 
 
 The Composition of Teeth 158 
 
 Causes of Decay 158 
 
 Want of Cleanliness 158 
 
 Deposit of Tartar Injurious 158 
 
 How to Car* for Permanent Teeth .... 159 
 
 How to Care for the Teeth Early 159 
 
 How Often should the Teeth be Washed ? 159 
 
 Use of Aromatic Water 159 
 
 A Mixture for the Teeth 159 
 
 Tooth-powders Often Injurious 160 
 
 Cracking Nuts with the Teeth 100 
 
 Imi>ortance of Hf^althful Gums ICO 
 
 Tf.-tliiiig 160 
 
 "Toothache Cures " itjo 
 
 What to do with Decayed Teeth lei 
 
 Artificial Teeth 162 
 
 Care of the Haib. 
 
 Growth of the Hair iq2 
 
 How to Preserve the Hair iq2 
 
 Why Ladies are not Bald 162 
 
 Why the Hair Falls Out 162 
 
 How to Prevent the Hau* from Falling 
 
 Out 162 
 
 "Organic Baldness" Incurable i63 
 
 " Functional " Baldness Curable i63 
 
 How to Cure Fimctional Baldness 163 
 
 Avoid Hair Dyes 163 
 
 Caution in Using " Hair Oils " 163 
 
 A Good Hair-dressing 163 
 
 Value of Castor Oil for the Hair 163 
 
 A Preparation of Glycerine and Bose- 
 
 wilter Recommended 164 
 
 Relative Value of Other Oil Preparations 164 
 How to Prevent the Hair from Turning 
 
 Gray 104 
 
 Washing the Hair with Soda-Water Re- 
 lieves Headache 164 
 
 Sudden Changes in the Color of the Hair 164 
 
 A Remarkable Case in Berlin 164 
 
 A Remarkable Case in Rotterdam 165 
 
 Sudden Changes of Coloi Without Fright 165 
 
 Utility of Beards 165 
 
 To Remove Dandruff 166 
 
 Care of the Feet. 
 
 Warm Feet Essential to Health 166 
 
 How to Cure the Habit of Cold Feet 166 
 
 How to Sleep with Warm Feet 166 
 
 Waking Up with Cold Feet 166 
 
 To Keep the Feet Dry 167 
 
 Short and High -heeled Shoes 167 
 
 Cause of Chilblains 167 
 
 To Cure Chilblains 167 
 
 How to Prevent, and How to Remove, 
 
 Corns 168 
 
 Cause of Ingrowing Toe-Nail 169 
 
 Remedies for Ingrowing Nails 169 
 
 Remedy for Blistered Feet 170 
 
 Bunions 170 
 
 To Cure Frosted Feet 170 
 
 Treatment of Scalded Feet 170 
 
 Care of thb Skin. 
 
 Use of the Skin 170 
 
 Color of the Skin 171 
 
 The Pores of the Skin 171 
 
 Keeping the Skin Clean 172 
 
 Diseases of the Skin — Warts 172 
 
 Grafting the Skin 172 
 
 To Remove Warts 173 
 
 Chapped Lips and Hands 174 
 
 Freckles 174 
 
 Tan and Sunburn 174 
 
 Cause and Cure of Moles 174 
 
 Pimjilea and Sores , 174 
 
362 
 
 Index. 
 
 Bathing and Hbalth. 
 
 Park 
 
 Bathing: in Ancient Times 175 
 
 The Object of the Ancient Bath 175 
 
 The Bath a Public Benefit 175 
 
 Fresh and Bait- Water Bathing 176 
 
 Bathing at the Sea-side 176 
 
 Tonic Value of Sea-side Air 176 
 
 A Caution in Sea-side Bathing 176 
 
 Peril at Crowded Sea-side Resorts 177 
 
 Season for Sea-Bathing. . 177 
 
 Duration of the Sea Bath 177 
 
 Proper Limitation of Sea-Bathing 177 
 
 Plunge Bathing 178 
 
 Surf Bathing 188 
 
 Best Hour of the Day fur Bathing 178 
 
 Condition of the Body Before Bathing. . 178 
 Helpful Accessories to Bathing Exercise 178 
 
 Avoid Exposure 179 
 
 Bathing Indoors 179 
 
 Benefit of a " Towel Bath " 179 
 
 Temperature of Baths 179 
 
 The Best Bath for Children 179 
 
 Turkish and Eussian Baths 18C 
 
 Medicated Baths 180 
 
 Convenient Vapor Baths 180 
 
 Electric Baths 180 
 
 Hot Sand Baths 180 
 
 Bathing Dresses 181 
 
 Twenty -two Brief Hints to Bathers 181 
 
 SiEEP AND Health. 
 
 Sleep a Necessity 183 
 
 What Sleep will Cure 183 
 
 How we go to Sleep 183 
 
 Position During Sleep 183 
 
 Why High Pillows are Injurious — 183 
 
 Sleeping on the Back or Side. Which ? 18i 
 Evil Effects of Sleeping Exclusively on 
 
 One Side 184 
 
 Amount of Sleep Necessary 184 
 
 Testimony of an Experienced Farmer... 184 
 
 Waking Children 185 
 
 Best Hours for Sleeping 185 
 
 Kiss the Children a "Happy Good Night" 185 
 
 The Great Pleasure of Sleep 185 
 
 Sleeping Alone 186 
 
 Are Feather Beds TJnhealthful ? 186 
 
 In What Direction shall the Bed Stand? 186 
 
 Sleep for the Invalid 186 
 
 Lack of Sleep Causes Leanness 186 
 
 Sleeplessness— How to Prevent it 188 
 
 Sleeplessness— llow to Cure it 188 
 
 An Eminent Clergyman's Advice 189 
 
 Slumber at Will 190 
 
 Sleep Procured by Medicine 190 
 
 "A Pillow for the Sleepless " 190 
 
 Bleeping Hints 191 
 
 Short Sleepers 191 
 
 Living Without Sleep 191 
 
 Curious Cases of Long Sleeping 192 
 
 Soft or Hard Beds. Which ? 192 
 
 Warm or Cold Sleeping-rooms. Which? 193 
 Thorough Ventilation of Sleeping-rooms 193 
 
 Time Required for Airing Beds 193 
 
 DreamiuL' and Sonnanibulism 193 
 
 Pack 
 
 The Cause of Nightmare 193 
 
 Snoring, and How to Stop it 194 
 
 Are Plants in Sleeping-rooms Injurious? 195 
 Plants give out Carbonic Acid During 
 
 the Night 195 
 
 Flowering Plants More Injurious than 
 
 Others 196 
 
 Plants Exhale Other Noxious Substanoes 196 
 Sleep and Death 196 
 
 Clothing and Health. 
 
 Most Healthful Clothing 197 
 
 Flannel in Summer as well as Winter... 197 
 
 Best Color for Clothing 197 
 
 Texture of Clothing should not be Close 198 
 
 Evil of Insuflicient Clothing 198 
 
 Evil of Low-necked Dress 198 
 
 High-heeled Boots and Shoes 198 
 
 Newspapers as Protectors from Cold... 199 
 
 Warm Clothing fur the Feet 199 
 
 Frequent Change of Clothing for the 
 
 Feet 199 
 
 How to Wear Underclothing 200 
 
 Bad Effects from Using " Garters " 200 
 
 Muffling the Throat 200 
 
 Remove Wet Clothing 200 
 
 Poisonous Clothing — Gloves 201 
 
 Other Cases of Glove-Poisoning 201 
 
 Poisonous Socks 201 
 
 Other Poisonous Clothing 201 
 
 How to Avoid such Poisoning 201 
 
 How, to Cure such Clothing 202 
 
 How to Protect the Public from such 
 
 Clothing 202 
 
 Injurious Dress of Many School -Girls.. 202 
 How Fashionable Dress Interferes with 
 
 Education 202 
 
 Increasing Demand for Healthy Clothing 203 
 The Tyranny of Fashion 203 
 
 Tight- LACING and Health — Important 
 Testimony. 
 
 Physical Effects of Tight-pressing Gar- 
 ments 204 
 
 Effect on Respiration 204 
 
 Effect on Size 204 
 
 Investigations by Herbst 204 
 
 High Medical Testimony 204 
 
 Case Reported by the " British Medical 
 
 Journal " 205 
 
 Tight Lacing Pollutes the Blood 205 
 
 Weak and Silly Excuses Described 206 
 
 Tight Lacing and General Weakness. .. 207 
 
 Absurdity of Tight Lacing 207 
 
 The General Question Illustrated 208 
 
 EXEBOIBB AND HEALTH. 
 
 Toil and Activity Necessary to Health . . 213 
 Severe Exercise after Eating Injurious... 213 
 Light Exercise after Eating is Healthful 214 
 These Rules Apply also to Mental Exer- 
 cise 214 
 
 ^ 
 
Index. 
 
 363 
 
 Pa<;k 
 
 Early "Walking and its Value 214 
 
 How to Make the Walk most Healthful 214 
 Walking Combined with Useful Investi- 
 gation 214 
 
 In Walking the Dress should be Loose.. 214 
 
 Walk Untrammeied 215 
 
 Effect of Tight Lacing on Walking 215 
 
 Exercise for Delioiite Women 215 
 
 Wear the Right Kind of Shoes 215 
 
 Exercise a Cure for Many Diseases 210 
 
 E.xercise "About Xbe House" Not 
 
 Enough 216 
 
 Exercise by Rule Firmly Observed 216 
 
 Exercise as a Cure for Ia)W Spirits 216 
 
 Abuse of Physical Exercise 217 
 
 False Criticism concerning Exercise An- 
 swered 217 
 
 Riding and Rowing, and other kinds of 
 
 Exercise 218 
 
 Swimming aa Exercise 218 
 
 Crtinq, Laughing, and Singing. 
 
 Crying and Health 219 
 
 Laughing and Health 219 
 
 The Laughing Cure 219 
 
 Physical Influence of Singing 219 
 
 Age for Vocal Training 220 
 
 Occupations and Health— Vital Statis- 
 tics. 
 
 Mental I<abor and Health. An Illustra- 
 tion 221 
 
 There are Hundreds of Similar Cases. . . 221 
 Aver.ige Longevity of Diverse Avoca- 
 tions 222 
 
 Order of Mortalitv in Certain Classes of 
 
 Manual Labor.! 222 
 
 Comparative Ages of Persons Active in 
 
 Business 222 
 
 Vital Statistics— Births 223 
 
 Vital Statistics — Marriages 22.3 
 
 Vital Statistics— Deaths 223 
 
 Expectation of Human Life 223 
 
 DWBI.LINGS AND HkALTH. 
 
 Importance of a Healthful location . . . 224 
 
 Remove from a Foul District 225 
 
 Location of Dwellings in Cities 225 
 
 Shade Trees around our Dwellings 225 
 
 High Ceilings and Health 225 
 
 Capacity of Bricks for Dampness 225 
 
 Damp Walls and their Relation to Health 226 
 
 Dampness of Other Walls 226 
 
 Why Damp Walls ate Injurious 226 
 
 How to Dry Damp Walls 227 
 
 How to Prevent Walls from Becoming 
 Damp. A Successful Experiment.. .. 227 
 
 Damp Closets and Health 228 
 
 Caution Against Damp Floors 228 
 
 How to Make Dry Cellar Floors 228 
 
 Danger from Vegetables in Cellars 228 
 
 pArjr 
 
 Danger from Wetting Coal in Cellars... 228 
 Sitting-rooms and Bedrooms and Health 228 
 
 The Kitchen Sink and Health 229 
 
 Ripe Fruit in Sitting or 81eei)ing-roora8 229 
 
 The Out door Parts of the House 229 
 
 House Cisterns and Health 230 
 
 How to Remedy the Evil of Bad Cisterns 230 
 
 " Death in the Dishcloth " 230 
 
 Secure General House Sanitary Inspec- 
 tion 231 
 
 Sohool-rooms and Health. 
 
 Near-sightedness in Schools 232 
 
 An Alarming Fact 232 
 
 How to Remedy the Evil 233 
 
 How the Evils are Caused. '. 233 
 
 Garb of Childbeit. 
 
 Early Food of Children 234 
 
 Changes of Early Diet— Weaning 235 
 
 Best Rule as to the Exact Time for 
 
 Weaning 235 
 
 Arrangement of Regular Meals for Chil- 
 dren 235 
 
 Is the Mother's Health Injured by Nurs- 
 ing? 235 
 
 The Mother's Food while Nursing 236 
 
 A Common Artificial Food Condemned. 230 
 
 Early Baths for Children 236 
 
 Early Clothing for Children 236 
 
 Early Sleep of Children 230 
 
 Shall Children be Rocked to Sleep? 237 
 
 Shall Feather PiOows be Used for Ba- 
 bies' Heads? 237 
 
 Babies' Bow-legs and How to Prevent 
 
 them 237 
 
 Babies' Knock-knees, and How to Pre- 
 vent them 238 
 
 How to Care for Children's Feet 238 
 
 Early E.xercise for Children 238 
 
 Giving Spirits or Cordials to Babies. . . . 238 
 Are Candies Healthful for Childreu?. . . . 238 
 
 Children in the Care of Servants 238 
 
 Lack of Appetite in Children 239 
 
 Age, Studies, and Habits of Children at 
 School 239 
 
 The Sick-eoom and Health. 
 
 Light in the Sick-Chamber 240 
 
 Cheerful Walls and Cheerful Prospects. 240 
 The Inspiration of Pleasant Contrasts. .. 240 
 The Healtliful Influence of Pleasant Va- 
 riety 241 
 
 The Inspiration of Beautiful Flowers. .. 241 
 
 Caution as to Reading Aloud. - 241 
 
 Read Slowly to the Sick . 241 
 
 Read in a Natviral, Pleasant, Colloquml 
 
 Voice 242 
 
 Evil of Reading Aloud only Fragment- 
 ary Paragraphs 243 
 
 Evil of a Rough Voice in the Sick-Room 24' 
 
;64 
 
 Index. 
 
 Page 
 
 Evil of an Indistinct Voice 242 
 
 How to Move a Patient 243 
 
 Great Tenderness of Manner Required.. 243 
 Heat and Ventilation in the Sick-Rooni. 243 
 
 Cleanliness and Neatness 244 
 
 Directions in Contagious Sickness 2-44 
 
 Important Qnalities of a Good Nurse. .. 244 
 Twenty-one Brief Suggestions to Nurse 245 
 
 Alcohol and Health. 
 
 Alcohol cannot be Classed as Food 246 
 
 Liebig's Testimony 246 
 
 Dr. Richardson's and Prof. Silliman's 
 
 Testimony 246 
 
 Alcohol Not the Source of Physical 
 
 Force 247 
 
 Similar Testimony from Others 247 
 
 Does Alcohol Help Digestion ? 247 
 
 Alcohol Useless in Nearly All Cases 247 
 
 A Distinguished Surgeon Uses Alcohol 
 
 in only One Case out of Fifty f 247 
 
 Patients Require Food rather than Stim- 
 ulants 248 
 
 Careless Use of Alcohol Dangerous 248 
 
 Alcohol a Brain Poison 248 
 
 Alcoholic Rheumatism 248 
 
 How Alcoholic Drinks Cause Apoplexy 249 
 No Risk in Disusing Alcohol Suddenly.. 249 
 Physicians should Promote Abstinence. 249 
 
 Testimony of a Great Surgeon 250 
 
 Inconsiderate Prescription of Liquors by 
 Physicians — Testimony of 3(K) Lead- 
 ing Physicians 250 
 
 General Physiological Effects of Alcohol 250 
 Alcoholic Drinks Greatly Shorten Life.. 251 
 
 Interesting Illustrative Statistics 251 
 
 Table Showing the Comparative Expec- 
 
 tiition of Life for Drinkers 251 
 
 Why Some Liquor-drinkers have Long 
 
 Lives 252 
 
 A Icoholic Intemperance Hereditary 252 
 
 Darwin Confirms this View 253 
 
 Hereditary Drunkenness Hlustrated. . . . 252 
 Great Peril in Using Alcohol as Medi- 
 cine 253 
 
 Sad Results of Prescribing Alcohol 253 
 
 Fruitless Efforts for Recovery 254 
 
 The Victim's Sorrowful Experience 254 
 
 Dr. Rush's Noble Testimony 254 
 
 Drinking Paroxysms: Periodic Attacks 255 
 The Excuse for these Periodic Parox- 
 ysms 255 
 
 Sudden End of the Drinking Paroxysms 255 
 How Alcohol Injures the Physical Sys- 
 tem 256 
 
 Patent "Bitters" are Strong Liquors 
 
 Drugged 256 
 
 Patent "Bitters" the Worst Form of Al- 
 cohol 256 
 
 "Cure of Drunkenness" 256 
 
 The "Tapering-off System" Exploded.. 257 
 Treatment of Inebriates in Delirium 
 
 Tremens 257 
 
 What to Avoid i 257 
 
 TOBAOOO AND HEALTH. 
 
 Pa«b 
 
 Effects of Tobacco on the System 258 
 
 Another Testimony 258 
 
 Other Testimonials 259 
 
 Tobacco Specially Harmful to the Young 259 
 
 Tobacco and Paralj'sis 259 
 
 Tobacco and Early Physical Weakness.. 260 
 
 Tobacco Pollutes the Atmosphere 260 
 
 The Tobacco Appetite Often Hereditary 260 
 
 The Excuses of Tobacco Users Trivial. . 260 
 
 Smoking Worse than Chewing 260 
 
 Tobacco in the Form of Snuff 261 
 
 "But I Can't Quit It" 261 
 
 Testimony of John Q. Adams 261 
 
 Great Extent of the Tobacco Habit 261 
 
 OPrtTM-EATINO AND HEALTH. 
 
 Powerful Effects of Opium 262 
 
 Symptoms of Opium Poisoiuhg 262 
 
 IVeatment of Poison by Opium 262 
 
 Opium Chewing 262 
 
 Symptopis of Opium Chewing 262 
 
 Treatment for Cure 263 
 
 Climate and Health. 
 
 Time Required for Complete Change of 
 Body 263 
 
 The Philosophy of Acclimation Ex- 
 plained 263 
 
 Effects of Dry and Moist Clim.ites 263 
 
 Remarkable Facts Incident to a Moist 
 Climate 264 
 
 Influence of Climate upon National Char- 
 acteristics 264 
 
 Influence of Trees upon Climate 264 
 
 Effects of Water upon Climate 264 
 
 How to Relieve Certain Malarious Dis- 
 tricts 265 
 
 EvU Effect of Sudden Transitions in 
 Climate 265 
 
 Are Frequent Rains Beneficial ? 265 
 
 Temperament and Health. 
 
 Varieties of Physical Temperament 266 
 
 Sanguine Temperament 266 
 
 Bilious Temperament 266 
 
 Lymphatic Temperament 266 
 
 Encephalic Temperament 266 
 
 Nervous Temperament 267 
 
 Peeoautiohs and Health. 
 
 Eating, Sleeping, and Speaking — Simple 
 
 Precaution 267 
 
 Danger from Wet Clothes 268 
 
 Danger from Cosmetics 268 
 
 Danger from Lamp Explosions 268 
 
 How to Test Dangerous Kerosene 268 
 
 Caution in Cleansing Wells 268 
 
 Caution Concerning the Tea-pot 269 
 
 Caution about Laughing Gas 269 
 
 Cautioo Concerning Ice-Cream 269 
 
 i 
 
Index. 
 
 365 
 
 Pa«e 
 
 Cantlon in Carrying Lead Pencils 269 
 
 Visiting Infected KooniB 270 
 
 Dangerous Medicines 270 
 
 Dangerous Medicines — Two Good 
 
 Kales 270 
 
 Mistakes in Prescription 270 
 
 Using Medicines as Stimulants— Dan- 
 ger 270 
 
 How to Escape Fever Infections 271 
 
 Fever Infections — Avoid the Poison 271 
 
 Fever Infection — Ventilation 271 
 
 Fever Infection — Avoid Absorbing It.. 271 
 
 Fever Infection and Flannel 272 
 
 Fever Infection and Fear 272 
 
 Poisonous Soap 272 
 
 Death from Nicotine 272 
 
 Poison of Quinces 273 
 
 Orange Peel Poisonous 273 
 
 Danger in Carrying Friction Matches . . 273 
 
 Care Concerning Poisonous Candies 273 
 
 Death from Chloroform 274 
 
 Care Concerning Ice Cream 274 
 
 Danger of Green-Colored Materials 274 
 
 How to Detect Arsenic in Colors 275 
 
 Be Cautious of Poisonous Vegetables . . 275 
 
 Antidotbs for Poisons — Hydrophobia. 
 
 Animals Affected by Hydrophobia 275 
 
 Period of Development 276 
 
 Symptoms of Hydrophobia 276 
 
 Treatment of Hydrophobia 276 
 
 Antidotes foe Poisons— Snakk-Bites and 
 Insects. 
 
 What Snakes are Poisonous 277 
 
 Symptoms of Snake Poison 278 
 
 Antidotes for Snake-bites 278 
 
 Bites of Venomous Insects 278 
 
 Treatment of Insect Bites 279 
 
 Antidotes for Poisons— Misoellaneoits. 
 
 Poison Ivy and Oak : Remedies 279 
 
 Lead Poisoning . 279 
 
 Antidotes for Lead Poisoning 280 
 
 Poisoning by the Filling of Teeth 280 
 
 Poisoning by Wall Paper 280 
 
 Phosphorus Poisoning 280 
 
 Poisoning by Opium 280 
 
 How to Act When Poison has been 
 Swallowed 280 
 
 Emkkgencies— How to Meet Them. 
 
 liOss of Blood a Real Loss 281 
 
 Bleeding from Veins 281 
 
 Bleeding from Arteries 282 
 
 Bleeding from the Teeth 282 
 
 Rupture of a Large Blood- Vessel 282 
 
 Fracture of the Skull 282 
 
 Partial Fainting, and Its Relief 282 
 
 Apparent Insensibility 282 
 
 Page 
 
 Compete Unconsciousness, and its Rem- 
 edy 283 
 
 Dislocation, and its Treatment 283 
 
 Sprains and how to Cure Them 283 
 
 Fracture of the Collar-bone 283 
 
 Fracture of the Ribs 283 
 
 Dislocations 284 
 
 Clothing on Fire — Presence of Mind 
 
 Needed 284 
 
 Clothing on Fire— What to do 284 
 
 To Prevent Clothing from Taking Fire . 28^1 
 
 Cures for Lock-jaw 284 
 
 Relief from Choking 284 
 
 Frost Bites— Instant Remedy 285 
 
 General Treatment for Burns and 
 
 Scalds 285 
 
 Cut Wounds— How to Heal quickly. ... 280 
 
 How to Relieve Pain from Wounds 287 
 
 Pain from Nail in the Foot 287 
 
 Sunstroke — its History 287 
 
 Sunstroke does not Follow Short Ex- 
 posure 287 
 
 Most Dangerous Time for Sunstroke . .. 287 
 Premonitory Symptoms of Sunstroke .. 287 
 Hints for the Prevention of Sunstroke.. 288 
 
 Treatment of Sunstroke 288 
 
 Treatment of Sunstroke after Recovery . 288 
 Lightning Stroke: Preliminary Dangers 289 
 
 A poplexy : Nature and Cause 289 
 
 Treatment of Apoplexy 290 
 
 How to Treat Delirious Patients 290 
 
 Convulsions, and How to Stop Them... 290 
 
 Emergencies — Drowning. 
 
 What to do in Case of Drowning 291 
 
 To Restore Breathing 291 
 
 To Restore Circulation 294 
 
 Recovery Twelve Hours After Drown- 
 ing 295 
 
 How to bring a Drowning Person to 
 
 Shore 295 
 
 Embkgencies— Fbaotukks. 
 Definitions and IllustrationB 
 
 Poultices and theie Application. 
 General Purpose of a Poultice 297 
 
 Brief Cubes fob Vabious Diseases. 
 
 Colds — Seven Remedies 298 
 
 How to Relieve Severe Coughs— Seven 
 
 Good Recipes 299 
 
 Cures for Sore Throat 300 
 
 Headache 301 
 
 Indigestion and Dyspepsia 301 
 
 Biliousness 302 
 
 DiilrrhoBa and Dysentery 303 
 
 Constipation 30^1 
 
 Cures for Boils 305 
 
366 
 
 Index. 
 
 Pare 
 
 To Prevent and Cure Ulcers 305 
 
 Felons 305 
 
 Cancers 306 
 
 Treatment of Scabies 307 
 
 W hooping-Cough 307 
 
 Croup 308 
 
 Hay-fever — Class of Persons Affected. . . 309 
 
 ITay-fever, Causes S09 
 
 Hay-fever — Localities Most Affected 309 
 
 Rpincdics for Hay-fover 310 
 
 F.riii>tive Fevers 310 
 
 Symptoms and Preventives of Fever . . . 310 
 
 lielief of Sea-sickness 310 
 
 To Avoid Sea-sickness 311 
 
 Teuiporarj' Kelief for Neuralgia 311 
 
 Cure of Staumiering 311 
 
 Miscellaneous Healtu Notes. 
 
 Pine "Woods and Health .311 
 
 Danger of Cold Water in the Face 311 
 
 A Most Refreshing Bath 311 
 
 To Prevent Harm from Drinking Cold 
 
 Water 311 
 
 How to Avoid Pneumonia 312 
 
 Position After Being Tired 312 
 
 Opening Abscesses Under Water 312 
 
 Pie-crust and Dvsr)epsia 312 
 
 Little Things and Health 312 
 
 Guarding Against Diphtheria 312 
 
 Eating at Certain Intervals 312 
 
 Time Required for Digesting Food 312 
 
 Cold or Warm Drinks 312 
 
 To Remove Bitter Taste 313 
 
 Most Healthful Seat in a Car 313 
 
 Causes of Lung Congestion 313 
 
 Spread of Pestilence 313 
 
 Sewing Machines and Health 313 
 
 A Specific for Scrofula 313 
 
 Suggestion to Parents about Sitting. ... 313 
 
 Improper Sitting and its Evils 314 
 
 Chewing Between Meals 314 
 
 Remedy for Feverish ness 314 
 
 Cause and (Jure of Leanness 314 
 
 Cure of Obesity 314 
 
 Chief Causes of Sudden Death 315 
 
 Healthfulness of Pumpkins 315 
 
 Medical Quahties of Pumpkins 315 
 
 To Keep White Hands 315 
 
 A Good Tooth-wash 316 
 
 To Remove Moth from the Face 316 
 
 Pimples on the Face 316 
 
 To Strengthen the Hair 316 
 
 To Cool a Room 316 
 
 Protection from Damp Walls 316 
 
 To Make a Good Court-l'laster 316 
 
 To Relieve Whooping-cough 316 
 
 Diphtheria — Its Symptoms 317 
 
 Cause of Diphtheria 317 
 
 Treatments of Diphtheria 317 
 
 Infection Carried by Pet Animals 317 
 
 Flies as Poison Gamers ^8 
 
 To Prevent After-taste of Quiniue 318 
 
 Inflation of the Lungs 318 
 
 Diet for Dyspep »ac8 318 
 
 Home Economics. 
 
 Pat.r 
 
 Wast(! in the Kitchen .310 
 
 KrrciiEN FuRNiTUKE. — Cleaning. 
 
 Heating New Iron 320 
 
 To Prevent Crust in Tea-kettles 320 
 
 To Clean Tea-kettles 320 
 
 Glass 321 
 
 Glass Vessels 321 
 
 To Clean Coal-oil Cans 321 
 
 Washing Knives and Forks 321 
 
 To Clean Knives 321 
 
 Scouring Knives 321 
 
 To Extract Stains from Silver 321 
 
 Silver Soap 321 
 
 To Clean Silver 321 
 
 Another Method of Cleaning Silver 321 
 
 Cleaning Tinware 321 
 
 To Clean Tin Covers 321 
 
 To Polish Tins 322 
 
 Papier-mache A rticles 323 
 
 Jajianned Ware 322 
 
 Cleaning Flour Boards 322 
 
 Another Method 322 
 
 To Clean Painted Wainscot 322 
 
 Cleaning Old Brass 322 
 
 To Clean a Brass Kettle 322 
 
 To Clean Brasses, Britannia Metals, Etc., 322 
 
 To Keep Iron from Rusting 322 
 
 Paper for Cleaning Stoves, Tinware, Etc., 323 
 
 Cleansing Bottles 323 
 
 SoAi's AND Washing Fluids. 
 
 Hard Soap 323 
 
 Soft Soap 323 
 
 Excellent Soft Soap 323 
 
 Common Hard Soap 323 
 
 Labor-saving Soap 324 
 
 Honev Soap 324 
 
 Using Soap 324 
 
 Suggestioro 324 
 
 Washing Fuiid 324 
 
 To Make Hard Water Soft 324 
 
 To Clear Muddy Water 324 
 
 Washing Clothes. 
 
 To Clean a White Lace Veil 325 
 
 To Wash Fine. Colored Fabrics 325 
 
 To Wash J^lerino Stockings 325 
 
 To Make Colors Stand in Delicate Hose, 325 
 
 To Wash Cliinlz 325 
 
 Washing Prints 325 
 
 Another 325 
 
 To Make Use of Faded Prints 326 
 
 Cleansing Blankets 326 
 
 To Wash Flannel 326 
 
 Restoring Wiiite Flannel 326 
 
 Washing Woolen Clothing 326 
 
 To Wash Table-linen 326 
 
 To Preserve Clothes-pins 327 
 
Index. 
 
 367 
 
 Stabohing, Folding, and Ironing. 
 
 Pa.;k 
 
 To Prepare Starch 327 
 
 Flour Stiirch 327 
 
 Glue Starch 327 
 
 Gum-arabic" Starch 327 
 
 Starching Clothes 327 
 
 Sprinkling Clothes 327 
 
 Folding Clothes 327 
 
 Gloss for Linen 327 
 
 To Make Flat-irons Smooth 328 
 
 Another 328 
 
 To Preserve Irons from Rust 328 
 
 To Remove Starch or Rust from Flat- 
 irons 328 
 
 Ironinj.' 328 
 
 Starching — Clear-starching, Etc 328 
 
 To Clear-starch Lace, Etc 328 
 
 Ironinff Laces 329 
 
 Rkmovlnq Stains. 
 
 Grease Spots 
 
 Stains from Acids 
 
 W ine Stains 
 
 Iron Rust 
 
 To Take Out Scorch 
 
 Mildewed Linen 
 
 To Remove Mildew 
 
 Another Metliod 
 
 Coffee Stjiins 
 
 Grass Stains 
 
 Tea SUiins 
 
 Medicine Stains 
 
 Fruit Stains 
 
 Fruit Stains on Table-linen 
 
 Fruit and Wine Stains. 
 
 Ink Stains 
 
 To Take Marking: -ink Out of Linen 
 
 Ink in Cotton. Silk, and Woolen Goods, 
 
 Ink Stains in Mahogany 
 
 Ink Stains on Silver 
 
 Ink and Iron-mould 
 
 To Remove Stains from Floors 
 
 To Preserve Steel Goods from Rust 
 
 To Remove Paint Stains on Windows.. 
 
 Stains on the Hands 
 
 To Preserve PoUshed Iron Work 
 
 If Rust 
 
 To Extract Grease Spots from Books . . . 
 
 Removing Tar Spots 
 
 Ammonia for Renovation 
 
 Removing Grease from Silk 
 
 Removing Grease from Coat Collars 
 
 To Restore Crape 
 
 To Clean Furs 
 
 'l"o Preserve Furs 
 
 To Clean Velvet 
 
 To Restore Silk 
 
 Wrinkled Silk 
 
 To Bleach White Silks or Flannels 
 
 To Clean White Ostrich Feathers 
 
 'T'o Clean Feathers 
 
 To Make Cloth Waterproof 
 
 To Clean Black Cloth 
 
 Cleaning Silk and Merinos 
 
 .329 
 329 
 329 
 329 
 329 
 
 329 
 329 
 330 
 330 
 330 
 3.30 
 330 
 330 
 330 
 830 
 330 
 330 
 330 
 330 
 330 
 331 
 381 
 331 
 3.31 
 331 
 331 
 331 
 332 
 332 
 332 
 332 
 332 
 332 
 332 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 333 
 334 
 
 Paoe 
 
 To Color Kid Gloves 334. 
 
 To Clean Kid Gloves 334 
 
 Wa.>ihing Kid Gloves 334 
 
 To Extract Grease from Papered Walls. 334 
 To Clean Wall Paper 334 
 
 Whitewashing and Painting. 
 
 Cracks in Plastering 33^ 
 
 To Fill Holes in Walls 334 
 
 Brilliant Zinc WMiitewash 3.3.5 
 
 Cheap Whitewash 335 
 
 Making Paper Stick to Whitewashed 
 
 W'alls 335 
 
 New Recipe for "Whitewash 335 
 
 A Brilliant Stucco Whitewash 335 
 
 To Color and Prevent Whitewash from 
 
 Rubbing Off 3.35 
 
 Paint for Kitchen Walls 336 
 
 Fire and Water-Proof Paint 336 
 
 Polishing Fuenitukb. 
 
 French Naphtha Polish 3.36 
 
 French Spirit Polish 336 
 
 Polish or Mahogany Color 336 
 
 Simplest Polish for Oiled Furniture 336 
 
 Oil for Red Furniture 336 
 
 Polish for Oil and Alcohol 336 
 
 Polish for Leather Cushions, etc 336 
 
 To Give a Fine Color to Cheiry-Tree 
 
 Wood 337 
 
 To Stain Black Walnut 337 
 
 Imitation Ebony Stain 337 
 
 To Ebonize Various Woods 337 
 
 Water and Varnished Furniture 337 
 
 Cleansing Polish for Furniture 337 
 
 Where and IIow to Varnish 338 
 
 Varnish f(»r Unpainted Wood 338 
 
 Blacking for Staves 3.38 
 
 Brunswick Black for Varnishing Grates. 338 
 
 To Clean Bronzed Chandeliers, etc 338 
 
 For Cleaning Brasses Belonging to Furni- 
 ture 338 
 
 To Clean Sinks 338 
 
 Articles for the Toilet. 
 
 Rose Oil 339 
 
 Cologne Water 339 
 
 To Wash Hair Brushes 339 
 
 A Paste for Sharpening Razors 339 
 
 Shaving Cream 339 
 
 To Curl Hair 339 
 
 To Remove Tight Rings 339 
 
 Rose Lip-Salve 340 
 
 B1KD8 AND Bird-Food. 
 
 To Distinguish Canaries 340 
 
 Place for Cages 340 
 
 Size of Cage Perciies 340 
 
 Food for- Canary Birds 340 
 
368 
 
 IlTDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Care of Yoan| JanarI«B 340 
 
 Paiasitcft upon Canaries 341 
 
 To Destroy Parasites 341 
 
 Food for Mocking-Birds 341 
 
 To Distinguish Thrushes— Food 341 
 
 Care of Young Thrushes 341 
 
 Food of Bullfinches 341 
 
 Care of Young Bullfinches 342 
 
 Linnets and Their Food 342 
 
 Blackbirds and Their Food 342 
 
 To Distinguish Skylarks 342 
 
 The Cages of Skylarks 342 
 
 Food of Skylarks 343 
 
 EuLse FOB Cabving. 
 
 Carving Knives 343 
 
 Carving Dishes 343 
 
 To CarVe a Fowl 343 
 
 To Carve a "FiUet " . . 343 
 
 To Carve a Eound of Beef 343 
 
 To Carve a Sirloin 343 
 
 To Carve a Leg 343 
 
 To Carve a Pig 343 
 
 To Carve a Calf's Head. . ^ 343 
 
 To Carve a Saddle of Mutton 343 
 
 Pagb 
 
 To Carve a Spare-Rib 343 
 
 To Carve P'ish 343 
 
 Order of Serving 343 
 
 Pastb and Cements. 
 
 Kice Flour Cement 348 
 
 Paste that will Keep a Year 348 
 
 Liquid Glue 348 
 
 To Prevent Glue from Smelling Badly. . 349 
 
 Cement for Iron and Stone 349 
 
 Diamond Cement 349 
 
 Cement for Metal and Glass 349 
 
 Glue for Uniting Card-Board, etc 349 
 
 A Cement Withstanding Heat and Moist- 
 ure 349 
 
 Cement for Crockery 349 
 
 To Make Compound Glue 350 
 
 Household Oenamknts. 
 
 Pretty Hanging Ornaments 350 
 
 Pretty Mantel Ornaments 350 
 
 Rules for Arranging Cut Flowers 351 
 
 To Crystallize Grasses 351 
 
 To Take Leaf Impressions 352 
 
 Rockeries, Vases, and Hanging-Baskets. 352 
 
 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS-SUPPLEMENTAL. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Human Skeleton— three cuts, graphically illustrating the location and name 
 
 of the various bones of the human body 69 
 
 Muscles of the Human Body— three cuts, showing the names and location of the 
 
 principal muscles • • • • • ^ • • • , — • • • • '''^ 
 
 The Nervous and Arterial Systems of the Body— two cuts, with ample explanatory 
 
 notes ti—io 
 
 The Brain and Cranial Nerves, with a large number of explanatory notes 73-75 
 
 The Human Eye— three illustrations, with explanatory notes 140 
 
 The Human Ear— three illustrations showing how we hear 149-152 
 
 The Human Skin— showing the various departments of it, including the papillae, 
 sweat ducts, sweat glands, and other parts of the skin, as seen under a power- 
 
 f ul microscope • • ^'^ 
 
 The Method of Preparing and Applying Various Bandages in Case of Fi-actures— 
 
 eleven cuts — ^^ 
 
 The Method of Carving Meats— eight illustrations ;,:••• '^'** 
 
 The Method of Roasting and Carving Poultry and other Game Birds— seven illus- 
 
 The Method of" Carving Fish— three cuts : 346 
 
 The Method of Cutting and Designing the parts of Beef— two illustrations. . . . .... ^7 
 
 Snoring, and How to Stop It— tv^o cuts 1^4, ito 
 
 Tight Lacing and Health— four cuts WoV 'xu 
 
 Emergencies— Drowning— four cuts Mi-^Ji