Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1853-11-30

a mothers beard! Not being framed for active
bodily toll, the woman has not the capacious
lungs and may need less growth of hair in wo-
men really but is not much less than in the other
sex. The hair upon woman's head is rs a gen.
eral rule, coarser, longer, and the whole mass is
naturally heavier than upon the head of man.
Here, by the way. | should like to hint a ques-
tion, whether, since what is gained in one place
seems to be lost in another, the increased growth
at the chin produced by constant shaving may
not help to account for some part of the weak
ness OF hair upon the crown, and Of the tenden-
yto premature badness which is so common
in English civilized society? hH
The hair upon the scalp, so far as concerning
its mechanical use, lis no doubt the most import
ant Of the hair crops grown upon the human
body. 1t preserves the brain from extremes of
temperature, retains the warmth of the body,
and transmits very slowly any impression from
without. The character Of the hair depends
very much upon the degree of protection need
ed by its possessor The same har--whether
OF the head or beard-that is in Europe straight,
smooth, and soft, becomes after little travel in
hot climates crisp and curly, and will become
smooth again after return to cooler attitudes.
BY natural action of the suns light and heat
upon the hair that curliness is produced, and it
is produced in proportion as it is required until,
as In the case OF negroes under the tropical suns
OF Africa, each hair becomes so intimately curl
ed up with its neighbors as to produce what we
call a woolly head. All hair is wool, or rather
all wool is hair, and the hair of the negro differs
so much in appearance from that of the Europe
an, only because it is so much curled, and the
distinct hairs are so much more intimately inter-
twined. The more hair curls, the more thoro'ly
does it form a web in which stratum of air lies
entanged to maintain an even temperature on
the surface of the brain. For that reason it is
made law of Nature, that the hair should be
caused 10 curl most in the hottest climates
"A protection of considerable Importance is
provided in the same way by the hair of the face
to large and important knot of nerves that lies
under the skin near the angle of the lower jaw,
somewhere about the point of junction between
the whiskers and the beard Man is born to
work out of doors and in all weathers, for his
bread; woman was created for duties of anoth-
er kind, which do not involve constant exposure
to sun, wind, and rain. Therefore man only
goes abroad whiskered and bearded, with his
face mufied by nature in way that shields ev-
cry sensitive part alike from wind rain, heat, or
frost, with q perfection that could be equaed
by no muffier of his own devisng The whis-
kerless seldom can bear long exposure to
sharp wind that strikes on the bare cheek The
numbness then occasioned by a temporary palsy
OF the nerves has in many cases become perma-
nent 1 will say nothing of aches and pains that
otherwise affect the face or teeth For man
who goes out to his labor in the morning, no
better summer shield or winter covering against
the sun or storm can be provided, than the hair
which grows over those parts of the face which
need protection, and descends as beard in front
of the neck and chest defence infinitely more
useful rs well as more becoming than cravat
about the neck, or a prepared hare skin over the
pit of the stomach. One Of the finest living
prose writer's in our language suffered for many
years from sore throat, which was incurable, un-
I'll following the advice of an Italian surgeon he
allowed his beard to grow; and Mr.. Chadwick
has pointed out the fact that the sappers and mi
ners Of the French army who are oil men with
fine boards, are almost entirely free from afec-
tions of the lungs and air-passages.
Mr.. Chadwick regards the subject entirely
from a sanitary point of view. He brought it
under the discussion of the medical section en-
gagged on sanitary inquiries at the York meet
ing of the British Association, and obtained
among other support the concurrence of DIR.
w. p. Allison, of Edinburgh. We name that
physician because he has persuaded the journey
men masons of his own city to wear their
boards as preventative against consumption
that prevailed among them.
For that is another use Of the moustache and
beard They protect the opening of the mouth,
and filter the air for man working in smoke
or dust of any kind they also act as respra-
tor and prevent the inhalation into the lungs of
what is too frosty. Mr.. Chadwick, years ago,
was led TO the discussion of this subject by OBJ
serving how in the case of some blacksmiths
who wore boards and moustaches, the hair about
the mouth was discolored by the iron dust that
had been caught on its way into ihe mouth and
lungs. The same observer has also pointed out
and applied to his argument the fact that trav-
elers wait, if necessary, until their moustaches
have grown before they brave the sandy air of
deserts. He conceves, therefore, that the alb
sence of moustache and beard must invoke q
serious loss to laborers in dusty trades, such as
millers and masons to men employed in grind
ing steel and iron, and to travellers on dusty
roads. Men who retain hair about the mouth
are also, he says, much less liable to decay or
achngs of the teeth. To this list we would
add, also, that apart from the incessant dust fly
ing in town streets and inseparable from town
life, there is the smoke to be considered. Both
dust and smoke do get into the lungs, and only
in small degree it is possible for them to be
decomposed and removed by processes of life.
The air passages of a Manchester man, or a res
ident in the city of London, if opened after
death, arc found to be more or less colored by
the dirt that has been breathed. Perhaps it
did not matter much but surely we had not
hetfer mata dust holes or chmncv fnpnalo of