Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-02-20
BRAIN AND BODY WORK.

IN AolC VI Ildu ,SOtTHdt OJ Hs1R COu-
tains, it seems to US, some ideas upon the SUBJ
ject of brain and body labor, well worth the
consideration of people of large cities, and es-
pecIally of this city where SO large a proper
ton of the population are occupied in seden-
tary mental pursuits. Psychologists after pa
tIent and close inquiry have arrived At the
conclusion that the power of the entire man,
his Vitality, is As much expended by two hours
OF deep mental efforts as by a whole day of
ordinary bodily labor; hence the man who
spends four hours in the twenty-four in earnest
mental labor, goes 10 the utmost allowable
limit for days work, and all the time that
remains, after deducting ten hours for eating,
sleeping and dressing should be conscientious
ly expended in muscular exercises, which re-
quiTe no special brain effort and such exer-
cises should always by preference be those
which are agreeable, useful and prof
liable, for they not only promote
the condition of the body, but give rest TO the
brain, which, by that rest, recuperates its pow
err. Many can remember. when turning back TO
their school days, that they have gone to bed
feeling that they did not know their lessons,
We ON rising in the morning, the mind would
run over them with gratifying and surprising
clearness. 1t is this which accounts for the
observation that persons have striyen hard TO
remember some important fact. or a to where
Nhludblt pdptIs nave Deem ldlO. anu TOWARDS
morning, when the mind began to awake, a
little before the body, this being the time
OF dreams, the point is made clear in the
tOIm Of a dream, thus showing that rest
OF the brain. whether by actual sleep or the
passive, comparative rest which manual
labor affords, gives mental activity, vigor,
perspicacIty; from these il follows that no
form of muscular exercise Is ignobie in a stu
a. NJ, brain worker, which has to be done by
some one, and by being done by him, viii save
money. or will save the time of another, who,
p-rhaps, may already be overtaxed. In every
dwelling in a large city, there are many things
which the master could do which would reflect
ben6 mt on himself and Others also; some OF
these may be suggested: get up by daylight
clear the snow from the sidewalks, kindle two
or three fires, ventiIate your parlors, keep the
cellar VI ell swept, split up kindIng- wood, after
saving IL YOURSELF whitewash the cellar twice
a year, a also the fencing around the back
yard; trlm the eight or ten grape vines which
You ought 10 have against the fence; kill off the
worms which infest them in the summer;
root out the clover and weeds from your
srss- plat keep your hundred feet
&C fower-bOrders in perfect order
II YOU have library. dust your books. rear
range them 80 that you may be able to put
your hands upon them in the dark if needed
d-otIt NOuT pdIupnISIe anu magazines, so that
tine may be- sOst shOuld you want any of
them in a hurry; in this way valuable time
may b. saved on occasions when you have no
time 10 spare: then pump water in your tank
Tor twenty minutes every morning; repair all
the broken glass yourself; learn how to keep all
cracks in the plaster filled with plaster of
Paris keep your roof we'll painted; help your
vile darn some of the basket full of stockings:
or SOW on the lost buttons of your BOYS who
are at school; OF trim their hair. and sew up
the rips in shoes, and cut down the pegs or
tacks in the inner sOles, which so often do per-
manent injury to the feet; keep their skates
in order; have a grindstone of your own
and iron vice, and keep all the
knives sharp, and the handles tight. learn how
20 mend broken china and common delft TO tack
down carpets; TO hang pictures: 70 take stains
cut Of marble and wood; To replace mahogany
Neneering; to render chair legs and backs firm:
to keep the tubs and barrels hoped up; learn
how p make good flour paste, and keep some
always on hand, ready TO mend a torn bank
note, or paste a useful newspaper scrap in some
appropriate place; or have Il book for domestic
receipts, and when you see one which seems to
De- valuable, paste IL IN the book under its prop
er alphabetical head. " hat a marvellous help
any husband might be TO his wife and family in
ways like this, and be saving many a dollar b.
sid :, instead of lolling about on the sofa or
chairs; or. With feet on table or mantle leaning
back and smoking a filthy pipe or noisome
Cgar, or slipping murderous brandy and water.