Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-08-18
Muscular Education.

anu inc EOUuCbOn VI st6am IrOm IN Am-
mense extent of heated surface, obtained
by exposing to the fire many tubes filed
with water. The best of fuel is supplied
to the man in training in the shape of his
meat bread and water his smoke and
cinders must be got rid of rapidly, so as
to excite the fierce combustion demanded
for the pace he has to 60, and the long
continued efforts he has to make. To &c
complish this, the fire crate and chimneys
of the human engine must be kept clear
and in perfect working order. The skin,
which lets off the waste steam and smoke
at millions of pores-or say twenty-eight
miles Of tubing, for this has been calcu-
lated-is of the first importance; hence,
by long experience, from he Greeks
and Romans to our day, trainers, who
are no great Psychologists, have paid
the closest attention to the skin, whether
in training horses or men. The
Greeks used q scraper called q strf9I, and
they sometimes rolled in the dust of the
stadium after amounting, all of which com
PEELED them to use q great amount OF TIC
ton in merely cleansing the skin. Perspl-
ration is excited keptcup
intervals; and the pores are scleansed
by rubbing with hard brushes and
towels, with occasional sponging,
slough the bath is used spafingly.
BY this means also the circulation Of the
blood in the minute network of vessels al
over the body is assisted. Men in +
nary health get rid of about three pounds
of water alone from their skin daily, but
in training it must be more than this.
Then the lungs, being nearer to the cen
trail furnace of the body, are of even more
importance to be kept at work than the
skin /; for from them the chief part OF tie
smoke must be got rid of, besides q good
deal of steam, or, in other words, car
bonic acid gas and watery vapor. In or
binary good health q man expires about
twenty-one ounces of steam daily; of
course q man undergoing great exertion
breathes off much more than this. Then
the light, fresh air is exchanged in breath
ing for the heavy carbonfc gas, smmonia5
hydrogen gas, and volatile animal sub
stances, making altogether from six TO
eight per cent. of effete material got rid of
by the lungs. Now we can see the ne
cessity for q man having what is called
"good wind - his lungs must be able to
bear the constant and rapid contraction
and expansion, and the .st~rongsaction of
the heart in driving on the vital stream,
without distress. Hence no one with he
slightest weakness of the chest should
ever attempt to train, though the regi-
men, very moderately and gradually ap-
piled, would be beneficial for itmay then
Of fresh air, exercise, simple food, no ex-
Cesses, and early hours.
The dietary Of the trainers is. open to
criticism upon some points. They pre-
scribe q dry meat diet, on the superstition
that it makes the flesh firm and keeps the
blood from being watery. This is quite
an error; for we know that the, strongest
men are composed of as much water as
other men, and that this apparently idle
and harmless fluid is q most vital one, for
it forms no less than seventy per cent. of
the whole body. The muscles would be
mere shreds if deprived of their water;
and the singular thing is, that this is not
easy to accomplish even in dead muscle,
for the water is not contained as If by a
sponge, it can not be press out of the
flesh except by a weight which destroys
the fibre; therefore 1t Is considered that
water is IN essential constituent of mus
Gle. The nerves, which are really the
source of all muscular energy, actually.
consist of 800 parts water in 1000. Old
Thsles was not far when he taught
his pupils that water was the life of all
creation. It is possible to live on water
alone for some time, but entirely depriv-
ed of it, death results in less than q week
The trainers are right, however, as to not
taking liquids in large draughts; this is
prejudicial to digestion, and Is liable TO
produce a chill or shock of a dangerous
kind. 1t is not advantageous that thirat,
which arises from all violent exercises,
should not be quenched; but this should
be done by small quantities taken while
the system is heated, and not in large
draughts Immediately after the ex-
ertion is over. ItsEwm be found
that water is by far the best bev-
erage to be drunk during any strong ex-
ercise, as in long walks over billy ground
in hot weather, and In any Of b more
arduous feats of running and walking.
Tea, if taken cool, is, however, q very
light and stimulating drink; but beer,
most wines, and spirits are fatal to all
great efforts. A diet of lean meat and
bread, with scanty vegetables, is decided
ly not favorable to robust health; expert
ence has long taught us to follow the in
clination for varieties of many kindsi and
perfect condition, even to efficient train
ing, may be kept up by partaking OF these,
always excepting young meats and veal,
which is not only immature but half dis
eased, from the process OF daily bleeding
which is adopted to produce b appear
ance of delicacy. A diet in which flesh
is the chief article is Indispensable to our
climate and our habits. 81
It can not be too strongly enforced that,
no matter how intellectual the calibre, or
how sensitive the fibre, material health
lies at the foot of all. The brain must
have its fat and its phosphorus, the heart
must be touched with the bright and pure
life-stream, or the pace begins to slaeken,
and the machinery yields to the vis liner
tie of earth, till it stops dead. 1t is not
too much to say that the greatest achieve
ments await those who, having pursuits
not necessarily favorable to health, never
theless make 1t of the first confederation
to attend to the culture of the body.
Good eating and drinking, as it is
called, is far too much relied upon
in fact, it is this that in towns lead
universally to disease and short lives
it is absolutely necessary to combine good
food with ~invigorating and refreshing ex-
~ercises, and if the more violent can be
borne, SO much the better. If gymnastics
were esteemed with us as important as
they were with the ancient Greeks and
Romans, and practiced habitually by
them, there is no doubt that the public
health would be raised, and new fields of
enjoyment would open out to the multi
tude, who are always wondering what
ais them, or what on earth they can find
to do. Among the Greeks, it was
thought impossible for the mind to be
in a vigorous state uless the body was.
Philosopher, physician, and gymnast
were united in one person-GsIen dis
located his shoulder, when wrestling,