The Shasta courier., 1872-09-07
ola ,Ut KILh.
THE LAWS OF HEALTH.

everybody knows nowadays. is the breath
ing OF pure air. This fact is illustrated by
the author with peculiar force. The lead
iu quality OF the atmosphere, as be well
sets forth, is its constant mutton. 1t
either rushes with the force of hurricane,
or moves 50 gently as only to be detected
by the hazy dust that moves in shadow
pierced by sunbeam. This perpetual
mobility has most beneficial effect. 1t
carries oil into infinite space all the impure
exhalatlons Of man and beast. 1t sweeps
away the foul air which constantly arises
from our streets and our euurtyards a
thousand times day. With these condi-
tons, we need suffer no harm from noxluus
gases. but man often does his utmost to
Set these conditions at defiance He
builds himself houses, thick, heavy, solid,
and as ar-tlght as ingenuity can devise
1t L. his study to render the air in his
roonis as motioul,ss as possible, and to
shut ott all communication between the in
side and outside of his house. A small
air .eak, from door joint, window Ame, or
lnhnltesImal trevlce, must be instantly
remedIed. In thus oxlug up In his apart
ments few cubic feet of arr he thinks
himself and those be holds dear fortunate
ln beng shut in from outside purity,
where he muet Inhalc the same air again
aud again. At night he goes into sleep
ing room perhaps not more than eight by
ten feet 10 size, windows down, doors clos
ed, to breathe its ioul or five hogsneads Of
air some halt a uOZen Tines over before
morning. On entering such an apartment
from the pure, crisp, ou side, morning
atmosphere, the fouIness is almost over
pOwerlng. = his foul air is often allowed
to remain throughout the day without any
means OF escape, ready> to be rebreathed
on the succeeding night. The result is
that the lungs are halt starved, the blood
becomes poisoned, and the occupant gets
up IN the morning as weary, as languld,
and as unrefreshed as when he lay down
He thinks, and the idea is cherished by
many regarded as authorities, that his weak
ss comes from too little eating 50 tie
morning dlstaste tor food is overcome by
savory dishes, or by simply forcing him
self to tat tar more than his appetite calls
tor. This only serves to make him feel
stomach bitters; in short, he must eat
more to remove his debility, while all the
time the point Of starvation is in his lungs
lerhaps the supreme importance Of
giving the lungs, day aud night, an unimi
ted supply OF pure air, cannot be better
impressed upon some minds than by stat
ing that after more than twenty years OBJ
servaton OF the causes which produce con-
sumption, and familiarity with the opin-
ions OF the best physicians Ct the day, |
am tirml y Of the conviction that no one
need have any lear OF this dis, ase if his
lungs are only nourlshed on good air DUR
ing every hour OF lite. The breathing of
pure air a.tew hours each day will not
keep off the terrible destroyer, bat the
lungs must have this kind OF air as often
as nature requires it, and this, al
least, Is sixteen times every minute"
A valuable chapter is devoted to the
ninth great hygiene law, which acc riding
to the author, is found in preserving a
tranquil state OF mind, and securing an
adequate amount OF rest and sleep. A
discontented mind disturbs the healthy
action OF the body, and tends to produc a
disordered state ot the brain. The present
social organization aggravates the evil.
One class OF Ii. en- take the part OF thinkers,
schemers, spectators, while another are
devo ed almost entirely to bodily labor,
dividing among different persons the occu-
patlons which should be combined in one.
Every thinking man should also be a
-laborer, every laborlng man thinker
The lotslest Inteiiects would be benefited
by dal y turn at the carpenters bench,
or the turning lathe, or in corn field or
meadow. The thinkers use the powers OF
the nervous system to excess, and neglect
to use their muscles. The laborers use
the muscles to excess, and neglect to use
their bralus. The former endeavor to BRING
out all the powers of a hidden and subtle
essence the latter call into exercise oniv
the outward corporeal she'll The excessive
use OF the muscles serves to weaken and
benumb the brain, and the excessive use
OF the brain iends to cripple and i'm
pair the vigor of the muscles. And in
either case, the blood, which is the oil of
lille, gives up its strength to work single
part OF the body, while the others become
small and feeble for lack of use. The
tendency OF both extremes is toward dis
ease, and the rule OF health and phvsi ,al
symmetry is the temperate exercise of all
parts of the boIy over which the will has
control Intense mental actor, or intense
feeling, after meal disturbs the digestive
process, because it exhAusts for the time
the nervous enc. gies. The other functions
OF the body suffer in the same way. This
is the case especially, as the author sug-
gests, with the temperament of the Ameri-
cans. Their devotion to the excitements
of business makes them thin, eager, ner-
vous and restless generation They must
live fast even if they do not live long
When one source of exc, cisement fails an
other must take its place. They feel the
need more than any other people of ner.
vous stimuants to brace their tagging en-
ergies The consequences are singularly
untavorable to good health and long life
Men distinguished for their eminenee in
business, or in literature, or in official life,
have exhausted their powers prematurely
by the unceasing wear upon their nerves,
and are suddenly smitten, even in the
prime of their years, with fatal disorder of