Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-01-01
The Chesr and T,,,nps.

remarks are taken from The two hundredth
edition of that most excellent work for
families, Gums New Family Physician
sWithout good air and enough Of it. of
course disease follows, and consumption
very frequently is the consequence. Surely
there can not be enough Of good air in
lungs that are stayed and pent up in
small, uniformed chest. The great pre-
ventive of consumption is to be found in
large chest, with free breathing Sitting
or standing in STOPPING posture, con-
tracts the muscles of the chest and makes
it snail. This is a subject Of interest to
all, especially among people working in
doors, over tables and benches. Those in
easy circumstances, or who pursue seden-
tary employments,ge generally use their lungs
but very liltle-breathe very little air inlo
the chest, and thus, independently of bad
positions, contract wretchedly narrow,
small chest, and lay the foundation Cor the
loss of health and beauty, All this can
be easily obvlated by paying little atten-
ton of the manner of breathing Recol
lect, that the lungs are like bladder in
their structure, and can be stretched to
double their ordinary size with perfect
safety, giving noble chest, and compare
tive immunity from consumption. All the
agent required, is the common air we
breathe. No obstacles should exist exter-
nal to the chest, such as tight lacing, or
tying i around with stays, or tight dress
es, or holding the shoulders in a STOPPING
position. On arising from the bed in the
morning, va should place yourself in an
erect posi- pn, your chest drawn back, and
shoulders entirely off the chest. Now
inhale, or ssck in, all the air you can, so
as to fill tn chest to the bottom of it, so
that no more air can be inhaled. Now
hold your breath and throw your arms
off behind, holding in your breath as long
as you can; again initiate your chest and
walk about, holding in your breath a
long as possible. Repeat these long
breaths as many times as you please.
If done in cold room it is much better,
because the air is much heavier and dens-
er, and will act so much more powerfully
in expanding the chest; always, when ex-
panding the chest with air, throw the
head back so as to elevate the breast bon e,
and bend the who'd bust backward with
the waist. You may, in this manner, ex~
pand the chest a thousand times day,
if you please. On going out of doors into
the cold air, inhale all the air you can,
and hold it as long as possible. Stand or
sit perfectly erect, while walking or riding
through the street, along the road, in
fields or gardens, and practice this modes
Of expanding the chest. Do not stoop
forward at all. but inhale all the air you
can, throwing the head and neck backward,
and hold in the air as long as possible.
By this exercise you can often check
cough, or disposition to cough The chest
may also be fully expanded while lying in
bed. Exercising In this manner, will
soon make it very flexible, and very eX-
pansible, and will enlarge its capacity and
the size of the lungs, SO as to hold, in a
few weeks, double their former quantity
of air. while around your chest you will
Should you not have full strength to en-
large the chest in this way, then use an
inhaling tube. The inhaing tube will
greatly assist you in expanding the chest,
whether you are weak or not. The chest
should be treated in this way during your
whole lives Should you become invalids
from any cause, keep your chest expanded
by long breaths, gnd the inhaling tube,
and continue to sathe little cold fresh
air daily, by havi it ,sgawn from GU, of
d}ors,hy leather or TIN pipes" ar il any otht
er manner you please. While forming
fine chest, and after it is formed, great
care IS requisite to establish perfectly cor
rect positions, so that the chest shall not
be contracted, and all of your efforts-eoun-
teracted by bad positions. If your posi-
tons are habitually bad, is spite Of all
you can otherwise do, the chest will be
more or less contracted. The rule with
you should be, and the rule Of health is,
to keep the bottom of the chest, the ends
of the short ribs, and tn lower extremi-
ty of the breast bone, as far out from the
back bone as possible. To effect this, the
chest must be perfectly straight and thrown
little backward from the waist at all
times. The small Of the back is made
flexible, but the hip joints are the points
at which to stoop, either backward or for
ward. The joints are ball and socket
joints, like swivel in some degree. The
trunk of the body may bend forward as
much as you please for all useful purposes,
auu Tue CucSt, tue WiiOIe spiiic duu H0Sh,
be kept perfectly straight. Hence no la>
dy should make table of her lap, either
for sewing. reading, writing, or any occu-
patton whatever. Let these, and all the
works you do, be arranged upon a table
before you, and that table be raised up
to the arm-pts, or as high as possible. so
as to keep the chest straight. A little
practice will make this infinitely more
agreeable than to s:oop; while little or no
fatigue will be experienced at your occupa-
ton, compared to what is experienced
while STOPPING, or from habtual STOPPING
The weight of the Shoulders will thus be
kept off the chest, which is one of the
grand causes of fatigue from manual labor.
You will entirely prevent the mark of
seryitude being impressed upon your per-
son in a pair of round, STOPPING shoul-
ders, and fat, contracted chest, and thus
avoid con sumption; for thousands of per-
sons have brought this disease upon them
selves by neglecting to attend to these i'm
portantl directions, and particularly those
who were predisposed to the disease from
delicate constitutions, or hereditary
causes; for this disease, like scrofula, runs
IN families"
RI1Sin ass Notices.