The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1877-01-18
stseful aud Curious.



We consiense the following from a seasonable
and practical article "n this subject in the Brit
;sh Medical -Josrmai: The old and young, whose
health and existence depend very much, If not
entirely, upon Others, the chief sufferers at
this period of the year. 1t is important, there
fore, that those who have the care Of either the
Young old should consider their responsible
ties, and endeavor to carry out judiciOnsly such
precautions may oppose the dangers of our
winter season. The English mother has u love
of hardy children, and thinks fresh air, even
the atmosphere Of London Streets is Of vital i'm
portance to their health. The idea Of having no
fire in the bed room is another of her favorite
maxims; and among the wealther classes tho
luxury of seeing the arms, neck, and legs Of those
inst beginning to walk seems to be peculiarly
delightful. We do not certainly desire to see the
system OF swsddliBg introduced into England
which prevails in France, nor that onr young
ones should, like those of Northern Europe, re-
semble little round bundles of clothes more than
anything else. But we seriously think that ma
ny lives are sacrificed to ignorance and erroneous
ideas. Among the poor the scantiness of chill
dren's clothing is quite remarkable. Winter and
Summer not distinguished by any change of
dress short sleeves, bare necks and legs, are not
the exception, they are the rule; cotton or thin
stufis are not changed for wooden or aaunel, and
SO on in all other respects; beyond shawl
some such addition there is very little differ
ence between their clothing in Summer and Win
ter And yet this system is not the result of
that has many supporters. There is no doubt
that, if used to test the character Of the child
very much, as We see a boy holding up terrier
BY the tail or its ear to show its pluck by its ST.
lence, it has certain advantages.
1t does not occur to most people that the air
inside their houses, if they are properly ventila-
ted, is as pure as the air outside. We should say
that no child too young to walk or run should be
taken out when the external Temperature is be-
low fifty degrees that the rooms in which they
Era Iavn ahS. lao hall " aI1bf
degrees; and the day room should be three or
four degrees warmer. The practice of wheeling
children about in perambnlators, sitting or re-
clining in position without exercise, IS par
ticularly harmful. We would earnestly appeal
to mothers to put aside all feelings of vanity.
or what is sometimes miscalled natural pride,
and cover the arms neck. and legs of their chill
dren, rs a simple sanitary precaution High
| frOcks, long sleeves, and warm stockings should
be worn out of doors hats which cover the head,
| and boots which keep the feet as dry and warm
| possible. On coming in from our streets, near
| IL always damp, both boots and stockings should
be changed and if the feet be cold, warm foot
| bath should be used for a few minutes. We see
that flannel has yielded to merinO, chiefly on ac-
count of the greater convenience of ready made
under clothing but there is nothing equal to
| flannel in the property of preserving warmth.
| There is one important point which is the
question of the day with mother and nurse, and
| that is the morning bath Let the room be well
warmed before the child is taken ont of bed, and
| let those who think cold bath an absolute ne
cessty remember that on a summer morning
their children enjoy it and if they keep the tenn
perature of the water the all the year round,
| that is, about SIS or GO degrees, they may obtain
all the benefits possible. Let them think how
| unreasonable it is TO take water not much above
freezing point and attack the nervous system, al
ready depressed, by shock which is followed by
a reaction which requires the whole morning to
recover from. We have no hesitation in recon-
mending warm bath early in the day, followed
by q simple douche of cold water, as far prefera
bic to the cold BATH or a warm bath at night
for the sake of cleanliness, and none at all in the
morning 1t may be taken as rule that, in the
case of children, sudden changes of temperature
are dangerous, and that So degrees to GO degrees
may be taken as the safe average to tempera-
tnre in which they should he constantly kept.