The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-10-16
For the FARMER AID MECHANIC.
Physiological Teachings of the Bible,
CLOTHING.

The most familiar instance on record OF
death from sufocation, is that of the smoth-
ering Of the young princes in the W OF
London. But the cruel uncle could have
accomplished his wicked purpose just as
certainly by another process which would
have excited far less suspicion. Everybody
knows that we breathe through the mouth
and ~nostrils, but few persons seem to re-
member that we also breathe through the
skin. A beautiful child was once selected
to play an important part IN a great Romlsh
pageant. They wanted a golden cherub to
represent some impossible ideal character;
and covered his body with a varnish upon
which to spread the gold leaf. To the hor-
ror of the innocent perpetrators of this deed
the child died. His Respondent golden coat
was to him as the poisoned tunic to Hercules.
Had Richard the Ill. been as learned as
Mr.. Huxley, he might have gilded his hap
less nephews, and no one, OF that day, would
have suspected the cause of their deaths.
We hear enough about i'll ventilated apart
ments, but we rarely hear anything about
i'll ventilated clothing. People who ought
t. Know better, and who really do know bet
ter, if they would only reflect, often speak
as if nothing was necessary, in very cold
"CdlIlCt, va Il y VNtHttV VI Sfotli-
ing. Yet how often we hear of some wise
doctor warning some delicate girl against
wearing turs, and preaching flannel, fan
mel, flannel" Why do we hear SO much
about flannel?
Bccam,e It erclu1cs the cold, and does not
crclu1c tie ar. Doctors get tired of ex-
planning these things to people, and SO they
simply ~reiterate their directions without al
ways assigning their reasons. They are like
the old clothes seller, in one of the great
cities, who when asked why he had abrevi-
stead of ''old Clothes replied, Just you
try it awhile, and you'll know why" The
wearying repetition is too much for human
patience. ! knew a doctor who wore 4 COM
plete suit of white flannel himself, and fit
ting wei to a fine figure it was thoroughly
elegant and beautiful. The delicate ecyu
color is one of the l~oveliest tints in nature.
In ladies' dresses, French fannels, all-wool
m%erinoes, Nc, always drape well. That is,
they fall into the soft and graceful folds,
which artists delight in.
They are never stiffened with starch, glue,
and such like filth. A garment stitfened
with starch is just as dirty as if it were stiff
fened with yellow clay, but the starch hap
pens to be fashionable, and the yellow clay
does not. In Queen Anne's day they used
yellow starch, but in our day they use white,
slightly tinged with indigo! 1t has the
same effect in excluding the air from the
body that vanished clothing would have,
but not in SO great degree. just as a room
may be very badly ventilated, and very
much crowded with human beings, but not
quite to such a degree as the black hole of
Calcutta.
Wool is the best Of textiles, as far as
health is concerned. [ copy the following
extract from Mommsen's history of Rome,
showing that wool has other virtues, besides
being a good ventilator, 'In fact, nothing
Is SO certain a protection against the aria
cattra Cmalarial poison) as the wearing of
the fleece Of animals, and keeping a blazing
fire which explains why the Roman coun-
trymen went constantly clothed in woollen
stuffS, and never allowed the fire on the
hearth to be extinguished."
Let us see what the Bible has TO say on
the subject. In Prov. p, %, we find this:
The sheep (literaD are for thy clothing"
And IN Deut. 22. IL: Thou shalt not wear
a garment Of linen and woollen together"
Again IN Lev. 10, 10: Neither shall a gar
ment mingled Of linen and wooiien come
upon thee
But the strongest Bible argument in the
matter is that Abel was a feeder OF sheen
and brought the ''lirstlings of his flock and
the latest thereof as an Offering unto God,
and acos accepted! We know that theynid
not eat sheep, OF any other animal food at
that period; so what possible use could they
be put to, except the use to which Solomon
assigns them, THE sheep are for thy
clothing
The production OF cotton, silk and linen
requires greatly more labor than theproduc-
ton OF wool. Cotton especially requires
incessant and most laborious toll to produce
it. Ar. Mark Cockercll, Of Tennessee, who
was awarded a gold medal by the Legislature
for successful wool culture, said he could
produce a ID. OF wool worth 90 cents with
less outlay than he could produce a ID. Of
cotton Worth III. In 1867, a Royal Com
mission was appointed to report on the con
dltlon Of the Scotch Agricultural Laborer,''
and finished their important duty in 1871.
1 make The following extract from a Journal
published in Edinburgh: THE Scottish
shepherds appear to have impressed the
commissioners with a strong sense of their