Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-09-07
THE HOUSEHOLD.
calves, Colts ana nnbies.

ions upon millions of money are paid yearly
for advertised nostrums. Skilled practiton
ers of medicine are losing the confidence Of
the public because the feeble constitutions
and self-indugent habits of our people set
medical skill ut defiance. The decline of the
physical soundnes5 Of our old stock of people
in the last 30 years has been fearful, and this,
too in the face of a pecuniary prosperity
which has greatly lessened the causes of dis
ease that existed in primitive times such as
exposure, overwork, lack Of skilled attendance
in sickness, and other inevitable hardships of
pioneer life.
We have, in fact, reached point in our ma
tional history whore every man aud woman
might, if prudent and industrious, live in
condition Of health ease and abundance such
as history shows that no other nation has ever
attained for the masses of the people. Moral
reforms, especially the temperance rcforma-
ton. but also the growing disuso Of tobacco,
tea and coffee, and the more intelligent skill
applied to cooking, have lessened Considera
bly, some fertile sources of i'll health. Science
has almost blotted out the greatest pest of in
temperate climates the small poN-aui yet
our vitality Is steadily declining This sad
and serious fact ought to be looked firmly in
the face, studied and remedled, or the pres.
tge of the old New England stock will fail
II the old stock is to disappear for lack of
ond centennial will see itself inhabited by
different race to whom the old traditions will
bo utterly unm. aiming, # not repuguant. That
which ought to have brought Us better health
because II frees us from many causes Of dis
ease-the increase Of wealth in reality
tended to physical degeneracy. Poverty has
many causes Of disease, it is true but 1t shuts
out the possibility Of coarse, uuiutcligcnt
self indulgence, the fruitful parent Of new aud
more virulent woes. Yet it ought not to be
so. The healthiest, most vigorous men and
women in the world are the English aristocra-
cy, especially since drunkenness has gone out
Of fashion with them and they are also the
richest. Physical yigOr is esteemed among
them as a frat essential. Thoy have large
families, and their children are reared with
the utmost simplicity aud under the best san
itary system that science can devise. People
cannot live III novels exposed to the hard
ships OF grinding poverty, and escape serious
bodily harm yetlt they are destitute Of com
mon sense or the power of intelligent self
denial such poverty is better, perhaps, so far
as health is concerned, than even moderate
abundance.
The laws Of health are not difficult to know,
understand and apply. Every good farmer
is familiar with them, and constantly applies
them with success in the manage ent Of his
stock but he rarely applies them to himself
or his children. As for our women, they
neither understand them nor caro- for them
Every farmer learns that to have healthy
calves colts or lambs he must provide them
with wholesome food at regular hours he
must see that they are kept clean and warm,
and have fresh, pure air and water and prop
er exercise. All this must be done even for
the offspring of perfectly sound and healthy
parontage, or the race will fail and become
worthless. And how can 1t be otherwise with
human beings;
Let us take the case of an average New Eng.
land family, and see how Numerically opposed
to these simple, necessary rules are ito habits
of life young man aud woman, rarely of
sound bodily health marry. The man will
usually be the stronger, because though they
have been similarly brought up he has lived
more in the open air and has found out the
necessity for warm clothing While the sur.
plus vitality of childhood and youth remains
unconsumed, the wife may present the APP
pearance of tolerabe health, but the fouuda-
tions have long been shaken. The labors of
the household, which should to a sound
woman would-be only pleasure, are Il bur
den from the first while maternity, natu-
raj function actually promotiye Of health un.
der normal conditions, speedily breaks her
down and places her on the invalid list for
life. But she may bear two or three chill
dren, who will inherit her fecbleness aud be.
gin life weakly.
The farmer who has a weakly young animal
knows well that he must apply the rules of
health with even more care than COMMON, in
order to rear it to useful maturity. Not 50
with his feeble child. 1t cries often, for its
mother, being in poor condition, affords it
imperfect nutriment and therefore it suffers
constant discomfort. 1t is dosed with sooth-
ing syrup or some similar stuff, OF which OPT
UNI is always the basis. This binds the bow
els and the crying increases instead of ceas
ing. Then it gets dose of Castoria or som
similar purgatiye, and then more soothing sy-
rup. 1t gets little older, and its mother
brings it to the table She begins, perhaps,
by teaching II to drink tea--a drug having a
destructive effect upon the nervous system.
This makes the poor child "cross." Mamma
tries to quiet it with pickle, and if this does
not havo the desired feet she replaces it
with piece of pie or doughnut These
are both sweet, and all young creatures re.
qure sugar. 1t exists in healthy milk, but
probably not sufficiently in that of the feeble
mother. To get the sugar nature Graves the
child eats tho sweet stuff, unwholesomey con-
cocted, even for grown people, with grease
and Spices the flour sodden and entirely in
digestibe in that form. Soon baby begins to
feel the pain by which nature gives warning
of improper nutrition, and cries The moth
sents the insult, aud baby filings down the gift
with increased lamentation II don't under.
stand what makes the child so cross" says
mamma, and goes for her bottle of of sooth-
ing syrup, followed next day with physic and
next, perhaps, with an attack of bowel COM
plant. The doctor is called. If he is skilled
in his art, but unskilled in human nature or
too honest to lie, he tells the truth about the
case, gets his dismissal and is replaced by
4.
buttered on, tlatters the mother and does what
he can, perhaps, for the baby.
Suppose the child to outve this, what
next? When it can sit alone it is placed, with
bare legs and an ill-clad body, upon the floor
in winter, where the mercury, indicating so
five feet above, will hardly stand at 4O2 The
baby's limbs become blue, and it cries with
cold. More pie and doughnut soothing syr-
up, pneumonia, doctor. Still, perhaps, he
doesn't die, and, getting large enough to run,
the passer-by will see it outside the door in
April or October winds, with summer cloth
ing. mucous streaming from its nose, and a
constant cough. Poor child il is so strange
how easy he takes cold !" All this time there
are no regular intervals between its meals, so
that the stomach may rest and recover strength
Pie, doughnut and pickles, being its mothers
delicacies are dealt out to her child at all
hours ito stop its noise" and, its body being
never properly nourlshed by suitable food, il
i always hungry and always calling for some
thing to eat. This is not natural, and is it.
self conviction of bad management Such
way of feeding will kill the young pig calf
or lamb, but our babies have to stand it the
best way they can. Eaten in this way, and
especially the kind of food universally given
between meals, will alone ruin any childs
health almost irrecoverably. Consumption
New Eng ands special death-dealer, has here,
in connection with light clothing and INSULT.
cient out-of-door exercise, its chief support.
A ruined stomach is mighty bad capital to be-
gin life upon, but it is our most frequent ma
ternal gift.
If We want to make n colt or calf especially
thrifty, in view of premium at the fair, we
not only sec that it is properly fed and kept
warm, but we attend carefully to the condi-
ton of its skim brushing, cardng, and wash,
ing frequently. Is the same care given to
children? Do adults give it to themselves?
Yet clean skin is essential to health. Boy
children get out from under the mothers
hand soon enough, sometimes, to save life
and perhaps a moderate remainder of vitality.
They get thick shirts, wastseoats, jackets
socks and boots. They are OFF at their work,