Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-09-10
Our Girls.

| do not maintain that girls should live
quite like boys. They are to be the future
queens of our homes. and its proper for
them to live more hours in the house than
their brothers; but they go too far in this
divergence. If had dozen girls in my
family, and | am sorry have not, should
Try to keep the little ones, until six or
seven years old, in the open air as many
hours as did my boys. which would be
nearly all the time, weather permitting.
The reasons why girls ought to live out
of doors a great deal are these:
First. They get more and better air,
and consequently develop better lungs.
4 girl indoors inhales about half as much
as one outdoors In the house, doing or
binary work, she requires hourly 5000
cubic feet offresh air, but she hardly ever
gets over 1000 feet. Out of doors she can
get just as much as her lungs will hold
a million gallons, if she could hold so
much | doubt if girls know the real
value of good air When they breathe
good deal their life is vigorous and ener-
getic Birds living day and night in the
great outdoors have sound lungs, their
| lives are Joyous. They never get the
blues. Girls living indoors most of the
time become pale, feeble. dull, stupid,
have headaches, and become next to good
for nothing.
| Second Another reason for out-of-
door life is, they get the benefit OF the
sunshine. Girls differ from boys in their
ideas of light. Boys, as a rule, love the
| light Girls, as a rule, do not love it.
The reason is, they have been taught
from birth to keep out of the sunshine.
h,; oil than, r. c,Oilo thar
complexion. l have profound respect
for mothers, but they err in this matter.
The girls who live outdoors become
muscular, and learn how to use their mus
cles. They lose that fear that makes so
many of them scream at a mouse, and go
into fits il bug crawls upon their clothes.
was once teaching in school tor girls,
and great dog came bounding into the
room. Every pupil there but one was
badly frightened, and the running, scream
ing, and crying that prevailed tor mo-
ment was something painful. One girl
was not frightnned. She was a tom boy
who had lived out of doors a great deal
more than the others, and got physical
strength and courage from it. believe
if the dog had been mad, or il it had been
wild bull, she would not have WINGED.
Since then she has greatly distinguished
herself in the world.
How can girls get chance to live out
of doors more When they are little chill
dren their fathers and mothers must pro-
vide them with opportunities. This is
sacred duty of theirs which they should
no more omit than to provide them with
food and clothing. l have found that the
daughters of poor people get out of doors
more than the daughters of rich parents,
and that as consequence they are gener
ally healthier and stronger and often
more beautiful. After girls get larger,
they must go out of their own accord. and
seek out-ot- door sports suited to them,
and more can be invented. Archery
| is one OF them; rowing. riding,
skating, walking, are others. Then
there are out-ofdoor labors. There is
flower culture and gardening. Some
years ago published book called
The School Garden advocating that
every school should have piece of ground
where girls and boys could study horti-
culture and agriculture. l am sorry to
say the idea did not take well in this
country, but in France and Germany il
has become popular, and already they
have thousands OF school gardens where
the boys and girls work and get out Of
door life, even while at schoor. Botanic
ing. and all similar out-of door pursuits
should be encouraged. To study botany
geology. geography, mineralogy, and
natural history outdoors is worth million
times as much as to study them in books
In the house. What can you learn about
birds unless you go and live with them?
Our American girls should be trained
from infancy to out-of- door life. If they
do not begin early they will never learn
to love nature. be at home with trees,
birds. winds. storm and wave. and never
really krow their true mother-Na-
ture. Girls live out doors all you can.
Take your work out when the weather
will permit; learn some of the varieties of
out of-door work. all sorts of suitable out
of-door sport, and my word for it you will
be stronger. healthier. happier, and hand
somer.-C DR. Holbrook IN Dio Lewis'
| HonfblU