The Washington critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1885-1888, 1885-08-17
NEW tBEJS dBOUr DBEsS
white Best for winter aud Bi.ris
for summer.

for summer.
I'm recent article published In the
...u Orleans Medical and Surgical
tal, DR. Thomas Herbert points
'vNT what he believes to be a serious
popular failaCy concerning summer
wearing apparel "Wc have been
taught hc says, Chat white bodies
reflected heat and dark ones absorbed
il. We saw for ourselves that snow
melted much faster under dark cloth
than II did under white fabric The
inference was that we should wear white
cloth In summer. because IL absOrbs
less and reflects more aud dark cloth
i'm winter for the opposite reasons. This
Is nm error which has grown into
pernicious habit The temperature
of the body, as taken by the thcrmOme-
ter is about $50. This would make
the blood temperature 1902, probably
more. Now, the general blood tenn
porature is much ON parallel with the
outside atmospheric temperature dur
ing the greater portion OF the summer,
with tendency to be higher, even in
the rcpOse of the body, and this ten
dcncy is much increased by exercise.
In the sun, however, the thermometer
may llIlNlfl WV W llp anu lL lllt
hottest period Of the day may give 1922
or 1889 in the shade. Then the out.
side heat may be greater than that of
the human body in reposc. But at
other periods Of the day the tempera-
turc is notably less, while our own heat
tends TO remain permanently at the
same degree. In short, during the
greater portion OF the day, even in the
hottest summer, the body temperature in
some of our organs at least is above the
surrounding temperature. These re
marks do not apply to the few people
who work In the sun, but to the great
proportion who labor in the shade EX-
ercisc may bring the blood to fever
heat.
Leaving aside any consideration of
our exterior apparel, we will say that
most of us, during this exercise, wear
white stuifs next TO the skin. Yet such
garments will reflect heat from our
bodies more when the temperature out
side is greater than it is inside of them,
and to our bodies more when the eX.
cess of temperature is in the blood. In
the vast majority of cases, therefore,
we put on such garments preferably in
summer when they generally serve rs
retainers of heat. In outer clothing
we make another error in wearing
fabrics which do not absorb moisture
readily and tend to keep stratum of
air saturated with it over the skin, thus
preventing evaporation, and conse-
quently refrigeration. Besides, what
retains moisture retains heat and
what retains both is, 50 far,
doubly injurious. This is Just
the way white linen clothes operate.
There are men who cannot be made to
wear, in the heat of the sun, anything
lighter in weight or color than n dark
hued flannel shirt. Negroes black as
Erebus split wood standing naked be-
meath the copper sky. They do not
complain, In winter nature wears
mantle Of spotless white. White re
tains heat. Who ever saw Il black
polar bear? But the human creature
has on garment that is dark k-colored,
and absorbs heat. The atmosphere
around him, which may be below zero,
will wrench the heat from his blood
and organs which may be above 1902
in temperature. His vital furnace is
set a-roaring to supply the loss. EX-
baustion of fuel occurs, and he is
chilled to the core. Then fever sets in,
and by the same law of equilibrium,
the overtaXed organs make a tremend-
Gus effort to remedy the trouble by re-
action"