Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-07-26

Inc warm season Is upon US again, bring
ing with it the old temptation 10 indulge in
our peculiar American drink, ice water.
Upon no other one of our characteristics
habits as a nation do foreigners comment
more wonderingly than upon our constant
and excessive devotion to this beverage
In no other country is it at all common and
visitors from abroad exhaust their vocabu
larry in expressing their amazement at the
amount of it we consume during the sum
mer months To one not accustomed to
the sight, it is certainly astonishing to no
tice the unfaling presence of the ice water
pitcher or cooler" any where and every.
where we go in this country. As the guest
enters the dining room of any of our great
hotels at meal time, he will find phalanx
of goblets ranged on every table, each filled
with Jumps of ice floating in water. In or
dering meal at restaurant, the waiter
first of all brings a huge tumber of ice
water, so that the guest may regale him
self Herewith while his meal is being pre-
pared In making a call, ice water is of
fered as a common refreshment and every
store, counting room, school and public
waiting room has tall vessel of tin or gal
vanized iron filled with the Indispensable
luxury to assuage the thirst of all who pass
by.
When we consider what physicians tell
us about the natural results of this PERM
cious habit of deluging the stomach with
this or any other chilling liquid at all times
and seasons, it is not remarkable that for
eigners hold up their hands in amazement
and wonder if Americans are a reasoning
people. 1t would seem as if it were suhi-
ciently apparent how much mischief must
ensue from such habit and that 1t would
be superfluous to argue against it. On the
contrary, the deleterious effect it must have
upon health is as calmly disregarded as if
the latter were blessing no one cared TO
enjoy, We hear constantly that our ma
tional disease of dyspepsia is but conse-
quence % this flood of ice water constantly
reducing the temperature of the stomach
below the natural degree we read of cases
where single 'draught, taken when the
body is very much heated, has produced
death and we know by experience the pc
culiar and uncomfortable sensation that of
ten follows drinking even a small quantity
and yet we go on handing it about on eve
ry side, Offering it to others and consuming
it ourselves, as If nothing more innocent
could be found to assuage thirst.
Fancy an animal invited to plunge his
nose into a bucket filled with Jumps of float
ing ice when his drinking hour had come.
What a protest there would be Imagine
a gourmet, who looks upon eating as "A sci
entfic pleasure, destroying the delicate fla
vors of his various dishes by chilling his
palate with great draughts of ice water
Consider how absolutely impossible the pro-
cess of digestion is without a certain de-
gree of heat. Think how unpleasant and
how dangerous a sudden plunge into an icy
pond or river is, and how uncomfortable it
is TO have an ice-cOld stream suddenly pour
ed on any part of the body. Why should
we require the stomach 10 endure it, or ex-
pect it to do so without most unhappy con
sequences
Children are constantly victims to this
unwholesome habit of drinking ice-cold wa
ter. How they will gather around the cool
err in the school room, and what quantities
they will consume when their faces are
flushed and their bodies at fever heat after
some lively game 1T tastes so good I"
Yes but how many things taste good that
should be left severely alone. There is no
occasion to drink tepd or lukewarm water.
Let it be of the temperature of the refresh
ing springs nature tucks away in woodland
hooks and rocky crannies One excellent
way of cooling water is to fill bottle and
place it on the ice. The temperature thus
obtained is thoroughly palatable and not
harmful. In some manner let us heed the
warnings given us on all sides, and abolish
our water of ice" Or at all events let us
remove it out of the way of the children
-NetU York Examiner.