Evening journal., 1890-01-15
CLOTHING AND HEALTH.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE MATERIALS
FOR OUR GARMENTS.

rates and distinguishes man from other hv-
ing creatures At the same time it is neces-
sary for him to provide himself with some
artificial covering in place of the hair, fur,
feathers, or resisting epidermis which the
inferior animals possess as natural APP
bondage.
The Importance which attaches to this
hyper-external portion Of our bodies is not
of recent date.
Beginning with the story of our first par
ents, we find all through the Scriptures mem
ton made of the variousg garments Hnd adorn-
ments of the men and women who figure
there. The rainbow hued coat Of Joseph,
even the far from frivolous garb of John the
Baptist, have all been deemed worthy of
record in sacred history.
The fact is that our Clothes through asso-
citation, become part Of us, help to identify
us-even in some peculiar reactionary way
serve to gauge or control our mental states.
DRESSING APPROPRIATELY.
The felon feels degradation in his prison
stripes which he could never understand in
his ordinary dress.
The action Of q young lady who repudiated
a perfectly courteous assumption Of acquaint-
anceship upon the part Of gentleman, be-
cause she had "only met him in her bathing
suit, !" was grounded in true psychological
principle. She was not the same person in a
brine soaked apology for society garment
which she was in her conventional attire
Let the most brilliant gentleman in draw
ing room suddenly perceive that his boots are
muddy, or that his cravat is awry, and the
chances are that he will become awkward
and tongue tied.
In one of Lord Beaconsfeld's novels fash
ionable tailor is made to say: "You must
dress according TO your age, your pursuits,
your object in life. l am dressing two
brothers now, men of considerable position.
One is a man Of pleasure, the other will
probably be a minister of state They are
as like as two peas, but were to dress the
dandy and the minister the same it would be
bed taste; it would be ridiculous. No one
gives the trouble that Lord Byzantine does;
he has not decided whether he will be a great
poet OF prime minister. You must choose,
my lord / tell him 4 cannot send you out
looking like Lord Byron if you are to be a
Charming OF a Pitt" Lastly, he adds; "All
men should avoid the shabby genteel No
man eyer gets over it. You had better be
In rags"
That the great statesman had most vivid
comprehension Of the effect Of clothes, both
upon the wearer and the observer, is mani
fest, not only in the language OF his novel,
but In the extraordinary costumes he affected
dHring almost his whole life.
The materials chiefly utilized for clothing
are cotton and linen of the vegetable sub
stances; skins, hair, wool. silk, down, feath.
ers, Of the animal. Minerals, as metals,
glass and various stones, arc much used az
ornaments. Cotton, wool, Hnen and leather
are the most abundant and useful materials,
and they form the principal part Of the
clothing Of tho great mass Of the people.
Air is, as we all know, bad conductor Of
heat and Of electricity. So the warmth and
electricity Of the body are conserved by a
covering which contains much air in is
tibers Water, on the contrary, is a good
conductor Of heat and electricity, and just
to the degree that the air in the interstices Of
any material is displaced by water it becomes
vehicle for the rapid conduction Of thest
away from the body. Wooden holds a larger
quantity of air among its fbers, and will
transmit through them larger quantity Of
moisture without displacement Of the all
than any other material Silk stands next
in these respects Wooden clothing is espe
cially adapted TO the needs Of man.
EXCELLENT HINTS.
III a AnOioh anu AlhliLtdDAb tlluidl0 Ike
ours, where rheumatic affections, catarrhs
sensitive threats and bronchial tubes are SC
prevalent, an especial effort should be made
to maintain healthful equilibrium of the
temperature Of the skin To effect this
wooden or silk underclothes should be EN-
ployed summer and winter. Not patch Of
an undervest, covering neither chest, shoul
ders nor limbs, but a garment which viii
rlotha fhooo ne wall oo fl,, fYs,,,b
A lady with one thickness Of linen over hei
arms and shoulders will tell you that she il
half dead from the heat. The thermometer
stands at 90 degrees in the shade You place
your hand upon the perspiring skin; it Il
clammy and cold. A poor sufferer, her joint
swollen with rheumatism, said to me on
hot summers day: II perspire so, and suffer
50 terribly from the heat that it is as hard t.
bear as my illness" The touch Of her Skin
chilled me like wet ice. "You should veal
light wooden or silk garments next your skin,
l said; mo half way business, but all over
from neck to wrists and ankles" had hare
work to convince her that she would be mad
more instead OF less comfortable by doing a
advised, but finally succeeded, and will
the happiest results.
There is great variation In the amount O
clothing which different people require
Some seem to be almost insensible 90 cold
others, like poor Harry Gih, their teeth the,
chatter, chatter still Special direction
must. therefore, apply TO special cases, bu
certain broad rules can be laid down for all
Light wooden or silk underwear, suitable
for midsummer, is not warm enough 70
spring or fall wear; and for winter a still
heavier grade is needed. Partially worn win
ter garments can often be wisely utilized 70
intermediate service; otherwise new ones o
suitable thickness should be provided. Man,
persons make the mistake of wearing under
garments ia winter which are too thick
These arc likely to be all of wooden materia
which, very closely woven and very heav,
to begin with, has shrunk ia the washing
They impede the healthful interchange b.
tween the dir and the transpirations Of th
skin; the latter reabsorbs into the circulation
the poisonous matter which it has essayed 3
throw of; it exhales peculiar sickly odor
the cutaneous nerves lose tone and action
they convey their disturbed impressions +
the great centers, and all portions Of the nu
tritive and eliminative systems suffer in con
sonance.
! have seen the most depraved physica
conditions result from the wearing Of yer,
heavy, closely woven fiannels, which, after
few washings, had become almost imperviou
10 air aud moisture. York News.
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