The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-05-22
Written for THE NATIONAL TR1BuNE.l
HEALTH BINTS
For Old and Young.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD, NJ. D.,
Author of Physical Education: Household
Remedies"; THE Bible OF Nature" etc.
CHAPTER LXVIII.
POPULAR FALLAcTEs-(coutinued).

POPULAR FALLACIEs-( coutnued).
The fishermen nhabiting the shores of Lake
Balkai never ventured TO approach the center of
the Sacred Sea" as they call it, aud felt sure
that tho nero attempt would result in the i'm
mediate ruin OF the impious navigator, till one
day they saw Russian gunboat accomplish
| successful trip from shore TO shore.
short soiOurn in the land of our next
| neighbOrs Mexico and the Spanish West In
dies-generally proves equally effective in dis
pelling the delusion of the night-air supersti-
ton. In the course of the last ], 500 years
considerable portion of the Caucasian race has,
somehow or other, become afflicted with the
idea that about an hour after sunset the influ-
ence of the outdoor atmosphere becomes malign,
and that grioVous respiratory disorders and
other Affections can be avoided only by closing
doors and windows in time to exclude every
breath of the night-wind.
The origin of that superstition is one of the
most puzzling problems OF anthropolOgy In
the current form of the deusion it seems to
| imply that after dark the composition of the
outdoor air undergoes Mountaineering
change. But should not the common sense Of
any intelligent observer suffice to refute that
theory Are lambs, kids and young birds any
the worse for breathing that same air all nightP
are the young of our next relatives, the apes
and monkeys, in their airy trce-top roostsP
are miners III their threadbare tents, or sol
sunlight make the atmosphere unfit for res
piratory purposes? How, in that case, shall we
explain our survival in pitCh-dark bedrooms?
Is 1t the low temperature OF the night-Wind
that makes il so dangerous to human luugs2
What about the much colder air Of stormy
Winter days, which sailors, hunters and sleigh
riders manage to weather without any visible
dctriment to their respiratory organs.
1T is the C0ntrast-the sudden change
from warm sunshine to chill darkness" the
champions Of the strange delusion are apt to
say if cornered for a logical explanation. But
| In the tropics that contrast is much greater
| than anywhere in the higher ATTITUDES. An
hour after sunset the air Of the sweltcriug coast
forests of Brazil and southern Mexico has cooled
Off from % TO 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In the
! heart of the Great Desert, where the afternoon
| heat often rises to 1902 in the shade of a tent
! tho nights are sometimes positively chilly,
| and always cool enough to make mantles and
blankets Indispensable.
Forty minutes after tho sun had set like
ball of red hot Goals, says the traveller Brehm,
| "a cooling air-currcnt began to make itself
/ porceptible, and before long increased to the
/ strength aud the chiIlincss of a cold highland
| breeze. There were no hills far and near;
/ nothing but the wavc.like elevations produced
| by whirlwinds of sand aud the radiation
/ hypothesis alone can account for the sudden
| change Of temperature The superheated air
/ .
| OF the upper atmosphere descend in obedience
| to the law of grayitatiOn. The Arabs, however,
| do not trouble themselves about the meteoro.
! logical rationale of the pleasant phenomenon.
/ To them it is enough that the cool evening
wind announces the termination of their days
/ work. Their taskmaster, the glowing sun, has
| retired, and the taciturn suddenly become
| laxative; laughter and the sound of musical
! instruments become louder, aud the lung
| refreshing breeze seems to react on the agility
| OF gestieulating hands and dancing feet"
The same IN the lower ATTITUDES of our own
/ continent, Tho Giamsdas, or public parks of
! the Spanish American citicsn SAYS n modern
! traveller, arc almost abandoned during the
/ hottest hours of the afternoon. but about sun
set lce-eream vendors arrive with their portable
! c0nfectoneries, musicians tune up their iustTu-
.ments, troop after troop OF mounted pleasure
/ seekers gallop down the principal avenues and
| hall an hour later the whole park swarms with
| pt0menaders and romping children, enjoying
! the balmy night, with utter disregard of dew
| and damp grass. At halfpast ten, youngsters
/ OF eight or nine years eau still be met in beyics,
/ chasing lightning bugs or running races
/ through grass aud bush, and not only taking
/ care o.; themselves, but encouraging their still
4 younger paymatcs TO join in their sports and
avoid tho promenade roads, on account of the
thick clouds of tobaceo.smoke shrouding every
group OF adults. Nevertheless those young
| night-rcyelcrs are up with the sun, the cool of
the early morning being too precious TO be
| wasted in sleep, but they make up for short
rest by long siestas-an after-diuner nap of two
or three hours
For the latter purpose the residences Of we'll
! TODD Spanish families have special siesta- cor
neFs-shady hooks under tho vault of a portico
or under the canopy of verandn arbor but in
| Midsummer old and young assemble on the
platform OF the terada-a fiat roof surrounded
by iron ratings and protected against dew by a
| stout linen awning stretched between railing
posts or corniee ornaments, but always arranged
| In way 10 admit every draught OF stirring air,
| the pallets being spread with their head END
| TO letward, TO give the sleepers a chance to en-
joy the full benefit of the cooling breeze
Millions OF our countrymen would shudder
ut the mere proposition OF plan TO mitigate
the misery of our Midsummer nights in that
way, but IL is u curious fact that the logic of
necessity often leads 20 results which other
| arguments fail TO accomplish During one of
| the warmest Summers that ever visited the
Valley of the Ohio, the rapidly increasing NOR
! tality OF the larger cities WAS ascrbed TO cpl
| demc bowe-disorders. brain feyers, and even
10 the ineautious use OF Ice water" In one
large manu- featuring town business came almost
10 a staudstl, the heat having reached degree
that crowded the hospitals with sunstroke
patients aud dying children. From noon TO 3
| r. III. the streets were almost deserted, save by
ambulance wagons and messengers racing of in
thedireetion ofdrug- stores aud ice depots. After
dark. nevertheless, nine out OF ten windows
were Theoretically closed, u plurality of victims
evidently clinging To the hypothesis aseribng
their Fiction to atmospheric contagion, rather
than 10 the bake-0ven heat OF their tenements.
But when the temperature rose TO 100 degrees
in the shade. and children died by scores in
every down town street, the spell Of iniatuation
| was suddenly broken and at . p. II. of the
| hottest night hundreds of mothers were seen
to rush out Of their torture-d ens waiting and
sobbng, spread out the pallets of their dying
children fiat on the cool pavement of the side
walks, and with restless fans encourage the
breath of the life-savng nightwind.
Ii might. indeed. be questioned if any COM
| bination OF social and political reforms could
| equal the beneficial effect OF u sanitary revival
| persuasive enough 10 deliver a plurality Of our
fellow. men from tho curse of the night.air
| superstition.
ITO Dc continaed)
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