The National tribune., 1891-11-19
For Old and Young.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD. II. u.
CHAPTER CXXIII.
cry CHILDREN.

Alps, ana IN nine out OF ten cases the complaints
of city children could be cured without drugs
/ by mere change OF occupation and diet
Can you suggest any home remedy for
chronic catarrh?" writes one Of my city cor
respondents The patient is a little girl Of nine
/ years. For her age she is considered unusually
bright, has gone to school for the last IS months
/ and Is making satisfactory progress, being fond
| OF working out her lessons at home, and with
out assistance. Her appetite is good, but for
/ about year and a quarter she has been troubled
with hacking cough that does not seem 10 I'M
| prove with the return Of warm weather. We
| have tried all sorts of cough remedies without
positive benefit. Our house is not in the crowd
/ ed part Of the town aud our rooms are airy and
/ well ventilated. Do you think that mental
overwork can have anything to do with affect
/ ing the child's health? She has never been
very strong, but did not complain Of sore throat
and pains IN the chest before VIC sent her to
school. Or would you recommend change Of
/ climato?"
Mental overwork may interfere with a child's
digestion, but must be carried 10 great length
before IL could undermine the constitution suf-
heiently TO affect the lungs. Nevertheless. il is
more than probable that attendance at school
has something to do with the cause oE the girls
condition. Weak lungs are almost sure to DO
iTrItated by the atmosphere Of a crowded
schOol-TOOm, and by way Of experiment it can
do no harm 10 limit the child's lessons 10 home
studies for year or two. Let her meet her
playmates outdoors, give her all the open-air
exercise offered by the opportunities Of the
household arrangements, but as far as possible
keep her out of crowded shops, meeting houses,
and street ears. Let her sleep alone for awhile,
or make her bed-chamber the arrest and coolest
room in the house. Let her beware OF irrita-
ting beverages tea and coffee; also Of hot spices
ard pickles. Substitute milk and sOft-bOiled
eggs for meat. Just before bed time let her
take few spOOnfuls of simple strip; j. e., white
sugar dissolved in water and boiled down 20
the consistency Of honey. DO not be afraid of
trusting her outdoors on damp or moderately
cold days. A days exposure to wind and
weather las long as the feet are kept dry and
the clothing changed on returning homel will
not hurt weak lungs half as much as a few
hours confinement in an atmosphere poisoned
by the breath Of coughing and snutiliug school
mates.
friend with a houseful of girls aud one
boy Of ten, asks for gluttony cure. This
boys health and mental disposition IS impaired
by habitual Oyer-eatiHg. IL cannot be a heredi-
tary vice, for both the father and mother are
moderate eaters; their girls. like all children,
are very fond Of sweetmeats. but rarely hurt
themselves by excess, while their brother will
cram himself with stale biscuits, and barter his
pOcket-kHife and sfIte pencils for a share Of his
schOolmate's lunch. lie comes home for dinner
I hthoulH q llbEIaA Idllbu w q lew minutes anu
never refuses an extra plate; would keep eat
ing for an hour if INDUCED. but for all that
seems TO rise with an unappeased appetite. Is
sent to bed early after q ght supper TO give his
stomach q chance TO rest, and needs watching
to prevent him from paying midnight visits to
the pantry. In spite Of all vigilance finds OPP
portunities to overload his digestive apparatus
in a way that evidently reacts on his brain,
making him drOwsy and disinelined to mental
effort.
The circumstance that the youngster has no
brother and no regular playmates justifes the
suspicion that his penchant is aggravated by a
| lack Of diyerting pastimes. Try 10 get him in
terested in outdoor games; teach him skating Ia
passion for that exercise being pretty sure fol-
+ low; get him a butterfly catcher and set him
/ mp ia the business Of collecting butterflies and
beetles or sea shells since his home is only six
miles from q shell-beach. A penchant for gIut-
tOny-stupefyiBg quantities Of iOOd-as for be-
| fuddiing drink. is often caused by the desire to
paliate the misery Of duh times. A prison
superintendent once told me that experience
had convinced him Of the curious fact that his
Jail. ate more If they had less work to do.
Owing 10 q quarrel with the contractor, the
prison workshops were closed altogether for
nearly six months, and during that half
year Of idleness the appetite Of the prisoners
became almost unappeasable. COnvicts work
ing outside of their cells intrigued with the
cook for an extra supply Of cOmestibles to sat
isfy the appeals OF their cagcd-up comrades,
and the dinner and supper plates, formerly left
laden with remnants, were now almost inVari-
ably returned empty. Tho prison doctor ac-
counted for the paradox by an ugly theory Of
his own, but the true explanation was probably
the simple fact that the men ate all they could
get TO while time away. At the request Of the
Chaplain they had all been provided with books
| books Of their own choice mostly-but the
trouble is that with men OF their class reading is
| often task rather than pastime. In children q
tendency to oyer-eating can generally be mod
| Grated by forcing the little glutton TO masticlte
| his food slowly and thoroughly. Amateur far
/ mcrs are apt TO be puzzled by the fact that
very old horse, even if eating the bread Of idle
| ness or reserved for occasional light Jobs. will
/ devour quantity Of food sufficient to satisfy
/ tho appetite Of two handwriting younger
\ horses. The key 10 the enigma can be found
| in the worn-out masticating apparatus of the
/ old nag-the inability TO chew its food well
/ Obliging il To swallow its half-ehewed fodder
t in extra large quantities. Baron RumOhr q
/ German scientist and educational refOrmer
! and withal something Of a wag, once offered the
/ Bayariau Government plan that would enable
/ them to reduce the expenses Of their army
/ commssary department one half On being
/ requested To specify his project, he avised the
I military authorities 10 give their soldiers more
/ time for meals, and instruct them to masticate
| their ratiOns slowly instead of swallowing them
\ like grist-mill hoppcrs. III eaten in that way"
/ he concluded. eight ounces of bread will
/ prove more uutritive than IL ounces deyoured
| on the hopper plan"
/ Another correspondent is disquieted about
| the tardy growth Of his boy. "One Of his
/ younger brothers." he writes, is on the point
| OF Outgrowing him, and he is at least three
| inches below the average stature of boys Of his
/ age. Intellectually he is by no means behind
/ his years, nor in mechanical attainments; he
/ can make or mend a wheelbarrOw rig out q
4 saiboat but at his present age Us years. is
/ still lacking an inch and a-half to FIVE feet"
Slow growth does not necessarily indicate a
/ constitutional defect. The opposite extreme is
much more apt to justify misgiyIngs. Many
/ boys Of this country outgrow their own parents /;
sons of squat old country squires shoot up TO
six feet in the atmosphere Of our Western
prairie States, before the completion of their
10th year, and few years after acquire 4 stoop-
/ ing gait aud become subject to pulmonary COM
plants. Gradual growth, on the other hand,
is often promise of longevity. / have known
| boys TO remain half foot below the average up
! TO IL years. but make up for lost time between
Is aud "a. One inexpensive household remedy