The National tribune., 1891-08-20
BEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD. ". D.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD. VI. D.
CXvIIL
BOG DAY BELrsIoN.

writer on medieval superstitons speaks Of
tho difficulty OF realizing the fact that only 800
years ago rational beings Of our own race could
abandon house 20 avoid visits from hays and
hobgOb.ins, or pay heavy sum5 for the exOr-
c!5m Of "a maievOiCut demon.
Bat even after pcrusiug q history Of witch
craft trials, 10 might Dee seriously questioned ID
the spoOk-creed Of the Middle ages caused halls
as much actual mischief as the sanitary dcIu-
sious Of our own times. Even in the palmiest
days Of tie Holy Iuqui,itiOn the number Of
victims to experimentation never exceeded the
five thousaadth part Of the total population,
while at least - per cent Of our cOutgmpOrJ-
TIes are suffering the fortunes Of Iarttru5
whenever the weather gets warm enough 20
enable the children Of nature 20 dispense with
artificial covering. Only twice in the his
tory Of the last 100 years the outdoor atmOs-
phere Of any part Of our National territory
became hot enough % eudauger tine life Jf a
lEht-dres5gd person. Once, in 1858. when a
veFitable siTOCcO scosched the Iowlauds Of New
Mexico and parts of southern California. and
again few weeks ago, when the fruits Of the
san Joaquin Valley were literally cooked ON
the trees and a little Indian boy in san Beg
nardin0 County tainted en- his way 70 a spring
hardly 1000 yards from the residence Of his
employer.
Such Grc-winds, however, are rarer than
70
sun5trOkes and Summer epidemics are caused
by our insane custom % aggravate the atII elton
OF "a sultry atmosphere by artificial means. We
read Of storms that knock down foot travellers
like nine-pius and mako t difficult for an in
valid 20 keep his clutch on an iron railing but
what should we think Of a maniac trying %
brave tornado after eHCEmberiug his shout
deTs with wigdsaifs or his hands with an open
umbrella? Yet on The hottest days in the year
e On tarEl.
ISL their organic ability Of resistance 20 atmos-
pheric hca. By loading themselves with super
tgDUS dry goods and swallowing large quanti-
ties Of caioridc viands and beverages
A person needs something warm at least
three times day" insists our hearsay-ridde8
friend
Needs it2 For WHAT"
"Well, for bis health and physical happiness.
In short, for his comfort
How DO you know2" would be a justified
question; have you ever tried q different
plan?'
III not, your uHdoUbted present discomfort
should make an experiment worth your while.
For a week in Midsummer try to get along
without heat producing food. Try a breakfast
OF fruit and biscuits; dinner Of cold milk light
bread and baked apples, and supper Of fruit and
batteF-cakes. II that menu should not seem
sufficiently nourishing it is surely because a
general revival Of physical energy has broken
the chronic languOr Of the digestive organs
and Ted 10 the uuwOHted experience Of healthy
appetite.
The Same with superhuous wearing apparel.
"Weariug-Ont apparel would be a more ap-
prOpr.ate name for the mass Of wool and linen
which, in Difference to the ukase Of Mrs. Grun-
dy. still aggrayites the heat Of the dog DAYS by
the retained warmth Of our own bodies. Here,
too, experiments would soon convince every
UnpTeiudiced observer that flannel underwear
becomes entirely dispeusible in warm weather
ard that sunstr0kes are not caused by the alb
sence Of artificial bead covers Our broad
brimmed hats are unknown in the very coun-
tries where human beings brave the heat of
tropical sun most successfully, and the import
alton Of the material for gossamer- muslin coats
has almost rccouciIed the IIindoos to the pres
cuce Of their British oppressors.
After delivering ourselves from the curse Of
ealorihc absurdities, We might 60 a little fur
Their and try the blessing OF positive rcfriger-
ants. Our reluctance in that respect is chiefly
an alter-e8ect Of the times when all natural
things were considered dangerous and the word
pleasant had become a synonym Of sinful. As
an amusing illustration Of that truth, we find
that the same nation who avoid a drink Of cold
spring-water in the heat with superstitious
dread have become passionately fond Of ice
water, aud that the prejudice against natural
"draught' has not prevented the success Of
numerous contrivances for the production of
artificial air currents Three different invent
Or5 have patented fIst-selIing automatic fans
for the moderation Of climatic purgatories. One
plan consists in driving ice-C0oled air-currents
through q system of pipes leading upward
through the floor of COncert-haiis, assembly
roOms, etc. Another is described as q 1O-inch
brass fan, rapidly revolving, and differing from
others in being portable and independent OF all
connection with electric wires, having q cell
battery Of its own that can be operated for 10
cents a day A better-knOWu apparatus con-
sists Of Paddle-wheel fans turned by means Of
electric motors or steam power and intended
to cool of establishments not warranting the
expense OF the frst-named method. In a large
gT0und-f floor restaurant / recently saw con-
trivauce of that sort revolving at the rate Of
- turns per second, and keeping up percepti-
bic current Of cool arr which by a series Of sim
liar fans was waited up from the basement be-
meath the eatiug-rOom lt answered its main
purpose; but the question remained why the
have objected to . current Of equally cool and
much purer air, carried by the winds of heaven
to the windows Of their own homes
After dark the contrast Of the outdoor and
iudoOr temperature often amounts TO a differ
euce of - degrees, and the admission of a little
cool air would be sufficient TO change misery
into comfort but the same bOardcrs who en-
a basement stored with damp vegetables and
stale vauds would stand aghast at the idea OF
exposing themselves 10 the dangers of the
night-air' In an attempt to trace that miser-
able superstition to an ineligible origin, a
German writer hits upon the following expla-
nation There are malariOus coast swamps
which can be approached by vessels anchOring
near an intervening sand-bar and loading all
their freight between morning and night In
daytime the sea wind protects the sailors from
the miasma of the neighhoring junges, but the
land wind, setting in after dark, might prove
fatal, unless 10 can be excluded by keeping the
matches of the dOrmitOries carefully closed. In
that way sailors, and by and by the inhabitants
OF terra frma, came 10 connect the idea Of dark
ness and liie-endangeriug air-eurrents, and
transfer it even 10 the wholly irrelevant case
of inland settlements, enjoying their purast
breezes between sunset and morning.
A similar association Of ideas might account
for the dread Of fruit in seasons of epidemic
feveTs. Yellow fever and cholera generally |