Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1907-12-05

preaching, says the London lancet,
and probably in no other depart
ment sartorial is there exhibited SO
much Indifference to hygienic consi-
derations. The greatest fallacy of
all. perhaps, in regard to the choice
OF an overcoat is that the terms
weight and warmth are synony-
nous. AS q matter OF TACT they are
nearlyalways diametrically opposed.
Heavy materials are often good con-
dnctors Of heat and are calculated
therefore TO allow tho heat OF the
body TO escape. while light mater
ials are bad conductors and so pre-
serve the heat and energies of the
body. Moreover, the heavy over.
coat is tax on the resources of the
organism and DESTROYS the economy
which good insulating cloth is in
tended to secure. Futher, heavy
material encourages an uncleanly
and unhealthy state of the body
chiefly by imprisoning the exha'a-
tion of the skin. That cloth is best.
therefore, which gives the minimum
of weight and the maximum of
warmth while being porous enough
to admit OF ventilation. 1t is not
generally realized that 10 protecting
the body from the dissipation OF its
own heat. g., from cold clothing
really serves as an economizer OF
fuel-that is. food. Could we accus-
tom ourselves to wearing no cloth
ing at all under cold climatic condi-
tions we should have to consume
much more food than we do in order
to compensate for the rapid loss of
heat which would happen if the body
were not wrapped in moo conducting
materials. This point needs to be
borne in mind by those who advo
cate the banishment of the overcoat.
II is, Of course, possible to dispense
with an overcoat, provided that the
clothes worn are particularly warm.
The overcoat, however, offers the
decided advantage :hat it can be
superimposed over a comparatively
light suit OF clothes aud thus while
|preventing the escape of heat Fro
vides also an air space between the
ordinary clothes and itself-an air
space which is open to ventilation.
There seems to be little doubt that
we'll chosen oyercoat surrounding
warm but light suit of clothes is
for the reasons just given much
more comfortable than a heavy suit
of clothes. There is another impor
tant point about the qualities of an
overcoat, and that is in regard to
the color Of the material. The
choice OF somber hue-black, dark
gray, dark brown, or dark blue is
totally opposed to scientific indica
tiOns. The polar bear is not provid
ed with black fur; if he we're he
would not be able to defy the cold
with that impunity which he does.
Light colored material, as a matter
of fact, does not so easily give up
its heat as does dark material, and
this would appear to teach that our
notions as to the suitability OF color
of garments for winter wear are lilo
gical. Fashion and custom bind us
hard and are seldom on all fours
with reasonable ideas. If he would
follow the dictates of science and
common sense, the purchaser OF win
ter clothing would choose, if he were
able to do SO, garments of light
rather than a dark hue. And why
should everyone be clothed in fun
ereal type of material just when win
ter sets in, when every effort is ne
cessary to compensate for the
dreariness and darkness ofits days?