Evening star., 1911-01-06

tn.
turn an empty fruit jar over It. At first
| 1t burns brightly. But the flame con-
sumes the oxygen In the air, just as
| breathing consumes it. and soon the
candle goes out. There is no oxygen
| left In the purnt-out air confined in the
| jar. Such air cannot support a flame,
and it will not support animal life. 1t
| makes the aIr of an unventilated room
| where persons have been breathing dan
| gerous to lite.
Air supports the life Of men and ami
mails because of the oxygen it contains
When too little oxygen is left, the breath
| ed air In rooms becomes deadly. Out
| door air is less likely to contain too little
| oxygen, or too much Of the waste mat
| ters given of from the lungs and the
| body. or frcm stoves, lamps and gas
burners.
| The more a child can be out-of-doors
| the better for health. But since school
| time, let outdoor air into the home and
! the schoolroum. to keep your children
healthy. If the child is warmly clothed,
, and does not sit or stand in a direct draft,
there is no danger from fresh air.
The best temperature for the living
room. or for q schoolroom. is from 66
degrees to 20 degrees Fahrenheit A
sleeping room may we'll be kept at a
lower temperature, 55 degrees Fahren-
heit. or below. There is in fact no
danger from a cold bedroom, If the child
is warmly covered; although in excessive
ly cold weather cap of some kind
should be worn to protect the head. To
get plenty OF fresh air, many safely sleep
out-of-doors on a porch" or have all
the windows of the bedroom open all
night, even in winter.
Cleanliness.
For the child's health, nothing is more
important than cleanliness. House flies
and mosquitoes are active agents in the
transmission Of disease. This is a well
known fact; and 1t Is earnestly recon-
mended that houses be carefully protected
against them.
The hands should be frequently washed,
to remove from them all impure matter
touched. The entire body should be care
fully bathed, as often as two or three
times a week, to remove the waste matter
constantly given off through the pores of
the skin. The waste matter from the
lungs can be best removed by frequent
exercises in deep breathing in the open
air.
Keep we'll ventilated the rooms in which
you live. Air which has been breathed Is
foul. and cleanly people should not take
it into the mouth and lungs. The removal
Of wastes by the kidneys is aided by
drinking water freely between meals. efhe
bowels should move properly every day.
If they habitually do not medical atten-
ton is needed.
Care Of the Teeth.
Every thoughtful parent knows how
painfully toothache intcrferes with the
child's happiness and ability to study.
Defective teeth not only cause toothache.
but by hindering thorough chewing Of the
food cause serious disorders of the stom-
ach, prevent healthy nutrition and cause
general ill health. The teeth should never
be used to crack nuts or to break any
hard substances.
Food should be as near the temperature
Of the body (9So) as possible; 49, is an
extreme low limit, and 12Oo an extreme
high limit for food and drinks. The teetn
should be carefully cleaned twice every
day-after breakfast and before going TO
bed. Use a good brush (bristles not too
close) and CASTLE soap, and occasionally
use powdered chalk or magnesia.
II the teeth are painful. or show evil
dence of decay or accumulation OF tar
tar. q dentist should be consulted. 1t
is wise to have the child's teeth ex-
amined twice q year, and as there are
free dental infirmaries at go III street
northwest, at 1893 H street northwest
and at Howard University, the question
of expense need not keep any parents
from having the teeth of child regularly
examined.
Care of the Eyes.
Over five in each hundred of our Wash
ington school children suffer from de-
fective eyesight. The proportion in
creases as the children go on In school.
The Swedish commission found an in
crease from q per cent Of near-sighted
pupils in the lowest classes. to over 81
per cent i'm the higher classes.
Defective eyesight handicaps the child
in his studies. and eye strain is the
cause of many kinds of headache, "rushes
or brood to the head" disorders Of the
stomach, and even of most serious ner-
vous and mental disorders. Defective
lighting should be avoided, in school
rooms and at home. There should be so
much natural light that the eyes need
not be strained, even on cloudy days.
Whenever the teacher or parent finds
that reading gives the child q headache
or pain in the eyes, and whenever there
is redness. Inflammation, pain. watering
or ''mattering" of the eyes, your physi-
clan should be consulted. Do not let your
childs eyesight be impaired or ruined for
life. for lack OF prompt attention to
trouble with the eyes.
Care Of Ears and Nose.
Keep the ears clean by the use of soft
cloths. Do not thrust any hard sub
stance into the ear in the effort to clean
it. II anything gets lodged in the ear
consult competent physician. Rude
attempts to get such substance out of
| the ear often destroy the child's hearing.
| Any discharge from the ear should
have prompt medical attention. Deaf
| ness may result, and deafness is a ter
rible Handicap in school and all
! through life.
The cold air is warmed for the lungs as
IT goes through the long passages of the
nostrils and the throat. In these pas
sages are thousands Of minute little
threads, called ''cilia" (like the tip-ends
of finest silk, moving ceaselessly like lit
| tie paddles). BY these and by the mu-
cous membrane in which they are set the
air is cleansed of dust.
| When the mouth Is constantly open
and ar is breathed through the mouth
the passages Of the throat and the lungs
get dry too quickly, and dust and other
impurities lodge in the lungs. Charles
Dickens over fifty years ago announced
| that there was a close relation between
breathing through the open mouth and
| ..backwardness" and delinquency"
| Nearly per cent Of our Washington
school children are "mouth-breathers.' .
| Unnatural growths in the space behind
the palate ("adenoids'D make it hard to
breathe through the nose as one ought
to breathe. Adenoids and enlarged ton
n yrII