The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-07
of
sIeepdne Ont of noors.


 A New York hotel has recently built several sleeping apartments on its roof. These bed rooms have plank coverings with canvas flies over them, and sides of fine screen wire. Inside the screen are curtains and outside Venetian blinds, so that, when desired, the light. wind and rain may be shut out. Sleeping hammocks and hot and cold water are provided for the occu- pants. This is a desirable innovation, and is in line with the constantly in creasing desire of city people to. get more fresh air. While the roofs of many hotels and theatres have been utilized for gardens and restaurants, these are used only in the Summer. Millions of acres of roof space in the big cities of America are going to waste, when they might be made real health and recreation cenfers for a vast multitude of people. Roof sleep ing apartments are a good idea, and roof gymnasiums. bowling alleys and billiard halls would fill a long felt want" This is no mere theory with me, for have the only roof gymnasium in New York, on the top of an eigh- teen story building. A part of the roof space is enclosed, with dressing rooms, baths, massage rooms. and a large space for exercising. Outside, in the open, with the sky for a canopy, the roof affords an ideal place for all sorts of exercise, including running, bag punching, boxing, etc. Every. city should have such a gym" Bowling has been denounced by some athletic authorities as afording an unequal and on-sided development, and to a certain extent this is true. The main objection to bowling, however,sis that the alleys are so often located in a poorly ventilated building. The play CTS breathe deeply of stale and to- bacco-1aden air, and as a result bowl ing is often worse than no exercise -t all The same criticism may often be applied to billiards. Bowling alleys and bi1Ifard par1ors should be built on roofs, so arranged that protection may be afforded when necessary against ex- treme cold or heat and rain or snow. The failure to utilize roofs in an economic waste. as well as waste of opportunity to provide the masses with exercise. recreation and sport under ideal conditions
 s Advice From Switzerland.
 We get many good things from Switzerland. cheese, walters and hotel Keepers among them, and we have al- so received some good advice from that, little mountain country. Dr. Paul Ritter, Minister from Switzerland to the United States, recently declared to a correspond Americans would not nave 10 pay SuCn heaVy rOllS In HI health and consequent doctors bills if they only take up some of the Win ter sports that are so popular among the-people of Switzerland I am going to do all I can.'' the Minister added, ito get Americans, who are really the most athletic people in the world at times, to take an interest in our spoFts.s, pr. Ritter was right when he described Americans as .the most ath- Ietic people in the world at times''- with the accent on ..at times Cana dians have a wide variety of Winter sports suited to their climate. and are much less open to criticism on this score than the people of the United Statesy most of whom crawl into. their holes and pull the holes in after them at the conclusfon of the football sea son, and take little active interest in athletics until the umpire calls Play bal1' in the spring The manufactur- CTS of patent medicines for that tired feeling. which is rea1lyzdue to an ac- cumuiation Of poisons in the system due to physical inactivity in the Win ter, would have to go out of business if Americans could only be convinced that athletics and gymnastics are even more necessary in the Winter than in the Summer.