The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1916-08-24
HOW YOU MAY
BE COMFORTABLY
IN THE SUMMER
Heat of the Season Not Such a
Serious Matter in
Florida
CAUSES DEATH ELSEWHERE
In this State the Matter of Being
Comfortable is the Weightiest
Problem to be Considered in. so
Far as the. Weather Conditions
are of Concern


are of Concern
It's a problem not confined to
the people of Florida, for to the
citizens of the Peninsula State,
the heat of the summer is not so
serious a matter as it is in that
tier of states just north of the al
most forgotten Mason and Dixon
Line. In those less favored COM
munitieS it sometimes becomes a
matter of life and death. In Flor
ida it is merely a question of in
convenience. During the present
season almost two hundred deaths
were occasioned by high tempera-
lures in one "hot spell" in Chica-
go, more than have occurred from
the same cause in Florida, in
twenty or fifty years, probably
more than during the entire his
tory of the state.
And so in this far southern part
of the United States, the heat of
the summer months is not a thing
to be worried about, for it is not
dangerous to human life or health,
and the matter of being comfort
able is the weightiest problem to
be considered in connection with
the weather.
The normal temperature of the
human body is 98.6 degrees, sum-
mer and winter, and the work of
the body is to maintain this de-
gree as closely as possible. The
natural variations from it are
slight and depend mainly upon in
dividual peculiarities, upon the
hour of day or night, the effects of
eating and drinking and a few
other more or less indefinite
causes, but any marked variations
from it are likely to be followed
by serious results.
Personal comfort depends much.I
upon the rapidity of evaporation
of natural moisture from the sur
face of the skin. Such evapora-
tion is slow if the surrounding air
is charged with humidity, If the
atmosphere is dry, perspiration is
absorbed more quickly from the
skin with corresponding increase
of comfort. The draft from a rap
idly moving electric fan is reviv-
ing because it removes the surface |
moisture, replacing it with drier
air, even though it does not reduce |
the temperature of the atmos-
phere.
The matter of personal comfort, |
therefore, depends largely upon
the kind and weight of clothing
and whether the fabric has the
tendency to promote the proper
and normal evaporation Of sur
face moisture, or to retard it. Il
is essential that the clothing shall
be of such material as to permit
as nearly as possible such normal
evaporation, and this brings up
the question of clothing fabrics
best adapted to warm climates.
Cotton and linen~are best be-
cause the heat and moisture of the
body more easily pass through
them to the outer air, In colder
weather, because of this same de-
gree of conductivity, they are poor
for they admit the cold
cr air from the outside. These
fabrics lose absorbed moisture
quickly by evaporation; that is,
they dry quickly. Wool and silk
absorb moisture less quickly and
they give it off, or dry more slow
Iy
The conclusion follows that cot
ton and linen are best adapted to
summer wear in southern climat-
rs, and that as few layers of these !
materials as are necessary, should
worn, to secure the greatest de-
gree of comfort through evapora- 8
ton of the surface moisture of the :
skin.
Summer diet-the kind and {
luantity Of food and drink has :
much, very much, to do with bod ,
lv comfort. Some foods are heat
producers, that is what they are
or. You don't need as much heat
n summer as you do Tor think you '
lo) in winter. Eat fruits and
vegetables in preference and don't q
make experiments with your diet c
II summer. If you want to take a