Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-24
SPENDING THE SUMMER IN THF. CITY
ny FREDERIC j. HAskIN

BY FREDERI
WASHINGTON. u. c.. June 22-Now
that summer is here much advice is
forthcoming on how to spend a yaca-
ton. Railroad pamphlets containing
glowing accounts OF excursions clutter
UP the morning mail; every street car
carries the picturesque advertisements
or ocean summer resorts. our friends
try TO persuade US To visit "A certain
unepualcd lake OF their acquaintance
ana stu others urge us to camp In
the mountains. Everybody is excited
ana concerned over the fortunate indi-
"idua! who is going away. bu, no one
seems 10 care what happens TO the
man who spends his entire summer in
the city. There are. OF course a few
interested exceptions, such as the pro-
prietors of roof gardens. soda fountains
and outdoor motion picture thcaters
but for the most part staying in the
city is an transformations sport un-
attended by press notices and the
mania for sending picture post cards
Time was not very many years
ago when il was considered "A dis
grace TO spend the summer In town
and many and weird are the storie.
of families, who. supposed TO be in
Narragansett Saratoga. actually
lived quietly in the backs OF their
houses. stealing out only under cover
OF darkness. City streets in those days
presented rows upon rows OF silent
closed houses as bleak and l!felcss a Is
caiacomhs. Now city life in the sum
mcr is not such a daring breach OF
custom and is far from intolerahlc
AS the sumemr vacationists nock out
new contingent of sirht-scers comes
20 take their places. and although
sightseeing under tho best Of circum-
stances is fatisuinS experience, the
do M. 10 f,.i la
tional burden OF the heat. The sum
mer school also has served to bring
about "A change in the popu!a: attitude
toward summer spcn; in The city.
school Work in Summer.
II is a we!l-kuown scientific fact
that q! the two extremes in tampera-
ture. excessive cold is harder on the
constitution, yet school children WORK
ceasclessly through the coolest month
Of January, when il Is considered Grim
inal to keep them in school in July.
school authorities have At last come
to the conclusion that children are
ruite capEbl.. Of assimilat!ng good
deal OF Knowledge in the summer, and
in most cities schools are now provided
10 teach children many subjects. such
as basketry and ar, work, not liz!
cluded In the winter curriculum :"
fast has the summcv-cducation idea
spread that the large colleges Of tho
summer natriculation as in the win
ter. When the colleges happen TO be
in larger cities, such as Nv York and
Chicago. to the students the city factor
seems TO be rather an advantage than
4 disadvantage.
The home in the city nowadays gem
orally possesses at least two small cleo
trio fans. and an automobile or "a motor
boat. and these features go far toward
making summer tolerable. Everybody
knows that il Is the humidity in the
air that has the facilitating effect, and
the only way to combat humidity is
TO keep the air in circulation. and
thereby constantly evaporatinG. Not
only does the air humidity affect us,
but the humidity given off by the body
on a hot. still day forms a sort OF
blanket over us and makes 1t difficult
even to pretend TO be energetic. Thus
it has been noted by many people that
on n particularly sultry day II is just
as hot, If not hotter. sitting still than
it is moving about This is because
the air pressure in moving about dis
turbs the blanket of humidity sur
rounding the body. SO with fans con-
stantly disturbing the atmosphere,
room may he kept at comfortable
n temperature in New York as in New
port.
This humidity theory was tried out
some years ago on monkeys in the
tropics to determine the exact cause
Of sunstroke. In the first experiment.
a monkey was completely exposed TO
the sun and died in half an hour. Next
the body Of a monkey was exposed to
the sun. but the head was well covered
and the monkey again died in half an
hour. The monkeys body was put in
n long box in which fans kept a cur
rent of cool. dry air in circulation. hut
his head was exposed 10 the direct
rays Of the sun. Under these circum-
stances the monkey lived for an in
definite period. The conclusion OBJ
tanned from these experiments was that
i'm the first and second instances the
Humidity of the monkeys body. and
not the sun. had stined him. For this
reason il is decided that violent cXcr.
else on hot summer day is weaken
ing. because il increases the humidity
Of the body but, on the other hand. a
slow. moderate walk should prove very
beneficial
How to Keep Cool.
The problem of keeping cool in sum
mer. whether in n metropolis or forest
is serious one, and should receive u
lot more attention than Il does II has
Just been within the past few years
that cooling apparatus has been IN
stalled in hospitals and factories and
the suggestion Of a cooling RyRtcuI
as we'll az heating sysicm IN the
average house is still rejected ny alb
surd. Yet IL people can afford TO pay
for coal and gasoline. they can cor
tain!y buy ammonia, and especially
where there arc young children and
babies 1t should be mado criminal