The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-01-13
The Southeast Wind.

We New Englanders are used to hav.
ing our climate criticised, not to say
slandered. We know that it is coquet-
tish, as changeable as girl in her teens
and with a highly respectable compass
of possible variations. Nautical wealth
erwise, hardened to crude comments
from unappreciative outsiders, we 60
our way and make the best of what we
cannot help.
! At the same time, in our innermost
souls we realize that few non natives
hit the point of the real badness of our
climate. Not the rawness of our ia
nous Worcester; not the autumnal
gales, with their occasional fury and
damage; not the spells of below zero
weather in winter. whether or not ac-
cornpanied with a high northwest wind;
nor even the trying sudden changes in
temperature; not one of these we'll
known traits is the one peculiarly dan
gerous element in our notorious climate,
but the southeast windthat sickish,
warnish, damp, germ breeding, heavy,
depressing and treaeherous wind which
is quite prevalent in all seasons here.
II may range from south to southeast,
if one is to be exact, but in rough
way it is southeasterly. In the sum
mer its humidity makes us term the
weather dog day weather, when it Wis
its us with its "heat" prostrations in
the earlier summer, and its intestinal
ailments accompaniment in late sum
mer, when the house dampness it causes
ought to be counteracted by occasional
f,,r A,,A 80, ,x,sxa -
are even worse.
Watch those cases of pneumonia, in
fluenza, bronchial colds, angina pectoris,
neuralgia, and other allied diseases,
which you happen personally TO know
of, and you will find that in an aston
ishng number OF instances the inception
of the disease came with the southeast
wind. So also with relapses in appar-
emily convalescent cases of the same
disease. Many people, for example, never
seem to catch grippe" except in sea-
sons of melting snow Whether or not |
snow in that form is particularly good |
germ breeder we shall not pretend to |
say, for certainly there is no dust about |
Ii; but when snow melts the wind is |
usually southerly or southeasterly,I
bringing accumulated dampness with it
rs well as the warmth that helps to
melt the snow. And, snow or no snow,
he effect of this wind is the same upon
he skin. One goes into a store, an of
ice, telephone booth, or any similar
y close place from the street; he is
yarbed as for out-of doors, and in GER
ain kinds of weather may not get any
ll-effects from a few minutes stay in
he stuffy or warm places. But in south
'asterly weather he is almost sure to
merge in a perspiration, subjecting him
o numerous ehills as he goes about. Or
me lies down in a moderately cool room
N such a day, after even slight exer-
Use; and the result is similar If one
appens to be little tired or little
rundown, so slight thing as these un.
ygienie conditions may prove the prox.
mate cause of serious illness.
The germs are in some degree always
nth us Nor can we Danish that south
asst wind, slow as fate and as fateful
a many cases. But the combination
re can to some extent counteract, if |
-e care 10 take notice in time. and to
lstitute extra precautions. Aside from
his curse, our climate is mot so worse"
fter all. At least our ancestors did not
nd il so; else we shouldn't be here 10
iscuss it.-Boston Transcript. III