The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-05-05
Home Nursing
,Iimmy's Boncs--And Yours

sbtmnly'S B0ncS--Anu tOukS
When Jimmy Lee was ten years old
he told his parents he wanted to be a
doctor when he grew ups but father was
too busy just then to care very much
what Jimmy was when he grew up, and
his mother was an invalid. too Ill to be
bothered very much.
So Jimmy lived rather lonely life
until in school he began to study abont
the human body and to. understand,
to some degree, the mystery Of the great
est machine in the world--a human be-
ing.
Jimmy had always wondered in his
small, serious mind why, when people
broke their legs, they could ever walk
again. Neither his father or mother
had taken the time to explain satisfac-
torily. 's'asg
Then his teacher told him that when
bones were broken the doctor placed
the broken ends together by setting"
the bone, and held them in position with
bandages and splints. Jimmy learned
that nature at once came, to the rescue
and caused a liquid to form around the
broken ends and that this liquid grad
ually hardened and grew into true bony
structure. In this way broken bones,
if properly ''set,". or reduced as the
doctors say, win become as firmly united
and as strong as ever.
Jimmy learned that he had exactly
two hundred and four distinct bones
in his small body and the knowledge
made him gasp. He learned that some
bones, like those Of the skull and shout
der blade, were flat and broad. That
others like the bones of the arms and
| legs, were round and hollow.
A thin covering called the periosteum
surrounds each bone. 1t is composed of
two layers. The thin layer is essential
to the life of the bone and capable, in
case of injury, of helping to form new
bone material.
Then, too, Jimmy learned, that the
long bones and the spongy bones contain
ia yellowish substance called marrow,
which gives rise to the large number
of red corpuscles in the blood. !
Jimmy did not learn this all at once,
of course. But when he was a man he
had realized his ambition to, become a
doctor he's remembered how wonderful
the story Of his own bones had been to
him, and he never failed to pass the
story on to little people and big peo-
pie, too, who we2 interested.
If one understands about bones it is
much easier, to understand how they
heal when injured, and why one should
eat the right kind of food to make them
strong and straight.
The bones require q certain amount
of lime to keep them strong and straight.
So do the teeth. Thatais why every
child should be given food containing
mineral salts and lime. sss5
Correct posture, too, has great deal
to do with keeping the bones of the
body strong and straight.
The bones of infants and little chill
dren are very soft and plant, being
practically made of cartilage. Injuries
to the bones at this time Of life heal
quickly. But bad posture, incorrect
food and insufficient sunlight and fresh
air may cause a child to develop
ricketts," 5sG
To avoid ricketts, in infants, keep
them in the fresh air and sunshine and
don't feed them condensed milk or
patent foods if you can help it. They
contain too much starch, and sugar.
Beef tea, mutton broth; eggs, milk and
quantities of strained orange and to-
matO juice will help strengthen the
bones Of the growing child. Straight
bones depend upon proper care.
Don't cheat your child of a straight
body and normal bones.