Year: 1867




Improvement" at Cooper Institute
New York. These lectures are
amusing and instructive, and
should be heard by all who wish to
| preserve good health. The subject
Of the lecture on Saturday was
'SThe Skin and HAIR" which the
Doctor treated substantially as fol-
lows: There are 60O,0OO,OOO cells
in the lungs that, if spread out,
would cover a surface seven times
az large as the human body, and
| The membrane lining the intestinal
canal is three times as large
These two sympathize with one
another; a chill upon the outside
is reflected upon The inside, and
Group, dyptheria, lung fever, ETC.,
are the result. lndigestible food
irritating the stomach and mucus
coating will be reflected upon the
outside, and humors of various
kinds will be the result. All ladies
who would have fair skins can not
be too careful Of their digestion.
The skin has three layers-the
cuticle, the rete nucosum and the
cuttS rera. Flom the cuticle or
outside layer grows the hair The
hair is cylindrical, and is filled up
with pigments from the blood. If
the blood is poor the hair is liable
to come out. Good digestion is
necessary to a good growth of hair.
Hair comes out after fever be-
cause the blood is impoverished
Hair tonics will not restore the
hair. Cleanse the hair with the
white of an egg and water. Man
ipulate the head often to keep the
blood in the scalp. By no manner
of means should alkali be used for
The hair; soap should always be
avoided, as it eats the albumen
that composes the outer skim
Corns are cured by applying a salve
made OF equal parts Of shaving
from bar soap and powdered sal
soda. The second layer-the rete
nauco8umAis interesting as the
seat of the color of the skin. The
third layer is the true skin, and is
Fthereforei called the c,stis Gq'era.
When boiled it makes glue; when
tanned, leather. 1t is full of blood.
vessels, that if they were rolled into
a mass, would be larger than the
heart itself, and so full OF nerves,
that all put together would make
a mass larger than the brain.
Therefore the vast importance of
this organ, and hence the philoso-
ply OF external applications = as
steam, water, the human hand, &c.
Through all this network runs
perspiratory tubes, of which there
are over 100000, or 2S miles of
pores, through which pass five out
of seven pounds of all the impuri-
ties of the blood. If these are
closed, these impurities remain in
the blood, and break out in the
shape of pimples, humors, &C., on
the skin, or fasten upon the glands,
the lungs, and other internal or
gans. Hence the necessity of
bathing. All people ought to
bathe every morning, both for
health and cleanliness. There is
no occasion for giving children
cream of tartar or birthstone to
physic out the blood, if they are
kept clean. On the prominent
parts of the face, in the flexions of
the joints, in the arm-pits, &C., are
little oil wells called se6ac;ous
toUicles, which secrete from the
blood an oil with which to lubri-
cate these parts. If this is not
washed off it will become rancid.
concrete, and foul. Hence the de-
mand for perfumery. God made
man and woman for the sunlight.
Thousands of women are dying for
the want of this element. He
made them also for the air, and
therefore women o as we'll as men
should be in it most Of the time.-
We breathe one-eighth as much
through the skin as by the lungs !;
therefore the clothing should lie as
porous as possible, so as to admit
the atmospheric air to- the skin.
Clothing should be washed often,
and that used through the day
should not ibe5used in the night
time. Sleeping rooms should be
elevated, and exposed to the sun
light and air at least four OF five
hours in the morning. Sun baths
and air baths daily were advisable.
DR.. Franklin was in the habit of
taking an air bath when restless
at nights. These were advised, in