Year: 1879

bread and fat or butter, nor Will ne
neglect the vegetables like tomatoes,
lettuce, watercress and an occasional
potato, for these last supply certain salts
derived from the earth, necessary for
the publication Of the blood while a
surplus of albuminous food, while it will
serve the purposes of keeping him warm
and active, throws upon the kidneys
great deal more than their share OF
work, and therefore tends to weaken
them, and through them the whole
system. So much for preparatory diet.


NOW FOR EXERCISE


necessary to keep the muscles in proper
condition and work off the food which
supplies muscular energy.


Obviously that form or exercise which
attacks the largest number of muscles Is
the most desirable. But, before pro-
ceeding to discuss the forms of exercise
most profitable, a word should be said
as to the effect of exercise. Most i'm
portant are the effects upon the heart
and lungs and their subsidiary agents
The system requires that great deal Of
oxygen should be taken into the lungs
and thus to the blood, in order first to
burn up the carbon and supply heat, land
to carry off the carbOnic acid formed by
this combustion. Free, full and copiOus
respiration is needed; and exercise, by
increasing the rapidity Of the circula-
ton, increases prOpOrtiOnately the
amount of air respired. Thus exercise
serves to purify the blood Of carbOnic
acid as we'll as to supply the proper heat
for the body. So long as the power of
maintaining strong and rapid respira-
ton continues, sufficient oxygen is
drawn into the body, and sufficient car
bonic acid is drawn out, but when this
power fails the carbonic acid accumu-
lates in the blood and produces
breathlessness. This is brought about
mechanically. The blood vessels which
convey the blood through the lungs are
choked up, having more blood forced
into them than they can carry; the
blood accumulates in the right side of
the heart and impure blood, laden with
carbonic acid, is pumped back into the
system. Still another danger arises
from too violent exercise before the ar
teries learn to accommodate themselves
to the increased demand upon them,
and that is dilation Of the cavities,
which give way before the strain and in
duce chronic disease. Hence, when
persons of sedentary pursuits take sud
den and violent exercise they endanger
their health in very serious degree,
Those who begin to mend their lazy
habits must do so slowly, gradually ac-
customing the arteries to do more work,
and thus preventing heart disease. No
man who has worked like machine for
years is in a condition to run any dis
tance at full speed and should not at
tempt it. His exercise should be con-
fined to a brisk walk to begin with, and
he should avoid any thing like serious
condition of breathlessness. After the
proper condition is arrived at, his di-
gestive system will be enormously i'm
proved, and his whole body will begin
to glow with health and animation.


EXERCISE FOR CHILDREN.


Exercise is instructive with children,
and should be encouraged. Children,
when they have reached the age of three
years, should be allowed to play as
much as they like, and the hoops and
balls, for which they have an instructive
partiality, are better than any gymnastic
course they can 60 through. The Ger
man system of gymnasia for boys is not
advocated in the volume before us. The
games which boys also take to are the
most beneficial exercise that can be
found for them. Swimming, for in
stance, judiciously allowed, exercises in
profitable degree all the muscles of
the body, and like football, shinny,
leaping, running, wrestling, boxing, etc,
are better than any thing of an artificial
character. The gymnasium is all very
well in its way, but the game is very


ch better.


There is one subject which the Scen-
entifc gentlemen who are publishing
the health primers lay great stress upon,
and that is the injury done to young
lads by the athletic contests which have,
during the past twenty years, found so
much favor in the English public
schools. A table of growth, based upon
a careful observation of 1865 boys of
ages ranging from l3 to Il, shows that
the development of the human male
body is greatest between 10 and Il,
reaching its maximum at about the 10th
year. Thus the period of boys life
between 16 and Il becomes one Of great
consequence to him, and if he be at such
a season subject to great strain-as he
undoubtedly is, both Intellectually and
physically, where atlethic contests are
encouraged-his development must suf-
fer, and either his future growth will
be interfered with or the foundation will
be laid of constitutional disease.