Year: 1871

NEXT in importance to q thoroughly
clean skin is the preservation OF that organ
from the injurious action Of sudden
changes of temperature. OF all terrestrial
animals man is the most scantily supplied
with natural protection. The necessity for
artincially maintaining the animal tenn
perature is thus forcibly put by DR.. EyoIy
Kennedy:


"Strange as it may appear, clothes are
used equally in cold climates to retain the
natural heat, and in warm climates to
isolate the body from the surrounding
highly elevated atmosphere and burning
rays of the tropical sun"


Between the layers of clothes there are
strata of air kept at equal temperature,
which but slowly conduct alterations in it
from within or without; and as they are
confined by the dress they do not freely
allow of the admission of colder air. It
is for this reason that, in going from a
warm room into the cold, we should put
on our extra clothing some time previous
ly, so as to heat this protective stratum
of air, which is actually non-conductor.


Linen, which is so great favorite In
temperate climates, is an Objectionable ma
terial for dress, on account of its high con-
/ Quoting and radiating powers, in conse-
quence of which it feels cold and does not
| freely distribute heat. 1t is also attractive
of moisture, which it retains, and thus
keeps a damp instead of dry medium
around the skin.


In warm climates, cotton or thin woolens
are entirely substituted for linen garments,
and the only objection to them is their
rougher surface, which occasionally irri-
tates sensitive skin. Notwithstanding this
objection, which habit viii overcome,
there is no other medium so fitted for
variable climate as this, since it preserves
the warmth of the body during great cold,
and prevents the conduction Of intense
heat


When linen is put on a perspiring skin,
the moisture passes through 1t, and, evap-
Grating, still produces cold. Flannel, on
the contrary, absorbs the moisture and
gives out heat Its non-conducting power
is clearly useful on the cold wintry's day.
The wearing of flannel shirts, or those of
merino, which contains about one-third of
cotton, during the winter or summer, is so
usual in England as to realize BoerhaaYe's
maxim, that winter clothing should be
taken off at the end of midsummer's day
only to put it on the following morning.
Woolens, however, should be more fire.
quently washed, as they absorb so much
perspiration-


Since the more general adoption Of fan
mel underclething the number of deaths by
bronchial complaints is very much less
ened. John Hunters receipt for rearing
healthy children was "plenty of milk,
plenty of sleep, and plenty of flannel" 1t
has been stated on reliable authority that
wooden clothing is preventive of malaria.
Flannel drawers reaching high on the
abdomen, and long flannel shirt, so that
two layers may cover that region, are re-
garded as great safeguard against cholera


The color of the dress is important. This
was demonstrated by Benjamin Franklin.
He placed pieces IF various colored cloths
on the surface of snow, and found IN a
given time that the snow under the black
was most melted, that under the white the
least. From this can be judged the proper
shades for winter and summer wear.


Waterproof clothing, made, for IN
stance, of India-rubber, should be avoided
as checking perspiration. This is illus
trated by Breschet's experiment. He
shaved rabbits and coated them with I'M
permeable varnish, and found that they
perished in an hour or two of cold and suf-
location.


Competent authorities have suggested
that the reason gout so often attacks the
feet is that their natural cutaneous action
is impeded by the boot or shoe now In use,
stating also that among the Romans these
parts were less often affected, as the san
dals only partly covered them Such
covering for the foot, though not permis-
sible by the fashion of the day, is undoubt-
enly the most natural, as it will allow a
free perspiration for the foot, and render
frequent washing needful-


The Countess de Neville has lately writ
ten an able apology for Bare Feet" IN
which she contends that if the wretched
boots the poorer children wear were cast
away. the feet and ankles would become
stronger, would be kept cleaner, and there
would be much less liability to colds and
to illness among girls.


DIR. John Brown, the well-known author,
remarks that it is amazing the misery
the people of civilization endure IN and
from their shoes. Nobody is ever, as they
should be, comfortable at once IN them;
they hope in the long run, and after mucn
agony, and when they are nearly done, 70
make them fit, especially II they can get
them once well wet. Frederick the Great
kent an Aid,de-Camp to wear his shoes
till he could put them on, but he some
times wore them too long, and got kick
ing for his pains.


The souare-toed boot and those with the
inner edge straight, not curved inward, are
the most natural, as they allow the expan-
sion of the toes-a matter seldom allowed
for by boot-makers, especially as they
measure the foot when lifted from the
ground. Great comfort is often obtained
by having last carefully shaped for one
self. 1t IS said that the Duke of Yelling
ton, being questioned as to the most essen
tial requisite for a soldiers clothing, re-
piled, Il A good pair of shoes" What next2
"a spare pair Of good shoes; and even
thirdly, "a spare pair of soles." Most
men can speak with bitter recollections Of
a tight and ill-fitting boot; how completely
it has destroyed their pleasure IN the
brightest scenes of enjoyment, and how It
has unhinged them both mentally and
bodily.


We remark in conclusion, that N both
the extremes of life, when the heat-pro
ducing power is most feeble, additional
warm clothing is clearly demanded. 1t IS
the same with the young as with the old,
and it is pleasant to see this truth more
recognized than formerly in the fact that
children are not now left half dressed from
the erroneous notion of making them
hardy, or to follow the dictates OF an
arbitrary fashion.-Pr0teet0