IDLE FOLKS TAKE THE MOST PAINS.

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brace and strengthen the body, we are most accustomed to. Any unusual one may be attended with a contrary effect. 1646. EXERCISE SHOULD BE BEGUN and finished gradually, never abruptly. 1647. EXERCISE IN THE OPEN AIR has many advantages over that used within doors.

1648. TO CONTINUE EXERCISE Until a profuse perspiration or a great degree of weariness takes place, is far from being wholesome.

drawer, then another, for possibly ove or collar-wait for shoes being ined, &c.—and this when (probably) out-going persons have to return their employment at a given time. hereas, if all were in readiness, the parations might be accomplished in ew minutes, the walk not being curled by unnecessary delays. 1640. THREE PRINCIPAL POINTS I the manner of taking exercise are cessary to be attended to:-i. The nd of exercise. ii. The proper time 1649. IN THE FORENOON, when the r exercise. iii. The duration of it. stomach is not too much distended, ith respect to the kinds of exercise, muscular motion is both agreeable and e various species of it may be divided healthful; it strengthens digestion, and to active and passive. Among the heats the body less than with a full rst, which admit of being considerably stomach; and a good appetite after it Eversified, may be enumerated walk-is a proof that it has not been carried ng, running, leaping, swimming, riding, to excess. encing, the military exercise, different orts of athletic games, &c. Among he latter, or passive kinds of exercise, may be comprised riding in a carriage, ailing, friction, swinging, &c.

1641. ACTIVE EXERCISES are more beneficial to youth, to the middleaged, to the robust in general, and particularly to the corpulent and the plethoric.

1642. PASSIVE KINDS of exercise, on the contrary, are better calculated for children; old, dry, and emaciated persons of a delicate and debilitated constitution; and particularly for the asthmatic and consumptive.

1650. BUT at the same time it should be understood, that it is not advisable to take violent exercise immediately before a meal, as digestion might thereby be retarded.

1651. NEITHER should we sit down to a substantial dinner or supper immediately on returning from a fatiguing walk, at a time when the blood is heated, and the body in a state of perspiration from previous exertion, as the worst consequences may arise, especially where cooling dishes, salad, or a glass of cold drink is begun with.

1652. EXERCISE IS ALWAYS HURTFUL AFTER MEALS, from its impeding digestion, by propelling those fluids too much towards the surface of the body which are designed for the solution of the food in the stomach.

1643. THE TIME at which exercise is most proper depends on such a variety of concurrent circumstances, that it does not admit of being regulated by any general rules, and must therefore 1653. Walking.-To walk gracebe collected from the observations made fully, the body must be erect, but not on the effects of air, food, drink, &c. stiff, and the head held up in such a pos1644. WITH RESPECT TO THE DU-ture that the eyes are directed forward. RATION OF EXERCISE, there are other particulars, relative to a greater or less degree of fatigue attending the different species, and utility of it in certain states of the mind and body, which must determine this consideration as well as the preceding.

1645. THAT EXERCISE IS TO BE PREFERRED Which, with a view

to

The tendency of untaught walkers is to
look towards the ground near the feet;
and some persons appear always as if
admiring their shoe-ties.
The eyes
should not thus be cast downward,
neither should the chest bend forward
to throw out the back, making what
are, termed round shoulders; on the
contrary, the whole person must hold

I

HOME IS HOME, BE IT EVER SO HOMELY.

EVERY MAN'S HOUSE IS HIS CASTLE.

quently lost through excessive use of stimulants, food taken too hot, sedentary occupation, costiveness, liver disorder, and want of change of air. The first endeavour should be to ascertain and remove the cause. Change of diet and change of air will frequently be found more beneficial than medicines.

235

ticular arts for the preservation of their health; consequently, it might be inferred that the duration of life has no dependence on manners or customs, or the qualities of particular food. This, however, is an error of no common magnitude.

1662. PEASANTS, LABOURERS, AND 1659. Temperance.-"If," ob- OTHER HARD-WORKING PEOPLE, more serves a writer, “men lived uniformly especially those whose occupations rein a healthy climate, were possessed of quire them to be much in the open air, strong and vigorous frames, were de- may be considered as following a reguscended from healthy parents, were lated system of moderation; and hence educated in a hardy and active manner, the higher degree of health which prewere possessed of excellent natural dis- vails among them and their families. positions, were placed in comfortable They also observe rules; and those situations in life, were engaged only in which it is said were recommended by healthy occupations, were happily con- Old Parr are remarkable for good sense; nected in marriage, and kept their pas-namely, "Keep your head cool by temsions in due subjection, there would perance, your feet warm by exercise; be little occasion for medical rules." rise early, and go soon to bed; and if All this is very excellent and desirable; you are inclined to get fat, keep your but, unfortunately for mankind, unat-eyes open and your mouth shut,”—in tainable.

other words, sleep moderately, and be abstemious in diet;-excellent admonitions, more especially to those inclined to corpulency.

ii. Dietary: :

1660. MAN MUST BE SOMETHING MORE THAN MAN to be able to connect the different links of this harmonious chain -to consolidate this summum bonum 1663. Corpulence.-Mr. William of earthly felicity into one uninter- Banting, the well-known undertaker to rupted whole; for, independent of all the Royal Family, and author of a regularity or irregularity of diet, pas- "Letter on Corpulence," gives the folsions, and other sublunary circum-lowing excellent advice, with a dietary stances, contingencies, and connections, for use in cases of obesity (corpulence):relative or absolute, thousands are i. Medicine.-None, save a morning visited by diseases and precipitated into cordial, as a corrective. the grave, independent of accident, to whom no particular vice could attach, and with whom the appetite never overstepped the boundaries of temperance. Do we not hear almost daily of instances of men living near to and even upwards of a century? We cannot account for this either; because of such men we know but few who have lived otherwise than the world around them; and we have known many who have lived in habitual intemperance for forty or fifty years, without interruption and with little apparent inconvenience. 1661. THE ASSERTION HAS BEEN forbidden. MADE by those who have attained a great age (Parr, and Henry Jenkins, for instance), that they adopted no par

Breakfast.-Four or five ounces of beef, mutton, kidneys, broiled fish, bacon, or any kind of cold meat except pork, a large cup (or two) of tea without milk or sugar, a little biscuit or dry toast.

Dinner. Five or six ounces of any fish except salmon, any meat except pork, any vegetable except potatoes; one ounce of dry toast; fruit out of a pudding; any kind of poultry or game, and two or three glasses of claret or sherry. Port, champagne, and beer

Tea. -Two Cr three ounces of fruit; a rusk or two, and a cup or two of tea, without milk or sugar.

236

HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NO BREAD.

Supper. Three or four ounces of meat or fish as at dinner, with a glass or two of claret.

1665. Health in Youth.hours, irregular habits, and w attention to diet, are common Nightcap (if required).-A glass or with most young men, and two of grog,-whisky, gin, or brandy, gradually, but at first impercep -without sugar; or a glass or two of undermine the health, and sherry. Mr. Banting adds, "Dietary foundation for various forms of & is the principal point in the treatment in after life. It is a very difficult: of corpulence (also in rheumatic diseases, to make young persons compr and even in incipient paralysis). If this. They frequently sit up as properly regulated, it becomes in a twelve, one, or two o'clock, wi certain sense a medicine. It purifies the experiencing any ill effects; the blood, strengthens the muscles and without a meal to-day, and to-m viscera, and sweetens life if it does not cat to repletion, with only temp prolong it."* inconvenience. One night ther sleep three or four hours, and the nine or ten; or one night, in eagerness to get away into some ap able company, they will take no fo all, and the next, perhaps, will e hearty supper, and go to bed upe These, with various other irregular are common to the majority of y men, and are, as just stated, the of much bad health in mature Indeed, nearly all the shattered co tutions with which too many cursed, are the result of a disre to the plainest precepts of health in life..

1664. THE ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED FROM A REGULAR MODE OF LIVING, with a view to the preservation of health and life, are nowhere better exemplified than in the precepts and practice of Plutarch, whose rules for this purpose are excellent; and by observing them himself, he maintained his bodily strength and mental faculties unimpaired to a very advanced age. Galen is a still stronger proof of the advantages of a regular plan, by means of which he reached the great age of 140 years, without having ever experienced disease. His advice to the readers of his "Treatise on Health" is as follows:-"I beseech all persons who shall read this work not to degrade themselves to a level with the brutes, or the rabble, by gratifying their sloth, or by eating and drinking promiscuously whatever pleases their palates, or by indulging their appetites of every kind. But whether they understand physic or not, let them consult their reason, and observe what agrees, and what does not agree with them, that, like wise men, they may adhere to the use of such things as conduce to their health, and forbear everything which, by their own experience, they find to do them hurt: and let them be assured that, by a diligent observation and practice of this rule, they may enjoy a good share of health, and seldom stand in need of physic or physicians."

1666. Disinfecting LiquidIn a wine bottle of cold water, diss two ounces acetate of lead (sugg lead), and then add two (fluid) o of strong nitric acid (aquafortis). S the mixture, and it will be ready use.-A very small quantity of liquid, in its strongest form, should used for cleansing all kinds of chan utensils. For removing offensive oder clean cloths thoroughly moistened w the liquid, diluted with eight er t parts of water, should be suspended various parts of the room.-In this the offensive and deleterious gases neutralized by chemical action. Fuz gation in the usual way is only t substitution of one odour for anoth In using the above, or any other dis fectant, let it never be forgotten the fresh air, and plenty of it, is chea and more effective than any othe

*"Bantir on Corpulence. Harrison: Lond. material.

WILFUL WASTE MAKES WOEFUL WANT.

1667. Disinfecting Fumigaon. - Common salt, three ounces; ack manganese, oil of vitriol, of each Le ounce; water, two ounces; carried a cup through the apartments of the ck or the apartments intended to be migated, where sickness has been, ay be shut up for an hour or two, and hen opened.

237

water of numerous organic impurities diffused through it, which exert injurious effects on the animal economy.

It is somewhat remarkable that the very obvious application of a perfectly similar operation to the still rarer fluid in which we live-namely, the air, which not unfrequently contains even more noxious organic impurities floating in it than those present in watershould have for so long a period been so unaccountably overlooked.

Charcoal not only absorbs effluvia and gaseous bodies, but especially, when in contact with atmospheric air, oxidizes and destroys many of the easily alterable ones, by resolving them into the simplest combinations they are capable of forming, which are chiefly water and carbonic acid.

It is on this oxidizing property of charcoal, as well as on its absorbent power, that its efficacy as a deodorizing and disinfecting agent chiefly depends.

1668. Coffee a Disinfectant. -Numerous experiments with roasted offee prove that it is the most powerul means, not only of rendering animal nd vegetable effluvia innocuous, but of ctually destroying them. A room in vhich meat in an advanced degree of lecomposition had been kept for some ime, was instantly deprived of all smell on an open coffee-roaster being carried through it, containing a pound of coffee newly roasted. In another room, exposed to the effluvium occasioned by the clearing out of the dung-pit, so that sulphuretted hydrogen and ammonia in great quantities could be chemically Effluvia and miasmata are usually detected, the stench was completely re- regarded as highly organized, nitromoved in half a minute, on the employ-genous, easily alterable bodies. When ment of three ounces of fresh-roasted coffee, whilst the other parts of the house were permanently cleared of the same smell by being simply traversed with the coffee-roaster, although the cleansing of the dung-pit continued for several hours after. The best mode of using the coffee as a disinfectant is to 1670. Charcoal as a Disindry the raw bean, pound it in a mortar, fectant. Dr. Stenhouse's Plan. and then roast the powder on a mode--The following remarks by Dr. John rately heated iron plate, until it assumes a dark brown tint, when it is fit for use. Then sprinkle it in sinks or cesspools, or lay it on a plate in the room which you wish to have purified. Coffee acid "My attention was especially dior coffee oil acts more readily in minute rected, for nearly a twelvemonth, to quantities. the deodorizing and disinfecting pro1669. Charcoal as a Disin-perties of charcoal, and I made an imfectant. The great efficacy of wood and animal charcoal in absorbing effluvia, and the greater number of gases and vapours, has long been known.

Charcoal powder has also, during many centuries, been advantageously employed as a filter for putrid water, the object in view being to deprive the

these are absorbed by charcoal, they come in contact with highly condensed oxygen gas, which exists within the pores of all charcoal which has been exposed to the air, even for a few minutes; in this way they are oxidized and destroyed.

Stenhouse, F.R.S., Lecturer on Chemistry at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, are so important on this subject that we quote them at length :

mense number of experiments on this subject. I brought the subject before the Society of Arts, and exhibited a specimen of a charcoal respirator, and the mode of employing it; dwelling at some length on the utility of charcoal powder as a means of preventing the escape of noxious effluvia from churchyards,