Class! U_ Book »W 3fl 1877 / Lk£L 3? 76 /- aJyt&cc/, THE HOUSEHOLD PHYSICIAN; FOR THE DSE OF FAMILIES, PLANTEES, SEAMEN, AM) TEAYELLEES. BRIEF DESCRIPTION, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, OF ALL THE DISEASES OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN, NEWEST AND MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CURING THEM. IRA WARREN, A. M., M. D., Fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, etc. AND A. E. SMALL, A. M., M. D. f President of the Eahneman Medical College, Chicago, HI. ILLUSTEATED BY THIRTY-SIX FIGURES ON EIGHT SPLENDID COLORED LITHOGRAPH PLATE8, AND THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX ENGRAVINGS. THI BIGHT Or TBAXSLATIOH IS EISEBTSD. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH THOUSAND. BOSTON: IRA BRADLEY &c COMPANY, 20 Washington Street. 8AN FRANCISCO, CAL. : A. ROMAN & CO. TERRITORIES : P. G. PRATT. NEW YORK CITY: JULIUS TAYLOR. OHIO AND INDIANA: L. L. HASKLNS. MICHIGAN : R. D. HUBBARD. 1877. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by IRA WARREN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by IRA WARREN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by CHARLES ROBINSON, Jr., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Transfer Engineers School Uby. June 29, 1931 PREFACE. This book is written for the people. It is based on the assumption that every man — the mechanic, the farmer, and the day laborer, as well as the professional man — has a right to all the knowledge he is capable of acquiring, on all sub- jects, — medicine not excepted. The book aims, therefore, to popularize, and adapt to the many what has been claimed as belonging only to the few. I do not hesitate to avow that my sympathies, as a man, are with the great masses, who may be called the bone and muscle of the race. They are, in the main, more shrewd, more endowed with common sense, more simple and true in their natural instincts, and consequently less perverted, than those who claim more refinement and a higher place in the social scale. "All men," says Hippocrates, one of the great fathers of medicine, "ought to be acquainted with the medical art. I believe that knowledge of medicine is the sister and companion of wisdom." Such knowledge would shield the many from the impositions of quackery. No one, I venture to say, who reads this book thoroughly, will be often imposed upon thereafter by quack nostrums, or quack doctors. Every man's physical organization is his own ; and he is charged with the responsibility of taking care of it. To do this properly, he needs knowledge of it; and to withhold this from him, is another form of the old oppression, which decreed knowledge and power to the few, and ignorance and obedience to the many. In accordance with the design of the work, it has been written in plain, simple English, and brought within the comprehension of all who have medium powers of mind. It has not been thought needful to reduce its language to the simper- ing style of baby-talk 5 that is done only by those who don't know much about the people. In preparing this book, a great number of authors have been carefully consult- ed, to whom I acknowledge large indebtedness ; yet the work is not a mere compi- lation. With the exception of a few minor parts, as those on Hydropathy, the Management of the Sick-Room, the S ymptoms of Diseases, and, as in all medical works, a portion of the recipes, it has all taken shape, coloring, character, and language, in my own mind. In dealing with each disease, I have aimed to sketch a brief pen-and-ink portrait, so like it that every reader shall know the IV PREFACE original whenever he sees it ; .and then to give, in the fewest words, the best treatment. No work of the sort has ever explained the reasons, or given the whys and wherefores of medicine to anything like the extent of this; nor has any one been so extensively illustrated. The engravings amount to two hundred and thirty-six in number, and have been, with few exceptions, done expressly for this work. Of the colored lithographs, there are Thirty-six Figures on eMit splendid plates. They are inserted at great expense, and add much to the value of the book. I. W. SECOND PEEFACE. The Household Physician was written in the belief that the people were ready and waiting for a popular medical work based on liberal principles ; and that one hundred thousand copies have already found a welcome home, in as many Amer- ican families, is a sufficient evidence that the belief was well-founded. I say welcome home ; and with very little stretch of modesty I might emphasize the word, for the popularity of the book has far outrun the author's hopes — many persons assuring the author and the publishers that fifty or one hundred dollars would be no temptation for them to part with the copy they have if they could not obtain another. Such an extensive sale of so large a book, with the demand constantly increasing, has been quite unexpected. For these evidences of public favor the author is not ungrateful or unmindful of corresponding duties on his part. A chapter is now added, therefore, oh " Old Age and its Diseases," — a subject never before introduced into any popular treatise on medicine, and very rarely, indeed, into any medical book. I have taken great pains in preparing it, and sincerely hope that many Fathers and Mothers will, in future years, be kindly remembered in consequence of the suggestions it contains. I also have the pleasure to present, from the pen of Dr. Dio Lewis, a very valuable contribution upon his new popular Gymnastics, illustrated with many cuts. With these and some smaller additions, — improvements I think I may call them, — I submit the work again to the popular judgment. I. W. GENEEAL INTEODUCTOEY EEMAEKS. Progress of Medicine. Medicine may be divided into a science and an art. It is a science as it presents facts and evolves principles ; an art as it consists of rules for practice. For its present attainments, it is indebted partly to researches scientifically conducted, and partly to empirical and hap-hazard discovery. As a science, medicine is chiefly indebted, and must ever be, to the members of what is called the " regular profession." This body of men, while it contains numerous persons whose talents and attain- ments do not raise them above the merest quacks, does yet embrace large numbers of men who are alike ornaments of the race, and lights of their profession. It is to the writings of this class that every stu- dent must go who would qualify himself for the proper discharge of the duties of a physician ; and he who attempts the practice of medi- cine without a knowledge of standard medical writings is either a fool or a knave — either without the brains to understand science, or destitute of the honesty to deal fairly with men. While this is said, however, it must be granted that a respectable portion of the facts which make up the science of medicine have been contributed by the industry of men who have not had what is called a regular standing in the profession. I am sorry to be obliged to add that the great body of this class have been quacks and charlatans, while only a few of them have had talents and acquirements. Nevertheless, they have been too indiscriminately condemned. Their labors have been useful in various ways, and have contributed to the advancement of medical knowledge. A regard for truth, not less than justice to these persons, requires this statement. One-Idea Men. — The "irregulars," as they have been called, have generally had their hobbies, which they have ridden with singular diligence, and often in little better than John Gilpin plight. Yet they have drawn attention to great truths, which the regular profession either did not see, or would not commend ; and they have done this by dwelling incessantly upon some single idea. The one-idea men, of every class, have been ridiculed in all ages ; and indeed have always exhibited some singular obliquities. Yet when they have been men of learning and talents, they have accom- plished great things, either for good or evil. GENEEAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Martin Luther was strictly a one-idea man. The whole force of his extraordinary character was given to the propagation of the single doctrine of justification by faith ; and by the incessant efforts he made for this purpose, he sank the doctrine deeper into the heart of Europe than a hundred equally powerful men could have done by giving it only an ordinary share of attention. William Ellery Charming was a one-ideaist. Man, the noblest work of creation, to be developed, educated, adorned, loved, made like unto God, was the thought of his life, — a thought which he em- bellished and moulded into all the forms of beauty which our flexible language is capable of producing. Under the mild promptings of his genius, and the workings of this thought, philanthropy, quick- ened into a new life, spread out her arms, and embraced the world. Sir Isaac Newton, was a one-ideaist. So entirely did he devote his great powers to astronomy and the higher mathematics, that he be- came unfitted for the duties of social and domestic life — so unfitted, that when induced by his friends to give a little attention to courtship, he fell into one of his abstractions, and detected himself in using his lady-love's fore-finger to poke down the ashes in his pipe ! But, Sir Isaac advanced mathematical science to a point far beyond its previ- ous attainments, and laid it under such obligations as no general scholar could have done. It is in this way, though in a vastly less degree, and without the scientific method, that one-ideaists in medicine benefit the world. They seize upon some single remedy, — generally one which has been overlooked, — and using it themselves to the exclusion of all others, they press it upon the world as the panacea for all its ills. With them disease is a unit, and they have found its one all-important remedy. Thus convinced, they press it upon others with the enthu- siasm of fanatics. Testing it in all cases, they develop all its virtues. Those who have the good sense to turn their attention to it have only to use it in those cases for which its adaptation is proved. It is in this way that these men become, incidentally, medical dis- coverers ; and not being burdened with modesty, they never with- hold their importunities till the world acknowledges whatever value there is in their discovery. And although they may do some mis- chief with the single-edged tool which they handle so industriously, I doubt if they do much more than many better workmen who use too many. At all events, wise and generous men thank them for their gift to the profession, small, though it may be, and use it in the light of a clearer knowledge. Hydropathy. — As an illustration of what I have just been saying, I may refer to hydropathy, or the plan of treating all diseases by water. The singularly careful avoidance, by the whole medical faculty, for many ages, of the article of pure water as a medicinal, or, rather, health-imparting agent, was anything but creditable to the profession. It is now admitted by all sensible men that water, cold and warm, used at proper times and to a reasonable extent, has great power over GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. several diseases, and is a powerful promoter of health. No physicians, except those who are too indolent to know what is going on in the world, or too fast locked in old prejudices to touch new things, now omit its use in many cases. How warm and sincere my own approval of water as a remedy is, almost every page of this volume will attest. Indeed, it may honestly be allowed that the hydropathists have fairly drowned the almost criminal professional prejudice against water. They are in all the more need of this concession, since in their absurd zeal to cure all diseases by water, and make aquatic ani- mals of men, they have also drowned their own common sense. Homoeopathy. — This mode of practice is of comparatively recent origin ; but it has already sunk itself deep into the popular heart, and has drawn to its support many of the wealthy, the cultivated, and the intelligent, in our most refined communities. I do not pro- fess to comprehend and appreciate its principles, nor would it be honest in me to pretend to see how its infinitesimal doses can produce the results which it often shows, and which it is fair to confess look like singular success ; and saying this, I can neither adopt nor ap- prove the violent denunciations and censures which so many are induced (by fashion, I fear) to employ towards this generally well-cul- tivated class of practitioners. I hold them as useful members of the profession, and mean ever to cultivate towards them fraternal feelings. They give great attention to exercise, diet, the use of water, etc., — things which contribute very powerfully to preserve health, and to restore it when lost. In this thing, the old school practitioners ought to learn a most important lesson from them. In truth, they are learning it, but very slowly and reluctantly, I am sorry to say. The central idea of the homoeopath ist, that "like cures like," the " great law of cure," as he styles it, I do not feel called upon to dis- cuss — theories being of much less consequence than rules of prac- tice. The old-school men have certainty much to learn from him respecting the augmented power of medicine from the greatest possi- ble division by trituration. We have learned from him, too, — though many are too ungenerous to confess the source of the infor- mation, — that we may gain our purposes with much less medicine than we were once in the habit of giving. Eclectics. — There is a large and growing class of physicians, called, at first, after the founder of the school, Thomsonians. Subsequently, they were generally known as Botanic Physicians. Now they pass under the title of Eclectics. These men, directing their attention, at first, chiefly to cayenne and lobelia, have gradually extended their zealous researches over the vegetable kingdom, and have gathered much information worthy to be preserved. These researches have revealed a sadly neglected duty on the part of old-school practitioners, and, in 1852, drew from the " Committee on Indigenous Medical Botany," appointed by the "American Medical Association," the confession that our practi- tioners generally have been extremely ignorant of the medicinal plants even in their own neighborhoods ; and to this fact the com- 8 GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. mittee attributed it, that the Eclectic physicians had in so many in- stances supplanted the " regulars " in the confidence of the people. The education and talents of this class of practitioners have grad- ually risen, year by year, until they have several medical schools, where students are well instructed in the principles of medicine, by men of real ability. This is particularly true of the school at Cin- cinnati. They have also a literature of no mean significance, espe- cially in the department of materia medica. The list of remedies they have given to the world, drawn from our home plants, are a boon of no small value. I regard them as equal in value to all we were previously in possession of from the vegetable kingdom. The podophyllin and leptandrin, as substitutes, inmost cases, for mercu- rials, can hardly be too highly prized. And yet, it is mortifying that the remedies which these men have given us are, by hundreds of our old-school practitioners, not even known by name, and where known, generally not honored with a trial. King's " American Eclectic Dispensatory," a book of 1,300 pages, in which they are well described, is almost unknown among us. Aside from the copy in my own library, I do not know that one is owned by any member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, in Boston. I consider this a disgrace, for, however learned a man may be, he is not fully equipped as a practitioner until he is acquainted with this class of medicines. Physiologists. — Beside these various direct practitioners of medi- cine, there is the large and quite intelligent class of physiologists, including the phrenologists, who nearly discard medicine, and, ap- pealing to the laws of life established by the Creator, urge temper- ance in eating and drinking ; exercise in the open air ; securing of pure air by ventilating dwellings, school-houses, and churches ; bath- ing in cold and warm water ; cheerfulness of mind ; and the cultiva- tion of the Christian virtues, as the only rational modes of securing health and life. I confess myself inclined to forgive this class their error in ban- ishing medicine, in view of their zeal and success in disseminating hygienic information of the utmost value and importance to mankind. Put man into harmony with nature, and establish over him the em- pire of reason, and their theory would be excellent ; but as things are, medicines, like prisons, and alms-houses, and large cities, are " necessary evils." Other Practitioners. — Finally, we have Mesmerists, Pathetists, Electro-biologists, Spiritualists, Nutritivists, and what not, all pre- tending to cure disease by processes peculiar to themselves. They are all experimenters in different departments of nature, — now spreading over our eyes a large plaster of humbuggery, and now drawing a small curtain and giving us a peep into the large and well- furnished rooms which nature has fitted up for our reception, by and by, when we are better instructed. All Useful in a Degree. — On the whole, I am disposed to regard all the operators in the different departments of medicine as useful GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 9 in their degree; excepting always those mercenary quacks, who lie about their remedies to make money. Each of all these (I mean all sincere and true men who believe what they teach) is aiding in some measure the general advancement. And though the truths, as they gather and present them, are but fragmentary, they are useful in the hands of those true Eclectics, who have the wisdom and independence to select the best things out of all systems. General Conclusion. — This brings me to remark that there is but one truly liberal and philosophical school of medicine. It is the Eclectic, — composed of those who have liberality enough to reject every exclusive system, and to select out of all systems those things which are approved by experience and reason. I have already spoken of a school of practitioners called Eclectic. To a certain extent they are entitled to the name, but I think not entirely. They have formed a separate and exclusive school. They have turned some articles out of the materia medica possibly for no better reason than because their party is committed to their rejec- tion ; whereas they should have no party, but allow each man to act as if he were a citizen of the world only, and not a member of any restricted association. But I will not quarrel with them on this point. I think they are becoming eclectic. Progress of Medicine. — There have been long periods when the science and the art of medicine made scarcely any progress. They are now advancing, — in some departments quite fast. The Chemistry of Man, commonly called Animal Chemistry, is opening new sources of light. Few of the profession have yet studied this essential brauch of medical science ; but the delinquents are sleeping in the rear, and will soon awake to tind themselves among the ghosts of a dead generation. The writer was in the habit of asserting, many years ago, that most of the true progress in medicine must come through Animal Chemistry ; and the developments of the last few years have made good the assertion. Liebig, a diligent student in chemistry, has done much to open the way for inquirers in this department. Simon has, perhaps, done more. Mialhe is a yet later explorer, and has made valuable discoveries. The result is, that students have now before their minds, and are endeavoring to solve and act upon as fast as possible, inquiries and propositions like these : — What is the chemical composition of the solids and fluids of the healthy human body ? What is the nature of the changes which occur in the composition of the solids and fluids during disease ? What alterations in the chemical composition of the solids and fluids take place during the operation of medicines? Before it can exert any remote action on the animal economy, a remedy must be absorbed. Before it can be absorbed, it must be soluble in the fluids of the living body. 10 ♦GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Medicines are subject to chemical changes during their passage through the system. These changes are regulated by ordinary chemical laws, and may therefore, to some extent, be foretold and 'made available in the cure of disease. These chemical laws are disturbed and varied, to some extent, by the law of vitality, — just as the needle is made to vary by disturb- ing forces. What are those disturbances, and to what extent, and under what circumstances, do they occur? With these and similar inquiries and propositions before his mind, diligently studied, a man will in time learn to prescribe with some intelligent aim. He will not know everything, to be sure, but what he does know, he will have a reason for knowing. If he give a medi- cine, he will have in view the chemical changes of the solids and fluids of the body, known to be produced by the disease he is combating. He will also keep in mind the solution of the medicine in the fluids of the body, and the chemical reaction between its components and the acids, alkalies, etc., found in the alimentary tube and elsewhere. As the science of medicine advances, and becomes liberal and eclectic in its character, gathering from all systems the best attested facts, and using them to the exclusion of all mere theories, these facts must not themselves degenerate into mere petted theories, but must be held in subordination to future experience. Medical practitioners, who would meet the wants of the age, must be men of progress. The light of to-morrow, with them, must modify and improve the "light of to-day. They must knock, every hour, for admission into some new apartment of nature. Need of Liberality. — .That medical progress may be real, physi- cians must be free from bigotry. They must have no narrow preju- dices against any man, or class of men ; but be ready to examine candidly any new thought or new remedy brought to their notice, from whatever source it may come. They should not hedge themselves about with such restrictive by- laws and societary rules as are calculate^ to fetter their thoughts, and turn their investigations, by a sort of moral necessity, into the nar- row channels of party conservatism ; remembering that he who is once enclosed by such restrictions must hew a path for his feet through bigotry, and even malevolence itself, before he can escape them, or be a free man in any noble sense. The members of medical societies do themselves no credit, in the nineteenth century, by putting on airs, and telling others to stand at a distance. This would do better, had medicine become an exact science ; but while the primary effects of even opium are not settled — some physicians considering it as primarily stimulant, others as seda- tive, others as stimulant to the nerves aud sedative to the muscles, others as neither, and still others as alterative, — such exclusiveness seems neither wise nor modest. When the professors of the healing art can hoard medical kno wedge as misers hoard gold, and can sub- GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 11 mit its purity to equally certain tests, it will appear in better taste for them to growexclusive. Until then, the most becoming badge they can wear is the Christian direction : " Let each esteem others better than himself. " Medical societies, with liberal by-laws, are fitted to do good ; but it would be hard to show that those with stringently-restrictive rules can operate otherwise than as checks upon progress. In truth, they are apt to become mere catacombs in which to embalm dead ideas. They are very liable to be made the instruments for accomplishing the ambitious purposes of a few leading men. They tend to suppress all sympathy with everything outside their organization ; and they beget a feeling like that which would forbid the fixed stars to drop their light into our atmosphere without first coming down and joining the solar system. Conservative Leaders. — There are no influences which hold so steady a check upon medical progress as the conservative leaders in many of our medical associations. Not that they are opposed to im- provement in the medical art, or would object to any amount of dis- covery, if it could come to the profession through channels which they have the honor of opening. But against all light from outside, or from obscure sources, they will draw down the curtains, and close the doors ; and, if it chance by any means, in spite of them, to get within the sacred enclosure, they will call it darkness, and, as priests of the temple, will attempt to atone for the indignity offered to the god of medicine, and fill the whole sky with murky clouds from their altars. These men have strong faith in caste, and in the right of the few to govern the many. In the low places of society, they look for nothing but ignorance and poverty. Notwithstanding that the light of every natural day breaks in the horizon, and ascends, they so far despise analogies as to insist that all medical light breaks at what they call the zenith of the profession, and comes down. With them the temples of Esculapius are all rebuilt, and they are the priests ; and to offer in sacrifice the smallest medicinal plant is a sacrilege, unless it be entrusted to their hands. Such persons measure and weigh a man by the amount of money he has. Property is their god, which gives laws to everything. With, them, knowledge, like property, goes to posterity by will, — they being the principal testators. Like their money, too, it goes chiefly to their sons, and to certain favored institutions, by whom, and in which, it is to be hoarded, and whence it is to go out only in certain approved channels, weighed and stamped, like coin from the mint. These are the men who regard knowledge as a contraband article, unless regularly entered at the custom-house, witli bills of lading properly certified by the conservative magnates at some other me- tropolis. With them, knowledge is not like the west wind, fanning the brow of the peasant as gently as that of the king, — not like the light of heaven, entering the small, clean window of the hut, as readily as the larger one of the palace ; not a boon which comes alike freely to ail, and which is to be everywhere amplified, changed as 12 GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. circumstances and conditions require, and especially adapted to the present hour. It is rather, as they too often view it, like litho- graphed letters of advice, printed upon stamp paper, and carefully sealed up and addressed to posterity. And then, if they can be made the mail-carriers, and be permitted to pass, unchallenged with the precious bag, from post to post, and pass it over, carefully sealed, to the next generation, they will think it has done its work, and that they have fulfilled their mission. I would not be unjust or severe, but I cannot but remark further, that these men present but one view of humanity. They are monot- onous objects of inspection. Look at them a thousand times, and you see only the same unaltered phase of life. To the mariner on life's ocean, they are not safe lights. If he approach them on the dark side, they remain black as night to him, until he comes round to their shining front. They are not revolving lights. They have light ; it may be bright and genial ; but it gleams out upon the waters only in one direction. It does not sweep round, and throw its rays upon every mariner's path. Such men are useful, but only to a certain class. They have in them no true omnilogy — they are not all- teaching . Their lives are instructive to their friends, their clique, their party, their school ; but a stumbling-block, a hindrance, an oppression, an offence to every- body else. They are like porcupines, with fronts smooth and easy of access ; but their backs bristle with quills to stick into those on the wrong side. They are not whole men. Humanity has infused into them only one or two of its elements. They have length, but no breadth. They are citizens of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, or Cincinnati, but not of the world. Within certain circles, they are genial friends, but cynics and haters outside of them. From their high places, they come down to their humble followers with tokens of friend- ly recognition ; upon others they frown and lower like armed castles. The True Physician. — How different the character of the true man and physician ! He is genial in his disposition. He has no dislikes and antipathies, and hates no men except tyrants. He accepts knowl- edge, though it come from the humblest source ; believing there is no experience but will repay a study of it, and no husbandman's plough- share but turns up a soil worth analyzing. He belongs exclusively to no party, and can be approached easily by respectable men of every stamp. Whether belonging to the same society with him, or not, you may take hold of his nature and draw it out, without hav- ing it slip from your fingers, and spring back from your presence into a thousand kinks, like an overtwisted thread. He is a whole man. God made him for the world, and not for a party. By some strong influence you may possibly, for a time, draw him from the world into sone narrower sphere, but not only will his reluctant nature, like a retiring tide, run back continually to embrace the continent, but will soon break from its confinement, and like a full sea, come back, boil- ing and running over. What is now Wanted. — The foregoing remarks indicate one great, GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 13 leading want, in order that medical knowledge may increase. It is liberality, in the true and full sense. We want true men in high places, who will not only let their own light shine everywhere, but will cease to hinder other men's light from shining. Beyond this, and of nearly equal importance with it, we want medi- cal knowledge diffused among the people. We want — what the world has never seen — a popular medical literature. We want the temples of Esculapius pulled down, aud the priests turned into the streets to become teachers of the multitude, rather than worshippers in the inner sanctuary. I know this want will be stoutly denied, but not, I think, on well- considered grounds. We do not think it necessary to confine a knowl- edge of the soul to the ministers of religion. There is no branch of theology which we do not deem it proper for laymen to study ; we even popularize it for our children. In the obscurest towns of New England, laymen who follow the plough or push the plane, become, in many cases, eminent theologians. Why should they not study the lower science which relates to the body ? They have not been able to heretofore, because its mysteries have been purposely hidden under technicalities. These coverings should be torn off. It is said that those who begin to read upon medicine are very apt to imagine themselves afflicted with the various symptoms they find described. To some small extent this is true ; but it is also true that the light they obtain relieves them from many apprehensions which their previous ignorance allowed to prey upon them ; as boys lose their fears when the light of the morning changes to some familiar object the ghost of the preceding night. Physicians oppose the popularizing of this kind of knowledge too often, I fear, upon the sordid ground of self-interest. They think their own services will be less sought. We do not dispense with the services of ministers because the people study theology, neither shall we cease to employ teachers and practitioners of medicine when each man and woman' is wise enough to study the healing art. The principal change we shall witness will be much larger attainments in knowledge among practitioners, — just as the ministers of religion now know, and are obliged to know, ten times as much as in those darker periods when the people received all spiritual knowledge from their mouths. The teachers of any art or science are obliged to keep in advance of their pupils. Let medi- cine become a popular study, and we shall have very few ignorant physicians, and quackery will become one of the impossibilities. Homceopathists, Eclectics, Hydropathists, and Physiologists, believe in scattering medical books, stripped of their technicalities, among the multitude, and their people purchase very few secret, advertised medicines ; — these being chiefly bought and consumed by the fol- lowers of those who believe this kind of reading fosters quackery ! A. IN" .A. T O M Y Anatomy describes the structure and organization of living beings. Special Anatomy treats of the weight, size, shape, color, etc., of each organ separately. General Anatomy investigates the tissues or structures from which organs are formed. Surgical Anatomy or Regional Anatomy considers the relations of organs to one another. Physiological Anatomy treats of the uses or functions of organs in health. Pathological Anatomy describes the alterations made upon different organs by disease. We shall here introduce a very brief compendium only of Special Anatomy. It is of great consequence that every person should have some knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Self-knowledge ought to extend to the body as well as the mind. To know one's self, physi- cally, is to gain a new insight into that wonderfully skilful adjustment of means to ends which is never absent from the works of God. Without this knowledge, one cannot know how to take care of the health ; and without health, life loses most of its value. Structure of the Body. The human body is composed of solids and fluids. . The fluids are most abundant in children and youth. It is this which gives softness and pliancy to their flesh. In old age the fluids are less abundant, and the flesh is more hard and wrinkled. The fluids contain the whole body, as it were, in a state of solution ; or rather, they hold the materials out of which it is manufactured. Chemical Properties of the Body. The four elements, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, make up nearly the whole bulk of the fluids and soft solids of the human body. A number of other elements, chiefly in a state of combina- tion, and in much smaller quantities, enter into several of the tissues. Binary Compounds. — Thus, we have carbonic acid in blood, urine ANATOMY. 15 and sweat ; and we have water universally diffused through the sys- tem, — each of these substances being a binary compound, that is, composed of two elements. Compounds of more than two Elements are widely distributed over the body; as, Carbonate of Soda in serum, saliva, bile, mucus, sweat, and tears. Carbonate of Lime in cartilage, bone, and teeth. Phosphate of Lime in bones, teeth, and cartilage. Phosphate of Iron in blood, gastric juice, and urine. Chloride of Sodium in blood, brain, muscle, bone, cartilage and pigment. Chloride of Potassium in blood, gastric juice, milk, and saliva. Chloride of Calcium in gastric juice. Sulphate of Potassa in urine, gastric juice^ and cartilage. Sulphate of Soda in sweat, bile, and cartilage. Sulphate of Lime in bile, hair, and scarf-skin. Cxide of Iron in blood, black pigment, and hair. Organized Compounds. — Beside the above inorganic elements and compounds, several organized substances, ox proximate elements , as they are called, exist largely in the body. The chief of these are albumen, fibrine, gelatine, mucus, fat, caseine, and osmazome. Others need not be named. Albumen is found in great abundance in the human body. It is the raw material out of which the flesh and other tissues are made. The white of an egg, which is nearly pure albumen, is a good speci- men of it. Fibrine, when removed from the human body, changes from a solu- ble to an insoluble state. In other words, it coagulates in a kind of net-work. Nearly the same thing takes place constantly in the living body, when the liquid fibrine leaves its soluble state, and is deposited as solid flesh. Fibrine bears the same relation to albumen that wool- len yarn does to wool ; it is spun from it in the busy wheel of or- ganic life. And the flesh or muscle is related to fibrine as the cloth is to yarn ; it is woven from it in the vital loom. Fibrine has been called liquid flesh. Gelatine exists largely in the ligaments, cartilages, bones, skin, aud cellular tissue. When dissolved, five parts in one hundred of hot water, it forms a thick jelly. Isinglass is a form of gelatine obtained from the air-bladder of the sturgeon and the cod-fish. Glue is still another form of gelatine. It is extracted from the bones, and parings of hides, and the hoofs and ears of cattle, by boiling in water. Black silk, varnished over with a solution of gelatine, forms court-plaster. Mucus is a sticky fluid secreted by the gland-cells. It is spread over the surface of the mucous membranes, and serves to moisten and defend them from injury. Fat consists of cells held together by cellular tissue and vessels, and contains glycerine, stearic acid, margaric acid, and elaic acid. It 16 ANATOMY. has no nitrogen. If the stearic acid be in excess, the fat is hard ; if the elaic acid preponderate, it is soft. The stearine extracted from fat is used for making very hard candles. Caseine is abundant in milk and constitutes its curd. It is held in solution in milk by a little soda. When dried, it is cheese. It is found in blood, saliva, bile, and the lens of the eye. It forms the chief nourishment of those young animals which live on milk. It is found in peas, beans, and lentils. Vegetable and animal caseine are precisely alike in all their properties. Fibrine and albumen contain almost exactly the same amount of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitro- gen, and sulphur, which is found in caseine. This latter, when taken into the stomach, therefore, goes, without much change, to the formation of the albumen and fibrine of the body. Physical Properties of the Body. The Tissues. — The solid organized substances of which the human body is composed, are called tissues. There are various kinds of tissues. The Cellular Tissue, commonly called areolar, is made up of small fibres and bands woven together into a sort of net-work, with numer- ous little spaces opening into each other. These spaces are filled with a watery fluid ; and when this is greatly increased by disease, so as to cause the parts to swell, and the skin to shine, the person has ana- sarca, or cell dropsy. The uses of this tissue are to give parts and organs a kind of elastic cushion to rest upon, so that they may not be bruised and injured by the shocks of life ; to make a kind of safe highway for delicate vessels to pass from one part of the body to another ; and to furnish a beautifully arranged lodgment for the wa- tery fluid which gives such roundness, smoothness, and grace to the human form. The opening of the cells into each other explains the reason why feeble persons have swelled feet and ankles in the even- ing, and not in the morning, — the fluid settling down from cell to cell, into the lowest parts, while they are up during the day, and running back to its proper place while they are lying down during the night. The Mucous Tissue, or mucous membrane, lines all the cavities which communicate with the air, as the mouth, stomach, bowels, lungs, etc. It is supplied with numerous small glands which secrete a sticky kind of fluid called mucus, to protect the surface from any injury which might be inflicted by air, or by irritating substances suspended in it. The Serous Tissue, or membrane, lines all the cavities which do not communicate with the air, that is, all those which are shut, and have no outward opening. The skull, the chest, and the belly are lined by this kind of membrane. The membrane itself forms the closed sack, — one la}^er of it being attached to the cavity it lines, while the other is folded back upon and around the contents of the cavity, which are left outside of the sack. A watery fluid oozes from the inner surface of the sack, to make its sides glide easily upon each other. When ANATOMY 17 some disease causes this water to be poured out too freely, so as to fill or partly fill the cavity, we have dropsy of the brain, or chest, or belly, as the case may be. The Dermoid Tissue covers the whole outside of the body. "We call it the skin, or cutis. It is similar in structure to the mucous mem- branes, which are a mere continuation of it. It is harder than the mucous membrane, because more exposed to injury. In health, it never ceases to secrete and throw off a fluid which we call insensible perspiration while it is in the form of an invisible vapor, and perspira- tion, or sweat, when it is so increased as to be seen. So great is the sympathy between this dermoid covering of the body and the mucous membranes, that when it is chilled so as to stop the invisible perspira- tion, the internal membrane becomes affected, and we have a sore throat, or diarrhoea, or running at the nose ; that is to say, when the skin cannot sweat, the mucous membrane begins to sweat. The Fibrous Tissue consists of closely united fibres, and for what- ever purpose used, forms a fine, dense, and enduring body. In some cases it takes the form of a membrane, as the dura mater, which lines the interior of the skull and spinal column. The ligaments which hold the bones together, and the tendons or cords, which fasten the muscles to the bones, are fibrous bodies. It is this firm substance of which rheumatism frequently takes hold, and this is the reason why it lingers so much about the joints. It sometimes takes hold of the ligament which fastens the deltoid muscle to the bone of the upper arm, about two-thirds of the way from the elbow to the shoulder. This muscle lifts up the arm. In this form of rheumatism, therefore, the arm hangs helpless at the side. The Cartilaginous Tissue covers the ends of the bones where they come together to make a joint. It is well fitted to make the joint work easy, being smooth, hard, and elastic. The Osseous or Bony Tissue varies in its composition, density, and strength, according to the age of the person, and the uses of the bone. The Muscular Tissue, or muscle, being made for a great deal of fig. i. pulling and lifting, is formed some- ^ thing like a rope, except that there BEStoaj^^^^- * s no twisting. Many small fibres or ^^^^^^^^^S^ filaments unite to form fasciculi. A ^^^^^^^^^- fasciculus is a bundle of fibres sur- *^*^i81i?-» rounded by a delicate layer of cell ^^^ tissue called sarcolemma, — just as a ltf^^0^W*£&4g$k SSs^k cor< ^ * s a mim b er of smaller threads lllillp! ' ■ "# left lung; 10, 10, the heart; 11, N II, the diaphragm, or midriff; 12, 12, the liver; 13, 13, the stomach, 14, 14, the second stomach, or duodenum ; 15, the transverse colon ; 16, the upper part of the colon on right side ; 17, upper part of colon on left side. 22 ANATOMY. Fig. 7. Each piece of the spinal column is called a vertebra. Upon every one of these are seven projections, called processes, — a part of which are for linking the bones together, and the rest to furnish attachments for the muscles of the back. The projections are linked together in such a way, that a continuous channel or opening runs down through the whole, in which is lodged the spinal cord, or medulla spinalis. This nervous cord is connected with the base of the brain, and is a kind of continuation of it. Between all the vertebra are certain car- tilaginous cushions, which, when compressed, spring back, like India rubber, and thus protect the brain from being injuriously jarred by running, leaping, or walking. The pelvis has four bones ; the two nameless bones, — innominata, — the sacrum, and the coccyx. In the side of each of the nameless bones is a deep, smooth cavity, called the acetabulum. Into this the round head of the thi^h bone is nicely fitted. When the bone is thrown out of this cavity, the hip is said to be out of joint. The sacrum took its name from the fact that the heathens used to offer it in sacrifice. With them, it was the sacred bone. The coccyx is the lower termi- nation of the back bone. These bones are represented in Figure 8 : 1,1, being the innominata ; 2, the sacrum ; 3, the coccyx ; 4, 4, the acetabulum ; a, a, the pubic portion of the nameless bones ; d, the arch of the pubes ; c, the union of the sacrum and the lower end of the spinal column. Bones of the Upper Extremities. The shoulder blade (scapula) , the collar bone (clavicle) , the bone of the upper arm (humerus), the to) bones of the fore-arm (ulna and ra- dius), the bones of the wrist (carpal bones), the bones of the palms of the hand (metacarpal bones), the bones of the thumb and fingers (phalanges), — these are the bones of the upper limbs. The collar bone is fastened at one end to the breast bone, at the other end to the shoulder blade. It keeps the shoulders from drop- ping forward. Many persons allow it to fail of this end by getting very much bent in early life. This happens at school, when children are allowed to sit in a stooping posture. In the French, a race re- markable for a straight, upright figure, this bone is said to be longer than in any other people. ANATOMY. 23 The shoulder blade lies upon the upper part of the back, forming the shoulder. It has a shallow cavity (glenoid cavity), into which is inserted the head of the upper arm bone. Several strong muscles are attached to the elevations of this bone, which keep it in its place, and move it about as circumstances require. The upper arm bone has its round head fastened in the glenoid cav- ity, by the strong capsular ligament, forming a joint capable of a great number of movements. At the elbow it is united with the ulna of the fore -arm. It is a long cylindrical bone, represented by Figure 9 : 1, is the shaft of the bone ; 2, the large, rouud head which fits into the glenoid cavity ; 3, the surface which unites with the ulna. Of the two bones of the fore-arm, the ulna is on the inner side, and unites with the humerus, making an excellent hinge-joint. The other bone of the fore-arm, the radius, lies on the outside of the arm, — on the same side with the thumb, — and unites, or articulates, as we say, with the bones of the wrist. In Figure 10 : 1, is the body of the ulna ; 2, the shaft of the radius ; 4, the articulating surface, with which the lower end of the humerus unites ; 5, the upper extremity of the ulna, called the olecranon process, which forms the elbow joint ; 6, the point where the ulna articulate with the wrist. Fig. 9. Fig. 11. Fig. 10. The eight bones of the wrist or carpus are ranged in two rows, and being bound close together, do not admit of very free motion. In Figure 11 : s, is the scaphoid bone ; L, the semilunar bone ; c, the cuneiform bone ; p, the pisiform bone ; t, t, the trapezium and trape- zoid bones; m, the os magnum ; u, the cuneiform bone. The last four form the second row of carpal bones. 11, 11, are thejnetacar- pal bones of the hand ; 2, 2, the first range of the finger bones ; 3, 3, the second range of finger bones ; 4,4, the third range of finger bones; 5, 6, the bones of the thumb. 24 ANATOMY. Of the five metacarpal bones, four are attached below to the first range of the finger bones, and the other to the first bone of the thumb, while the whole are united to the second range of the carpal bones above. Bones of the Lower Extremities. These are the thigh bone (femur), the knee pan (patella), the shin- bone (tibia), the small bone of the leg (fibula), the bones of the instep (tarsal bones), the bones of the middle of the foot (metatarsal bones), and the bones of the toes (phalanges). The thigh bone is the longest bone in the system. Its head, which is large and round, fits admirably into the cavity in the fig. 12. innominatum, called acetabulum, and forms what is called a ball-and-socket joint. In Figure 12 : 1, is the shaft of the thigh bone (femur) ; 2, is a projection called the trochanter minor, to which some strong muscles are attached ; 3, is the head of the femur which fits into the acetabulum ; 5, is the external projection of the femur, called the external condyle ; 6, the internal condyle ; 7, the surface which articulates with the tibia, and on which the patella slides. The knee pan or knee cap (patella) is placed on the front of the knee, and being attached to the tendon of the extensor muscles above, and to the tibia by a strong ligament below, it acts as a pulley in lifting up the leg. The shin bone (tibia) is the largest of the two in the lower leg, and is considerably enlarged at each end. The small bone of the leg (fibula) lies on the outside, and is bound to the larger bone at both ends. Figure 13 shows the two bones of the leg : 1, being the tibia ; 5, the fibula ; 8, the space between the two ; 6, the junction of the tibia and fibula at the upper extremity ; 3, the internal ankle ; 4, the lower end of the tibia that unites with one of the tarsal bones to form the ankle joint; 7, the upper end of the tibia which unites with the femur. The instep (tarsus) has seven bones, which, like those of the wrist, are so firmly bound together as to allow but a limited motion. The metatarsal bones, corresponding with the palm of the hand, are five in number, and unite at one end with the tarsal bones, and at the other with the first range of the toe-bones. The tarsal and metatarsal bones are put together in the form of an arch, the spring of which, when the weight of the body descends upon it in walking, prevents injury to the organs above. (Fig. 14.) The phalanges have fourteen bones. The great toe has Fig. 13. ANATOMY. 25 two ranges of bones ; the other toes have three. Figure 15 gives a view of the upper surface of the bones of the foot ; 1, is the surface of the astragalus where it unites with the tibia; 2, the body of the Fig. 15. Pig. 14. astragalus ; 3, the heel bone (os calcis) ; 4, the scaphoid bone ; 5, 6, 7, the cuneiform bones ; 8, the cuboid ; 9, 9, 9, the metatarsal bones ; 10, the first bone of the great toe ; 11, the second bone ; 12, 13, 14, three ranges of bones forming the small toes. The Joints. That bones may be of any use, they must be jointed together. Joints are of the greatest importance. It is necessary they should be so constructed that there shall be no harsh grating of the bones upon each other, and no injurious jars in walking, etc. To prevent these things, a hard, smooth, and yet yielding, cushion-like substance is required between them in joints. Such are the cartilages. Figure 16 fig. 16. gives a specimen of these intervening cartilages. D, is the body of a bone, at the end of which is a sock- et ; C, the cartilage lining the socket, thick at the sides and thin in the centre ; B, the body of a bone, at the end of which is a round head ; C, the in- vesting cartilage, thin at the sides and thick in the centre. Cartilage grows thinner, harder, and less elastic in old age. Hence old people are not quite as tall as in middle life, and a little stiffer in their joints. The synovial membrane is a thin layer covering the cartilage, and being bent back upon the inner surface of the ligaments, it forms a closed sack. From its inner surface a sticky fluid oozes out, which helps the joints to play easily. 26 ANATOMY. There are other smaller sacks connected with the joints, called bursa mucosas. They secrete a fluid similar to that from the syno- vial membrane. The ligaments. To retain the bones in their places at the joints, some strong, flexible straps are required to stretch across from one to the other, and to firmly unite them. Such are the ligaments. They are the pearl-colored, lustrous, shining parts about the joints, in the form of straps and cords. There are a number of them so woven together as to form a complete covering of the joint, called a capsular ligament. In Figure 17 : 1, 2, are ligaments extending from the hip bone, 6, to the femur, 4. In Figure 18 : 1, is the socket of Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. the hip joint; 2, the head of femur, lodged in the socket; 3, the ligament within the socket. In Figure 19 : 1, is the tendon of the muscle which extends the leg; 2, the knee cap (patella) ; 3, the ante- rior ligament of the patella ; 6, the long external lateral ligament ; 4, 4, the synovial membrane ; 5, the internal lateral ligament ; 7, the anterior and superior ligament that unites the tibia with the fibula. Uses of the Bones. The bones are to the body what the frame is to the house. They hold up and retain the other parts in their proper places. They fur- nish points of attachment for the muscles, to hold the body together, and to give it motion. They also furnish strong, bony cavities for the lodgment and protection of such delicate organs as the eye, the brain, and the heart. A single bone, examined by itself, might not seem to have much beauty or design about it ; it might even look clumsy and misshapen. But when all the bones are inspected with reference to each other, we immediately discover a general plan upon which they are made, and are compelled to admire their beautiful harmony, and the symmetrical grace with which they act. They show us that God can command our wonder, even in the bony frame of our bodies. ANATOMY. 27 The Muscles. That part of the animal's body which we call lean meat is com- posed of muscles. We have already explained that muscles are com- posed of threads, etc., put together in great numbers, forming bundles. So numerous are these threads and bundles in some cases, that the mus- cles which are composed of them have a strength truly wonderful. Toward the end of the muscle, the fibres cease, and the structure is so modified as to become a white cord of great density and strength. This cordy substance is fastened to the bone so strongly, that it is impossible, except in some rare case, to detach it. Generally the bone will sooner break than this attachment will give way. Some- times this cord spreads out like a membrane. It is then called fascia or aponeurosis. The fibres of a muscle have the peculiar property of contracting under a nervous stimulus sent to them by the will. These contrac- tions cause them to act as pullies, and to move the bones, and conse- quently the limbs and body, in such direction as the will commands. This is the special use of the muscles. All our movements are caused by them. They pull us about, not blindly and at random, but under the direction of an intelligent will. The manner in which a muscle acts, with the cord attached, may be seen by examining the leg or " drum-stick " of a fowl. If the cord on one side be pulled, the claws are shut ; if that upon the other side be drawn, they will open. If both be pulled, they are held fast in one position, neither opening nor shutting. An examination of a piece of boiled lean meat, will show the threads of which it is composed. With proper instruments, these may be unravelled, as it were, until fibres will be found not larger than a spider's web. These, covered with sheaths of great delicacy, extend beyond the fleshy fibre, and with the cell substance connecting the fibres, are condensed into tendon. Millions of these sheathed fibres are gathered into a bundle, and covered with a sheath, and thus form what is called a. fasciculus. A muscle is a number of these fasciculi made into a bundle, and covered with a sheath called a fascia. (Fig. 1.) The arm is a number of muscles bundled together, and covered, likewise, by a fascia. The fibres in a fasciculus being parallel, act together. But the fas- ciculous bundles, which make up a muscle, act in various ways. Shape of the Muscles. — Some muscles are fusiform or spindle- fig.20v shaped, so that the attachment occupies but a . ^— -^^^ small space. (Fig. 20.) ^^^SUH^^^ Other muscles are radiate or fan-shaped. (Fig. 21.) Such is the temporal muscle, the thin edge of fig. 21. which is attached to the side of the head, without producing an elevation or deformity. In some cases the fasciculi are arranged upon one or both sides of a tendon. In this way a 2$ ANATOMY. great number may concentrate their action upon a single point. Such muscles are called penniform, — being shaped like fig. 22. the feather end of a pen. (Fig. 22.) ugar. ai Kg ■M .Q _q ^3 15 15 10 to 19 2to4 55 15 15 12 to 15 2 to 3 60 16 20 14 to 19 5 to 7 60 12 10 to 20 10 to 15 3 to 4 60 14 6 12 5 to 9 70 15 25 8 0.4 50 13 3 7 0.7 75 . U 8 to 11 24 to 28 2 to 3 40 14 9 24 2.1 50 75 4 2.0 0.3 18 88 2 1.5 0.3 9 85 3 1.5 0.4 10 85 2 2 11 85 3.03 0.48 10.36 85 S.31 0.26 12.46 85 2 0.35 13 80 Ik 2.5 30 to 35 ( 16 68 Starch 10.33 9.70 5.85 Sugar 4.12 Gum 66.54 Stch 14.50 4.63 8.97 • 1 2.56 Sugar 9.40 Gum 14 14 2 68 14 18 6 62 13.1 55 19.3 4.7 .6 3 . 2 3 4 2 n 4 0£ 3 3 | to 1| . £ to 4-5 1^ to 2 1 to 1 14 .75 2 2 7.3 The following tables have an admirably practical bearing upon economy in food : 100 lbs. Barley, Beans, Beets, Buckwheat, . . . Carrots, Corn, Oats, Peas, Potatoes, Turnips (field), Do. (Swedish), . Wheat Flour, . Wheat Bran, . Cheese,* Cheese,f * Whole milk. t Skim-milk. Muscle- forming Elements, in lbs. 14 26 2 8 li 12 17 24 2 n 11 18 28 45 Fat-forming Elements, in lbs. Relative Propor- tion of each, in lbs. 64 42 12 54 10 77 66 52 19 9 12 79 6 27 1 to 4* 1 to 1$ 1 to 6 1 to 6| 1 to 6| 1 to 6* 1 to4 1 to 2| 1 to 9£ 1 to6 1 to 5* 1 to 7 1 to £ 1 to 1 1 to J Husky, or Woody fibre, in lbs. 15 10 (?) 25 3 6 20 8 4 2 2 55 HYGIENE. 77 Articles. Cost. Barley, $1 50 per bu. Beans, 2 50 " Corn, 1 10 " Oats, 68 « Peas, 2 00 " Potatoes, 1 50 " Turnips, 50 " Flour (fine), 12 00 per bbl. Flour (unbolted), 11 00 " Muscle-producing Elements. 8.4 lbs. 16.6 « 6.7 " 5.2 " 14.3 " 1.6 " 1.2 " 22.0 " 24.8 " Cost of Muscle-produc- ing Elements. 18c. per lb. 15c. " 16|c. " 13c. " 14c. " 94c. " 41c. « 54c. " 44c. " These tables will well repay study, for their practical use will save many dollars to the poor. Let it be remembered that producing muscle is the same thing as producing strength, or labor power. Bearing this in mind, the following table will be very interesting: One pound of labor-power from Potatoes costs 94c. per lb. " " " " " Fine Flour, 54c. " U U U (( (( M U (< « (( U (C it (( U U H (( U U U « U U <( Uunbolte( 1 do. 44c. Turnips, 41c. Barley, 18c. Corn, 17c. Beans, 15c. Peas, 14c. Oats, 13c. Meats are omitted in the table. So far as their nutritive qualities are concerned, it is of little consequence which are taken. Some are more digestible than others, and this consideration should influence those with weak stomachs in selecting. Every person, of course, knows their relative cheapness. Among the vegetables given in the table, there is a wider range for choice. Let us consider them in course. Wheat. — In this, the four groups are represented in excellent pro- portion. When not deprived of the bran, it is perhaps the very best supporter of animal life. So high have been the regards of men for it, and so generously have they awarded to it their acknowledgments, that its product, bread, has been everywhere called " the staff of life." It is unfortunately held at a high price. My hope is that the immense prairies at the West, adapted to its culture, will yet furnish it in such profusion as to bring it within the means of all. Barley. — This has the four groups represented in nearly the same proportions as wheat. It is, therefore, nearly as valuable an alimen- tary grain. Unfortunately it is not so toothsome as wheat, and can never be so popular an article of diet. The Scotch, however, feed upon it with apparent relish, and doubtless think it strange that for- eign palates are not better pleased with it. Oats. — This grain, strange to say, has more albuminous, or nutri- tive matter, more fat, more starch, and. more salts than wheat. In uniting a large quantity of the four alimentary groups, it surpasses every other vegetable substance. In albumen, it is not quite as rich 78 HYGIENE. as peas and beans, and in starch it falls a trifle below fine wheat flour ; but in fat it is exceeded only by Indian corn. This grain is likewise consumed largely by the Scotch, — a people whose claims to shrewd common sense are well supported by, as their hardy consti- tutions vindicate, the choice. This grain might well be permitted to take the place of rice. It affords several times as much nutriment, while it costs only about one-fifth as much. There is good reason why the horse should thrive upon oats. Most stable-keepers think their horses will do more work upon corn-meal, but this must be a mistake. In using oats for horse-feeding, a large portion of the nu- triment is lost by not grinding them. Rye. — This is also a grain of considerable nutritive value. It is much cheaper than wheat ; and rye meal has long been a standard article of diet in New England, — particularly in connection with Indian meal, as " brown bread." It is useful for relieving costiveness, in the form of " hasty-pudding," with molasses. Indian Corn. — This staple article of American produce needs no praise from me. It is comparatively cheap, nutritive, and wholesome. It abounds in fat and starch, and has a fair amount of albumen, though not as much as the oat, the barley, or the wheat. In salts, it is rather deficient. Indian corn is strictly an American plant, and is perhaps the most popular grain in the country. It has emphatically a national reputation, and is perhaps worked up into more savory dishes than any other. At the South it is an institution. It is there made into hoe cake, corn cake, batter cakes, batter bread, muffins, corn pone, etc. At the North, we have jonny cake, Indian and pumpkin cake, baked Indian pudding, boiled Indian pudding, beside the well- known rye and Indian bread, and other preparations. Give an in- genious Southern or Northern housewife a few simple adjuncts, such as lard, milk, sugar, eggs, cream of tartar, and soda, and she will make a pretty respectable larder from this single grain. If molasses be substituted for sugar, and a little stewed pumpkin be thrown in by way of garniture, we may have several preparations which are very nourishing as well as cheap. Buckwheat. — Poor in nutritive matter, fat, starch, and sugar, but tolerably well supplied with salts. It will do very well for batter cakes in winter. When brought smoking upon the table, and served with sugar or molasses and butter, these cakes are a luxury, in which the rich may indulge if they choose ; but for the poor, the amount of nourishment they afford is too small for their cost. Rice. — Much like buckwheat, except that it has more fat, sugar, and starch, and less salts. As an article of diet, it has had too high a reputation. Those who would live on small means cannot afford it. Boiled in plain water, it is excellent for a relaxed state of the bowels ; and this is about all the commendation to which it is entitled. Beans. — The richest in nutritive matter of all vegetable substan- ces, except cabbage and oats. They have more albumen than wheat, HYGIENE. or corn, or barley, or oats ; but in fat and starch, they are lower in the scale. Add to them salt pork, and the highest of all nutrient compounds is obtained. During not less than four generations, pork and beans, as the principal diet, nourished an iron-sided race of men in New England. Bean-porridge was like honey upon the tongue of the founders of New England institutions. They ate it morning, noon, and night ; and thanked God for it every time. And well they might thank Him ; for, with Indian corn, it furnished them with a diet better adapted to their condition than any other. Peas. — Not quite as rich as beans in albumen, but more rich in starch ; of about the same value on the whole. The Canadian French in Lower Canada, feed on peas to about the same extent that the New Englanders did on b^ans. Pea-soup, as prepared by the best cooks among them, is a dish of great nutritive excellence ; and, in my judgment, more palatable than bean-soup. ' The Potato. — Three-quarters of this root is water, and it is poor in all the elements of nutrition. It is a palatable article, and most persons are much attached to it. As bulk is of some consequence in food, the potato is not without value ; but should the disease with which it has been tormented for several years, finally exterminate it, the loss to the world would not be so great as many suppose. Men do not often live entirely upon potatoes, — not even in Ireland. Milk, butter-milk, and especially cabbage, are united with them. Turnips, Carrots, Beets, Parsnips. — These are much alike, — being all poor in nutritive qualities. They serve to please the palate by furnishing a variety ; but in our city markets, they are expensive, and do not furnish an economical diet. Cabbage. — It is interesting to observe how the instincts of men have in all ages led them to select those articles of diet which their circumstances have demanded. The poverty of the Irish has led them to subsist largely upon the potato, — a root which the soil of their country yields profusely. But as this root has but little nutritive matter, necessity required that it should be united with some other vegetable. The natural instinct selected the cabbage ; and when chemical science came, at length, to pass judgment upon the correct- ness of this instinct, it turns out that the cabbage is the richest in albumen of any known vegetable. The cabbage, then, is the natural complement of the potato ; and the Irish had the sagacity, without science, to bring the two together. It is said the Irish have a dish named " kohl-cannon," consisting of boiled and mashed potatoes and cabbage, seasoned with pork fat, pepper, and salt, and that it is a truly savory dish. It certainly is a nourishing, and a cheap one. The ambassador who was sent to tamper with the patriotism of a Roman who had dined on beans, was asked if he was silly enough to think gold and silver could bribe a man, who was satisfied with so plain a fare, and desired no other. We come to the conclusion, then, that bean porridge, pea soup, suet pudding, sweetened with molasses, oat meal, and barley bread, with " kohl-cannon " for those who can digest 80 HYGIENE. it, will furnish, for hard-working men, the most substantial diet, at the smallest possible expense. To render these dishes savory, and to make the table on which they are spread an inviting board, the deft housewife must employ her best skill in serving them. With the thousand " fixings," with which a New England matron knows how to -garnish them (or would know how if they came within her culinary operations), they are well fitted to leave savory impressions upon tongues which would praise them to the end of life. J speak of these articles as furnishing a cheap diet for working men. The indolent, the sedentary, and the effeminate from various causes, could not digest them. The Amount of Pood Taken. We have already explained that this should be governed, in part, by the amount of exercise taken, by the condition of the health, by the state of the mind, by the climate, by the season, etc. It remains to add a few words, in a general way, respecting the absolute amount required by an adult man. It is plain enough that most men eat too much. We come very near, in this country, being a nation of gormands. A principal reason of our over-eating is, that we eat so fast. When the food is well and slowly masticated and swallowed, the gastric juice has time to mix with it ; and at the proper moment, the appetite ceases. But when our food is bolted rapidly, nature, finding her laws disregarded, and all her purposes frustrated, stands back, and lets us learn to stop, too late, alas ! from a sense of fulness in a stretched and abused stomach. It has already been stated, that Lewis Cornaro lived fifty-eight years, namely, from the age of forty-two to one hundred, on twelve ounces of solid food a day, with about the same amount of light wines. At the age of eighty-four, he wrote a book, in which he praises "divine temperance" in terms which are sometimes eloquent, and often enthusiastic. Indeed it is very rare that a man at that age retains such clearness of intellect, and especially such freshness of feeling as he evinces in his book. Probably but few could live on the amount of food which he found sufficient. Yet it is said the distin- guished John Wesley lived on sixteen ounces a day, which,' as he took no wine, and had to derive the combustive materials for warming the body from the food, was quite as scanty a fare as that of Cornaro. Considering that he led a most extraordinarily active life, both of body and mind, being half his waking hours in the saddle, and preaching almost daily, this is probably the most remarkable case of abstemi- ousness on record. Jonathan Edwards did not, I think, exceed the same amount of food, but he was not so active a man. Putting aside such exceptional cases as these, we may say in round numbers, that a laboring man requires, to keep him in health, about two to two and a half pounds of solid food per day. For ministers, lawyers, doctors, authors, and merchants, one pound and a half is amply sufficient. The amount should be increased a little by a se- lection from some of the fuel-formers, if no fermented or alcoholic HYGIENE. 81 drinks be taken, and slightly diminished if they are used. The reason is, that these drinks furnish fuel to be burned in breathing, which has to be drawn from the food, when they are not employed. This fur- nishes no motive for using- ardent spirits ; for there is fuel enough to be had in the oils, starches, and sugars. Dyspeptics. — It is said that dyspeptics eat more than persons in health ; and, in many cases, the remark may be true. The appetite of a person suffering from this disease is almost always morbid, and the information it gives respecting the real wants of the system, can seldom be trusted. If we allow a diseased stomach to dictate to us when, and what, and how much we shall eat and drink, our misery for life is a foregone question. A sick stomach is like a spoiled child; it cries for what it should not have. If the dyspeptic will live, and enjoy any amount of peace and comfort, he must follow this simple rule : To eat no more than can be digested, even though the amount be only an ounce a day. Animal and Vegetable Food. It has generally been supposed that it was intended man should subsist on a mixed .diet, consisting of both animal and vegetable sub- stances. Within the last twenty-five years, however, a school of physiologists have appeared in this country, who affirm that a vege- table diet is alone consistent with the laws of health. They declare that animal food is not adapted to man's organization, — that it un- duly stimulates the blood, predisposes to fevers, consumptions, diar- rhoeas, choleras, apoplexy, and numerous other diseases, and of course shortens life. That such a school should have come into existence in this country, where animal food is more largely consumed than in any other part of the world, in proportion to the number of people, is not surprising. We do, undoubtedly, eat too much flesh. So enormous is the consumption, that notwithstanding the vast herds of cattle raised in all our agricultural states, the supply is not equal to the demand ; and beef, for two years, has been selling in Boston mar- ket at twenty cents per pound,— r at least twice its full value as a blood-former. Facts show that man may live upon flesh alone, upon vegetables alone, or upon flesh and vegetables combined. Is it best he should subsist upon vegetables only, or upon a mixed diet ? A mere affirm- ation upon these points is of little consequence. To cite facts avails nothing. Men have a way of making their own affirmations, and of looking at facts with eyes which sometimes see clearly enough on both sides of them, but totally ignore their existence. Man's Structure Settles the Question. — To settle this matter, we must appeal to man's organization. His structure will tell us some- thing we need not mistake. All the works of God show design. Everything he has made has a use, and is so contrived as to be adapted to that use. Lions, tigers, and other animals for example which feed on flesh alone, have a short second stomach, — it being 82 HYGIENE. only about three times the length of the animal's body. Animals which eat no flesh, have a long second stomach, — that of the sheep being from thirty to thirty-five times the length of its body. A very remarkable difference of anatomical structure I This is the meaning of the difference : Vegetable food has a great deal of waste matter in it. Woody fibre makes quite an item in its composition. This waste portion must all be carefully separated from the nutritive part, and this must all be done in the second stomach. It takes time to do it. It must not be done in a hurry. The nutritive materials are destined to build a living structure, whose duration, like that of all other fabrics, will depend on the care with which the mate- rials are selected and put together. The second stomach of the sheep is long, that there may be ample time for the mixed mass of chyme when it passes out of the first stomach, to be changed to chyle, and then to be carefully separated into the two parts, the useful and the useless. Animal food is in its composition just like our own flesh, — there is little waste matter, and not much time is required for its sep- aration ; hence, the second stomach of flesh-eating animals is short. Nearly the whole alimentary mass is quickly taken up by the lacteals, and there is no occasion for its travelling through a long second stomach. Man's second stomach is in length midway between that of the flesh-eating and the vegetable-eating animals. If there be design in the works of the Creator, and if that design in the structure of the flesh and vegetable-consuming animals has now been correctly inter- preted, it is plain that man is best nourished when he eats both kinds of food. The structure of his teeth, and the motions of his jaws (see p. 30), confirms the same conclusion. » Americans Eat too Much Meat. — Yet, as I have said, there is no doubt the Americans eat too much meat. Sedentary persons require but very little. Less is wanted in summer than in winter, — in warm climates than in cold. People of wealth, whose circumstances im- pose no bodily hardships, need less than the poor, who are much exposed, and work hard ; whereas, they consume more. Those who do not labor with their hands, should never taste meat more than once a day. It is painfully-amusing (if such a compound word is admissible) to hear a nervous female, whose sole exercise consists in going from the parlor to the kitchen once or twice a day, and in making a brief shopping excursion once a week, complain that she cannot maintain her strength unless she eats freely twice a day of meat, and takes her free potations of strong coffee and wine. A like opinion prevails generally among the feeble who are not obliged to labor. The child in its nurse's arms, must daily, it is thought, suck a piece of chicken or beef steak in order to thrive. Children thus fed, have their blood constantly inflamed, and stand a poor chance when attacked by scarlet fever. The little master or miss who attends school, complains of headache, and grows pale, feeble, and nervous. The books are blamed and thrown aside for HYGIENE. 83 what the dishes have done. The doctor is called in, and assured that the dear child can eat nothing but a little fat broth, a custard, or cake ; and if he prescribe a diet of plain bread and milk, he is be- lieved to be heartless, and his prescription is not followed. The Majority of Mankind Eat no Flesh. — All such misguided per- sons should be apprized that the great majority of mankind eat no flesh, because they cannot afford it. And they do not appear to suffer from its loss. Millions of Irish do not taste of flesh or fish from one month's end to another. Potatoes, oat meal, and cabbage constitute their chief diet. Rice, poor as it is in nourishment, sustains, when combined with vegetable oil, millions of people in Asia. The Lazaroni of Naples, with active and finely moulded forms, live on bread and potatoes. These facts do not afford ground for altogether rejecting animal food, any more than Bayard Taylor's statement respecting whole tribes in Africa who live upon flesh, furnishes a reason for excluding vegetable aliment. Man may live and enjoy health upon either, but his organ- ization implies the use of both. Proportions of Animal and Vegetable Food. Upon this subject, it is impossible to fix any absolute rules. This is a point which must be determined by the temperament, the state of the health, the constitution, etc. Persons of a scrofulous habit should eat freely of animal food. But an inflamed stomach should never be tormented with flesh. Meat is stimulating, and will be al- most sure to do mischief when there is heat and tenderness at the pit of the stomach. There are cases of inflammation of this organ, in which it may be necessary to live on bread and milk, with articles of the starch group, for months, and even for years. On the other hand, when the system has run low from some ex- hausting disease, which excites no feverish action, it may be necessary at times, to take a diet almost exclusively animal. It is absurd to talk of the same diet as adapted to all persons, even when in health. As well might we expect one shoe to fit every foot, or one coat every back, or one color every eye, or one doctrine every mind. Temperance the Main Tiling. — After all, the great thing to be aimed at is temperance. It is not so necessary to reject one article and use another, as to partake of all with moderation. " I do not live to eat and drink ; I eat and drink to live," said a wise philoso- pher of the olden time. One would think the moderns had reversed this rule. A modern table has the appearance of being spread for the purpose of inducing men to eat all their stomachs will hold. A man who can dine daily, for half a dozen years, at one of our first class hotels, and then find himself free of dyspepsia, and all other diseases, must have a fine constitution, as well as most admirable control over his appetite. Mr. Addison said, " When I behold a full table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy I see gout, cholic, fevers, and lethargies 84 HYGIENE. lying in ambuscade among the dishes ;" to which he adds, with much truth, in another place, " Abstinence starves a growing distemper." Good Results of Temperance. — A temperate diet has always been attended with excellent results, and always will be. There are times of great anxiety, when abstinence should be pushed to the extreme verge of endurance. During the siege of Gibraltar, Lord Heath- field, its gallant defender, lived eight days on four ounces of rice per day. Dr. Franklin, when a journeyman printer, lived two weeks on bread and water, at the rate of ten pounds of bread a week, and was stout and hearty. Dr. Jackson, an eminent physician in the British army, says, " I have wandered a good deal about the world, and never followed any prescribed rule in anything; my health has been tried in all ways ; and by the aids of temperance and hard work, I have worn out two armies, in two wars, and probably could wear out an- other before my period of old age arrives." Lord Bacon was right in the opinion that intemperance of some kind or other destroys the bulk of mankind, and that life may be sus- tained by a very scanty portion of nourishment. Cornaro, whom I have before mentioned as having lived fifty-eight years on twelve ounces of solid food a day, wrote as follows respecting himself in his eighty-fifth year: " I now enjoy a vigorous state of body and of mind. I mount my horse from the level ground ; I climb steep ascents with ease ; and have wrote a comedy full of innocent mirth and raillery. When I return home, either from private business or from the senate, 1 have eleven grand-children, with whose education, amusement and songs, I am greatly delighted ; and I frequently sing with them, for my voice is clearer and stronger now, than ever it was in my youth. In short, I am in all respects happy, and quite a stranger to the dole- ful, morose, dying life of lame, deaf, and blind old age, worn out with intemperance." Howard, the philanthropist, fasted one day in the week ; and Napoleon, when he felt his system unstrung, suspended his meals, and took exercise on horseback. Nothing can be plainer than the duty of fasting, when the stomach, having been overworked, is disinclined to receive food. Brutes in- variably follow this suggestion of nature ; they never eat when sick, — probably because they have no silly nurses to coax them to swal- low stimulating aliments. The habit of putting high-seasoned food into the stomach when it is inflamed and feverish, is about as wise as directing streams of blue, violet, or red light into the eye when it is led and swollen with inflammation. Tea and Coffee. It is proper before closing this chapter upon diet, that something should be said respecting the beverages of tea and coffee. Some twenty years ago, more or less, a meeting was held by the leading physicians of a city in the old world, in which the merits of tea and coffee were discussed. In this discussion each man first stated his experience in the use of these articles, and then con- HYGIENE. 85 stmcted his argument according to that experience. The amount of what the reader could learn from the discussion was, that Dr. A. had used tea all his life, and been benefited by it, while coffee had uni- formly injured him ; and that he thought tea should be used, while coffee should be rejected ; — that Dr. B. had taken coffee at breakfast, and found it an excellent support to the stomach and nervous system, while tea had disturbed his digestion and his mind ; and that the former was a beverage of excellent qualities, while the latter was detestable; — that Dr. C. had always drank both tea and coffee, and recommended them to everybody; — and that Dr. D. had himself never been able to indulge, either tea or coffee, and would have them both expelled from every household. The discussion was not creditable to the learned and really able men who participated in it. The arguments were all based upon the miserably narrow basis of single individual experiences. They were no more valid than that of the man who should hold up a shoe, de- claring it fitted his foot the best of any he ever had, and recommend- ing all men to have their shoes made upon the same last. The truth is, there is but one thing which can be affirmed universally of the effect of tea and coffee. They both, when taken, tend to prevent waste in the body, and, consequently, less food is required when they are used. This may be affirmed of them in their applicability to all persons, but nothing further. The truth is, some can drink tea but not coffee, and some coffee but not tea ; some can use both, and some neither. Every man's susceptibility to the effects of these beverages is his own, as much as his susceptibility to the effects of light, or heat, or atmospheric changes ; and these effects, each person must learn from experience. Coffee often produces, and generally aggravates, a bilious habit, — an effect which cannot, I believe, be traced to the use of tea, I have no doubts but that many cases of confirmed dyspepsia are traceable to the use of coffee alone. Water. There is one universal beverage ; it is water. All men are fond of it. In sickness and in health, in joy and sorrow, in summer and winter, in cold climates and in hot, man loves and drinks water. The stomach, abused and made sick by stimulating food and drinks, and repelling everything else, still gratefully opens itself to water. Wher- ever man exists, therefore, or wherever he should exist, water is found, either in the form of springs, or running brooks, or rivers, or ponds, or lakes ; and even where it is not found in some of these forms, it is periodically dropped down from the clouds. As there is no element in nature more necessary for man's existence than water, so there is none more universally diffused. Pure Water Essential to Health. — But water varies very materially, both in its physical qualities, and in its adaptation to its purposes. Pure water is as essential to health as pure air. When either of these fluids is rendered impure by mixture with foreign matters, disease will be a frequent result. The ancients must have been influenced by this fact, or they would not have incurred such heavy expenses in procuring pure water from great distances. The strong aqueducts through which, for many miles r large streams of water are at this day poured into fallen Rome, attest the freeness of the expenditures she made for this purpose in the day of her renown. We may pity the ancient Romans for being governed in their military operations by the opinions of augurs and soothsayers, and certainly these things were silly enough ; but in other things, at first view equally superstitious, they showed practical wisdom. Vetruvius reports that in selecting the sites of their cities, they inspected the livers and spleens of animals to learn the salubrity of the waters and the alimentary productions of the region. The size and condition of these organs do in fact indicate the nature of the pasturage and the qualities of the water with which animals are supplied. No people can enjoy good health, when sub- jected to the double influence of bad water and impure air. Division of Water. — The simplest division of water is into two kinds, soft and hard. Rain, river, pond, and snow water is soft : well and spring water is generally hard. Soft water contains but little impu- rities, and when used for washing, forms a good lather with soap. Hard water contains at least one of the salts of lime, often more ; mixed with soap, it curdles and turns white. The reason of this is, that the oily acids of the soap unite with the lime, and form a com- pound which the water will not dissolve. Such water is not suitable for domestic purposes. Chemical Nature of Water. — Water contains, reckoning the ele- ments of which it is composed in volumes, one volume of hydrogen, and half a volume of oxygen. These two gases, the unlearned reader will please to remember, are highly subtle bodies, not visible to the eye ; and yet, when chemically united, they form a liquid which covers two-thirds the entire surface of the globe, — floating upon its bosom the navies and merchant ships of all nations, and, by its un- measured depths, and vast breadths, and sublime movements, fills the thoughtful mind with conceptions of creative Power, which words never attempt to express. Should the two gases which compose this vast body of water cease to love each other, and fall asunder, the first lighted taper would set the world on fire, and not a living being upon its surface could escape destruction. Impurities in Water. — It is not surprising that a fluid with as great a solvent power as water, should often dissolve and hold in solu- tion a great many impurities. In passing along through the earth, before it comes up in springs and wells, it is filtered through various mineral earths, and becomes contaminated accordingly. In running through beds of limestone, it takes up a little carbonate of lime. Salt beds impart to it common salt (muriate of soda), while sulphur and other ores tinge it with salts of various kinds. Water from the wells of Boston, formerly used by the inhabitants, was largely impregnated with common salt, and other mineral substan- ces. So marked was the saline taste, from this cause, that the New- Yorkers and Philadelphians used to say the Bostonians, when visiting their cities, had to salt their water. HYGIENE. 87 Cocliituate Water. — These wells, which so long yielded up brack- ish water to offend the palates of strangers, are now abandoned, and Boston is blessed by a copious stream of pure soft water, drawn through a fine aqueduct from Cochituate Lake, twenty miles distant. This water is distributed to about every house and shop in the city. The result is, that the health of the citizens has been materially improved. Fevers, particularly those of the typhoid type, have dimin- ished, both in prevalence and fatality. The decaying vegetable and animal matter, so much of which gets into the common sewers, and which, in former years, sent up poisonous gases to attack the life of the citizens, are now washed away by the soft water, which is daily and hourly dropping through the sinks of all the dwellings of the city. Schuylkill and Croton Waters. — The Schuylkill water, introduced into Philadelphia, and the Croton, brought from quite a distance to New York, are both good waters ; though neither, as chemical analy- sis has shown, is quite as pure as the Cochituate, of Boston. Lead Pipes. — In each of these three cities, water is conveyed through the dwellings in leaden pipes, — a practice fraught with a danger to which the inhabitants should not expose themselves. That lead does often become oxidized and impart its poisonous properties to water when long in contact with it, is a well-known fact. Let a number of persons drink every morning from the first water drawn from the pipes, and a portion of them will be attacked with some form of lead disease. The pipes should be emptied every morning, before using the water for domestic purposes ; and then, it is true, there is little danger. But where the work in the kitchen is done by hired persons, who have no appreciation of the danger, how is it to be known whether this act of safety is always carefully performed ? Water pipes should certainly be made of some other material. Physical and Other Properties of Water. — Good water is without smell, is perfectly clear, and in the mouth, has a soft and lively feel. When poured from one vessel to another, it should give out air- bubbles. Boiled and distilled waters have a vapid, flat taste. This is owing to their containing no carbonic acid gas or atmospheric air, — these being driven off in the act of boiling and distilling. A hun- dred cubic inches of good river water contains about 2% of carbonic acid, and 1^ of common air. Carbonic acid is what gives to mineral, or soda water, its brisl^ and even pungent taste. Without a portion of this acid and atmos- pheric air, water is perfectly insipid, and not fit to be used as a bev- erage. Hence, if it be boiled or distilled to clear it of earthy matters, we must expose a large surface of it to the air, and shake it, that it may re-absorb from the atmosphere, what it has lost, and thus recover its taste. Rain Water is the Result of Distillation on a large scale, and would be insipid, like other distilled water, only that, after being distilled off 88 HYGIENE. from the waters upon the surface of the earth, it recovers, while as- cending as vapor, the carbonic acid and atmospheric air. Fishes breathe air as well as land animals, and hence, lakes upon the tops of high mountains, where but little oxygen can be absorbed into the water from the air, are not inhabited by the finny tribes. The Saltness of the Ocean is simply the accumulation of the saline substances washed out of the bowels of the earth. The water which for thousands of years has been distilling off as vapor, from the surface of the ocean, is nearly pure. Being carried by the winds to the continents, it falls as rain, sinks into the earth, is filtered through mineral substances, comes to the surfaces in springs, is collected into rivers, and, with all its freight of mineral salts, is borne back to the ocean. Everything that water can dissolve, and carry down from the continents, finds a great depository in the ocean ; and as this has no outlet, the accumulation must go on without limit. Rivers which flow into the ocean, contain from ten to fifty grains of salts to the gallon, — composed chiefly of common salt, sulphate and carbonate of lime, magnesia, soda, potash and iron ; and these are the constituents of sea-water. The time must come, in the history of our globe, when these salts will render the water of the ocean so dense that a man can no more sink in it than a cork can sink in fresh water. Cleansing of Impure Water. — Impure waters should be cleansed before being used for domestic purposes. Distillation is the most perfect method of purification. Filtration through sand is a good method. It removes all suspended vegetable or animal matter, and all living animals. Boiling likewise kills all animals, and throws to the bottom carbonate of lime. It is this which constitutes the crust which lines tea-kettles in all regions where limestone exists. Settlers in a new country, should make it a prime object to find good water. This is of great moment. Their own health, and the health of their posterity is dependent upon it. Any soil, good or bad, is not worth half price, if it yield impure water. Reasons for Prizing' Water. — Finally, we ought all to prize water very highly, for it composes nearly eight-tenths of our entire bodies, in- cluding our flesh, blood, and other fluids. Nay, we owe to it the very softness, delicacy, and smoothness of our persons. Our muscles, nerves, blood-vessels, glands, cartilages, etc., all play smoothly upon each other in consequence of water. Take all the water out of us, and we should be dry sticks indeed. All our comeliness would be gone. Nobody would or could love us. We should be walking reeds, shaken and sported with by every wind. Let us never forget how much we are indebted to water. Exercise. Animal life is conditioned upon exercise. Without it health can- not exist, or life itself be continued for any great length of time. HYGIENE. 89 Proper exercise communicates motion to every part susceptible of it. It expands the breast, contracts and relaxes the muscles, quickens the motion of the blood, moves afresh all the other fluids, and stirs to the centre the whole frame. More easy and perfect digestion, the nutrition of every part, and the proper performance of all the secre- tions and excretions, are the results of such exercise. A distinguished physician said : " I know not which is most neces- sary to the support of the human frame, food or motion." Some of the finest talents in the world are probably lost for the want of exercise ; for without it the mind loses its keen perception, and its bounding energy ; its power of application and its general scope. If men of great talents would give attention to exercise, the world would reap a larger harvest from their written thoughts. The arrangements of modern society have very much abridged the facilities for taking exercise ; but if Trenck in his damp prison, with fetters of seventy pounds weight upon him, could preserve his health by leaping about like a lion, most persons could do as much with the fetters of modern society upon their limbs. Must be Regular. — Exercise, to be of much service, must be regu- lar, — not taken by fits and starts, — a good deal to-day and none to- morrow ; but in reasonable measure every day. Occasional efforts, with intervening inactivity, only does mischief. Must be Pleasurable. — It should be connected, too, if possible, with some pleasing occupation or pursuit. The movement of the limbs should carry us towards some place or end in which the mind feels an interest ; exercise will then do us most good. Hence, botanical pursuits, the cultivation of a garden, and the like, are often preferable to a solitary and aimless walk. Must not be Excessive. — Exercise should never be carried so far as to produce great fatigue. Extremes are injurious ; and too much ex- ercise, especially by a sick or feeble person, may be as injurious as too little. No clothing should be thrown off after exercise, nor should one cool off by sitting in a draft of air. Very serious consequences often fol- low this practice. Not to be Taken After Meals. — It is not best to take exercise im- mediately after meals. The reasons for this caution have been ex- plained. It is true many laboring men go at once to their work after eating, without apparent injury. Yet they are strong, and can endure what those who use their brains chiefly could not. And even they do not labor as easily and cheerfully immediately after dinner. Active and Passive. — Exercise is properly divided into active and passive. Walking, running, leaping, dancing, gardening, various sports, etc., are active. While sailing, swinging, and riding in carriages, are passive. Riding on horse-back is of a mixed nature, — being both active and passive. A few remarks upon these several kinds of exercise, will have a practical value to some of the readers of these pages. 90 HYGIENE. Walking* is one of the most gentle, easy, and generally one of the most useful of the active exercises. It is within the reach of all who have the use of their limbs, and is indulged at the expense only of a little shoe leather. To make it agreeable, the face is only to be turned to some favorite locality, and the mind put in communion with the voices of nature. To walk with the best advantage, the body should be kept upright, the shoulders thrown back, the breast projected a little forward, so as to give the lungs full play, and the air an opportunity to descend to the bottom of them. This attitude places all the organs of the body in the most natural position, and relieves them from all restraint. Walking then becomes a source of pleasure. The artist who bends over his pallet, and gets into a cramped position, is by this kind of walking relieved, and his body kept upright. Females, particularly of the wealthier class, are much more apt to neglect this species of exercise than males. It is not so in England. There it is no uncommon thing for ladies of high rank to walk ten miles a day ; and they do it in shoes of suffi- cient thickness to protect their feet from all dampness, and in clothes large enough to give their muscles full play. As a consequence, they enjoy excellent health, and in many cases, even retain their freshness and beauty to old age. A master of one of the vessels of our navy who spent some time, lately, in the British Channel, was several times invited to spend the evening at Lord Hardwick's, where he made the acquaintance of two daughters of his lordship, who, in the drawing room, lie thought the most accomplished ladies he ever saw. Yet those young women, on two occasions, in company with other friends, walked miles to visit his vessel, once on a rainy day, clad in thick, coarse cloth cloaks which no rain could penetrate, and caring as little for wet weather as a couple of ducks. Good for the Studious. — For the studious, walking is a most capi- tal exercise. It varies the scenes so constantly, and brings the mind in contact with so many objects, that the monotony of in-door life is admirably broken. It was a maxim of Plato, that " he is truly a crip- ple, who, cultivating his mind alone, suffers his body to languish." Good in Cold Weather. — Walking is valuable in cold weather, be- cause it exposes one to the cold atmosphere, and hardens the person against frosty weather, — a consideration of great consequence in countries which are subject to extremes of cold. Running and Leaping are forms of exercise which should be in- dulged with prudence even by the young and healthy. For the feeble and the aged, they are entirely inadmissible. Used cautiously, in a system of regular training, they may help raise the bodily powers to a high degree of agility and endurance. The North American' Indian, who is bred to the chase, runs with surprising swiftness, and for en- durance is scarcely excelled by his faithful dog. What training does for the Indian, it may do for the white man, who may chance to in- herit as good a constitution. HYGIENE. 91 ^The Game of Ball requires very active running, and for the young, it is an exceedingly healthful amusement. It fills the whole frame with a bounding spirit, and sets the currents of life running like swollen brooks after heavy rains. Gymnastics. — The more active species of exercise have generally been included under the term gymnastics. Among the Greeks and Romans, feats of strength and endurance were supposed to confer honor. For this reason, and because war was a laborious calling, re- quiring bodily endurance and strength, their youth were trained in the most active exercises. Gymnastic games were with them at once the school of health, and the military academy. In England, during the middle ages, acts of parliament and royal proclamations were employed to regulate and foster those manly sports and exercises, which fitted the people for the activity required on the field of battle. Those preparations for brutal wars would be unsuited to the pres- ent state of the world ; but the capacity for endurance which these trainings produced, could be most usefully employed in the laborious and scientific researches which modern advancement requires. Very few of our scientific men have sufficient hardness of frame to sus- tain them in their laborious studies. The heart diseases which prevail so extensively are the result, many of them, of violent exercise, taken, perhaps, from necessity, and prov- ing injurious because not a matter of every-day practice. Violent exercise, more than any other kind, must be regular in order to be borne. Needed by Young Women. — Gymnastic exercises, and calisthenics, are particularly needed by our young women, to give them something of the robustness of our mothers, two generations back. For the want of them, they are dwindling away, and becoming almost worth- ies? for all the purposes for which they were made. In view of this want, I cannot but express my gratification here, that a high school for young ladies is now open in this city, under the care of the Rev. George Gannett and his lady, in which a large and suit- able room is set apart for the daily practice of cali sthenic and gym- nastic exercises, suited to the age and strength of each pupil, under the instruction of an experienced teacher of their own sex. I cannot but look upon this school, offering, as it does, the highest advantages for a complete education in science and morals also, as the beginning of better things. Moderns Physically Inferior to the Ancients. Reason for it. — It is evident that the moderns are inferior in bodily strength to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Before the introduction of Christianity, men knew very little about the future, and therefore strove to make the most of the present. Hence, they took measures to ensure health and long life. It is true that a due regard to the welfare of the future, need not, and should not, prevent a care for the present ; but from various causes, to be referred to on a subsequent page, such has been the practice, to the manifest physical injury of the race. Dancing, when hedged about with proper restrictions and limita- tions, has great advantages as a physical trainer of the young. There are very few forms of exercise which give so free a play to all the muscles, and at the same time so agreeably interest the mind. Begun in early life, and pursued systematically, dancing imparts a grace and ease of motion which nothing else can give. For this reason alone, it should be cultivated as an art. Everyman and woman is often placed in circumstances in life where the possession of an easy carriage of body, and an unembarrassed manner, would be prized above gold. One's personal influence in the world is greatly increased by an easy, graceful manner. We all know how a polite manner wins, while a rough and uncouth one repels us. Warning Against Excess. — While dancing has many things to re- commend it, there are also several considerations which should warn us against using it to excess, particularly in the ball saloons of fash- ionable life. So many muscles are called into play, the breathing is so much quickened, and the air breathed is often so impure, that the circulation of the blood is hastened almost to fever excitement. And when to this we add the use of wines and cordials, alternated with ices and iced drinks, and the exposure, on returning home from balls, to the chill night air, under the miserable protection of insuffi- cient clothing, we have draw-backs enough to abridge, if not to anni- hilate the benefits derived from this otherwise healthful and elegant exercise. But then it will be said, and truly enough, that these are the abuses, not the uses of dancing. To these abuses, no parent should permit the health of a child to be exposed. In the parlor at home, in con- nection with a few young friends gathered in to spend an evening ; or, in a well-ventilated hall, under the instruction of a master of known character and refinement, dancing is of high utility, and much may be said in its favor. An amusement for which there is so gen- eral a fondness, one may say, passion, must be fitted to meet some want of the animal economy, and perhaps of man's higher nature. Grace of motion gratifies our sense of the beautiful, and in its nature is allied to poetry. Turning away from the abuses of dancing, let the reader thankfully use it as one of the very best physical, social, and sesthetical educators of youth. But if dancing is salutary, it is only when every limb and muscle is allowed to participate naturally and without restraint in the general motion. When performed in a dress so tight as to restrain all free- dom, not only is every grace destroyed, but injury of a serious char- acter may be the result. The Cultivation of a Garden is also a species of exercise highly conducive to health. To the poor it should have a double attraction. It is not only a healthful exercise, but it yields, in its season, many wholesome vegetables, the price of which, when they have to be pur- chased, frequently puts them beyond the reach of the poor. It is pleasant to know that in the towns of Massachusetts, where shoes are largely manufactured, most of the workmen own small pieces of HYGIENE. 93 ground which they cultivate as gardens, — deriving health both from the labor, and from the vegetables raised. This is one of the kinds of exercise which are more beneficial from having an end in view The man who works in his garden derives pleasure from the im- provement he is making upon his ground, and from the prospect of advantage to himself and family. Other Active Exercises. — To the exercises already spoken of may be added those which are mostly taken indoors, — the dumb-be'ls, jumping the rope, the battle-dqor, etc. They may be resorted to when the weather is storm}-, or when any other cause may prevent one from going into the open air. Nevertheless, as promoters of health, they are inferior to those exercises which take one out under the open sky. They are too mechanical in their nature, and have too little aim, to be allowed to take the place of the preceding. Passive Exercises. Sailing. — This, to many persons, is among the most pleasurable and exciting of the passive exercises. But the excitement arising from the motions of a boat, sometimes, in case of timid persons, degenerates into fear, which is injurious. Young gentlemen who manage the boat upon sailing excursions, should never put on too much sail in a brisk wind, and torment the ladies by exciting their fears, as their own amusement may be in this way purchased at the cost of others' health, — a result far enough from their thoughts or intentions, but not the less real. Swinging. — The sick may sometimes indulge in this exercise, when capable of enduring no other. To swing gently has a soothing effect, and often allays nervous irritability in a waj which nothing else can. It is like the lullaby motion of the cradle. It calms and soothes. Nervous children and grown persons in feeble health, are some- times, by roguish boys, swung too high, and very much excited and alarmed. This is wrong. It may do great injury. Very few boys would do it if they knew the evil consequences. Boys and girls are generally kind hearted ; and though they may like to hector others, they will seldom knowingly injure them for their own amusement. Carriage-Riding. — The advantages to be derived from this species of exercise are probably rated too high. For feeble persons, just re- covering from illness, who cannot endure walking or riding on horse- back it is valuable, particularly if taken in an open carriage. But for those who have more strength, it is less desirable than many other ex- ercises. True, it is generally an agreeable mode of locomotion, and for this reason, it is generally more serviceable than the small amount of exercise afforded by it would lead one to suppose. Carriages are luxuries, and like all other luxuries, they a^e apt to bring on debility, and perhaps shorten life. A man is apt to order his carriage to the door at the time when increasing wealth enables him to retire from the active pursuits of life, — the very moment when 94 HYGIENE. he is most in need of some exertion to take the place of that to which he has been accustomed. Yet so it is, luxury comes to enfeeble, at the time when we need something to harden us. Could rich men be persuaded to let their luxuries consist, in part, in doing good, and like Howard, find pleasure in travelling on foot to visit those who are sick and in prison, they would be surprised to see how their happiness would be increased. Close carriages are generally used by the wealthy. They at best contain but little air, which is breathed over and over, and becomes unfit for respiration. The windows of such carriages should always be open, except in rainy weather, when the latticed windows only should be used. Riding; in Sleighs furnishes an agreeable excitement, and may be indulged to some extent with advantage. Yet it can be had only in cold weather, and persons who partake of its pleasures, should be careful to wear clothing enough to protect themselves against the frost. This is the more necessary, as very little motion is communi- cated to their bodies by the sleigh. Horse-Back Riding. — This form of exercise may fairly rank next to walking ; in some states of the system, it is preferable. It justly holds a high rank as an exercise for consumptive persons. Many a man, and woman too, has been benefited by it when suffering from lung disease. For those who have hernia, or falling of the bowel, it is not proper, as the most serious consequences may result from its use. The Horse should be Owned. — A feeble man who rides on horse- back should, if possible, own his horse ; for, becoming attached to him, as he generally does, he will be able to ride farther than upon an ani- mal in which he feels less interest. A horse is a noble creature, and a man who loves him, will sometimes acquire a passion, almost, for being upon his back, and witnessing his splendid performances. Pleasurable Exercises Most Beneficial. — Finally, those exercises are most beneficial, and can be longest endured, in which we feel the greatest interest. Place before even a feeble man some desirable ob- ject, and he will endure a great deal to reach it ; or engage the mind of a very tired person in something which greatly interests it, and considerably more exertion will be easily borne. This is well illus- trated by the story told by Miss Edgeworth of a certain father, who had taken a long walk with his little son, and found the boy appar- ently unable to walk further, some time before reaching home. " Here," said the shrewd-minded father, " ride on my gold-headed cane." Im- mediately the little fellow was astride the cane, which carried him as safely home as the freshest horse. Mental Co-operation is of the highest importance in all exercise. Men who are paid by the job, work with far more spirit than those who are paid by the day. One would dig in the earth with very little spirit, if he had no motive for doing it ; but if he expected with every HYGIENE. 95 shovelful of earth to bring up gold-dust, he would not only work with a will, but would endure a great deal more labor. From these consid- erations we may infer that those farmers and manufacturers, who pay their men the highest wages, make the most money on their work. The best time for taking exercise is that in which it does us most good. For most persons, the morning hours may be considered most favorable. But there are many who cannot take exercise in the early morning, without suffering from it through the whole day. Some are able to walk miles in the afternoon, who would be made sick by sim- ilar exertions immediately after rising. Persons often injure friends wh'o have this peculiarity of constitu- tion, by urging them out in the morning. They do it from good motives, but are, nevertheless, blameworthy for attempting to advise in matters which they do not understand. Rest and Sleep. Our bodies are like clocks ; they run down and are wound up once every twenty-four hours. Were they obliged to work on uninter- ruptedly, they would wear out in a few days. It is a merciful pro- vision that periods of repose are allotted to us. Everything has its proper place. Rest is not less a luxury after exercise, than exercise is after rest. They both confer happiness at the same time that they promote our well-being. Sleeping Rooms. — The largest part of our rest is taken in sleep, Of course the kind of room in which we sleep is worthy of considera- tion. Hufeland says: "It must not be forgotten that we spend a considerable portion of our lives in the bed-chamber, and consequently that its healthiness or unhealthiness, cannot fail to have a very im- portant influence upon our physical well-being." It should at least be large. That is of prime importance, because, during the several hours that we are in bed, we need to breathe a great deal of air, and our health is injured when we are obliged to breathe it several times over. We should at least pay as much attention to the size, situa- tion, temperature, and cleanliness of the room we occupy during the hours of repose, as to the parlors, or drawing-room, or any other apartment. And yet how different from this is the general practice of families. The smallest room in the house is commonly set apart ior the bed and its nightly occupants. The sleeping-room should have a good location, so as to be dry It should be kept clean, and neither be too hot nor too cold. A"u more important still, it should be well ventilated. One bed, occupied by two persons, is as much as should ever be allowed in a single room ; though, of course, two beds in a large room, are no more than one in a small one. Both are objectionable. Fire in Sleeping Rooms. — As to having fire in a sleeping room, that is a matter to be determined by the health of the occupant. Persons who have poor circulation, and are feeble, had better have'a 96 HYGIENE. little fire in the bed-chamber, in cold weather. For those in good health, a cold room is preferable. Open Windows in Sleeping Rooms. — In the hot weather of sum- mer, it is better to keep the windows open to some extent, through the night, but not on opposite sides of the room so as to make a draft across the bed. There is a difference of opinion as to the safety of this practice;, but the experience of those who have used it prudently and persever* ingly, has generally sanctioned its employment. It is presumed that night-air is made to be breathed ; and if we breathe it habitually, there is no good reason why it should be considered hurtful. At all events, we have got to do one of three things, — either breathe it, or be poi- soned by air which is breathed several times over, or use very large sleeping rooms, and thus lay in a stock to last over night. An Open Fireplace in a bed chamber will do much towards its puri- fication. It carries off foul air. But many persons board up this outlet as if bad air were a friend, with whom they could not think of parting. At the same time, they will carefully close all windows and doors, as if fresh air were an enemy not to be let in. JBeds. — It is a pleasant thought that while so many things which injure health are coming into fashion, some which have a like effect are going out. Among the injurious things which are silently with- drawing, are feather beds. In earlier times, a bed made of eider-down was thought to be a great luxury, to be carefully preserved, and handed down from mother to daughter. Beds made of hens' feathers, and other coarser kii ds, were thought to be only fit for children. With due deference to these earlier judgments, it must be said that feather beds, whether downy or coarse, are not even fit for children. They are composed of ani- mal matter, and by a slow process of decay, are always, when stirred, sending up an exhalation which it is not healthful to breathe. By their softness, too, they increase the general tendency to effemi- nacy. In warm weather, they are too heating. To sink down into them, and lie nearly buried all night, is to insure a feeling of lassitude and debility in the morning. Only the strongest persons can endure it without being made conscious of the evil effects. Beds must not be too Hard. — On the other hand, it is almost equally unwise to choose a bed of absolutely unyielding hardness. When very tired, we may rest even upon a board; but sleep will go orally be more sound as well as refreshing, if the bed be some- what j 'elding. The hair mattress is the very best bed yet used. It is healthful and easy. No person once accustomed to it, will ever return to feathers, hi summer, it is a luxury ; in winter, it is suffi- ciently warm, though a little more covering is needed than with feathers. Bedding. — In hot weather, linen sheets are preferable to cotton, and of course will be used by those who have ample means. But HYGIENE. 97 cotton ones are good enough, and in winter are decidedly the more desirable of the two. Cotton is best, too, for those who suffer with rheumatic affections. For external covering, comfortables are objec- tionable, because they do not let the insensible perspiration pass off as freely as it should. They are light, however, and so are rose blankets, which have the additional good quality of being porous. We should sleep under as few clothes as possible, consistently with comfort. Night Dress, — The flannel, cotton, linen, or silk, worn next the skin through the day, should always be replaced, on retiring, by a suitable night-dress. This should be of the same material with that which is taken off. If we wear flannel through the day, we need it quite as much at night. Do not Cover the Face. — The practice of sleeping with the face entirely covered with the bed clothes, is very injurious. It compels one to breathe the air over several times. Natural Position for Sleep. — The most natural position in which to sleep is upon the right side. This affords the easiest play to the internal organs. It is best, however, to learn to sleep in different positions, and to change occasionally from side to side. Upon the back is not so easy a position. To lie in this way obstructs the cir- culation of the blood, by the pressure of the stomach, bowels, etc., upon the large blood vessels which pass down and up in front of the back bone. It is very tiresome and injurious to lie with the hands above the head. Amount of Sleep. — The average amount of sleep required by per- sons in health, is from seven to eight hours. Occasionally we find persons who get along very well with six, or even five hours ; while some, even in health, require nine. There is no absolute standard for all persons, in the amount of sleep, any more than in that of food. It depends on the temperament, the constitution, the amount of exercise, and the exhausting nature of the mental application. The object of sleep is to repair the energies ; the exitent to which they are wasted, and the recuperative power possessed, will measure the amount required. Late Suppers. — These are a bar to all sound and healthful sleep. The last meal should always be taken at least three hours before re- tiring, and should be light. During sleep, the stomach should have a chance to rest. It will work the better on the morrow. Some per- sons boast that they can sleep perfectly well after a heavy supper. Perhaps they can ; but, as Franklin has wisely suggested, they may by and by " have a fit of apoplexy, and sleep till dooms day." This will be sleeping too well ! Preparation for Sleep. — Dr. Franklin left behind the recerd of a wise life, as wall as many excellent moral and philosophical direc- tions. A good conscience was his prescription for quiet sleep and pleasant dreams, — a most excellent direction. Sleep is promoted, 98 HYGIENE. too, by withdrawing the mind, a short time before retiring, from an hard study, and exciting themes of conversation ; and turning it to calmer subjects of reflection, such as the moral attributes of God,— particularly his love and paternal character. Objects of Clothing. The clothes we wear are intended, or should be intended, to secure three objects, — warmth in winter •, coolness in summer ', and health at all times. It has already been shown that our bodies are warmed by their own internal fires. In the lungs, in the skin, and indeed in all parts of the body, oxygen unites with carbon and other combustible mat- ters, producing heat in the same way that it is produced in a grate where anthracite coal is burned ; and as our temperature always needs to be kept up to about 98° of Farenheit, it follows that this combustion must always be going on. Now, the atmosphere which surrounds us is always receiving into itself the heat which comes to the surface of our bodies, and thus robbing us of our warmth. In summer, the atmosphere, full of the rays of a burning sun, may impart heat, instead of taking it away; while in winter, it takes more than it gives, and would cause us to perish with the cold, were it not for the protection afforded by our clothing. Clothes, of course, have no power to manufacture or impart heat. They only retain, and keep in contact with our bodies, that which is generated within us. If we have on a single garment which is made tight at the bottom and top, so that no current can pass up or down, there will be a layer of air between it and the body, which, becoming immediately heated, and being retained there, helps keep us warm, or rather, prevents us from being cold. With every additional garment put over this, there is another layer of heated air, adding still more impenetrable guards against either the intrusion of cold, or the escape of internal heat. Bad Conductors of Heat. — But, that our clothes may thus retain our warmth, and prevent its dispersion, they must be bad conductors of heat, — that is, they must not readily take up the heat and convey it away from the body. They must slowly absorb the caloric into their own substance, and then retain it tenaciously. Linen, which is so universally popular in temperate climates, as an article to be worn next the skin, is unfortunately a good conductor of heat. It does not afford a warm garment. It conducts heat rapidly away from the body. Hence it always, feels cool to the touch. It is really no colder in itself than other kinds of cloth, but it is solely the rapidity with which it conducts heat away from the body, that gives it the feeling of coldness. It has other qualities which compensate, in some measure, for this defect. The fibres of which it is composed, are Fig. 67. HYGIENE. 99 round and pliable, which make linen cloth smooth and soft, and the sensations produced by it, upon the skin, altogether agreeable. Figure 67 represents a fibre of linen, as it appears under a microscope which magnifies it 155 times. Cotton is warmer than linen, because it is a worse conductor of heat. The perfection to which its manufacture has been carried, makes it almost a rival of linen in softness and pliability. It does not absorb as much moisture as linen, and therefore better retains its powers as a non-conductor. But then the fibres of cotton are not round and smooth, like those FlQ gg of linen, but flat and spiral, with sharp edges. Figure 68 represents two of its fibres, magnified 155 times. This renders cotton irritable to some very delicate skins. This is the reason why linen is better than cotton for binding up wounds, where there is tenderness of the surface. Silk has a round fibre, like linen, which is even softer and smaller. It absorbs less moisture than cotton, and in its power of communi- cating warmth, it is superior to both the preceding. It forms the most desirable fabric for clothing that we have ; but its cost makes it inaccessible to the great body of the people, except as a holiday dress for the ladies. Its culture in our own country, if once exten- sively established, would be a source of national wealth. The Fibre of Wool is quite rough, almost scaly, and highly irritative to delicate skins. Figure 69 shows fibres magni- fied 310 times. It is not possible for some per- sons to wear it next the skin. But where this cannot be done it may be worn outside the linen or cotton ; and being a good non-conductor, it will in this way preserve the warmth of the body, without either irritating the skin, or disturbing its electricity. Wool, in cold climates, is one of the very best materials of which clothes can be made. In New England, and, indeed, in all cold and temperate regions, it should be worn by delicate persons, in the form of thick or thin garments, all the year round. It does not readily absorb moisture, and is a dry, warm, and wholesome material for clothing. Hair. — Though not precisely in the line of these remarks, fom may as well be introduced here. Wool is in fact hair. Every part of tne skin, with the exception of that upon the soles of the feet, and the palms of the hands, is intended to produce hairs. On most parts of the body, they are short and fine, hardly rising above the surface. Upon the head and the face, they grow to considerable length. Hair, like wool, is a bad conductor of heat ; and, as growing upon the head and face, is doubtless intended for some useful purpose. That it was designed as a warm covering, can hardly be doubted. The beard, when permitted to grow, is a natural respirator, guarding 100 HYGIENE. the lungs against cold and dust. Mr. Chadwick noticed that black- smiths who allowed their beards to grow, had their mustachios discol- ored by iron dust, which lodged among the hairs, and very justly in- ferred that the dust must have found its way into the lungs, and done mischief, had it not been arrested by this natural respirator. That the beard, when long, does ward off a great many colds and throat ails, is too well known to be denied. It has required moral courage on the part of those who have broken away from the univer- sal practice of shaving, for which they should be hon- Fm 70 ored rather than ridiculed. For those who do not suffer from throat or lung complaints, especially if they are getting advanced in life, it may not be thought worth while to abandon the razor. Yet the change would not be regretted. Figure 70 is a human hair, magnified 250 times, show- ing its scaly surface. The Color of our Clothing' is a matter of some moment. The dark colors absorb the light, the sun's rays, and heat, much more than the lighter ones ; and as those bodies which absorb heat well, are like- wise good radiators, the dark colors have the highest radiating" power. White reflects heat, and rays of light, and is a bad absorber and bad radiator. In summer it prevents the sun's rays from passing inward to heat the body, and in winter, interrupts the heat of the body in its passage out. In summer, it makes the coolest garment ; in winter, the warmest one. These facts can be very simply illustrated, by lay- ing, side by side, upon the snow, when the sun shines, two pieces of cloth, the one black, the other white. Lifting them up, after a time, the snow will be found considerably melted under the black cloth, but not under the white. It is now seen that the object of clothing is not to impart heat to the body, but to prevent its loss ; that it is not to create it, but to furnish the occasion for increasing its degree. It appears further, that clothing protects the body against the evil effects of changes of tem- perature, and that white garments, by reflecting, instead of absorbing heat, guard it against the heat of summer. Clothing should be Porous. — All articles used for garments, should be porous, and permit the free passage of insensible perspiration. The skin receives oxygen through its pores, and gives back carbonic acid. It performs a sort of subordinate respiration. India rubber garments worn next to it, interrupts this, and must do mischief. Shoes made of tKd material, soon cause the feet to become damp and cold. The dampness is occasioned by the insensible perspiration, which cannot escape through the rubber. Such shoes worn in the open air, should be immediately taken off on entering the house. Thin Shoes. — The defective way in which American females pro- tect their feet from cold and wet, is a sore evil ; and he who persuades them to adopt a wiser fashion, and cover their feet with better guards against colds and consumptions, will deserve the gratitude of the nation. We are in many things too fond of copying foreign fashions : HYGIENE. 101 but if our ladies would, in this matter, follow the excellent example of English women, they would live longer, and leave a hardier pos- terity behind them. The shoes worn by our females, high and low, rich and poor, are not thick enough to walk with safety upon a painted floor, hardly upon a carpet in an unwarmed room ; and yet they walk with them upon cold brick side-walks, upon damp and frozen ground, and even in mud. The result is, that they suffer from colds, sore throats, pleurisies, lung fevers, suppressions, inflammations of the womb, and many other ailments, which in early life, rob them of their freshness and beauty, of their health and comfort, of their usefulness to their household and the world, and leave them helpless in the arms of their friends, with a patrimony of suffering for themselves while they live, and a legacy of disease to hand down to their children. Would that they were wise in season ! Some, to their honor be it said, have already adopted a safer course. It is hoped the evil will be gradually corrected. Never attempt to mould the Form by Dress. — Parents commit a great error when they attempt to mould the forms of their children, particularly their daughters, by their dress. This cannot be done. It is the work of nature, and she wants no assistance in it. The great object of dress in childhood as well as in adult life, is to pro- mote health. With this, there is not much difficulty in preserving the symmetry ; without it, deformity is almost a matter of course. The fact cannot be too often repeated, nor too seriously urged upon parents, that while the foundation of all graceful and just proportion of the different parts of the body must be laid in infancy, it cannot be done by tight bands, and ligatures upon the chest, and loins, and legs, and arms. Upon all these points, the garments of children should set easy, leaving the muscles at liberty to assume the fine swell and development which nothing short of unconstrained exercise can give. Could infants tell all the horrors they suffer from the re- straints put upon them by tight dresses, it would make many a moth- er's heart bleed. In these brief remarks, the principles are given which should guide us in the selection of our clothing. The intelligent reader will be able very easily to fill up the outline. Bathing and Cleanliness. Artstotle calls cleanliness one of the half virtues ; and Addison, in the Spectator, recommends it as a mark of politeness, and as analo- gous to purity of mind. Both in the Jewish and Mohammedan law, it is enforced as a part of religious duty. Its requirement as a prerequi- site to christian communion, would be wiser than the demands some- times made. A dirty Christian may perhaps be found, but not among those who mean to be intelligent. The importance of keeping the skin cleau is not generally appre- ciated. The motive for cleanliness is often a lower and meaner one 102 HYGIENE. than should be allowed to have place in the mind. Many persons would be mortified to have their hands, or face, or neck dirty, who do not wash their whole body once a year. That they may appear wcl! in the eyes of others, is the only motive with such for keeping clean. Offices of the Skin. — If we look a little at the offices of the skin ? we shall better understand the need of keeping it clean. The skin is not merely a cohering to protect us from the weather, It is a living structure, curiously wrought, with a large extent of sur- face, and having important duties to perform in the animal economy. Its structure is more particularly explained under the head of " Anat- omy " and " Skin Diseases." It has been already said, that it helps the lungs in breathing. It does many other things on which the health is dependent. Number of Perspiratory Tubes. — The skin performs several kinds of secretion, — that is, it separates several things from the blood, — one of which is the perspiration, or sweat. The sweat is formed in small glands, situated just under the skin, and is brought to the surface in small ducts, or tubes, like the hose through which firemen throw water. These little tubes are spiral, as seen in cut 44, and run up through the two skins. These spiral canals are very numerous, covering every part of the human frame, — there being about 2800 of them upon every square inch throughout the body ; and as a man of ordinary size, has about 2500 square inches of surface, the number of tubes in the skin of one man is seven millions. The mouths of these tubes are called the pores of the skin. Each one of these tubes is extended just below the skin ; and there, among the cells where the fat is deposited, it, or rather the two branches into which it is divided, are wound into a coil, called the sudoriferous, or sweat gland. These ducts are each about a quarter of an inch in length, which makes an aggregate length of tubing in the human skin of about twenty-eight miles. Insensible Perspiration. — Through each of these seven million of quarter inch hose, there is poured out, day and night, as long as a man lives, a stream of sweat in the form of vapor. When this is thrown off very rapidly, as happens when active exercise is taken, it accumulates in drops, and is called sweat. Ordinarily it does not thus accumulate ; it is then called insensible perspiration, — not being Tecognized by the senses. This transpiration may be proved very beautifully by inserting the naked arm into a long glass jar, and closing up the space around it at the mouth so that no air can get in. The inside of the glass will soon be covered with a vapor, which will grow more and more dense until it is converted into drops. Boerhaave says : " If the piercing chill of winter could be introduced into a summer assembly, the insensible perspiration being suddenly condensed, would give to each person the appearance of a heathen deity, wrapped in his own sepa' rate cloud." Now, this continual exudation of sweat through these millions of tubes is for a wise and necessary purpose. It is to take out of the blood and other fluids various salts, which would do mischief if allowed to remain longer, and particularly carbonic acid, which is poisonous, — the same matters, in fact, which are thrown out by the lungs. The skin, in truth, is a kind of helper of the lungs ; and a lady, by covering herself with garments which have no pores, and will neither admit air nor let off insensible perspiration, may be stran- gled almost as certainly as by putting a cord around her neck, and closing her windpipe. Almost twice as much fluid passes off through the skin as through the lungs. Keep the Pores Open. — It is obvious from what has now been said, that the pores of the skin should be kept open to preserve health. When bathing is neglected, and the under garments are not changed sufficiently often, the insensible perspiration accumulates and dries up upon the skin, mingling with the oily matter secreted by the oil glands, and with the shreds of the scarf skin, and forming a tenacious gluey matter, which closes up the pores. By this misfortune, that large quan- tity of worn-out matter which usually goes off with the fluid through the pores, is retained to poison and embarrass the living current of blood, or seek an outlet through lungs or kidneys which are already burdened with quite as much as they are able to do. How impor- tant, then, that these channels through which the body is purified, should be kept open ! that the skin should be kept healthy and in working order ! The Bath, the Great Purifier. — But this can only be done by daily washing. The bath is the great purifier of the human skin. The antiquity of bathing is very great. The practice is supposed to reach back to the infancy of the race, or certainly to a very early period. The inhabitants of middle Asia are said to have been the first to use the bath for the specific purposes of purification and health. Domestic baths are represented as having been used by Diomed and Ulysses. Andromache prepared warm water for Hector on his return from battle. Penelope banished sorrow by unguents and baths. The Biiths of the Medes, the Persians, and the Assyrians were much celebrated. Alexander, though familiar with the voluptuous baths of Greece and Macedon, was astonished at the magnificence of those of Darius. Roman Baths. — As luxury and refinement advanced, the means of luxurious bathing were multiplied, until establishments were built by the Romans, the very remains of which excite wonder at this day. Among these are the Thermae of Agrippa, of Nero, of Vespasian, of Titus, etc. One of the halls of the building constructed for baths by Diocletian, forms at this day the church of the Carthusians, one of the most magnificent temples in Rome. Number and Character. — According to Pliny, baths were intro- duced into Rome about the time of Pompey ; their first erection Dion attributes to Maecenas. Agrippa increased their number to one hundred and seventy ; and within two hundred years they were mul- tiplied to about eight hundred. These establishments were so vast that one writer compares them to provinces. They were paved either with crystal, or mosaic, or plaster, and were adorned by sculpture and painting to the very highest degree. They added not merely to the health and luxury of the people, but contributed to their culture in the highest departments of art and taste. Names of Baths. — To the apartment of their dwelling in which they washed their bodies in warm or hot water, the Romans gave the name of balneum, or bath; to the public establishments, that of balnea, or baths. The apartment w T hich held the vessels was called vasarium. In this were the three immense vessels which contained the cold, warm, and hot water. There were instruments of bone, ivory, and metal, for scraping the skin, with a groove in the edge, through which the impurities of the skin might run off. On the north front of the thermae was a reservoir of cold water large enough for swimming, called by Pliny the younger, baptisteium. In the centre was a spacious vestibule, and on each side, warm, cold, and vapor baths, with apartments for cooling, dressing, and refresh- ments. There was the frigidaium, a vaulted room, a cooling room midway between the warmer and the open air ; the tepidarium, with a temperature widway between the above and the hot bath ; and the colidarium, or the vapor bath. Then there was the room where the body was rubbed over with a great number of ointments and essences of the most precious kinds; and another in which it was sprinkled over with powder ; and also a room which held the clothes, in which the bathers undressed and dressed at pleasure. All these apartments were double, the two wings being appropri- ated to the sexes. Open to all. — These baths, thus numerous and magnificent, were open to all classes of the people, and contributed largely to the gen- eral health and physical endurance for which the Romans were con- spicuous. The Bath Neglected under the Christian System. — When Jesus of Nazareth came into the world, he found man's nature cultivated in a most defective way. The moral element had sunk down to the low- est place, while the physical had risen to the highest, — just the reverse of the true order of things. This Divine Teacher came, not to re- commend a neglect of the body, but a new cure for the imperishable part. Mankind were for the first time systematically taught to forgive injuries. Prostrate liberty, and degraded woman, became the wards of Christianity. Unfortunately, under the new order of things, the lower element of man, which had been exalted and worshipped, was cast down and abused. What the Pagan had pampered, the Christian persecuted. The body, which had been bathed, and scrubbed, and anointed, and HYGIENE. 105 perfumed, was thenceforward, in consequence of the improper inter* pretation of certain texts, scourged, and fasted, and clothed in rags. Thousands believed, and thousands do to this day, that to torment the body is to please God. Under this feeling, the public and private baths were neglected ; and to this day, no christian nation has fully appreciated the necessity of cleanliness, and of sanitary measures for the maintenance of the public health. To a considerable extent, the body is still under disabilities ; still the subject of persecution ; and where this is not the case, it is too often regarded only as a loose out- side garment, to be thrown over the traveller to the celestial city, and is expected to be well soiled with mud and dust. The teachings of the Great Master will by and by cease to be perverted, and will be applied to raise up man's body, as they have raised his mental and moral nature, and will make a well-developed and harmonious being. In the mean time, it is the duty and the privilege of the physician to urge a return, not to the magnificence of the ancient regimen for training the body, but to its real efficiency in a simpler form. Cold Bathing. — Water applied to the skin at a temperature below 75° of Farenheit, is called a cold bath. If applied to a person with sufficient constitutional energy to bear it, it is a decided and very powerful tonic. By this is meant that it promotes the solidity, com- pactness, and strength of the body. The first effect of the application of cold water to the skin, is the sudden contraction of all its vessels, and the retreat of the blood towards the internal organs. The nervous system, feeling the shock, causes the heart to contract with more energy, and throw the blood back with new force to the surface. This rushing of the blood back to the skin, is called a reaction ; and when it occurs with some energy, it is an evidence that the sys- tem is in a condition to be much benefited by the cold bath. When this does not take place, but the skin looks shrunken, and covered with " goose flesh," and a chilliness is felt for a longer or shorter time after bathing, then the inference should be, either that the water has been used too profusely, or that the bather has too little reactionary power for this form of the bath. The latter conclusion must not be accepted until cold water has been tried with all possible guards, — such as beginning with tepid water, and gradually lowering the tem- perature ; bathing for a time, at least, in a warm room ; beginning the practice in warm weather ; and applying the water at first with a sponge, out of which most of it has been pressed by the hand. With some or all of these precautions, most persons may learn to use the cold bath. It is always to be followed by brisk rubbing with a coarse towel or flesh-brush. The Sponge Bath. — A wet sponge is the simplest, as well as the best mode of applying water to the surface of the body. With persons who are feeble, a part only of the body should be exposed at a time, — which part, having been quickly sponged and wiped dry, should be covered, and another part exposed, and treated in a like manner. In this way, all parts of the body may successively be 106 HYGIENE. subjected to the bracing influence of water and friction, with little risk, even to the most delicate, of an injurious shock. The only fur- niture required for carrying out this simple plan of bathing, is a eponge, a basin, and a towel. There is no form of bathing so uni- versally applicable as this, or so generally conducive to health. The Shower Bath requires a brief notice. The shock to the nervous system produced by it, is much greater than that from sponging. Beside the sudden application of coldness, there is a concussion of the skin by the fall of the water. This form of the bath is excellent for those who are strong and full of vitality, but is fraught with some danger for the feeble and delicate. This, however, depends on the judgment with which it is used. In the form of a delicate shower, and with tepid water, the frailest body might bear its shock. The Warm Bath. — A temperate bath ranges from 75° to 85° ; a tepid bath, from 85° to 95° ; a warm bath, from 95° to 9S° ; a hot bath, from 98° to 105°. A warm bath is of the same temperature with the surface of the body. Of course it produces no shock. To those who are past the meridian of life, and have dry skins, and begin to be emaciated, the warm bath, for half an hour, twice a week, is eminently serviceable in retarding the advances of age. It is a mistake to suppose the warm bath is enfeebling. It has a soothing and tranquillizing effect. It renders the pulse a little slower, and the breathing more even. If the bath be above 98°, it becomes a hot one, and the pulse is quickened. The temperature of the warm bath, as of the cold, should be made to range up and down according to the vigor of frame, and the circu- lation of the individual. The aged and the infirm, whose hands and feet are habitually cold, require it to be well up towards the point of blood heat. The pulse should not be made to beat faster by it, nor should sensations of heat or fulness be induced about the temples and face. The Vapor Bath. — This differs from the warm bath in being ap- plied to the interior as well as to the exterior of the body. The warmth is inhaled into the air tubes at the same time that it envel- ops the external person. The first sensation of the vapor bath is oppression, and causes some difficulty of breathing ; but this passes off as soon as the perspiration begins to flow. From the steam- chamber, the bather should step into a tepid bath, and after remain- ing a short time in this, wipe himself thoroughly with dry towels. f Cold Affusion immediately after either the warm or the vapor bath, is excellent. In Russia it is common, after the vapor bath, to pour upon the head of the bather, a bucket of warm water, then one of tepid, and lastly one of cold ; and to finish with giving him a good towelling. It is even said that the natives leave the steam and the hot bath, and roll themselves in the snow. No danger need be feared from cold affusion when the skin is red and excited by the warm bath, provided the nervous frame is not in a depressed condition. If the body is chilled, and the nerves pros- trated by disease or fatigue, the application of cold water to the skin may do great mischief, and should in no case be hazarded. Cold water applied to a hot skin, cannot do harm ; to a cold skin, it can do nothing but harm. Hence, the cold bath may be used with advan- tage on rising in the morning, while the body is warm. Another good time is at ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon, when the nervous power is advancing towards its height for the day. Reaction Necessary. — As a means for promoting cleanliness, the importance of the bath can hardly be overstated. For the support and improvement of health, it is equally important. But for the pro- motion of the latter, one prerequisite is essential, — the reaction of the skin. Various means are resorted to, to secure this. The Hindoos secure it by a kind of shampooing, thus described by a writer : " One of the attendants on the bath extends you upon a bench, sprinkles you with warm water, and presses the whole body in an admirable manner. He cracks the joints of the fingers, and of all the extremities. He then places you upon the stomach, pinches you over the kidneys, seizes you by the shoulders, and cracks the spine by agitating all the vertebrse, 'strikes some powerful blows over the fleshy and muscular parts, then rubs the body with a hair-glove until he perspires, etc." " This process," says the writer, "continues for three-quarters of an hour, after which a man scarcely knows himself ; he feels like a new being." Sir John Sinclair speaks thus of the luxury of the process : "If life be nothing but a brief succession of our ideas, the rapidity with which they now pass over the mind would induce one to believe that, in the few short minutes he has spent in the bath, he has lived a number of years." The Coarse Towel, the horsehair glove, and the flesh-brush are the appliances commonly used for stimulating the skin, and causing reac- tion. For tender skins, the towel is sufficiently rough. With this the bather should rub himself, unless he is weak and the exertion pro- duces palpitation. The muscular exertion necessary for this will help the reaction. Restoration of the Bath desirable. — It is greatly to be wished that the bath might be restored to something like the importance it held among ancient nations. It is a luxury, a means of health, and a source of purity both of body and of mind ; for the morals of any people will rise where the use of the bath is regular and habitual. The attempt to cure all diseases by what is called the " water-cure," has a bit of fanaticism about it, which will cure itself in time. But that water, used judiciously in the form of baths, is a potent moral and physical renovator of the race, is not to be doubted ; and this should commend it to all sensible people, even though it should some- times be abused by excess, as all good things are. A people with clean hands, and clean bodies, and clean health, will very naturally come to like clean streets and clean cities, and finally, clean consciences, A fondness for cleanliness in one form, almost 108 HYGIENE. necessarily runs into a like fondness for it in other forms, until the purifying desire pervades the whole nature, moral as well as physical. Air and Ventilation. Water and air are fluids. Water covers two-thirds the surface of the globe, having a depth, in some places, of five miles or more. Air covers not merely the remaining third of the earth, but the water as well. It embraces the entire globe, pressing alike upon land and water, and having a depth of about forty-Jive miles. This is a sea of such magnitude, that the Atlantic or Pacific shrinks to a very small lake in the comparison. Man has his residence, and walks about at the bottom of this ocean. He has no means of navigating it, and, therefore, never rises to its surface ; but, with his natural eyes, and with telescopes, he dis- covers objects which lie millions and billions of miles beyond it, and even acquires much exact and useful information respecting them. This vast ocean of air we call an atmosphere, from two Greek words signifying vapor, and a sphere, — it being an immense fluid- sphere, or globe. Pressure of the Atmosphere. — This atmosphere presses upon man and upon every object on the surface of the earth, with a force equal to fifteen pounds to every square inch ; and as a man of average size has a surface of about 2500 square inches, the air in which he lives, presses upon him with a weight of eighteen tons. This would of course crush every bone in his body, but for the fluids within him which establish an equilibrium, and leave him unoppressed. The Philosophy of Breathing cannot be fully explained in the brief space allotted to this subject; it is enough to say, that, upon the at- tempt being made to draw in the breath, the muscles of the breast draw up the ribs, the diaphragm or midriff" at the same time contract- ing, — the whole movement being such as to create a vacuum in the lungs. The air, pressing upon every part of the surface, as mentioned above, instantly rushes in and fills the vacuum. The lungs being filled, the contraction of the muscles of the belly causes the dia- phragm, which has sunk down towards a plane, to rise up : into the form of an umbrella, and squeeze the air out of the lungs. This is about all that need to be said of the method of getting the air into and out of the lungs. The whole process is under the con- trol of that part of the nervous system called the medulla oblongata, or top of the spinal cord. Objects of Breathing. — There are at least three objects to be ac- complished by breathing ; the renewal of the blood and the taking of impurities out of it ; the warming of the body ; and the finishing up of the process of digestion, and the change of chyle into nutritive blood. There is no good reason for attempting here to explain the last of these objects. To give any idea of the first two, it is necessary to furnish a very brief explanation of the circulation of the blood. HYGIENE. 109 The heart is double. There are in fact two hearts, a right and a left, joined together. The right heart receives the blood from the veins, and forces it up into the lungs, whence it is brought back to the left heart, and by this is driven through the arteries into every part of the body. When received into the lungs, the blood is of a dark purple color, and is loaded with carbonic acid and some other impurities. It has also been deprived, during its circulation through the body, of most of its oxygen. The small, delicate vessels which convey this dark and impure blood through the lungs, pass directly over the air cells ; and at this moment the carbonic acid and water pass through the blood vessels and air cells, and are borne from the Fjo n body on the outgoing breath ; while the oxy- gen enters the blood through the walls of the same vessels ; and this exchange, which takes place with every breath, alters the blood from a dark purple to a scarlet red. Figure 71 shows at 1, a bronchial tube divided into three branches ; 2, 2, 2, are air-cells ; 3, branches of the pulmonary artery winding around the air- cells with the dark blood to be reddened. That carbonic acid and water are borne out of the lungs with every breath, may be easily proved. If we breathe into lime-water, it will become white. This is owing to the carbonic acid in the breath uniting with the lime, and producing carbonate of lime. Then, if we breathe upon a piece of glass, it becomes wet, showing that there is watery vapor in the breath. That the blood receives oxygen from the air we breathe is proved by the fact that the ingoing breath has one-fourth more oxygen in it than the outgoing. The lungs, then, take out of all the air we breathe, one-fourth of its oxygen. If we breathe it over a second, a third, and a fourth time, it not only has less oxygen each time, and is less useful for the pur- poses of respiration, but it becomes positively more hurtful by reason of the poisonous carbonic acid which, at every outgoing breath, it carries with it from the lungs. Effect of Sleeping in a Small Room. — Now, consider the effect of sleeping in a small room, seven feet by nine, not furnished with the means of ventilation. A pair of lungs, of ordinary size, take in, at each breath, about a pint of air. Out of this air one-fourth of its oxy- gen is extracted ; and when it is returned from the lungs, there comes along with it about eight or nine per cent, of carbonic acid. As it is not safe to breathe air containing more than three or four per cent, of this gas, the pint which the lungs take in and throw out at each breath, is not only spoiled, but it spoils something more than another pint with which it mingles; arid as the breath is drawn in and thrown out about eighteen times per minute, not less than four cubic feet of air is spoiled in that time by one pair of lungs. This is two hundred and forty feet an hour ; and in eight hours, the usual time spent in the sleeping room, it amounts to one thousand nine hundred and twenty cubic feet. During the hours of sleep, therefore, one pair of 110 HYGIENE. lungs so spoil one thousand nine hundred and twenty cubic feet of air that it is positively dangerous to breathe it. In a room seven feet by ten, and eight feet high, there are five hun- dred and sixty cubic feet of air, a little more than one-quarter the amount spoiled by one pair of lungs during sleeping hours. In a room of this size, there is not air enough to last one person three hours ; and yet two persons often remain in such rooms eight or nine hours. Why then do they not perish ? Simply because no room is entirely air tight. Fortunately, all our rooms are so made that some foul air will get out, and a little that is pure will find its way in. Were it not so, no man who closed the door behind him, for the night, in a small bed- room, would ever see a return of day. Suppose fifty children are confined in an unventilated school-room, twenty feet by thirty, and ten feet high. These children will spoil about one hundred and fifty feet of air in one minute, or nine thou- sand feet per hour, or twenty-seven thousand feet in three hours, — a usual half day's session. But the room holds only six thousand cubic feet of air, — the whole of which these children would spoil in forty minutes. These simple facts show the absolute necessity of ventilation. Yet how poorly it is provided for in our sleeping rooms, our sitting rooms, our school houses, our churches, our court houses, our halls of legis- lation, and even in our anatomical and medical-lecture rooms ! In sick-rooms, ventilation should receive special attention. — Every disease is aggravated by the breathing of bad air. Yet it is common to close all the doors and windows of rooms where sick persons are confined, lest the patients should take cold. This is a bad practice. The sick should have a plenty of fresh air. Their comfort is pro- moted by it, and their recovery hastened. It is strange that human beings should be afraid of pure air. It is their friend and not their enemy. Impure air only should be shunned. The supply of good air ample. — There is no necessity for breath- ing air which has lost a part of its oxygen, and acquired a portion of carbonic acid. The supply of good air is ample. An ocean of it forty-five miles deep, covering the whole globe, seems a pretty plain intimation that it is not to be sparingly used. When men retire within their dwellings, and attempt to shut out this great sea of air, they show about as much wisdom as would be exhibited by fishes which should build water-tight huts around themselves at the bottom of the ocean, and swim about continually in the unchanged water within. Fishes can only live in glass globes when the water is changed every day ; and if the water be changed half a dozen times a day, they cannot be as healthy as when swimming in the great ocean. Cultivating Trees. — In most of our cities there is almost a criminal neglect of the cultivation of trees ; yet they add greatly to the health, and prolong the lives of the citizens. The leaves of a tree are the lungs with which it breathes ; but in- HYGIENE. Ill stead of extracting oxygen from the air, and giving back carbonic acid, like man, it takes only the poisonous carbonic acid, and gives back oxygen. Were there no animals on the globe, the vegetables would consume all the carbonic acid, and die for want of breathing material ; on the other hand, were there no trees or other vegetables, the animals would in time so far exhaust the oxygen as to perish for lack of it. The two together keep the air healthy for each. The relation of plants and animals, in all that relates to their pecu- liar actions and effects, is a complete antagonism. Their movements are in contrary directions, and by hostile forces. Their opposing ac- tions may be illustrated thus : The vegetable produces the non- nitrogenized substances, sugar, starch, and gum. The vegetable decomposes car- bonic acid, water, and ammoniacal salts. The vegetable disengages oxygen. The vegetable absorbs heat and electricity. The vegetable is a de-oxidizer. The vegetable is stationary. The animal consumes the non-ni- trogenized substances, sugar, starch, and gum. The animal produces carbonic acid, water, and ammoniacal salt§. The animal absorbs oxygen. The animal produces heat and el- ectricity. The animal is an oxidizer. The animal is locomotive. We learn from the facts of Geology that the time was in the his- tory of our globe, when lunged animals could not breathe its atmos- phere ; it was too much loaded with carbonic acid. The trees then grew with a rapidity almost inconceivable, decomposing the poison- ous gas, taking to themselves the carbon and setting the oxygen free, and lifting up their brawny arms to heaven in acts of thankfulness for the great feast. At length the noxious gas was exhausted; and then, pale and sickly, they feebly held up their hands for help ; and God sent numberless tribes of warm-blooded animals, full of life and energy, that sported in the exhilarating air, and destroyed vast forests, thereby reproducing carbonic acid. These simple facts should teach man the sanitary importance of trees and bushes ; and wherever he has a rod, I had almost said a foot of ground to spare, a tree should be planted and carefully nursed. This is particularly necessary in large cities. Every narrow street even in Boston, should be lined with trees. For' their absence, thou- sands of men, women, and children have died sooner than they other- wise would. We want them stretching up their arms to all our win- dows to give us oxygen, and to take to themselves the carbonic acid we exhale. Ti«*lit Dresses. — The health may be injured by not breathing air enough, as well as by inhaling that which is impure. It is therefore improper to compress the lungs by wearing tight dresses. If the ribs are held down by the dress, but little air can get into the lungs, and only a small amount of carbonic acid can be carried out. In this event, the health is injured in two ways; the blood is not vitalized by oxygen received, and it is poisoned by carbonic acid retained. 112 HYGIENE. Tight lacing has in a measure gone oat of fashion ; yet too much of it for the best development of female health is yet retain^t As a knowledge of physiology and the laws of life, and a be tier judgment of the true symmetry of the female form prevail, this barbarous cus- tom will pass out of use, and the substantial health, and real beauty of the American woman will together rise to a higher standard. Fill the lungs well. — Persons who take but little exercise are apt to acquire the habit of drawing the air very little into the lower part of the lungs. This should be counteracted by taking long and full inspirations for a short time, every day, while in the open air. This practice would get the lungs in the habit of opening to the air quite down to their base, and would make the breathing much more natural as well as effectual at all times. In the case of young persons, it would enlarge the capacity of the chest, and add to the brief years of life. Parents should see to it that their children spend from ten to twenty-five minutes every morning inflating their lungs with pure air. Travelling. It is true that many persons who dwell in one spot, and hardly move from it all their lives, live to old age. Yet change of location for a short time, or permanently, does promote health, and protract life. The mind tires of contemplating one set of objects for a great length of time ; and in the absence of all stimulation, it sinks int® apathy, and imparts no energy to the body. The physical frame, partaking of the ennui of the mind, droops. This is doubly true when one is suffering from illness. Travelling is eminently fitted to draw the thoughts of the nervous and feeble from themselves, and to turn them with interest to outward objects. This is of great importance. It is better than stimulants and tonics. The nervous system has great power over the health ; and the pleasurable sensations, excited by visitiag new places and scenes, and conveyed to the mind through the nerves, often awaken in the consti- tution, energies which are essential to recovery. Travelling places a man in entirely new circumstances. It sur- rounds him with novelties, every one of which makes a demand upon his attention. It breaks up his old trains of thought, which have been monotonous so long that they have grown oppressive. It causes the world to touch him at a thousand new points, and surprises him every day, perhaps every hour, with a view of the false relations he has sustained to it. It opens to him new depths in his own nature, and causes him to wonder that they never attracted his attention before. It opens to him one door after another, leading him into new apart- ments of knowledge ; and as the world grows, he finds himself grow- ing with it, until his whole nature dilates and beats with new life. Means of Travelling Increased. — The last twenty-five years have greatly increased the facilities for travelling. Many of the sick may now seek health in distant lands, who, had their circumstances been HYGIENE. 113 similar twenty years ago, would have been compelled to pine at home. The cars give an easy journey to thousands who could not have borne a ride in the old stage coach. One tiling more wanted. — But one thing is wanted to bring the means of travelling, for the sick, very nearly to perfection ; it is a method of propelling carriages upon common roads, by some cheap power, which can never be exhausted, and which shall be easily man- aged by the traveller or his companion. This is a prominent want of the present hour ; a giant discovery, which, at a single stride, would carry the world forward a hundred years, and which, we may hope, is in the womb of the near future. The power, it is believed, will be electro-magnetism. The mode of applying it, when discovered, will be simple, yet wonderful-, and the results to the sick, beneficent be- yond expression. The human mind cannot conceive the advantages which invalids would derive from such a mode of conveyance. Jour- neys might be long or short ; might be made with any rate of speed which the strength permitted. The morning or afternoon stages might be discontinued when fatigue demanded, and resumed at pleas- ure. Over uninviting regions the traveller might glide swiftly, and linger where nature spreads her feasts for the mind. The best Seasons for Travelling are spring and autumn. Winter is too cold. A pleasurable excursion may sometimes be made in summer ; but in general the season is too hot for comfort. In chang- ing climate, food, water, etc., in the sultry season, there is danger of contracting very troublesome bowel complaints. Means of Travelling for the Poor. — There is one painful thought connected with travelling as a means of health. It cannot be en- joyed by the poor. When sick they generally have the careful attention of humane physicians ; they receive from kind neighbors little delicacies of food and drink ; they are watched with by night, and visited by day ; but though suffering from the hard routine of a laborious life, and needing diversion and recreation more than all else, they cannot travel. They have not the means, and nobody thinks of supplying them for such a purpose. This is a channel into which charity ought to pour some of its benevolent streams. In large cities there is a class of poor females, who sit in their small rooms and ply the needle diligently through the whole year, and who run down every summer very near to con- finement in bed. Two or three weeks, in the hot season, spent in travelling in the mountains and elsewhere, would bring back the color to the pale cheeks of such persons, and save them many years both from the grave and from the almshouse. No millionnaire could make a better use of his property than to set it apart, at his death, for the specific purpose of enabling the poor to travel. And if this sugges- tion should induce one rich man to consecrate his wealth to the God- like work of bestowing health, happiness, and intelligence upon the poor, the great labor of preparing this book will not have been en- dured in vain. 15 114 HYGIENE. Amusements. That which engages the mind, and at the same time impresses it with pleasurable sensations, is a sufficiently accurate definition of amusement. Whatever occupies the thoughts and senses in an agreeable way, and employs them with some degree of intensity, comes under the same head. This broad and general definition allows us to regard our daily employments as amusements when they engage our deep attention, and at the same time give us pleasure. The term amusements, however, in the more popular sense, is re- stricted to those sports, games, plays, exhibitions, entertainments, etc., which involve a suspension of our daily labors, and are properly called diversions. When nature is tired and worn with those severe and exhausting toils by which we earn our bread, amusements turn us aside, divert us, engage other powers, and allow our tired faculties to rest. They are, therefore, of very great importance. Even the most trifling amusements may have the highest value. Their very nature and ob- ject imply that they will be valuable just in proportion as they divert and rest us. And just in proportion as they do these things, they give us health. One other thing amusements do for us, which must not be forgot- ten ; they preserve in us, in middle life, and even in old age, the warm simplicity of childhood. They keep us young in our dispositions and feelings. They keep us in harmony with nature, and consequently artless and truthful. They prevent the formalities of conventional life from stiffening us into cold and repulsive hypocrites. Selection of Amusements. — Of course the same amusements are not adapted to all persons. The farmer who has worked his muscles all day, would not be benefited by a game of ball in the evening ; yet there are few games more suitable for the student who has bent for many hours over his books. Care should always be taken, there- fore, that amusements or sports do not bear upon those limbs or fac- ulties which are wearied by work. Amusements improve various faculties. — To one who has a taste for art ; who is fond of works of genius and poetry, theatrical enter- tainments will always be agreeable, and a source of gratification and health. I know these exhibitions are objected to by many as immoral and hurtful, but more, I think, from habit and fashion, than upon any solid grounds of reason or religion. They certainly appeal to a high order of faculties in the human mind ; and to those who are fitted to receive them, teach lessons of great moment. Even the lower exhi- bitions of comedy, though not particularly improving to the mind, are yet, from their power to provoke laughter, among the most powerful up-builders of health. The Games of Whist, Euchre, etc., engage the minds of the players in a sort of mental contest, which is exciting, agreeable, and health- HYGIENE 115 imparting. These games make us skilful in calculating chances, and judging how men ought to act under certain contingencies. They make us sharp to detect and turn aside the unseen forces, which tend to oppose and destroy our success in life. I hardly need say that money or other property should never be staked upon a game of cards, or upon any other game. Gambling is one of the meanest as well as most destructive things in which men can engage. It raises the healthful excitement of these innocent amusements, — innocent when properly pursued, — into raging pas- sions, which, when defeat comes, as come it will, sink into remorse and bitterness as terrible as the mind can conceive. I warn young men as they would escape the pangs of a hell on earth, and the loss of character, happiness, and probably health for life, to avoid any such abuse of cards. Chess, Chequers, etc., appeal likewise to the fondness of competi- tion, which is common to all men. But they cultivate in us a little more of the mathematical element. As they require very close appli- cation of the mind, they are not suitable for persons of sedentary em- ployments, or whose daily avocations require a constant use of the mind. Such persons should choose lighter and more active amuse- ments. Lighter Amusements. — Beside these higher amusements, there are a great number of lighter and more childish ones, which should not be overlooked. Some of these are merely physical, involving a trial of strength, fleetness, action, etc., as the games of ball, cricket, etc. Others are domestic in their nature, involving mirth, and various other of the lighter excitements, as blind-man's buff, puss in the corner, hole in the wall, fox and geese, hunt the slipper, hurly-burly, roll the platter, etc. In fashionable American households, these simple domestic plays have in a great measure, gone out of use, — being deemed vulgar, and below the dignity of ladies and gentlemen. I am sorry to say this ; for the vulgarity, in my judgment, is in those who reject them, and not in the plays. The officer of our navy, whose visit to the mansion of Lord Hard- wick I have spoken of on page 90, reports that on the evening of one of his visits, the play of blind-man's buff was engaged in by the whole party; and that his Lordship in attempting to make a short turn during the play, fell upon his back, when one of his daughters, who was blinded, caught him by the heels, and being assisted by others, drew him stern-foremost half the length of the hall, amid the shouts of the whole party. This would have been deemed very vul- gar by fashionable people in this country. But to me, who am no believer in any nobility which Lord Hardwick can receive from kings or queens, this simple narrative raised him at once to a peerage in nature's realm. Without doubt, he is one of nature's noblemen. A man in his station, and with his wealth and temptations to snobbery, who can preserve such simplicity of character, must have a warm as well as a noble heart in his breast 116 HYGIENE. Value of Domestic Amusements. — I remark here, that in all our amusements, we should as far as possible, seek those of a domestic character. They are more simple and childlike in their nature, and preserve in us, even to old age, the freshness of feeling, and truthful simplicity, which spread so beautiful a greenness over the autumn of life. Simple domestic amusements, too, are always gotten up on a cheap scale ; they do not encourage costly extravagance, and can be indulged in by the poor as well as the rich. But more, and better than all, they keep young men and old men, and young women and old women, at home, by making the domestic circle the centre of attraction. They draw the seekers of pleasure around the hearth-stone, instead of outward into the world. They incline young and old to look to the family circle as the centre of the most pure, because the most simple and natural, enjoyments. They teach us to look to home as the centre of life, and to all outside as only its appendages. It has been said that homes are found only in England ; that in other countries, life wanders, houseless and shelterless, abroad, seek- ing happiness, it knows not where, while in England it nestles warmly in the bosom of home. To whatever extent this is true, — and I be- lieve there is truth in it, — it is owing to the simple household amuse- ments of England. An American Want. — One of the great wants of this country is a more liberal provision for amusements. We attach here too much value to wealth ; and we pursue it with an intensity altogether in- compatible with health. We cannot take time for recreation because we are in so great a hurry to be rich. If we would save ourselves from a total wreck of health, we must take broader and better views of life. We must value it for its solid comforts, rather than for its glitter and show. We need quite an increase in the number of our holidays, — days on which the people can give themselves up to sportive recreations. Some progress has been made in this direction of late. Washing- ton's birth day has very nearly fixed itself among us as a holiday ; the claim of Lafayette's to a similar observance is beginning to be acknowledged. Quite a number more, scattered through the year, are much wanted. They would save hundreds of our population annually from insanity. Contrary to the general belief, insanity is very prevalent among seamen and farmers. The former lead a life of dreary solitude upon the ocean ; the latter, one, if not of equal, certainly of very objection- able solitude upon the land. The sailor who does business upon the great sea, should provide himself with great numbers of games to amuse him in his wanderings. The farmers of our land should culti- vate more of the sociabilities of life. Let them meet together in the fine summer evenings, like the peasants of France, and dance gayly upon the green lawns before their cottages. They will till their lands more cheerfully for it ; enjoy better spirits and health ; and live to greater age. HYGIENE. 117 Completeness of Life. — Amusements are necessary in order to give a completeness to life. The faculties of the human mind are numer- ous. It is only when they are all exercised, in their due proportion, that there is a harmonious beauty in our lives. The customs of soci- ety twist us all out of shape, — perverting us mentally, morally, and physically, and robbing us of every manly and healthful quality. Getting out of the ruts of fashionable life, we must come back to the simple paths of nature. * I would strongly impress upon parents, teachers, and guardians the importance of studying well the various temperaments, physical and mental peculiarities of their children, in order to judge wisely of the kind and amount of recreation required by them. Instance : a pale, delicate child of ten to twelve or fourteen years, with clear complexion, flaxen hair, blue eyes, slender frame, and a nervous, sensitive orginization, with strong mental cast, requires much more recreation and out-of-door exercise than a full-blooded, robust child of that age ; a fact not at present duly considered, as a general thing. TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. Man has thinking, warming, nourishing, and moving powers. Fot the performance of each of these great functions, he has organs of the best possible construction. For Thinking, he has a brain. If this be large in proportion to his other organs, it gives a character, a cast, a peculiarity to his whole organization. Everything about him is subordinate to his brain. We recognize him, at once, as a thinking and a feeling being. He has an intellectual look. There is a delicacy, a refinement, a sensi- tiveness, a studious habit, an air of thoughtfulness about him, which determine his traits, his tone, his temper, his whole character. Hence it is proper to say he has a cephalic or thinking temperament. The Lungs and Heart, devoted to renewing and circulating the blood, are placed in the chest or thorax. If these be large in man in proportion to other organs, he is characterized by great activity of cir- culation, by a large supply of red blood, and by the general indica- tions of a full, warm, and bounding life. This activity gives him his tone and temper, and shows that his is the thoracic or calorific temper- ament. In the Great Cavity of the Ahdomen is done the work of receiving, digesting, and disposing of the materials which nourish the body. If the organs which do this work be large in proportion to others, the body is fed to repletion, and the whole organization speaks of the table. The habit, the look, the temper, are all sluggish. This is the abdominal or alimentary temperament. The Bones and Muscles are instruments by which the movements of the body are performed. If these be the largest, in proportion, of any in the body, then the locomotive powers are in higher perfection than any others. There is largeness of person, energy of movement, and greatness of endurance. The whole cast of the person partakes of the strength and coarseness of bone and muscle. This is the mus- cular or locomotive temperament. This gives us four temperaments, as follows : I. The Cephalic Temperament, denoted by large brain, activity of mind, and general delicacy of organization. TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 119 II. The Thoracic Temperament, indicated by a large chest, force of circulation, redness of skin, great activity, warmth of temper, and fulness of life. III. The Abdominal Temperament, denoted by a large develop- ment of the stomach, liver, bowels, and lymphatics ; by a fulness of belly, fondness of high living, and a disposition to float sluggishly upon the current of the world, rather than to struggle against it. IV. The Muscular Temperament, indicated by largeness of frame and limbs, coarseness of structure, and great power of locomotion and endurance. There are some reasons for reckoning but three temperaments in- stead of four, by reducing the thoracic and abdominal to one, after the manner of the phrenological Fowlers, — especially as the organs in the chest, and their appendages, take an important part in the pro- cess of nutrition. But as the heart and lungs are placed in one cavity, and the stomach, liver, etc., in another; and as one set of these organs may be largely developed, and the other defectively, I have thought it most convenient, on the whole, and quite as philosophical, to retain the four temperaments. These temperaments seldom or never appear single and pure. They mix and cross with each other in all possible ways. Medication and Temperaments. The object of speaking of temperaments in this work, is to make the reader acquainted with the principles upon which remedies are to be adapted to their development. The philosophical-minded physi- cian will, in prescribing, always keep the temperament in view. Persons of a Cephalic Temperament cannot bear powerful medi- cines, — particularly drastic purges. Their fine, delicate and sensitive organizations would be torn all to pieces by doses which would hardly be sufficient in a fully-developed muscular temperament. This should always be borne in mind in prescribing for persons of a large brain and delicate organization. In this temperament, too, fevers, instead of running a high and fiery course, take the low typhoid type, the patient becoming pale, and showing a constant tendency to sink. Such patients would be killed by purging, leeching, cupping, sweating, and starving. They want tonics, stimulants, and every kind of support which the case will possibly permit. Persons of a Thoracic Temperament, having a rapid circulation, and a fulness of blood, are most liable to inflammatory diseases. When fever attacks them, they have what is called a " high fever." If rheu- matism comes, it is acute rheumatism. Disease takes hold of them smartly. As they do everything with emphasis and energy when well, so, when ill, they make a business of it, and are sick with all their might. 120 TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. Stimulants and tonics generally make such persons worse. They want sedatives, and diaphoretics, and sweats, and purgatives, and leeches, and cups, and low diet, and cold bathing, and whatever else will slacken the ferocious swiftness of their circulation. Those of the Abdominal Temperament are not particularly subject either to very high fevers, or to those typhoid forms which produce sinking. As in the two temperaments noticed above, their com- plaints chiefly attack the organs most largely developed. Their dis- eases affect the stomach, the liver, the spleen, and the bowels. These are the largest organs in their bodies, and are most used ; and, being overworked, they fall into disease. As these persons are slothful in all their habits, so their diseases run a sluggish course. They are not so liable to sudden death as persons of either of the preceding temperaments. They have all sorts of chronic diseases which linger a great while, and are cured with much difficulty. These persons will bear larger doses of medicine than either of the preceding. Neither do their constitutions respond as readily to medicine. A physician will be disappointed if he expects to see them recovering as fast under its use. Those of a Muscular Temperament, having little fondness for any- thing but a hardy, active life, are much exposed to the elements. Though strong and long-enduring, the hardship of their lives often breaks them down, and when felled by disease, they are oftentimes shockingly racked and torn by it. These persons bear large doses of medicine, and when sick, need to be treated with an energy proportioned to the strength of their constitution. Rheumatism, which affects the joints, the ligaments, and the tendons, is an affection from which they suffer severely. The Constitution. In prescribing for disease, it is of very great importance to take notice of the constitution. This is a different, matter from the tem- peraments. Persons of the same temperament are often quite unlike in the strength of their constitution. And those having good natural constitutions, frequently abuse them by improper habits and indul- gences, and at length come to have broken and very feeble constitu- tions. Some persons' muscles and other tissues are put together as if they were intended never to come apart. Like some of the woods of the forest, — the lignum vitse for example, — they are fine-grained and tough. A real smart boy will wear out an iron rocking-horse sooner than one of these persons can exhaust their constitution by hard work. Others, to outward appearance equally well made, have very little endurance, break down easily under hard work, and lose their flesh from trifling causes. The state of the constitution, therefore, should always be learned before much medicine is given ; for what a person of a strong consti- TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 121 tution will need, may greatly injure a feeble person, even of the same temperament. Habits. — These must likewise be attended to. Persons using stimulants require larger doses of medicine to affect them than other persons. Climate. — Medicines act differently on the same persons in sum- mer and winter. Narcotics act more powerfully in hot weather and climates than in cold, and must be given in smaller doses. Idiosyncrasy. — Medicines of only ordinary activity, act very power- fully, and even violently on some persons. This is owing to a pecu- liarity of stomach, or constitution, called idiosyncrasy. It makes the person, in this particular, an exception to the general rule. And no physician can know beforehand in what particulars this exceptional disposition will show itself. Persons, however, learn their own idio- syncrasies, and should make them known to those who prescribe for them for the first time. The Sex. — The peculiarities of each sex should never be forgotten in prescribing for the sick. Males are not so sensitive as females. They will bear more medi- cine, and their nervous system is not so readily excited by it. Influence of Age. — Human life is divided into infancy, childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. Each of these periods has peculiarities which modify disease. The First Period, extending from birth to the age of seven years, is marked by tenderness and excitability, and is alive to every irrita- tion. Teething and other disturbances occur at this period, and need careful management. The Second Period extends from seven to fourteen, and is quite subject to disease, including the second dentition. During these two periods, there is no great difference between the sexes ; both are ten- der, and need careful watching. During the Third Period, the changes occur which mark and sepa- rate the sexes. This is a developing period, when the functions become established, and the frame acquires form, proportion, and strength. At this time, hereditary tendencies to disease, latent till now, begin to show themselves, and call for every possible endeavor to break them up, and fortify the constitution. The Fourth Period embraces the vigorous maturity of life, when the powers of body and mind, in both sexes, are at the summit of their excellence. The functions are now well established. It is dur- ing this period that the female is subject to most of the harassing ailments peculiar to her sex. So numerous are these complaints, and so large and valued the class of persons affected by them, that he who treats them with the greatest skill, and with the delicacy which their nature demands, may be said to be at the head of his profession. 122 TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. The Fifth Period is that of old age, when the functions are declin- ing, and the frame is bending under the weight of years. Old age begins earlier with females than with males. Many ailments are common to this period, which require peculiar management, both medicinal and hygienic. Proper Frequency of Dose. — Each succeeding dose should be given before the effect of the preceding is gone. If this rule is not attended to, the cure does not advance. What is gained by each dose is lost by the rallying of the disease in the interval. Care must be taken, however, not to apply this rule too strictly with very active medicines. How to Examine a Patient. "When a patient is presented for examination, having observed the temperament, constitution, sex, and age, 1. Learn the causes of the disease, whether local, specific, or gen- eral, and also its history. 2. Search out its nature and character, whether febrile or other- wise. 3. Take notice of the whole train of symptoms, — embracing the pulse, the condition of the mouth, tongue, and digestive organs, the breathing, the urine, the fecal discharges, the condition of the brain and nervous system, the state of the skin, etc. Brief Table Explanatory of Symptoms. GENERAL APPEARANCE OF PATIENT. 1. Tonic spasm of the trunk. 2. Distorted features, altered position, and impaired motion of limbs. 3. Irregular and perpetual motion. 4. Entire and absolute immobility. 5. Great and unnatural boldness. 6. Great and unusual languor. 7. Ability to lie only upon the back. 8. Lying upon the face. 9. Lying upon one side. 10. Maintaining the sitting posture only. 11. The head thrown back. 12. Restlessness and tossings. 13. General enlargement of body. 1. Locked jaws. 2. Paralysis of one side. 3. St. Vitus's dance. 4. Catalepsy. 5. Insanity or delirium. 6. The beginning of an acute disease, or the progress of a chronic one. 7. Apoplexy. Organic disease of the brain or spinal marrow. Acute inflamma- tion of the lining of the abdomen. Rheu- matism of the joints. 8. Several kinds of cholics. 9. Pleurisy, or inflammation of the lungs. When one lung only is affected in con- sumption, the patient generally lies on the diseased side. 1 0. Disease of the heart or lungs, which interferes with breathing. 11. Severe diseases of the larynx and windpipe. 12. The beginning of acute inflamma- tion. Fevers. Delirium, and acute mania. 13. Cell-dropsy. Emphysema from a wound of the chest — — — — rj TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 123 Head, Face, and Neck. 1. Head bent to one side. 1. Convulsions. Paralysis of one-half the body. Dislocation of bones of neck. Swelling of glands of neck. 2. Chronic hydropholus. Enlarged brain. 3. Erysipelas. Small pox. 2. Head increased in size. 3. Swollen scalp. 4. Dull expression of face. 4. Typhoid fever. 5. Full, red face, with blood vessels of 5. Swelling of heart. Congestion ©f eyes injected. brain. 6. Pinched, contracted countenance. 6. Acute inflammation of peritoneum. Exposure to severe cold. 7. Pinched nose, sunken eyes, hollow 7. Chronic disease just before death. temples, skin of forehead tense and dry, complexion livid. 8. "Wrinkles across the forehead. 8. Excessive pain arising externally. 9. Wrinkles from forehead, vertically, 9. Distress, anxiety, and severe inter-. to root of nose. nal pain. j 10. A white line from inner angle of 10. In children, a brain or nervous af- the eye to just below the cheek bone. fection ; in adults, abuse of the generative organs. 11. White line from the upper border 11. In consumption and wasting of flesh. of the wing of the nose (ala nasi), curved The lower part of the line indicates dis- to the outer margin of the orb of the eye. ease of stomach; the upper part, some affec- tion of upper part of bowel. When united with the white line named above, and with a drawing in of the cheek, fixed eyes, and a wan complexion, it implies worms. 12. The white line in children from an- 12. An affection of the chest, with diffi- gle of mouth to lower part of face. culty of breathing. 13. A white line external to the last 13. Chronic and obstinate disease in the two, in a semicircular direction towards the chin. 14. Swelling of face and eyelids. chest or belly. 14. Albumen in the urine. 15. Transient redness or flushing of face. 15. Suffering from the monthly irregu- larity. 16. Hectic flush. 16. Consumption. Chronic affections. 1 7. Paleness of face. 17. Cold stage of fever. Acute inflam- mation. Chronic diseases, especially t Bright's disease, during recovery. 18. Dingy, white, or greenish face. 18. A low and deficient state of blood. 19. Yellow tint. 19. Jaundice. 20. A citron tint. 20. Cancerous disease. 21. A bluish tint. 21. Poor circulation in the veins. Chol- era. Typhus fever. Blue disease. 22. Perpetual motion of eyelids. 22. Mania and idiocy. 23. Forcible closure of eyelids. 23. Intolerance or dread of light. 24. Eyelids remaining open. 24. Orbicularis palpebrarum. Paralysis of the muscle which closes the eye. 25. Balsy of the upper lid. 25. Injury of the third pair of nerves. 26. Flowing of tears over the cheek. 26.* Obstruction of the lachrymal duct. 27. Nostrils dilating forcibly and rapidly. 27. Difficulty of breathing. 28. Itching of nostrils in children 28. Worms in the bowels. The Tongue. 1. Surface of tongue covered with a 1. Derangement of stomach, or bowels, layer of whitish, soft, mucous substance, or both. which may partially be taken off with a ■ scraper, — also, clammy mouth. 124 TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 2. State of tongue as above, with clammy- mouth, bitter taste, and fetid breath. 3. Great load on tongue as above, which peels off, leaving the tongue smooth, red, and tender. 4. Tongue slightly white from small white points, and sometimes covered with fur, like the fibres of coarse velvet. 5. Tongue pale, tumid, clean, and very imooth. 6. Tongue furred and dry. 7. Tongue white and loaded, with much thirst. 8. As above at first, — afterwards clean, red, and dry. 9. Tongue white and loaded, with dry- ness. 10. Tongue dry, parched, tender, and dark brown or black. Pushed out with great difficulty and trembling. 11. Tongue loaded with white, through which numerous elongated, very red pap- illae protrude their points. 2. Acute dyspepsia. Asthma. 3. Severe cases of acute dyspepsia. 4. Chronic dyspepsia. Some affection of the liver, if the fur be yellow. 5. Chlorosis or green sickness. 6. Violent local inflammation. Irrita- tion in bowels. 7. Inflammatory fever. 8. Protracted inflammatory fever. 9. Mild typhus fever. 10. Severer forms of typhus fever. 11. Scarlet fever. The Throat. 1. Throat enlarged. 2. Violent pulsation of carotid arteries. 3. Pulsation of the nameless artery (arteria innominata) above the breast bone, and to the right of the windpipe. 4. Circumscribed swelling about throat. 1. The approach of puberty in females. 2. Acute mania. Inflammation of brain. Enlargement of heart, and dilation of right ventricle. Anemia. 3. Regurgitation from aorta. 4. Enlargement of glands. The Chest. 1. General enlargement of one side of chest. 2. Bulging at the base of a lung. 3. Bulging at front upper part of chest. 4. Bulging right hypochondrium (See Fig. 95). . 5. Bulging in region of heart. 6. Tumor where the third rib joins the breast bone. 7. Tumor between the base of the shoul- der blade and the spine. 8. Depression or retraction of one side of chest. 9. Breathing increased in rapidity. Gen- erally, in health, about twenty breaths are taken in a minute. 10- Breathing diminished in rapidity. 1. Large effusion of water from pleurisy. 2. Water from pleurisy settling to the bottom. 3. Emphysema. 4. Enlargement of liver. 5. Water in heart-case. Enlargement of heart. 6. Aneurism of the ascending aorta. 7. Aneurism of the descending aorta. 8. Consumption. Absorption of fluid, effused by pleurisy. 9. Spasmodic asthma. 10. Pleurisy. Paralysis of respiratory muscles. Inflammation of lungs. Emphy- sema. Pneumothorax. Consumption. TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 125 11. Jerking respiration. 11. Spasmodic asthma. Obstruction in larynx and windpipe. 12. Abdominal inflammation. Inflam- 12. Breathing with muscles of ribs only. mation of diaphragm. The Belly. 1. Increased size of belly. 1. Dropsy. Wind in bowels. Inflam- mation of peritoneum. Obstruction in bowels. Hysteria. 2. Enlargement in epigastrium. Fig. 93. 2. Hysteria. Cancer of stomach. 3. Enlargement in hypogastrium. Fig. 95. 3. Distension of bladder. Ovarian tu- mors. Accumulation of feces in bowels. 4. Belly diminished in size. 4. Chronic dysentery. Lead colic. Also in most chronic diseases. Private Organs. 1. Enlarged penis in children. 1. Stone in bladder. Masturbation. 2. Drawing up of testicles. 2. Stone in kidneys. 3. Enlargement of scrotum. 1 3. Hydrocele. Hematocele. Sarcocele. The Limbs. 1. The limbs immovable. 1. Paralysis. 2. Limbs contracted and rigid. 2. Softening of the brain. 3. General swelling of limbs. 3. Defective circulation of blood. 4. Swelling of joints. 4. Rheumatism. Water in the joints. White swelling. 5. Limbs diminished in size. 5. Paralysis. The Nervous System. 1. Morbidly increased sensation. 1. Acute inflammation 6f brain and spinal marrow. Fevers. Hysteria. 2. Tensive pain. 2. Phlegmonous inflammation. 3. Dull, heavy pain. 3. Enlarged internal organs. Internal tumor. Effusion of water into cavities lined with serous membranes. Felt in the loins previous to discharge from menstrua- tion, and from piles. 4. Scarf skin removed. 4. Smarting pain. 5. Shooting, tearing pains. 5. Neuralgia. Cancer. 6. Boring pains. 6. Constitutional syphilis. Rheumatism Gout Inflammation of periosteum, 7. Contusive pains. 7. Bruises. Acute diseases. 8. Itching. Sensation as of ants creep- 8. Several diseases of the skin. ing over the skin. 9. Exaltation of vision. 9. Ophthalmia. Inflammation of brain. Some nervous diseases. 10. Black flecks floating before the eyes. 10. Affections of the brain and optic nerve. Dyspepsia. 11. Painfully acute hearing. 11. Inflammation of brain. Hysteria. 12. Dull hearing. 12. Typhus fever. 13. Delirium. Inflammation of brain. 13. Increase of strength. Mania. 14. Debility. 14. Most diseases. ' ■ — : .. — T-» n, 126 TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 15. Trembling. 15. Cold stage of fever. Nervous affec- tions. Old age. Action on the system of lead, mercury, strong coffee, alcoholic drink, tobacco, opium. 16. Rigidity of upper extremities. 16. Softening of the brain. Infiltration of blood into the brain. Hysteria. 17. Cramp. 17. Pregnancy. Hysteria. Painters' colic. 18. In convulsions of children. Some 18. Temporary spa?m. affections of the brain. 19. Pain at extremity of penis. 19. Stone in bladder. 20. Pain in right shoulder. 20. Congestion of liver. 21. Pain in left shoulder. 21. Disordered stomach. 22. Exaltation of affections. 22. Hypochondriasis. 23. Loss of moral sensibility. 23. Mania. Typhus fever. Masturba- tion. 24. Melancholy. Sometimes indicates 24. Exaltation of intellect close of life. The Breathing. 1. Stiffness of chest 1. Cartilages turned to bone. Pleura hardened. Distortion from rickets. 2. Pressure upon parts. 2. Tumors. Dropsy of belly. 3. Obstruction of air-tubes. 3. Spasm of glottis. Spasm near the small ends of bronchial tubes. Mucus, etc., thrown out upon the inner surface. 4. Compression of lungs. 4. Effusions in pleurisy. Water in chest. Air in substance of lungs. Aneu- rism and other tumors. 5. Pain in parts moved in breathing. 5. Pleurisy. Inflammation of perito- neum. 6. Paralysis of muscles of chest 6. Injury of spinal marrow. 7. Spasm of muscles of chest 7. Locked jaw. Spasmodic asthma. 8. Deficiency of red blood. 8. Anaemia. Chlorosis or green sickness. The C ough. 1. Hollow and barking cough. 1. Last stage of consumption. Chronic bronchitis. Some nervous affections. 2. Sharp, ringing cough. 2. Croup. 3. Hoarse cough. 3. Beginning of cold. Chronic laryngitis. 4. Wheezing cough. 4. Asthma. 5. Belching cough. 5. Some diseases of larynx. 6. Cough in paroxysms. 6. Hooping cough. Hysteria. 7. Cough sounding harsh and concen- 7. Consumption. Inflammation of the trated when listening with the stethoscope. lungs. Pleurisy. Enlargement of bron- chial tubes. 8. Cough sounding hollow, >vhen listen- 8. Tuberculous cavity. Enlarged bron- ing with the stethoscope, as though it came chial tubes. from a cavern. 9. Cough having a metalic or ringing 9. Large tuberculous cavitjp . sound when listening with the stethoscope. The Expe ctoration. 1. Scanty expectoration. 1. First stage of acute diseases of the lungs. 2. Copious expectoration. 2. Decline of acute diseases of air pas' sages and lungs. TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 127 3. Watery expectoration. 3. Beginning: of bronchitis. Conges- ts o © tion of lungs. V esicular emphysema. 4. Mucous eypectoration. 4. Bronchitis. Inflammation of lungs. 5. Expectoration of pus. 5. Consumption. Third stage of in- flammation of lungs. 6. Expectorated matter shaped like 6. Tubercular consumption. Bronchi- coin (nummular). tis of measles. 7. Muco-purulent, floculent expectora- tion. 8. Tubular expectoration. 7. Consumption far advanced. 8. Plastic bronchitis. Pneumonia. 9 Whitish or greenish expectoration, 9. Acute affections of lungs, particu- that clings to the vessel. larly bronchitis. 10. Yellow expectoration. 10. Chronic bronchitis. Other chronic' affections of the lungs and throat. 11. Rusty expectoration. 11. Inflammation of the lungs. i 1 2. Putrid smell of expectoration. 13 Faint and sweetish smell of expec- 12. Gangrene of the lungs. 13. Bronchitis. First stage of consump- toration. tion. 14. Expectoration smelling like garlics. 14. Broncho-pleural fistula. Pain. 1. Dull, heavy, aching pain at the base 1. Acute bronchitis. of the chest. 2v Soreness about the breast bone, and 2. Acute bronchitis. between the shoulders. 3. Sharp, sudden, tearing pain below 3. Pleurisy. the nipple. 4. Pain darting from front part of chest 4. Consumption. to between shoulder blades. 5. Constant pain between the shoulders. 5. Consumption. Green sickness. Ov'hei chronic diseases. The Pulse. 1= Strong pulse, resisting compression 1. Inflammatory affections, especially by the finger. of the substance of large organs, as the liver, etc. 2. Weak pulse, easily pressed down. 2. Prostration from disease. Nervous and chronic affections. Fear. Diseases of women and children, and old persons. 3. Full pulse, as if the artery were in- 3. Congestion of brain. Apoplexy. creased in size. Disease of heart. 4 Small pulse, opposite of full. 4. Inflammations of stomach, bowels, bladder, etc. Hysteria, and other nervous affections. 5. Hard, sharp, contracted pulse, — vi- 5. Inflammation of membranes. Active i brating like a cord under the finger. bleedings. Lead colic, etc. 6. Soft pulse, yielding readily to pres- 6. Affections characterized by debility. sure. 7. Frequent pulse. 7. Inflammatory diseases. Hemorrhages. 8. Slow pulse. 8. Apoplexy. Sometimes in disease of heart 1 Relating to Digestion. 1. Tongue trembling and dry, and di- 1. Typhoid and other low fevers. minished in size. 2. Voracious appetite. 2. Pregnancy. Hysteria, Insanity. Sometimes in dyspepsia. 128 TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 3. Diminished appetite. 4. Increased thirst. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Thirst gone. Vomiting. Pain increased by pressure. Pain relieved by pressure. Urgent desire to go to stool. Watery stools. Mucous stools, like white of egg. Hard and lumpy stools. Clay-colored stools. Yellow or dark- brown stools. Dark-green stools. Stools red, and streaked with blood. Pitchy black stools. Stools pure blood, with no colic. Stools like rice-water. Black stools. Shreds of false membrane in stools. Fat with stools. Fetid stools. 8. gia. 9. 10. 11. 12. 3. In most acute diseases. 4. Acute affections of stomach and bowels. 5. Cerebral disease, with coma. 6. Early pregnancy. Colic. Disease of brain. Inflammation of stomach. Hernia. 7. Inflammation of internal organs. Over-distention of bowels. Neural- Colic. Dysentery. Sometimes in diarrhoea. Diarrhoea. Cholera. Chronic inflammation of colon. Constipation. Colic. Cancer of stomach. 13. Deficiency of bile. 14. Too much bile. 15. Bile from children after taking cal- omel. 16. Dysentery. 17. Melaena. 18. Bleeding piles. 19. Asiatic cholera. 20. Iron taken in medicine. 21. Dysentery. Diarrhoea. Worms. 22. Diabetes. Consumption. 23. Diseases attended by debility. The Urine, 1 Diminished secretion of urine. 2. Retention of urine in the bladder. 3. Urine increased in amount. 4. Red or yellow sand deposits in urine (uric acid). 5. White sediment in urine (earthy phosphates). 6. Oxalate of lime deposits in urine. 7. Blood in urine. 8. Albumen in urine. 9. Mucus in urine. 10. Sugar in urine. 1. Dropsy. Inflammatory and febrile diseases. 2. Paralysis. Typhoid fever. Hysteria. 3. Diabetes. Cold stage of fevers. Hysteria. Various passions of the mind. 4. Fevers. Acute rheumatism. Con- sumption. Dyspepsia. Great indulgence in animal food. 5. Depressed state of the nervous sys- tem, of serious import. 6. Derangement of digestion. 7. Bleeding of kidneys, etc. 8. Bright's disease. 9. Inflamed mucous membrane of ure- thra, bladder, etc. 10. Diabetes. The Perspiration, 1. Profuse perspiration. 2. Diminished perspiration. 3. Night sweats. 4. Sour smelling sweats. 5. Fetid smelling sweat. 6. Sweat with mouldy odor. 7. Smelling like ammonia. 8. Sweat having the odor of mice. 9. Sweat smelling: like rotten-stone. 1. Acute rheumatism. Decline of acute inflammations and fevers, being sometimes critical. 2. Early stage of acute disease. Dropsy. Diabetes. 3. Consumption. 4. Rheumatism. Gout. 5. Some debilitating fevers. 6. Measles. Scarlet fever. 7. Typhoid fever sometimes. 8. Insanity. 9. Miliary. I TEMPERAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, AND SYMPTOMS. 129 The Temperature. 1. General teat of surface. 2. External local heat. 3. Hot forehead. 4. Hot scalp. 5. Skin of chest hot. 6. Hands and feet hot. 7. Acrid heat, burning the hand when applied. 8. Chills. 9. Low temperature. 10. Cold hands and feet 1. Fevers. 2. Inflammation. 3. Headache. 4. Disease of brain. 5. Inflammation in chest. 6. Consumption. 7. Typhus fever. 8. Beginning of fever. 9. Poor circulation. 10. Nervous diseases. Dyspepsia, state of the blood. Low 17 SKIN DISEASES The skin is the soft and pliant membrane which covers the entire surface of the body. The interior, like the exterior, is likewise covered by a skin, which, from its always being moist, is called a mucous membrane. At the various openings of the body, the outer and the inner skins are united, — forming one continuous skin, — like the same piece of silk turned over the border, and covering both the out- side and inside of a bonnet. From this continuity or oneness of the skin and mucous membrane, springs an important medical law, namely, that a disease of the skin may spread to the mucous membrane, and a disease of the mucous membrane may spread to the skin. We see this illustrated by the breaking out around the lips which follows colds, and the itching of the nose of children when the mucous membrane of the bowel is irri- tated by worms. The Skin is Composed of Two Layers. — These are separated from each other by the action of a blister. The thin portion which is raised up by the fluid of a blister is called the scarf skin, the cuticle, or the epidermis ; that which remains in connection with the body is the sensitive skin, the cutis, the derma, or the true skin. The two skins have very different offices to perform. The scarf-skin is horny and insensible, and serves as a sheath to protect the more sensitive skin under it. Were the scarf-skin taken off, we could not bear to have anything touch us. The derma, or true skin, and its glands, etc., are the seat of all the cutaneous diseases. These may be separated into four great divis- ions, — namely, diseases of the true skin, diseases of the sweat glands and tubes, diseases of the oil glands and tubes, and diseases of the hairs and hair glands. Then the diseases of the true skin are divided into Inflammation of the true skin ; Enlargement of the papillce of the true skin ; Disorders of the vessels of the true skin ; Disorders of the sensibility of the true skin ; Disorders of the color-producing function of the true skin. The inflammation of the true skin is conveniently divided into two groups, — namely, &' >