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HEALTH R EADER

PHYSIOLOGY HYGIENE

By

HAR VEY W . WILEY , M .D .

Formerly chief chemist of the United States DepartmentA griculture , Editor of Good Housekeeping ,

"

A uthorof“Foods and Their Adulterations ,

" “Principles

and Practices of A griculture

Illus trated by

B . F . WILLIAMSON and NED HADLEY

R'

AND McNA LLY C OMPANY

C HIC AGO NEW YOR K

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3 JUL -6C opyright.

By HA R VEY W. WILEY, M.D.

l N ~ N > ‘ LRK t U ( 0

man na cou caf Liam.“

A FOR EWOR D

I believe it was George Ade who said , If you want to

uplift , get beneath .

”This sen timent is peculiarly appli

cable to the study of physiology in the schools . Such

t erms as anatomy , physiology , and hygieneterrify the children , and to a certain ext ent make them

antagonist ic to t he study. I have long thought that the

proper way to get children interested in this mat ter was

to make the subject a living one . I have sought to getent irely under it and to present it in a vital way . Myexperience is that children are easily interested in mat tersthat pertain to their daily life if we go at it in the proper

spirit . Instead , therefore , of the dry details of p hysiology , I have t ried to lead the child into the midst of

the phenomena of the life he is living and to tell him in

simple language of the charact er of the environment in

which he lives .

I begin by taking him outdoors and allowing the wind

to blow in his face . I lead him t o the fireplace and let

him warm his fingers . I take him to'

the spring and show

him the water that he drink s . I go with him into the

fields to wat ch the food he eat s grow . I carry him into

the mills where the food is prepared for consumpt ion. I

tell him of those things which are vitally related to his

daily life and“

which are the groundwork of his health

and growth . I have endeavored to put the material

into the form in which the child naturally absorbs it .

The child is an interrogation point . He ask s quest ions .

I have taken the questions which have been suggestedto me by talking with children , and have t ried to answer

vi A FOREWORD

the quest ions they have put to me . While this methodof prepar ing a physiology is novel and radical, to my mindit seem s natural and workable . With t he help of the

teacher the child will at once become interested in the

phenom ena of existence . The study will not be a bur

den , but a revelat ion and a pleasure .

While it has seemed advisable in some places to use

words which children do no t understand , their meaningshave been given so that they may know what they are

reading about . The dry details of the usual form of

study on this subject have been entirely eliminated .

The child who reads this book properly under competent

instructors will have a new view of life , a bet ter under

s tanding of his environm ent , and a clearer concep tion

of what is good for his health . He will be asking him self

cont inually , when new dut ies and new pleasures present

them selves , or new foods come to his at tention , this

quest ion : Is it good for me ?

HAR VEY W. WILEY

Washingto n, D C .

April , 1916

C HAPTER

THE C ONTENTS

PAR T ONE

THE A IR WE BREATHETHE ELEMENTS OF THE A IRTHE ORGANS OF BREATHINGHow MOSQU ITOES AND FLIES ENDANGERHEALTH

DUST IN THE A IRA STUDY OF VENTILATIONA STUDY OF TEMPERATURETHE C IRCULATIONA STUDY OF C OMBUSTIONTHE TEMPERATURE OF THE BODYTHE SK IN AND ITS FUNCTIONSWATER AND ITS FUNCTION IN HEALTH

PAR T TWO

FOOD AND WHY WE NEED IT .

THE ARTICLES OF FOODTHE FLAVOR OF FOODSDIFFERENCES IN FOODS .

A STUDY OF THE ARTICLES OF FOOD .

THE PREPARATION OF FOODSVEGETAB LES AND FRU ITSANIMAL FOODS . FLESH , FISH , FOWL , MILK

AND EGGSPRESERVING FOODSNUTS AS FOODBEVER AGESC ONFECTIONS , SIRUPS , AND PASTRY

viii THE C ON TEN TS

PAR T THR EEC HA PTER PA G E

XXV . How Do WE GROW ?

XXVI. THE DIGESTIVE ORGANSTHE TEETH AND THEIR USESTHE SALIVARY G LANDS AND THEIRFUNCTION

A STUDY OF SWALLOWINGTHE FUNCTION OF THE STOMACH INDIGESTION

A STUDY OF THE LA R GE INTESTINEABSORPTION OF FOODSA STUDY OF THE LIVERTHE SPLEEN

XXVII. A STUDY OF THE K IDNEYSXXVIII. THE BLOOD STREAMXXIX . A STUDY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

THE BRA INTHE SPINAL C ORDTHE NERVES

XXX . A STUDY OF THE SENSESTHE SENSE OF SIGHT .

THE SENSE OF SMELLTHE SENSE OF TASTETHE SENSE OF HEARING .

THE SENSE OF TOUCHTHE SENSE OF HUNGERTHE SENSE OF THIRST

XXXI. A STUDY OF SLEEPXXXII. PHYS ICAL ExER C ISEXXXIII. THE VALUE OF HEALTHThe Index

HEALTH R EADER

PAR T ONE

I. THE A IR WE BREATHE

What is the air ? The air is an invis ible gas ,w ithout taste or sm ell . It covers the wholesurface Of the earth and enters into every holeand crack in the ground . It also enters the

ground itself , finding it s way to a great dept hbetween the part icles of soil .You have felt the wind blow in your face ,

h ave you no t ?

Once , perhaps ,your cap was

carried away by

the wind , and

you ran aft er it

as fas t as you

c o u l d . T h e

sam e wind thatca r r ied aw ayyour cap raised

such a cloud of

dus t you could

hardly see the cap . Fortunat ely it struck

against a t ree or fence , or against the curbstone ,

A lively chase

I

HEALTH READER

and you captured it , breathing deeply and

quickly as a result of your chase .

What is the wind? Wind is air in mot io n .

Perhaps in a violent wind storm you have s e en

a tree blown down , a house unroo fed , o r a

signboard blown into t he st reet . If you live

near wat er you have watched the sailboats drivenswift ly through the wat er , and you have se e n

the h igh waves cres t ed or wh it e with spray .

What is it t hat drives the boat ? What produc e sthe waves ? It is t he wind .

What b ecomes of the wind when it s top s

b lowing ? When it stops blowing , the wind ,

wh ich is air in motion , becomes still air , or air

at res t . Have you looked at a pond of wat er ?

THE AIR WE BREATHE

There you see water at rest . Have you seen

creek or a riverP Th ere you see water in

A pond and a creek, showing wate r at rest and in motion

motion . We say that the wat er in the creek

is flowing . Th e wind is flowing air .

Why can we not s ee the air? We cannot see

the air because it has no co lor . But we can feel

it . Move a fan s lowly you feel no resis tance .

Move it rapidly you feel you are pushing it

through something . That som ething is the

air . The fan m oves the air out of the way and

sets it in m otion . That makes th e wind . You

feel the wind against your face ,b ut you cannot

see it .

Has the air weigh t ? Yes , it is quite heavy .

Put one end of a tube or s t raw in a glass of

HEALTH READER

water . Then suck the air out of the tube .

The pressure of the air on the water outsideof the tube will drive thewater into your mouth .

The common water pumpis such a tube . You takethe air out of the tubeOf the pump by workingthe pump handle . The air

press ing on the water inthe well drives it into thetube as fast as the air is

removed from t he tube .

You can eas ily make a

little pum p . Take any

tube—a glas s one is best ,b e cau s e y o u c an s e e

through it . Now make a

A we”Pm"? plunger by wrapping thea , handle ; b , pis t on , c , valve$633,

8

30

?i e

y ale

ve

suftt

iogovp ig

g lower end of a s t ick with a

W ““1” f “at“m we"string until the plunger fit s

snugly In the tube . Place the end of the tube

in a glass Of water and draw the plunger up

Slowly . By doing th is you lift the air out of the

tube . If the plunger fit s so that t he air does no t

leak , the wat er will rise in the tube and keep

in touch with the end of the plunger . You do

no t lift th e water . You lift the air in t he tube .

The pressure or weight of the air on the wat er

THE AIR WE BREATHEv

outside of the tube forces the water into the

space in t he tube from wh ich you lifted the air .

What happens if th e

lower end of th e tub e

is closed ? Th is youm ay easily discover .

T h e p lu ng e r p r epared as described isgenerally called a

pis ton . Oil the pis

t on head , that is , the

end that fit s t igh tlyin the tube , so that it

works easily . Placeyour finger over theend of the tube so

as t o close it tigh t .

Then.

t ry 130 draw 9 pA homema

d’feptzt

zt

g

pmfo’}ggm

onstrating

the piston . You W111 p . pis tonfind this very difficult to do . Why ? Because

you are lift ing t he air . You will also find that

your finger is held firm ly pre s sed against theend Of the tube .

I I . THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR

What is air? You have learned that air is an

invis ible gas without taste or smell . You can

feel it , you can measure it , you can weig h it ,

and you have seen what it can do when in m o

tion . Now all will want to know what th is g a s

called air really is .

What are th e forms of matter ? All the fo rm s

Of matter with which we are fam iliar are Of

th r e e c las s e s

s o l id , l i qu i d ,

and ga s eou s

A solid body , a s

we a l l know ,

sticks together ,holds it s form ,

R ocks and pool . A solid and a n d C a n I) e”9M M " fa s h i on ed o r

made into various shapes . A liquid body , on th e

other hand , ho lds it s form only if held togetherby the walls of a container or vessel , as waterin a cup . Pour water into a cup until it is full .If there is a hole in the cup it will no t stay

full , for the water will at once begin to run out

of th is ho le and will keep running out until thecup is empty .

If you look at water or any o ther liquid in an

6

THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR

open vessel you will find that the top of it isalways level . Now what is it to be level?That seem s a Simple ques

tion , and yet it is a very

im po r tan t o n e . T O b e

level , a surface must fit

exactly with the surface of

th e earth , if the earth wereperfect ly smooth ; that is , if A pail ofm m , showing the

there were no hills , no hOl ”M l W fa“of a“fluidlows , no river beds , no sea beds on it . The

free sur face or upper surface Of a liquid is alwayslevel , and it is so because Of the flowing natureOf the liquid itself .What are the difierences b etween a solid, a

liquid, and a gas ? All t he surfaces of a solid

are lim ited . The top surface , the side surface ,and t he under surface , all are unchanging or constant and lim ited , just as a block is always the

sam e Size and shape no m atter where it is . A

liquid has only one surface lim ited—that is , it supper surface . A gas has no surface lim ited ;it m oves in all directions . Air is a gas .

By

'

what means can you discover how th e air

acts ? You can discover th is only by observing

a gas that has a color . A ir has no color , so

air cannot b e used for your experiment . There

are gases , however , that have colors , and by

m eans of these co lored gases we can see how the

8

air act s .

HEALTH READER

Place a sm all quantity Of a colo r e d

gas in an empty ves sel from which all the a ir

A barometer

has been drawn out so as to form wh a t

we call a vacuum . If th is ves sel is o f

glas s SO you can see into it , you W ill

observe that almost instantly the g a swill fill all parts of the vessel . Wat e r

will run only downwards ; a gas w i l lrun in every direction .

How far upward does th e air extend

NO one knows exactly . No explore rwho has climbed high mountains , no

aviator who has reached h igh alt itude sin balloon or aeroplane

,has been more

than three or four m iles above the leve lof the sea . Yet he s t ill finds air th ere .

But we do know that as we go up , th e

air gradually get s thinner , unt il som e

wh ere , very far up ,it ceases to exist .

If we climb a high m ountain and

carry with us a barom eter , an inst ru

m ent which m easures the pres sure Of

air by m eans of mercury in a glass

tube ,we find that the high er we climb

the lower is the h eight Of the m ercury

co lum n in the barom et er . The pres

sure Of the air decreases because the

high er we climb t he more air we have below u s ,

and the sm aller th e am ount above us . Wh en

THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR 9

you reach the top of a mountain that is a m ilehigh you notice that you breathe with moredifliculty . If you breathe as you usually do atthe lower level where you live you have a sense

o f partial suffocat ion . You find that you mustbreathe deep and fast in order to get enough air .

When you go two or th ree or four miles high ,

breathing becomes exceedingly difl‘icult , and at

a st ill greater heigh t life could not b e sustained .

Of how many kinds of matter is air composed ?

This is a question of interest to every one .

You do no t need to b e a ch em ist , or a physiologist , Or any oth er kind Of learned person to b einterested in what makes up the air . You wantt o know wheth er t he air is made up of several

kinds of m atter , or whether it consists of justone kind . If you put a marble and a lump of

sugar and a bullet into th e sam e b ox they may

all b e the sam e shape and the sam e size , but

you know that you have m ore than one kind

Of matt er in t hat box . Now we may suppo sethe air to b e made up of spheres like marbles ,except that they are so small it is impo s sible

to see them .

Are th ese little particles all of th e same kind ?

NO , they are no t . The great bulk Of the atm o s

phere is m ade up Of two kinds Of lit t le spheres,

all m ixed togeth er so that you cannot det ect anydifference between the atm o sph ere in one p lace

Io HEALTH READER

and that in another . About four fifths of t h eair is made up Of little part icles of a gas calle dnitrogen , and about one fifth of it is made u p

of little particles of another gas called oxygen

Then there are many part icles of other sub

stances scattered around among these , but no t

in very great quantities .

If you drop a little acid on a piece of limeston e

you will see an effervescence or a bubbling , anda g as will es

cape . That gasis called carbon

dioxide . It is

t h e s am e ga s

that is formed in

the body whenfood is burnedto

make your body

W a rm F O r

jus t as wood or

”50 ” coal is burned in

a stove to keep

the house warm ,

so a portion of

the food we eat

A 4-How plants breathea , roo t hairs which ab sorb so lub le m ineral IS burned In the

sub stances from the so il bOdy tO keep it

warm . This gas also form s when anyth ing

is burned by fire . Particles Of th is gas are

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12 HEALTH READER

air and throwing little particles Of carbondioxide back into the air . But the plants are

continually taking these particles of carbon

dioxide , absorbing their carbon , and turning

the oygxen back into the air . Thus t he air

always contains oxygen sufl‘icient for all the

purposes of life . Because of the act ion Of

plants on the carbon dioxide in the air , house

plant s are useful and h ealth ful .There are also little particles of water in th e

air . You don’

t usually th ink of water as a gas ,

yet wat er exists everywh ere as a gas . A s a rule

you cannot see it , but when so much of it goes

into the air that it form s a cloud or a fog , then

Of course it m ay b e seen . Although as a rule

you cannot see water in the air , it is there , and

in very considerable quant it ies .

There are also a number of o ther substancesin the air which learned men never though t Of

unt il with in the last few years . These sub

s t ances have been discovered very recent ly .

The air is lik e the world . For a long t im e

people did n ’

t know there was such a cont inentas Am erica . Until a sh ort time ago no one

had ever seen the earth at th e po les . We are

cont inually m aking discoveries in th e earth’

s

surface . We are also making discoveries in the

compos it ion Of the atm o sphere . One of these

is the discovery Of argon . If we could see all

THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR

the different part icles present in the air we

Should find litt le part icles of argon . Argon is

a Greek word m eaning “inactive ,

and it is

applied to t hese particles because they are

ext rem ely inact ive . Argon particles do no t

form clo se acquaintancesh ip with the particles

of any other gas . They like to stand Off in

a corner by t hem selves .

Th en again we should see , if we had the right

kind Of eyes with wh ich t o see , that there are

still o ther lit tle particles wandering around in

the atm o sphere . These are called krypton , a

word which m eans hidden ,

”and applied to

these part icle s because t hey had been so longconcealed that nobody even knew they existed .

We should see still oth er little part icles , no t so

num erous but nevertheles s quite abundant ,called xenon . Th is word m eans stranger

,

”

and was applied t o th ese part icles because itwas so long before anybody made their ac

quaintance .

All Of these substances make up the atm o s

ph ere we breathe , and none Of them is in any

close combinat ion with any of the o thers . It is

just a simple m ixture . Every t im e you breathe

you take into your lungs a certain am ount Of

th is m ixture m ade up Of all th e se subst ances .

They are what are called natural cons tituents ,

or part s Of the air . Th e air is pure wh en it

I4 HEALTH READER

contains these natural constituents in the qu a n

tities in which they naturally exist in the gr e a tocean of air surrounding us .

Wh en is air impure ? The air is impure wh e nit contains t oo much or too little of any one o f

it s natural const ituents . F or instance , if oxy

gen ,wh ich is the most active substance in

the air and t he one on which our life function s

depend , is dim inished in quantity the air is

impure . If, on the other hand , oxygen is in

creased in quantity the air is also impure . If

t he quantity of oxygen is decreased , then w e

have to take in a great deal more air to perform

the funct ions Of life ; if it is increased the burningOf the foods and tissues in the body would goon m ore rapidly and we Should becom e ill andhave fever . If there were no oxygen in the

air we could not live ; also , if the air consisted

entirely of pure oxygen it would speedily causeus to die .

The air is impure if unnatural and noxiousor harmful substances are present in it . If youapproach a gas factory you will sm ell an Odordue t o the presence in the air of lit tle particlesOf bad-sm elling gases . If you go near a refrigcrating or ice-making establishment you are

likely to notice'

an Odor Of ammonia wh ich hasescaped from the condensing mach inery . If

you happen to b e in Chicago ,especially when

THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR I s

the weather is warm , you may distingu ish the

odor Of t he stockyards at a distance Of a m ile

or more from them if the wind is blowing from

that direction toward you .

The air Often carri es in th is way not only

particles of gaseous matter wh ich have a bad

Odor , but it m ay also contain gaseous par

t icles having a pleasant Odor . The odor Of

A hayfield in midsummer

new-m own hay is fam iliar to all who live int h e country . Everybody has been told about itor has read poem s about it . The scent of therose and the odor Of t he cornfield and the smell

of the forest are fam iliar t o alm os t every one .

Variou s perfum es owe their power to the factthat they fill the air with sm all particles of

I6 HEALTH READER

good-sm elling material . The attar Of rose s ,

t he eau de cologne , and all the various perfum es

which a young lady puts on her handkerch ief

h ave these properties .

In our hom es we are all fam iliar with th e

odors , generally pleasant , of the cook ing dinner .

Sometim es , though , these Odors are unpleasant ;for instance , when the Odor Of boiled cabbage

or Of frying fish fills the whole house .

All these ins tances illustrate t he many sub

stances which the air may contain , not to speakOf the dust and so lid particles wh ich m ay als ob e present in the air . It is evident that t h eair is a very complex m ixture , but this does no tprevent us from fixing our at tention on the factthat it s ch ief characteristic , so far as human

life is concerned , is it s property of support ing life .

C an we live without air? Mo st of you haveheard Of the dreadful accidents in wh ich drown

ing and suffocat ion overtake the unfortunat e .

Th ese terrible examples illustrat e the fact that

we can live only a few m inut es without air . If

you t ry t o hold your breath , you experience

no discomfort for t he first few seconds . But no

matt er h ow strong the will power may b e , no

one can ho ld his breath long enough to killhim self. Nature as serts her supreme authority

over the will of t he individual .Divers who have practiced for a long while

THE ELEMENTS OF THE AIR L7

have been known to keep their heads underwater for several m inut es . This is po ss ible ,

however , only t o persons with great lung capacity , and who have filled their lungs full of airbefore subm erging their heads in th e water .

Such rare examples , however , cannot b e re

garded as a m easure Of the length Of t im e we

2

I8 HEALTH READER

can do without breathing. Air is a constant ,necessary , and indispensable element Of life .

What takes place during th e process of breathingThe process of breathing is a simple , mechanicalaction , involuntary as a rule , by means Ofwh ichthe lungs are filled with air . It is easy t o

breathe purposely , but as a rule breath ingis wholly involuntary . We are as leep aboutone th ird of our time , and during s leep we are

wholly unconscious of breathing . Unless we

are taking exercise or purposely turn our attention direct ly to it , the act Of breath ing is jus tas unconscious during our waking hours as itis during sleep .

How often do we b reath e There is no rule bym eans Of wh ich we can m easure the frequencyof breathing . It varies greatly in diflerent

individuals and at different ages . When we are

at rest , we do not breathe nearly so frequentlyas when engaged in active exercises . In ordinary circum stances, that is , when working at

his ordinary occupation , the grown person willbreathe about eigh teen tim es a m inute . Ch il

dren breathe more frequently than grownpersons , and Old persons also breathe morefrequently than people who are in the prime

of life . Sickness also causes a difference in therate of breath ing . Usually the more severe

the disease , the more rapid the breath ing .


HEALTH READER

was no means of ventilation , t he oxygen , w h ichis t he active agent in maintaining th e hea t o f

the body , would gradually be exhausted . Th e

carbon dioxide , wh ich is formed when the fo od

and tissues of the body are burned , wou ld b e

constantly increas ing in quantity . Sufloca t ion

and death would finally result , although t h e

end would come s lowly .

III. THE ORGANS OF BREATHING

What are the lungs ? The lungs or organs ofbreathing are porous , vascular—that is , richlysupplied with blood vessels . They are placed

one on the righ t s ide and one on the left sideof the cavity in the upper part of the trunkknown to scientific m en as the thorax but com

m only called the chest . Th is cavity is formed

ch iefly by an inclos ing structure of bones calledt he ribs . Leading to t he lungs from the mouthand the no strils is a tube called the trachea ,

known comm only as the windpipe . This tube

divides into two branches , one going to the right

lung and one to the left lung . These branches

are called the bronchial tubes . An inverted t ree

excellently illust rates the character and appear

ance of t he windpipe and the bronchial tubes .

The trunk of the tree is the windpipe , and the

roots are th e openings into the mouth and the

nostrils . Th e two main branches are the bron

ch ial tubes . These tubes branch out into numer

ous smaller tubes like the smaller limbs of a tree .

The comparison may go still farth er . In the

lungs are num erous cavities or pockets , and

these may b e compared with the leaves of thetree . In fact , th e tree absorbs air in a way

that is a very good illus t ration of what t akes

HEALTH READER

place in the lungs , except that the act of breat h

ing goes on in inverse or oppo site order .

’

In t h e

human body you breathe through the opening s

Lungs , showing larynx, trachea ,and bronchial tubes

A , righ t lung , exterior ; B , le tft .lung sec t ion view ; c , larynx ;d, t rach ea ; e, small b ronch ia l tub es ; 1. air sacs

of the windpipe and distribut e to t he branches

and t he lung cavit ies ; the t ree breathes through

it s leaves and dist ribut es t o t he branches and

the t runk and the root s . The hum an beingtakes in oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide

,

THE ORGANS OF BREATHING 23

but the tree takes in carbon dioxide and givesoff oxygen . Thus the comparison is complete ,

although in inverse order .

The lungs are surrounded by a membrane or

covering known as the pleura , and are located

Trunk , showing diaphragmc c diaph ragm ; lg, heart ; c , righ t lung ; d, left lung ; e. superior vena

cava , f. Jugu lar vein ; 8. caro t 1d artery ; h , t rachea ; i, larynx

in the cavity inclosed by the ribs . At th e backof this cavity is th e backbone , or spinal colum n .

At the bottom is a s t rong muscular cavity calledthe diaphragm . It is by th e act ion of th e

diaph ragm and Of the m uscles cont ract ing and

24 HEALTH READER

expanding the ribs t hat t he capacity of t h e

thorax may b e increased or dim inished .

By the expansion of these muscles and t h e

m ovem ent of the diaphragm downwards , t h e

cavity or box in which t he lungs are inclosed is

increased in size and the air ent ers throug h

th e m outh and no st rils t o fill th is increase dcavity . By the contract ion of the muscles o f

th e ribs and th e movement of t he diaphragm

Experiment illus trating breathing

upwards , th e holding capacity of t he cavityor th orax is diminish ed and the excess of air

in the lungs is expelled . Thus breath ing is

brought about by t h e cont ract ion and expansionOf t he thorax .

Th is can easily b e illustrat ed by a simpleexperim ent . If you cover th e open t op of a

jar with a piece Of rubber and press down on

the rubber , you will dim inish th e capacity Of the


jar . If you st op pushing and take your handaway t he rubber will com e back to it s horizontal

po s ition and t he capacit y of the jar will b e thesam e as it was at first . If you at t ach a curved

tube to th e jar and put one end of the tubein water you will find that when you push downon t h e rubber cover t he air will b e forced out

Of t h e jar through the tube into the water . On

with drawing your hand a portion of the waterwill b e drawn through t he tube into t h e jar .

In t h is way you illu strate t he m echanism bym ean s of which breath ing takes place .

What happens to th e air wh en it reaches th e lit tlecells or pock ets in th e lungs ? The cells Of t he

lungs are provided with innum erable small

blood ves sels so arranged as t o bring the blood

into all parts Of the lungs on it s way t o and

from the heart .

Th e blood that enters the lungs comes fromall parts of the body . On it s way to the lungsth e blood stream resembles a river system .

Sm all vessels , so small as often t o require a

m icroscope to dis t inguish them , conduct the lit tleglobules of blood from the t issues in all partsof the body and pour them into larger vessels ,and these int o stil l larger vessels , unt il theyreach the veins of the body . From these veinsthe blood finally finds it s way int o the greatblood ves sels or art eries that lead t o the h eart .

26 HEALTH READER

From the heart the blood passes t o the lung sand is there redistributed through the sam e

The heart, showing veins and arterie s

connected with it

a. righ t vent ric le ; b , left ventr ic le ; c. r igh tauric le ; d , left auric le ; e, aorta ; f. pulmonaryart ery ; 3 . b ranch es of t h e aor ta ; h , superiorvena cava ; i , pu lm onary vein s

kind of sm all

vessels inwhichithad it s origin .

These m icroscopic or verysm a l l b l oo dvessels line t h ewa l l s o f t h e

lung cells intowh ich the air

particle s find

theirway . Th e

blood stream is

l oad ed w i t hwater and car

b on dioxide de

rived from t he

burning of thefood and t he

t issues of the

body in all ofit s parts . When it com es int o th ese lit t le lungcells an int erchange takes place between the

oxygen of the air in the lungs and the carbondioxide and the water in the blood . Som e of

th e particles Of carbon dioxide and wat er in the

blood pass through the cell walls int o th e air


28 HEALTH READER

t issues of the body . On this journey they give

up their loads of oxygen and again take on loads

of carbon dioxide and water , then start back

through the vein capillaries on the way to the

lungs and the heart . Th is process is constantly

going on . Every few moments all the blood

that is in t he body pas ses through t he lungs .

It is also clear that the air that ent ers th e

lungs bearing it s full quantity of oxygen pas ses

out of the lungs bearing a full load of carbon

dioxide and water .

C an we ever s ee th e water in th e air we b reathe

out of our lungs ? Yes , it is no t an unusual t hing

t o see the wat er in th e air we breathe out of our

lungs . All you have t o do is t o go out of doors

on a cold day and blow , and you will see whatwe call the st eam or the fog of t he breath . Th e

cold air condenses t he wat er in the breath andform s it into small particles or globules like a fog .

Another easy way t o prove that there is waterin the breath is to breathe upon a m irror . Th e

cold glass will condense the little particles of

moisture in the breath so that you can see them .

Is there any way you can s ee the carbon dioxide

in the b reath ? N0 , not exact ly . It requires a

very low t emperature to condense carbon dioxide . It can b e done , however , and the t eacherof chem ist ry in the h igh school may Show

you frozen carbon dioxide . You may see it,

THE ORGANS OF BREATHING 29°

h ow ever , in an indirect way . If you will breatheth rou gh a glas s tube into a lit t le clear lim e wat er ,

wh ich you cane a s i l y m ak e

from a fragm en t Of lime

o r w h ich you

c a n b u y a t

t h e d ru g s tore ,

you w ill soons ee t h e wholem as s o f wat er

becom ewh it e .

B u t t h e s elitt le particles

you see are

no t carbon dioxide . They are part icles of car

bonat e of lime , the sam e t hing as lim estone o r

m arble . Th is carbonat e of lime is form ed by t h eun ion Of the carbon dioxide forced out of your

lungs with the part icles of lim e in the wat er .

What is th e practical meaning of th ese facts ?

Th is experim ent shows you in a convincing waythat if you breathe the sam e air over and overagain you are continually loading it up wit h

carbon dioxide and water . The wat er is not so

very bad , because only a cert ain am ount of it

can b e held in the air . If t here is more than

this amount , the exces s will b e deposit ed . The

Blowing expired air through limewater

3c HEALTH READER

carbon dioxide , however , is not depos ited . It

remains in the air indefinitely , and in unlimite d

quantities , and it s presence cannot be known

except in the way described .

What precautions does nature take to pro tec t

th e lungs ? Nature takes many precautions t oprotect the lungs . A s we have learned , t he

lungs are covered by a membrane known as

the pleura . They are located in the thorax or

chest , a cavity that is ent irely closed in by wallsof bone and muscle . There is no communicationbetween the thorax and the external atmosph ere ,

alt hough the interior of the lungs is connected

direct ly with the outside air through the wind

pipe . N0 air can get into the thorax un les s

it leaks in through the lungs or through a pnuc

ture in the side walls . The walls of t he thorax ,with the exception of t he diaph ragm , cons is tof hard , bony materials , nam ely, the ribs , thebackbone , and t he s ternum or breastbone . Th iscavity therefore cannot collapse , and is able toresist the pressure of the atmosphere , which isabout fifteen pounds on every square inch .

The walls of the thorax , moreover , are sup

ported also from the inside . The lungs , being

porous and expans ible or eas ily stretched , and

being in communication with the external airthrough the trachea or windpipe and the bronchial tubes , are expanded by the air pressure

THE ORGANS OF BREATHING 3 1

un til they ent irely fill the lung space . The

lung s , therefore , do no t hang loosely in an opensp ace , but , in

a s t a t e o fh e a l t h , ar e

e n tir e l y ex

p a n d e d s 0

th at th eir en

velop ing lin

in g , c a l l e dt h e p l eu ra ,

t ou c h e s t h e

internal wallsOf t h e thorax .

Thu s , by the

p r e s s u r e ofth e air withinth e lungs , the The thorax or ches t

walls of the “hp fm‘

t‘

il 22.th or ax a r e

am ine rib s

supported from the inside also , and are pre

vented from collapsing under the pressure ofthe air on the outside .

What caus es th e dis eases that attack th e lungs ?

Generally , when germ s attack a healthy lungthey a re overcom e and destroyed by naturalenemies wh ich nature has put into th e bloodand thus into the lungs . These enem ies of the

germ s are principally the white corpuscles of

3 2 HEALTH READER

the blood . For a long time the function of

these corpuscles was unknown . But it is now

known that these lit t le wh ite particles in th e

blood, as distinguished from the red particles

which give the blood it s color , are police healt h

oflicers . Th ey are on duty to guard agains t

all the th ieves and robbers , the disease germ s

wh ich st rive to break into the body .

So long as we are well nourished and are

living in sanitary surroundings t hese policem en

are able to protect us against t he b ad germ s

wh ich produce disease . On the other hand ,

when we are“run down , that is , when our

vitality is lessened , wh en our food is poor o r

insuflicient in quantity or not properly cooked ,

or when it is not properly chewed and digested ,

then we find that the white corpuscles are less

numerous and are not so vigorous . Thesepolicemen , in other words , go to sleep on theirbeat s ” and the thief and the robber germ s ent er

the body and produce infection .

Thus we are ap t t o have pneumonia when we

are weakened by a co ld , although the particu largerm wh ich causes the pneumonia is independentof the cold . The pneumonia germ is almos t

always present in th e mouth , but it does not

produce pneumonia unt il the vitality (res istance)of the body is lowered .

Tuberculosis , that m o st dreaded of.

all

THE ORGANS OF BR EATHING 33

diseases , is produced by a certain germ called

tubercle bacillus , which enters the lungs throught he blood or th rought he air . It finds lodgm ent in the weak or

less vital parts of the

lung , grows and in

creases in numbers ,and gradually pro

duces the tubercles

which absorb , destroy ,

and s lowly take the

place of the lung t is “be” ” a”

sues used in breathing . Tuberculosis kills more

people than any other s ingle disease . Statistics

Show that out of every one hundred people who

die , eleven die from th is disease .

How can the diseases which attack th e organs of

b reathing b e prevented ? Diseases can b e pre

vented , first of all by always breathing pure air ;second , by keeping the body well nourished ;th ird , by taking precaution to prevent the spread

of tuberculosis germ s . When there is a case ofsmallpox in a community the patient is taken

to a special hospital and separated from the

community until he gets well . But th is is not

always done when there is a case of tuberculosis .

A patient suffering from tubercu losis walks the

streets , rides in street cars and railroad trains ,

3

34 HEALTH READER

sits at the table in public res taurant s , and in

general m ingles freely with the public , all t h e

while spreading germ s which threaten his fellowman .

The germs of tuberculos is are also pres ent inthe m ilk of tuberculous cows Tuberculos is incows difiers somewhat from the tuberculos isthat attacks human beings . Although the germis different to a certain extent , yet it has beenproved conclus ively that the tuberculosis of

the cow may be reproduced in human beingsand especially in children . The exterminationof tuberculous cows would do much toward

dim inishing the poss ibility of spreading tuberculosis .

If we could induce the people who have tuberculosis to live by them selves until they are we ll ,and if at the same t irne we could destroy all

tuberculous cows in the country, we should b eprotected to a good degree against that diseaseInstead of eleven out of every one hundredpeople dying from tuberculosis we m ight reducethe number greatly. Moreover, if we could

look forward to days of perfect sanitation of the

air and of our food , we might even look forward

to the day when tuberculos is would b e com

p let ely wiped out .

Your city and state boards of health won] (Igladly undertake to eradicate tubercu los is and


36 HEALTH READER

The right lung is divided into three parts b ydeep clefts in t he lung substances , although

these parts are

each other so

as to form one

s ingle organ .

The s e d iv i

s i on s in t h e

righ t lung are

called the up

per , them iddle ,and the lower

lobe . The right

lung is one o r

t w O in c h e s

shorter th anof ‘f“mg the left lung

a , small bronchral tube ; bb. arr cells ; c. lung tissuebecause of the

fact that the liver lies just below the diaphragm

on the right side and pushes the diaphragm up

against the lung .

The left lung is smaller and narrower than

the right lung, but it is

‘ longer , and has only

two divis ions , the upper lobe and the lower lobe .

It is a fortunate thing that the lungs are dividedinto lobes , or parts , by deep clefts . In pneumonia , for instance , usually only one of theselobes is attacked . If there were no lobes in

THE‘

OR GANS OF BREATHING 3 7

t he lungs an attack of pneumonia m ight invo lvet he whole lung . Th e phys ician is always hOpeful of a recovery if he can confine the pneumoniato a s ingle lobe .

How does a fish breathe You have been toldthat any one who cuts off the air from his lungsby putting his head under water will drown .

And yet , though fish have their heads underwater most of the time , and though the sam e

oxygen that purifies your blood purifies the

blood of the finny tribe ,still they do no t drown .

How then does the fish breathePa

The water in contact with the air absorbssome of the atmosphere , including all of the

gases . Naturally the water near the surface is

more nearly saturated with air than the water

farther down . It is also clear that if the sur

face of t he water is roughened by the wind , or

splashed in any way , it com es in contact with

greater quantities of air and absorbs more of

it than if the surface were quiet . A fish breathes

by extracting this absorbed air from the water

near the surface .

Some of the animals that live in the water

come to the surface to breathe above the water .

The whale , for instance , wh ich is not a fish ,

breathes in a great deal of air and blows it out

again when it spouts . Som e fish jump into the

air and thus have a chance to breathe the air

3s HEALTH READER

above the water . In general , however , fish

breathe by extracting the oxygen absorbed by

t h e wat e r wh i ch

comes in contactwith the open air .

The fish , by th e

movements of it s

gills , which are it s

lungs , causes a largequantity of water to

pas s through and over them . Th e air contained

in the water is absorbed into the gills of the fish .

So,as long as the water contains air the fish

is able to keep it s head under water . But if

the water is covered with a sheet of ice , and does

not com e in contact with the air , the air ab

sorbed in the water will gradually b e used up .

Then the fish will suffocate You may have

seen in the spring a pond ful l of dead fish .

They have been suffocated because ice entirelycovered the water during the winter and keptthem from com ing in contact with the air . If

there is a hole in the ice fish will seek it in great

numbers, rising to the surface in order to getthe oxygen that has entered the water . Thuswe see that fish ,

if kept in water from which

the air is excluded , would b e suffocated just

as human beings are suffocated by putting the

head under wat er .

Head of trout , showing gills


How does air enter the lungs ? The air enters

t h e lungs either through the mouth or through

t he nost rils . The nostrils are the natural breath

ing tubes or pipes and should be used for breath

ing at all times , except perhaps when one is

talking or: singing . Especially in sleep should

th e breathing be done through the nostrils:

The tube or canal in each side of the nose

is not perfectly straight . The air in passing

through the nostrils thus comes in contact with

th e moist membranes which line them . Par

t icles of dust and other matter in the air are

caught and held by the moist walls . They are

thus prevented from entering the lungs . Th e

membrane lining the inside walls of the nostrils

is moistened by mucus and is called a mucous

membrane . Thus the air that enters the lungs

through the nostrils is freer from dust particles

and is cleaner than that wh ich enters through

the mouth .

Th e cavity of the mouth . The mouth is one

of the most important parts of the body in

relation to health . In the mouth are the teeth ,

by m eans of which the food is masticated . It

also contains the tongue , wh ich carries the

nerve of taste . Without our tongues we couldmake noises , but we could not pronounce words .

The tongue also has important functions bes idesthat of speech . By it s aid the act of swallowing

4o HEALTH READER

is started . Then , too , the walls of the m ou th

contain the openings of the glands which secret e

a

A ir passages of head and throat

be , k , s 1'

rd ; Ij ’

m.vgocalhia tn the co spine ;

goof offmou tg;lo. epig lot t is ; passage

of air through head to lungs

the saliva , so im

portant in keeping the m ou thmoistand so us eful in th e chewing and swallowing of food .

Th e l ow e r

p a r t o f t h e

mouth is h ingednear the ears and

is movable . Itc an m ove u pand down and

s ideways , thusa id ing in t h e

grinding of t h efood be twe enthe teeth whichact as upper andlowerm illstones .

Back of the mouth are the tonsils , and farther

on are the trachea or windpipe , th rough whichthe air is conveyed to the bronchial tubes and

thence into th e lungs , and the opening into th etube—the esophagus or gullet— through wh ichour food is conveyed to the stomach .


How does food enter the esophagus , and how does

air enter the trach ea? Why does n’

t the foodwhich we swallow go into the lungs , and the airinto t h e stomach? The answer to these questionsis ext rem ely s imple . The opening of the upperpart of the trachea or windpipe is called the

larynx . This opening is covered by a movableh inged lid called the epiglottis . When we are

about t o swallow

food t h e epiglott is closes so thatth e food s lidesover the top oft h e w indp ip e

without entering . All of the

food is thus conv ey ed to t h e

esophagus .

If by any ao77” 6mm“

a . epig lo t t is ; b. t ongue ; c, t rue vocal cords ;cident the epi

_d. false vocal cords ; e. crIcoid cart ilage

glottis should remain open and a particle of foodshould enter the larynx , violent cough ing

wou ld result . This is nature ’

s effort to throwout the Offending body. If water or otherliquids that we are drinking should enter thelarynx , s im ilar spasmodic efforts wou ld result toclear it of the invading substance .

The upper part of the trachea , as we have

42 HEALTH READER

already learned , is called the larynx . It is

composed of a series of cartilages or flexible

tissues m idway between muscle and bone

Within it lie the vocal cords , two s t rong, fibrous

bands covered by a thin layer of mucous mem

brane . They are of a light yellow color , very

Larynx, front view Larynx, pos terior viewa. ep

' lo t tis ; b , thyro id cart i a. epig lo t t is ; b . false voca le Id bone ; d. trach ea cords ; c , true vocal cords ;

e , crIcmd cart ilage ; f, he Id d. t rachea ; e. cricoid cart ilagememb rane

elastic , and so arranged that they may be

brought close together , or tigh t ened or loosened ,

thus changing the tone of the sound produced .

These changes are brough t about by the num er

ous muscles in the larynx . If the trachea and

bronch ial tubes represent an inverted tree , thenthe larynx represents the root of the tree . It


44 HEALTH READER

through which the air enters the lungs . If

you hold the t rachea shut long enough you

cause death by st rangulat ion .

If you should t ry to swallow a large quantit yof food at once , so large that it would no t pas sthrough the esophagus , it would stick in th e

esophagus , bulging it out . A s the esophaguslies back of the trachea , this bulging out m igh t

also close t he trachea . In such a condition youwould choke to death . If, on the other hand ,

the food were lodged in the esophagus in such

a way as not to close the trachea , you m igh t

not choke to dea th for a long while , and if th e

obstruction were removed probably no harmwould resu lt . If food should enter the tracheathrough the ep iglottis

'

it would close the open ingto the lungs and qu ickly cause death .

In case of choking o f such a nature as to

threaten speedy death , the person should b e

held head down and a series of sharp blows givenwith the palm of the hand on his back.

The palate . The roof of the mouth is calledthe pala te . It is very hard and firm in the

front part of the mouth . Toward the back of

the mouth it becomes soft . In the m iddle of

the soft palate at the back of the mouth hangsa small conical fold , which swings lik e a pendulum . This fold is known as t he uvula . Sometim es the uvula becomes so long that it hangs


down and touches the top of the larynx, that

part of the trachea holding the vocal cords .

This produces a tickling sensation which lnduces coughing , and it is thus often troublesome

to public speakers . In a case Of this kind it isa sim ple operation to seiz e the projecting po intwith forceps and amputat e or cut off the Offending portion with a pair of scissors .

Wh ile I say this is a s imple Operation , I donot m ean t o say that it should be done by any

but a competent surgeon , using steriliz ed apparatus s o as to avoid every danger of infectionor inflammation .

Th e tons ils . The tonsils are two glandssituated at the back of the mouth . They are

often the seat of infection and inflammation ,

especially in children . it is advisable in suchcases , especially when the tonsils are enlarged ,that they b e removed by a surgeon .

Th e‘

pharynx. Back of the mouth is the

pharynx. It extends upward back of the soft

palate and is bounded above by the lower wallof t he framework inclosing the brain , and be

low by the beginning of the esophagus . In

grown persons it is about four inches long . It is

a kind of meeting place for various roads . The

two principal roads opening into the pharynxare the mouth and the nasal passages . But

there are other path s of very great importance

46 HEALTH READER

connected with the pharynx . These are the

tubes which run from the pharynx to either ear ,and are knownas the eus tachi

an tubes . They

lead to the cav

ity in the ear

located back ofthe membrane

on which are

re 0 0 rd ed t h e

s Ound S fr om

the outer air .

Th e lower cont racted portionOf~the pharynx

Interior of car with canalsis the b e

a . sem i-circu lar canals ; b. coch lea ; c. eus tach ian glntube ; d. mea tus or auditory canal ; e. drum memb rane ; f. concha ; g . pinna ; h , lobe ; i , small bones n l ng O f t h e“the “

e s oph agu s .

Precautions to be taken to prevent colds , catarrh ,

and like diseases . The most important th ingto b e considered is public sanitation , that is ,the keeping of all public places in a sanitary

condition . Especially is th is true of streetcars and schoolroom s . There are times wh ench ildren should not b e allowed to ride in streetcars . Those hours of the day when the cars arecrowded with pas sengers are the very tim es wh en

ch ildren aire m o st likely t o b e in t h e car on th e


way t o or from school . Even if he has to walka m ile or more , it is far better for the child towalk to s chool , and have the benefit of the pureair and t h e easy exercise , than it is for himto

get into a crowded car in which there are no t

enough ventilating flues , and where the windowsare oft en tightly closed and the doors opened

only fo r the exit and entrance of passengers .

Th e child will b e better for the walk to and

from school . He will do better in h is studiesat s choo l , he will eat better , sleep better , andb e h ealth ier in every way because of th is exer

cise . Above all , he will escape one of the verycomm on conditions for taking cold .

All schoolroom s should b e properly vent ilatedand t h e temperature in winter kept at sixtyeigh t degrees or les s . When school authoritiesins ist upon th ese conditions and wh en city

childr en no longer ride to school , even thoughth e street cars are sanitary and well ventilated ,

few of th e pupils w ill suffer from colds .

Play and exercise of the right kind are valuable in preventing diseases of the respiratoryor air-breathing organs . The play or exerciseshould no t b e too violent . It should , however ,bring into activity all th e different parts of the

body . It is best for ch ildren to play in the openair , and all kinds Of gam es are beneficial if theexertion is no t greater than the body can bear .

48 HEALTH READER

Though outdoor play is t o be preferred t o

indoor play , the gymnasium should not be neg

lect ed . If well ventilated , clean , and free from

dust , it provides excellent opportunities fo r

exercise when the weather is so bad that one

cannot play out of doors . Outdoor play is fo r

many reasons more beneficial than gymnastic

C hildren at play in the open air

exercises . One reason is that gymnastic exer

cises are usually very severe on a particular set

of muscles . The exercise is not SO generally distributed over all the muscles as in outdoor play .

It must b e remembered , too , that even in t he

best ventilated room s the air is not so pure as it

is in the open . In addition to th is , indoor playlacks the benefit to b e derived from the sunl ight .


Gam es should be a part of education . Learn

ing t o play properly is quite as important as

learning other lessons Th e most importantthing of all is to learn t he rules of health and

make them practical by obeying th em . In the

freedom of outdoor play the lungs are filledwith air naturally and without conscious effo rt .

This is m ore beneficial exercise than if directed

purposely t o that end . Our mental state inoutdoor play is also more favorable to beneficial results than it can possibly b e in indoorplay . There is an excitem ent and att ractiveness in the outdoor exercise which can neverbe equaled by anyt h ing with in four walls .

On the whole , then , outdoor play is greatly t o

be preferred to indoor exercises .

How can play influence the organs within the

thorax? All kinds of play increase the rapidityof the heart

’

s action , and thus directly affectthe organs inside the thorax . Since the bloodruns directly from the lungs into the heart ,from where it is to b e sent back to t he heartand then distributed throughou t the body ,

thereis a close relation between the action of the

lungs and the action of the heart . A s the bloodcirculation increases in activity the breath ing

becom es deeper and more frequent . The lungsare more expanded and respond at once to thes timulus of the increased circulation . Thus all

so HEALTH READER

kinds of properly conduct ed play or exerciseshave a beneficial effect on the lungs and the heart .

In general , it may be said that exercises inwh i ch t h e

a rm s a n d

shoulders are

used are es

pecially he lp

fu l t o t h e

h e a r t an d

lung s . T h e

s imple exe r

cise of stretch

ing both arm s

up over th e

head and holding them there for a short tim e

may b e practiced methodically . Bringing t hearm s down slowly , straigh t out from t he

shoulders and with fingers clinched SO as tomake the muscles tense , is also very helpful .

The swinging of the hands backwards , at first

s low ly and gently and then more vigorous ly

until the backs of the hands touch , is another

helpful exercise . The circular movement of th e

arm s around the Shoulder as a pivot , throwing

the head back and pres sing out the throat andth e t op of the chest , is also a good exercise .

Stooping over and touch ing the floor with t h e

fingers with out bending the knees , bending back

A helpful indoor exercise


5: HEALTH R EADER

as to avoid harmful results . Playgrounds of

the right kind for the development of a good

phys ique , so necessary for efficiency in later lifework , are equally as important as if no t m ore

so than good schools and useful employment .

What causes a cold ? Most people think a cold

is caused by a draft of air . If th is were true

everybody who goes outdoors , except on daysof calm , would b e in danger of taking cold .

On the contrary , colds are nearly always pro

duced by remaining in an overheated room in

a stale atmosphere . If you have become very

warm from vigorous exercise or work , and then

sit down to res t where it is cool , your body m ay

b e cooled SO rapidly as to close the pores of the

skin and produce congestion of the internal

organs . Then you have caught a cold . Mere

changes of temperature , however sudden theymay b e ,

do no t cause a cold unless certain cold

causing m icrobes start t o growing in the body .

C an you catch a cold from another person Yes ,

th is is about the only way to get a cold . Som e

body with a cold scatters the germ s abroad and

these , when breathed in ,attack other persons ,

who then fall ill .

Why does not everyb ody who is exposed to such

infection fall ill? If the body is well nourished,

if it has been supplied with pure air and all th e

organs are in good condition , and you are


very healthy , you will b e able to res ist the

cold-cau s ing m icrobes . But if you are run

down , poorly nourished , or very tired , your

vitality is so low ‘

that it will no t res ist the

microbe s , and you become ill .

What mak es a person who has a cold snee z e ?

Sneezing is a sudden contract ion of the musc les

wh ich cont rol the expirat ion of air from the

Sneez ing is a source of danger to persons near by

lungs . By th is contraction the air is ejected ina sudden puff through the nostrils or the mouth .

The nerve causing th is action is affected by an

irritation in the nostrils or in th e throat , and

t he sudden clearing of the air passages , bysneezing or cough ing , is nature

’

s way of gettingrid of the irritat ion .

Is snee z ing a source of danger to persons near by?

Yes . In sneezing , the part icles ejected from the

54 HEALTH READER

nostrils or the mouth may be thrown to a greatdistance , and these particles may be the carriersof infect ion . Never go near a person with a cold .

Never kiss anybody who has a cold . If you

can avoid it , never stand near a person who

sneez es when he has a co ld . To prevent othersfrom becoming infected , a person should b e con

s iderate and always hold a handkerchief over

his mouth and nostrils when he sneez es .

Should children with colds go to school ? NoChildren and grown people afflicted with coldsshould not go to school or into any public hallwhere lectures , plays , or religious services are

carried on . Persons with colds should be kept athom e ,

quarantined if necessary, until the danger

from infection has passed . The air about a per

son who has a cold necessarily contains a greatmany germ s th rown out by cough ing and snee z

ing , and persons near by are in constant (1anger

of breath ing the infected matter into their lungs

The m edical inspector or teacher Should standat the schoolroom door every morning and every

noon and see that no person having a cold is

allowed to enter the schoo lroom .

Are there oth er places where the air may carry

danger of infection from colds Yes , many of

them . Among the more comm on places Of

infection may b e mentioned crowded streetcars especially in winter , when doors and


windows are closed—churches , theaters , moving

picture shows , and public meeting places of allkinds where large crowds are gathered in a

small space . Children and even grown people

often contract dangerous diseases in these

crowded places from breathing air which car

ries t he germs of colds or other diseases .

Are colds dangerous No , colds in them selvesare no t as a rule dangerous . But a person

afflicted with a cold eas ily contracts a more

seriou s disease ; indeed , he is much more

to do so than when in good health . Such

diseases as the

grip diphtheria ,

s car le t f e ve r ,

meas les , whooping cough , small

pox,and e s p e

cially pneumonia ,

one of the most

dreaded of all diseases , may followa severe cold .

Wh at is good for

a cold? Rest , pure

air , good food , som e sooth ing o r antisept ic mate

rial vaporized from a spraying apparatus into

the nostrils and t he th roat , and proper at tention

to the bowels are h elpful in overcom ing a co ld .

Spraying the throat for a cold

OSOUITOES AND LIES

ENDANGER HEALTH

Are mosquitoes a menace to health ? Th e

result s from the bit es of some kinds of m o squi

toes may b e very serious . The culex or ordinary mosquito , except that it raises a lumpwith an itch ing sensat ion and withdraws a drop

of blood , does no special harm . If you werebit t en by enough mosquitoes you might bleedt o death , yet the ordinary mosquito would not

leave with you the germ s of any disease . But

in many part s of the count ry there is one speciesof mosquito that is especially dangerous . You

have all heard of chills and fever . The comm on

nam e of th is disease is malaria . It was so

called because of th e m istaken supposition that

chills and fever is caused by bad air . That iswhat the term “

malaria m eans . But we know

now that it is no t b ad air nor night air that

causes malaria . This disease is caused solely

by the bite or s t ing of a mo squito , not the com

m on kind , but a kind which is widely distributed .

The mosquito that conveys what is called

malaria is the anopheles . When bit ing or

st inging the anoph eles mosquito as sumes a

position quite different from that of the culex .

To stick her bill int o th e back of your hand th e

<6

MOSQUITOES AND FLIES 52

cu lex s tands up in a decent way and bends her

h ead down . The anopheles , on the cont rary ,

seem s to stand on her head so

as t o give more punch t o her

entering bill . Then there is the

s tegomyia , anoth er kind Of mos

qu ito wh ich does no t bother us

excep t occas ionally in the ext reme

sou thern part of our.

country .

The mosquito which

Th is variety of mosquItO carn es causes yellow

th at dreaded disease , yellow fever .

Ne it h er the anopheles nor the s t egomyia of

it se lf is dangerous , but if an anopheles s t ingsa person who has malaria the germ s or paras it esof m alaria are developed in th is mosquito and

are then transmitt ed to the next person she

sting s . The sam e is t rue of the stegomyia .

If sh e stings a person who has the yellow feverand then s t ings another person who has

"

no t the

fever she conveys the yellow fever paras ite tothat person . In th is way both malaria and

yellow fever are spread .

Wh at is the proper method of protection

agains t th ese diseases ? If possible , kill themosquit o . If this cannot b e done screen yourself from mosquitoes . In a country where

mosquitoes abound , no person should sleep in a

place where windows or sleeping room s are not

carefully screened . In the daytim e you can

58 HEALTH READER

usuallyprotect yourself from the mosquito , but at

night-t ime you fall an easy victim to her . It does

not cost much to put mosquito netting around

any place where you are Sleeping . The one

who does not take th is precaution is very likelyto b e stung and suffer from the consequences .

What is the b es t way to get rid of mosquitoe s ?

It is useles s t o t ry to kill all the mosquitoes .

But it is easy to prevent their breeding . Th ere

Should b e no pools of wat er left where mosqui

toes can lay their egg s and

have them hatch . If there

are tubs or barrels Of wat erstanding about t he housethey should b e covered . i m ra

If there are poo ls Of

w a t e r arou nd t h e

grounds these should

b e d ra in e d . If t h e

swam p s a r e

t 0 o b i g t 0

d r a i n t h e

m o s qu i t o e s

m ay b e p r e

vented from

lay l n g an dSpraying a pool of s tanding water with

hat chmg eggs petroleum

by pouring a little petroleum or coal Oil on th e

water . The coal Oil spreads in a th in film over


60 HEALTH READER

t o the stables and outhouses t o lay their eggs ,and then back again , bringing impurit ies t o

the food supplies . It is believed that typhoidfever , diphtheria , and other infect ious diseasegerm s are very commonly carried by flies .

The life of a houseflya . egg s ; b. maggo t ; c, pupa ; d , fu ll-grown fly

What is the b es t way to prevent flies ? Clean

liness about the house ,the outhouses , and t he

barns is th e first requisite for success in t he

figh t against flies . SO , first of all , it is import ant

t o remove the filth in wh ich the fly lays it seggs . It is est imated that one fly will lay one

hundred twenty eggs . In from one t o t en hoursthese eggs hat ch into little whit e maggots .

And within four or five days a maggot gradually

turns int o a fly . Then in about four days t he

fly is full grown and ready t o start out on it s

errand of p roducing more flies . Thus one fly

MOSQUITOES AND FLIES

will , in th e course of a week or ten days , produceone hundred twenty flies . Thus you see in a

very little tim e one fly can boast of a m illiondescendant s .

A S flies cannot b e entirely prevented frombreeding , t he next best th ing is t o keep them out

of th e h ouse—out of sleeping room s , kit chen ,

and din ing room . Th is is most eas ily done byscreen s . The doors that lead out of the houseshould h ave double screens , SO as t o preventthe flie s get t ing in when the doors are opened .

Any fly found in a room should b e killed imm e

diat ely . The fly swat t er is t he advance agentof good health . If at first you don

'

t,succeed ,

swat swat again !

V . DUST IN THE AIR

a t oom, making a s traigh t, shining s treak ? We see

fine particles of dust wh ich are invisible untilligh ted up by the ray of sunlight .Is there usually much dus t in the air indoors

Yes , there is , and also dust in the air in m ost

other p la ce s . T h e

dust indoors , however ,is more injur ious thanthe dust in the air out

d o o r s . On e Sh ou l d

live as much as po s

sible in the Open air .

Does sweeping mak e

more dus t No sweep

ing does n’

t make dustit only stirs up th e

dust that has gath ered

on the floor and sends

it flying in the airStirring up dust with a broom again .

What is dus t ? Dust consists of particles or tinybit s of various substances , the particles being

SO fine and so light that when once started in

m otion they float in the air for a long tim e .

If you s t ir up some clay in water all th e large

62

DUST IN THE AIR 63

particles will soon settle at the bottom , but the

clay du s t remains suspended in th e water formany hours and even for days . In the waters

of th e M is souri River the clay dust never settles .

Th ey are always muddy . In like manner dust

part ic le s float a long time in th e air .

C an you get the dus t particles out ofwater Yes

If you m ix a little lime water or a weak solu

tion of alum with muddy water it will becomeclear in a short time . Substances lik e these

cause t h e fine particles of clay suspended inthe water to come together and form larger

particles , which s ink . Just so dust part icles

cling together and then s ink in the air .

What results from the entrance of dus t particles

into th e lungs ? The dust particles often stick

to the moist surface of the lung cells , causingirritation and injury. People who continuallybreath e air containing large numbers of carbon

part icles such as are present in th e smoke from

burning soft coal , often have black depos its ofcarbon in their lung tissues . Although it is notposs ible to find an atmosphere entirely free

from dust , it is important to avoid , as much as

pos s ible , breathing dust-laden air .

How does dus t get into the air? Dust is sent

into the air by moving bodies in contact withthe surface of the earth , especially when t he

ground is dry . A horse , wagon , or motor car

64 HEALTH READER

in motion will cause dust to rise from t he

ground . The wind probably is more effec t ive

A cloud of dust caused by a motor car

in keeping t he air ful l Of dust than any othermoving body . It lift s t he dus t from the earth ’

s

surface , and t he harder it blows t he m oredifficult it is for the particles of dust t o fall tothe ground again . In many parts Of the world ,

especially in deserts and arid regions , dust andsand s t orm s are much feared . Sand s torm s

and snow blizzards are much alike . In each

case fine part icles are carried through the air

at a h igh rat e,

Of speed , blinding the traveler ,so that oft en he loses his way . Sand storm s

are common in the deserts , and snow blizzards

in the nort hern , cent ral , and west ern parts of

the Unit ed Stat es .

DUST IN THE AIR 65

How may those who mus t breathe a very dus ty

atmosphere protect their lungs People who workin a du sty atmosphere may pro tect their lungsby placing a mois t sponge over the nose and

m outh . In passing through the sponge the

du st-laden air strikes the mois t walls of thesponge cells or spaces and the dus t part icles

Set t le and remain there . From t ime to t ime the

sponge is washed and then it is again ready foruse . Threshing grain is dus ty work, and

farm ers us ing threshing machines find wearing

a m ois t sponge a great protection . Workers incotton m ills also find t he sponge a protect ion

A sand storm in the de sert

against t he lint and dust that fill the air in

factories and m ills .

5

66 HEALTH READER

What care should b e taken to diminish the amoun tof dus t in houses Houses should b e built with

smooth walls . Elaborat ely carved or irregularwalls and ceilings provide places where dust may

gather , and from wh ich it is eas ily dis lodged andset in motion by opening doors and windows andby dust ing . There should be no project ions ,moldings , or recesses where dust may gather .

Such things as mant els , picture frames , and

clocks should b e frequently cleaned with damp

clo th s . The mo isture in t he cloth takes up

t he du st that has collect ed without caus ing itto st art sailing th rough the air in the room .

Floors should b e smooth and without cracks .

There Should b e no carpet s , and rugs should

b e cleaned frequent ly . The best broom is a

A weaver wearing a sponge to protect his lungs from dus t


68 HEALTH READER

somet imes called a house disease . For if

everybody lived out of doors there would b every little tuberculos is .

Are the germs of tub erculosis spread about in

any other way than through the air? Yes , tuberculosis germ s are spread about in many differentways . The infection may come from directcontact , as in drinking from a cup that hasbeen u sed by some one suffering from t he

disease . It may also b e caused by eating food

from dishes wh ich have just been used by con

sumpt ives , or by drinking the m ilk of tub erculous cows . A person may also get tubercu los isfrom eating the unsteril ized meats of tuberculous or infected animals , especially catt le and

hogs . These are but a few of the th ings which

cause infect ion .

How can we b e protected from these dangers

We can best protect ourselves by spending as

much t ime as possible in the open air . Wh iledisease germ s may b e present in the air currentsou t Of doors , because consumpt ives have beenspit t ing in the st reet or for other reasons , t he

danger Of inhaling these germ s is comparat ively

s ligh t because Of the great quantity of air in

wh ich they are carried . On the o th er hand,

the air indoors is breathed over and over again ,

and even if there were b ut a few dangerou sgerm s in th e room , the chance Of breathing

DUST IN THE AIR 69

them in is very great . Sleeping on porchesand spending as much tim e as poss ible outdoorsdur ing the day are good ways for prevent ingth is disease . Ch ildren especially should s leep

in the open , for it is oft en in infancy and ch ild

h ood that this disease takes ho ld . The germ s

that develop into tuberculosis at twenty-five

or t h irty years of age often enter the lungs

during ch ildhood , and their presence is no t

discovered for many years . Persons who liveand sleep indoors , in room s that are poorly

ventilat ed , Offer the most favorable conditionsfor t he development of the disease .

Is there,any danger in s leeping out of doors

76 HEALTH READER

As a rule , there is none whatever . In pleasantweather one may s leep on the ground with an

oilcloth blanket under him and a blanket overh im . If it rains he should , of course ,

have som e

kind of protect ion , such as an oilcloth covering ,

to keep h im dry . People who live out of doo rs ,

play out of doors , and sleep out of doo rs rarelyhave colds or tuberculosis or diseases of thethroat .

VI . A STUDY OF VENTILATION

What is ventilation ? Ventilation is the

t e rm applied to the circulation of fresh air

th rough room s in wh ich people live , s leep , and

c o ngregate . In a well-ventilat ed room the air

is so frequently or continuous ly changed as to

p revent it from becom ing stale or contam inated .

Why is ventilation neces sary? Air at reSt b e

com es st agnant in the same way that water at

re s t becom es stagnant . SO it is des irable to

keep it in constant motion . Th is may b e done

e it her by mechanical means—as , for instance ,

b y an electric fan—or else by taking advantage

Of th e t endency of heated air to rise and thus

cau se movements of the who le air mas s . A ir

confined in a room is usually of a differenttemperature from that Of the air out of doors .

It may b e warm er or co lder . A s a rule , air indo ors t ends t o b e warm er . Thus , if a flue opensint o th e room , th e tendency of the confined air

is t o pass up that flue . Then air of a differentcharacter will enter through various openings ,such as the cracks under t he doors and around

the windows , or ot her ventilating spaces , and

t ake the place Of the air that has passed up the

flue . If there is a ch imney and fireplace in theroom the ch imney it self becomes a vent ilat ing

7 I

7 2 HEALTH READER

shaft through which the warm air escapes .

Entering a room in a building which has been

Ventila ting a room with a screen

at bottom of window

kept tight lyclosed,

you at once noticethe difference betwe en t h e s tagnant air Of thatroom and the air

in room s wherethe doors and windows are open at

all tim es and t he

air is kept in con

s t an t m o t i o n .

Thus we see the

first principle of

ventilation is t o

prevent the air

from be com in g

stagnant .

How does the air

b ecom e con tam i

nated ? In a room

t ight ly cl o s e d,

wh ich has in it no source Of contam inat ion , air

would no t change in charact er even if it becam e

stagnant . But in living room s, or in room s

where people Sleep or congregat e , the air is

being constant ly used in breath ing . We have

A STUDY OF VENTILATION 73

learned that the air which is expelled from the

lungs is of a different character from that whichis taken int o the lungs . Now if we regard the

air t h at enters the lungs as pure , then the air

th at is expelled from the lungs is impure . This

im pure air breathed from the lungs m ixes witht h e pure air in the room and gradually the

wh o le mass of air about us becomes impure .

Th e sm aller the room space or the greater thenum b er of people gathered therein , the more

rapidly will the air become contam inated .

If gas jets or oil lamps are burned in a room

an alm ost s im ilar change takes place in the air .

Th e flame of the lamp or the gas is fed by the

air . The air that is u sed by the flame may b e

regarded as pure , but the air that comes away

from the flame is impure . Moreover , if there

are living beings in the room they are cons tant

throwing Off impurit ies into the air .

Thus the air in a confined space where livingbod ies are present , or where Oil lamps or gas

jets are burning , and where there is no pro

vis ion for a rapid change of the air , becomes

continually m ore and m ore impure . Also , if

cooking is done in a room ,impurities rising from

the foods being cooked tend to add to the con

tam inat ion Of the air . In order t o secure the

best conditions Of health ,the air in living room s

must b e frequently and systematically changed .

74 HEALTH READER

What are the bes t methods of changing the air in

a room ? The influence of fireplaces and chim

ney fines and of

c ra c k s u n d e rdoors and abou twindows has al

ready been ex

plained . Though

not intended for

that purpose , all

these openingspromote vent ila

tion . In som e

dwe l l ing s an d

public assembly

halls , however , apparatus is especially installed

for ventilating purposes . Ventilating flues are

placed in the walls when t he bu ildings are con

s t ructed . The size of the opening int o th e

room s may usually b e adjusted by m echanicalm eans , according to t he needs Of the space to b e

purified . These openings are generally calledregist ers . They m ay adm it warm air or co ld

air , or they may lead Off the impure air .

Ventilation is bes t regulat ed when m echanical

vent ilat ing appliances are used . Ventilat ingby m echanical m eans generally fo llows two

m ethods : One m ethod is to force fresh air

through pipes into a room by mach inery

Forcing impure air out with registers


VI I . A STUDY OF TEMPERATURE

What is the mos t desirab le temperature in a

room ? The temperature in a room in whichwork of any kind is carried on should no t exceed

s ixty-eigh t degrees . Experience has shown thatth is is the most favorable temperature for thebest results and the h ighest efficiency of t he

worker .

When the t emperature out of doors is below

sixty-eight degrees the t emperature indoors iskept up by m eans of fireplaces , stoves , furnaces ,ho t-water pipes , steam pipes , or by electricheat ing . All of these methods are good if

properly regulated .

When the atmosphere out s ide is warmer than

sixty-eigh t degrees there is no m ethod in generalu se for reducing the t emperature . The t em

perature may b e reduced indirectly, however ,by m eans of awnings wh ich Sh ield the room

from t he heat of th e sun and thus tend to keepit comparatively cool . In some public hallsart ificial refrigerat ion is practiced . A ir that

has been cooled by pass ing over ice or overpipes filled with co ld brine is forced into theroom by m eans Of ventilating appliances . Thisadds much t o t he comfort Of th e people in the

hall , but the process is expens ive and so it is

A STUDY OF TEMPERATURE 7 7

n o t Often used . Only wealthy people can

afford a machine of this k ind in their homes .

In other words , it costs more to cool the air

in summer , with the appliances that are now

available , than it does to warm it in winter .

However , so far as comfort is concerned , it

is much more important to heat cold air than

it is t o cool ho t air . If the temperature does

not go above eighty-five or ninety degrees ,worrying over hot weather cau ses far more

d iscomfort than the ho t weather . A naturaltemperature of from seventy to eigh ty or even

e ighty-five degrees causes no great discomfort

t o mo st persons . On the other hand , should

th e temperature of a living room fall t o fifty or

forty-five degrees , unless the people in t he room

are wearing very heavy outdoor cloth ing or aret ucked in b ed under warm blankets and quilt s ,t hey are ext rem ely uncomfortable .

Th e evils of overheating . One of the common

evils in the United Stat es in cold weather is

overh eat ing . This custom prevails everywherein private houses , in schoolroom s , in churches ,

in public Offices and theat ers , in railway cars

and s t reet cars , and in fact everywhere thatpeople gather . It is not unusual t o find the

temperature of a living room during the winter

much above seventy degrees , and even as h igh

as seventy-five and eigh ty degrees . Th is is

68 HEALTH READER

sometim'

es called a house disease . For if

everybody lived out of doors there would bevery little tuberculos is .

Are the germs of tub erculosis spread about in

any other way than through the air? Yes,tuber

culosis germ s are spread about in many different

ways . The infection may come from direct

contact , as in drink ing from a cup that hasbeen used by some one suffering from t he

disease . It may also b e caused by eating food

from dishes which have just been used by con

sump t ives , or by drinking the m ilk of tub erculous cows . A person may also get tuberculosisfrom eat ing the unsterilized meats of tuberculous or infected animals , especially cattle and

hogs . These are but a few of the th ings whichcause infection .

How can we b e protected from these dangers

We can best protect ourselves by spending as

much t ime as poss ible in the Open air . Wh iledisease germ s may b e present in the air currentsout Of doors , because consumpt ives have beenspit t ing in the s t reet or for other reasons , th edanger Of inhaling these germ s is comparat ively

s ligh t because of the great quantity of air in

wh ich they are carried . On the other hand ,

the air indoors is breathed over and over again ,

and even if there were but a few dangerousgerm s in the room ,

the chance of breath ing

A STUDY OF TEMPERA TURE 79

or eighty degrees . If there is no establishedregu lation , the one who wants the most heatu sually gets it .

In public buildings , schools , theaters , public

halls , churches , street cars , railway cars , and

Sim ilar places , the temperature should b e regulated according to a fixed rule . The general

public , moreover , should b e taught to avoidthe dangers of overheated room s in the home .

Th e living room shou ld never b e h eat ed t o a

temperature of eighty degrees . But manymoth ers have never been taught that .

Wh en the air out of doors is warm er thansixty-e ight degrees , as it is sometimes early inspring and nearly always all through summer

and a part of autumn , the windows should b eopened wide , and also the doors , if that will

help t o let th e breezes blow through the room .

When the air is changed continually in that wayit is surpris ing how eas ily we can bear a t em

perature above s ixty-eight degrees . Anyway ,

a temperature that is h igh‘

because of natural

conditions , as it is in summ er, does not threat en

health . The air is pure , it is constantly changed ,

and it is no t contam inated by the breath Of

people .

What are th e chief ob s tacles which prevent per

fect ventilation ? The firs t obstacle is ignoranceof the principles on which vent ilation is based ;

80 HEALTH READER

second , the difficulties and the expense of

changing the air in living rooms during the

winterwhen the cold is intense . It is evident ,therefore ,

that many of the evils resulting from

poor ventilation , especially when they are due

to cold weather , will continue for a long time

without effective rem edy . In short , one of

the principal difficult ies is the cold of winter .

When it is cold many people th ink they cannotafford to Open the windows in their livingroom s , and very frequently fail to do so in theirbedroom s , much to their own discomfort and

injury.

What should b e the temperature in a b edroom

The temperature in a sleeping room should b emuch lower than that in a living room . In

fact , the temperature in a sleeping room ,except

at high altitudes in the north , should b e th e

same as that out of doors . The windows and

even the doors should b e left wide open . Sleeping room s , m oreover , should never b e heated

by artificial m eans’

except in cases of extrem e

cold in high northern latitudes . Instead , thereshould b e enough b ed covering to keep the

sleeper warm .

The b ed should no t b e in the living room .

Unfortunately , very poor people cannot alwayshave both a living room and a bedroom . But

wh erever it is po ss ible th e bedroom should b e

A STUDY OF TEMPERATURE 8:

separate from the living room , and it should

no t b e heated above s ixty degrees by artificialm eans . If art ificial heat cannot b e entirely cut

off, then the windows and the doors should b eOpened so much the wider . The outdoor s leep

ing room or the s leeping porch is the ideal placeto Sleep , though it is no t poss ible for everybodyto have one .

When the children now growing up havelearned the fundamental principles of ventilation , and know what the proper temperatureof the air should b e , a great change will takeplace in the homes of our people . In the near

future even the humblest homes will b e provided with means of ventilation as well as theother conveniences a home should have .

is not in motion? Every one has noticed that

when the air is motionless the high temperatureOf a summer day seem s harder to bear than if

a breeze is blowing , no matter how lightly .

But the air in m otion is not really cooler . It

is the constant change in the particles of airthat come in contact with the body that makesa person feel refreshed. In all living room s and

sleeping room s it is important to keep the air

in gentle motion , eith er by the natural processof ventilation or , in very warm weather

,by

means of an electric fan .

6

HEALTH READER

shaft through which the warm air escape s .

Entering a room in a building which has beenkept tightly clo sed ,

you at once no ticethe difference b etween t h e s tagnant air of thatroom and the air

in room s wh e rethe doors and windows are Open at

all tim es and th e

air is kept in con

s t an t m o t i o n .

Thus we see th e

first principle of

ventilation is t o

prevent the air

from be com in gst agnant .

How does the air

b ecom e contam i

Ventila ting a room with a screen nated ? In a roomat bottom of window t igh t ly C l o s e d

,

wh ich has in it no source of contam ination , air

would not change in charact er even if it becam e

stagnant . But in living room s, or in room s

where people sleep or congregate , the air is

being constant ly used in breathing . We have


84 HEALTH READER

Quite as important as carrying the oxygenand the food is the work of the blood in carryingoff waste material . It takes the was te material

away from the tissues , and carries it to th e

various organs in the body , whose function isto separate it and elim inate it from the body .

These organs are chiefly the skin , the lungs , and

the kidneys .

As we already have learned , an important

function of the blood is to bring the carbon

dioxide , which is produced by burning food and

tissues , and water back to the lungs . There a

large part of the water and some of the carbon

dioxide leave the blood by pass ing into the

air through the th in membranes of the small

cells in the lungs . At the same time an equal

amount of oxygen passes in the Oppos ite direction and enters the blood . Thus the blood no t

only carries oxygen to the tissues but carrieswater and carbon dioxide away from the tissues .

What is true of the human being is also trueof all animals that have blood . They all havethe same system of circulation , and for the

sam e purpose , with only such variations as the

different conditions in which they live havebrought about . The blood may properly becalled the life of the body . Without it s circu

lation through the body , life would be imposs ible . Anyt h ing that impedes or prevents t he

THE C IRC ULATION 85

circu lation of the blood causes speedy death .

The red particles of the blood are m inute

cells , called corpuscles , wh ich have the abilityto absorb oxygen . They play very importantrOles in nourish ing and vitaliz ing the body.

The red particles may thus b e regarded as the

m ost important constituent of the blood .

R ed corpuscles White corpuscles

Are there any other particles in the b lood ? Yes ,

there is a very important fam ily of particles in

t he blood, known as the white corpuscles . These

are somewhat larger than the red corpuscles ,and much less regu lar in shape . For a longtime their particular function was unknown .

You have already learned that these wh ite part icles are of extrem e importance . For they are

what may b e called the policemen , or sentinels ,of the body. They attack any invading germwhich might cause illnes s , and drive it away or

take it s life . For this reason t he white corpuscles are called phagocytes or cell eaters .

”

86 HEALTH READER

If the body is well nourished the white cellsare vigorous and numerous and are able todestroy any harmful organism that may enter

the blood . If the body is starved or otherwise

weakened the white corpuscles are less numerousand less active . The disease-bearing organism s

then escape destruction , fasten them selves on

the organs of the body , and produce the variouscontagious and epidem ic diseases from which we

snfler . Tuberculosis , diphtheria , measles , smallpox , typhoid fever , and pneumonia are types ofsuch diseases . Hence t he importance of having

the blood sound , healthy, and vigorous .

IX . A STUDY OF C OMBUSTION

What are the relations of air and fire ? Therecan b e no fire , as it is commonly understood ,

without air . When we st rike a match for thepurpose of lighting a fire , the friction causesenough heat to ignite the phosphorus on the

m atch , an eas ily inflammable substance . The

large quantity of oxygen close tothe phosphorus on the head of the

match is liberated , the phosphorusburns , and the fire is communicated

to the wooden stem . When the

wood of the match begins to burn ,

however , the flam e does not get it s

oxygen from the wood . It mustdraw it s oxygen from the surrounding air . Thus , afterthe flame is start edby friction it con

t inues to burn bytaking oxygen from

the air . A s the lit tle particles of oxygen in the

air rush into the flame and unite with the wood ,

sufficient heat is generated t o start a m ore rapid

combust ion , and th is burning will continue

until the flame is extingu ished or unt il all the

87

88 HEALTH READER

combustible matter in the wood has been burnedup and only a little carbon remains .

How does coal burn? Coal burns in exactlythe same way as wood . But as a rule more

heat is required to ignite coal than to ignitewood . The coal fire , therefore , must have morekindling before it ignites , though the principleis exactly the same in both cases . The little

A cha rcoal furnace

particles of oxygen in the air unite with the coalat a high temperature . This produces addit ional heat , and thus the combustion is transm it ted from particle t o particle until all has beenconsumed . Burning is a ch em ical process .

What is th e element in wood and coal that helps

to mak e the flame and th e h eat ? When wood andcoal are burned , oxygen un ites with a substance

A STUDY OF C OMBUSTION 89

called carbon . You are fam iliar with carbonin m any of it s form s . Wh en your lamp smokesit turns the chimney black with a coating of

carbon . Carbon is present in large quantitiesin coal . It is also present in charcoal , a materialproduced by burning wood and lim iting the

am ount of oxygen so that the wood will notb e entirely consumed . A diamond is purecrystalliz ed carbon . So-called lead pencils

Section of a charcoal furnace , showing arrangementof wood for burning

are made of graphite or writing stone , which

is another form of carbon .

What sub s tances are produced when wood and

coal are burned ? The burning of wood , coal ,

gas , and Oil produces practically the same sub

stances as are produced by the burning of foods

and tissues in the body . The gases that are

formed consist principally of carbon dioxide

and water . The oxygen in the air unites with

90 HEALTH READER

the carbon and hydrogen in these variousmaterials—wood , coal , food , and bodily t is

sues and carbon dioxide and water are the

results of the combust ion .

Thus the principal products of combustion ,

whether in a fireplace , in a stove , in a furnace ,

in a lamp , in an engine , in an automobile , or in

a human body , are carbon dioxide and water .

The water is gaseous at the time of it s produc

tion , because of the high temperature , but whenit passes into the air it readily cools and , if the

air is nearly saturated with it , fogs and dropsof water will form . Th e carbon dioxide passesinto the air just as it does from the lungs , andimm ediately mixes with the air . The amount

of this gas present in Open air is not great .

Th e proportion of carbon dioxide in the air is

about four parts in t en thousand , and remainsalmo st th e same , except in the neighborhood oflarge cities and factories .


92 HEALTH READER

flameless fires which warm the human body are

in the blood and in the m inute blood vessels o r

capillaries of the body.

Because the lungs are the organs which tak e

up oxygen it must not b e inferred that t h e

combustion which heats the body takes place

in the lungs . The lungs simply provide a

An open fireplace

means of starting the oxygen taken up fromthe air on it s way t o the various parts Of the

body where the burning takes place . The

fires that burn in the body have no vis iblesigns of flam e or fuel .How is th e heat of the body kept cons tant and

normal ? The normal temperature of the body isabout ninety-eight and a half degrees . Th is seem s

THE TEMPERATUR E OF THE BODY 93

t o b e the temperature at which the functionsOf h um an life are carried on to best advantage .

If t h e temperature rises above that point weh ave a fever ; if it falls below that point we are

a t t h e point of collapse . Thus nature must

k e ep t he body at a constant , even temperature ,

and th is is accomplished by various means .

In most parts of the world and at almost all

h ou r s of the day the body is warmer than the

air . Therefore heat is constantly pass ing from

t h e body to the air . Thus radiation from

t h e surface of the body disposes of part of theexce ss heat in the body.

Large quantities of heat are also carried out

of t h e body in the air breathed out of thelung s . The air enters the lungs , say at a tem

p era ture of s ixty-eight degrees . It leaves thelung s at a temperature of about ninety-eightand a half degrees . Thus a large quantity ofheat leaves the body by way of the lungs .

The pores of the skin , also , are constantlyexuding or discharging water known as perspi

ration or sweat . This water also carries off a

large quantity of heat . As it comes to t he

surface of the body it evaporates , absorbing a

great deal of heat and thus cooling the surfaceof the body . The drier the atmosphere , themore rapidly the water evaporates . In verydry climates temperatures of one hundred t en

94 HEALTH READER

or one hundred fifteen in the shade are endured

without much discomfort because the rapid

evaporation of the sweat keeps the surface of

the body cool . Wh en .we work very hard , or theair is very warm or is saturated with the vaporof water , the sweat gathers in drops and often

runs off the body like raindrops from the clouds .

Thus the lungs and the skin play almost

equal parts in providing for the distribution and

projection into surrounding space of the surplus

heat caused by the regu lar activities of life .

And wh ile nature burns a great deal morematerial than is necessary to keep the body

warm enough , it has so arranged matters that

the inner temperature remains practically th e

same all the tim e . The activity of all the

organs thus remains normal , and health is

maintained .

Other factors must also b e cons idered in

th is connection . The building of houses , thewearing of cloth ing, and the custom of heating

the air in wh ich we live , all tend to maintainan even temperature in the body .

What rule should govern the wearing of clothing ?

For the purpose of keeping th e body warm ,

cloth ing should b e adapted to the season of theyear . Heavier cloth ing should b e worn in coldweather , and ligh ter cloth ing in warm weather .

Cloth ing , h owever , should always b e as ligh t


96 HEALTH READER

temperature of the living room should be keptpractically at s ixty-eight degrees , it is a verycommon thing to h ave it much higher , espe

cially in schoolroom s , public halls , and churches ,as well as in offices . A great many people spendtheir winters in rooms hea ted to above seventy

degrees and sometimes as h igh even as eigh tydegrees . At the same time they wear heavy

winter cloth ing . Such practices cause seriousinjury to health .

It is advisable not to wear heavy undercloth ing , even in winter . If you

.

go out of doorsand are not engaged in active work, overcoatsand cloaks and wraps will keep you warm . If

you are engaged in active work out of doors ,

you will not need nearly so much clothing , andas it is usually necessary to go indoors fromtime to time , heavy cloth ing would be a burden .

Thus it is a m istake to wear heavy undercloth

ing in winter . The danger is especially great inthe spring , when the heavy clothing is changed

for lighter and the weather suddenly becomes

cold again . In order to avoid th is danger thesafest plan is to wear as little clothing as you

can to protect you from the cold .

In what other ways may we control the heat of

the body? Th e character of the food we eat

is h igh ly important in th is connection . Th ispoint will b e treat ed ful ly in another part of the

THE TEMPERATUR E OF THE BODY 97

b o ok . It is sufficient now to say that the heating fo o d s are especially the fats . A certain

quan t it y of fat produces as much heat , whenb urn ed in the body, as two and a quarter timest h at q u antity of sugar or starch , and more thantw ic e a s much heat as the same weight of an it ro g en ous body, such as lean meat, the whiteo f an egg , or casein of m ilk . In cold weather ,th erefo re , we should eat more fat and in warmw ea t h er les s fat . Meats and oils , the foodsth at contain fat , while splendid foods for

win t e r , should be eaten only in small quantitiesin summ er . The importance of thus controllingth e t emperature is no t sufi‘icient ly appreciatedby m o st persons .

What causes a fever? A disordered conditionof t h e body causes a more rapid combust ion ofm at erials in the body than when in a normalst at e of health . The result is an amount ofheat which cannot be controlled or expelledrapidly enough to prevent a rise of temperature ,

and we have what we call a fever .

The fact that we have a fever always indicatessome disordered condition of the body wh ich

may or may not b e of a serious character . A

rise of temperature of even one degree is thesignal that the body has passed from a state

of health to a state of ill health . It is true thatin a state of health the normal temperature may

98 HEALTH READER

vary almost as much as one degree during th eday ,

there being daily variations , as well as

variations at longer intervals . There is always

a slight increase in temperature after violentexercise or after eating a hearty meal , or per

haps as the result of some undue excitement .Such increases , however , are not sufficient to

cause disorder in the functions of the organs ,and do no harm .

A s a ru le , nature'

s first signal that something

is wrong is a variation in the heat of the body .

On a railway train when the oil is not properlytransmitted to the axle , we have a hot b ox.

The railway car , in other words , has a fever .

Just what the direct causes are for the in

creased combustion in the body is not wellknown . It is certain that the high temperature

is not the cause of the disease , but it is certainthat th e disease is attended by the h igh t em

perature .

How high does the temperature rise in case of

sicknes s ? In a ligh t fever the temperature of

the body is from one to two degrees higher

than norm al . When th e fever is severe th e

t emperature reaches one hundred three or one

hundred four degrees , or four and a half to

five and a half degrees h igher than normal . If

the temperature rises above one hundred fivedegrees it is an indication that the patient is in


z oo HEALTH R EADER

that the healthy body is able to elim inate the excessive heat . Overheating and too much clothing are comm on causes of ill health and sufiering .

Children and especially infants are injured , for

the tendency of careful mothers is to bundle

them up with entirely too much cloth ing. Whileit is true that an infant should b e carefully

protected from the cold in the first days of it s

life , it is soon strong enough to bear a coo latmosphere without an excess ive amount of

wraps . A great many infants are injured and

even killed by too much cloth ing .

The quantity of b ed clothing should not b e

greater than is necessary to keep a person warm .

If his digestive functions are in good condition

THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BODY 10 1

a healthy person can s leep comfortably in a

quantity of bed clothing . At certain times in

northern climat es the temperature falls verylow. On such occasions , of course , more cloth

ing for outdoor use and more b ed clothing are

necessary.

Mothers should never wrap warm clothing

around the necks of their children . The personwho wears fur collars , com forters and suchthings around the neck catches cold very eas ily .

Children ’

s clothing especially should be so

made as to leave the neck bare . In this waythey are much more likely to go through the

winter without colds . The health of the ch ild

should never b e sacrificed to the prevailingstyles , if these require such things as bandages ,high collars or other art icles of that kind around

the neck.

The keeping of an even temperature in the

body is one of the fundamental conditions of

health . If we des ire to aid nature we must

b e careful in regard to our eating, in regard to

th e temperature of the room s in which we live

and of those in which we work , and in regard

to the kind and amount of cloth ing we wear .

XI . THE SK IN AND ITS FUNC TIONS

What are the functions of the skin The skin

is the protective envelope covering the body .

It exercises important functions . It plays an

important part in the maintenance of an eventemperature inthe body . It serves to protect

the more tender t issues under it , and to takecare of certain excretions which are essent ial

to health and life .

One of the chief functions of the skin is that

it gives us the sense of touch . Innumerable

nerves or nervelets connected with the larger

nerves and the nerve centers of the body ter

m inate in the skin . We feel through th e skin .

The nerves in the skin carry the sensation of

touch to the nerve centers and to the brain .

We can tell by touch whether things are hard

or soft , hot or cold . Thus to a great extent itis through the skin that we become acquaintedwith th e outside world . Blind people , throughtheir sense of touch ,

read with their fingers .

What is the s tructure of the skin? The outer

layer of the skin is called the cuticle or epidermis .

Th is outer layer of the skin is constantly beingrubbed off wh ile materials for a new outer

layer form under it . Th e cuticle carries neithernerve filaments nor blood vessels ; hence it may


104 HEALTH READER

to the needs of the body. There is no betterprotect ion for the head from the heat ofjthe

sun and the

co ld o f t h ewinter than a

thick covering of hair .

Th e s kinof the wholebody is cov

e r e d w i t h

hairs . They

ar e u su a l l y

ve ry sm a l l ,

but they can

The structure of the skin eas ily b e seen

T w i tmé’

ila

'fié eitherwith the

h , sweat ;gland i. papilla of hair

naked eye or

by means of a magnifying glass . Each hairgrows up through the sk in much as a seed growsup through the soil . The hair does not conductheat or cold , and therefore a covering of hairor fur is one of th e best prot ections against

changes of temperature . Animals that live incold climates have heavy fur . Th is fur is a

protection both against the heat of the sun in

summer and the cold of winter .

How does the skin perform the function of regu

lating temperature We have already learned

THE SK IN AND ITS FUNC TIONS 10 5

that t h e heat of the body is influenced not onlyby th e thick covering the skin provides but alsoby t h e sweat glands in the skin . The sweatglands eject certain wat ery secretions from the

body . But sweat is not pure water . Sweatcont ains other substances in solution , amongthem considerable quantities of comm on salt.Sweat glands are present in all parts of the

true skin , though not in the cuticle . Theyare u sually surrounded by part icles of fat .

Th is fat keep s the sweat glands pliable and

ass is t s them in their important work. Eachone of these glands has a very small duct or

tub e which leads spirally , that is in a windingway ,

through the true skin and the cuticle .

Th e opening is not even with the surface of the

skin , but is oblique , so as to be more eas ilypro tect ed from becoming clogged by substancesclinging to the surface of the cuticle . These

du ct s are larger and more numerous in the skinin those parts of the body that are most activein sweating , as , for instance ,

in the skin of the

forehead and the arm pits . It is estimated

that on the palm of the hand there are aboutthree thousand of these Openings to each square

inch of surface .

We have already learned that one of the two

principal products of combustion in the body is

water , t he other being carbon dioxide . Much

xc6 HEALTH R EADER

of th is water is excreted or thrown ofi throughthe sweat glands , while the carbon dioxide isalmost entirely excreted through the lungs .

Is cleanliness of importance to health The

skin may b e regarded as a machine . A s in the

case of other machines , it s efficiency may b e

maintained only by close attention and care

If a watch is to be kept running accurately itmust b e taken apart from time to time and

thorough ly cleaned . The watch , in other words ,must have a bath .

The surface of the skin is constantly exposedto contam ination from it s own excretions , andfrom those substances which may b e depos ited

on it from the atmosphere and from the objects

with which it

comes in con

ta c t Hen c e

frequent cleans

ing of the skin

is n e c e s s ary .

C arefu l boy s

and girls willw a s h t h e i r

h ands s evera lt im e s a d a y

and their faces

at least once . Although mos t of the body isprotected by clo th ing from the contam inating

A corner in an up-to-date bathroom


108 HEALTH READER

no higher than seventy degrees . For youngchildren and infants the temperature of th ebath should be about the same as that of th ebody. Very young infants should be bathedin water not under ninety degrees in t em

perature . Children of from one to two yearsshould be bathed in water not under eightydegrees . For children over three or four yearsof age , the standard temperature of s ixty-eightor seventy degrees is best .Since the skin has a very important function

in connection with maintaining the temperatureof the body at the normal , and has many otherimportant functions , it is to be considered in all

the problem s relating to health and sh ould b egiven the greatest care to keep it healthy and

in the best of condition .

XI I . WATER AND ITs FUNC TION IN HEALTH

What is water? We have seen how the oxygenof th e air unites with the hydrogen and carbon

of t h e foods and of the tissues and produceswater and carbon dioxide . Attention has also

been called to the fact that if we place a piece

of wood or coal on the fire , and it burns , muchthe same kind of smoke is produced as thatwhich arises in the human body. In other

words , the greater part of the smoke thatgoes up the chimney or comes out of the lungs iscom po sed of carbon dioxide and water . Whencarbon dioxide and water are in the form of gas

they are not vis ible . In the smoke that goes upth e chimney the carbon dioxide and water arenot visible ; the smoke we see cons ists chiefly ofsuch impurities as unburned carbon . Neitherdo we see the smoke that comes out of the

lung s unless the air into which it is breathed iscold . The cold condenses the moisture and it

then becomes vis ible . This also happens if we

breathe on a cold polished surface , like glass

or metal .

What is the chemical composition of water

Water is composed of two substances , known as

hydrogen and oxygen . We have learned thatoxygen is an important part of the m ixture we

109

I 10 HEALTH READER

call air . But hydrogen is not present in the

atmosphere under ordinary conditions .

Thus the air we breathe into our lungs m ay

be said to contain no hydrogen except that in

the watery vapor which is always present in

the air .

What are some of the chief properties of water

We are so fam iliar with water that we scarcely

ever think of trying to describe it . Water

produces the condition we call wet . We are

perfectly fam iliar with that condition . If we

stand out in a rainstorm a little while our

clothes are wet through and through .

Water also has the power of dissolving sub

stances . If you put a piece of sugar in waterit begins to disso lve rapidly. If you stir thewater it will disso lve more rapidly . If youplace the lump of sugar in a spoon and ho ld it

just below the surface of the water it disso lvesas rapidly as if the water had been stirred .

If you make this experim ent in a glas s vessel ,and hold it up t o the light , you will see the

m elted sugar flowing down in currents throughthe water , although it is perfectly co lorless .

The sugar solution flows t o the bottom becauseit is heavier than the water . It thus makes

room at the top for the water that has less sugar

in it , and the solution of the lump of sugar goes

on with a greater rapidity . If you put a lump


I I 2 HEALTH READER

What efiect has heat on the volume of water?

Heat affects water, as it does most other sub

stances , by increas ing the volume or amount .

To prove this , fill a vessel with cold water and

in the mouth of the vessel place a cork with a

glass tube through it Then set the ves selover the fire , and you will see the liquid mount

rapidly in the tube . The water is expanded

by the heat and is forced into the tube . The

expansion continues until the water begins to

How much water is there in the human body

The human body is practically three fourth swater . The food we eat contains about th e

same relative amount of water as does the

human body, that is , seventy-five per cent .

Some foods contain a great deal more water .

Milk, for instance , contains eighty-seven per

cent . The cereals , on the other hand , when

uncooked , contain only about twelve per centRefined sugar contains practically no water .

But the proportion of water in our food as a

whole is about seventy-five per centHow much water should we drink This is de

t ermined largely by the feeling of thirst or des irefor water . Th irst is nature ’ s best way of telling

us , th rough the nerves , that the body is demanding a larger supp ly of water . Thirst may b e

produced in many ways . If we eat a great deal

FUN C TION OF WATER IN HEALTH 1 13

of salt or sugar , both of which require a con

siderab le quantity of water to dissolve them ,

more o r less water is drawn from the tissues

with which these articles come in contact . Thistaking away of the water, usually from that inthe s t om ach , produces a sense of thirst , wh ichwe gratify by drinking water.

Th e feeling of thirst is also usual in hot

weather , because so much water is discharged

from t h e body in the form of perspiration . Ifwe play or work hard on a hot day we speedilybecom e th irsty , for the quantity of water inthe body is distinctly reduced by perspiration .

It requ ires , moreover , only a very slight de

crease in the quant ity of water in the tissues to

produce a sense of thirst .

Tho se who drink alcoholic beverages in con

siderab le quantities also becom e th irsty . Thisis nature

’

s way of telling us that these po isonous

bodies should be diluted as much as poss ible .

Like salt and sugar , alcohol also extracts water

from the tissues with which it comes in contact .

There are many other things that cause

thirst . Dry foods or overeating , especially ofmeats and highly seasoned foods , is a cause of

thirst . A fever , or a bodily temperature higherthan the normal , u sually makes us th irsty .

Thus we see that thirst may b e a normal

condition ,caused by phys ical exertion , hot

8

I I4 HEALTH READER

weather , or eating dry foods . It may also b e

an abnormal or unusual condition , as when it

is caused by taking large quantities of salt ,sugar , candy ,

m eats , highly seasoned foods , and

alcoholic beverages or drinks when ill with a

fever . But whether the th irst is normal or

abnormal the best plan is to drink water .

Is there any other method of quenching thirs t

b es ides drink ing water? All kinds of beveragesare used for

t h e pu rpo s eo f qu en ching th i r s t

Among them

are the so

called soft

d r i n k s

These drinks

a r e m a d e

principally of

sugar , burnt

sugar or cara

m e l , s om e

aromatic or

b i t t e r p r in

cip le , and water . They are usually very sweet ,and are poor beverages t o use for quench ingth irst . Drink s to wh ich substances such as

caffeine , found in coffee , or cocaine , found in the

A t the soda water fountain


I I6 HEALTH READER

What is meant by pure drinking water? By

pure drinking water we do not mean a liquidthat consist s of noth ingb u t ab s o lu te ly pu rewater . Pure waters are

ext remely diflicult to oh

t ain . Th e pures t are

those produced by th e

condensation of steam

from boiling water. But

even such water may con

tain gases , which are car

r ie d w i th t h e s team .

Moreover , the water may

boil so violently as to

send particles of other

substances into the steam

and so into the condensed

water . Abso lutely pure

water.can be obtained only by the most carefullycontrolled chem ical operations . Distilled water

on sale in drug stores is reasonably pure . The

rain water which comes after it has rained a

long while is almost pure , but not ent irely so .

Pure drinking water really means water thatis free from any dangerous infection and with

only a reasonable quantity of dissolved matters .

The purest natural waters are those wh ich come

from deep springs or wells s ituated in localities

Diagram of a well

FUNC TION OF WATER IN HEALTH I I 7

where the rock s are highly insoluble and whichare far removed from manufacturing indust riesand hum an habitations .

Th e waters in springs

found on uninhabitedm ount ains may be re

garded as types of thepures t drink ing waters .

Water coming from great

depths , as in artesian

we lls , is often reasonably pure so far as freedom from organic infec

tion is concerned , but itis o ften highly chargedwit h dissolved m ineral

sub stances .

Absolutely pure water , even if it could be

ob tained in suflicient quantities , would not b e

th e best for drink ing . The dissolved m ineral

sub stances which are contained in spring and

well water are favorable to health . Especially

is this true of th e lim e,magnesia , and iron which

such waters usually contain .

Are we well supplied with well or spring water

No , the greater number of people in the UnitedStates live in towns and cities . The water

supply for the towns and cities is often taken

from a near-by lake or river . Waters from such

I I8 HEALTH READER

sources are always more or less polluted . Theycarry, in addition to harm less m ineral sub

stances , large quantities of organic matterderived largely from manufacturing indu striesand from human habitations . Such waters are

not pure , and many of them are dangerous for

How are these waters made suitab le for use

In some places the waters are used for drink ing

without any purifying treatments In suchlocalities typhoid fever and other disease germ s

are sometimes found in the water .

The two principal methods of purifying th ewater of running stream s and rivers to make it

suitable for drinking are filtration and purifi

cation b y chem icals . These two methods are

often combined . The water is first treated withchem icals to start the purification , and is afterwards filtered . The filtering medium is usually

sand . When infected or dirty water passesthrough th e filter b ed it deposits among the sandparticles th e fine material it carries , known as

silt or fine mud , so that the muddy or infectedwater comes out of the sand filter reasonably

Nearly all our large cities which get theirwater from running stream s use some kind of afiltering apparatus . In many places the watersare first treated with chem icals to destroy the


I 20 HEALTH READER

restrict the flow of saliva . Hence , since it is a

vital necessity t o mix enough saliva with th e

food to start the process of digestion , to drinka great deal while eating is injurious .

We should also learn t o chew our food betterthan we have been doing. A s a rule we swallow

it too soon after we put it into our mouths ,and the u se of a beverage during mealtim e

encourages this habit . This is another reason

why we should take very little liquid while weare eating.

Recent investigations have shown that t o

drink moderate quantities of water with our

food does not seem to prove injurious, and may

even promote digestion . When studying the

process of digestion we find that it depends

upon the action on the food of certain ferments .

If the mass of food is too dry these ferments

have difficulty in reach ing it . If there is too

much liquid , their activity is to that extent

dim inished .

Ifa person eats a very starchy food he shouldnot drink water while eating , but he may do so

imm ediately afterwards if he feels the need of

it . Starchy foods are digested largely by the

saliva and hence should b e chewed as long as

possible , so that the salivary glands—the glands

that produce the moisture of the m outh—may

act as vigorously as poss ible . In eating meat ,

FUNC TION OF WATER IN HEALTH 12 1

the saliva is not so important , and liquids maybe used with less harm than when one is eatingfoods such as potatoes and breadIn all cases , the drinking at meals of large

quant ities of liquids other than water , unless

it b e m ilk , is not advisable . It is b etter towait until after the meal . Then we may drink

water without injury to the digestive process .

It is certain , however , that articles of food ,excep t succulent or juicy vegetables , do not

cont ain enough water for the needs of thehum an body , and it is therefore des irable todr ink additional water . The amount required

var ies greatly with the tastes and habits of theindividual and the character of his food . Ifwe eat succulent foods , such as turnips , lettuce ,celery, asparagu s , green peas , green b eans , or

green corn ,we need very little additional water .

If, on the other hand ,

we eat bread , meat ,sugars , and oils , we need a great deal more water .

An abundance of water at the right t iIne

has a favorable efiect on the digestion . Itkeeps the contents of the intestines from b ecom

ing t oo hard , and thus aids in preventing con

st ipat ion. A good practice is to drink a few

ounces of good water at a temperature of s ixtyt o s ixty-five degrees immediately on rising each

morning and to take the same amount before

going to b ed at night .

122 HEALTH READER

In general , the degree of thirst determ inesthe quantity of water that should be drunk .

You are not likely to injure your health bydrink ing too much water , if it is pure and of

the proper temperature .

What happens if you drink more than thirs t

requires ? Usually a little more water than is

normally required to satisfy thirst will no t

prove harm ful . The healthy body keeps theproper balance of water in the blood . If a

little too much water is taken , it is elim inated

without much trouble through the kidneys ,through the skin , and in other ways . But in

diseased conditions of the body, as in a harden

ing of the arteries or in diseases of the heart ,an excess of water may prove harmful . The

excretory organs are then unable to do their

full duty , thus increas ing the volume of the

blood and throwing an additional burden on

the heart and the imperfect arteries . These

diseases do not usually attack children or youngpeople , but are common in later life . Peoplepast forty or fifty years of age , whose bloodpres sure is above the normal , should lim it thequantity of liquids in their foods t o the smallest

amount necessary for proper digestion . Thisis a matter to b e decided by the phys ician and

not by the schoolbook.

Is water used as a medicine The use ofwater


124 HEALTH READER

of a person suffering from fever cools the surfaceof the body and is refreshing to the patient .

Copious drafts of water , usually warm water ,are used internally to produce vomiting . If a

little salt is added to the water , it acts m orepromptly . For this purpose the water shou ld

be lukewarm , neither very hot nor very cold .

What is meant by“taking the waters

” Thosepersons who go to drink the waters from mineral

springs which are reputed to b e of value in

certain diseases are said to be “taking the

waters . When people go to the springs they

are placed on a rigid diet , usually very s imple,

consisting of a little fruit and hard bread , the

water of the spring being their only beverage .

The waters at such sp rings are usually known as

m ineral waters ; that is , they contain more of

the materials derived from rocks than ordinaryspring or well water . These materials or m ineral

substances have a m edicinal action . The water

contains more or less lime , an excellent remedyfor many diseases . The benefit which peoplesecure at the springs is probably due as muchto the rigid diet on which they are required tolive as it is to the use of the m ineral watersthem selves .

C ould life b e continued without water ? Wateris as necessary to a living being as air or food .

If you were deprived of water you would dieas

FUNC TION OF WATER IN HEALTH I z s

quickly as if you were deprived of food , or evenmore quickly.

If you have plenty of food , even though it isdry , a good deal of water will be generatedwhen t h e food is eaten , because all the hydrogen which the food contains will be burned into

water in the body. But even that quantity ofwater is insufficient to support life for morethan a short time . The average amount of

water in the ordinary foods we eat is aboutseven t y-five per cent , but even with so muchwat er we are required constantly to take addit ional quantities . You can readily imagine

what would happen if all our foods were entirelydry and we had no access to water . We should

live only a few days .

Lo ng ago the Latins had a motto which , when

tran s lated , reads : “Bod ies do not act unless

they are in solution . Water , as has already

been said , is the universal solvent . All the

foods we eat must pas s into solution in water

before they can b e taken up into the blood .


128 HEALTH READER

find that food , above all things except air and

water , is ne cessary to life , to effective work, and

to happiness .

For this reason the answer to the question ,

What is food? is of great importance : Food isthat which , entering the body, promotes growth ,res tores waste tissue, and provides heat and energy .

XIV . THE ARTIC LES or Fooo

What are the articles which serve as food We

all know from everyday experience what is

generally regarded as food . When we speakof food we think of m ilk, bread , meat , fruit ,vegetables , for the food we consume consistslargely of these articles . There are still other

art icles which serve as foods though they are

not usually thought of as such . In the firstplace , water form s an important part of thefoods we eat . And , in that sense , water is a

food , though we usually speak of it as a beverage.

the oxygen of the air plays an active

The interior of a market

part in nourishing the body , and especially

providing heat and energy . To that extent

I30 HEALTH READER

the oxygen which enters the lungs is really a

food ,though it is not included under what

we commonly term food .

There is another clas s of articles , called con

diments , used chiefly to give relish or seasoningto food . Some condiments are foods and others

are not . Comm on salt , for instance , is a condi

ment ; but it is also a food , since it is necessaryto the proper nourishm ent of the body .

Is common salt hurtful ? When used in too

large quant it ies comm on salt , instead of being

useful , becomes harmful . This is true of every

good substance . You can drink water enough

to dilute your blood . This increases the bulk

of the blood , thus imposing an unnecessaryburden on the heart , the arte ries , and the veins ,and on the kidneys and other excretory organs ,

which separate or discharge waste and harmfulmaterial from the blood or tissue . In this waywater becomes harm ful . You can eat enough

bread to overload your stomach and thus produce indigestion and do harm . You can drink '

so much milk that you will b e made ill . And

so with every good thing. It s right use is

beneficial ; it s wrong use is harm ful .There is a great diflerence between articles

which are useful and good when not used toexcess , and those which in them selves are use

less and also harmful . Because common salt


13 2 HEALTH R EADER

to salted butter ; in other countries it is served

unsalted . If we used unsalted butter we m ight

soon learn to lik e it bet ter than when salted .

We are also inclined to use too much salt

on our meats . The proper place to use salt

is with our vegetable foods . Animals that live

on vegetables require more salt to enable th e

organs of the body to perform their proper

funct ions than those that live on meats . Wildplant eating animals ,such as the buffalo andthe deer , will trave l

many miles in ordert o reach a salt lick , a

p la ce wh er e s a l t isfound on the surface .

Those of you who live

on farm s are familiarwith the general cust om of giving salt t o

sheep , horses , and cattle . On the other hand ,

flesh-eating animals , such as dogs and cats , donot require much salt . This is because there isnaturally much salt in all flesh and very littlein vegetables , and because plants contain much

potash which common salt helps to elim inate .

The des ire for an excess ive amount of saltin our food is largely a matter of habit whichcan easily b e overcome .

A farm smokehouse

THE ARTIC LES OF FOOD 133

Are there other condiments in foods There arem any condiments bes ides salt used in foods .

Som e of these , such as mustard and some formso f pepper , have a certain amount of food value .

Others , such as vanilla and other flavoringextract s , have little or no food value . The

p rmmpal condiments are salt , pepper , mustard ,

c innamon , ginger , and the flavoring ext racts .

A particular flavoring substance is developedb y

.

burning wood . This substance , which is

p resent in the smoke from the burning wood ,is regarded as a condiment and is usually clas sedas such . Ham and bacon owe their flavor in

p art to this condiment .Not salt alone , but all condiments , may

become injurious if used to excess . But when

properly used they are beneficial , for condiments

induce an increased flow of the liquids that aid

digestion .

XV . THE FLAVOR OF FOODS

What is flavor in food ? Flavor in food is a

combination of taste and odor . We get it

through the combined action of the tongue and

the nostrils . It is not correct t o say that we

get the flavor of food through the mouth alone

or through the nose alone . What we get in th emouth is the tast e , and what we get throughthe nostrils is the odor ; the combination of th etwo is flavor . For instance, sugar has a tas te

but no odor , and vanilla is especially valued fo rit s odor , but the use of a combinat ion of sugarand vanilla gives us a cake with a pleasing and

distinct flavor .

Flavor is an important element in the proper

digestion of food . If we were to take our foodthrough a tube inserted into the stomach ,

which is ent irely poss ible , we should get from

it neither a sense of smell nor a sense of taste .

At the same time our digestion would b e greatly

impaired and the food would not properlynourish the body . Thus th e forcible feeding of

prisoners who t ry to commit suicide by starvingthem selves may save their lives , but it does

not give them the full benefit of the food .

Condim ents all affect either the sense oftast e or the sense Of smell , and usually both .


136 HEALTH READER

or

roasting develop s flavor in a great many sub

stances without the addition of condiment s ,

though it is the cooked foods , most of all , to

which condiments are added Some notable

exam ples of the development of flavor by roast

ing are found in cofiee and in peanuts . The

peanut , though edible in the raw state , is far

more agreeable to the tast e when roasted . The

roasting develops taste and odor—Zthat is , flavor .

The cofiee bean has a better and an entirely newflavor after being roasted . In fact , a drink

made from the raw cofiee bean would not appeal

to the taste . The flavor of meats is alwaysbrought out

to a great de

gree by roasting . This is

true also of

the baking ofbread .

Condiments

a f f e c t t h e

n e r v e s o f

tas te , which

a r e i n t h e

t o ngu e , and

also the nerves of smell , which are found in thenostrils . These nerves are connected directly

A street peanut roaster

THE FLAVOR OF FOODS 13 7

and indirect ly with the digest ive organs . A

good taste and a good odor in food aid in

exciting the ao

t ivity of the di

ges t ive organsWhen you are

v e ry hungry,and you get the

o d o r o f t h e

d inn e r be ing

co o ked , you rm outh waters .

T h a t i s t h e

nerve of smell

the olfactorynerve—has car.

Jaw and mouth, showing salivary glands

ried a m essage as lands b . submaxillary glands , c. sub13 ds ; d. salivary g lands ; e. tongue

t o the salivary

glands that something good is com ing , and

t hese glands , which discharge saliva into the

m outh , get ready to welcome the visitor . In

other words , your mouth waters .

” Thenwhen you place on the tongue a bit of foodt hat tastes good , the nerve of taste sends a

message to the glands in the stomach that

secrete the pepsin, and those glands get readyto aid in digesting the food . If you put butter

on your b read and get both the taste and the

odor of butter , these nerves send a message

138 HEALTH READER

to the large gland called the pancreas , which

discharges into the intestines , and the pan

creas prepares to welcome the visitor bysecreting the fluid which wil l digest the fat .

Thus , through odor and taste , all the organs

which are active i n the digestion of food receive

advance notice of the approach of the food

and make preparations to do their part in it s

digest ion .

Is there danger in using condiments too freely

The answer to this question is the same as thatin regard to salt . In order to avoid excess ,condim ents should b e used sparingly, withjudgment , and with great care . The delicacyof flavor secured by the addition of a condimentshould b e one of the chief recommendations

for it s use . The skilled

French cook, instead ofonion directly into

his sauce , will s imply rub

the spoon with which the

sauce is served with an

onion . He thus gets a

fine , delicate flavor , insteadof the full strength of theonion . The proper use of

condim ents is a mark of

the skilled and experienced cook. Those no t

skilled in the use of condim ents may make up


XVI . DIFFERENC ES IN FOODS

How do foods difier ? N0 two foods are ex

act ly alike . Even if of the same variety theremay be great difierences between them f All

the foods we eat , even those of the sam e kind ,vary according to the localityin which they are grown and

the conditions of cliInat e or

season and the methods usedin harvesting and handlingthem . A pippin (one kind ofapple) grown in Virgin ia may

A" “P?“ b e quite unlike a pippin grown

in California , though both apples grew on the

same kind of a tree . The environment in which

food grows in other words , air , sunshine , rain ,

and soil has a great deal to do with it s character as well as the kind of food it represents .

Foods differ in many other respects . It isvery important that we understand in a praetical and Simple way just what some of these

difierences are .

What are the mos t common articles of food In

general , when we sit down at a table we expect

to have bread . A meal without bread , thoughsuch meals are som etim es served , never seem s

quite complete . Especially is this true of

DIFFERENCES IN FOODS 14I

the home table . Brea d may be considered a

universal food among all nat ions where the art

of bread making is known . Under the term

bread we include the many varieties of foodsmade from such cerea ls as wheat , Indian corn ,

oats , and rye .

Another art icle we usually expect to have at

a meal , especially at dinner , though it is not

so universally eaten , is meat . Under the term“m eat we may include as many different k inds

of product s as we do under the term bread .

"

A third art icle we usually have at a meal isa vegetable of some kind . In common languaget he term vegetable is

’

not applied to all

p lant-food product s . Potatoes , green peas and

beans , radishes , and

beets are recogniz edas types of t he clas sof foods we commonly

call vegetables .

Our ideas of a meal ,in other words , lead us

t o think at once of

three great classes of

food : bread , meat , and

vegetables . It would

not b e fair to leave

out fruit , although fruit is not nearly so com

m only served at meals as vegetables . It

142 HEALTH R EADER

would be well if it were used more . A true

saying is , An apple a day keeps the doctor

away.

” It is unfortunate that so large a

number Of our people do not have the privilege of eating fruit every day . It would b ewise for the one who provides for the table to

serve less meat and more fruit and vegetables .

May foods b e classified in other ways than as

b read, meat, vegetab les , and fruit These term s ,

bread , meat , vegetables , and fruit , are used to

denote th e articles usually thought of as foods .

But regarded from the scientific point of view,

the term food applies to the elements ofnourishment rather than the articles in which

these elements exist in combination .

We have in our bodies certain tissuesnamely , bones , muscles , tendons , nerves , b rain ,

Skin , and hair . These tissues have different

characteristics ; that is , they are made up of

varying amounts of different kinds Of elementsand require different kinds of nourishment .The scientific view of nutrition is to feed thesetissues the elements of nourishment they need ,selecting from among the different articles offood those th ings which most nearly supply theirwant s .

There are four principal foods , or elementsof nourishment , necessary to the sustenance ofthe body . First , starches and sugars , together


144 HEALTH READER

Cereals in general , when ground into flour or

meal contain seventy per cent of starch and

The sago palm

twelve per cent ofwater ,although certain cerealsvary som ewhat from

these figures . Thus it is

evident thatwhen cerealsare eat en th e g reatbulk ofth e food is compo s ed of

Among other starchfoods the potato con

tains about twenty-twoper cent of solid foodand seventy-eight per

cent of water . Of thetwenty-two per cent ofsolid food more than

three fourths is starch . Peas and beans also contain considerable quantities of starch though inthese articles the starch is no t the principalingredient . There are certain other foods

such as the cassava , wh ich grows in Florida and

the tropics ; the taro , a starchy food which growsabundantly in the Hawaiian Islands ; and sagothe food elements of which consist largely of

Thus we learn that the principal starch foodsare cereals , potatoes , sago, cassava , and .

tapioca .

DIFFER ENCES IN FOODS 145

From what products do we get the principal sugar

foods Practically all the foods we eat contains ugar . Som e

of them , such

as th e cereals ,contain an ex

ceedingly smallqu an t i t y o f

sugar , not overone or two per

cent . Others ,lik e the refined

sugars of com

merce , cons ist

almost entirely of sugar , the percentage beingWe eat sugar in two forms , first as an ele

ment of our common foods . In this we have nochoice ; we must eat the sugar if we wish to eat

the foods . Second , we eat sugar that has been

extracted from plants and prepared for our use

in the form of molasses , s irups , raw sugar , . and

refined sugar . We eat these simply as sugars ,or after they have been added to pastry , con

fect ions , and candies .

Among the foods that are rich in sugar , m ilkmay b e mentioned first . Milk contains from

five to eight per cent of sugar , according to thekind used . Ordinary cow

’

s m ilk contains about

five per cent of sugar . Beets , especially sugar

10

C assava roots

146 HEALTH READER

beets , contain -a large amount of sugar , some

times as much as fifteen to eighteen per cent .Turnips , radishes , and car

rots contain from two to five

per cent . Fruits of all kinds

contain a large amount of

sugar , from seven to fifteen

per cent , and some kinds of

grapes contain even more .

Thus , whether we eat

cereals , drink m ilk , or eat

vegetables or fruit , we are

continually taking into our

stomachs large quantit ies of

sugar . When we eat cakes ,pas try , con fe ctions , and

candy we take stil l greater quantities . Some

of these latter foods are composed almost

entirely of sugar . So far as digestion and

nutrition are concerned , sugar and starch have

the same properties and may b e considered as

one and the same substance .

Wh at relation has sugar to health ? A largeamount of sugar in the food tends to make one

fat . Sugars and starches are regarded as evenmore likely to cause obesity or stoutnes s thanfat or Oil . People who are inclined to becom e

corpulent should eat as lit tle sugar as possible .

They Should no t put it on the cereal at break

sugar beet


148 HEALTH READER

protein , such as dried white of egg , which isabout the purest form known in nature , containsabout s ixteen per cent of nitrogen and one

per cent of sulphur . The other eighty-three

per cent are composed of hydrogen , oxygen , and

carbon . The principal sources of the proteinin our foods are the cereals , and after themespecially lean meat , red or white , of all edible

animals , and lastly eggs , peas , and beans .

What is the third immrtant food element

Judged by quantity alone , the third important

food element is fat or oil . Fats and oils com

prise nearly all the butter and‘ lard , olive oil ,

cotton-Seed oil , and other edible oil s which weconsum e with our foods . Of the difierent partsof the hog , the bacon is almost all fat , whilethe ham is mostly protein . Butter is an im

portant fat food , more than eighty per cent

of it being pure fat . Many nuts also are composed largely of Oil ; for instance , the peanut is

about forty per cent oil . The same is true ofthe . almond and the walnut . On the otherhand , the chestnut contains a large amount ofstarch as well as a cons iderable quantity of oil .So in eating nuts one gets , as a rule , a largequantity of oil .

What is the next mos t important class of food

elements Again judged by quantity alone , thefourth and last class of food elements cons ists

DIFFER ENC ES IN FOODS 149

ofwhat we call mineral substances . Whena food substance is burned , the ash that is leftrepresents the incombust ible m ineral matt er

t hat the food contains . The quantity of ashin food product s varies greatly. Some foods

contain as high as three or four per cent of ash ,

while others contain less than one per cent .

Th is mineral matter cons ists of various sub

stances , certain of them being important t o

nutrition . Among these are phosphorus and

lime , which are used in the body to form a

considerable part of the bones and the teeth .

The other mineral s play parts of greater or lessimportance . Thus we see that the m ineral

elements of food , although least in quantity, arequite as necessary for proper nutrition as the

larger quantities of fat , protein and starch

which our food contains .

In a general way it may b e said that for

every one hundred pounds of food we eat , two

pounds should be mineral substances . Amongthese phosphorus , sulphur , chlorine , lime , iron ,

magnes ia , sal t , soda , and potash are the mostimportant .

Are the acids which exis t in foods of value in

nutrition ? The acids found in certain food

products p lay an important part in nutrition .

They are to b e classed with the condiments , andthus become food products . The acids found

1so HEALTH READER

in certain kinds of fruit are also very generallydistributed in all vegetable substances though

onlyin small quantities .

In the sap of sugar

producing plants , as

sugar cane , sugar beets ,and sorghum ,and in the

sap of the maple tree ,

there are large quanti

ties of acids . Usuallythey are what is termed

malic acid , that is , the

acid of apples , although

n o t e xc lu s i ve ly s o .

Other vegetable acids

are frequently found in

sugar-producing plants

of this k ind but in small quantities . C itric acid

is found in lemons and oranges , and tartaric acidin grapes . All these acids in fruit are combinedwith a base , principally potash .

Because these acids improve the taste ofthe foods in wh ich they are found ,

th ey are

condiments . When these vegetable acids are

digested they produce a certain amount of heat ,and hence , like sugar , they have a food value

as well as a condim ent value . They also performa useful service in carrying the soda and potash

they contain into the body.

C utting sugar cane


152 HEALTH READER

m ilk has been analyz ed thousands of times in

th is and other countries , so that we know withpract ical exactness it s average composition .

This is set down in the following table

THE C OMPOSITION OF cow’

s MILK

One hundred pounds of m ilk furnish thirteen

pounds of food in a dry state . These thirteenpounds of food contain the various food elementsin the right proportions to furnish an idealration for th e growing child , and especially for

t h e in f a n tPr ote in A t ten t i on is

called to thisfa c t fo r t h e

reason that in

50 7, it s compos itionC omposition of cow

’

s milk m ilk is a model

for selecting the food of the child after his teeth

are developed and he ceases to b e nourishedwholly by m ilk . If th is b e a true guide , and

there seem s to b e no doubt of the fact , th en

in choos ing food for the growing Child we

should see that it contains all the elements of

growth in about the same proportion as theyexist in the dry matter of m ilk . Then from

the above table we may obtain the following

A STUDY OF THE ARTIC LES OF FOOD 153

table of proportions of the food element s inmilk , excluding the percentage of water .

IDEAL C OMPOSITION OF FOOD FOR THE GROWING C HILDIN PARTS OF 10 0 OF DR Y MATTER

There are traces of various other substancesin cow

’

s m ilk , but these are so small in quantitythat t hey need not be cons idered here . In

order to s implify the above table , and make itmore eas ily remembered we may say that when

nem l M m making up a

diet for chil

dren that partof it other thanm ilk should bein the following p r o p o r

t ions : The protein shou ld be five times the

quantity of m ineral matter ; the fat six times the

quantity of mineral matter ; and the sugar and

starch eight times the quantity of mineralmatter . Representing the mineral matter by I

we have the following series of numbers : I , 5 ,

6, 8. These figures are eas ily memorized .

50

Ideal composition of food for the growingcluld

154 HEALTH READER

They represent the food elements in the relative

proportions in which they should be present in

the food of the growing child .

Is there any food product which can take the place

of milk for the growing child? Yes , there is a

comm on food product which is almost as welladapted for thegrowing Child

as m ilk . Thisfood we 0 a l l

cereal , and itis advisable to

use it in con

nec t ion with

m ilk for chil

dr en bey o nd

the age of ihf a n c y T h e

typical cerealsare wheat , Indian corn (maize) , rye , barley ,rice , oats , and buckwheat . But Children espe

cially should eat a great deal of m ilk withcereals . Wheat is the best cereal , although

alone it produces t oo much acid ; m ilk corrects

that fault .

What is the average composition ofwheat ? Wheatis rightly regarded as the most valuable of thecereals used for bread making , and it s com

pos ition should be known to every one .

Milking the cow


156 HEALTH READER

digestive organs of the infant are not suited

t o the digestion of starch . On the other hand ,they are suited to the digestion of thefat which is in m ilk , and there is a

comparatively larger quantity of that

substance in m ilk. The growing childand the grown man can digest starch

readily, and in the cereals nature pro

vides a food product containing large

quantities of starch . Therefore , after

the period of infancy, cereals are well

suited to the growing child .

But it is well to remember that all

wheat has not exactly the compos itiongiven in the table . Wheat recently

harvested contains considerably moremoisture than is given in the table .

When wheat has been kept for a long

time in a dry granary, and especially in

a dry country, the amount of moisture

is less than that given in the table .

Whenever the moisture varies one way or the

other , all the other ingredients vary inversely .

By this we mean that when the percentage ofmoisture increases , the percentage of all otheringredients decreas es .

How is wheat b es t us ed for food On account

of it s extreme hardness , and the smallness of

the kernels , wheat in it s natural state is not


suitable for food . It is true that persons with

good teeth can chew wheat readily, but as a

rule there is such difficulty in chewing the

kernels that it has led to the preparation of

wh eat in form s more suitable for eating .

Old and new ways of grinding grain. In primit ive times grain was crushed between stones by

hand . The nat ives who inhabited this country

at t he time of it s discovery by Columbus prepared their grain in this way . As civiliz ation

Indian grinding The uern. First ormstones a grinding mi l

advanced , better methods were needed . This

led to the development of the old-fashioned

millstone . Millstones are made of hard , grittystone so adjusted that one stone revolves againstthe other , crushing the grain between them .

In the modern roller m ills , m illstones are notused in grinding grain . In such m ills , iron or

porcelain rollers have taken their place , and

from grain to finished product the ma terial isnot touched by hands .

158 HEALTH READER

Grades of flour. There are several grades offlour . The t erm patent is used t o des ignatethe product of greatest whitenes s and com

mercial value , while other names signify

lower grades , such as Bakers ’ Flour , Fam ily

Flour , and R ed Dog. The term “R ed Dog

is applied to a flour of low grade , that is , so far

as color is concerned . Although it is not per

fect ly white , it contains a larger portion of

important nourishing ingredients than does thewhite patent flour . In the process of m illing ,the germ of the wheat kernel and the hardfibrous covering of the kernel , called bran , are

removed . These materials are then sold separat ely for cattle foods under the names of bran

and shorts or middlings , and the various gradesof flour , made from the inner part of the kernel ,pass into comm erce for use by bakers and house

wives .

How does the milling process aflect the nutritive

value of wheat ? The process of m illing has a

most decided effect on the nutrit ive value ofwheat . Unfortunately , the public taste , prob

ably helped along by the attitude of the m il

lers , demands a flour of extrem e whitenes s . To

meet this demand the m iller strives to make his

flour as white as he possibly can . Since the

advent of the steel roller mill he is able to

produce a much/ whiter flour than he could


16o HEALTH READER

chickens are fed nothing but white flour they

do not grow and flourish . If they are fed

whole-wheat flour they grow rapidly and keepin excellent health . Even in the case of grown

men and women , whose bones and teeth are

already formed , bread made from whole-wheat

flour is not only nourishing but palatable .

My view is , then , that growing ch ildrenshould be fed on whole-wheat flour , or som e

other whole cereal , though grown men and

women can occas ionally , and even frequently ,

eat the products made from white flour without

noticeable injury to health .

C an human b eings live on wheat alone? Yes , it

is possible to maintain life for a long tim e

and apparently b e well nourished , and yet

eat nothing but wheat . But the hum an taste

and the need for alkali that is , soda and potash

demand a variety of foods in order to keep

the digestive organs at their highest state of

efficiency . In other words , we become tired ofeat ing one thing only . We may like that one

thing very well for a short time , but finally, ifwe have nothing else to eat , we grow tired of it .The food that we would tolerate alone for thegreatest length of time is probablywheat andit s products . What is said of wheat to a cer

tain extent may also b e said of the othercereals .


Next to wheat , what is the mos t immrtant cereal

used as food for human b eings ? Judging fromit s use as a

f 0 c d in the

UnitedStat es ,the most im

portant cerealnext to wheatis Indian corn0 r m a i z eMaiz e , or corn A n ear of corn

as it is comm only called in this country, is

by far the largest cereal crop of the United

States . For every bushel of wheat grown in

the United States , about four bushels of corn

are produced . Corn is used as food for hum an

beings in all parts of the count ry, but the

am ount so used is probably considerably less

than the amount of wheat used for the same

purpose . Corn is used most ext ensively as

food for hogs , horses , and cat tle . Practically

all the pork produced here is fattened on corn .

Indian corn is not very extens ively used as

food for hum an beings in other parts of the

world . But in the Balkan States and Italy

in the southern part of Europe where it is

grown , it s use is increas ing . Indian corn is so

called because it was first found commonly

cultivated by the Indians in North and South

11

162 HEALTH READER

America at the t ime of the discovery of th enew world

THE AVERAGE C OMPOSITION OF INDIAN C OR N

Weight of 100 grains of corn

Fiber (indigest ible)

Starch and sugar

What are the chief difierences b etween

corn and wheat Though the elements thatmake

°

up cornare apparently

t h e s am e a 3

those that got o m ak e up

3mm"M SW” wheat , there ism u ch di ffe r

Average compositibo

n of Indian corn

enc e b O t h.

1n

t h e quan t rty

and in the character of these elements in the

two cereals . AS far as moisture is concerned ,wheat and corn are almost alike . But corncontains much less protein than wheat . The

average proportions are ten per cent in corn

and about twelve per cent in wheat . There isalso a great difference in the protein itself .The wheat protein consists largely of those


164 HEALTH READER

food . Thus if ch ildren are given Indian-cornproducts to eat , such products should always beserved with milk. On a diet of mush and milkchildren thr ive .

If Indian corn , therefore , were the only

article of food we could get , we should b e muchless effectually nourished than if wheat wereour only food .

What is com meal? Corn meal is the t erm

applied to finely ground Indian corn . But the

particles of corn meal are much larger t han theparticles of white wheat flour . It has been a

very common practice , until within the lastfew years , to grind the entire grain to makewhole corn meal . Thus the outer envelope ofthe grain , and the germ , which is so rich inphosphorus and oil , were retained in the meal ,making it more nutritious than if these elementshad been removed .

But it has been found difficult to transp ortand keep whole corn meal for any length oft im e , because it molds quickly when moistand soon becomes rancid because of the largeamount of fat it contains . The term rancidis applied to the sharp , bitter , disagreeabletaste of an oil which is partially decomposed .

For this reason in the last few years m illershave been grinding corn in the same way that

they grind wheat flour . They take off the outer


hull and remove the germ , and thus make a

corn meal which has much better keepingqualities but less valuable nutritive propertiesthan the whole corn meal . In order to keepcorn meal fresh for transportation it is dried .

The best corn meal,‘

so far as nutrition is

considered is the freshly ground meal made

from the whole corn grain .

What are the relations of Indian corn to health ?

In many parts of Europe people think that

Indian corn is not fit for human food . I have

already spoken of the fact that corn meal very

eas ily molds when moist , or becomes rancidbecause of th e large percentage of fat it con

tains . In this condition corn meal has some

times been found to be poisonous . Some people

have also claimed that the skin disease called

pellagra , which has now secured a foothold in

this country, is caused by eating musty cornmeal . However , all evidence goes to prove thatIndian corn meal does not cause pellagra , but

that the disease is due to poor nutrition , per

haps to living almos t entirely on carbohydratefood.

From the above it is clear that in it s relation

to health Indian corn has not quite so good a

character as wheat . But when it is ground

whole so as to retain all the elements of the

grain , and is kept in a proper way , it s value as

166 HEALTH READER

a food product is high , especially when eatenwith milk, or other protein substances such

as egg , lean meat , or peas and beans . In

this cas e it does not in any way tend to derangeor destroy health or induce disease . It s moregeneral use as hum an food can therefore b ehighly recomm endedIn what forms is Indian corn eaten? Many foodpreparations can b e made from Indian corn .

The s implest of all is mush ,’

or“hasty pud

ding.

” Corn meal is also used for

making bread . In a large part of

our country, especially in the South ,

bread made Of corn is a staple food .

Corn is also made into hom iny, andinto many varieties of breakfast foods .

Thus Indian corn can b e prepared invery many form s as foods for human

beings and when served in a properly

balanced ration all forms are wholesome and nutritious .

Is rye ever us ed for human food ?

This is a question which only an

American would ask . In Germany

and Russ ia , and in other parts ofEurope , rye is used very extensively

for hum an food . In many places ryebread is much more common than wheat bread .

R ye is nourishing and wholesome , and may b e


168 HEALTH R EADER

States . The average area devoted to rye is

two m illion acres , while the average area devotedto wheat is more than forty m illionacres , and to corn , more than one

hundred million acres .

Is barley us ed as a food for human

b eings Barley is another cereal that

is used to some extent as food for

hum an beings . But it s use for thispurpose is comparatively small . On

the other hand , it is grown somewhat

extensively in the United States for

cattle food and for making beer .

When sprouted , barley is called

malt , and then the barley grain o r

malt , above all other cereals , has the

property of converting the starch itcontains into a kind of sugar , or

maltose,resembling cane sugar but , in

many particulars , dist inctly differentfrom it . Malt makes a good food

for hum an beings , and is used by

many , especially those whose digestive organs are not in good condition .

Barley head Many persons who have diseased

stomachs are unable to digest starchy sub

stances , but they can very readily take care

of starch which is already partly digested .

Very litt le barley is used direct ly as food in


this country. It is served chiefly in soups andprepared finely ground for adm ixture with

infants foods .

What is the average composition of barley

Barley very closely resembles the other cerealsin it s composition , but it s protein matter differs

in character from that of the others .

AVERAGE C OMPOSITION OF BARLEY

Fat (oil)

If we compare these figures with those forthe composition of the other cereals it is seen

that the amount of protein in barley is greaterthan that in Indian corn and less than that in

wheat . It contains more fat ,o r o i l , t h an

wheat or rye,Sta r ch and s ug a r

: but less thanInd ian corn .

It also has a

Average composition of barley larger contentof m ineral substances (ash ) than wheat . Barleyflour has very slight glutinous properties , and

179 HEALTH READER

hence it makes a bread more nearly resembling

corn bread than wheat breadWhat is the value of rice as

a food? Next to wheat andIndian corn , rice is the most

valuable food product amongthe cereals . It is used ex

t ensively by the oriental oreastern nations , especially inJapan and China . Rice isnot widely cultivated in this

country, the average area in rice in the United

States being less than a m ill ion acres .

Rice , unlike other cereals , is usually grownunder water. After the rice is planted and has

begun to grow , water is turned on the fields andkept there until near harvest time . Othercereals would be killed by such treatment . A

few varieties of rice grow in dry soil like othercereals , but they are not so highly regarded forfood purposes . Rice , therefore , is grown tobest advantage in lowlands which can b e eas ilyflooded , or in regions where abundant water isavailable for irrigation purposes .

How does rice difier from the other cereals

Rice differs from the other cereals ch iefly init s h igh content of starch and it s low content

‘

of protein . In it s food value rice resembles thepotato more closely than it does wheat .


I 72 HEALTH READER

little sugar or glucose to mak e it stick. Thesepractices are wrong because the consumer is

deceived by the appearance of the grain and

especially because of the injurious effect of

such rice on the consum er’

s health . It hasbeen found that people who live almost ex

clusively on rice treated in this way develop

a d i s eas e of t h edigestive organs insome respects re

sembling anaem ia

(poor blood) . Thisdisease , known as

beri—beri , oftenproves fatal . But

it has been foundthat when unpol

ished rice is eaten ,

beri-beri never cc

curs . Also , if the

rice bran that is“M ”of 00“

rubbed Off in pol

ishing is given to those who have the disease ,

they recover.

It is diflicult to get unpolished rice in the

United States . It is not so white nor so

good to look at as the polished , but it is far

more palatable , m ore nutritious , and more

healthful .


Are oats us ed as food for human b eings ? In

Scotland particularly, and in the United States ,cat s are largely used as food for human beings .

When the cat s , after the removal of the chaff,are crushed or ground , the product is calledoatmeal , and oatmeal is much used for so-calledbreak fast foods ; that is , for making the porridgeor mush to b e eaten with milk or cream , prefer

ably at the morning meal . Oat product sprepared in this way are to be had in all the

markets of the United States and are used

extensively. The cat has more gluten thanIndian corn , but not nearly so much as wheat .In the United States Oats are used principally

for feeding horses . The acreage planted in cat s

is very large , amounting to almost thirty-five

million acres every year .

What is the food value of cats One hundred

grains of cat s with the chaff on , this being th e

condition in which cat s are always sold , weigh

about three gram s

THE AVERAGE C OMPOSITION OF OATS (unhullcd)PER C ENT

12 15Fiber (indigest ible) 1 ? .O7Fat (oil

3 46When cat s are used as food for human beings

th e chaff or outer hull has been removed .

HEALTH READER

THE AVERAGE C OMPOSITION OF OATS (hulled)

Fiber (indigest ible)Fat (oil)

PER C ENT

If you compare the composition of the hulled

cat s with the composition of the unhulled oats

you will see that the removal of the chaff hasincreased very largely

'

the percentage of fat

St arch and s ugar

Average composition of unhulled oats

[Vo te r

( em

S t a r cf'

t a n d s ug a r

Average composition of hulled oats

and of protein ,

wh i l e i t h a sdim inished to alarge ext en tthe quantity ofind i g e s t i b l efiber . Th is is

tant from the

o f f o o d f o r

human beings .

While hors e sand cattle can

eat unhu l ledoats , becau s e

they are able

to digest the chaff , it would b e difficult for the

human stomach to utiliz e the unhulled product .


XVI I I . THE PREPAR ATION OF FOODS

What is bread Bread in it s simplest form is

a term applied to a cereal , ground whole or

bolted , which has been m ixed with water or

m ilk in such a way as to form a paste or dough ,

usually leavened with yeast or baking powder ,and then molded or rolled into any convenient

form and baked on a stone or in an oven untilthe crust is brown . The term “bread ,

” when

used without any qualification in the United

States , means bread made of wheat The

term “loaf ” applied to bread means a port ion of

the dough formed

a s d e s c r i b e (1

above , m olded

into some con

venient shape ,

and baked .

What is shorten

ing The term

shortening is

applied to a fat

or Oil wh ich is

The seed of the cotton plant yields a m ixed with flourlarge amount of yellow oil

wh en a b r ead

dough is made , for the purpose of making the

bread more brittle and more easily broken after

THE PREPARATION OF FOODS 17 7

baking . In addition to th is the outs ide of theloaf or t h e ins ide of the pan is often

'

greasedwith a fat or oil , so that after the bread isbak ed it will not stick to the pan . Nearly all

bread h as a little shortening added to it .

One o f the most common kinds of shorteningin general use is lard . Probably more lardis u sed for shortening than any other kind offat . Butter also makes an excellent shorteningm ater ial , and is used particularly in the making

of cak es . Vegetable oils are used to a largeexten t for the same purpose , especially cottonseed oil and olive oil .

Wh eat bread is an almost universal articleof food at all tables . There is scarcely a mealserved in the

United States

at which bread

o f s om e d e

s cription is not

eaten .

Wheat bread

What other cereals b esides wheat are used for

b read All the cereals can b e used for breadmaking . Indian corn is used extensively for

that purpose , especially in the United States .

Most of the bread made from Indian corn is

eaten hot . There is also a bread made of cornmeal called pone .

”The corn pone was a

staple article of diet among the early settlers

12

178 HEALTH READER

in our country. It is a wholesome and excellent

kind of bread and deserves extensive use but

at present it is rarely made except in the homes

of those who live near the frontier or in the

South .

R ye is used extensively for bread making

in foreign countries , but not to a great extentin the United States . In many parts of Europe ,especially in Germany and Russia, rye is morecommonly used for bread than wheat. R ye

flour does not make so white a bread as wheatflour , but it makes a palatable and nutritiousarticle which can b e used now and then in

place of white bread . Barley, rice , and cat s

are not used to any extent for bread makingin the United States .

What are griddle cak es ? Griddle or hot cakesare a variety of bread made from a battermuch softer than that used for making bread .


18o HEALTH R EADER

larger quantities of so-called maple sirup are

sold than are made . It is a comm on practice

among manufacturers to mix a little maple s irup

with a large quantity of some other kind of

s irup so as to give the entire m ixture a mapleflavor . Before the Food and Drugs Act became

a law these m ixtures were sold as pure maple

s irup . Molasses , wh ich is the s irup obtained

from crystallized sugar in the process of manu

facture , is also highly prized for eating with hot

cakes .

Many food experts object to the use of hot

cakes for food , claiming that in this conditionthe material is not so digestible as when made

into bread . One of the principal objections to

hot cakes is that they taste so good we eat

too many of them .

Another form in which bread is used is knownas cake . By the term cake” is m eant som e

cereal product to which considerable quantitiesof sugar , egg , and butter have been added , andusually som e flavoring substances . There are

many varieties of cake , with which most of

you are already quite fam iliar .

Is the use of cake advisab le from the health

point of view? When cake is made out of

wholesome materials good flour , good butter ,and good eggs it s wholesom eness is as sured .

Unfortunately , cake is usually not a part of the

THE PREPARA TION OF FOODS 181

dinner itself , but is served after the dinneras dessert . By the time dessert appears the

ordinary person usually will have eaten all

that he Should eat . The appetizing character

of cake , it s appeal to the sense of taste , and ,

when well made , it s general excellent qualitiesmake it extremely tempting. We are there

fore inclined to put into our stomachs largequantities of this very nourishing material

after they have been given all the nourishment

they need . In this way cake becomes a menace

to health , not because of it s own compos itionbut because of the circum stances under whichit is eaten .

Cake contains many nourishing materials .

In addition to the flour , the egg content espe

cially is one of the h igh-grade nourish ing ingredients in cake . The butter and the sugar are

well suited to the development of h eat and

energy . Therefore ,if people eat much cake ,

they Should take liberal exercise or work hard

at manual labor . A person of quiet habits

who takes little exercise and does not workhard would better let cake alone .

Is cake good for growing children ? No , cake isnot good for C h ildren . While it is nourishingand valuable as a food ,

it is an unbalancedration for the growing child . In cake the

heat-form ing and energy-form ing elements are

182 HEALTH READER

far more abundant than they should be in a

well-balanced ration for

Unfortunately, cake is one of the things thechild is taught to des ire more than mostothers , and when the taste for it is once formed

it is difficult to overcome the temptation to eatit . It is far better to prevent the child fromform ing a habit than to t ry to control it whenonce formed .


184 HEALTH READER

characteriz ed by a large percentage of water .

The vegetables which have the largest per

centage of water are called succulent , m eaning

full of juice . Am ong these are the turnip , the

raddish , the carrot , the beet , cabbage , and

spinach . Other vegetables , substances withless water though still holding a cons iderablequantity , are the white potato and the sweetpotato . Thus we make a marked distinctionbetween the vegetable on the one hand and th e

cereal on the other , though they both belong tothe vegetable kingdom . In like manner we dis

t inguish b etween .the vegetable and the fruit .

Wh at is fruit ? The term “fruit ” as regardsfood is applied principally to the products of certain trees and small shrubs or bushes and vines .

The principal kinds used as food are apples ,oranges , grape fruit , lemons , peaches , pears , and

Growing vegetables at home. A thrifty, well-planned garden

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 185

cherries among the larger fruits that grow on

trees , and blackberries strawberries , raspberriesgrapes , blueberries , and currants among the

C hildren gathering and eating apples

smaller fruits that grow on bushes and vines .

The distinguish ing characteristics of fruits are ,

first of all , their acidity (containing acid) andtheir sweetness . The sugars and acids in fruitsseem to vie with each other as to which shall

win the upper hand . Sometim es the sugar isin excess , as in the very sweet apple , and some

times the acids are in excess , as in the cran

berry. In general the best fruits , judged from

their taste alone , are those in which a balanceis maintained between acidity and sweetness .

186 HEALTH R EADER

Fruit s are not only pleasant to the taste but

ext remely valuable in relation . to the general

health . When it is poss ible to secure them ,

fruits should be eaten every day , not only toimprove the meal but more espec ially as a

safeguard to health . Nevertheles s fruits are

quite unsuitable for infants , and very youngchildren should eat them sparingly. The child

of five years and over may begin to eat fruit s

in greater abundance .

Should fruits b e eaten raw or cooked? A s a gen

eral rule fruits are best eat en raw. There are

of course certain dangers connected with eating

raw fruits which mus t not b e forgotten . R aw

fruits may b e infected with insects or with so

called germs that are dangerous . These dangers can b e removed by careful cooking. Many

fruits , also , are diflicul t to chew, as for instancecertain hard kinds of apples . Cooking improvesthem in this respect , making them more edible ,or eatable , and more easily digested .

No hard-and-fast line , however , can b e drawn .

Perhaps it is best to say that fruits should not

always b e eaten raw , nor should they alwaysbe eaten cooked . A judicious admixture of theraw and the cooked fruit is advisable . Some

fruits are never cooked , as , for instance ,citrus

products (orange , lemon , etc .)The food value of fruits lies chiefly in the


188 HEALTH READER

acid is found particularly in grapes of all kinds .

Traces of other acids are present in many of

the fruit products , and it must not b e inferredthat only one k ind of acid exists in any one

fruit . Apples , and other fruits of the sam e

class , may have traces of other acids bes ides

malic . Th is is also true of oranges and lemons

as far as citric acid is concerned , and of grapesas regards tartaric acid . The acids in fruits

are always combined with a base , such as soda ,

potash , or lim e , mos t ly potash .

Are the small seeds of fruits injurious ? A great

many of the fruits , such as berries and grapes ,have very small seeds . In the case of berries ,such as strawberries and blackberries , to t ry totake the seeds out would b e a hopeless task .

They may b e removed by cooking the fruit and

then straining the pulp through a fine sieve , but

they cannot b e removed with any success when

one is eating the fruit raw . There are some

varieties of grapes in wh ich the seeds are few in

number . These seeds are also larger than berryseeds , and may b e t he more readily removed .

By eating one grape at a time t he pulp may b e

separated from the seeds in the'

mouth and the

seeds rejected . Th is is not considered good

table manners , though it may b e advantageousotherwise .

Som e persons fear to eat small fruits , and

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 189

especially to give them to children ,because of

t he presence of these seeds . It is maintained ,

p e rhap s with

s om e re a s on ,

that the seeds

may lodge in theappendix and

cause that very

com m on and

much dreadeddisease , appen

dicitis . But on

U)

fears may b e re

garded as en The appendix

t irely groundless . Wh ile the seeds of fruitsmay

'

possibly have been found in the appendixin som e cases where it has been removed , theycan hardly b e regarded as the prim ary cause

of th e trouble .

In general we may say that the seeds of small

fruits will b e excreted from the body without

doing any harm . Larger seeds are objeetionable , such as those of the apple , but these are

not usually swallowed .

While it cannot b e said that the swallowing ofthe seeds is absolutely harm les s , yet the chanceof harm is so remote that we should no t for that

reason refuse to eat these fruits . In the same

190 HEALTH R EADER

way ,play m ight be regarded as dangerous .

Boys and girls are oft en hurt , sometimes seri

ously , sometimes fatally , at play. But that is

no reason for forbidding children to play. The

most wholesome of our foods are sometimes

injurious , either because of an over sensibilityof our system to their effect s or because of our

eat ing too much at one time . And yet no one

would think of excluding such foods from our

tables because we are sometimes injured by

them . It is nature’

s way . There is noth ingthat is perfectly safe and to some degree we must

take our chances . At the same time , watch

fulness and careful supervis ion are necessary to

avoid taking unnecessary chances .


192 HEALTH R EADER

edible portions of the bodies of animals , exclud

ing milk and eggs . The term meat therefore ,

Location of the various cuts of beef

includes not only the lean and the fat meatsbut also the nerves and the tendons , the brain ,

and the vital organs of the animal that are

suitable for food . Nearly all parts of the body

of the meat-producing animal are edible . Bloodis used extens ively as food , especially in Europein blood sausage . The skin , the bones , theintestines , and the lungs , however , are rarely

eaten . The bones are not generally used as

food , simply because of man’

s inability to chewthem . Finely ground bone is a very good food ,

though rich in phosphorus .

There are many different opinions concerning

the age at which ch ildren Should begin to eat

m eat , in the sense of that term as we havedefined it . To give ch ildren a little meat while

ANIMAL FOODS 195

they are stil l infants is a common practice , and

it is quite common to begin feeding Childrenof eighteen month s and over small quantitiesof meat . This I do no t b elieve a wise course .

The digestive system of the ch ild , especially thevery young child , is not well adapted to thedigestion of meat . While there is no t muchdanger in giving a two to five-year-old C hild

a small bit of m eat once in a while , he can get

along very well without it .

On the whole I should say that childrenunder the age of five years Should eat littlem eat of any kind . After that , small quant itiesof the m eat of healthy , recent ly killed anim als ,especially fowls , may b e given . Cured m eat s ,

and meat s that have been kept in cold storage ,

Should not b e given t o ch ildren under t en yearsof age , and very lit tle after that age .

Meat s are digested part ly in the stomach .

This is not true of starches , fats , and oils ,

Some common cuts of beefa , round roas t ; b , rIb roas t ; c , lo in roas t

whether vegetable or animal . These foods are

digested largely in the small int estines . Since

194 HEALTH R EADER

the stomach of the Child is adapted first of all to

the digestion of m ilk , and s ince the composition

of m ilk is entirely different from that of meat ,

some of the best writers on the diet of children

say most emphatically that meat should no t b e

given to young children . I share their opinion .

When the child begins growing vigorously ,

as h e does between the ages of eight and fifteenyears , meat is especially des irable . After thegrowing age is past we can get along with lessmeat , and when we get old we should , likelittle Children eat it very sparingly. Whenwe become very Old , we shall find , as is true

Of little children , that m ilk is again the bestfood for us .

What are the meats mos t suitab le for food ? In

general it may b e said that the meat of all

animals is edible , but in many cases , by prejudice

or religious tenet or by custom , we are led

t o reject the meats of certain animals and to

eat the meats of certain others . The commonmeat-producing animals are cattle , hogs , sheep ,and goats . Among the feathered tribes , ch ickens ,turkeys , pigeons , part ridges , ducks , and geese ,both domesticated and wild , are largely usedfor food . Among the finny tribes there are

hundreds of edible varieties ; in fact,there

are few fish that are not edible . We have ,therefore , a wide range of choice , and we are


196 HEALTH READER

although the pig has the cloven foot he doesnot chew the cud . For the same reason th e

use of horse meatwould b e forbidden , s ince t h e

h o r s e n e it h e r

Chews the cud nor

has a cloven foot .

Experience h as

shown however ,that horse meatis both edible and

pa latable , and

in some countries ,a s in pa r t 3 o f

Europe , it is eatenin con s iderable

quantities . Unfortunately for the reputation

of the m eat , the horse is not often used as

food until the animal is too Old and bony tob e good for any other purpose . Naturally them eat of such an animal cannot b e very invit ing .

Horse m eat is no t much eaten in the UnitedStates , although a great deal of horse flesh has

been sh ipped out of the country for consum ptionin Europe .

The hog , however , has come into general use

as food , and by many persons pork is relishedm ore than any other kind of meat . The flesh

Horseflesh is sometimes used as meat

ANIMAL FOODS 197

of the hog is especially suitable for curing , farmore so than that of any other m eat-producing animal . For

that reason com

p arat ive ly l ittlehog m eat is eatenfresh . The smokedand cured ham s ,

s h ou ld e r s , and

ba con of c om

m erce illustrate the truth of th is statem ent .

On the contrary ,most of the meat of beef

cattle is eaten fresh , much of it being kept in a

fresh state in cold storage . Considerable quantities of beef , however , are pickled and preservedin brine , and th is product is known as corned

beef. The flesh of sheep is usually eaten freshalso . Mutton does not readily lend itself t opreservat ion , except by cold storage .

Fowls are best for food when fresh , althoughimmense numbers of fowls of all kinds are keptin cold storage , some of them ent irely too longso far as their being palatable and wholesom e

is concerned .

Yet it is quite true that keeping the flesh ofpoultry and of gam e for a certain length of

time at a low temperature improves it s characteras regards flavor and tast e . And it is

_well

known that beef , wh ich is one of the chief animal

A side of bacon

198 HEALTH READER

foods , is quite materially improved by beinghung for from three to sixweeks at a temperaturenear the freezing point before it is Offered fo r

sale in the market s .

But to keep perishable foods in cold s toragefor an indefinite time , even when frozen , allowsthem to deteriorate in quality and SO makesthem less palatable . In my opinion it also ren

ders the foodslesswholesome .

Cold storage ,

t h e r e f o r e ,

should b e prae

R ibs of beef. Proportions offat and leanticedWithmod

e r a t i o 11 , an drarely sh ou ld

art icles of food

b e left in cold

storage longer

Beef tenderloin. Proportions offat and lean than Six or nine

month s before

consum ption .

Pr o t em What is the

I’Va te r composition of

m e a t N O t

only does theBeef round. Proportions offat and lean meat Of difi ep

P r o te in

ent sp ecies of anim als vary in it s composition ,

but also the m eat of different animals of the


HEALTH READER

The muscular tissues of animals , as we havelearned , are almost pure protein that is

,

they consist almost exclusively of nitrogenou s

substances . The proportion of nitrogen to fat

in meat varies greatly, according t o'

whether

the animal is thin or fat . It varies also ac

cording to the part of the animal eaten . The

sides of the hog from which bacon is made are

composed mostly of fat , with only an occasional

streak of muscular matter passing through the

fat . The muscular tissues contain more or less

fat according to the nature of the animal and

the way it is raised . A s a rule , probably halfof the edible portion of anim als is fat . This of

course includesP r o te in the fat which is

stored in var

Wa t e ’ ” ious parts of

as so 75t h e t i s s u e s .

C hicken . Proportions offat and lean Some portionso f p o rk a r e

nearly all fat .

Wa te r It must not

b e fo rgo t tenthat we do noteat all the fat

of an animal inthe form in wh ich it is originally found . Fromthe fat hog , besides the fat we eat with the meat

te z n

Fish . Proportions offat and lean

ANIMAL FOODS 20 1

we get a great deal of lard . From fat beef andmutton we get tallow , which is often not used

for food at all but for soap making and otherpurposes .

The edible portions of game and of most

varieties of poultry are more lean than fat ,

wh ile on the other hand both pork and b eef

have more fat than lean . In fish , also , the

amount of nitrogen or lean meat generallyexceeds the amount of fat However , some

kinds Of fish , such as menhaden , are used

almost exclus ively for the oil they yield , andnot as food .

PROPORTIONS OF FAT AND LEAN IN 100 PARTS OF MEAT.

POULTRY. AND FISH

FOODS WATER R EFUSE PROTEIN (LEAN ) FAT

R ibs of beef.

Beef tenderloin

R ound of beef .

Lamb (leg) .

Mut ton (leg)Ham (smoked)

The above data refer to the articles as

purchased and not as prepared for the table .

They do not include the quantity of m ineral

matter (ash ) or other elements which may b e

present in small quantities .

XXI . PRESERVING FOODS

What is the purpose of preserving foods ? Natureproduces foods in greatest abundance at certain

periods of the year , as dur ing the summer .

In temperate regions at other seasons , as during

the winter , under natural conditions no vegetablefoods are produced . Meats , fish , and poultryare available at nearly all seasons of the year ,but are more abundant at certain times than

at others . It follows from this uneven dist ribu

tion of production that if we had no methodof preserving foods we m ight have too great a

supply of food at one tim e and far too little

at another . Hence , for reasons of economy andnutrition , it is necessary t o pres erve foods .

Do all foods need preserving There are some

foods wh ich may b e safely kept a long time ,

Since their natural qualities make them resistantt o decay. Good examples of these foods are theripened kernels of wheat , corn , oats , rye , and

other cereals . When kept dry and free frominsect pests , these foods may b e stored for a

year or longer without becom ing less palatableor less wholesome . In fact , these foods to a

certain extent improve with age . They are

better for m illing and for general handl ing afterthey have been kept a few month s than they are


204 HEALTH READER

to begin to deteriorate from the moment th e

animal is s laughtered , although it may b e many

hours or even days before this deterioration

becomes evident in t he taste and Odor of the

article .

What are the methods of preserving perishab le

foods ? There are several well-known methods

of preserving perishable foods , som e of which

are good and others highly injurious . Inasmuch

as it is the large amount of water in foods thatpromotes deterioration , one of the Oldest and

best m ethods of preserving these products is bydrying. Fruits may b e spread in the warm

sun and in a few days dried sufficiently to keep

a long time . In localities where the air is very

pure and dry , as in Ariz ona and New Mexico ,fresh beef hung up on a po le is dried so quickly

that it will keepit s qualities form onth s . Th isproduct is called

jerked beef .D r ied b e e f ,

we l l-known in

comm e r ce , is

produced by exposing the meat ,

after it is properly salted , to artificial heat or

to the natural drying process of the air .

PRESERVING FOODS 0 5

Usually , artificial heat is used in the dryingof perishable fruits ; that is , the fruits are sub

Drying raisins in trays in the open air

ject ed to hot air at a temperature that wil l notchar or bak e them , but yet dry them out rapidly .

The air is warm ed first by a furnace built forthat purpose . Th is arr 18 then conducted over

the fruit t o b e dried . Ho t air absorbs a great

deal m ore mois ture than co ld air .

In th is coun try the principal foods preserved

by drying are the fruit s . Annually vast quantities of peaches , apples , pears , apricots , and

other fruits are dried . Grapes are also dried ,

the resulting product being known as rais ins .

One of the greatest centers of the dried-fruit

industry is in California . There the long , ho tdays and periods of dry weather make it po ss ibleto dry alm ost all kinds of fruit by means of the

206 HEALTH READER

sunsh ine alone . In rainy countries this dryingprocess is difficult of the rainstorm s

Women preserving fruit by canning

which come Often and with little warning.

Vegetables of various kinds , t oo , are dried,but this industry has not reached any magnitude

because of the difliculty of restoring the driedvegetable to it s natural condition when it is

prepared for eating . Potatoes , sweet corn , and

various succulent vegetables have been driedsucces sful ly, but to no such extent as the fruits .

What is anoth er good method of preserving per

ishab le foods More than a hundred years ago

a French chem ist by the name Of Appert dis

covered the fact that if perishable foods are

heated and kept at the temperature of boilingwater for a certain length of time , and then


20 8 HEALTH R EADER

the product mo st commonly placed in cold stor

age is eggs . Eggs , in m illions of doz ens , are

kept in storage from the time of abundant production , in March , April , and May , until tim es

of need , in December , January, and February .

Fruits of all kinds , particularly apples , are

placed in cold storage in great quantities .

At what temperatures are these foods kept ?

Poultry and fish are kept at a temperaturemuch below the freezing point of water . The

result is that the poultry and the fish become

frozen so lid and remain in that condition in the

cold-storage warehouse unt il sent t o market .

Somet im es meat is also frozen , as , for instance ,

a great deal of the fresh m eat sh ipped fromAustralia to Great Britain . But mo st beef iskept at a temperature just above the freezing

point . Eggs are kept at a temperature at

which they will just escape freezing, the nearer

t o the freezing point the better . Milk and

cream also are kept at temperatures just abovethe freezing po int . Thus by the judiciousapplicat ion of cold , great stores of all kinds offood are preserved in a reasonably good con

dition for future use .

Are there any dangers from the practice of cold

s torage Like every other good th ing , thepract ice of co ld s t orage may b e abused . Foodsmay b e stored for the purpo se of influencing

PR ESERVING FOODS 20 9

prices , and they may b e kept so long they are

neither palatable nor who lesome . Such foods

A modern poultry house and yard

endanger the health of the consum er . These are

abuses wh ich can b e avo ided by proper regula

tion or by an enlightened public sentiment .

How long should foods remain in cold s torage

Th ere is only one answer to th is questionjust as short a tim e as po ssible . There are cer

tain kinds of foods which need t o b e kept in cold

storage only long enough t o secure proper

transportation and sale at the po int where the

foods are consum ed . Such foods as these are

fish and poultry. Th e fish ing season extends

2 10 HEALTH READER

over nearly the entire year , so it is poss ible t osecure reasonably fresh fish at almost all seasons .

Poultry’

can b e produced at all seas ons of theyear , though naturally it is most abundant inthe spring. Eggs and chickens are more abundant then than at any other time , but by t hejudicious distribution

.

of hatching periods , whichis made poss ible by modern methods of poultrykeeping , young chickens may b e produced at allseasons of the year . Poultry is therefore another

food product which should b e kept,in co ld

storage only long enough t o transport it and

sell it . The abuse of cold storage lies chieflyin the practice of keeping these products—fish ,

poultry, and eggs— for too long a tim e in ordert o influence prices or

for other reasons .

Butter is anotherproduct wh ich is more

abundant in the spring

than at any other sea

son . Hence large quantities of butter are putinto co ld storage in thespring t o b e sold duringthe following winter .

There is no objectiont o th is procedure , with either butter , eggs , or

poultry , provided great care is taken to see that

C hurning butter


2 12 HEALTH READER

vinegar . In addit ion to thes e three articlesmany spices are used in pickling , largely becauseof the flavor or taste which they give to theproduct .

The principal ingredient used in the picklingof meats is salt . The great mercantile productknown as

“mess por is the flesh of swine

preserved principally in brine , a strong salt

so lution , or in salt . In the preparation of

pork , as of bacon o r ham , the flesh of the freshly

s laughtered ‘

hog is first treated with salt in

such a way as t o perm eate as nearly as possible

every part of it . When pickling thick pieces ofmeat , like ham s , the salt is injected into the meatwith a syringe , as well as applied externally.

After the salt has thoroughly permeated the

m eat it is put th rough another process , known

as curing . The bacon and the ham s and

shoulders are hung in a room where smoke is

produced usually by burning green wood , pref

erab ly hickory or oak . With the o ld-fashionedmethod of curing , many repeat t he processonce a m onth . But in the great packing housesthe smoking is forced . There the ham s and

bacon are placed in closed chambers at a h ightemperature and large quant it ies of smoke forcedinto them , so that the smoking will occupy Onlya few hour s . That is one reason why these

product s , when prepared in the packing houses ,

PRESERVING FOODS

never reach the grade of excellence found in

p roducts prepared in the Old-fashioned way on

a small scale . The home-cured ham or bacon ,

if properly prepared ,is always superior to that

produced on a large scale . Unfortunately, how

ever , few farm ers understand how to cure meats ,so that Often the home-cured ham is inferior

to the packing-house product .

In order to preserve the red co lor of meats

saltpeter is often used in small quantities at

the tim e of salt ing . Saltpeter has the propertyof producing an artificial color in the muscular

fibers wh ich closely resembles the natural redcolor . Thus when ham or bacon is cut the

muscular fibers are a bright red and resemble

fresh m eat . Th is process is t o b e condemnedfor two reasons : first , because the color is

deceptive ; and second , because chem icals ofth is kind , if used in any considerable quantity,

have a distinctly harmful effect upon the kidneys . Nevertheless , the use of saltpeter in

pickled meats is perm itted by the federal

officials and by the authorities of the variousstates and is practiced extensively .

After ham or bacon has been smoked it iscovered , so that it may b e free from the attacksof insects , and then is left hanging so as t o keepdry . Smoked ham and bacon are h ighly appre

ciat ed as foods in all parts of the world .

2 14 HEALTH READER

Beef is also preserved in the same way as

pork , although not a great deal of it is smoked .

Generally beef is preserved in brine , and whenso preserved it is called “corned beef.

”

C om

mon salt and saltpeter are the chief ingredients

A tomato plant with fruit

used in com ingbeef.0 n e of t h e

preserved vege

table foods in

common use is

known as catchup . Catchup ismade usually oft 0 m a t o e S to

wh ich vinegar ,salt , spices , and

sugar are added

These articles ,however , are not

used in quantities sufficient toprevent the to

matoes in the

ca t chup from

spoiling . Therefore when the cat chup is made

it must also b e sterilized by heat .

To what is the color of catchup due? In catchupthat is properly made the red color is due solely


2 16 HEALTH R EADER

larger fam ilies , or hotels and restaurants , may

safely use larger bottles . Cat chup should not

b e used after the bottle has beenopened more than three or fourdays , unless it is kept in a refrigcrator . In other words , a catchup bottle should b e of such a

Size as to make certain the con

sumpt ion of the contents withinthree or four days . Many cat ch

up s will keep much longer thanthree or four days , but the sooner

A bottle of the catchup is used after th e“m m” bot tle is opened , the better .

What are some of the adulterations of catchup

Some cheap form s of cat chup are made out of

the cores and skins of tomatoes , or out of greenand imperfect stock . But high-grade manufac

turers never indulge in such practices . Pulp

cheaper than that made from tomatoes is also

used t o adul t erate catchup , as for instance thepulp made from pum pkins , and from the cores

and skins of apples . All such adm ixtures as

t hese are regarded as adulterations . Cat chup

is preserved som etim es by using benzoat e of

soda ,but that pract ice is rapidly disappearing .

What is jelly?“Jelly” is the t erm applied t o

the substance derived from boiling a fruit juice

t o wh ich a certain am ount of sugar has been

PRESERVING FOODS 2 1 7

added . This substance after cooling has the

property of hardening to an elastic , gelatinous

mass . Am ong the fruits used for making jelliesare berries , apples , plum s , grapes , and Sim ilarfruits . Since jelly is unusually attractive tothe tast e , it is no t advisable that childrenshould eat it to any extent until they are oldenough t o control their appetites .

The preservation of food product s by the waysand means given constitutes an extensive indust ry and one of great value and importance to allpeople . In regard to the effect of preservedfoods upon health I can only say this , that

there is no treatment to which food can b e

subjected for the purpose of preserving it that

does not to a certain extent injure it in qualityand render it less palatable . In the strictestsense of the word , the preservation of foods ,no matter what the way , is contrary to the best

interests of palatability . However , though theremay b e a s light danger to health from the salt

,

the vinegar , and even from the spices used inthe methods of preserving described , this dangeris so small that it is not a sufficient justificationfor excluding these well-known products fromour food lists .

XXI I . NUTS As FOOD

What is the foodValue of nuts Nuts are thosefood products found among the fruits or seeds

of trees . They are composed chiefly of prot ein

and fat , and therefore have a high food value .

All nuts also contain a considerable quantityof sugar , but only a few , such as the chestnut ,contain much starch .

Are nuts b etter for food when raw than when

roas ted The answer to this question is both

yes and no . Many of our common nuts are pal

atable in the raw state . Especially is this true

of walnuts , hickory nuts , and pecans , all of wh ichbelong to the same general fam ily . The flavor

and c haract er of nut s of this kind are not im

proved by heat . But t here are other nuts whichare much more palatable and aromatic after

being roasted . Am ong these the most impor

tant are the peanut and the chestnut . Both ofthese nuts are great ly improved by roasting .

In fact , the peanut is rarely ,if ever , eaten raw

It then has a harsh , bitt er tast e quite different

from and much less agreeable than that

developed by roasting it . The chestnut is palatable and agreeable both in it s raw and in

it s roasted state , but is considered much moredigestible when roasted


2 20 HEALTH READER

buckwheat . It does not grow So large as th e

acorn , but it is much more palatable , althoughit is rarely found in the markets . Only childrenwho live near a beech forest really understandwhat excellent eating beechnuts are .

A third important nut of the forest is the

h ickory nut . Hickory. nuts are justly esteemed

as among the best and most palatable of all

nuts . The pecan ,which grows only in the

southern part of our country, is one of our

finest nuts . It is not found to any great extent

north of Tennessee and North Carolina , but

grows best south of these states , in Georgia ,

Alabama , Louisiana , Mississ ippi, South Caro

lina , and Florida . The pecan is now beingcultivated in large orchards in various partsof these states . The cultivated varieties are

large , with very th in Shells and correspondinglylarge kernels . This nut is a great favorite witha large class of people .

Many o ther kinds of nuts grow wild , and

am ong these one of the best is the hazelnut .

The black walnut also , with which the Am eri

can boy is acquaint ed , was a very comm on nut

until our walnut forests began to disappear . The

black walnut t ree was always t o b e found on

very fertile land ,in th is respect resembling

the maple . In clearing the land for farm s ,

the early set tlers preferred the richest lands , and

NUTS AS FOOD 2 2 1

so quite naturally the walnut and maple trees

Were the fir st to disappear . N0 longer are the

fa rm e r boy ’

s hand s

stained with t he walnutjuice , once an almost uni

versal condit ion dur ing

walnut gathering tim e in

Oct ober and November ,after the frosts . From

the outer covering of the

walnut our grandfathers

and grandm oth ers ex

tracted a st ain which

they used in dyeing .

The butternut is an elongated walnut withmuch the sam e taste and many of the propert ies

of the walnut . The English walnut is a thin

shelled , cult ivated walnut , wh ich differs in

many respects from the wild walnut of t he

Am erican forests . All these nuts grow on

t rees , except the hazelnut ,‘

which grows on a

shrub or bush .

What is the difierence b etween the peanut and

the nuts that grow on trees ? The peanut is thefruit of an annual plant , and instead of growingabove the ground as other nut s do , it growsunderground . Th e flowers from which the

peanut s develop grow on long , flexible st ems

above ground . These st em s bend to the ground

A walnut tree

2 22 HEALTH READER

and burrow under the surface , where the nut s

form and ripen . The peanut grows best in th esouthern states of our coun

t ry , being raised in greatprofusion in southern Vir

ginia , North Carolina , and

Tennessee .

The peanut is used prin

cipally as a food for human

beings . It is always roasted ,

a process wh ich , we have

already learned improvesit s taste and aroma . The

peanut is one of the im

portant features at Open-air

m e e t ing s , p icn i c s , and

public gatherings of allA “an” 91m“ kinds . The baseball game ,

the football game , the horse race , and the

circus would hardly seem real if the noisy

venders of peanuts and popcorn were not

present to sat isfy the popular demand for these

products . Peanuts are a wholesom e and nutritious food product , but are usually eaten in t oo

large quantities and thus t o a certain extent

unbalance the ration . By th is is m eant that

the quantity of protein and Oil obtained in this

manner exceeds the correct proportion of these

food elem ents necessary for the best condit ion


2 24 HEALTH R EADER

Are there any dangers in eating nuts I have

already po inted out that by eating nuts to

excess you may take in more protein , and

especially more oil , with your food than is

advisable . In addition t o this , you must b ecareful when eating raw nuts t o avoid eating

insects and their eggs . The nut is an ideal food

for certain insects , and the mother insects

understand th is and that is why they bore

through the Shell and lay their eggs inside the

nut . Certain wild nuts , especially the chestnut ,are ap t to b e infected in th is way . Roasting the

nuts is a complet e guarantee against the danger

of taking t he living eggs int o the stomach .

Still , many of us do not like to eat worm s , eventhough they are well cooked .

Fortunat ely , most of the nuts we eat are

eas ily inspected , and the wormis always honestenough t o make itself known when the shell of

the nut is removed . If the nut has been infected

the resul t s are always visible , and with a litt le

at t ent ion it is easy t o guard agains t danger from

th is source . Moreover , the danger is very s light ,since it is not at all likely that any of the

insects or the eggs found in nuts will continue

to develop in the int estines . Yet such thingsdo som et im es happen , especially in children .

Various sort s of worm s infect the alim entarycanal of young persons . Som e of them may b e

NUTS AS FOOD 2 25

harm less , but all are disagreeable and some ,

like the tapeworm , are positively dangerous .

None of these insect pests are natural to the

intestine . They are all introduced from with

out , usually in the form of eggs and generallywith our food .

Hence cooking , while it may injure the taste

of som e foods , prevents insect infection , wh ichis always more or less threatening to health .

Therefore children eating nuts should carefully

inspect them beforehand and reject all that

Show any evidence of insect ravages .

Wh en should nuts b e eaten? A s a rule , nuts

should b e eaten at mealtime . A s a matter of

fact , however , a large proport ion of the nuts

that are eaten , especially by children , are

taken between meals . When only a few are

eaten this is not especially objectionable , but

to eat large quantities of nuts between meals is

not advisable , not because they are nuts butbecause it is not best to add fresh quantities ofundigested foods to tho se which are partlydigested .

XXI I I . BEVERAGES

What kind of b everages should the child use

Children should drink nothing but pure water orpure m ilk . All other beverages are unnecessary ,

habit-form ing , and injur ious .

What is pure drinking water? Pure drinking

water is not exactly the sam e thing as pure

water . Pure water is water that contains

noth ing besides water . It is very diflicult t oobtain . The ordinary distilled water used by

druggists cannot b e said t o b e ent irely pure .

Dist illed water , moreover , is not the best drinking water for ch ildren . For them the idealdrinking water is the spring or well water that

is entirely free from surface contam ination .

Such wat er contains in solution a certain quant ity of those m ineral substances which are

present in the soil through wh ich the water

perco lates or oozes , on it s way down from the

surface .

How much mineral matter is found in good

drinking water The quant ity of m ineral mat terin water varies with the character of the rockswith which the water comes in contact as it

perco lates through the earth . Limestone is

much more readily dissolved than sandstone ,hence lime is usually t he ch ief m ineral found

226


228 HEALTH READER

in so lution by the excess of carbonic acid are

precipitated or released . Thus by the s impleprocess ofboiling, som e hard waters are renderedmore or less soft . Teakettles used for boiling

hard water become incrusted with the precipi

tat ed m ineral . If hard water does not softenby boiling it can b e softened to a considerabledegree by adding wash ing soda or borax . The

addit ion of ammonia to water will also tendto soften it . Water softened in this way mus t

not b e used for drinking .

What is the b es t location for a spring We haveno choice in the location of Springs . Naturehas decided that for us . But we may choosebetween springs , when m ore than one is available . In select ing a spring as a source for

drinking water

th e 10 ca lit y

from which thewaters are b e

lieved to come

should b e care

ful ly inspected .

A spring On theside of an uninhabited h illsideo r m o un t ain

provides an ideal drinking water , cold and clear .

But the water in a spring may really come

A hillside spring

BEVERAGES 229

from a much greater distance than we suppo se .

So it is not always poss ible'

byLinspect ing the immediate neighborhood of a spring to determ inethe character of the soil through which the

waters pass . For this reason we should call onthe geologist , or notice the dip of the strata , or

layers of rock , which will give some indicationof the direction from which the water comes .

The only way'

we can b e sure about thecharacter of water is to have it carefully examined by the chem ist and the bacteriologist .

The chem ist will tell what m inerals the water

contains , and the bacteriologist will tell us

all about the bacteria or organism s which mayb e found in it . Spring water com ing from

uninfected localities will b e almost sterile ; thatis , it will contain almost no living organism s .

The smaller the number of organism s or bact eria

a water contains , the bet t er it is for dr inking.

The wise general in an enemy country does

not perm it his soldiers to drink water until it

has been analyzed . The waters may b e natu

rally bad or may have been purpose ly poisoned .

The Japanese army in Russ ia sent chem ists and

bact eriologists ahead of the troops to put up

notices as to th e waters that m ight be drunk

and those that were to b e avoided .

How much water should children drink The

body requires a greater quant ity of water than

230 HEALTH READER

we can get indirectly as an element in the

foods which we eat . SO the human animal

needs to take a good deal of water in addit ion

to t he food he cat s . The amount need ed

varies with the character of his food , th e

temperature of the atmosphere in which h e

lives , and the amount of physical exercise h egets . The drier and salt ier the food , the greater

the quantity of water needed . The higher anddrier the atmosphere , the greater the quant ity

of water needed ; and the more vigorous th e

exercise , the greater the quantity of water

needed . Thus water would b e required to thegreatest degree in the case of a person who at e

very dry , salty food in ho t weather , and who

at the same time engaged in vigorous manuallabor or violent exercise . It follows that we

need the greatest quantity of water in summ er

and the smallest quantity in winter . A great

deal of water is formed from th e oxidizing , or

burning , of the foods in the body.

When should we drink water A good rule tofollow is to drink when thirsty . Another goodrule is to drink a certain quantity of water at

regular intervals , wh eth er thirsty or not , thusanticipating thirst . Formerly it was quitegenerally believed that we should not drinkwith our meals . Th is idea was a valuable one ,

although recent investigations have shown that


151 HEALTH READER

Young childrenand growing children should drink milk at

Lunching on milk and brown bread

least three tim es

a day . Milk is

n o t o n l ybeverage b ut a

highly valuablefo od . I t co n

t a i n s a b O u t

eighty-seven percent of water ;to that extent

it is a beverage .

But the other

thirteen per centis made up of

certain food ele

ments so ideally

ba lanced that

all the tissues of the body are nourished and

the best possible results secured .

When I see a boy sit ting at a table eatinggood brown bread made of whole-wheat flour ,and drinking pure , clean , fresh m ilk from

healthy cows , my h ear t rejoices , because I

know that boy is getting the best possible food

and in the very best form . When he adds tothat vegetables and fruits and nuts , I rest

ent irely content , for he has all he needs to

BEVERAGES 233

nourish his body and properly promote growth .

Too often children , after the years of infancyand early ch ildh ood are past , abandon the

habit of drinking m ilk . I believe it would bebetter if this habit “were fostered rather thanabandoned . A quart of m ilk a day is littleenough for a growing ch ild . But pure , cleanm ilk is an expensive food . Happy indeed

the family that can keep a cow , especially so

if careful attention is paid to seeing that thecow is healthy, clean , and well fed .

What are the effects of sour milk on health

Most experts believe sour m ilk to b e wholesome ,

and it is especially recomm ended in certainirritated conditions of the stomach in whichordinary fresh m ilk is not tolerated . Many

persons believe that the constant use of sourm ilk , either butterm ilk or ordinary sour m ilk ,

is not /

only wholesome but is conducive to long

life . Wh ile I believe sour m ilk to b e wholesome ,

and to that extent helpful in prolonging life , I

do not believe that a diet of sour milk will

relieve us of all t he ills that neces sarily attend

old age .

Few people live to b e a hundred years Old ,

no matter what they eat or drink , but many

of us could com e nearer to living one hundred

years if we were more careful of what we ate

and drank . Perhaps people who need more

154 HEALTH READER

acid m ight go a much longer way toward th e

century mark if they drank buttermilk or sou r

milk more freely .

What is cofiee

Coffee is the fruit

of a sm a l l tr e e .

The coffee tree is

larger than a bu sh

and smaller than a

tree . Th e coffee

berry is one of th e

m o s t im po r tan tagricultural prod

u c t s o f B r a z i l ,Mexico , Central America , the Hawaiian Islands ,Java , Arabia , and other tropical parts of theworld .

What are some of the principal varieties of

coffee Coffee is sold under the name of the

country from wh ich it comes , or t he name of

the town or port from wh ich it is Shipped .

Som et imes it is sold under a brand or proprietary

nam e given by the dealer . The greater part

of the coffee used in the Unit ed States is grown

in Brazil , whence it is Sh ipped from two great

ports , R io de Janeiro and Santos . The coffee

Shipped by way of R io de Janeiro is calledRio , and that shipped from the Santos harbor

is called Santos coffee . The most celebrated

A coj ee tree


236 HEALTH READER

suitable for making the popular beverage knownas coffee .

What are the active principles contained in

cofiee The aroma and flavor of coffee are

due to certain oils , developed by the roasting .

The coffee berry also contains a cons iderablequantity of sugar , most of which is convertedinto caramel , or burnt sugar , during the processof roasting. It is chiefly th is burnt sugarwhich gives the color and part of the tas t eto the beverage made from the coffee berry.

But the most active principle in coffee doesnot have any noticeable taste or odor . Thisis the element , however , that produces the

exhilaration , animation or liveliness , that isfelt after drinking coffee . The name of this

substance is cafleine. It is the same as the theine

found in t ea . Caffeine belongs to that classof bodies known as alkaloids , other commontypes of which are quinine , morphine , cocaine ,and nicotine . Alkaloids as a rule are poisonous .

Caffeine is not a poison , as that term is generallyunderstood , but it is a substance wh ich may

produce serious injury when taken constantly

or in t oo large quantities .

There is also a considerable quantity of

tannin in coffee . Tannin adds someth ing to

the taste of coffee but little or noth ing to itswholesomeness .

BEVERAGES 15 7

What is the cfiect of cafieine upon health

Grown persons who are strong , vigorous , and

well nourished are able to drink coffee in

moderate quantities without any apparent harm .

With ch ildren the case is quite different . I do

not believe that any child can possibly drink

coffee , even in small quantities , without beingharmed . It is a beverage , therefore , wh ich

should b e rigidly excluded from the diet of

children . In my Opinion no one should drink

coffee before the age of at least eighteen years ,if ever . It would b e better if the habit were

never formed .

Coffee acts especially as a stimulant . If onefeels tired because of physical or mental exer

tion , that is nature’

s signal that one should rest .

If instead of resting the tired person drinks a

cup of strong coffee , the feeling of fatigue will

disappear and he may then undertake additionallabor . Such labor , however , is done at the

expense of tissues already exhausted , and can

not b e regarded as healthful exertion . It is

far better to rest when you feel t ired than todrive away Signals of distress by taking any

stimulant , even one so m ild as coffee . Evengrown persons who drink coffee should do so

in moderation .

Are all people equally susceptib le to the influence

of cofi ee Some people are able to drink large

238 HEALTH READER

quantities of coffee without apparent harm ;others are affected by a very small quantity .

Many grown people who drink a cup of coffeelate at night find as a result that their s leep isdisturbed , often during the entire night . Othersmay drink three , four , or even five cups of coffeeduring the day and not suffer from s leeples sness .

But I do not believe it advisable to take st imu

lants except in emergencies where they will helpto carry one over. a certain period in wh ich extraexertion is absolut ely necessary .

The person who continually works under a

stimulus may not feel it for many years , buthe is almost certain to break down before hisnatural time . The drinking of coffee , therefore ,cannot in most cases b e regarded in any otherlight than as dangerous t o health , and coffeeshould never b e given to children .

What can be said of the practice of tea drinking

There is much difference of opinion among

experts who have studied th is question as t o

which is more harmful , t ea or coffee . In a

question of this kind it is well to give both s idesthe benefit of the doubt .

I am speaking now in the interest of the

child especially. Grown people undoubtedly

have the right t o use t ea and coffee as they see

fit , but even they should use them temperat ely .

The us e of tea and cofieej ends to es tablish a habit .


240 HEALTH READER

A short time ago the health officers of th e

city of Washington issued a circular to t h e

parents whose children attended the pub lic

schoo ls urging them not to allow their ch ildren

to drink t ea or coffee . The circular stated that

ch ildren who were in the habit of drinking t ea

and coffee were restless , more or less disobedient ,negligent of their st udies , and were physicallyunfit to do good work in school . Competent

authorities on diet all practically agree that

ch ildren should not drink t ea or coffee at any

tim e .

What is the ac tive principle contained in tea?

The active principle in t ea is known as theine ,

a substance that is identical with caffeine .

Caffeine is the proper scientific term for both .

Tea , like coffee , also contains large quantities

of tannin . Th is substance acts on the poresof the m embranes lining the intestinal tract ,tending to contract them and stop them up .

This is eas ily proved by placing a little tanninin the m outh . The mouth at once feels , as

we say , puckered . Any one who has eaten a

pers immon that was not ripe understands th issensation or feeling. The unripe persimmon contains large quantities of tannin , wh ich produces

the effect described . Considerable quantities

of tannin introduced into a ch ild’

s stomachin t ea and coffee tend to h inder digestion ,

BEVERAGES 241

produce const ipation , and are thus injuriousto his health . Th is statement is made in the

full knowledge that most of the vegetable foodswe eat contain more or less tannin , and that

it is not possible to exclude it entirely fromthe diet . But we should not take any more ofit than we have to , and above all it is not

necessary to take it in such beverages as tea

and coffee , which are stimulants and in no sense

of the word foods .

Weight for weight , t ea contains more caffeinethan coffee . But the quantity of tea leavesused in making tea is smaller than the quantityof coffee grains necessary to make coffee , hencein a general way we say that a cup of t ea and a

cup of coffee contain about the same quantityo f caffeine .

Where does tea grow? Tea is a plant that

is native to sem i-tropical regions . China and

Japan are great t ea-producing countries . Tea

also thrives in South Carolina , and can b e

grown in other sections of the southern part of

t he United States . But it is cultivated in this

country only near Charleston , South Carolina .

There t he late Professor Shepard developed an

extensive and successful t ea garden .

What part of the tea plant is used in making the

b everage The t ea bough t and sold in stores is

the dried leaf of the t ea plant . Th is leaf is

16

242 HEALTH READER

gathered by hand and dried . It is then ro lled ,

a process often performed by hand . So yo u

Picking tea in a Japanese tea orchard

see it requires a good deal of hand labor prop

erly to harvest and prepare the t ea leaves for

market . For this reason the cultivation of t ea

can b e m ade to pay only in those countries


244 HEALTH READER

indicate the magnitude of coffee drinking in t h e

United States as compared with t ea drinking .

In Russ ia I have gone into bus ines s offices and

into banks and found everybody engaged in

drinking t ea , and had to wait to transact m ybus iness until they had finished . In Russ ia

tea is served in the banks about t en o’

clock inthe morning and at three o ’ clock in the afternoon , when for t en or fifteen m inutes everybodyquits bus iness and drinks tea . Tea is not s o

commonly served in busines s places in Englandbut everywhere in that country in restaurant sand private houses it is served from fourto five o ’clock in the afternoon , and also at

meal s .

The universal use of large quantities of coffee

and t ea cannot b e regarded as harm less . Ex

treme temperance in the use of these beveragesmust always b e observed if the health of t he

drinker is to b e maintained . A s we have alreadysaid , So far as children are concerned , none at

all should b e drunk .

What is cocoa Cocoa is a beverage prepared

from the nuts of a tree , the Theobroma cacao , and

is very h ighly prized throughout the world .

The cacao tree grows only in tropical regions ,and for that reason all the cocoa used in th is

country must b e imported . The nut of the

cacao tree contains an alk aloid s im ilar to that

BEVERAGES 245

of t ea and coffee , namely , theobromine . The

word theobrom ine means food for the gods .

”

C O c o a a l S 0contains small

quantitie s of

caffeine . Theo

b rom in e and

ca ffe in e ar e

closely related

to each other

chem ically and

have a s im ilareffect on the

nerves . Bothare stimulants .

Th eobrom ine ,

however , is much less stimulating than caffeine ,

and for that reason is regarded as much less

dangerous to health .

The cacao nuts , or nibs as they are called ,

contain a great deal of oil and a little sugar .

A considerable amount of nourishment , especially oil , is taken when cocoa is used . Cocoa ,

therefore , has a food value , which is not true oft ea and coffee . But wh ile cocoa is less objec

t ionab le than t ea or coffee , that does no t makeit a good t hing for children . Children do not

need anyth ing of this kind . Milk and water arethe only beverages that should b e given a ch ild .

A cacao branch and nut

246 HEALTH READER

Cocoa is not an extract of the cacao nut , butis made by grinding the whole nut , less aboutone half of it s oil, to a fine powder , to wh ich a

certain quant ity of either milk or water is added

to make a suitable drink . It is used much lessextensively in th is country than either t ea or

coffee , but still a great many of our people

prefer it to either . If grown people think theymust have a st imulus of this kind , it is probably

better that they should drink cocoa than tea

or coffee . Although much m ilder than t ea or

coffee in it s effect , the use of cocoa should

nevertheless b e guided by temperance .

What is chocolate Chocolate is cocoa in a

s lightly different form . The only differencebetween them is that in the manufacture of

cocoa a portion of the oil of the nut is extracted

so that it may b e more easily powdered and

manipulated . In chocolate all of the Oil of

th e cacao nut is retained . Hence chocolate

is,

much m ore nut rit ious than cocoa , becauseof the great er amount of fat it contains . So

far as it s s t imulating effect is concerned ,

chocolate is less stimulating than cocoa , sinceit contains more oil or fat and consequentlyless theobrom ine and caffeine .

What is th e chocolate used as a confection

Choco lat e is used very extensively in the manu

facture of confect ions . It has a dark brown


248 HEALTH READER

that in addition t o these things contain an

alkaloid . Int ermediate between these two thereis another class commonly known as rootbeers .

”

Root beers are supposed to b e made of

extracts from aromatic or medicinal roots , t owhich sugar is added and also a yeast wh ich

produces a sligh t degree of ferm entation . Th e

amount of alcohol in root beers is not large ,

and it may b e some of them contain none at

all . There is another large class of soft drinksknown as

“pop .

”

The soft drink s to wh ich alkaloids have beenadded are known to the trade by many differentnames , but at the present time they consistalmost entirely of those wh ich contain caffeine .

Caffeine is the active principle , as you havealready learned , in t ea and coffee . In t ea

and coffee the caffeine exists naturally in

combination with other elements . This fact

t ends t o lim it it s act ivity . In soft drink s to

which caffeine has been added we find the

pure alkaloid ,wh ich has usually been obtained

from the sweepings of th e t ea factory and fromother wast es from the manufacture of productscontaining caffeine . In th is free state it may

well b e considered more active , and for thatreason m ore dangerous to health , than whenused in it s natural state in t ea and coffee .

A few years ago soft drinks wh ich contained

BEVERAGES 149

co ca ine were sold . But the war against cocaineh as been so vigorous that the sale of all suchdrink s has been pract ically stopped .

Ginger ale is a type of soft drink wh ichcon ta ins no alcohol and no added alkaloid . Itis sup posed to get it s pungency from the use ofan extract of ginger , but quite frequently muchof it s pungency results from the use of extractof cap sicum , or pepper . In fact , pepper ale , orcap s icum ale , would often be a better name for

it th an ginger ale .

What is the cfiect of soft drink s on the health

of th e child Alkaloids are found in some

soft drink s , and these substances are especially

harmful to the child . I do not believe that

children should b e given soft drinks thatcontain alcohol in any quantity , nor any

added alkaloid such as caffeine . The childthat is no t allowed t o use t ea or coffee at

hom e should not b e al lowed to drink soft

drinks containing cocaine , caffeine , or alcohol .

Stores , therefore , should not b e perm itted to

sell ch ildren soft drinks containing these harmful drugs .

Another objection to so ft drink s is that as

a rule they contain large quantities of sugar .

The child does not need any more sugar thanhe gets naturally in such food as milk and fruits .

Neither should such extracts as spices , g inger ,

1 59 HEALTH R EADER

and capsicum , wh ich are used in soft drinks ,have a place in the child ’

s diet . All the sugarand condiments necessary to his welfare are

supplied in the s imple , wholesome food every

child should eat .

What are alcoholic drinks Beverages whichcontain alcohol in any quantity or form are

known as alcoholic drinks . These drinks are

divided into two great classes , fermented b everages and distilled beverages . The ch ief

ferment ed beverages are wine , beer , and hard

cider . Wine , for instance , is made from th e

juice of ripe grapes that has been allowed to

ferment .

What causes th e fermentation The ferm entation of grape juice and other liquids containing

sugar is caused by th e presence of a vegetableorganism wh ich we call yeast . There are many

different kinds of yeast , producing different

flavors , but all of them have th is property in

common they can convert sugar into alcohol

and carbon dioxide . Grape juice contains from

fourteen t o twenty-six per cent of sugar . Whenthe sugar in grape juice is fermented the quan

tity of alcohol produced is about one half‘the

total quantity of sugar . Grape juice containingfourteen per cent of sugar would make a wine

containing approximately seven per cent of

alcohol . On the other hand , if the grape juice


252 HEALTH READER

ch ief cereal used in making beer . Beer mad e

in the United Stat es contains from less thantwo per cent t o a little more than four per centof alcohol . When beer contains less than two

per cent of alcohol it is commonly spoken of as

non-intoxicating . Some people , however , may

become intoxicated by drink ing a quant ity of

beer containing only two per cent of alcoho l .The t erm lager” is applied t o beer wh ich hasbeen placed in storage for some t im e . It

requires from six to twelve month s properly t oage beer .

What is ale ? Ale is the same as beer exceptthat it is made of a h eavier mash and contain sfrom five to eight per cent of alcohol . Byreason of it s h igher content or percentage of

alcohol , ale is much m ore injurious than

beer .

What is champagne Champagne is a wine

wh ich is fermented in sealed bot tles . It is

made in a certain department or division ofFrance only . Epem ay and R heirns are the

chief cities of this region. Wine fermented inth e bottle in other localit ies is known as sparkling

wine . When the corks are removed from the

bot t les containing such wines quantities of gasescape from the liquid , form ing small bubbleswh ich for a long tim e cont inue t o rise to thesurface .

BEVERAGES 155

What relation have these fermented beverages toh ealth In so far as children are concerned , the

u se of fermented beverages is very injurious ! to

h ealth , even when they are consumed in small

quantities . Alcohol is a habit-form ing drug ,and when one once begin s to use it he is ap t

to like it a little better each day , and thus beinclined to take more and more of it . Therein

lies the ch ief danger .

What is grape juice Grape juice is a beveragemade from the unfermented juice of grapes .

The juice is heated so as to kill all the yeasts or

fermenting substances in it , and is then set as ideto allow the solid matters to settle . After a few

days , when the grape juice is bright and clear ,it is put int o bottles , sealed air-tight , and

subjected for a certain length of time t o a

temperature under the boiling point of water .

Juices put up in th is way remain brigh t and

clear , and will keep a lmost indefinit ely untilopened .

Grape juice is no t only a pleasant drink butalso has food properties , due ch iefly to the

sugars it contains . It also has acid properties ,due chiefly to the tartaric acid contained in it .

These acid properties are though t to b e favor

able to healt h , not because of the acid , but byreason of the base—potash—wh ich they carry.

Well-made and well-preserved grape juice and

1 54 HEALTH READER

cider are palatable and wholesom e . They m ay

b e used . occasionally by children , but on ly insmall quantities .

What about distilled liquors The principal dis

tilled beverages are whisky , brandy , rum , and

gin . Wh isky is made from fermented cerea lsin the sam e way that beer is made , except tha t

no hops are added . Aft er the cereals are fully

A small s till for the dis tilla tion of liquorS

ferm ent ed the mash is put into a large copper

vessel and distilled . Th e raw wh isky producedby this process of distillation is then placed inoak barrels and st ored for a number of years .

Usually it requires about four years t o ripen it .

Brandy is made by dist illing wine . It is

therefore an alcoholic product of the grape .

R um is a product dist illed from ferment ed


256 HEALTH READER

not employ anyone who uses alcohol . It doesnot allow alcoholic beverages to be sold on it s

dining cars . Many industries are endeavoringto have only employees who are total abstainers .

Why should a boy form a habit wh ich will

handicap him through life and bring him

prematurely to the grave ?

XXIV . C ONFEC TIONS, SIRUPS, AND PASTRY

What are candies We are coming now to themost diflicult part of our task not actually

difficult to perform , but difficult because of thedisappointment that mus t result . But I musttell the truth about candies and their effectupon health , even though for a time I gain the

ill-will of the children .

Candies are products made chiefly of sugar ,with the addition of coloring and flavoringm at ters , and put up in various shapes and form s

attract ive to the eye . The terms candies”

and confect ions ” do not mean quite the same

th ing , although a candy is always a confectionand a confection may b e a candy. Confectionsare products wh ich may contain fruit in additionto the elements that are used in making candies .

Both candies and confections are often spokenof under the general nam e of confectionery . A

jam or jelly is a confect ion , but not a candy .

On the other hand , any candy , since it is madeup of more than one element , is correctly calleda confection . The word “confection ”

means a

product made by bringing several ingredients

together .

What sugars are chiefly used in the making of

candies The term sugar” when used alone

17 257

2 58 HEALTH READER

means the ordinary sugar of comm erce . Th e

sugar we buy in the grocery store is madech iefly from two plants , the sugar cane and

the sugar beet . Smal l quantit ies of sugar

made from the maple tree may b e found on t h e

market , and in some parts of the world sugaris produced from other plant s , as for instancethe sugar palm . At least four fifths , and po ssib ly a larger proportion , of the sugar usedin the United States is made from sugar cane .

Sugar cane grows in the southern part ofthe United Stat es , especially in Louisiana . Itis found in other stat es , but Louis iana is the

leading state in the Union in the production ofcane sugar . Sugar cane grows luxuriantly in

rich soil that has been properly tilled . It

looks like corn and sorghum . It has a jointedstalk , and often grows to a great height , bear

ing blades at each joint . A s it ripens , the

sugar cane becomes so heavy that it hardlyever stands up straight . It falls over , especially

during a heavy wind , becom ing a tangled mass

that seemingly would make the harvester’

s taskalmost hopeless .

Cuba makes more cane sugar than any other

country. It s annual production of cane sugar

is now about three m illion tons . Over three

hundred thousand t ons of cane sugar are made

in some seasons in Lou is iana , and over five


260 HEALTH R EADER

matters , such as cinnamon , pepperm int , c h o co

late , almond , cocoanut , and other subs t an ces

Pulling homemade tafi’

y

are m ixed with the sugar to give each kind of

candy a part icular flavor . It requires great skill

and long pract ice t o make attractive candies .

C an we make candy at home One of the most

enjoyable pastim es on a cold winter evening

is the making of so-called tafly .

”In former

years , when o ld-fashioned New Orleans m o lasses

was t o b e had , it was easy to get good raw

material suitable for making taffy . Th is is now

a difficul t mat t er . The ordinary s irup so ld for

use at breakfast is not suitable for h igh-grade

t afly . You must first get a genuine sugar-cane

C ONFEC TIONS, SIRUPS, AND PASTRY 261

s irup or good New Orleans molasses if you wish

to make a good first-class , taffy. Then you

must boil the molasses or s irup , stirring care

fully so as not to let it scorch , until a spoonful

dropped into cold water makes a waxy , hardmass . The boiling s irup is then poured into

greased plates and set in a cool place un til it

begin s to harden . It is then taken out and

pul led vigorously . During this proces s it takes

in a large number of small air particles and

changes in color to yellow or , when the s irupis very pure , alm ost to white . Such taffy is

excellent from the candy eater’

s point of view.

It is no t so easy to make fancy candy at

home , but candies like fudge are made there

extens ively.

Are injurious sub stances used in making candy?

Unfortunately , yes . Within the last few years

some candies have been coated with a soluble

g'

um in order to give them a certain gloss or

finish . Th is coating has sometimes been found

to contain arsenic , wh ich is dangerous to thehealth of the consum er . The dyes that were

formerly used were uncert ified coal-tar dyesand as such were more or less poisonous . For

tunat ely , the food laws have pract ically suc

ceeded in stopping the use of such materials .

To-day a number of manufacturers use onlypure vegetable substances in making candies .

262 HEALTH READER

Moreover , their candies , which are high ly at

tractive in color and glazing, contain no poison

ous substances and are so made that from t h e

stand point of purity they are perfectly safe .

The ingredients them selves used in making

candy may b e regarded as harmles s . That is ,there is in them no special danger . Sugar ,chocolat e , spices such as cinnamon and pepper

m int , honey, butter , and such other substancescannot b e regarded as harmful .Candies are also made to a cons iderable extent

of glucose , a product derived from the starch ofIndian corn or of the potato by treating it withan acid at a high temperature . Most authorities regard glucose as harmless . However ,since glucose is an unnatural sugar , that is , asugar not made in the natural way , I believeit may contain properties that are injuriousto health . It is a well-known fact that very

young animals , such as m ice and ch ickens , fedwith glucose instead of ordinary sugar , do not

thrive . Th is is true also of bees . So,if I were

prescribing candy for children (which I neverdo) , I should prefer to recomm end candieswhich contain

'

no glucose .

In conclusion I may say that , owing to theefficiency of state and national laws , well-madecandy , when it is eaten in moderation , may b e

regarded as harmless for grown people .


264 HEALTH R EADER

blood , nature robs the teeth to strengthen t h e

bones , and thus in early childhood the t e e t h

deter iorate . Even t h e

first set of teeth may b e

soft and prone t o de c a y ,

and pr em atu re d e c a ythreatens no t only t h e

tooth attacked but t h e

permanent tooth that is t o

com e after . Hence du r

ing the teeth ing perio d ,

wh ich lasts up to t en o r

twelve years , the quan

t ity of sweets that is ,

A bad set of teeth . Not candy which should b e”with“0 ' 1”my given to the ch ild is bes t

represented by zero . If the ch ild never acqu ire s

a sweet t ooth ” as it is called , he will not cry for

sweets . He will b e content to eat the foods in

wh ich nature has provided all the sugar h e needs .

Candy , therefore , in any form or shape ,is injuri

ous to the teeth and is in my opinion not suitablefor young ch ildren or for growing ch ildren .

What is meant by the word“sirup

” ? Th e t erm

sirup properly applied means a product con

sist ing essent ially of sugar made by the evapor

at ion of the sap or juice of a sugar-producing

plant unt il it becom es a thick , som ewhat viscid

or st icky m as s . The m o st comm on sirups in


use in the United States are made from the'

sap of the maple tree , sorghum , or sugar cane .

These products are called maple s irup , sorghumsirup , and cane s irup . The sap of the sugarbeet , although it carries

.

a large quantity of

sugar , does not make a palatable sirup becauseof the large quantity of m ineral salts , mostly

potash,soda , and lime , contained in it . Whenth is sap is evaporated to the consistency of asirup it tastes bitter or salty and is not com

mouly used for food .

Are there any other kinds of sirups b esides thos e

m entioned Unfortunately , most of the s irupson the market in our country are not the pure

products mentioned above . Maple sirup , sor

ghum s irup , and cane s irup have distinct iveflavors and qualities which enable even one who

is not an expert to distinguish one from the

other . Nearly every one in th is coun t ry is

fam iliar with the taste of maple sirup , it s flavor

and it s qualities . All,those people who live

along the Ohio River especially , and those wholive in K ansas , Missouri , and Illinois , are

fam iliar with the taste and flavor of sorghum

sirup . The people of the country living in the

southern s tat es , especially in Texas , Louisiana ,

Alabama , Mis sissippi, Georgia , Florida , and

South Carolina , are fam iliar with the taste and

flavor of cane sirup .

266 HEALTH READER

Unfortunately , these excellent products are

employed as a flavor for making manufactur ed

s irups , when they are m ixed with large quantities

of glucose .

What is glucose Glucose is a thick , sirup y

product , alm ost or quite colorless , which is

produced from starch , mos t ly derived from corn .

We have already learned how this product is

used in the manufacture of some kinds of candy .

Glucose is faintly sweet , but is otherwise

flavorless , and is not sufficiently palatable to

b e eaten alone . When mixed with one of th e

sirups mentioned it acquires the character and

flavor of the particular sirup of wh ich it becomes

a part . It dilutes or th ins the s irup , adds to it sbulk , ligh t ens it s color , and makes an attractiveproduct wh ich is used extensively throughout

the country. Melted brown sugar is also used

as a sirup . It is often mixed with gluco se , orwith some of the genuine sirups that havealready been mentioned .

Wh en you go to the grocery st ore and buy a

sirup it may or may not b e correctly labeled.

That will depend upon the strictness with whichlaw is enforced and the honesty of the manufacturer and the dealer . The chances are thatifjyou simply ask for a sirup you will get neithermaple , sorghum , nor cane s irup , but such a

m ixture as we have described . These mixed


268 HEALTH READER

and teeth and other tissues of the body and

in producing the alkalinity of the blood whichis needed to help the heart and other organs dotheir work . So it is plainly to be seen t h at

if one desires to eat sugar it is best eaten in t h eform of natural sirups , because of the mineral

nutrition wh ich they afford . The lime and t h e

potash , elements found in s irups , are not t h e

only m inerals they contain . Traces of iron ,

magnesia ,soda , s ilica , and other m inerals wh ich

are in solut ion in the soil are present in th e

sirups , and these m inerals are also aids to

nut rit ion . Candies made from these s irups are

to b e preferred to all others for ch ildren . Ch il

dren m ight b e perm it ted the moderate use of

such candies made from pure maple , sorghum ,

or cane sirup , pr'

ovided that the habit of eat ing

sweets does not become so strong that they

crave larger quant ities than are good for them .

How does sirup aflect the health Th is questionhas already been answered more or les s com

p let ely . Natural sirups are wholesome whennot eaten in too great quantities . When any

one engages in act ive play or manual laborthese sirups may b e eaten without fear of in

jurious result s . If the sirups are eaten witho ther things that are rich in protein or fat theymore nearly form a balanced ration . Sirupsmay therefore b e eat en with advantage with


cakes made out of cereals rich in‘

protein , espe

cially so if butter is also used on the cakes . We

then have a more or less well balanced ration .

The butter furnishes the fat , the cereals furnish

t he starch , the protein , and a part of the m ineral

m atter , and the sirup furnishes the sugar and

also a considerable quantity of mineral matter .

If ch ildren eat sugar at all it should b e eaten

in this way , but always in moderation . These

s irups may b e regarded as wholesome , as no t

in any way endangering proper nutrition , and

therefore as healthful .

On the other hand , the s irups made out of

m elted wh ite sugar , or the sirups composed

m ostly of glucose , a product formed by violentchem ical action and not by natural proces ses ,are not to b e regarded as eith er so wholesome

or so desirable as the pure s irups .

Glucose contains almost no m ineral matt er

except common salt . Salt is a wholesome and

necessary ingredient of our food , and h ence isnot objectionable in the quantities in wh ich it

is present in glucose . Nevertheless we can get

plenty of salt from other kinds of foods , and it

should no t b e necessary to eat glucose in order

t o get it . On the oth er hand , the true sirupscontain a large number of m ineral ingredients ,all useful in digestion and nutrition , wh ich are

not present in the manufactured s irups .

2 7° HEALTH READER

What is honey All plants produce m ore o r

less sugar during their growth . Some are knownpart icularly as sugar-producing plant s becauseof t he large quantity of sugar they contain .

Among these are the maple tree , the sugar palm ,

sorghum , sugar cane , and many varieties of gar

den beets and other garden vegetables , sw eet

corn ,melons , fruits , and grapes .

At the t ime of flowering alm ost all plant s g ive

out a large quantity of sugar in connection with

the bloom . The sugar , or nectar as it is called ,at t ract s the visits of bees and other insect s

that gather honey for food . These insect s in

passing from flower to flower carry the pollen,

which fruct ifies or fertilizes the flower and


27 2 HEALTH READER

largely from the wild sage of the deserts and

from the flowers of the many fruit t rees .

Is honey a good food Honey is a food whichdepends for it s value on the sugar it conta ins .

Therefore it is an unbalanced ration and should

be eaten in moderation , especially by children .

Honey contains very little m ineral matter , t he

sugar gathered by bees being remarkably pure .

So honey is not so well adapted to promote t he

growth of the body as s irups made from t h e

maple tree , sorghum , or sugar cane . Honey

should b e eaten very sparingly by children ,

but for grown persons who do hard work it isan excellent food , as it furnishes a large am ount

of heat and energy .

Is honey good for the health ? Pure honey,when

eat en in small quantities , cannot b e regarded

as harmful or injurious t o health . But some

times the bees gather poisonous substances , orin some way introduce poisonous matter intohoney , so there are cases on record of severepoisoning due t o the eating of honey . For th isreason it is always advisable to eat honey

temperately , for even good honey if eaten in

t oo large quant ities may cause severe illness .

The taste of honey is so at tract ive that it isdifficult to control the appet it e for it . For thisreason , when ch ildren eat honey the quantitythey are allowed to have should b e measured

C ONFEC TIONS, SIRUPS , AND PASTRY 2 73

o ut by their parents and no more should b e

g iven , even if the ch ildren cry for it . Otherwise

Homemade pastry. Making pies

t he result s from eating honey may b e serious .

What is pastry The term “pastry is the

nam e given to such foods as pies , patties , and

tarts . First a holder or cont ainer is made froma dough of wheat flour to which a large amountof fat , or shortening , has been added . This

ho lder or container is then filled with fruits ,meat s , sugar , spices , or other th ings , and baked .

Past ry is served at the end of the meal , as

dessert . Usually when we com e to pastry wehave already had enough to satisfy our hunger .

So the pastry we eat is only an added burdento digestion , which is really t he chief object ion

18

2 74 HEALTH READER

to it s use. However , if we stop eating while

st ill a little hungry, and then have th e p as try,no harm will be done , for there is no greatobjection to a moderate use of such food . This

is especially true of fruit pies .

In England by the term pie is u sually

meant only pastry in which the filling con s is t sof meat . In this country the term p ie is

used no matter what the filling m ay b e . In

fact , most of our pies are made with vegetable ,fruit , or custard filling, a very small propo rt iononly being made with meat fil ling . Evenm ince pie , which is supposed to contain m eat ,

generally contains very little of it , espe cially

if it is not made at hom e . The fil ling is principally made up of fruits , ral sm s , sugar , and

s im ilar things .

Small fruits , especially berries and ch erriesin season , are used largely in the making of pies .

Pies are usually made in a certain shape and

of a'

un iform size , being commonly in the formof a disk , from six to eight inches in diameterand nearly an inch thick . Though pies are

usually th is size and form , they may have othershapes .

The fil lings used in p ics made in this count ry

are ch iefly apple , peach , cherry, blackberry ,raspberry, pumpkin , custard , lemon , and m incem eat . Strawberries are often served in a kind


2 76 HEALTH READER

enz ymes are digesting agents in the mouth and

stomach which are necessary'

for the diges tion

of such foods . In the same way the particle s

of fat may b e carried into the small intes tine

so closely interm ingled with undigest ed protein

or starch as to cause difficulty or delay in th e

digestion of the fat . Thus it is reasonable t o

suppose that the m ixing together ‘ of fat and

flour in piecrusts to a cert ain extent makes t h em

difficult to digest . So pastry, although it m ay

b e highly nutritious , cannot b e recomm ended

as an easily digest ed food . It should b e eatenin moderation , and if one has already had food

enough completely to satisfy hunger when t he

pastry is served , then it should not b e eaten

at all .

To avoid overea t ing it has been suggestedthat pastry should b e served at the beginning of

a

"

meal and not at the end . But I hardly ap

prove of th is suggestion . The principal objectof eating is to nourish the body . Hence ,

in

th e order of eat ing , those foods wh ich are best

suited for our nourishm ent should b e given the

preference . To my way of th inking i t would

b e better if past ry were not served at all , or,

if served , it should b e given in smaller quantities ,especially t o ch ildren . Past ry should b e eaten

under the sam e restrictions as sirups or preserves .

At least , the growing ch ild should eat very litt le

C ONFEC TIONS, SIRUPS , AND PASTRY 2 7 7

o f it , while the hard-working grown person may

e at it more freely.

What is ice cream It is difficult to define a

p roduct which is made in so many different ways

Freez ing ice cream at home

and out of so many different materials . I candefine an ice cream which to my mind is properlycalled ice cream and is made out of the rightkind of materials . Such ice cream is a product

made by mixing with cream the proper amount

of sugar and harm less flavoring matter and thenfreezing the m ixture . It should contain no

less than fourteen per cent of fat . A m ixtureof salt and ice is used for freezing the cream .

What is th e food value of ice cream The food

value of ice cream is high , but it is not a well

balanced ration . The cream it self containsnitrogen (protein) , but terfat , and m ilk sugar ,

278 HEALTH READER

the percentage of fat beingx

very high . In

standard cream the content of fat is never les s

than eighteen per cent . To this cream is added

a certain amount of sugar , a food which furnisheslarge quant ities of heat and energy. Ice cream

contains only very little protein and m ineral salt

(potash , phosphoric acid , lime) . Thus it is a

food which furnishes great quantities of fatheat, and energy, and is well suited for grownpeople who take a good deal of physical exercise , but is not well su ited to the nour ishm ent

of growing children It should b e eaten spar

ingly by children if injury to health is to b eavoided . But children under the age of five

years should not eat ice cream .


280 HEALTH READER

dist il led water to remove any material that

might nourish the plant . The threads in t h e

cloth must b e far enough apart to leave space

for young rootlets to grow down into the water .

On top of the cloths place a number of grain sof wheat , and set the two basins in a dark placewhere the temperature is not below fifty-five or

sixty degrees . When the wheat has sprouted

and is fully developed , bring the bas ins out int o

the light . The sprouts will soon turn green , and

the roots will reach down through the clothinto the water . Gradually the grains of wheatwill disappear , leaving only the hulls . Thenthe growth of the plant will cease .

Now add a little phosphate of soda , a littlepowdered gypsum ,

and a little nitrate of potash

to the water in one of the bas ins . Then wat ch

what takes place .

In the basin where you added the plant food

the plants will grow vigorously as long as the

plant food lasts . The young plants in the

other basin , where no nour ishment was added ,

will die . In the first case you fed the plant ;in the second you starved it . Corn or any

other cereal may b e used for this experiment .

When an animal is born it can live two or

th ree days without any nourishment . '

But

very soon thereafter , if no food is given it ,the young animal will die . Given the proper

HOW DO WE GROW? 281

nourishm ent , it wil l not only live , but it willcontinue to grow. Thus we see that in orderto live and to grow both animals and plants must

have an adequate supply of food .

How may the foods of animals b e clas sified ? In

class ifying foods suitable for animals , we findfive principal divisions : Mineral foods (lime

,

phosphat e , soda , potash ) , nitrogenous foods

(protein) , carbohydrates (sugar and starch) , oilsand fats , and condiments (seasonings) . Allthe food we eat may b e classified under thesefive heads .

Foods may also b e classified according to

other standards . Most foods may b e classifiedas animal or vegetable products . With regard

to their preparation they may b e classified as

cooked or raw foods . Clas s ifying foods according to their natural form we have meats , poultry ,fish , game , cereals , m ilk , fruits , vegetables ,and nuts . With regard to the various form sin which they are prepared for use they may

b e classified as flour , bread , butt er , cheese ,cream , cured meats , smoked meats , dried fruits ,canned fruits , canned vegetables , breakfastcereals , and prepared foods such as jam s , jellies ,and preserves .

In our discussion of foods we shall beginwith the m inerals .

282 HEALTH READER

A STUDY OF MINERAL FOODS

What are the chief minerals contained in foods

Nearly all the mineral substances that are

present in the soil are also present in vegetableproducts . Animals must have some of thesem ineral foods in ord er to live ; others are valu

able at certain times and under certain conditions The m ineral substances that

\

animalsmust have are phosphoric acid , lime , iron , soda ,

potash , iodine , and magnes ia .

What foods contain the most iron? Some kinds of

food contain a great deal more iron than others .

Of the vegetables , spinach is believed to con

tain the largest amount . There is also muchiron in the cereals , and traces of it are to b efound in most of the foods we eat .

Is there any danger in talfing too much mineral

sub stance into the body The rule that applies toall other foods when taken in excess also appliesto m ineral substances . If more m inerals are

taken into the body than are required for it sproper nourishm ent and growth , the body must

get rid of t he excess . This is done by the

excretory organs of the body, especially the

kidneys . Thus if an excess of m inerals is takeninto the body a greater burden than usual isplaced on the excret ory organs , and th is , ifcont inued , may prove harmful .

A s a"

general rule the m ineral content of our


284 HEALTH READER

ninety-six and a half per cent is water , it is

evident that a little more than one fourt h of

the total amount of dryfood in m ilk is prote in .

In cheese the proport ion

of protein is cons iderably

greater than in m i lk .

There is also a large quantity of fat in cheese .

Another food containing a large proportion ofprotein is the egg . Th e

wh it e of an egg is m ore

th an s even ty p e r cen twat er . Th e rem ainder ,or thirty per cent , consists

largely of protein . The

yolk of an egg contains less water than the white

of the egg ,and also much less protein . A large

part of t he yolk of the egg consists of fat .

Among the vegetable foods , peas and beansare rich ln prot ein . Among the cereals , oatscontain the highest proportion of protein and

rice the lowest . Not more than seven per cent

of the content of rice is protein . From t en tofifteen per cent of the content of wheat isprotein , wh ile Indian corn contains less proteinthan wheat , or t en per cent , and barley and

rye alm ost as much .

Pea pods

HOW DO WE GROW?

While peas and beans are very rich in protein , the amount in other vegetables is comparat iv e ly s m a l l .

The percentage

of protein in the

p o ta t o is a l s o

sm al l . Fru it s

and su ccu lent

vegetables als0\

contain a com

p arat ively smallamount of pro

tein . Nuts , and6i seeds sucha s cotton s e edand f lax s e e d ,

conta in m u chprotein . From Bean Pods

th is we learn that if we should lim it our diet toa s ingle food we m ight select one with a veryh igh content of protein , such as oats , peas , or

beans , or we m ight select one with a very low

cont ent , such as rice , potatoes , or fruit s . But

if we know the proport ion of protein in the

various kinds of food we can select them so

as to get the exact amount of prot ein neededfor our sustenance and growth .

How much protein should we eat a day Thisis a quest ion that has been the subject of much

286 HEALTH READER

discussion Some experts claim that we sh ould

eat a large quantity of protein ; oth ers c laim

that a small amount is better . The p rop er

amount is probably found between thes e two

est imates .

A man who weighs about one hundred fi ft y

pounds and is engaged in active work n e ed s

from three and two tenth s to four and t h ree

t enth s ounces of protein a day . In a la ter

chapt er we shall discuss the quantity of differ en tfoodstuffs necessary to provide that amoun t of

pro t ein .

Are there diflerences in the nutritive qualities of

proteins The proteins in different kinds of

food , both animal and vegetable , differ in nut r i

t ive value . Comparing the body to a hou se

built of brick or stone the protein may aptly

b e regarded as the bricks or stones , ou t of which

t he structure is built . Protein is the es sentialmat erial composing the muscular t issues of th ebody. It is also a very important element of

the nerves and the brain , and is one of th e ch ief

substances in the blood . Protein is almost thesole content of the hair , the nails , and the skin .

It is a very important element in the bones of

the body. It is found , although in small quant it ies , even in the fats of the body. Thus thestat em ent that protein is the principal buildingmat erial in the bodily structure is fully just ified.


288 HEALTH READER

find differences in the protein bricks out o f

which the bodily structure is built .

Among the best protein bricks with which t o

build the human body are those made from t h e

casein of milk and the gluten of wheat . Th e

protein of Indian corn , if no other“clay is

m ixed with it , makes the poorest bricks .

The proteins them selves are not bricks or

building stones of the body any more than beds

of clay or unquarried rocks are bricks or buildingstones of th e house . Just as bricks are moldedand baked in the kiln , the proteins are treatedin the digestive apparatus and made into

building stones ” or bricks suitable for the

bodily st ructure .

When proteins are used in the body, wh ether

they are built into the tissues or are oxidizedor consumed directly in the blood s tream , a

waste mat erial form s (urea) wh ich is more or

les s injurious or poisonous . For this reason not

more of this building material than is reallynecessary for the growth and nutrition of t he

body should b e used .

The foods containing the largest proport ions

of protein are the mos t expensive , with the

exception of a few fats (butter , olive oil) . A

nat ion that produces plenty of food , or has

plenty of money with wh ich t o buy food ,is ap t

to use the most expens ive foods , such as meats ,

HOW Do WE GROW? 289

egg s , and milk. Therefore the people of such a

nation are apt to eat more protein than is goodfo r th em . On the other hand , if a nation

p rodu c es little food , and has little money withwh ich t o buy . food , it must content itself withfood s t hat are poor in protein , such as rice ,Indian corn , and potatoes . The people ofsuch a nation no doubt get less of the buildingm ater ia l than they need . But the nationwh o s e resources perm it it to take the m iddlecour s e between these two extremes will havet h e advantage , s ince the people will get enough

pro t e in for building purposes and at the same

tim e avoid an excess of waste material .G rowing ch ildren need more protein than

grown people . They must not only replace

old building mat erial , but they must alsoprovide building material for new growth .

They must have material to repair the old

building and at the same time bricks for the

additions . For this reason the diet of ch ildrenshould contain proportionately a larger amountof protein than t hat of grown people . Milk ,

the natural food of the infant , contains a

relatively small proportion of protein , because

nature did not intend infants to grow veryrapidly . Mother

’

s m ilk contains a smaller

proportion of protein than does the m ilk ofthe cow , s ince nature intended that the calf

19

290 HEALTH READER

should grow more rapidly than the human infant .

When children reach the age of six or seven

years they begin t o grow rapidly. Then cow’

s

m ilk is better for them than the milk that was

suitable when they were infants . There shou ldb e an abundance of protein in the food of a

child during the period of rapid growth , which is

usually between the ages of seven and seventeen

years . Aft er the sevent eenth year the am ountmay b e diminished with safety.

The amount of prot ein suitable for children

of different ages will b e taken up later .

A STUDY OF C AR BOHYDRATES

What is the function of the s tarches and sugars

contained in foods Starches and sugars m akeup the greater part of human foods so far as

weight and bulk are concerned . The ch ief

function of the carbohydrates (starch and sugar)in nutrit ion is to produce heat and energy . At

the same time the carbohydrates aid in th e

digestion and ass im ilat ion of other food sub

stances and , to a certain degree , in form ing fatt issues in the body. Because starch and sugar

produce heat and energy when consumed o r

burned in the body , the carbohydrates are

called fuel .Nature intended that all the different classes of

food—protein , the carbohydrates , fat , m inerals ,


292 HEALTH READER

starch , together with cons iderable quantities

Among the cereals , rice leads in s tarchbearing propert ies , about eighty per cent of thecontent of rice being starch . Among the other

cereal s , Indian corn contains the larges t am ount

of starch , and oats probably the smallest But

all of them contain considerable quantities .

The content of starch in the cereals ranges from

eighty per cent in rice to sixty-five per cent in

oatmeal . Thus we see that the principal food

product in cereals , so far as quantity is con

cerned , is starch .

There are many prepared foods in the market

that are almost pure starch . M ong th ese

we find tapioca , cornstarch , cassava starch , and

arrowroot . They are used extensively in prep ar

ing puddings and custards . A s far as value isconcerned , such foods are excellent for t he

production of heat and energy . They also

promote the work of other food substanceswhich aid in growth and in the restoration of

tissue , though them selves of little value in thatwork .

The starch used in this country is produced

principally from corn . In Europe the principalsource of starch is the potato.

A s we grow up our need for carbohydratesincreases .

‘ 3This is a natural result of t he greater

HOW DO WE GROW? 293

d em ands made on the system for heat and

e n e rgy , furnished so abundantly by t he carboh y drates . Thus the proportion of starch and

s u g ar in the diet of the grown person should b em u ch greater than the proportion found in

m ilk , t he ideal food for the infant and the child .

How can the carbohydrates aid in th e digestion

an d assimilation of other foods ? This is eas ily ex

p la ined . The human body requires a varied

d ie t , consisting of the five classes of food

p r oduct s already m entioned . This is a normal

o r natural requirement . The different organs

o f t h e human body can do their work best only

w h en the food is of the normal quality and

qu antity . Any departure from this must neces

sarily b e more or less injurious to the whole

sys tem .

The t ruth of this is evident in s ickness , when

it is necessary to alter the proportion of the

different classes of foods in the diet so as t o

m eet the condit ions brought about by the

disordered functions of the body . In som e

diseases it is advisable t o restrict in great

m easure the quantity of carbohydrates (sugars

and starches) in th e food . If this restriction is

carried to a certain degree ,improvement takes

place . On the other hand , if the carbohydrates

are entirely taken away the effect may b e , and

usually is , decidedly harmful .

294 HEALTH READER

In building a house various materia ls are

required wood , lime , sand , stone , b ricks ,nails , iron and lead pipes , and furnaces . Wh enthe proper amount of materials is used t h e resul t

is a house of good appearance and qualit y ,

suitable to live in , and comfortable . Th e

result would b e quit e different if some m at erials

were left out altogether and others were us ed in

excess ive quantities . If bricks were used w it h

out mortar , the house would soon fall to pieces .

If an excess of wood were used , th e house migh t

take fire from the furnace , and so on with

every single material used'

in the building of

the house . This is an illustration of whathappens when we eat too much of one kind

of food and t oo little of another . Our food sshould b e so selected as to furnish all th e

materials needed , and al l in the correct propor

tion for the proper development and growthof the body.

A STUDY OF FATS AND OILS

How are fats and oils us ed in body building A

cons iderable proportion of the foods we eat ,

both vegetable and animal , cons ists of fat s and

oils . The term s“fat

”and

“oil” apply to t he

sam e substance , although there is a distinctdifference between the two . The term “

fat is

applied t o a solid oil , that is , an oil that is solid


296 HEALTH R EADER

life-insurance men it has been estimated t h a t

if a man six fee t tall weighs two hundred fo r typounds that is fifty to seventy-five pounds m o r e

than he ought to weigh we may expect that h is

life will b e shortened by about four years . In

some cases life would b e shortened much m o r e

than this , and in other cases less .

What is the proper weigh t for grown persons o f

a given height? Various authors have construct e d

tables t o show the proper weight for grow n

persons of a given height . Th e table below is

from the Laboratory Manual of Dietetics b y

Dr . Rose , and is taken by her from the Medica l

R ecord of September 5 , 190 8:

v OND’

s TABLE or HEIGHT AND WEIGHT FOR MEN

AT DIFFERENT AoEs‘

(Based on accep ted appl icants for life insurance )15-24115-29 3 0

-343 5-39 45-49 50—5455-59 M 4

1 20 12 5 128 13 1 134 134 134 13 1

12 2 126129 13 1 136138 138 134124 128 13 1 133 138 138 138 13 712 7 13 1 134 136 141 141 141 140

13 1 13 5 138 140 144 145 145 144134 138 141 143 147 149 149 148

138 142 145 147 151 153 153 153142 147 150 152 156158 158 158

146151 154 157 161 163 163 163150 155 159 162 166167 168 168154 159 164 167 17 1 172 1 7s 174159 164 169 1 73 17 7 17 7 180 180

165 170 175 1 79 182 183 185 1851 70 17 7 181 185 189 188 189 1891 76 192 196194 194 192

181 190 195 20 0 204 20 1 198

HOW DO WE GROW? 297

A STUDY OF THE BALANC ED RATION

What is meant by a balanced ration? Whenb uilding a house the builder always begins bym aking an estimate of the exact amount ofevery kind of material that will be needed . Itwould b e very foolish for him to buy a great

quantity of lumber and bricks and not buy any

sand , mortar , and nails . So the wise buildercalculates very carefully the quantity of eachkind of material he must have in order to com

p let e the building . A s a result , when he beginshis work he will have on hand just the right

am ount of all mat erials , even to the paint s ,varnishes , and trimm ings . When his work iscompleted there will b e very little buildingmaterial left over .

At the same tim e the wise builder always t riesto make certain that he has enough mat erial .It would b e better for him to have a little t oo

much than no t enough . Too little of any one

kind of building m at erial m ight b e very co stly ,since the whole work would have to b e delayed

until the additional mat erial could b e bough t .

The house builder , in other words , secures h is

mat erial in such quantities that he has enoughof each and every kind , no matter h ow small

or how large a quant ity is necessary for the

work that is to b e done .

This principle holds good in supplying food

dos HEALTH READER

material for building up the body. We m u st

endeavor to supply all the necessary m ate r ia ls ,and in such quantities that there will b e ne it h er

too much nor too little of any kind of mat e r ia l .

We then have what is called a balanced rat io n .

Yet , as in the case of the house builder , it is

bet t er to have a lit t le t oo much than not eno u g h

of any s ingle article . But the excess shou ld b e

lim ited to the smallest possible amount , so t h a t

aft er the food is consum ed and digestion is

complete , very lit tle wast e will b e left . In th is

way the needs of nut rit ion will b e fully and

econom ically sat isfied .

How many kinds of materials are required for

body building ? It has been es t imated that from

twelve to fifteen different substances are re

quired in the process of nut rition . Some of th esethings are s im ilar in character t o the paints ,varnishes , decorations , and t rimm ings used inthe bu ilding of a house They may b e left outwithout mat erially affect ing the s tability of th ebuilding , but neither the building nor the body

would b e quit e complet e or who lly presentablewithout these th ings .

If we select our common food product s wisely ,

and in the correct proport ions , we°

secure all

the twelve t o fifteen substances needed in nutrition . If we do not use wisdom and judgm entin our selection , some essent ial substances will


30 0 HEALTH R EADER

t he case of other useful substances , an exces s of

salt is injurious . N0 more salt should b e u s edthan is necessary for proper relish or season ing

purposes . Salt is used with some foods and

not with others . It is used , almost universal ly ,

in bread , with vegetables and meats , and in

butter and cheese . On the other hand , we d o

not usually put salt on fruits or in milk .

Other condiments , such as peppers , spice s ,

and mustard , are commonly used with m eat s .

Some are used with eggs and vegetables , esp ecially in salads . These condiments are generally added in small quantities , otherwise t h e

foods would b e t oo s t rongly seasoned to su it

the taste . Wood smoke , as you have already

learned , is a condiment used in curing meat s ,

such as ham and bacon . Th is condiment hasa double purpose ; it preserves the meat frominfection by insect s and bact eria and also addsa flavor that is well lik ed .

With the exception of salt , the condim ent s

form a very small proportion of our food .

Probably they do not exceed one twentieth or

one fifteenth of one per cent of the total ration .

The precaut ion with regard to the use of salt

applies t o the use of all condiments . They

should all b e used sparingly , just enough properly t o s t imulate the glands that supply the

digestive ferment s .

HOW DO WE GROW? 30 1

W hat should b e the relative proportions of the

ch ie f food ingredients ? Assum ing that the mine ra l substances and condiments are present int h e correct quantities , we must now consider

t h e correct proportions of prot eins , carb ohy

d ra t es , and fats in a balanced ration . Experi

en c e as well as a careful study of the food supply

o f h uman beings under various conditions and

in various countries has revealed the quantities

in which these food substances should b e present

in o rder to make a balanced ration .

Th e standard ration of dry food for a man

w e ighing one hundred fifty pounds is one poundand a half , or 640 gram s . For a ration in

which there is a generous"

proportion of protein ,

th is 640 gram s should consist of 120 gram s of

p ro tein , 440 grams of carbohydrates (sugar and

s tarch) , and 80 gram s of fat or oil . Th is is con

s idered the proper proportion of ingred ients in a

we ll-balanced ration .

Specialists in the study of diets have a way of

determ ining whether a rat ion is properly b al

anced . They multiply the num ber of gram s

of fat by two and one quarter . To th is prod

uet they add the number of gram s of carb ohydrat es . Then they divide th is sum by the

number of gram s of protein . The quotient thus

secured is called the nutritive ratio . Applying thisrule to the standard rat ion of dry food given on

HEALTH R EADER

t he preceding page , we get the following result s80 multiplied by 180

440 added to 180 620620 divided by 120 5 2

Th is quotient is the s tandard nutritive

ratio . Assum ing that there is the needed quant ity of mineral matter and condiments in th e

rat ion , this quotient , tells us that we h ave

a standard ration in which the ingredient s are

present in the correct proportions . If we sh ould

decrease the amount of fat to60 gram s , and in

crease the carbohydrates to 450 gram s and t he

protein to 130 gram s , so as to make the sam e t o

tal ,640 gram s , we would then have th is problem

60 multiplied by 2V = 135

450 added to 135 585

585 divided by 13 0

This quotient is less than the quotient (5 .2 )which has been taken as the standard nutritiveratio , and so we have what is called a narrow

ratio ,”meaning one w ith too much protein .

On the other hand , if t h e quotient obtained bysome other arrangement is more than we

may conclude that we have what is called a

wide ratio , or a ratio in which there is an

excess of carbohydrates and fats . The wide

ratio is best suited for men who work at hardphysical labor . The narrow ratio is best for men

engaged in less active physical labor , for those


304 HEALTH READER

The tendency tod ay is toward a wider rationthan is advisable , because many food sub stancesextremely rich in protein, such as th e outer

layers and the germs of cereal grains , are re

jected in preparing the cereals for food . As a

result of the casting out of these material s we

are eating larger quantities of starch and sugarthan nature intended we should. Unfortu

nat ely , this exces s of starch generally resultsfrom the exclusion of a large part of the protein , oil and m ineral substances which naturallyare present in our foods .

Is it advisab le to weigh the quantity of foods we

eat N0 . To sit down at the table with our

thoughts occupied with the theories of eating,and then worry about how much of each k ind

of food we ought to eat , and what we ought notto eat , detracts greatly from the pleasure of

eating , a sensation of great importance to digestion . We also interfere with digestion by con

cent rat ing our thoughts on subjects that are

not likely to promote the digestive processes .

We should b e confident that those who provideus with food will provide what is best for us .

Our natural tastes , corrected or supplementedby good manners , will prevent us from beinggluttons , but still we should all know whetherwe are eating too little or too much of th is or

that food .

HOW DO WE GROW ? 30 5

Moreover , ordinary experience in servingfoods leads to a knowledge of how to regulatet h e quantity that each one should eat . The

judicious moth er always takes care that the

ch ild who is served first does not get too much

and the others too little . The quantity each

one receives , though not m easured or weighed ,is usually the amount each one ought to have .

We should find it extremely annoying if at

every meal we had to m easure in a balance or

m easuring cup th e exact amount of solid or

liquid food we were to have . Apples and

potatoes are not all the same size ; but the largepotato can b e given to the large child , and th e

small potato to the small ch ild , wh ile the apple ,

if too large , can b e divided between two of

th e ch ildren . The size of the slices of meat isdeterm ined by the person who wields the

carving knife . He can adapt them to the age ,

s ize , and state of h ealth of each individual .

The m ilk is m easured in glasses , each holding

a certain definite quantity . Coffee and t ea

are not served to ch ildren , or at least should

not b e .

Is there any great danger from eating without

weighing or measuring the food Only under

certain circum stances is there any very gravedanger from eating without weighing or meas

uring food . If a child is very hungry he is20

306 HEALTH READER

likely to ask for m ore of the food that is served

first in the course of the meal than he ought t oh a v e A s a

rule , goodm an

n e r s a t t h e

tab le cor r e ctth is tendency .

It is not goodmanners to askfo r a s e cond

helping exceptunder spe cia l

condition s . In

well-regu latedfam ilies thereis ve ry l i t t l edanger of over

eating.

What is a good rule to ob serve wh en eating ? A

good rule ,if it can b e conveniently followed , is

to eat only one thing at a time . If we like a

food for it s taste and flavor th ere is no reasonfor depriving ourselves of that taste and flavor

by eating it together with some other art icle offood . If we like the taste of m eat , why do we

want to m ix it with that of potatoes ? If welik e bread , why should we destroy it s taste byeating it with s irup? The French , who are

recognized as auth orit ies on foods and cooking,

Weighing bread


30 8 HEALTH READER

Pork , especially fresh pork ,is comm only

served with apple sauce . There seem s t o b e no

special reason for th is except custom . Apple

sauce is an excellent food , but it is better as a

dessert , or a dish to b e eaten by itself , than as

an accompaniment for pork . Vegetables alsoserve t he best purpose as foods when eaten

alone .

There are some articles wh ich are so close ly

associated with each other that they arehardlyto b e considered as separate foods . I refer tothe use of butter on bread or potatoes and t h e

use of sirup and butter on ho t cakes . Insuch

cases the butter and the s irup supplem ent th e

various elements in the foods to which th ey are

added .

The next tim e you sit down to eat , t ry eatingthe various articles of food separately . A fter

eating a few meals in that way you will app re

ciate the value of the practice . You will b eable to appreciat e the real excellence of eachfood and to enjoy it s taste to the utmost .

The point I wish to impress is that s implicityin diet , if there is variety enough ,

is one of t hefundam ental principles of scientific nutrition .

What relation has sociab ility to eating? To par

take of food and drink together with companionsis one of the enjoyable functions of social life .

If a friend visit s you , near the hour of the day

HOW DO WE GROW? 0 9

wh en food is comm only served , the s implestd ic tates of friendship lead you to invite him to

p ar t icipate in the meal . One of the ch ief func

tions of social life is the dinner t o which friendsare specially invited . At social gatherings of

any kind the m eeting of a literary society,

Sociability promotes digestion

a musicale , a card party , or any s im ilar gather

ing it is customary to serve refreshmentstoward th e close of the evening . The offeringand r eceiving of food is a universal mark offriendship and good will .The more pleasant the associations at the

table , the more perfect are the workings of thedigestive organs . Lightheartedness , pleasantconversation , and delightful companionsh ip all

3 10 HEALTH READER

promote the contrary, care and

worry, disagreeable companions , and quarre linginterfere with digestion . For this reason , when

we come to the table cares of every kind should

be put as ide , all bickerings suppressed , and all

trouble as far as possible forgotten .


3 12 HEALTH READER

useful particularly in cutting th e food intosmall pieces . They are , in other words , t he

cutting or incis ing teeth , and so are calledincisors . By means of the front teeth we cut

off a piece of food as large as wedesire , and th enreduce it to smaller subdivisions . The backteeth '

are called molars , derived from a Lat inword meaning to grind . When we cut off a

piece of food with our front teeth the mot ion ofthe lower jaw is straight up and down . Th ere

aft er , when the food is placed between t he

molars , the motion is up and down and al sos idewise , so as to both out and grind th e

food .

What are temporary teeth At birth hum an

beings have no teeth . It is said that Richard III

of England had teeth when he was born , but the

truth of the story is doubtful . If the story ist rue his case is a rare exception . The infanthas no need for teeth . Th e only food he sh ouldhave is milk , and m ilk , we know, requires no

mas tication or chewing . At about the fifth or

s ixth month the first of the temporary t eeth

appear . These are the incisors or front teeth .

Usually four of them come out at about the

same time , two in the upper jaw and two in t he

lower . Other teeth appear from time to time

until , at the age of one year , the infant usuallyhas eight teeth , four above and four below.

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 3 13

T h e total number of temporary teeth thatap p ear in . a child ’ s mouth is twenty : fourin c is ors , two canine or dog teeth , and fourm o lars appear in the upper jaw and the same

num ber in the lower jaw . The first temporarym o lar teeth usually appear from the twelfth

t o t h e fourteenth month , the temporary caninet e e th from th e fourteenth to the twentieth

m o nth , and the temporary back molars fromt h e eighteenth to the thirtieth month .

The child begins to lose these teeth , wh ichare called the m ilk t eeth , from the fifth to the

s eventh year . At the same t ime the permanent

m olars back of th e temporary begin to show .

B y the eighth or ninth year the temporary t eeth

are nearly all gone , and by the fifteenth t o the

s eventeenth year most of the permanent t eeth

h ave appeared , with the exception of those

farthest back in the mouth , wh ich are called

wisdom teeth . Som etimes these teeth do not

appear until after the age of twenty-one .

C omposition of the teeth . That part of the tooth

projecting outs ide the gum is called the crown

and is covered with a hard , flinty subst ance

called the enamel . Below the gum there is no

enamel , but the tooth is covered with a hard ,bony substance called cement . Inside of the

enamel and the cement is the tooth substance

itself, the dentine as it is called . In the center

3 14 HEALTH READER

of the dentine is a cavity filled with t he softsub stance in which are the nerves and the b loo d

vesse ls of the tooth .

The dentine or ivoryof the tooth is practicallyof the same structure a s

the bones of the b ody ,

only it istmuch harder . It

consists of about twentye i ght pa r t s of orga n i cmatter , containing nitro

g en , and s even ty-t w o

parts of mineral matter ,

consisting chiefly of phos

Vertical section of a toothphate Of lilne and

.

car

“gm?“ £15223!t5bonate of kme , wrth a

8 sum : h cement ; i jaw bone little phosphate Of m ag

nesia and usually a trace of fluoride of calcium .

The enamel , or hard outer surface of a tooth ,

consists of about ninety-six per cent of m ineralmatters , of which phosphate of lime is the m os t

abundant , with traces of fluoride of lime , car

bonate of lim e , and phosphate of magnesia .

The teeth are set into little holes or socketsin the jaw bones . That part of the too th

resting in these sockets is called the root . Th e

front teeth have only a s ingle root , wh ile t h es ide teeth have two roots and the back teeth ,

or molars , usually have three roots . Th ese


3 16 HEALTH R EADER

disturbance than in the case of children wh oseteeth come dur ing the sumn

'

rer .

When the teething process begins it is cus

t omary t o give the child som e soft elastic

substance on which to bite . The light rubber

animals so commonly used as toys are excellentfor this purpose , but they should b e pasteurized ,

that is , heated for twenty minutes every day inwater at a temperature of at least one hundr ed

s ixty degrees . This proces s makes th e rubber

safe for the child to use , and does no t injurethe texture of the rubber .

But they should not b e perm itted t o do this

for more than a very few days . Infants whoare constantly putting such objects into th eirmouth s , or who suck their thumbs , may int ro

duce disease germs and are likely'

to have

deform ed m ouths , projecting teeth , and dis

t ort ed nostrils . These th ings may lead to

mouth breathing . The tissues of the infant ’ smouth are very soft and yielding . That iswhy sucking the thumb may cause seriousdeform ities .

What care should b e taken of temporary teeth

The temporary teeth require as much care as

the permanent teeth . They are extrem ely im

portant to the health of the ch ild from infancy

to the age when the permanent teeth appear .

Th is total period covers several years and

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 3 1 7

d uring that t im e the'

child must depend on h is

t emporary teeth for chewing . These years

are of the greatest

import ance to the

ch ild , s ince they

offer the best oppor

tunity t o establish

go od h e a l th and

build up a st rong

and efficient body .

A l though im

perfect temporary Teeth of t en e m e nt: child .

teeth are a menace The milk teeth are shaded

to the health of the ch ild , a great many

people are unaware of it . If a temporary toothstarts to decay the parent is usually consoledwith the thought , Very well , let it go . The

new tooth will soon take it s place .

” Such

indifference is extremely dangerous . If the

temporary t ooth is lo st before it s t ime, there is

danger that the permanent tooth wh ich follows

it will not develop properly . The germ s of

the permanent teeth develop early , so ,if a

temporary tooth is lost before it s t ime , the

germ of th e permanent too th will seek t o

occupy th e vacant space . The germ s of the

permanent teeth on either s ide may also seek

to grow into this open socket .

For these reasons every precaut ion should b e

3 18 HEALTH READER

taken to develop and preserve good temporaryteeth as well as good permanent teeth .

How may good teeth b e developed Good h ealth

and the right kind of food are necessary for the

development of good temporary and perm anent

teeth . The food should b e rich in bone-bu ildingand tooth-building material . For th is reason

the diet of the child should contain plenty of

mineral substances , part icularly lime and ph o s

phoric acid . Milk is an ideal diet for th e ch ild ,

since it contains lim e and phosphoric acid in

the proport ions needed to build up th e bones

and the teeth .

When the child begins to eat solid foods and

take less m ilk ,it should eat the foods

'

containing

the necessary amount of m ineral substances .

The m inerals , as we have already learned , are

most abundant in the outer coverings of cereals ,vegetables , and fruits . So when we th row

away the skins of vegetables and fruits , and

the fibrous coverings of the cereals , we deprive

ourselves of m ineral foods that are neces sary

for the development of the' teeth . Young

ch ildren cannot very well eat th e skins of

fruits or of potatoes . But the coverings of

cereals , if ground very fine , are suitable foods

for them . By using the proper kind of m illst ones the outer coat of the grain is so groundthat it easily gives up it s m ineral matt ers in


3 20 HEALTH READER

in the food into sugar and dextrin . If t he

process of chewing is continued the sa liva

will convert a great part of the starch into

sugar (maltose) and dext rin .

What other dangers result from bad teeth? De

caying teeth are receptacles for all kinds of

injurious bacteria . This is true especially if

the decay extends down into t he roo t s . If pus

be formed it may eas ily b e absorbed into th e

blood , causing very serious resul t s .

It is almost impossible to keep a decaying

tooth clean . It is hard to get at the decayed

spot , wh ich is often located between the tee th or

concealed just below t he gum . Even if we

could reach the spot it would b e difficult to

remove the bacteria from it .

Thus every decaying t oot h , and every tooththat is so deform ed that it cannot perform it s

functions of cutting or grinding food,is very

dangerous to health .

How may we avoid these dangers We mustfirst discover the nature of the dent al troub le .

Som et im es the teet h are irregular and uneven .

Very oft en the upper teeth project out of-place .

In early life such teeth may gradually b e brough t

back int o place by a skillful dentist . Veryoft en two growrng t eeth are t rying t o occupythe sam e position . If it is too late in life to bringthem back into place , one of them , the one that

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 3 2 1

is farthest out of place , should be extractedleaving the remaining tooth to be brought intoit s proper pos ition .

Unfortunately the cost of bringing badly

p laced teeth into the proper pos ition is too

great for persons in ordinary circum stances .

For this reason it is highly important for the

p arent to make sure that the temporary teethare properly preserved and so guard againstd eform ities .

In nearly all cases it is possible to save the

t eeth from early decay by inspection , cleanliness ,and prompt attention to the first signs of decay .

Careful att ention to this matter is the duty ofevery parent . It is also the duty of everyyoung person to do what he can to preserve his

health .

What is the purpos e of dental inspection in the

public schools The purpose of dental inspect ion

in the public schools is to discover the condition

of each ch ild ’ s t eeth and the nature of the tooth

trouble , if there is any . In order that the school

may best serve it s purpose that the children

may learn their lessons , obey their teachers ,and remain in good health the teeth of every

ch ild must be inspect ed and dental t roubles

corrected . The dental inspector furnishes a

card showing the character of the disease or

deform ity . The ch ild brings the card to the

3 2 2 HEALTH READER

parent , who then takes it to the fam ily dent ist .

By m eans of th is card t he dentist will know at

once where t o look for the trouble .

Parent s who are not able t o pay fo r su ch

services can go t o the public dental clinic , wh ich

provides free t reatm ent . Such clinics are o f

th e great est importance to a comm un it y , and

no village or city should b e without one .

Many children in t he public schoo ls h ave

never had th eir mouth s examined by a dent ist .

In m any cases the parent s , even , do not exam inetheir ch ildren ’

s mouth s and do not know th eir

condit ion . Experience has shown that whenb ad t eeth are rem edied , great improvem ent

takes place in scholarship , deportm ent , and

health . It is alm ost useles s to t ry t o t each

ch ildren whose t eeth are b ad . Rather than


3 24 HEALTH READER

The salivary glands next in importance are

situat ed under the lower jaw in the upper part

of the neck and are known as the submaxilla ry

glands . There are also two of these , one on

each side . The third pair of salivary gland s iss ituated under the tongue , and for this reas on

they are called the sublingual glands .

The salivary glands are abundantly supp lied

with arteries , veins , and nerves . They are

active at all times , but become very act ive wh en

we are hungry, when we smell a good dinner , o r

when we sit down before an appetiz ing meal andlook at all the good things . You have all heard

of the mouth watering This means that

the salivary glands are pour ing a large amount

of saliva int o the mouth in anticipation of th e

good food which the sense of smell or of s ight

has discovered and reported .

The gland under the tongue may be regarded

as one gland , although , s ince it is s ituated on

both sides of th e median or m iddle line of t h etongue , it is pract ically two separate glands .

The gland under the t ongu e has a large num ber

of ducts for the discharge of saliva, varying

from eight to twenty , each with a separate

opening into the mouth .

Constant chewing , especially of a substancethat tas tes good

, will cause the glands t o discharge large quantities of saliva. But such


continuous act ivity of the glands cannot beregarded as des irable . The funct ion of the sal

ivary glands should not b e wasted by chewing

gum or any substance demanding. constant and

continued activity. Abused in this way , the

glands become overworked and worn out and

so become unfitt ed to play their part in aiding

th e process es of swallowing and of digestion .

A STUDY OF SWALLOWING

How do we swallow our food Wh en the foodh as been well masticated and thoroughly m ixedwith saliva , the natural tendency is to pas s it

back t oward the base of the tongue in the form

of a bolus or ball . From the base of the tongue

it passes into the opening of the esophagus , the

tube s ituated behind the windpipe and lead

ing from the mouth to the st omach , and

is then swallowed . The process of swallow

ing cannot b e controlled by the will . It is

involuntary. The fibers of the esophagus con

tract involuntarily and force the food into the

stomach . You can keep t he food from gettinginto the esophagus , but once it is there you

cannot by any force of the will prevent yourselffrom swallowing it .

If the food , instead of going into the esopha

gus , should enter the passage to the lungs ,violent protests would result , in the form of

3 26 HEALTH READER

coughing. This is the means nature takes to

drive the unwelcome substance away . Should

the food becom e fixed or fastened in t he open

ing of the trachea (windpipe) t he supply of air

would b e cut off from the lungs and deat h

would follow .

Instead of swallowing , does the esophagus ever

work the other way Yes , in certain cases of s ick

nes s nature oft en reverses t he act of swallowing

and the food is forced up through the esophagu s

and out into the m outh . Th is is called vom it

ing . That process is also involun tary . We

cannot prevent vom it ing by m eans of t h e will .

But we can aid it by irritating or tickling thethroat , by taking m edicine which produ cesnausea or irritation of the stomach , or by drinking warm water , especially if it contains a lit t lesalt . Thus by m echanical m eans or by m edi

cines we may aid the s tomach in ridding itselfof substances wh ich it cannot properly digest .

The fibers of the esophagus reverse t he actionof swallowing and drive the food out again .

Ruminant anim als ,— those that chew the cud ,

like the cow and the sheep ,

—are provided wit h

a special stomach . Th is stomach receives t hefood in the form of bo luses produced by t he

proces s of chewing . When th is stomach is

full and th e animal stops eating , th ese bo lusesone by one are sent back int o the m outh , where


3 2s HEALTH READER

It is a common pract ice to drink while eating,and since most peop le are reas onably well it is

doubtful whether it is harmful to drink smallquantities of liquids while partaking of food .

But it is far bett er to do the chewing and

swallowing first , and then , if more liquid is

needed in the stomach , to drink aft erward .

If the liquid used is a food , as in the case ofm ilk , the object ions t o drinking during eat ing

are largely removed .

We have already called attention to the

des irabil ity of eating only one kind of food

at a t ime . Th e sam e principle applies here .

Swallow your food first ; then drink aft erward .

Bu t we must not forget that the food in the

stomach must have a certain quantity of liquidm ixed with it in order that it may b e readily

act ed upon by the digestive ferments of the

stomach .

Good sense and good advice will lead children

to take the proper amount of liquids duringthe meal . Coffee , t ea , cocoa , chocolate , and

beer should not b e a part of the ch ild’

s diet .

THE FUNC TION OF THE STOMAC H IN DIGESTION

What is the stomach ? If you follow the DetroitRiver as it flows south from Detroit you willsoon com e t o where the river widens int o a lak e .

If you fo llow that lak e eastward two hundred

THE DIGESTIVE OR GANS 3 29

m iles or more you will find that it contracts andagain becomes a river , which rushes overNiagara Falls . Lake Erie , therefore , may be

regarded as an expansion in a river . The

stomach b ears much the same relation to theesophagus , or gullet , that Lake Erie bears toth e Detro it River . It is an enlargement of th eesophagus and has a shape somewhat s im ilarto that of Lake Erie . The stomach is s ituat edin the upper part of the abdom inal cavity and

is separated from th e lungs and the heart by a

m uscular partition called the diaphragm .

The esophagusenters the stomachat a point near the p m 3

h eart , and for that

reason the openingis called the car

diac orifice. The

exit from the Stom '

Human stomach showing cardia

ach , corresponding 0 W m

to the Niagara River , is called the pylorus .

The s ize of the stomach varies with the size

and age of t he individual . In the adult of

ordinary s ize the s tomach is about twelve

inches in length and four inches in diamet er at

the greatest point . It s weight , empty ,is about

five ounces . In the infant the stomach is very

small , and'

when distended is not able to hold

330 HEALTH READER

much more than half a pint . In the adult thestomach can b e dist ended cons iderably and can

hold large quant it ies of liquidand sem i-liquid material .

Th e inner coat ing of thewalls of the stomach is a

mucous membrane s im ilar incharact er to the m embraneinside the mouth and the

esophagus . The walls of th est omach consist of four layersof muscular fibers that are

capable of automat ic m ovem ents , that is , movem ents no tunder the contro l of the will .

It is by means of these autom a t ic m ovem en t s of t h es tomach , and the movement

Enla rged section of 0

a im?11245“q of th e esophagus ln swallow

memb rane ; c. submucosa : ing , that the C Ont ent S Of th ed , ob lI ue mu scu lar fibers ;

2 stom ach are kept well m ixedfibm ‘ ”mm w ’m'

and gradually forced toward

th e pyloric opening , wh ere they ent er the small

int est ine .

Because fowls have no t eeth , they are provided

with a very strong and muscular st omach .

Ch ickens and ducks eat large quant ities of

sand and gravel with their food , and theseform m illstones between wh ich the solid grains ,


HEALTH READER

digestive ferment s . When examined with a m ag

nifying glass th e mucous membrane looks m uch

like honeycomb for there are many sha llow

depressions of small dimensions . In t hes e are

the openings through which the diges tive fer

ments enter the st omach .

What digestive ferments are mos t active in th e

s tomach ? There are two principal diges tive

ferments in t he st omach . In children ’

s stom

ach s a ferment is secret ed which has the p owerof coagulating or curdl ing milk . This ferm ent

is known as rennet . If m ilk remained in a

perfectly liquid st ate in the stomach it probablywould b e expelled before it could be proper ly

digested . Nature avoids this by converting

the liquid milk into a mass of semi-solid flak es .

In th is form t he m ilk is retained in the st om ach

unt il t he flakes are dissolved . In the manu

facture of cheese , rennet extracted from pigs ’

stom ach s is used t o curdle the milk .

A s we grow older , the am oun t of rennet whichis secreted decreases . Nevertheless , as soon

as we drink milk, and some of us drink milk

all our lives , the rennet plays an important

part as a digestive ferment . The other important digestive ferment is pepsin , a ferment thatis act ive in the digestion of protein . Th e

prot ein is converted by the peps in into a

subst ance called peptone . If we heat the white

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 333

of an egg it hardens . If we now add pepsin

and a lit tle hydroch loric acid to this sub

s tance, and keep the m ixture at the same

t emperature as that of the body , namely ,

ninety-eigh t and a half degrees , we shall see

th e white substance gradually disso lve . Soon

all of it seem s to have pas sed into solut ion , and

we know that the protein in the whit e of theegg has been converted into so luble peptone .

C onverting the white of an egg into soluble peptone

This is the first step in the digest ion of pro t einas it takes place in the stomach . It is also

t h e principal digest ive function of the stomach .

Though the food in the stomach may consis t

of a m ixture of proteins , st arches , sugars , andfats , practically the only element of the food

that undergoes extensive digestion in the stomach is the protein .

The saliva , as we have already learned , beginsto act upon starch as soon as it ent ers the mouth .

The starch then passes into the stomach , wherean acid secretion , known as hydroch loric acid ,

334 HEALTH READER

gradually brings the act ivity of the saliva to a

stop . Th is is because the‘

saliva is alkaline,

that is , it contains lime , magnes ia , and sodium .

These substances cannot act as a ferment wh en

they come in contact with acids . But it is

probable that before the activity of the sa liva

has been brought completely t o a stop b y the

acid , most of the starch has been converted into

sugar and dextrin .

The ordinary fats are not digested in th e

s t omach , but they are probably churned up so

that their m ixture with other food may b e m ore

complete .

How long does the food remain in the s tomach

The length of time the food r emains in the

stomach varies with the character of the food ,

the act ivity of the digestive proces s , and t he

work the person is engaged in doing . If one is

at rest or only moderately active immediately

after eating , the process of digestion goes on at

a faster rate than if one is engaged in very

vio lent physical or mental exercise . Substanceslikem ilk and meat are digested with comparative

rapidity . Large quantities of starch and fat s

m ixed with other foods retard the proces s of

digestion .

Under ordinary circum stances the stomach is

practically empty in from three to four hours

aft er eat ing . In infants , who get nothing but


336 HEALTH R EADER

source of the hydrochloric ac id in the st omach

is doubtless common salt , which is sp lit up bycertain act ivators into it s two elements , hydrochloric acid and sodium .

How much hydroch loric acid does the s tomach

contain After the stomach is emptied of food ,and before it receives a new supply, it probablycontains but little hydroch loric ac id . But the

healthy st omach is never free from the acid .

The glands that secret e hydrochloric acid are

somewhat sim ilar to those that secret e the pepsin and the rennet . They are no t energetically

act ive except when excited by the proper food .

You have already been told how the salivary

glands are excited or stirred to action especially

at the thought or sigh t or odor of good food .

All these sensations cause a flow of saliva and

are purely mental . The excitation of the gland sof the stomach , however , is caused by certa inpropert ies of the foods them selves .

Am ong the foods that are most active in

exciting the glands of the stomach are meat s

and meat juices . Am ong those that are lessactive are bread and the cereals . Experimentshave shown that if bread is introduced into th e

stomach of a dog in such a way as not to sug

gest the idea of food , the digestive fluids of t hestomach will not b e secreted and the protein inth e bread will remain undigested for a long tim e .


Som e foods , therefore , have more effect ivepropert ies than others in directly exciting theflow of the digestive fluids . The secret ion ofhydrochloric acid in the stomach is due to theth e same kind of excitation as that which p roduces the flow of the digestive ferments , pepsinand rennet . The acid first secreted aft er eatingis absorbed by combining with the food . Grad

ually the acid perm eates the food , and bringst o a stop the action of the saliva on the starch

in the food . After an hour or two the amount

o f acid in the stomach increases and continuest o increase until near the end of digestion ,

whent he flow of hydrochloric acid begins to stopThe maximum quant ity of hydroch loric acid

in the stomach is perhaps never more than

one hal f of one per cent of the total content s of

the s tomach .

What is heartburn ? Heartburn is th e result of

t oo much acid in the stomach . In some form s of

indigestion , such as dyspepsia , usually caused by

overeating or eating certain kinds of foods , theacid glands inject a greater quantity of acid

into the stomach than is required for digestion .

Th is acid causes disturbance and pain . Since

the stomach is placed near the heart , the trouble

was thought t o-b e in the heart and hence was

called heartburn .

The proper remedy for heartburn is to avoid

22

338 HEALTH READER

eating too much , and especially to avoid eatingfoods that are known to cause the secretion of

too much ‘

acid . High ly spiced foods , such as

fruitcake , plum pudding , and mince p ie , are

very apt to affect some people in that way.

Alcohol in all form s , especially beer or wine,also has that effect on many people . Such ar

t icles should

b e avo ided in

order t o bringabout a p er

manen t cure .

ona’z’

x

The intestines

or less as a valve . Th isliquid port ions of t h e food

s tomach . Food

pa s s e s from

the stom ach

into the smalli n t e s t i n e

th ro ugh t h e

o p e n i n g

known as the

pylaru s . At

t h e pyl o ru s

t h e r e i s a

kind of fold

thatacts m ore

fold prevents the

from pass ing too


340 HEALTH READER

meaning to twist . It is distingu ished by it snumerous convo lutions or coils . It is p ract i

cally twelve feet long , about three fifth s o f the

whole length of the small intestine . In a grown

person of ordinary size t he small intes tine isabout twenty feet long .

What is the function of the small intest ine? A s we

have learned , the principal digestive function of

the stomach is to reduce the protein mat erialsin the food to the form of peptone . The func

t ion of the saliva is to s t art

h the digest ion of the carboa hydrat es , starch and su gar .

t The completion of the di

ges t ive process now t akes

place in the small int es tine .

In the duodenum th e food

is m ixed wit h two im po r

t ant digestive secretio n s .

One of t hese is the bile o r

gall . This secretion from

t he liver collects in a pou ch

called the gall bladder and is

The gall bladdertransm itted through a tub e

lefgfllhcgfggrh

r

livber

r

fhli

epztl

ig Opening into the duodenumf

tm about halfway of it s lengt h .

at ic duct ; h .duodenumNext In Importance are t he

secret ions from a gland called the pancreas .

Th ese secret ions also ent er the duodenum .


The bile and the secretions from the pan

creas , togeth er with the natural secretions in

the walls of th e duodenum , are alkaline , and

so overcome the acidity of the food as it

pas ses through the duodenum . The food thus

first becomes neutral , that is , neither acid nor

alkal ine ; later it becomes alkaline because of

th e increased amount of alkal ine fluid in the

intest ine .

What is the pancreas The pancreas is a long ,narrow gland lying in the upper part of the

m q/p an

The pancreas

abdom inal cavity near the spleen and the

duodenum . It is provided with a tube or ductby means ofwhich it s secret ion , aft er combining

with t he secret ion from the bile ,is poured int o

th e duodenum not very far beyond t he pylorus .

The daily quantity of secretions of the pan

creat ic juice in a man of average size ranges from

a lit t le over a pint t o almost a quart .

342 HEALTH READER

One of the important digestive ferm ents in

the pancreatic juice is dias tase or amylase.

This has the same property as ptyalin , th e active

ferment in saliva , which we know converts

starch into sugar and dextrin . Another im

portant ferment from the pancreas is trypsin.

Th is ferment acts on the peptone , redu cing it

to lower form s of combination known as amino

acids . Thus trypsin is closely related to peps in.

The pepsin begins the work of digesting protein

and the tryps in completes it . The th ird im

portant ferment in the pancreatic secretion

is that wh ich convert s fat into glycerin and

free acid . It is known as lipase or s teapsin.

These ferments cont inue t o act on the food as

it passes'

through the small intestine

Thus it is seen that three separate kinds ofdigestion take place in the small intestine The

peptones are reduced to lower forms of combi

nat ion ; the carbohydrates (starch and sugar)are reduced to maltose (malt sugar) , dextrose

(righ t hand sugar) , and levu lose (left handsugar) ; the fat is reduced t o glycerin and

free fatty acids . All of these products are

soluble or suspendab le in a fluid secret ion

present in the intestine and thus pas s in a

liquid s tate through t he absorbent vessels wh ichline the walls of the small intestine . They th engath er in a comm on s t ream that is poured into


344 HEALTH READER

The end of the small intestine is sma ller than

the beginning. This , we have learned ,is be

cause of t he fact that the food is gradually

digested and absorbed into the body as it

passes through the smal l intestine , and so as

the am ount of food materials dim inishes the

s iz e of the intestine or carrier dim inishes .

The first part of the large intestine res embles

a pouch , and is called the caecum . The openingfrom the small intestine into the caecum is

guarded by two folds of membrane , known as

the ileo-caecal valve .

The passage of the food in the process of

digestion through the small intestine is quite

rapid . The exact length of time varies with

the character of the food eaten and the age and

habits of the individual . A s the diges t ed foodpours into the large int est ine at the ileo-ca ecalvalve the rate of progress is at once great ly

reduced . It is evident , therefore , that the

object of the large intest ine is to receive the

cont ents of the small intest ine and hold them

unt il a convenient t ime for their excret ion . Itis believed that very little digestion goes on in

the large intestine .

In addition to the caecum , other parts of the

large intestine are the ascending colon , so calledbecause this part leads upward ; the transversecolon , which crosses the abdom inal cavity from


o ne side to the other ; and the descending colon,

t he part which leads t o the end of the int es

t inal t ract , the

rectum .

The caecum

receives from

the small intes

tine not only

th e exces s food

but a lso any

remaining en

zym es , alkal ine

sub stances ,and

waste product s

t hat may b e

p r e s e n t . I f

there is any nuM

i r.digest ed foDd ,

c. orifice of append ix ; 4. caecum ; e. ileum

t he digest ive ferments carried with it into the

large intestine may continue t heir work for some

time , though always with less and less activity .

While the walls of t he small intestine are

richly supplied with absorbing apparatus for

conducting the digested food into the blood

current , very little ent ers the body through

t hem . The principal material absorbed in t he

large intest ine is water . The contents of the

int estine therefore b ecom e firmer and harder as

they pass upward through the ascending colon ,

346 HEALTH READER

across the body through the transverse co lon ,

and down to the rectum through the descend ingcolon . At this point the content s of the large

intestine are called feces . The diameter of t h e

large intestine is approximately from two to

two and a half inches .

Are active organisms present in the large intes

tine The contents of the large intestine favorthe development of large numbers of very sm allorganism s , known as bacteria . These bacteria

are found under practically normal conditionsand so their presence does not really indicate

the use of the wrong kinds of food or improper

methods of eating . They exist in such enorm ous

numbers that a considerable part of the fecesin the rectum may b e made up of these sm al lvegetable growth s .

These bacteria act part icularly on any rema ining carbohydrate or protein matter in t he

contents of the large intestine . Especia llyinteresting is the result of their activity on any

protein that remains . This protein is brokendown into products that are regarded as poisonous if they exist in excessive quantities or are

retained in the body for an unusual length of

These products consist of both liquid , solid,and gaseous substances . The most importantin regard to their effect on health are indol,


348 HEALTH READER

sour m ilk we can each live to be a hundred

years old .

After the feces have been retained in th e large

intestine for a varying period of tim e , th ey

are voided from the body as the final st ep in

the complete history of the food in it s course

through the body.

ABSORPTION OF FOODS

How do nutrients ob tained by the proces s of

diges tion pass into the blood It is no t difficult

to get a general idea of how absorption of t he

nutrients obtained by the process of diges tiontakes place . The whole alimentary canal , b eginning with the mouth ,

is lined with what isknown as the mucous membrane . This mu cou sm embrane constantly secretes a fluid consis tingm ostly ofwater and containing a viscid , s lipp ery

substance . This fluid is called mucus . Usually

the mucus is colorless but sometimes ,

‘

wh en

excreted in large quantities or if excret ed fromcertain membranes , it is m ilky or even yellowishin co lor . Mucus is necessary to the properactivity of the whole diges t ive tract . Anyth ing

that interferes with the normal secret ion of

mucus tends t o induce or promo te disease .

We have already learned of other secretionsthat are poured through openings in the mucousmembrane int o the digestive canal , part icularly


th e dig estive ferment s provided by the salivary

glands , t he digestive glands in the st omach , the

liver , and the pancreas . The mucous mem

brane , especially in the small int estine , is alsosupp lied with an extensive system of absorbingves se ls . It thus perm it s the passage of sub

stances in both direct ions , the secretion of t he

diges tive ferm ents and the mucus , and t he

abso rp tion of the digested foods and wat er .

Are food products ab sorbed in the stomach

Though prelim inary digestion takes place in

th e s t omach , no considerable amount of foodis ab s o rbed there . On the other hand , certainsubs tances that cannot be regarded as t rue

foods are readily absorbed . Th e mos t imp or

tant of these is alcohol . Water , which is so

impor tant to the . digestive process , is no t

ab so rbed in any quantity through the walls ofth e stomach unles s alcohol is present . Small

quantities of certain sugars in our foods are

probably absorbed , but it is doubtful whether

this is true of any of the fats . Absorpt ion

through the walls of the s tomach , therefore , is

not an important funct ion of that organ .

Neither is such absorpt ion of any great im por

tance in relation to health .

How are foods ab sorb ed in the small intes tine

The great syst em of vessels provided for the

ab sorption of food is distribut ed throughou t

3 50 HEALTH READER

the mucous lining of the small intest ine .

Slender project ions , known as villi, cover thislining. In these are spread capillaries , minute

vessels which take up the products of the digest ion of the carbohydrates and also of protein .

These products are then conveyed in the bloodst ream through a tube known as the portal vein

into the liver .

A portion of the sugar is retained in the bloodand passes imm ediately from the liver to all

parts of the body to be burned for the purposeof producing heat . The remainder is convertedinto glycogen (sugar producer) and stored away ,

t o b e given up little by little in the form of

sugar as conditions may require .

It is important to keep a certain fixed am ount

of sugar in the blood at all tim es . It has beenestimated that a thousand parts of blood carryonly about fifteen parts of sugar. One of th e

ch ief functions of the liver is to receive th e

whole mass of carbohydrates (sugars ) as theyare digested , and distribute them in such

quantities as t o provide the blood with it s

normal amount of sugar .

After the fats have been digested in the small

intestine they are taken up by a second systemof absorbers , known as lymphatics or lacteals .

These absorbers are also present in the villi .The fats are carried through them into th e


3 52 HEALTH READER

per cent or even more of the protein of milk,

eggs , and meats , eaten in normal quantities byperfect ly healthy individuals , is digested and

absorbed .

The absorption of the protein contained invegetables is not so great . The gluten ofwheat , the zein of corn , or the hordein of barley ,

for instance , are not absorbed so completely as

the casein in milk or lean part s in meat The

protein in bran , especially , is no t absorbed in

large quantities . The reason for this difierence

lies not so much in the nature of the proteinit self as in the fact that the vegetable prote ins

are incrusted with a substance known as cellulose

as well as with other substances that are difficultof digestion , and so pro t ect the proteins m ore or

less from the action of the digestive ferments .

Wh ile the greater part of our food is ab sorbedin the manner described , we should not forget

that the mucous membrane may and probablydoes have a slightly absorbent effect throughout

the whole course of the digestive tract , with

the possible exception of the mouth and the

esophagus .

How are mineral subs tances ab sorbed The

m ineral substances we eat are doubtles s

absorbed in the various ways in which th e

proteins , the carbohydrates , and the fat s are

absorbed . Common m ineral substances (salt ,


phosphates , lime) are not readily absorbed inth e stom ach unless they are present in largequantit ies , and it is not likely that common salt

will b e eaten by any one in very large quantit ies .

Th e us e of condiments in our food has a

stimulating effect on the absorbent action of the

mucous m embrane of the s tomach and doubtles s

al so of the small intestine .

A STUDY OF THE LIVER

What is the liver The liver is one of the

largest organs of the body . It is s ituated on

the right side , immediately under th e diaphragm .

Th e liver of a full-grown person in good health

we igh s fr om

th ree to fourpounds . It is

fr om t en t o

twelve incheslong , and s ix

or seven inch es

wide ,and about

th r e e in ch e sth i ck in it s

thick est part .

Th e l i ve r is

divided intotwo principal parts , left lobes .

There are also three smaller lobes .

23

The liver

3 54 HEALTH READER

The liver is provided with a remarkable seriesof blood vessels (arteries and veins) , for in addi

tion to it s function of separat ing the bile from

the blood it brings about many changes in the

nutrient s which are brought to it in the blood .

The liver bears practically the same re lationto the introduct ion of nutriment into t he body

as do the lungs to the introduction of oxygeninto the body.

The amount of sugar circulating in t h e bloodis determ ined , as we have learned , by t he liver .

This amount is very small . Most of the

sugars that are formed by the digestion of the

carbohydrates in our food are not needed for

immediate use . So , instead of being sent intocirculation all at once , they are stored away

after being changed by the liver into a sugarproducing substance known as glycogen . Gly

cogen may be regarded as a reserve supply of

carbohydrat es . Little by little it is reconver tedinto sugar and sent into the blood , where it isburned according to the needs of the body .

Thus we see that it is not necessary to eat sugaror starch constantly in order to supply fuel t o

the body , for when we eat more than is neededthe excess is at once stored away to b e used at

another tim e .

Glycogen is not stored solely in the liver . Itis found elsewhere ,

especially in the muscular


356 HEALTH R EADER

body has shown that they may pour their

excret ions into the blood without t he aid of a

du c t , s e n ding

t h em d ir e c t

through the ah

sorbing vessels

of the organ it

self. Th is m ay

b e t rue also _of

the spleen , al

though even yet

the act ivitie s ofthis organ are

no t completelyT’“SW ” understood .

The spleen is thought to have imp ortantfunct ions especially in connect ion with th e red

corpuscles of the blood . A large percentage of

iron is found in the sp leen . Iron is the delivery

wagon which carries oxygen in the blood to the

tissues .

The presence of certain substances in t he

spleen which are importan t const ituents of the

animal body is another reason for believingthat the spleen plays an imp ortant part indigestion . But it is certain that of all the

organs of the body of any s iz e the Spleen mus tbe regarded as the least important , since it hasbeen found that if it is cut out of the body,


life.

is not necessarily endangered by it s absence .

Anim als continue to live and remain apparentlyin good health after the spleen has been

Th e spleen goes through certain changes insiz e which keep st ep with the ingest ion and

diges t ion of food . After eating , it has beenno ted that the spleen increas es in siz e , cont inues

t o increase for several hours , and then s lowlyre turns to it s original siz e . Thus it is evident

th at the spleen in some way is in sympathy with ,

o r is affect ed by, the proces s of diges t ion .

In a ! grown person weighing one hundredfift y pounds , the spleen weigh s approximat ely

one half pound . In very old persons the spleen

is found to dim inish in proport ion to the weigh t

of the body. In certain diseases it becom es

very much enlarged , and has been known in

extreme cases to weigh as much as twelve or

fifteen pounds .

In general it may b e said that we know less

about the functions of the spleen than of anyoth er important organ in the body.

XXVI I . A STUDY OF THE K IDNEYS

What is the function of the kidneys Th e kid

neys are s ituated in the lower back part of the

abdom inal cavity, one on each s ide . They are

connected with the bladder by excretory tubes .

The function of the kidn eys is to separate

the urine from the blood

and pour it into the b lad

d e r fo r excr e t i on f r om

the body. The constituent s

of the ur ine other than

water are the exces s . of

m ineral salts that have

been taken in with the food ,

after they have served th e ir

function in the body ; t hesubstances formed from th e

final products of prote indigestion , in the form of

urea ; and the sulphur icacid compounds of indo l

skatol , phenol, and uric

The kidneys , bladder,acid °

” 4“C" The principal constituentof the urine is urea . Urea , although a normalproduct of the disintegration of protein matterin the system , must b e promptly elim inated

358

Vena cava


360 HEALTH READER

kidneys . These are very troublesome and dan

gerous and are due perhap s to causes ent irelyexternal to the kidneys themselves . We have

learned that in the normal nourishm ent of th e

body the sugars are burned , forming chiefly

carbon dioxide and wat er . Sugars , therefore ,

are not found as norm al excretions in the ur ine .

There are certain conditions that may favo r

the appearance of sugar in the urine for a shor t

time . For ins tance , th e eating of enorm ou s

quantities of sugar m ay cause a temporaryexcretion of sugar in the urine . There are alsocertain temporary disorders , during which sugar

may b e excreted . In good health and with a

well-ordered diet the sugar is entirely burned .

There is a disease , cal led diabetes , wh ich ischaracteriz ed by the presence of large quant ities

of sugar in the urine . Wh ile it is usually spokenof as a kidney disease , it is more properly a dietdisease , and can b e controlled to a great ex

t ent by diminish ing the am ount of sugars and

starches in the food .

We have learned that protein matter norm allydigest ed in the body is reduced to the form of

am ino acids , in wh ich form it is built up into

the tissues of the body and finally-broken downinto urea , a constant and necessary ingredientof the urine . A cons iderable part of the proteinis also converted into sugar . There are certain

A STUDY OF THE K IDNEYS 361

disordered conditions of nutrition in which sol

uble p rotein , known as album in , is separated fromthe blood through the kidneys and appears inth e urine . When this is due to an organiccondition or to malnutrition it is a dangerousform of disease and should receive promptmedical attention . The presence of album in in .

th e urine is eas ily ascertained by heating a littleof t h e urine in a test tube , which will causeth e album in to coagulate . This disease , knownas B right

’

s disease from the name of the physicianwh o first described it accurat ely , is spoken of asa kidney disease , when perhaps the kidney iswithout blame in the matt er and the disorderis really nutritional or syst em ic . In general , thedis eases of the kidney , especially if of an in

flammat ory nature , are called nephritis , from the

Greek nam es of the kidn ey and inflammation .

The proper functioning of the kidney and the

proper evacuation of the bladder are neces sary t oh ealth , and the principles on wh ich the activity

of these organs depends should b e taught to all

in order that health may b e preserved .

XXVI I I . THE BLOOD STREAM

What is the b lood The blood is the liquidwhich flows through the arteries and veins of

the body , carrying nouri shing materials with

which to build tissues and to make them grow .

It also carries the oxygen by means of which the

heat and energy of the body are produced , and

t he m ineral salts wh ich maintain the blood in

an alkaline condition and thus keep the mu s cles

of the heart act ive in propelling the b loodth rough the arteries . The blood also carries tothe proper organs waste products , such as water ,carbonic acid , urea , and used-up m ineral salts .

What are the chief cons tituents of the b lood

Water is the most abundant constituent of t heblood , it s proportion being nearly eighty-one

parts in a hundred . Bes ides water , blood con

tains nitrogenous materials called plasma . In

blood that has been removed from the body ,

the plasma hardens , form ing what is ca lled a

clot .

” If the clotted blood is washed withwater , a fibrous substance known as fibrin is

separated from the other cont ents of the blood .

It is found to b e of a yellowish-wh ite tint , andis the substance resulting from the clott ing of

the plasma . The liquid left after the fibrin isseparated is called serum


364 HEALTH READER

rest and are not satisfied to be carried along me

chanically by the blood stream , but make lit t le

journeys on their own account . It is be lieved

that these white cells have the power to destroy

the germs of disease wh ich enter the blood . In

other words , they act as policemen , and when a

disease germ enters the blood it is their duty t o

arrest it and either drive it out or destroy it .

What is the chief function of the blood Th e

blood of an animal , as the Bible has said ,is

the life thereof . ” Blood and life are alm ost

synonym ous t erm s . To shed blood is to takelife . Th e blood stream is , therefore , the life

stream . The blood distributes t o all parts of

the body not only the materials that are neces

sary for growth and repair , but also those that

provide heat and energy . The blood alsocarries the oxygen that is neces sary to the vitalfunctions . It also carries away the wastematerials from the broken-down t issues .

The blood in a h ealthy s tat e , flowing awayfrom the heart through th e arteries , carries a

large volume of oxygen and carbon dioxideloosely combined with the coloring mat ter .

It is then a brilliant red . When the bloodreturns to the heart through the veins it carriesless oxygen but a very considerably increasedquantity of carbon dioxide . Th is fact is demons t rat ed very beautifully by the change of co lor

THE BLOOD STREAM 365

which the blood undergoes when it passes from

the arterial capillaries to th e venous capillaries .

The change of co lor is from a brilliant red to a

dull purp le inclining to blue .

It is certain that the blood in a healthy statenever loses

‘

all it s oxygen , nor all it s carbondioxide . There is a normal minimum content

of carbon dioxide in the blood , and a normalmaximum content of oxygen . The venousblood carries approximately half it s volume , or

about forty-five per cent , of carbon dioxide .

Th is is reduced to thirty-eight per cent in the

arterial blood .

If any very great change takes place in the

blood to increase or diminish the m inimum or

maximum content of carbon dioxide or of

oxygen , serious troubles or even fatal resultsmay occur . Nature ’

s system of breathing pureair is the best known means of maintaining theproper balance between the carbon dioxide and

the oxygen in the blood .

What are blood purifiers A gre at many patentmedicines claiming that they will purify the‘

b lood are offered for sale .

‘Purifying the blood’

is a phrase that has no definit e scientific mean

ing . The b lood is said to b e impureWheneverit carries too much or too lit tle food or the seeds

of disease . Impure subs tances in the blood are

usually enzymes or poisons produced by the

366 HEALTH READER

work of bacteria . The blood may also carryorganism s of a low order , lik e those germ s wh ichproduce malaria or ch ills and fever . Other living

organism s may be present in the blood , p ro

ducing specific diseases . Thus any scientific

method of purifying the blood must b e based

on an understanding of what the impurity

is . That is , before we can purify the blood we

must know what the dangerous substance in

the blood is , and also know t he exact process by

means of wh ich the disturbing substance can

b e removed .

It is evident that none but a scientific man

who has made a specialty of the subject can

discover whether there are impurities in th e

blood and what they are . This he does bymeans

of certain chem ical tests , with the microscope o rin other ways . N0 one but the trained phys i

eian who understands t he nature of the disorder

can prescribe for it .

To undertake to purify the blood by t he h itor-m iss plan by sarsaparilla or other s imples ,such as are found in the blood-purifier adver

t isement s of quacks is to invite failure and

threaten further danger .

The common so-called . blood purifiers are

usually m ild cathartics by m eans of which th e

alim entary canal is thorough ly evacuated ; or

th ey m ay consist of certain herbs and roots


36s HEALTH READER

hardened , the blood pressure is still greater .

When the blood pressure reaches one hundredfifty millimeters of mercury we know e ither

that old age is coming on , that there is too muchblood , or that the ar tery walls are becom ingtoo thick . A pressure of one hundred eighty to

two hundred m illimeters is evidence of a gravedisease which must be carefully treated . In

such cases , if the arterial degeneration has no t

proceeded too far , prompt relief may usuallyb e gained by reducing the diet , and especially

by om itting meats and confining the diet t os imple cereal s , fruits , nuts , and vegetables .

One of the princip al dangers of a high bloodpres sure is the effect on the heart . The in

creased labor of the mus cles of the heart and th epres sure on it s cavities cause the heart to enlarge ,

and such enlargement is usually dangerous .

What happens if there is too little b lood in the

body ? If th e volum e of blood in the bodybecom es less than normal , or if the blood is

thinned by the extraction of any of it s normal

ingredients , the health of the body is endangered .

The condition of the blood can be determ ined

by measuring the blood pressure , and by a

is t oo thin , a great dim inution of the coloringmatter of the blood is often noticeable , showinga det erioration of the blood through practically

THE BLOOD STREAM 369

all it s contents . This condition causes paleness , co lorless lips , a cessation of growt h , generalapathy and indifference , a lack of des ire forexercise or work , and inability t o prepare lessonsor to do any mental work . The name phys icianshave given to the trouble is anemia .

Thin blood or too little blood is a very seriousmatter . In fact , it is a disease , and shouldreceive careful medical attention . Usually some

fault in the diet or disease of the organs ofdigestion is the cause of such deterioration ofthe ch aract er of the blood . A diet of fresh ,

clean milk , fresh eggs , fruits , vegetables , and

fresh poultry or meat , properly cooked , willoften remedy t he trouble .

Why is it that so many children and grown people

feel b ad when winter turns to spring or spring

to summer An express ion commonly heard inmany parts of the country is

“spring fever .

”

In t he first warm days of early spring many

people , both young and old , complain of feelingtired and lose all desire for act ive exercise or

hard work , mental or physical . St rictly speaking , it is not considered a disease , and so it is

called “spring fever .

”

Th is feeling of weariness in spring is due who lly

to the increased temperature or to faul t s in th edie t . In cold weather we should eat a muchlarger amount of food , especially heat-giving

24

3 70 HEALTH READER

foods , than we do in warm weather . Th is is inorder to supply additional warm th , s ince th e

heat of the body radiates , or is given off, s o

rapidly in the cold atm osphere . When springcomes on and it has grown warm , if we continu ethese habits of eating we consume m ore foodthan t he body needs . To rid itself of the exces sfood the body uses up much of it s vitality , s othat one is likely to feel indolent and tired .

A s the warm weather comes on , the amoun t

of food eaten , by grown people as well as b ych ildren , should be promptly dim inished . Th iswill in ameasure prevent the feeling ofwearines s .

In the“spring fever disorder the blood is

better nourished than it should b e . It con

tains more nutrient s than it can dispose of . It

resembles a tradesman who , though there is les sdemand toward the end of th e season for a cer

tain article , still continues laying in a full supply of it . Very soon there is no demand for itHis shelves are p iled high with goods suitableonly for an earlier season , and he must devoteall h is energy to getting rid of them at any price .

So it is with the blood current of people who inwarm weather continue to eat too generously of

the foods that were necessary in winter . The

st imulation produced by the cold temperatureof winter is lacking in the warm days of spring

,

thus adding t o the t rouble .


3 7 2 HEALTH READER

adm it the spinal cord , the various nerves , andthe arteries and veins which carry the blood

to and from the

brain .

Although the

te rm “s ku l l

"

really includes

all the b ones of

th e head , it will

b e used in this

d i s cu s s i on t o

r e f e r o n l y t o

th a t p o rt ion

inclos ing t he

brain . A t the

The skull, showing the bones points that aref tal ; b . tal , d ,35315 f

psifiin or

‘

nifxm mo st exposedg , occipital ; h , inferior maxillary (lower Jaw)i, nasal . j , ethmoid ; h . lach rymal tO danger—as ,

for instance , the forehead and at the s ides

around the ears the brain is provided with

additional protection . Between the bony layersof the skull over the eyes

‘

is an o pen space ,so that if you break in the outer layer of bone

the inner layer may st ill remain uninjured .

The bones back of and around the ears are

also th ickened .

The outs ide of the skull is covered with the

skin and the hair , wh ich also aid in protectingthe brain .

A STUDY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 3 73

Altogether , there are twenty-two bones inthe Structure of th e head . Eight of these form

t h e s ku l l , o r t h e

shield inclosing the

bra in . In infancy

t h e b o n e s of t h e

skull are no t joined .

Between them are

spaces composed of

flexible sub s tancesthat gradually har

den into bones as

the child grows older. In the adult the skullbones are usually so firm ly united as to formpractically one continual bone .

The skull varies in s ize . The skulls of educat ed and civilized people are thought to have

a larger capacity thanthose of ignorant or

savage peoples . But

t h e preva i l ing ideathat the s iz e of the

brain is the sole ih

dex of intelligence is

by n o m ean s t rue .

Idiots and others of

arrested mental development usually have small brainswhilemanymen

of greatmental powers have had large brains .

3 74 HEALTH READER

The brain is supposed t o b e the o rgan ofmental activity . Our intellect , in other words ,

is so closely asso ciatedwith the funct ions of

the brain as to warrant

the statement th at in

t elligence is direct ly

due to the work ing ofthe brain . You may

lose your foot o r yourhand or your leg or your arm without in any

way affecting your m ental and int ellectualvigor . But th e mom ent the brain is attacked ,

intelligence dim inishes , m ental power decreases ,and m ental activity may cease altogether .

The brain is divided into four general divi

sions : the large brain , occupying the great er

part of the skull cavity and lying toward t he

front and the top ; the smal l brain , lying at t he

base and toward the back of the skull ; the expans ion of the spinal cord with in the skull ; and a

bridge-like st ructure at the base of the brainform ing connecting links between it s par t s .

What is the totalweigh t of the b rain In a grownman of average size the brain weigh s about fift younces . In a woman it weigh s about fortyfive ounces . The weight of the brain varies indifferent individuals , but usually the variationfrom these figures is not more than about four

Skull of a chimpanz ee


3 76 HEALTH READER

The second bone from the top provides a

movable joint on wh ich the head may be turned

from side to side and for this reasonit is known as the axis .

The other vertebrae next in order

are numbered third , fourth , fifth ,

sixth , and so on .

The upper part of the spinalcolumn is called cervical (neck ) , them iddle part dorsal (back) , and the

lower part lumbar (loins)The vertebrae are joined together

by elastic bands of tissue , called

ligaments , in such a way that the

spinal column may be bent from side

to s ide , or forward and backward,without perm itting the bones t o

move out of place . If one bonewere displaced or injured so as to

change the form of the central canalor to interrupt it s continuity in any

way , the spinal cord , the delicate

nerve substance in the interior of

the canal would be injured or compressed . If

th is should happen all parts of the body suppliedby nerves having their origin in the spinal cordbelow the point of injury would b e paralyz ed.

There are two kinds of paralysis from whichwe may suffer . Paralysis may b e caused by an

A STUDY OF THE NER VOUS SYSTEM 3 7 7

injury to the brain , or by an injury to the

spinal cord . In an injury to one s ide of the

brain all of the oppos ite side of the body is

paralyzed . But in an injury to the spinal cordboth sides of the body below the point of injuryare paralyz ed . Thus in a case of paralys is

any one who knows these facts can det erm ine

whether t he trouble isdue t o an injury to

the brain or to the

spinal cord .

Th e backbone o r

spine in a normal ,heal thy individual is

curved when viewed

from the side . But

it is straight when

viewed from the backor from the front .

What is meant by curvature of the spine ? Some

tim es there is a sharp , abnormal bend in the

spine . Such deform ity is known as curvature

of the spine . People who spend much time

indoors , and especially if seated when at work ,

oft en have a slight curvature to the left , causedby the fact that th e right side is used more frequently than the leftMost of t he diseases of the spinal cord begin

with an injury , received very oft en in play or

A n improper sitting position

3 78

Improper positionof the body when

standing

HEALTH READER

in the course of violent exercise .

Some ch ildren injured in th is waymay recover entirely , while such

an injury to other children may

cause the development of tuber

culosis in the part of the spinethat was injured . The result is

permanent deform ity and veryoften early death . Any injury tothe spine should at once receive

the careful att ent ion of a compet ent physician . It is too serious amatter to overlook . Often seriousd e form it i e s tha t

cause lifelong suffer

ing may b e prevented by prompt

attention t o such an injury .

Ch ildren should b e cautioned

against jum ping from a great

heigh t down on to a hard surface .

The shock wh ich results often

causes an injury to the spine .

Injury to the spine is liable tooccur in vio lent play, as in wrest

ling or in football playing. Foot

ball playing cannot b e commended

as an exercise for young childrenand is dangerous even for those Ime mber Position

of m ore mature age . For youngof the body when

walking


380 HEALTH READER

spine for the same reason that th e brain is

placed within the bones of the skull , that is ,for it s protection .

The sp inal cord may be thought of as a

continuation of the brain , for it is so closely

associated with the brain in it s functions that

it is almost imposs ible to distingu ish between

the two . While the brain is believed to b e

th e special seat of our intellectual sensations

and perceptions , the spinal cord is thought to b ethat part of the same system which has chargeof our phys ical movements and sensations .

When we learn history , arithm etic , grammar ,

language , and science , we are said to b e culti

vat ing our brains ; when we acquire skill at

play , or manual skill in such occupations as

wood or iron working, in playing upon a mus ica l

instrum ent , or in using a brush , we are supposedto b e educating the spinal cord . That schem e

of education is best which includes the educat ionof both the brain and the spine, so that we maybecome skil led in play , in work , and in exercise ,

and at the same time acquire knowledge .

THE NERVES

What are the norves ? The nerves are fibersconnect ing the brain and the spinal cord withevery part of the body. They have the property of transm itting sensations of pleasure or

A STUDY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 381

of pa in . They cont rol the voluntary muscularm ovem ents , and also , to a great extent if notentire ly , the involuntary muscular movements .

A s the nerves approach the surface of theb ody they become finer and branch out intonum erous filam ents . These are so numerous

Section through spinal cord showing nerves

a , sp inal cord ; b , emerging pos terior roo t ; c , sensory nerved , motor nerve ; e , emerg ing anterior nerve ; f. gray mat ter ;

3 , wh ite mat tert hat it is difficult to prick the skin with a fine

needle without touching a nerve and feeling a

s ensation of pain . This sensation of pain is

supposed to b e carried along the nerve filament s

to the spinal cord in a way that is not wellunderstood . The pain is not really carried , b ut

t he impulse which causes it s percept ion . It

then passes on through the spinal cord t o the

brain ,where the sensation is regis t ered as

though it were a telegraph ic m essage received

at the end of a wire . Then another wave is

sent back through the spinal cord and the nerve

382 HEALTH READER

which produces a movement of the muscles .

When your finger touches an object hotenough t o burn , you quickly though not in

stant ly receive a sensation of pain . This is

immediately followed by a sudden muscularmovement which withdraws your finger fromthe hot surface . But this does no t happen intim e to avoid a burn . If the transm ission of

the sensation through the nerve and the reply

to the message had been instantaneous your

finger would have been withdrawn before it was

burned . This s imple experience aptly illus

trates the phenomenon of the nerve functions .

C an the speed of transmiss ion through the

nerves b e measured The speed of the trans

m ission of nerve force along the nerves can b e

measured , though no t with absolute exactness .

It is known that the movement which takes

place in the nerves is not in any way to b e com

pared with electricity for speed ; it is very much

slower . So , except byway of illustration ,it is not

correct to compare the nerve force with an electric current , or .the nerve with a telegraph wire .

It has been estimated that th e velocity of the

nerve sensation in the adult human being isabout to 33 yards per second . There is

some difference in the results obtained byscientists experim enting in different ways . The

rate of t ransmission of sensation in infants is


384 HEALTH READER

the book as predetermined by your will . Such

a movement is called a voluntary movement .

On the other hand , if your finger happens to

touch a hot stove there is an entirely different

process . A message is sent from your finger to

the receiving office in your brain that your

finger is burning . Immediat ely the operator

sends back a message to the muscle controllingyour arm and hand to withdraw your finger

from the stove . Such a movement IS called

involuntary . N0 person whose hand by chancecomes in contact with a surface ho t enough t o

burn it , can cont rol this movement . It is true

that by the exercise of your will you can de lib

erat ely place your hand on a burning surface

and hold it there ; that is , if your will is strong

enough . But such an act ion is voluntary , wh ile

the action I have described is involuntary.

The beating of your heart is evidently a

motion cau sed by nerve cont rol . But the im

pulses wh ich cause this motion are producedwithout your control

, and the motion that

results cannot b e stopped by m ere force of will .

The movement of the diaphragm in breathing,by means of which the air is taken into and

sent out of the lungs , is also involuntary . Itis true that by exercising your will you can

hold your breath for a certain lengt h of time .

Th ere may b e instances of persons who have

A STUDY OF THE NER VOUS SYSTEM 385

held their breath long enough to ca use death ,

but th is is not possible for the ordinary person .

No matter how much we may wish to die , we

cannot comm it suicide by holding our breath .

There is a dist inct d ifference between the

funct ion of the nerves in carrying a sensationand in that of carr ying an impulse for muscular

movem ent . In other words , one kind of mech

anism is required for conveying a sensation

and another for carrying an impulse to move

a muscle . Separate wires—that is , separatenerve filament s are provided which are con

nect ed with the spinal cord in different ways

and at different places . Thus the telegraph ic

nerve syst em of th e body is of the duplex, or

double , variety. The nerve filam ents carryingsensat ions to the brain are called sensory nerves ;th ose transm it ting an impu lse from the brain

t o th e muscles are called motor nerves . The

sensory-nerve filaments and the motor-nerve

filaments are usually present side by side in all

parts of the body Wherever sensations are pro

duced and movements required . But widely

separate filaments may take part in sensory

and motor processes . For instance , the sensa

tion of burning the tip of the finger is transmit t ed by th e very few sensory nerves affected

by the burn . But the impulse to ac t is sent

through all the motor nerves leading to the

25

386 HEALTH READER

muscles of the arm and the hand and the:finger .

Thus , while the sensation of pain is transm itted

R eflex action. Message of a sensory nerve

a, spinal cord ; b , sensory nerve ; c, motor nerve

by a very few nerves , the effort to escape the

danger or pain comes back by hundreds ofnerves , some of them widely separated .

The action of widely separated sensory and

motor nerves may b e illustrated in ano ther

way . The nerves of the eye are spread over

the m embrane at the back of the eye This

membrane is called the retina . When you see

a person or object the sensation of sigh t is

transm itted along the sensory nerves of t he

eye . In answer to that sensation , either you

may start in the direction of the person or

object or you may turn and run away from it .

In either case the m otor nerves bring nearly

all the muscles of the body into act ion as‘

a

resul t of the sensation sent to the brain al ongth e nerve of sigh t .


XXX. A STUDY or THE SENSES

THE SENSE or SIGHT

What is the optic nerve The opt ic nerve o r

the nerve that makes it po ssible for us to s ee ,

is one of the most important of the spec ial

nerves . The eye , the organ of vision , is one

of the wonders of the human body . It is

shaped much like a big marble , and is filledwith materials that permit light to pass through

nerve

o t ic nerve ; b ,b , cereb rumc.c, o actory

O

nerve bu lb s ; d,d, cerebellum ; e, spmal cord

a window pane . You

have seen how a m ag

nifying glass seem s toenlarge an object seenthrough it . Such a

glass is called a lens .

The eye is providedwith a lens made of atransparent sub st ance

held in a transparentmembrane . This lens

serves to concentrate

the rays of ligh t on a

b lack m em bran e ,

called the retina , at

the back of the eye .

In t he retina are distributed the nerves of vision .

Th e sensations produced on these nerves in t he

388

A STUDY OF THE SENSES 389

retina by the rays of light that pass through thelens of the eye are carried along the nerve calledthe optic nerve to it s origin in the brain . In

the brain and the spinal cord are registered theimages pro duced on the retina .

If you look closely at the eye of your friend

you will see in it the image of yourself. But

that image is merely the reflection of yourselfas from a m irror .

'

The image your friendreceives of you lies on the black curtain or

retina at the back of the eye . But if you could

Diagram of a camera showing inverted image

see t he retina you would see nothing but a

black surface . There is no difference in prin

cip le between the way the eye is made and the

way a camera is made . Both have a lens infront through which the light is concentrated

on a black sens itive curtain at the back.

Th e image of an object , registered in the brain ,

is th e same for all normal eyes . Looking at a

picture you will see just what your neighbor sees ,

390 HEALTH READER

unless your eye or your neighbor’

s is defective .

What are the chief parts of the eye The eye is

an almost perfectly round ball from three fourth sof an inch to an inch in diameter , so placed in

a depres s ion inthe bones of th eface and sku ll

as t 0 expo s eonly a portionof it s surface to

view. It s formis determ inedlargely by it s

ch ief exteriorDiagram of the eye

The white outer coat , a portion of which is

exposed between the lids , is known as the hard

coat . This coat is opaque, that is , light cannotpass through it , except in the portion covering

the round colored spot in the front . Thatportion of the outer coat is called the cornea .

The cornea projects from the surface of th e

eyeball so that it looks as if it were a part of

a smaller sphere lying within a larger one .

Th e eye is filled with a transparent liquid

substance . Toward the front , just behind the

cornea , is a transparent serm-solid substanceknown as the crys talline lens . It is made up of

various layers or cells , wh ich may b e compared


392 HEALTH R EADER

less intense the ho le in the diaphragm o f the

camera is made larger . This adjustment o f t h e

opening in the his is accomplished by means of

small muscles wh ich act automatically.

What causes the color of the eye The co lo r of

the eye is due to the coloring pigment in th is

movable diaphragm . In all eyes the p up il

appears to be no thing but a black spot . What

you see there is probably a portion of t h e

retina . What we call the color of t h e eye

is determ ined by the color of the iris . Th e

color of the iris is never black , but varies from

deep brown through all the different shades to

light gray or blue .

Are there other lenses in the eye b esides the

crystalline lens Th e fluid in the front part of

the eye , between the.

crystalline lens and t he

cornea , form s another lens . Th is fluid is cal led

aqueous , meaning wat ery , because in it s dens ity

it does not differ largely from water . The fluid

filling the greater part of the cavity of the eye

behind the crystalline lens also form s a lens .

This fluid is called vitreous . Vitreous means

resembling glass .

”

The vitreous substance in

the eye , however , resembles glass only in it s

faculty of transparency . It is a thin , jelly-like

substance , so inclosed as to form a lens .

Wh at is b lindnes s Blindness is sometimes the

result of som e defect in the optic nerve that has


mad e it incapable of transmit ting impress ionsIt m ay also be caused by some defect in the eyeitse lf. If there is a defect in the lens , lightcannot b e transm it ted or concentrated properly

on t he ret ina . If there is a defect in the retina ,

t h e nerves cannot receive the impression or

transm it it to the optic nerve . The brain cells

th at receive the impress ion may be diseased .

B lindness may result from defects in themake-upof t h e organ it self, from defects in the t rans

m itting apparatus of the optic nerve , or fromdefective brain cells . When we say that an

eye is“put out ,

”as the saying is , it does not

necessarily mean that the eye is removed from

it s socket but that it is so injured that the ligh t

no longer enters it . The destruction of thelen ses of the eye by accident , or through t he

hardening of these lenses because of old age or

som e oth er reason ,may result in blindnes s .

What is the disease known as cataract The

word cataract”

usually makes us think ofwater falling over a steep cliff . But when we

use this word in speaking of the eye we mean

t he hardening and wh itening of one of the lenses .

When the crystalline lens becomes hardened and

whitened so the light can no longer penetrateto the ret ina ,

it may b e removed and the remaining lens used in it s place . The vision will b erestored , b ut it will not b e so perfect as before .

394 HEALTH R EADER

What is nearsightedness The lenses of the

eye may b e so formed as to require a nearer

view of an ob

ject in o rder

that it s im age

may b e cor

r e ct ly c o n

cent rated on

the retina . In

other words ,such len s es

are too power

ful and con

centrat e t h e

l i g h t t o o

qu ickly. In

Diagrams of eye showing normal , far, 811011 03 868 theand short sight o b j e c t a t .

Far -s ight

which a nears ighted person is

instance the print of a book, must b e brought

nearer to the eye than is normally required .

What is farsigh tedness Farsightednes s re

sult s when the lens is so formed that it does not

concentrate t he light quickly enough . For that

reason a fars ighted person can see better if the

object is at a greater distance . In perfectlynormal eyes the lenses are so adjusted thatthe person can read print very well at a normaldistance of fift een or twenty inches and also


396 HEALTH R EADER

The eye can be moved to the right or left , up or

down or in a circle , in order that we may look

at object s in different places without turning

our heads . In normal eyes the movement s of

the muscles are coordinated ; that is , they work

so as to move both eyes at the same tim e in

exactly the same way . You cannot move one

eye without moving the other , though you can

move one finger without moving another . And

you cannot move one eye in one direction and

the other in another directionEyes may be crossed in two ways . They

may either look toward each other , so that t h elines of vision cross , or they may b e turned ou t

ward though such cases are rare .

How may cross-eye b e corrected Cross-eyecannot be corrected by any kind of mechanicalcontrivance . If there is only a slight aflect ionit may b e helped by a skillful adjustment of eyeglasses . There are only two plans t o followin marked chronic case s either to leave th e task

to nature , which sometimes corrects this trouble,or to secure the services of a surgeon . An eye

is turned too far in one direction or t he otherbecause one set of muscles is stronger than t he

other . For instance , the muscle that pulls t heeye t oward the nose must not be stronger or

weaker than the muscle that pulls the eye in

the opposite direct ion . Thus both eyes can look


st raig h t forward or they can turn an equal distanoe t o the left or to the right . If the musclethat p ulls the eye toward the nose should becomes t ronge r than the muscle that pulls outward ,

the ey e would be turned in. In such eases the

th e m u scle that is too strong.

C ro s s ing of eyes is often due to eye stramwh ich arises from the in tense effort to compen

s at e defect s in the diop tic apparatus Glassesco rre cting lens defects often correct cross ing .

Th e eyes will cross without the glasses but no twit h them .

Has the eye any relation to health The eye is

very important in it s relation to health . Many

form s of headache are due to defect s in the eye .

Wh en these defects are remedied by the use

of glasses ground correctly, the headache disap pears and th e general health is improved

What is meant by“sore eyes

” In addition to

t h e disorders to wh ich attention has alreadybeen called , the eye may b e affected by variousk inds of inflammation which attack the mem

b ranes surrounding it These inflammat ions

are often of an infectious charact er . The eye

inflamed by overuse may cause the blood ves

sels of the eye to carry to it a larger amount ofblood than is needed . The stranding of theseunnecessary part icles of blood in the capillaries

398 HEALTH READER

produces what we call bloodshot eyes . Over

st raining, or us ing the eye in too brilliant a

light , also causes s im ilar troubles .

When reading , one should never face the

light . It should come obliquely from behind ,

over one or the other shoulder of the reader

as is most convenient . The green light thatis often used is produced from tubes filled withm ercury vapor or by t he use of green shades .

This light is less harmful to the eyes than th e

wh ite or brilliant ligh t of the elect ric arc o r

incandescent lamp , or of the gas jet surroundedwith a mantel .

Abraham Lincoln used the light from a bum

ing log in the fireplace . The ligh t given off by

such a flame is yellowish and is not very brilliant ,so probably it did not hurt his eyes . We do no tread by that kind of light now , and we are no t

so careful as we should b e to shade our light sor sit in a posit idn to avoid eye strain .

Has ligh t any relation to'

health ? Light is of th ehighest importance to good health . Withou tligh t , normal growt h is impossible . If you puta potat o in moist eart h in a dark cellar it willsprout , but the plant will never reach maturegrowt h and will have no color . If you keep a

child in a dark room he may grow, but he willb e thin , wh ite , and imperfect ly developed .

But as a rule the beginning of all growth


466 HEALTH READER

dark . But if a person has tuberculosis , or isrecovering from some ordinary illness , he should

remain constantly in a we ll-light ed as well as awell-ventilated place .

Light is very eflective in preventing the lossof hair. If we go bareheaded as much as we

can , and let t he sun shine on our heads , therewill be fewer bald heads in the future thanthere are at the present day . Tight hats cut

off th e blood supply from the scalp and thuspromote baldness . The sun

’

s rays tend to k illgerm s that destroy the hair .

THE SENSE or SMELL

What is the olfactory nerve The sense of smell

is communicated to the brain through two

nerves , the filam ent s of which are distributed

in the Shape of a fan principally on both s idesof t he membrane separating the nostrils . The senerves are called the olfactory nerves . Th ey

connect direct ly with two bulbs in the base of

the brain , called the olfactory bulbs , and thesein turn are connect ed with that particular partof the brain that app arently presides over th esense of smell .

How do the nerves carry the sensation of smell

Just how the olfactory nerves receive and transmit the sensation of smell is no t underst oodanyjib et ter than how nerves carry any kind of

A STUDY OF THE SENSES 0 1

sensation . All we know is that it is their func

tion to do so . Substances that have an odor

and th erefore affect

the sense of smell

are believed to give

off very'

m inute

particles that carry

t h e odor . Th es e

particles of matter

strike against the

f i lam en t s of t h e

nerves in the nasal

passages and exmteSection of nose showing olfactory nerve

them in 311011 a waya. o lfac to ry trac t ; b . o lfac tory bu lb ;

c. o lfac to ry nerves ; d , nasal cavity ;as to produce a cer

" m t“

tain sensation . This sensation is transmitted

through the olfactory nerves t o the olfactorybulbs and then to the brain . The sensat ion

may be one of two general kinds , the agreeable

or th e disagreeable The odors that producean agreeable sensation do not excite t he nerve

filam ents in the same way as do those that produce a disagreeable sensation . What the difference is , we do not know.

Does the sense of smell in various animal s difier

in keennes s Very much so . Some animals

have a sense of smell that is almost incredible

in it s keenness . By means of th is wonderfully

developed faculty some dogs are able to trace

26

40 2 HEALTH R EADER

the course which an animal or a man has taken

The dog and the man are at almost oppos it e

B loodhounds scenting the trail

extrem es in regard to the sense of sm ell . In

man this sense is at a decidedly low stage o f

developm ent , wh ile in the dog it is very h igh ly de

veloped . Th e hound can follow a t rail swiftly

and unerringly , so easily do his olfactory nervesrespond to the sligh tes t stimulus . Bloodhounds can dist inguish the odor of one indi

vidual from that of another , and can thu s

track an individual on t rails over wh ich manyother people h ave passed . The keennes s of

the sense of sm ell in such cases seem s almos tbeyond comprehension .

Why do colds diminish th e k eennes s of scent ?

It is easy t o underst and how a cold affecting


404 HEALTH READER

than others , and so are much more capable of

discrim inating between different odors .

Does the sense of smell have any relation to

health The sense of smell has important rela

tions to health . Most foods have an agreeable

odor when they are fresh and suitable for eat ing .

If they are decayed or unwholesome the agree

able odor is changed to a disagreeable one .

Thus the sense of smell tells us what is good

for us to eat and what is bad . Though the odo r

of a fresh egg is not particularly agreeable , stillit is not offensive . But if the egg is bad our

sense of smell tells us imm ediately that it is

unfit for food . In t he sam e way harmful gas es

m ingled with the atmosphere are revealed b ytheir odor and we are thus placed on our guard .

Thus we see that the sense of smell aids‘

us in

maintaining health in many important ways .

What is the relation of the sense of smell to th e

flavor of our foods and drinks ? The t erm“fla

vor is often used incorrect ly. Flavor is no t

taste alone , nor is it odor alone The . flavor

of a food is it s taste and Smell combined .

Sugar , for instance , tastes very sweet , but as

it does not produce a sense of smell , sugar hasno flavor . In order to have a flavor a substancemust have the properties which excite , at the

sam e t im e , both the nerve of taste and the nerveof sm ell .


THE SENSE OF TASTE

What'

is the nerve of taste ? Just as we asso

ciat e t he nose with the idea of odor , so do we

as sociate the tongue with the idea of taste .

Th e tongue has various functions . It is espe

cially useful in speaking . Without the tongue ,th e sounds made by means of the vocal cords

would not b e articulate; that is , they could not

b e formed into the definite sounds represented

in writing by means of letters and syllables .

Another im portant function of the tongue is

t o ass ist in chewing and in carrying the foodinto the back part

o f It h e m ou th ,

where it is seiz ed

by the muscles of

t h e t h r oat and

carried into the

e s op h agu s . Al l

these functions of

the tongue are im

portant and useful .In our present discussion we shall regar d t h e tongueparticularly as theorgan of taste .

Th e tongue is covered with numerous small

p rojections called papillae, which form a part

406 HEALTH R EADER

of th e mucous m embrane covering the tongue .

The papillae ,when magnified , appear to b e

p r oj e c t i on s o f

considerable Size .

T h e n e rve o f

tast e , called t h e

gus tatory nerve ,

divides into m i

nut e threads o r

filam en t s t h a t

pa s s in t o t h e

Section of papillae vala ta of the humanpap l liae and are

tongue , showing taste buds distribut ed overa , papilla ; b , b , taste buds p a I' t S O f 13h e

mucous membrane of the tongue . It does no t

appear to communicat e direct ly with the brain ,

but reaches it in connection with other nerves ,and especially with the one known as the fift hnerve . That certain port ions of the brain have

t o do almost ent irely with the sense of tas t e is

evident from the fact that injuries t o certainconnect ions of the fifth nerve in the brain des t royor modify very materially the sense of taste .

How many kinds of tas te do we pos sess The

sensat ions produced in the nerve of smell havebeen classified broadly as agreeable and dis

agreeable . A more detailed classification can

b e m ade of the various sensations of taste .

The sense of sweetness is usually a h ighly


40 8 HEALTH READER

It is probable that the nerves of taste in

various parts of the tongue have differentdegrees of sensibility, and even perceive differentkinds of taste according to their location . The

expert taster can distinguish the difference

between the taste of a substance when h e ld

near the tip of the tongue and the tas t e of t h e

same substance when held farther back toward

the throat . It is reasonable to suppose t hat

the anterior or front filaments are les s delicate

than the posterior or back filaments , s ince th eycome into cont act with the food when it is ina m ore Or less solid state . It may b e that t h e

differences in the taste sense in different parts

of the tongue are not due to any essential

differences in the nerve , but to the degree ofsensitiveness to impressions . It is generally

believed that a bit ter taste is most readily p er

ceived near the back of the tongue . It is even

claimed that at the t ip of t he tongue a bitt er

taste cannot b e perceived at all.

In what condition must a material be in order to

produce the sensation of tas te There is an oldLatin axiom wh ich reads ,

“Bodies do not act

unless they are in solution . This rule may b e

applied , also , to the phenomenon of taste . Ifthe surface of the t ongue is perfectly dry and

the substance placed on it is perfectly dry , no

sensat ion of taste is produced . So it is es sent ial

A STUDY OF THE SENSES

t h a t the substance must be either in solut iono r else so finely cut up that it has the propertieso f a liquid .

The tast e of a hard substance develops quiterap idly with chewing, and a much st rongers ensation of taste is produced than when the

fo od is undissolved or in coarse fragments .

T hus we are able to judge by the sense of tastew hen our food has been chewed well enough

and is ready to . be swallowed .

What is the sh eet of temperature on the sensationof tas te If the temperature of food substancesis widely different from the normal temperatureo f the mouth , the sense of taste may b e veryseriously affected . If a substance is ext remelycold it produces a sensation of cold , which

itself tends to deaden the sense of tas te . On

t he other hand , if a substance is very hot itproduces such a painful sensation as to checkall sensation of taste . Thus if we put an exceedingly cold substance or an exceedingly hot substance into our

'

mouths we lose the sensation

of taste . It may be that the nerve of taste isact ive , but the sensation of tas te is so obscuredby the stronger sensation of heat or cold thatthe substance appears to lose all trace of taste .

‘

Theoretically the activity of the nerve oftaste is at it s best when the temperature ofthe substance to be tasted is the same as the

410 HEALTH R EADER

temperature of themouth itself, or approximately

ninety-eight and a half degrees . A s a matter

of fact , however , experience has shown that

a somewhat lower temperature is better for a

fine discrim ination in taste . A temperature

of from s ixty-five to seventy-five degrees may

be regarded as the best temperature for t he

activity of the nerves of taste .

Has the sense of tas te any relation to good health ?

The sense of taste has a most important relationto health . It is the taste of a substance that t o

a great extent causes the secretion of the fluids

wh ich digest the food . A good taste tends t oincrease the activity of the glands that secrete

these fluids . A bad or repugnant taste willproduce entirely the opposite effect . So it isevident that the sense of taste bears a very

important relation to health .

What is the effect of temperature on the whole

s omenes s of foods The temperature of th efood we eat has also an influence on health .

Those who have trained the sense of taste and

the sense of smell to perceive very delicateflavors , are extremely particular in regard to

the temperature of their food and drink. In

tasting red wine an expert taster requires the

t emperature of the wine to b e about seventyfive degrees . On the other hand , most personswh o have no knowledge of the nature of the


412 HEALTH R EADER

go to extremes in temperat ure in our dailydiet we not only lose a great deal of the pleasure

of eating , but we injure our health .

THE SENSE OF HEARING

What is the auditory nerve The auditory o r

hearing nerve is another path over which t h e

knowledge of the outer world reaches the brain .

The nerve of hearing transm its sounds to t h e

brain . The external ear needs no description .

Everybody knows what it looks like . But it is

not so generally known that the opening in t h e

ear does not extend very far into the head . Itis closed a short distance in by a membrane

wh ich may b e com

pared to the head of

a drum . Th is mem

bran e , s t r e t ch e dt igh t a c ro s s t h e

opening of t he ear,is called the tym

panum or ear drum .

The ext ernal ear is

divided from th e

The drum and bones of the ear m iddle 0 1’ int ernal

il b. mall hamm2. 12223532311“ ear by th is meme, Eustach ian tub e ;f, tympanic memb rane ;8. stapes (st irrup ) brane .

Th e internal ear is connect ed with the throat

by a tube called aft er the name of it s discoverer


the Eus tachian tube . This tub e has a doublepurp ose . Through it the middle ear may b e

kep t properly moistened and lubricated , whileat t h e same time it equaliz es the pressure withinand without .

W ithin the drum of the ear, lying still nearert h e brain ,

is the m iddle ear where are spread thefilam ents of the auditory nerve . The sensat ionof s ound is produced by the impact of vibrationsin th e air against the ear drum . Whenever a

no ise is made or a word is spoken vibrat ions areset in motion in the air which travel rapidlyin all directions . If you pass by a pond ins till weather , you will see that the surface is

p erfectly smooth . If you throw a pebb le into

t he pond , ring-like waves of wat er will passrapidly one after another from t he point wherethe pebble struck the surface of the water , andproceed in circles at the sam e rate of speed in

all directions .

Something of this kind happens in the air

when a word is spoken . A s a word emergesfrom the lips it strikes the external air and setsup a wave motion wh ich travels in everydirection . These waves strike every objectwith in a certain radius and reach the ear drumof any person who happens to b e within hearing distance . The air waves Start a vibration inth is membrane correspondn in character and

414 HEALTH R EADER

strength to their character and strength . Th is

vibration .is rthen transm itted along the auditory

nerves to the brain , and the brain ,in it s mys t eri

ous working, sends us a message telling what th e

word is .

What is a phonograph The word phonograph means sound writing . If you attach

a feather to a membrane stretched like t h e

head of a drum , and allow the point of th e

feather to rest on a piece of smoked paper or

glas s wh ile you speak a series of words , and at

the same time move the smoked plat e , the

feather will write in waving lines . This provesthat the words you spoke caused a series ofvibrations in the m embrane . If instead of t h e

feather you use a delicate needle with a sharp

point capable of writing on wax, you have thebasis of the phonograph .

In t he phonograph you speak into a tubeleading t o the m embrane . That membranehas a pen at tached t o it wh ich rest s upon a

moving wax cylinder or plate . The waves ofsound transm itted to t he membrane cause the

pen to write a waving line in the wax corresponding to the strength and character of the

sound of the words you speak. In much the

Same way the vibrations in the drum of the ear

are recorded , no t on smoked glas s nor on wax

b ut in th e brain it self .


416 HEALTH READER

of these organ keys ; it is estimated that there

are from twelve to twenty thousand . Thus it

is evident that the complexity of the ear organis far greater than that of the church organ .

What relation has the ear to health The

power to distinguish sound is one of the important means we have of knowing what is goingon around us . For th is reason it is evident that

the sense of sound is of great importance to ourwelfare . The sense of sound often warns us of

phys ical danger , so that we are able to avoid

accidents or injuries which otherwise wouldbefall us .

The ear is subject to certain diseases more or

less injurious to our general health . Back oft he ear is a portion of the Skull , called the

mastoid bone , which is spongy in charact er .

In certain disorders of the ear th is bone some

t imes becomes affected , caus ing great pain and

danger . The ear itself , with it s various organs ,is often subject to strain or inflammation . Thiscauses earache , a troublesome disease . The

tube leading from the ear to t he throat , calledthe Eustachian tube , may also become infectedas the result of colds or inflammat ions , and may

even become clogged , a most dangerous con

dit ion .

Th e sense of hearing gives us many of t hepleasures of life . The conversation of friends ,

A STUDY OF THE SENSES

t he notes of beautiful mus ic , the strains of the

distant orchest ra , the song of the birds in the

t rees , the song of the cricket , the sound of

running wat ers , all are pleasing and give us a

feeling of happiness and contentment . In this

way the sense of hearing helps to keep us in

good health .

Are we able to locate the sources of sound

Wh en we see an object we know exact ly it slocation and can judge approximately it s distance and it s s iz e . When we hear a sound we

are not able to tell exactly where it came from .

The source of a sound can to a certain extent

be located , but with nothing like the accuracy

w ith wh ich a visible object can be located .

People differ greatly in their ability to placethe source of sounds .

How fas t does sound travel? In the air soundtravels about feet per second ; in solidbodies it travels much fast er . I heard the

cannonading at Fort Donelson on the 14thof February , 1862 ,

while working in my

father'

s maple grove nearly 200 m iles away .

Subsequent investigation showed that t he

sound had traveled through a layer of lim e

stone . Sound may b e carried much farther

through solid bodies than th rough the air .

You see t he flash of the lightning some time

before you hear the thunder .

27

418 HEALTH READER

THE SENSE OF TOUC H

What is meant by the sense of touch or feeling

If we close our eyes and place our hands on an

object , a distinct sensation is experienced . The

nerves that transm it this sensation to our brains

are the nerves of touch or feeling . The moment

our hands come in contact with an object we

can determ ine , without looking at it , whetherit is hard or soft , rough or smooth , round or

angular , and whether it is hot or cold . Thusit is clear that the sense of touch or feeling is avery complicated sense into wh ich enter a greatmany factors .

Some of the things that can b e determ inedby the sense of touch alone , can also b e deter

m ined by the sense of sight . For instance ,

the shape of an object , and whether it is roughor smooth , can easily b e determ ined by lookingat it as well as by feeling it . On the other

hand , there are certain characteristics of an

object wh ich the touch cannot reveal—fo rinstance , the color , and what tast e or odo r

it may have .

Of all the senses , that of touch may b e

regarded as the mo st universal ; that is , it gives

us more information and of a more varied char

acter than we can gain from any other set of

nerves . But it cannot b e regarded as the mostdesirable or p leasurable , though without doubt


420 HEALTH READER

and of pain are each carried by other kinds ofnerve filament s . These filaments are probablycont inuous that is , they pass in bundles fromthe brain through the spinal cord and radiate

from the spinal cord to all part s of the body ,

where the bundles break up into the separat e

The skin itself is not perfect ly smooth , as

one might suppose , but is covered with num er

o us small projections or papillae, particularlyo n the scalp and often on the arms and oth er

p arts of the body. These papillae carry hairswhich may b e regarded as the advance guardso f the nerves of touch . Anything coming incontact with one of these fine hairs is likely t os timulate the sense of touch .

The principal purpose of hair is protection ,

b ut it also has the secondary e y of

exciting , or tending to excite , the nerves of

t ouch .

The nerves of touch vary in abundance ind ifferent parts of the body . They are verynumerous in the hands , the feet , and at the tipo f the tongue . They are more sparsely dis

t ributed over the sk in of the arms , the neck ,

t he back, and other portions of the body .

There are more of these sensory points in th e

fingers and the tongue than in any other partof t he body.


The remarkable skill that can be'

developedin the fingers results from the training or edu

cation of the nerve of touch . There are certain

t rades and profess ions in which this sense is

developed to a most remarkable degree . To

b ecome Skilled as a piano player , billiard player ,wat ch maker , surgeon , or in other profess ions

of s im ilar character the sense of touch must b e

h ighly trained .w: m

Are the internal organs supplied with nerves of

touch or feeling ? The nerves of feeling in the

internal organs are few in comparison with thenumber in the skin . We do not have any

pleasurable sensations in the internal organs .

The nerves of feeling there mostly transm itfeelings of pain . If there is anyt hing wrong inthe internal organs , the nerves send m essagesof pain to th e nerve centers .

The brain is almost without nerves of sen

sation . Headaches are usually due to pain inth e membranes or annexes of the brain .

Wh en the appendix becomes inflamed we

have severe pain , but t he pain is due largely

t o the membranes which surround the appendix .

The muscles also are endowed with sensationsthat are most ly sensations of pain , though in a

much less degree . Th is is also true of the bones,

t he membranes of wh ich are probably the most

sensitive parts .

42 2 HEALTH R EADER

In general we may say that the nerves of

sensation are distributed through all parts of

the body , but are especially abundant in th e

skin and the mucous membranes .

Pain and pleasure. The nerves of touch which

convey pain are perhaps the most num erou s

and abundant of all . It is , as we have said ,

difficult to prick the sk in without touching a

nerve conveying a sensation of pain . Just whatform of vibration , or by what m ethod of movement , the sensation of pain is communicated t o

the brain no one knows .

Painful sensations are of two kinds . Pressure

or puncture of the skin produces one of the most

common form s of pain . The sensation of coldis another kind of painful sensation . But the

nerves that carry the sensation of cold are not

so numerous as those that carry the sensation

of other form s of pain .

Pleasurable sensations , on the other hand ,

are very difficult to define . Agreeable odors and

tastes are types of pleasurable sensations carriedby the special nerves of the nose and the tongue .

Agreeab lemusic produces a pleasurab le sensation

carried by the nerves of the ear . Landscapes

and pictures and forests and stream s produce

pleasurable sensations carried by the nerves ofth e eye . The nerves of touch in the skin alsoconvey pleasurable sensations , due largely to a


424 HEALTH READER

of pain If we have a pain we generally knowwhere it is though sometim es we cannot locate

it correctly. The pain of a toothache some

times seem s to b e not in the tooth really afiect ed ‘

but in som e other tooth . The pain in the eye

or in th e back of the head may not really b elocalized there , as we suppose . The sensationsof pain are reported to the brain , but are not

always referred by it to the exact locality.

It is a well-known phenomenon that yearsafter persons have lost an arm they experiencepains that are referred by the brain to the m issing m ember . 80 a feeling of pain in a certainpart of the body cannot always b e regarded as

a certain index that the trouble will b e foundthere .

But as a rule we have little doubt as towhere the trouble really is . In the case of

pain in the internal organs we are more likely

to b e m isled than in the case of pain in any

exterior parts where the Skin is the sensorymedium .

How can the delicacy of touch and feeling b e

increased Th e sensitiveness of the nerves oftouch and feeling may b e increased by constant

and judicious use . Education in the ordinarysense of the word is the training we get frombooks and t eachers in school ; in other words ,


delicacy and sensitiveness of th e nerves of touchby constant and judicious use may be regarded

as part of the education of the spinal cordTh e skill which can be acquired by educat ing

the nerve of touch is extraordinary. If we

listen to amast er at the piano and compare whathe does with the Slow and clum sy efforts of the

beginner , we have a vivid illust ration of thecu ltivation of the sense of touch . The performance of pract ically all skilled hand work is

controlled by the . sense of touch . While thisis not exclusively true , it is true as a generalrule . Th e artist who paints a landscape judgesthe efiect of the colors with his eye . But the

distribution of the color to produce the artisticeffect he desires is accomplish ed by movementscontrolled by the sense of touch , just as truly

as the skillful piano player produces mus ic by

the sense of touch . The work of the skilled

carpenter is another illustration of the result

of educating the sense of touch . Such manualskill due largely to the delicacy of the sense oftouch , is called technique . Any intelligent person who ;examines the works of a watch can

see how they are put together . But only one

who has acquired an extremely fine sense of

touch and delicate sense of movement can makea watch .

426 HEALTH R EADER

There is no form of labor that cannot b emore efficiently performed after cultivating thesense of touch . From th is we learn the great

importance in our schools of courses in manual

training, cooking , and sewing . One of the radical differences between the modern and earlierm ethods of instruction is the introduction ofmanual training of all kinds into our schools

and colleges .

The m icroscope would probably not Show any

distinction between an educated tactile (touch )nerve filament and an uneducated one . But

there must b e some difference in the adjustmentin order that a movement Should b e awkward

when performed by the unskilled person and

graceful when performed by the skilled .

C an one sense take the place of another Nature has so endowed us that if one sense is

impaired or destroyed the deficiency is made up

to a certain degree through some other sense .

The person who is blind practically may see

with his fingers and ears . He can judge the

form , contour , and surface of a body by means

of the nerves of touch . He can learn to walk

in comparative safety , finding his way by means

of the sense of hearing . You have no doubt

seen a blind man walking in the street con

st ant ly striking a stick on the pavement in frontof him . The reflected sound of the tapping


428 HEALTH R EADER

hear , and yet She is a h ighly educated woman .

Her knowledge of the world about her is

conveyed t o her through the nerves of tas te ,smell , and touch .

According to their comparative importancein giving us information about our environment ,the senses may b e arranged in the following

order : Sight , hearing , touch , taste , and smell .There may b e

‘

some difference of opinion in

regard to this arrangement , especially as towh ich is the m ore important , hearing or touch ;but in my judgm ent this is the proper arrange

m e n t o f t h esenses according

to their value tous in our relations with the

world .

Wh a t is t h e

eflect of training

on the senses

The senses can

b e educated to

a degree which5 e em ing ly is

The skilled pianis t plays without glancing oftenbeyond beat the keyboard lief The skilled

typist operates h er machine swiftly and accurat ely without looking at the keyboard . Th is


is also true of the skilled piano player . The

billiard expert can make Shot s which to the

unskilled player seem due to supernatural

power . The sk illed surgeon can thrust h is

knife among the vital parts of the body , cut outt he offending organ , and save life in a way that

seems due to almost more than human achieve

ment . And so we might give instances of theremarkable degree of refinement and delicacy

of which every sense is capable .

THE SENSE OF HUNGER

What is the sense of hunger ? The sense of

hunger is manifested chiefly in the stomach .

But we cannot definitely locate this sensation

as we can that of a burn or the prick of a

idea seems t o be that the sensation is in the

s tomach This sensation in a healthy personis caused by the stomach becoming empty.

The feeling of hunger cannot b e traced directlyt o a lack of nutrition of the body. In fact ,s ix hours after eating , when the food has beendigested and is jus t beginning to do it s work innourish ing the body, we feel hungry. Thus itis not possible that the feeling of hunger arisesdirectly from any lack of nutrition of the tissuesof the body. It must b e the result of theemptiness of the stomach .

'

We must dist inguish

430 HEALTH R EADER

between starvation and hunger . Starvation

is a condition ; hunger is a sensation .

In starvation the victim at fir st feels a verykeen sense of hunger . After a while , as the

starvation progresses the hunger dim inishes ,for the reason that the body has begun to burnitself or consume it s own tissues . Emaciationis the result , weight and strength decrease , andfinally the sense of hunger is subordinated en

tirely to t he feeling of weakness and approaching

death .

What relation has the sense of hunger to the

proper control of our diet The feeling of hungerdoes not stop immediately when we put foodinto our stomachs . If we eat rapidly the

stomach may become well distended and still

the sensation of hunger remam . For thisreason we should eat s lowly and stop eating b efore the sensation of hunger entirely disappears .

Every one of you must have noticed that if

you eat a generous meal hurriedly you still

feel hungry . But with in half an hour after

you leave the table , although you have eatennoth ing more , the sense of hunger disappears .

From this we learn , what it is wise to rememb er , that hunger disappears gradually. We willthus avoid distending our stomach s unduly

with an overabundance of food in a uselesseffort t o satisfy hunger quickly.


XXXI . A STUDY or SLEEP

What is sleep Sleep is a temporary suspen

sion of the funct ion of the senses that give us

our knowledge of the world about us . The onlydifference between s leep and death is the con

t inued act ivity of the muscles of the heart andthe muscles used in breathing.

’

The process

of digestion also is active dur ing s leep . But

the muscles of the digestive organs , as well asthose of the heart and those used in breathing ,probably act less vigorously when we are asleep

than when we are awake .

C an a human b eing live without sleepj? Sleepis necessary to existence , but we may live for

a long tim e without it . If a person remains in

a state of complete repose , and has the willpower to refrain from all phys ical or mentalexertion , he may obtain the relief that naturallycom es from s leep without actua lly going to

s leep . The great purpose of sleep is to withdraw

th e body from all the stimuli of the naturalworld , so that the brain , the spinal cord , th enerves , and themuscles may rest . It is poss ible

to rest without losing consciousness and thu spartially compensate for loss of sleep . But the

rest oration of all the organs of the body to a

condition suitable for further exertion is best

A STUDY OF SLEEP 433

secured in sleep , by the complete obliterationof the ext ernal world .

How long should we sleep ? The answer t o

this question depends upon several conditions .

In early life a human being needs more s leepthan he does in later life . The new-born infant

Sleeps nearly all the time . The baby of one

year will sleep from twelve to fifteen hours a

day . A ch ild from one and a half to th ree years

of age will sleep about twelve hour s a day .

From three to six years of age a ch ild Should

Sleep from nine to twelve hours a day ; from

the age of Six to ten , from nine to eleven hours

a day ; and from t en to eighteen , from eight to

nine hours a day . Regular hours for going t ob ed and getting up are important . The sleeping

porch or at least the open window is desirable ,

and quiet and darkness favorable .

Sitting at the bedside of ch ildren and telling

stories or singing lullabys is who lly out of place .

A ch ild soon learns that he goes t o b ed t o sleep

and not to b e entertained by any kind of a

vaudevil le .

The amount of s leep for each person neces

sarlly varies according to his occupation and

h is temperament . Some persons require , or at

least indulge in , a longer period of s leep than

others . A man or woman engaged in active

work requires a m inimum of seven hours’

s leep ,

28

434 HEALTH READER

while eight hours would b e better . The length

of time a person Sleeps is not the only thing to

b e kept in view ; the character of the s leep itselfis also important . The more peacefully a per

son sleeps , the fewer are the number of hoursrequired . On the other hand , if s leep is troubled

with frequent wakings twitchings and movements of the arm s and legs , it is less refreshing ,and more hours are required

The man who engages in hard phys ical laborneeds more s leep than the one engaged at deskwork. Brain workers probably need less s leepthan muscle workers , but they too need peacefuland refreshing Sleep in order that th e brainmay recuperate and gather energy for furtheractivities .

What happens when a person does not get

enough sleep If a person gets too little Sleep ,various disorders may result These are mani

fested chiefly through increased sens ibility and

irritability , a dim inished power of endurance ,

and decreased strength and vitality . Thesechanges , with continued loss of s leep , may evenmake it difficult to sleep at all.

What is insomnia Insomnia , or sleeplessness ,is the inability to go to sleep when there is

opportunity to do so . Insomnia is one of .t he

m o st distres sing disorders . It is not so tryingduring the day , when the light is brigh t and we


436 HEALTH R EADER

Sleep , like food , is neces sary to exist ence .

But too much sleep or too little sleep is harmful .

A s in all other th ings , temperance in Sleep is

highly advisable .

When is a person inclined to sleep too much ,

lik ely to have th e greates t inclination to sleep

Aft er eating a hearty meal such a person usually

has a feeling of lassitude and sleepiness . During

sleep the brain is not so active as dur ing th e

waking hours . A heavy meal excites the diges

tive activities and thus diverts a considerablequantity of blood from the brain and other

parts of the body t o the digestive organs . In

th is way a h eavy meal , especially if the room is

warm , brings about the same condit ions as in

sleep , and induces a desire'

for sleep . After a

hearty meal , especially in summer , almost anyone feels an inclination t o Sleep . In a church

or a theat er in the evening we often find many

in the audience nodding . If we ask the reason

we usually find that these persons have just

eat en a heavy meal . The result is anything butpleasant , for the Sleeper often snores loudly ,

much to the embarrassment of those near h im .

If we wish t o b e wide awake in the evening , we

should not eat a heavy meal late in the day .

Should we exercise immediately after eating

Whenever it is possible , t he hour imm ediatelyfollowing the meal Should b e devoted to res t ,

A STUDY OF SLEEP 43 7

even if that rest induces sleep . In fact , thosewho have the leisure to do so would benefit

by giving way to the des ire to s leep after a

meal . To take a nap after his noonday mealis conducive to a child ’ s health . The health ofgrown people would also b e improved if they

could Sleep for fifteen or th irty m inutes after

the noonday meal . Unfortunately , most peoplehave no opportunity to indulge th is desire to

Sleep . For this reason they should eat so moder

ately as to make the inclination less strong .

What changes take place in the circulation duringsleep When a person is as leep the heartbeats

are slower and there is a Sligh t decrease in the

natural heat of the body . But the temperature

of the brain is apparently not decreased to anyextent . Some physiologists believe that th ereis m ore blood in the brain during s leep thanduring waking hours . Most phys iologists , however , speak of the condition of t he brain during

s leep as anemic , that is , having les s blood in it .

If there b e more blood in the brain during s leepit is apparently due solely to physical causes .

When we are awake we are usually in an erectposition , and the blood has to reach the brain

against the force of gravity ; if we are lying downthe blood of course reaches the brain with less

resistance . But it is not neces sary to lie down to

s leep . Many of us realize only too keenly how

438 HEALTH R EADER

easy it is to go to Sleep sitting up , especiallyif we are seated in a crowded room and no t

greatly int erested in what is going on .

What other eflect has sleep on the functions of thebody The digestive and ass im ilative powers oft he body are probably increased during s leep .

The breathing becomes slower , and oftendeeper . Sometimes , wh en the nasal passages

are obstructed in any way and the mouth isopen , snoring result s . If you keep your mouthshut you will not snore .

Some experimenters th ink that there is an

accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood ,and that this is either th e cause or t he result

of sleep . It is well known that the amount of

carbon dioxide excreted from the lungs is lessduring sleep than during the waking hours .

Sleep is profoundly influenced by habit . Ifwe are in th e habit of go ing to s leep at a certainhour we are very ap t to b ecome weary and haveall th e symptom s of s leepines s when that hourcomes . If we postpone our Sleep beyond th eregular hour we do not as a ru le becom e mores leepy ; for a tim e the feeling of s leepines s di

m inishes . If a person who is in t h e habit of

going to s leep at t en o’

clock in the evening iskept up until m idnight , or one o ’ clock in th e

morning , h e then usually has great difficu lty infalling as leep .


440 HEALTH READER

character . When an animal cannot b e arousedby the usual methods , it has passed into what is

called a state of coma ,which usually ends in death .

Are there other kinds of sleep b esides natural

sleep Sleep may be induced by various artificial means . Artificial sleep is most com

mouly induced bymeans of a drug. The drugswhich induce sleep are called narcotics . Opium

and morphine are types of narcotic substances .

Is there any danger in using such drugs Thereis great danger in using drugs of this kind .

They can be given safely only by a physicianwho has personal supervision of the patient .Th e use of many of these narcotics , especiallyopium and it s derivatives morphine , hero in ,

and codein and cocaine tends to produce a

habit which , when once formed , is very diflicultto break , and gradually destroys both physical

and mental health .

Opium and it s derivatives deaden pain , and

their use is excusable when there is no chancefor the patient to get well . But so long as

th ere is a chance for the patient to recover itis far better never to adm inister any of these

temporary reliefs than to cause him to form a

habit which , after he recovers from the disease ,

is certain to destroy him .

Are there any laws to res trict the sale of such

drugs ? There is a national law wh ich res t1ict s


trade in opium and coca leaves and theirderivatives , morph ine and cocaine . The derivative of the coca leaf is the drug known as

cocaine . Cocaine is no t a sleep-producing drug,but it has the remarkable ability of relievingpain and of inducing a condition of emotional

excitement . It is even more of a habit-form ingand destructive drug than morphine , and it s

victim s are utterly m iserable when deprived ofit . There is no more dreadfu l form of starvingthan to b e a morph ine or cocaine addict .

Op ium and it s compounds , and coca leavesand their derivatives , of wh ich cocaine is theonly one of importance , cannot b e sold in thiscountry excep t under strict regulations , whichrequire registration and accounting on the part

of those dealing in them . Mo st of the stateshave strict laws regulating the sale of thesedangerous habit-form ing drugs , and in manycities there are municipal laws to t he same

effect . Ch ildren , especially, should b e protectedfrom t he evils wh ich always attend the use of

such drugs .

Is artificial sleep , induced by means of drugs ,

b eneficial AS far as rest or restored energyis concerned , the s leep induced by th e use of

a narcotic gives very little of the benefit thatcomes from natural rest or real s lumber . The

drug relieves pain , but the ; possible harmful

442 HEALTH READER

aft er-effect when the patient recovers is fargreater than the good it does in relieving pain .

But the use of narcotics is m erciful in the

treatment of cases that are hopeless and in

easing the pain of the last hours of life .

What other kinds of sleep are there Thereare certain condit ions of unconsciousness in

which the patient is apparently asleep , thoughthe Sleep is totally different in character fromreal Sleep . Hypnotism is a form of s leep in

which the sleeper is subject to the will ofanother . N0 one can explain the mystery ofhypnotic Sleep . The person who is under t heinfluence of hypnotism is oblivious of all surroundings except as determ ined by the personwho has placed him under that influence .

The hypnotist comm ands , and t he hypnoticobeys involuntarily . The hypnotic answersquestions sensibly , perform s acts of all kinds ,and in general does any work assigned to himin a satisfactory manner . When h e is recalledfrom the hypnotic trance by the will of thehypnotist he has no memory of what has takenplace . In a way it may b e said that he hasbeen asleep , though hypnotic s lumber is as

different from real Sleep as the Sleep induced by

the use of Opium .

What is meant by sleep walking The personwho walk s in h is s leep , often act ing exactly as


444 HEALTH READER

movement in his Sleep , crying out or talking ,or Sitting up , or gesticulating . These actionsare usually remembered as tak ing place in

dream s . But the somnambulist remembersnothing that occurred in his walk . Certainindividuals are more subject to sleep walking

than others . N0 positive remedy has beendiscovered for this unpleasant afllict ion . A s a

general thing s imple food , outdoor exercise ,ligh t ,

clo th ing , and regular habits will dim inish t h e

t endency to s leep walking and sometimes pre

vent it altogether .

What is meant by b eing in a trance Personswho are in .a trance are as leep in the sense thatthey have lost consciousness of the external

world . But their brains often remain active .

People in a trance write letters , answer questions , and do many th ing s that they wouldperhaps not b e able to do if they were in a

normal condition .

There is another form of Sleep in which the

body is more or less rigid , sometimes remainingin th is condition for many hours or even days .

This form of Sleep is called catalepsy . This condition is , of course , abnormal , and seem s t o

have no relat ion whatever to natural sleep . In

other words , it is a disease .

Is s leep very important When we considerthat in a normal life of seventy years we pass


nearly twenty-three years in sleep , it is evident

that Sleep is very important in it s relations to

our welfare . We are just as much alive wh ileas leep as we are while awake , but it is a differentk ind of life . Sleep is a vegetative life , growth ,

restoration of tissues , rebuilding of the brokenparts of the system , rest and refreshment .

From a phys ical point of view, sleep is quiteas important as food and much more so thanclothing. The fact that we spend almost one

third of our lives as leep should impress us withthe importance of s leep . Sleep is essential to

the health of the body. The hours of s leep

should therefore b e ordered as carefully as the

hours of work or of play .

XXXI I PHYSIC AL EXERC ISE

What is the value of special physical training

Ordinarily th e child who plays out of doors willbecome thoroughly developed physically . The

muscles of the legs are developed by walkingand running , and the muscles of the arm s byplaying ball , drawing carts , and other play

activities . The deep and rapid breathing wh ichvigorous play induces will develop the muscles

of the thorax. Thus m ost of the child ’ s muscles

becom e developed in play . It is advisable ,however , to aid and direct such development

scientifically and to provide special exercise for

certain needs: For th is reason the gymnasiumis an important adjunct of the playground .

The gymnasium . The gym nas ium is , as a

rule , a closed building where exercise can b e

taken during very cold weather , in rainy seasons ,and even at night . Thus the gymnasium pro

vides a place where the important process of

physical developm ent may b e carried on in

spite of outdoor conditions that would prevent it .

Are gymnas tic exercises ofvalue The value of

gymnastic exercises cannot b e denied . Thoughconducted with in doors , such exercises , if properly directed and if the gymnasium is properlyventilated , are very beneficial . But the boy

446


448 HEALTH R EADER

fatigue in the muscles of the body as a result

of too much exercise is harm ful inst ead of

beneficial .

Kinds of exercises . In the gymnasium , childrenShould at first go through .very Simple exercises .

The . exercises Should gradually increase in

intensity as the muscular system develops and

endurance increases . Thus , by gradual training the child may learn to go through with ease

exercises which he would otherwise have beenunable to perform .

Wh en properly equipped , the gymnasium is

supplied with many different kinds of apparatusfor phys ical development . Running , jum ping ,swinging , climbing , the swinging of Indianclubs , vaulting , and many other exercises are

included in the general course of ins t ruction .

The attendant should always take care t o havethe gym nasium well ventilated and at the propertemperature . The temperature in the gymna

s ium Should always b e lower than would seem

agreeable for any one not engaged in activeexercise . While the temperature in the living

room Should be sixtyeeigh t to seventy degrees ,the temperature in the gymnas ium may prop

erly b e as low as Sixty to s ixty-five degrees .

For exercises on the trapeze , or for any otherexercises in which there is danger of falling ,padded floors or cushions should b e provided .

PHYSICAL EXERC ISE 449

A detailed description of the particular form s

of exercises which should b e practiced in the gym

nasium cannot b e given here . The wise and

scientific superintendent will study the part icular needs of each child and t ry t o give him

exercises in accordance with those needs . Children become very fond of gym nastic work

when it is properly conducted . It s good effectsare visible in hardened muscles , clearer eyes ,greater mental activity , and increased physicalendurance .

What is the value of competitive games In

play , as in busines s , healthful competition is

beneficial . Gam es are better than ordinaryplay because of the added zest induced by thedesire to win a victory . The sport of simplythrowing or batting a ball is pleasant exercise ,but it can in no way equal the int erest of a

game of ball in wh ich each Side is strugglingfor the victory . For this reason competitivegam es in the gymnasium or in the open field ,under good supervision , are effect ive in pro

m ot ing physical development .

Are such games dangerous ? There is one dan

ger t o b e avoided in such gam es . During thecrises of compet it ive play t he players put forthsuprem e efforts . Such efforts resul t in exces sivestrain or fatigue . Som e gam es are much moredangerous on t h is account than ot hers . First

29

456 HEALTH READER

among such games is football , though there iss carcely any game in which a child will takepart with m ore enthusiasm . For ch ildren , t he

m odified Rugby variety of football is preferableto the game played by college and university

students . In football , supreme physical exer

Playing lawn tennis

tion is necessary , at least for a few moment s

at a time ,in order t o win the victory .

Compet it ive gam es with les s danger t o t he

child are baseball , basket ball , and lawn tennis .

Tennis , especially , affords excellent physicaltraining, and without any very great danger of

overexertion . Baseball is a nat ional sport , andevery boy will want to learn to play it . It is

comp arat ively safe , full of int erest , and requires


XXXI I I . THE VALUE or HEALTH

What is the value of health Children as a

rule do not realize the m oney value of health .

They realize it s advantages , it s freedom frompain , it s exuberance , and t he opportunity it

gives them for enjoying life . But they do not

realize that good health is also to b e measuredin dollars and cents . The m ental efficiency of

t he ch ild and of t he grown person depends morelargely on good health than on anyt hing else .

Progress in school and in co llege depends t o a

great extent on the health of the individual.Success in the office or in th e shopdepends verylargely on good health . The value of a citizent o the community and t o h is own fam ily and

friends is greater or les s according to his stateof health . It is therefore a matter of suprem e

import ance for every one t o know from h is

earliest years the fundam ental facts of nutrition ,

of exercise , and of play ,in order to secure a

maxim um of good health in childh ood as well

as in adult life .

How is sicknes s cos tly? Just as we may regard

good health as an increase in money value and

usefulnes s , so may we m easure ill health as a

loss in money value and efficiency . The sickperson is no t only unable to do useful and

THE VALUE OF HEALTH 453

lucrative work, but he is also a burden of caret o his fam ily . The cost of professional medical

service is oft en very great . Sickness is thereforea heavy burden on humanity , and we Shoulddo everything in our power to avoid it or torem ove it when once it has befallen us .

To b e sick is to b e useless . From whatever

point of view we look at the matter , it pays t o

keep well and it cos t s a lo t ofmoney to be Sick .

The object of s tudy. The object wh ich the

child has in view , or at leas t wh ich the parentshave in view , dur ing schooldays , is that he

o r she shall becom e a useful man or woman .

Every fact or in the training and conduct of the

ch ild which leads to th is result is to b e favoredand promoted . Every obs tacle which lies in

t he way of the achievem ent of th is result is t o

b e rem oved if po s sible .

Child life , from the physical point of view ,

has t oo long been neglected . To b e healthy ,

well developed , and vigorous is not only the

privilege but also the duty of every ch ild . The

harm onious development of all the organs of

the body in the healthy child promot es the bestdevelopm ent of the int ellect and of the moralnature .

The purpose of writ ing th is h ealt h reader hasbeen to lead the ch ild lit t le by lit t le into a

knowledge of t hose th ings wh ich concern his

454 HEALTH READER

physical welfare , realizing that this is intim atelyrelated to his mental and moral welfare . Th e

child who has read and carefully studied th e

principles laid down in th is book is for that

reason better prepared to attain health ,happi

ness , and success in life than he would otherwise

have been .


456 HEALTH R EADER

dorsal

duodenum (du'b

dysentery (dls’én té r i) .

dyspepsia (dis pep’si a

’

; shd) .

eau de C olo e (o dé koedib le (ed

’i

efl ciency (é fish’én si)

emulsion m il sh zin) .entomology (en

’to m61’6ji) .

environment (611 vi 'rzin mént ) .enz ymesEpernay (aepidemic (é p

’! dem

’ik ) .

epidermis (é p’! dfir

’mis ) .

epiglottis (é p’i lot

'is ) .

eradicate (6rd ’i kat ) .

esophagus (é sof’a gals ) .eucalyptus (fi

'ka 11

't i s )

Eustach ian (ti sta (in)excretion (é ks kre

’sh zin)

excretory (é k s’kre to rl) .

exuberance (é g z u’b é r dns ) .

faciale (fa

’

fecesfibrinfibrous (fl b riis ) .filaments (fil ’d ments ) .fluoride (fi®

'6r Id ) .fructifies (friik

’ti fIz ) .

function

gaseous (gas’e i s ) .

gelatin (jé l'd t in) .

germicide (jur’mi std) .

ges ticulate (jé s tik'u lat ) .

globules lob'ulz )

glucose

gluten (g oo’t é n) .

glycerine (glis’é r in) .

glycogen (gli’ko jé n) .

granary n’a ri

graphite taf'it )gullet

gus tatory (gfis'td to rl) .

Hawaiian Islands (ha WI'

ydn1 ldp d ) .

heroin (h é ro’in) .

hordein (h6r’dé in) .hydroch loric (hI

’dro klo

'rlk )

hydrogen (hI'dro jén) .

hypnotism (hip no tiz’

m ) .

ileo-ce cal (Il’é 6se’kdl) .

ileum (il’

e zim ) .incisors (in si

’z é rz ) .

indol

infectious (ininsomnia (in som

'ni a) .

intes tines (in té s’tinz ) .

iris

jejunum (jé jm’niim ) .

juniper (jdb'nl per) .

krypton (krlp’tdn)

lacteal (li k’t é all) .

lactos elager (1a

’

gé r) .

levulose (lé v’fi lb s ) .

ligament (lig'd mént ) .

lipase (lip'as ) .

lobule (16blubricate (ln

'b ri kat ) .

lucrative (ln'krd t iv) .

lumbar (lfim'ba

’

r

lymphatic (lim fat ’ik ) .

magnesia (mag h e’t d ) .

maiz e (maz ) .malaria (md la

’rl

malic (ma'lik ; mal

’ik ) .

malnutrition (mi l’nn t rish an) .

maltos e (m61’ t0 s ;mas ticate (mas

’t i kat ) .

mas toidmedicinal (me dis

'i ndl) .

menthol (men’thol)

mercurial (m é r ku'rl dl) .

microbesmicroscopic (mik

’kro skop ik ) .

morph ine (mor’ fin ; fen) .

mucous (adj. (mfi’kus ) .

mucus (noun) , mfi’kus ) .

muriatic (mu’r! at

’lk ) .

A PR ONOUNC ING VOC ABULARY 457

muscle (mi’

is l) .mythological (mith

'o16g ’i kal ) .

narcotics (nar kot'ik s ) .

nasalnectar

nephritis (né iri’tis ) .

neurasth enia (nn'rds the

’

ui d ) .nicotine (nik

’o t in ; ten) .

nitrogen (ni't rb jén) .

nitrogenous (n! t roj’

e niis ) .nos tril (nos

'tril)

noxious

nutrients (nu’t ri int s ) .

obesity (6bé s ’l ti) .odor

olfactory (61fak ’

to ri) .opaque (6Opium (o

’

pi aim ) .optic

oxidiz ing (6k 'si dl z ’ing ) .oxygen (6k ’ si jén) .

palate

pancreas (pi g’kré 5s

papillae (pd pfl'e) .

paralysis (pa’

ré l’! sis ) .

parasites (pi r’a

’

sit s ) .

parotid (pa‘

rot’Id) .

pecan (pépellagra (pé lai

r-d ) .

percolate (par 6lat ) .peroxide (pé r6k ’ sld ) .perspiration (pfir

’sp l

petroleum (pé tro'lé tim ) .

ph enol fe’nol) .phagocytes (fag ’o stt s ) .pharynx r

’ig s

phosphate (fos'fat )

ph osphoric acid (fos ior'ik as

'id)

ph osph orus (fos’fdr tl

'

s ) .pinama

pleura

pneumonia (numo’nl d) .

porcelain r'sé lzw) .

porous (po ri s ) .

precipitate (pré sip’i tat ) .

protein (pro’te in) .

ptyalin (t i’d lin).

pungency,(piin

’

jén si) .W (p0 pa ) .

pylba

rus (pi 10'rfis ) .

quartz (kw6rt s ) .quinine

quotient

rancid

rectumrecuperate (ré ku

'

per at ) .refrigeration (re frij

'é r

regis ter (ré j’is t é r) .

rennet

respiratory (re sp ir’a to ri) .

retina (ré t’i na) .

R h eims (rem z ) .rigid (and)R 10 de Janeiro (re

’o z ha

‘

na'ro) .

ruminant (r®’mi nant ) .

sago

saliva (sd ll'vd ) .

salivary (sal'i va ri) .

sarcophagus (sat kof ’a g z ‘is ) .sarsaparilla (sar

'sd pa

’

secretion (sé kre’

shiin ) .

solub le (sol’u b

’

l) .solvent

somnambulis t (som nam'bfi lis t )

somnussoprano (so pra

’no) .

sorghumspasmodic (s az mod

’ik ) .

sputum (spa t z‘

irn) .steapsin (s teap

’sin) .

s tegomyia (s teg’om i

’

ya) .s teriles teriliz e (s t é r

’i lIz ) .

s ternums timuli (s tim

’fi ll) .

stimulus (s tim'fi his ) .

sub ling'

ual (siib lin'

gwal) .submaxillary (siib mak

’si 15. ri) .

succulent (siik'fi lént ) .

458 HEALTH READER

suicide (sa’I Sid) .

sulphur

tactile (tak'til)

tannintaro

tartaric (tar ti r'ik ) .

technical (té k'ni

techniquetheine (the

’in ; en) .

theobromine (the'b b ro

’min)

Theobroma cacao (the’ob ro

’md

ka o) .thoracic (tho ras

'ik) .

thorax (tho raks ) .tissuetonsils (tbn

’sils )

trypsin (trlp'sin

tubercle bacillus (tu’bé r k

'

lbd sil

’tis .

tuberculosis (tnber’ku lo

’sis )

tympanum (tim’

p é. h am) .

urea (u'ré

ureter (a re'té r) .

urethre (a re'thrd) .

uric

urineuvula (u

’vfi 1d) .

vacuum (vak'u aim ) .

(vas’1m ldr) .

velocity (vé los’i ti):

venous

ve rtebrae (vur’

té b re) .villiviscid

(vit'ré iis ) .

vitrified (vit’t i fl) .

whooping cough (hmp'ing k6f) .

xenon

z ein


460 HEALTH

Breathing ,18—20 , 39 ; experi

ment illus t rating , 24; organsof, 2 1

-55 ; fish

’

s manner of,

37 38Bngh t

'

s d1sease , 361 .

Bronchial tubes , 2 1, 22 , 30 , 40 .

Buckwheat , 143 , 154; flour madefrom , 179 .

But ter, 148, 177 , 2 10 .

C aecum , 344; in relat ion to

small intes tine , 345.

C afi'

eine , 236, 240 , 245, 248; inrelation to heal th , 237 .

C ake , 180-182 .

C andy ,257

-264; effect on heal thof, 263 , effect on teeth of, 263264; ingredients of, 259 .

C anning of foods , 20 7 ; 2 142 17 .

C apillaries , 82 , 350 .

C arbohydrates . 143 . 354;in properly balanced d1e t , 30 1 ;in small intes tine , 342 ; s tudyof, 290

—294; used in buildingof b ody , 293 .

C arb on,88, 89, 90 , 147 , 148.

C arb on dioxide , 10 , 11 , 12 , 20 ,

22,23 , 26, 2 7 , 84, 89, 90 ; in

b lood , 364—365, 438; in b reath ,28—29 .

C ardiac orifice , 329 .

C arb onic acid ,227 , 228.

C ataract of the eyes , 393 .

C atale sy , 444.

C atarr

9

, precautions to p revent ,

C atchup ,2 14—28

1

5

6.C ell eaters ,

gelleual

l

ose , 352 .

er s 143 ,20 2 ,

food4

made from ,2 1 ; containing

s tarch , 292 , 1r0n in, 283 ;whisky made from ,

254.

C ervical (neck ) , 376.C hampagne , 252 .

C harcoal , 89 .

C hes t , 2 1, 30 , 3 1 .

C hewing , 324-325.

154-175 ; b eer

READER

C hild , coffee harmful to the237 , 240 ; diet for the , 3 18;effec t of soft drinks on healthof

,249 ; food for the growing ,

153—154; fruit s for the , 186;

p ro tein necessary for diet of,

289—290 ; tea harmful to ,

239 ,240 ; temperature of bath for108

C hlor1ne , 149 .

C hocolate , 246—247 .

C hOkmg o 43—4?C irculation b lood , 82—86;

through lungs , 25-28; during

sleep .437—438

C it ric acid , 150 , 187 .

C leanliness , 123°

in relation t o

health , 106—10 7 .

C lo thing , wearing of, 94—96; for

children , 100 .

C lo ts , b lood , 362 , 363 .

C oal, burning of, 88.

C oca C ola , 115.

C ocoa ,244—246.

C offee , 234—238; grades of, 235

p rincip les m ,236; variet ies of

234—235 ;why roas ted ,

235—236.

C olds , 52—55 ; p recaut ions to

p revent , 46-49 sense of smell

affected by , 40 2—40 3 .

C old s torage , 198, 20 7-2 11 .

C o lon, ascending , 344; descend

ing . 345 ; t ransverse. 344C oma, 440 .

C ombus tion, a s tudy of, 87—90 ,

91.

C ondiment s , 130 , 133 , 134-135 ,

281, 353 ; danger of using an

excess of, 138—139 ; as food

products , 139°

necessary forb uilding of b ody , 299

—300 .

C onfec tions , definition of, 257 .

C ooking , develop s flavor offood , 136.

C orn ,143 , 154; as a food , 161

,

166; composition of, 162 ;difference b e tween barley and ,169 ; difference be tween ryeand , 167—168; in relation to

health , 165-166.

THE INDEX

C ornea,£3

0

C om m 179 , 164.

C orpuscles of the b 0 0d , red , 85,

363 :white. 3 1—32 . 85. 363C o t ton p lant , 176.“C ross-eyes .

"

395-397

C rystalhne lens , 390-39 1 .

C ulex, 56—57 .

C uticle , 10 2 .

Dental inspection in pub lic

schools , 32 1-323 .

Dermis , 10 3 .

Dext rin, 320 .

Dextrose , 342 .

Diabe tes , 147 , 360 .

Diaphragm .23. 36. 329 .

Diatase , 342 .

Diet , rela t 1on of sense of hungerto proper control of, 430 ;relat ive proport ion of foods in

proper, 30 1

-30 3 ; simp licity a

actor of p roper, 306-308.

Diges tion, condiment s an aid to ,135, 136; carbohydrates in

relation to , 293-294; in small

intes tine , 339 43 ; in s tomach ,

328-329 ; socia ility an aid to ,

308-3 10 ; spleen in relation to ,

,357

D1ges t1ve ferments , 332-334,

335.

D organs , 3 11—357 ; rela

senses of smell andtas te t o , 137 .

Diseas es of lungs , 3 1-35 .

Dis tilled liquors , 254—256.

Distilled water, 116.Divers , 16—17 .

Dorsal (back ) , 376.Drinking water , pure , 1 16-117 ;purifying , 118—119 ; temperature of, 11

Drinking wh ile eat ing , 1 19-122 ,—

328.

Drink s , 226—256; alcoholic , 113 ,

250—256; so t , 114, 247

-250 .

Drugs producing sleep , 440-441 .

Drying , a means of p reservingfoods , 204-20 7 .

461

Dumb bells , exercises with , 51.

Duodenum , 339 .

Dus t , definit ion of, 62 ; in air,62-70 ; in lungs , 63 ; in wate r,163 ; tub erculo sis germs in,67 .

Dysp epsxa. 337 .

Ear, 46, 412—41 diseases of the

416; extern 412 ; inte rnal ,412—41 middle , 414; in rela

tion to ealth , 416 17 ; transmit ting apparatus 0 415

-416.

Ear drum , 412 .

Eating , res t after, 436—437 ; t esult of drinking water when,

119-122

,23 1 ; rule to ob serve

when, 306—30 8 ; sociab ility inrelation to , 30 8

-3 10 ; use of

liquids when , 327-328.

Eggs , 147 , 148, 191, 20 8, 284.

Enz ym e , see Ptyalin.

Epidemics , 119 .

Epidermis , 10 2 .

Ep iglo t t is . 41. 42 . 43 .44.

Esophagus . 40 . 41. 44. 46: inrelation to s tomach , 329 ; in

relat ion to swallowing , 325 ;in relat ion to vomiting , 326.

Eus tachian tub es , 6, 413 , 416.Exercise , 50 ; for eh

'

dren , 47348;

gymnas t ic , 48, 446—449 ; dsof. 448

—45 1 : physical. 446

451Eyes , 388

-40 0 ; as afiected b

measles , 399 ; cause of color 0

392 ; defect s of the , 392-398;fluids of the , 392 ; in relat1ou

to health , 397 ; ligh t in rela

t ion to the , 398; part s of the ,

390-392

Farsigh tednes s , 394—395 .

Fat , 148, 281 ; ab sorp tion of,

3 in mea ts , 20 1 ; result

0 exces s of, 295 ; s tudy of,294

-296.Feces , 346.Fee ling , sense of, see Touch ,sense of.

Fermenta tion,250—251.

462

Fermented beverages , 250-256.

Ferments , diges tive , 332-334,

335Fever, 97

-99 ; water used in

case of, 123—124.

Fib rin , 362 .

Filtration of water, 118.

Finger nails , 10 3 .

Fire , relation of air and , 87-88.

Fish , 194, manner of

b reathm of, 37—38.

Flavor of oods , 134-139 : sense

of smell in relat ion to , 404.

Flies , health endangered by,

59—61.

Flour,158—160 .

Food , 127—225 ; ab sorp t ion of

,

348-353 ; articles of 129

—133 ;cereal s as , 154

-175: chewingof, 3 11 ; classifica t ion of, 142143 , 281 ; common art icles of,140

-142 ; composition of, 151175

°

containing carbohydrates ,290—294; containing minerals ,

281, 282—283 ; containingpro tein,

283—285 ; contain

taminng

starch ,290

-292 ; tamin

tg

sugar, 290-292 ; definit ion 0

128; elements of, 140-150 ; exit

from s tomach of, 338-339 ;fats and oils as , 294—296;flavor 0 f, 134

—139 , for growing ch ild ,

153—154; furnished

by animals , 191-20 1 ; honey

as a , 2 72 ; in difierent coun

t ries , 143 ; ingredients oi, 30 1

303 ; in relation to development of body ,

2 7 3 10 ; in re

lat ion to hea t of y , 96—9 7 ;in s tomach , 334

-335 , methods

of p reserving , 20 2-2 17 ; neces

sary for persons in various

occupations , 30 2-30 3

°

neces

sary for proper

297-3 10 ; nuts as , 2 18—225 ;

purpo se of, 2 79—281 ; s tudy of

art icles of, 151 175 , temperature of, 10—412 .

0 0d and rugs A ct , 139 , 180 .

Formic acid m honey , 2 7 1.

HEALTH READER

Fowl, 194.

Fruit s , 135, 146, 184—190 ; acidsin

,150 , 187

-188; efiect on

human sys tem of seeds of,188-190 ; in relat ion to health ,

186; methods of prese20 3 , 20 20 7 , 2 16-2 17 ; raw

and coo ed , 186—187 .

Gall. 34Gall b ladder, 340 .

Games , value of competitive ,449 ; running , 451

Gin 254. 255G lucose , definition of, 266-267 °

used 1n candy making , 262 .

G luten , 163 .

G lycerin in small intes tine , 342 .

G lycogen 350 354G rain , primitive ways of grinding , IS7

G ra juice , 253-254.

G ri dle cakes , 178-180 .

Gullet , 40 .

Gus tatory nerve , 406.Gymnas tic exercises , 48, 446

Hair, 10 3 , 104.

Heal th , alcohol in relation to ,253 ; candy in relation to , 263 ;cleanliness in relation to , 10610 7 ; ear in relat ion to , 416417 ; eye in relation to , 397 ;honey in relat ion to ,

272how flies endanger, 59

—61 ;how mosquitoes endanger, 5659 ; ligh t in rela tion to , 398

399 ; nuts in relation to , 223225 ; pure water in relation to ,

119 ; sense of smell in relationto , 404; sense of touch in

relation to , 423 ; sense of tas tein relation to , 410 ; sirup inrelation to , 268-269 ; sour

milk in relation to , 233-234;

value of, 452—454; water and

its funct ion in, 109—125.

Hearing , sense of, 412—417 .


464

Milk 153 . 19 1. 283. 289. 290 ;composition of cow

’

s , 151154; for growing ch ildren ,

232—233 ; SOll l' , 233—2341 347

48; sugar in , 145 ; tub ercuosis germ s in, 34.

Mineral sub s tances , 149 ; ab sorpt

b

ion

dlof, 35

f2-353 ; necessary in

di on

gf odb y ,

2

Mineral cods , 281 ;282-283 .

Mineral waters , 124.

Mo lasses , 145, 180 .

Mosquitoes , health endangered

by , 56—59 ; method of get tingrid of

, 58, remedy for stingOfi. 59

Mo tor nerves , 385—386.

Mouth , 39—40 ; pneumonia germ

in the , 35.

Movements , volun tary and lnvolun tary , 383

-384.

Mucous memb rane , 348, 352 .

Mucus , 348Muria tic ac1d , 335.

study of,

Nails , finger and toe , 10 3 .

Narco t ics , sleep induced by ,

440—441.

Nearsigh tedness , 394.

Neck ,see C ervica .

Nephritis , 361 .

Nervous sys tem , a s tudy of the ,

37 1-387

erves , 380—387 ; of hearing ,

412 ; of sense of smell, 400

-40 1 ;

of sense of tas te , 40 5-406; of

sense of touch , 418-425 ; of

the skin ,10 2

,10 3 ; of vision,

388-390 ; mo tor, 385

-386; sen

so ry , 385—386; speed of t rans

mis sion th rough , 382-383 .

Neuras thenia , 435.

Nit rogen ,10

,147 ; foods con

taining ,281

,283

-285.

No s t rils , 39 .

Nu trition , element s of, 151—175 ;

princip les of, 297—3 10 .

Nut rit ive rat io , 30 1 .

IJELAJLTYHY .EH571LHEYQ

Nut s , 148; as food , 2 18—225 ;raw and roas ted , 2 18; in

relat ion to health , 2 23 ; varie ties of 2 19

—22 1 .

Oatmeal, 175 .

Oats . 143. 154:as food . 173-175:

composit ion of,173

-174.

Odors , 14—16.

0 11, 148, 281 ; s tudy of, 294—296.

Olfactory nerves , 137 ,as afiected by colds , 403 .

Op tic nerve , 388—390 ; defec t

of the , 392-393 .

Oranges , 150 .

Oxygen,10 ,

11,12

,14, 20 ,

22,

23 . 26. 27 . 28. 87 . 88. 89. IO9.147 , 148; in the blood , 364-365.

Pain, ab ility t o localiz e sensa

tions of, 424; in relat ion to

sense of touch , 422—423 .

Palate , 44—45.

Pancreas , 138, 340 , 341—342 .

Pap illae of the tongue , 40 5.

Paralysis , 376—377 .

Paro t id glands , 323 .

Pas try , 273-277 ; in relation to

diges tion , 275—27 7 .

Pellagra ,165.

Pep sin ,137 , 332 .

Pep tone , 332 ; in small intes tine ,

342:Persp irat ion , 93

—94.

Phagocytes , 85.

Pharynx, 45—46; in relation to

thirs t , 43 1.

Phenol, 347 .

Phonograph , as compared to eai°

drum , 414.

Pho sphoric acid , 147 .

Pho sphorus , 149 ,159 , 192 .

Physical exercise , 446—451Pies , see Pas t ry .

Plant s , and carb on dioxide , 10

12,23 .

Plasma , 362 .

Pleura ,23 , 30 , 3 1 .

Pneumonia germ , 32 , 35, 36, 37 .

Portal vein , 350 .

THE INDEX

Potash , 149, 150 , 159 , 160 .

Poult ry ,Preserving foods , 20 2—2 17 .

Pro tein, 147—148, 159 , 162 , 163 ,

1741 1755. 1991 z oo

fr 2 181 285

t ion 0 3 1-352 ;as d1ges ted

p1n s toma , 332

333 ; foods containing , 283285 ; nut ritive ualities of,286-290 ; in relat 1on to p roperl

inbalanced

)die t , 30 1.

Ptya (enz yme ) , 3 19 .

Pup il of the eye , 39 1.

Pure food law , 139 .

Pylorus , 329 , 338.

R ain water, 116.R ation, s tudy of the balanced297—3 10 .

R ectum , 345.

R ennet , 332 .

R et ina , 386, 391.

R ib s , 2 1, 30 , 3 1 .

R ice , 143 , 154: as a food , 170

172 ; compo sition of, 17 1 ; how

prepared for ea t ing , 17 1 .

R um , 256.R ye . 143 . 154. 178: as food.

166-167 ; compos1tion of, 167168.

R ye b read ,167 .

Sago , 144.

Saliva, 40 ,120

,23 1, 3 19 ; in

relation t o diges tion , 333—334.

Salivary glands , 120,137 ; and

their funct ion, 323—325 .

Salt , 130-132 , 149 ; in hydro

chloric acid , 336; necessaryfor human body ,

299—300 .

Sensory nerves , 10 3 , 385-386.

Serum , 362 .

Sickness , temperature in case of,

9‘

99Senses , efiec t of t ra1n1ng the ,

428—429 ; s tudy of the , 388

43 1 , sub s titut ion of, 426-428.

Sirup , 145, 179 , 264—2 70 ; foodvalue of, 267—269 ; used in

candy making , 260—261.

465

Skatol, 347 .

94; and it s functions ,10 2-108; chief organ of senseof t ouch , 419

—42 1 ; cleansin

of, 106-10 7 ; s tructure 0

10 2-104; temperature of bodycontrolled by ,

104-106.

Skull, 7 1-373 ; in relation to

spin column, 375.

Sleep , 432—445: art ificial ,

442 ; changes in circulat1onduring , 437

-438; diges tive

powers as afiec ted by , 438;drugs p roducing , 440

-441 ;

importance of, 444—445 ; 1n

ab 1lity to , 434-435 ; resul t of

lack of, 434; resul t of too

much , 434; various form s of,

440-444; walking in.442

-444

Sleepines s , overeating a cause

of, 436.Sleeping , covering when, 100

10 1 , t emperature of roomsfor, 80

Smell, nerve of, 137 , 400—404

eflec t of co lds on sense of,

40 2-40 3 .

Sneez ing . 53—54

Snoring , 438.

Soap ,20 1 .

Soda ,149 , 160 ; benz oate of

, 13 1.

Sodium , 334.

Soft Drinks , see Drink s , soft .

So lvent , water a,110 .

Somnambul is t , 443—444.

“Sore eyes ,

"

397-398.

Sorghum , 150 .

Sound , sensa tion of, 413-416.

Spinal column ,23 , 375 ; spinal

cord 1n relation to , 376.Spinal cord , 375

-380 .

Spine , 375 ; curvature of the

377—379

Sp leen 335-357

Sp ring , diagram of a ,1 17 .

Sp ring fever , " 369—370 .

Sp ring water , 116, 1 17 .

Starch ,142

- 143 ,168 ; in food ,

144, 146; func tion of, 290-29 1 .

Starch foods , 143 , 144, 29 1-293 .

466 HEALTH R EADER

Starvation, 430 .

Steaps1n,.342 .

Stegomyta. 57Sternum , 30 , 3 1 .

Stomach , ab sorp tion of food in,

349 : acid in. 335?

8; defini

t ion of, 329 ; exit 0 0 0d from ,

338—339 ; in relation to diges

t ion , 328—339 ; in relation to

sense of hunger, 429 ; siz e of,

329 ; walls of, 330 .

Study , object of, 453—454.

Sub lingual glands , 324.

Submaxillary glands , 324.

Sugar , 142—143 , 168 ; funct ion of,

290-291 ; in fruit , 187 ; in liver,

354; in relation to health , 146147 :in the urine , 360 ; used inmaking candy ,

257—259 .

Sugar beets , 259 .

Sugar cane , 150 ,258—259 .

Sugar foods , 145-146; 290 -294.

Sulphur , 147 , 149 .

Swallowing , a s tudy of, 325—328.

Sweat . 93-94. 10 5

Sweat glands , 10 3 , 10 5Symond

’

s tab le of he1gh t and

weigh t , 296.

Tallow, 20 1 .

Tannin, 236, 240 .

Tapioca , 144.

Taro , 144.

Tartaric acid ,150 ,

187 .

Tas te , 40 5-412 ; effec t of tem

perature on sense of, 409-410 ;

in relation to health , 410 ;nerves of, 137 , 405

-406;

theo ry of t ransmission 0 sense

of, 40 7-408; tongue in relation

t o sense of, 40 5-406; various

k inds of, 406—40 7 .

Tea, 239-244; active princip le

in,240

-241 ; count ries which

use mos t , 243 ; part of p lant

used in making , 241—242 ;

theine in ,236, 240 .

Teeth ,

‘

39 ; and their uses , 3 11

323 ; com po sition of, 3 13-3 15 ;

cu t t ing the , 3 15-3 16; develop

ment of good , 3 18; cflect ofcandy upon , 263-264; funct ions of various , 3 12 ; rela tionto heal th of imperfect , 3 1932 1 ; pub lic schoo l inspectionof, 32 1

—323 ; temporary , 3 12

3 13 , 3 16—3 18; wisdom , 3 13 .

Tee thing ,”

3 15.

Temperature , 76—81 ; evils ofhigh , 77

—78; for schoolroom ,

47 : for sleep ing room ,80—81 ;

mos t favorab le to efficientwork , 76; of the bath , 10 7108 ; used in cold s torage , 20 8.

Temperature of the body , 9110 1 ; clo thing in relat ion to ,

94-97 ; how kep t normal, 92

94; howmeasured , 99 ; increasein, 97

-98; in s tate of health ,

91 , 10 1 ; methods of cont rolling , 96—97 ; skin in relat ionto , 10 2 , 104

-106.Theine , 236, 240 .

Theob romine , 2 5 .

Thermometer, inical , 99 .

Thirs t , 112-115, 122 ; sense of

43 1Thoracic duct , 351.

Thorax, 2 1, 22 , 30 , 3 1 .

Throa t , air passages of, 40 .

Toe nails , 10 3 .

Tongue , 39 ; in relation to sense

of tas te , 40 5-406.

Tonsils , 40 , 45 .

Touch , sense of, 10 2

, 418-429 ;

cultivat ion of sense of, 424426; in relat ion to heal th , 423 .

Trachea ,2 1

,22

, o , 40 , 44.

Trance , a form 0 sleep , 444.

Trunk , 23 .

17 138111. 42Tubercle bacillus , 33 .

Tub erculosis , 32-34.

Tuberculosis germs, in dus t , 67

in milk , 34; protec tion from ,

68 ; sp read of, 68.

Tympanum (ear

Universal solvent ,”1 11

Urea.288. 355. 358. 359. 360 .


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