i8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ing the arms up and down like pump-handles. But the weighted stick, 

 bearinir airainst the sinews of the forearm, still increases this effect, and 

 overcomes the stricture of the asthmatic spasm, as the movement of 

 the loose arms relieves the torpor of the drowning-asphyxia. With the 

 aid of this mechanical ^)///a^eve (for death is the only radical asthma- 

 cure) the distress of the spasm can be relieved before the actual dysp- 

 noea or breathlessness has begun, and, after ten or twelve resolute 

 efforts, the feeling of oppression will generally subside and the lungs 

 resume their work as if nothing had happened. Daily exercise with 

 the balance-stick is sure to diminish the frequency of the attacks, and, 

 if begun in time, would probably cure children from an hereditary ten- 

 dency of this sort. Two years ago I sent this receipt to an asthma- 

 martyr whom the narcotic-vapor cure did not save from a weekly repe- 

 tition of all the horrors of strangulation. He has now lengthened the 

 period of his complaint from a week to an average of forty days, and 

 assured me that even a few minutes' exercise with a six-pound weight 

 has saved him many a sleepless night. 



Lifting and carrying weights was a favorite exercise with the an- 

 cient athletes, and our modern rustics are still very apt to estimate a 

 man's strength by his lifting capacity. The " best man " of a York- 

 shire parish is generally he who can shoulder the heaviest bag and 

 carry it farthest and with the firmest step. Feats of this sort require 

 certainly a sound constitution in every way ; weak lungs, especially, 

 are sure to tell, but the main strain bears upon the thighs and the small 

 of the back : a good lifter has to be a strong-boned man, and will gen- 

 erally make a good wrestler and rider. Weak-backed children will, 

 therefore, derive much benefit from the various exercises with hand- 

 weights and lifting-straps, and, indeed, from any labor involving the 

 addition of an extra burden to the natural weight of the body. Heavy 

 lifts require some i^recaution against strains a waist-belt, and unflinch- 

 ing steadiness in rising from a stooping position ; but it should be 

 remembered that rupture (hernia) generally ascribed to the effects 

 of overlifts results more frequently from the shock of a fall, and a 

 predisposing defect of the abdominal teguments. The history of the 

 lifting-cure records not a single instance of a rupture having origi- 

 nated from the often enormous feats of professional gymnasts, or the 

 more dangerous efforts of enthusiastic beginners. As a general rule, it 

 may be relied upon that a perfectly sound child can not overlift him- 

 self before his strength gives way I mean, before the yielding of his 

 muscles and sinews simply compels him to drop the burden. Here, 

 too, the achievements of ancient and modern Samsons illustrate the 

 tenacity of the human frame and its marvelous capacity for develop- 

 ment. The credibility of the Gaza story depends somewhat upon the 

 size of those city gates ; but there is no doubt that Thomas Topham, of 

 Surrey, once shouldered a sentry-box containing a stove, a bench, and 

 a sleeping watchman, and carried his burden to a suburban cemetery. 



