OPEN AIR AND HEALTH. 225 



called (meat, eggs, beer), else he might take an " inward cold," or even 

 a fever. 



But a person may contract a genuine (external) cold by unwise 

 precaution against draughts by neglecting the skin-ventilation. 

 Under this head of unwise precaution we must class the habit of 

 wrapping up the body when it is in a state of perspiration. On the 

 contrary, coat and waistcoat must then be opened so that the shirt 

 may dry quickly, and the underclothing, including the stockings, must 

 be changed. But what does he do who on reaching the top of a 

 mountain, with a wet shirt, buttons up his coat about him, puts on 

 his overcoat, and over all his plaid ? He applies a wet poultice at the 

 wrong time. 



Prof. Tyndall, in his " Glaciers of the Alps," tells us that, on being- 

 overheated during his rambles in the Alps, he at once took a bath, 

 or poured water over his body. " Probatum est" say I, from personal' 

 experience. 



" Yes," some one will say, " you are inured to that sort of thing." 

 To be sure I am! But what hinders you from being inured also? 

 Just go out on the ice during this glorious winter weather, put on a 

 pair of skates : you will return bright and fresh ; you will throw open 

 the windows, and be indignant at yourself for ever having shut your- 

 self up in such a steaming atmosphere. The next day take a simple 

 bath not a Russian or a Turkish bath at all and you will rid your- 

 self of still another part of your phlegm. 



3. Muscle-Ventilatiox. Muscular fibre respires too, i. e., gives 

 off carbonic acid and takes up oxygen. To this end it must dili- 

 gently contract and then relax ; in short, it must work, or, if the reader 

 prefers the expression, it must practise gymnastics. Whether one 

 takes his exercise at home or abroad, makes no difference. They 

 whose lungs are affected would do well to climb hill-sides, for in such 

 exercise the apices of the lungs are most called into play; in climb- 

 ing the hands may rest on the hips. Muscle-exercise is not to be sepa- 

 rated from lung-exercise. If bodily movement be neglected, deleteri- 

 ous fluids accumulate, which. I call " suffocation-blood " and "fatigue- 

 blood." The former contains carbonic acid, which makes one always 

 drowsy, and causes one to go about his day's work Avith a feeling of 

 lassitude no matter how long he has slept. This feeling of weariness 

 grows steadily worse. " Fatigue-blood " accumulates in the muscles 

 as a result of drinking wine and beer; even simply bending the body 

 causes inconvenience; one feels quite unstrung and w r ants to recline 

 on a lounge or a bed, whereas what he ought to do is to take a brisk 

 run in the open air, or a little exercise in a gymnasium. In this way 

 the skin is ventilated and the serum worked off. 



My essay cannot exhaust all the topics named in its title : the most 

 it can do is to awaken attention, free the reader from certain errone- 

 ous ideas, and lead him to believe that the simplest remedy is always 



VOL. XII. 15 



