MODERN NERVOUSNESS AND ITS CURE. 93 



home apparatus is therefore not only of great advantage to nerv- 

 ous patients, but it can also be used profitably as a prophylaxis 

 against tuberculosis; it fortifies the chest and strengthens the 

 whole constitution. Care should be taken to perform the exercise 

 in a well-aired room, and not to carry it to excess. 



A suitable diet, specially adapted to each case, is of great im- 

 portance in all nervous disease. The best general diet is usually 

 one that is a little stimulating and blood-forming, with frequent 

 changes. The usual courses of meat and wine should be consider- 

 ably diminished, else the nerves will not be able to get the rest 

 they need. Besides albuminous food, the necessary quantity of 

 nutritious salts should be provided in supplies of fruit, green 

 vegetables, and suitable milk and grain dishes. Very much to be 

 recommended in nervous disorders are a well-prepared dish of oat- 

 meal, a strong soup, or other dish of the kind. Such light food 

 will not indeed be relished by many because of its being too con- 

 trary to their former habits. In such cases some savory addition 

 to the cereal food may be a desirable expedient. 



The old German acorn coffee is of special value in diseases of 

 the nerves. Unmixed it is not very palatable to civilized men, 

 but preparations may be made of it which will be found very use- 

 ful in cases of nervous dyspepsia. 



A suitable mental treatment should go hand in hand with 

 hygienic and dietetic measures if the most favorable results are 

 to be secured. Patience is a particularly valuable medicine to the 

 neurasthenic ; for it is evident that a disordered nervous system 

 can be brought into equilibrium only with time and with the 

 requisite endurance. In other respects the patient must try to 

 contribute force to his cure through self-control, through strength- 

 ening of his will, and through bringing his mind up to a proper 

 tone. The word of the poet comes into force that " time is man's 

 angel." For the cure of even serious cases may be hoped for by 

 following the hints we have given above ; a corresponding right 

 application of Nature's healing factors may bring about speedy 

 cures even in apparently hopeless cases. 



For the modern world, as a whole, the essential thing to be 

 done is to return to ways of life more harmonious with Nature 

 and less vexing to body and soul. The way to do this is clearly 

 pointed out in the teachings of modern hygiene. May society 

 enter upon this way betimes, for its own good and the salvation 

 of the future ! — Translated for The Popular Science Monthly from 

 Ueber Land und Meer. 



"Theories," said Prof. "William Rutherford, at the British Association, "are 

 hut the leaves of the tree of science — they bud and expand, and in time they fade 

 and fall, but they enable the tree to breathe and live." 



