MODERN SUN CULT — STURMER 201 



are getting more solar radiation, hence more vitamin D. This in 

 part exphiins it. I woiikl not be guilty of a breach in tact and 

 criticize feminine raiment, which by the way would be futile, for 1 

 know that in the past neither the facts disclosed by science nor 

 the ailmonitions of the medical profession have had any influence 

 on the fashions of dress. Hence it is probably fortunate that I 

 have warrant for the statement that the feminine dress of to-day is 

 in far closer harmony with the newer facts pertaining to irradiatuMi 

 as a health measure than is the modern attire of the male. "\\'omen 

 have gone far, since Civil Wai- days, in so changing the fashions 

 as to provide for plenty of sun irradiation; and in this span of time 

 the men, alas, have made progress merely to the extent of having 

 shaved off their whiskers and exposing their chins to the sun. 

 Only on the bench at the seashore does the pii)e-smoking sex get 

 an even break when it comes to solar radiation. What should be 

 done about this is a matter far beyond the scope of this discussion. 

 AVe give it up. 



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SUNBURN 



The human skin varies considerably in its tolerance of solar radia- 

 tion. Light-skinned persons are more sensitive to it than are the 

 dark skinned, and in most individuals a tolerance may be slowly de- 

 veloped by progressively increasing doses — if one may use the term 

 doses in this connection. Speaking generally, our arms can stand 

 about half again as much as the chest, abdomen, or back; the legs 

 a little more than the arms, the backs of our hands about 5 times as 

 much, and the palms about 15 times as much, while the foot soles are 

 most resistive, because here the skin is thickest, and the outer skin 

 is a poor conductor of radiation. But persons who do not tan must 

 be very careful in taking sun baths. 



BURNS BY REFLECTED RAYS 



A sunburn, unlike a heat burn, does not become manifest instantly. 

 We may receive an overdose of sun radiation and remain oblivious 

 of the fact for three or four hours. Nor is it easy to judge how long 

 we may with impunity subject ourselves to sunshine at any given 

 time, for so much depends upon the time of day, the season of the 

 year, and the atmospheric conditions. We should know, however, 

 that not only the direct rays burn, but that diffused sunlight, and 

 reflected radiation, does also; that, for example, we may sit in a boat 

 under an awning and receive a burn. It should be borne in mind 

 that much of our ultra-violet comes to us reflected from the sky, and 

 that the north exposure of our house provides about half as much 

 as the exposure facing the sun. 



