206 
pants, but it is encouraging to note that even 
at this early stage of growth, the pastime is 
becoming the subject of study among the med- 
ical fraternity, and that hygienic laws will not 
be broken without a protestfromthem. Anna 
T. Dunn-Roe, a doctor of medicine living in 
Detroit, seems to have made a special study of 
cycling for women, and talks very sensibly to 
her sister cyclers. She says: 
‘“‘At first a woman should take no long rides, 
and should climb none but the most gentle 
ascents. Right here is the danger of excessive 
fatigue. A woman should take a long time to 
habituate her muscles to the new exercise, and 
even when she is perfectly at home on her 
wheel she should remember her sex is not in- 
tended by nature for violent muscular exer- 
tion, and that bicycle riding is suited to her 
needs only for the reason that it spares 
any serious effort. Disdaining this precaution, 
she is in greater danger than a man of subject- 
ing herself to extreme exhaustion. Her speed 
should never be that of an adult man in full 
muscular vigor. 
‘It is stupid and absurd tocompare the sew- 
ing machine to the bicycle. The sewing ma- 
chine has a short rapid movement, limited to 
the muscles of the thigh. Then in the major- 
ity of cases it is utilized in a restricted space 
during long hours, and from amid melancholy 
surroundings. It possesses no analogy to the 
bicycle, where the ditferent movements of loco- 
motion are so varied. 
‘Some hold that women need no extra exer- 
cise, that they have enough when attending to 
their home duties. This opinion is fallacious. 
Daily exercise in the open air gives to women 
and girls of the poorer classes physical su- 
periority and good health, despite unhygienic 
surroundings. 
‘‘Physical exercise is a necessity; in fact it is 
imperative. Believing in muscular exercise 
for our women and girls of to-day, I think the 
bicycle is the idealinstrument for the purpose. 
It entails little exertion, the effort is gentle, 
and the muscles are at no time in a state of 
great tension. Almost all the muscles of 
the body are brought into play, especially 
those of the legs and thighs, when em- 
ployed in propelling the bicycle, at the same 
time the muscles of the arms and _ shoul- 
ders, the handle bar acting as a brace to exer- 
cise those muscles. The muscles of the back 
and loins are made to contribute power to the 
propelling movement. Theinspiratory muscles 
The American Angler 
and those of the thorax are forced into exer- 
cise to keep pace with the exaggerated move- 
ments of inspiration and expiration. Finally, 
all the muscles of the trunk are brought into 
play to maintain the equilibrium of the wheel. 
Here is its chief characteristic. The bicycle 
is the most perfect apparatus requiring the 
maintenance of equilibrium, and it is easy to 
operate the wheel when you have learned 
tu balance. The exercise imparts supple- 
ness, precision and address to the movement, 
besides cultivating courage and quickness of 
eye. It introduces new ideas into life and ed- 
ucation, and the entire family may partake of 
its pleasures. 
“T do not approve of racing for women, and 
sojourn in the saddle should be frequently in- 
terrupted, especially where the country abounds 
in hills, for woman is made more subject than 
man to stiffness and cramps in muscles. 
Women are more readily ‘“‘ winded” than men; 
the heart is more sensitive, and they are more 
sensitive to exposure, as they are less accus- 
tomed to it. She must, therefore, guard against 
excessive cold or heat. Chilling, after exer- 
cise, is an enemy, and women should be care- 
ful to avoid its danger. 
Women’s costumes deserve serious consid- 
eration. I cannot suggest the proper costume, 
as people's ideas and tastes differ so materially 
in that respect. And many are governed by 
the conservation which oppose the adoption of 
any new fashion or costume. One necessary 
requisite is complete freedom of movement. 
The suppression of the corsets is a necessity 
of the first importance, or it should be so re- 
duced as to lose all likeness to those which 
women are now in the habit of wearing, be- 
cause the one necessary requisite being com- 
plete freedom of movement, the corset does 
not permit free expansion of the chest, as it 
sHould when the gait is accelerated. It im- 
pedes the circulation in the lower members, 
and the veins of the legs may be engorged, as 
a consequence of constricting the waist. 
“On the shoulders and arms the garment 
must be loose and easy. Numbness, cramps 
and even inability to hold the handles for a 
long time may result from tight-fitting cloth- 
ing. The foot is best protected by a high shoe, 
not too tight; the stockings should not be se- 
cured by garters. The veins of a woman’s 
leg are much more disposed to engorgement 
than those of a man’s, and care must be taken 
to avoid constriction of the calf. 
