138 THE WONDERFUL HOUSE THAT JACK HAS 



monly kept from fifty to sixty degrees. Recently 

 five hundred British teachers visited the schools of 

 the United States, and our buildings seemed uncom- 

 fortably hot to them. One of the things some of them 

 commented unfavorably on was the pale, unhealthy 

 appearance of many of our school children. This, 

 they thought, might be due to the unnecessarily warm 

 atmosphere of the schoolrooms. Many good authori- 

 ties in our own country are of the opinion that, as 

 a general thing, an indoor temperature of sixty-five 

 degrees is more suitable than seventy, especially in 

 schools and other public places. As the temperature 

 of the room rises above seventy degrees, the occupants 

 become less active mentally and more inclined to be 

 nervous. In this condition it is, of course, not possible 

 to do the best work. 



Remaining for some time in too warm a temperature 

 also gets one in just the condition to take cold easily 

 upon going into the cold air out-of-doors. It is 

 doubtless more important to form an early acquaint- 

 ance with a thermometer than with a clock. Every 

 living or working room should contain one, and it 

 should be consulted even more often than the familiar 

 friend that faithfully ticks the seconds away. In 

 schoolrooms watchfulness of temperature is especially 

 important. If the temperature of schoolrooms had 

 always been kept at seventy degrees or below, many 

 cases of colds, headache, and more serious diseases 

 would probably have been avoided. Numerous in- 



