DECKMBFR 15, 191 ; 



L 



A. I. Root 



OUM HOME 



Editor 



And God said. Let there be light : and there was 

 light. — Gkn. 1;:5. 



And God saw the light, that it was good; and 

 God divided the light from the darkness. — Gkn. l:t. 



And God nxade two great lights; the greater light 

 to rule the day, and the lesser light (o rule the 

 night: he matle the stars also. — GiON. 1:16. 



And God set them in the firmament of the heaven 

 to give light upon the earth. — Gen. 1:17. 



A few days ago a man who has been for 

 many years editor of our Medina Gazelle, 

 and a man much loved and respected in 

 quite a region round about IMedina, .said to 

 me something like this: 



" Afr. Koot, poice day I am coming down 

 to see you to learn, if I can, why it is that 

 you, a man of seventy-five, should seem to 

 be right in the prime of life, when I at 

 forty-five seem to be just about jilaved 

 out." 



I knew he had sold his publication and 

 given up the splendid work lie had been 

 doing for years; and I had also been told 

 that it wjis on account of ill health; and 1 

 have been planning to see what helpful 

 advice T can give him. By the way, it 

 occurs to me he said something about my 

 "secret" of deferring old age. God knows 

 I have no secret in regard to healtli or any 

 thing else in this wliole wide world, that I 

 am not willing to give freely to any or all. 



I think I have lately been showing briefly, 

 not only here on these pages, but by word 

 of mouth, that the gi-eat secret, if there is 

 any, is outdoor air and God's bright sun- 

 shine. Before going further let me give 

 you one of the kind letters that keep com- 

 ing day by day. I suspect it was written by 

 a woman ; but as the writer does not want 

 uame given we cannot very well find out, 

 and it does not matter much, any way. 

 Now listen and be ready for a big hearty, 

 amen when you get through. 



" SUNSHINE " AS HTILL .\S " FRESH AIR " A 



XE'.V(?) DI.aroVERY. 



I have teen reading your Homo talks for several 

 years with great interest; and after reading your 

 Home talk on fresh air to breathe, for both humans 

 and the little chicks, I was moved to write to you 

 and t«'ll you of my discovery, and that is — sunshine 

 for the babies. We have a little one in our home, 

 just three months old: and since the time he was 

 about two weeks old he has had his sun bath daily 

 — not with the sun thining on his clothing, but on 

 his bare skin. He bus never been sick, and has 

 made a steady gain of 2 ^ lbs. a month, which is 

 extraordinary, so far as I can find out. 



Well, yon ought to see how happy the little fellow 

 is when lying naked in the sunshine. He laushs 

 and crows and kicks, and shows in every way he 

 can his extreme delight. His skin is as brown as 

 n Mexican, and his flesh as firm as a working-man's. 

 He sleeps all night, and has never given us any 

 trouble in the way babies usually do, and we think 

 thc*sun.shine does it. 



1 am not writing this for publication. I want 

 to ask you just to take up the subject of sunshine, 

 and givo us a talk cm that, as you have so well done 

 on the subject of pure air. Think of it I all the 

 little calves, colts, lambs, and pigs can enjoy the 

 sunshine wliile the poor babies are deprived of it. 

 You have, no doubt, noticed how the little animals 

 enjoy the sunshine; and do you believe one of them 

 could te raised without it, or, when exposed to it, 

 be covered up with blankets? They would be as 

 worthless as plants raised in the shade. I could 

 also mention that sunshine is the best mold and 

 germ kilk>r, and many other points. Sunshine for 

 the babies, and grown folks too — not on the clothing 

 but on the bare skin. 



Fillmore, Cal, March 22. W. C. G. 



(rod bless the babies. (See " The right 

 (0 be born sober," p. 867, Oct. 15.) If they 

 haA'c not a rigJit to everything good in this 

 world, who has a right"? It rejoices my 

 heart to see that, day by day, we are giving 

 babies more thought and time than ever be- 

 fore. By the way, I wish my good friend 

 would send us a picture of that "sunshine 

 baby." The letter only emphasizes and calls 

 attention again to what I have long had in 

 mind. Outdoor air and sunshine are God's 

 tvo great remedies. I would add, also, 

 plenty of pure water — the purest that can 

 be had.' As for mj'self, I am quite sure that 

 boiled rain water is best for me. Of course, 

 I Avant it moderately cold. Next I would 

 say good wholesome food — not too great a 

 variety; nothing at all later than, say, four 

 or five in the afternoon.* I think the above 

 advice is needed, ebpecinlly by elderly peo- 

 ple: and after the things mentioned we 

 want plenty of good sleep f uninterrupted 



* In reading over the above after it was in type, 

 it occurs to nie I have not put sufficient emphasis on 

 sleep, pspocially if I pi-each what I practice instead 

 of " practicing what I preach." When I am doing 

 severe office work, say several hours in the forenoon, 

 or iven hard work in the garden, I often find my- 

 felf " used up." Then I go and take a nap. When 

 things are crowding I have two naps a day, and in 

 extreme cases as many as three. Just of late I 

 have been called a good deal to give talks at Sun- 

 day-school conventions, etc.; -md I have tried to tret 

 over home and get down into my " sun parlor " and 

 get twenty or thirty minutes of sleep before I give 

 my talk. I often tell Mrs. Root something like this: 

 "Sue, I am to talk before a convention at two 

 o'clock. I am uo'v going to fake a nap, and you 

 must be sure to call me at ten minutes before two." 

 With my little electric I can easily get up to the 

 church in ten minutes. Then I will be ready to do 

 my best. 



Yesterday, Oct. 17, I was called to address a 

 Sunday-school convention; but there was a crowded 

 church, and several speakers were before me. So I 

 had to sit and wait nn hour and a half before I 

 was called to speak. Tlie consequence was, I was 

 so tired of sitting still that I lost about half of my 

 vim and entliusiasm. Perhaps it is not possible for 

 every person to recuperate as I do by a little sleep; 

 but lo me the sleep is like recharging a "storage 

 battery." 



t Of course the above refers to grown-up or 

 elderly people. Nobody would think of advising 

 that a l^ah)/, or fven children or young people, 

 snould conform to the habits of full-grown people. 

 Babies must be fed like little chickens, at short 



