MAY 1, 1913 



317 



Our Homes 



A. I. ROOT 



Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, 

 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet 

 your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 

 much better than they? Which of you by taking 

 thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And 

 why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies 

 of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither 

 do they spin ; and yet I say unto you that even Solo- 

 mon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 

 these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the 

 field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the 

 oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of 

 little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, What 

 shall we eat? or. What shall we drink? or. Where- 

 withal shall we be clothed ? For after all these things 

 do the G-entiles seek ; for your heavenly Father 

 knoweth that ye have need of all these things. — • 

 Matthew 6:26-32. 



Mrs. Root and I have now been here in 

 our Florida home close on to six months. 

 Neither of ns has had a sick day, and I my- 

 self have scarcely had a pain or ache. 

 Neither of us has had any thing worth 

 mentioning in the way of a cold, and noth- 

 ing at all like grip that has again been so 

 prevalent throughout the cold North. Other 

 winters we have had more or less of cold 

 and gi'ip, and similar troubles along that 

 line. Now, then, can I give any of joi\ any 

 suggestions in the way of getting well and 

 keeping well — especially in the winter time 

 or in cold damp weather? T. B. Terry has 

 lately been having a good deal to say in 

 regard to ha^nng open aii'j^ rooms, and get- 

 ting oneself hardened or acclimated to cool 

 weather without being excessively bundled 

 up. ]\'Irs. Root has also been for j-ears 

 past urging that I should get lid of my fur 

 cap and the unusual amount of clothing 

 that I felt that I must wear in order to 

 avoid " taking cold." She has over and 

 over again urged that, if I would take 

 proper care and precautions, I could get 

 tough so that I could stand a little expos- 

 ure without having neuralgia, rheumatic 

 pains and aches, and things of that sort. 

 Well, early in November I began getting rid 

 of my fur cap, endeavoring to keep warm 

 by vigorous exercise in the open air with- 

 out so much clothing. In place of wearing 

 an overcoat when it was cold, by Ernest's 

 advice I got me a woolen sweater that 

 could be easily thrown off or put on as cir- 

 cumstances or the weather seemed to de- 

 mand ; and right here I want to say that 

 that woolen sweater has been one of the 

 greatest helps and comforts of any thing 

 I ever got hold of. Well, now, let us go 

 back a little. 



The first time I took off my coat and 

 went to work in my shirtsleeves, even dawn 

 here in Florida, the consequence was a stiff 

 neck. Most of vou know what that is with- 



out my explaining. I began to say that I 

 couldn't stand it — that I was too old, and 

 that my circulation was too poor; but Mrs. 

 Root urged that, if I would keep trying, 

 pretty soon I would get toughened to it so 

 I could get along without a coat or without 

 a sweater. Well, the next day I tried tak- 

 ing off Tony coat again ; but, as before, the 

 consequence was a stiff neck, but I was 

 obliged to admit that it wasn't quite as bad 

 as the day before. The third day there 

 was very little of it : and after that the stiff 

 neck disappeared entirely. I went on with 

 my experiments along that line, and not 

 only discarded my coat, but after a time 

 my vest, then put on lighter union under- 

 wear than I had been in the habit of using, 

 and finally I went out and worked hour 

 after hour with my coat and vest off and 

 my sleeves rolled up, my underwear turned 

 back, and not only my neck but my chest 

 exposed to the sun and air and the weather. 

 T also laid off my woolen stockings, and 

 put on gradually some of the thinnest cot- 

 ton ; and of late, during February and 

 March, I have been going barefooted 

 through the middle of the day; and, to tell 

 the truth, while I dictate this to the dicta- 

 phone I am sitting down here barefooted, 

 bareheaded, with my collar turned back 

 just as I have been describing. The fact 

 that I could get along and be comfortable 

 and happy with so little clothing has really 

 given me a new lease of life. I enjoy my 

 work and my meals, and I enjoy reading 

 my books and papers after I have been out 

 working in the gTound or out with the ducks 

 and the cliickens. I firmly believe that we 

 as a people have been wearing more heavy 

 clothing, both men and women, than God 

 intended we should. Aye, further, I am 

 satisfied that many of us might live many 

 years longer, and in more comfort, if we 

 could only con^^nce ourselves that it is 

 possible to wear less clothing, and clothing 

 that permits the air to circulate all over 

 our bodies. I believe history tells us that 

 in one of the islands in the seas they dis- 

 covered a race of people that went entire- 

 ly naked: but when these people were civ- 

 ilized and Christianized, and taught to wear 

 clothing like other people, the race grad- 

 ually lost in vitality, and threatened to be- 

 come extinct unless they could be allowed to 

 <ro back to their old ways and habits of 

 being out in the open air with scarcely a 

 rag of clothing to protect them or to look 

 decent and civilized. Furthermore, it has 

 lately been discovered that roop and a host 



