THE SKIN AND BATHING. 191 



internals, or not oftener than once or twice during 

 the year. A frequent change of the inner gar- 

 ments is of the highest consequence to all persons, 

 and also the thorough airing and changing of bed- 

 clothing. Consider, in the light of the facts we 

 have stated, how uncleanly and injurious is the 

 habit of wearing flannels or underclothing for sev- 

 eral consecutive weeks without washing, as very 

 many do. Seven pints of impure liquid, in the 

 form of vapor, pass into the clothing every week 

 from the skin, and half a pound of solid matter ac- 

 companies it. Much of this becomes entangled in 

 the fabric, and remains there, a source of impurity, 

 until removed by the labors of the laundress. 



Regular bathing, so far as the people of this 

 country are concerned, is certainly a habit of quite 

 modern adoption. The fathers and mothers, and 

 grandfathers and grandmothers, of those who have 

 reached middle life, seldom or never bathed, except 

 in the warm months of summer. Their dwellings 

 afforded no conveniences for the act, if they felt 

 the need of performing it. As a general thing, the 

 health was unaffected by this omission. Why was 

 this ? Because of their occupations and their 

 methods of living. They were active workers, 

 they wore but a small amount of clothing, they 

 lived much in the open air, and their dwellings 

 were without stove and furnace heat. If any one 

 in these days will exercise in the open air, so that 



