

THE USE OF MUSCLES IN THE BODY 133 



advisable. The frame is still not firmly knit or as capable of en- 

 durance as it will subsequently become. 



( I iris should be allowed to ride or play outdoor games in mod- 

 eration, and in any case should not be cribbed in tight stays or 

 tight boots. A flannel dress and proper lawn tennis shoes are as 

 necessary for the healthy and safe enjoyment of an afternoon at 

 that game by a girl as they are for her brother in the baseball 

 field. Rowing is excellent for girls if there be any one to teach 

 them to do it properly with the legs and back, and not with the 

 arms only, as women are so apt to row. Properly practiced it 

 strengthens the back and improves the carriage. 



Exercise in Adult Life. Up to forty a man may carry on safely 

 the exercises of youth, but after that sudden efforts should be 

 avoided. A lad of twenty-one or so may, if trained, safely run a 

 quarter-mile race, but to a man of forty-five it would be dan- 

 gerous, for with the rigidity of the cartilages and blood-vessels 

 which begins to show itself about that time comes a diminished 

 power of meeting a sudden violent demand. On the other hand, 

 the man of thirty would more safely than the lad of nineteen or 

 twenty undertake one of the long-distance walking matches such 

 as used to be in vogue; the prolonged effort would be less 

 dangerous to him, though a six-days' match, with its attendant 

 loss of sleep, cannot fail to be more or less dangerous to any one. 

 Probably for one engaged in active business a walk of two or 

 three miles to it in the morning and back again in the afternoon is 

 the best and most available exercise. The habit which Americans 

 have everywhere acquired, of never walking when they can take 

 a street car, is certainly detrimental to the general health; though 

 the extremes of heat and cold to which we are subject often render 

 it unavoidable. 



For women during middle life the same rules apply: there 

 should be some regular but not violent daily exercise. 



In Old Age the needful amount of exercise is less, and it is 

 still more important to avoid sudden or violent effort. 



Exercise for Invalids. This should be regulated under med- 

 ical advice. For feeble persons gymnastic exercises are especially 

 valuable, since from their variety they permit of selection accord- 

 ing to the condition of the individual; and their amount can be 

 conveniently controlled. 



