56 THE LURE OF THE LAND 



ducive to health and longevity. Evidently this is not 

 always the case at the present time. On the other 

 hand, it is, I think, capable of demonstration that when 

 a perfect sanitation of the country is secured, as will 

 necessarily be the case in the near future, and when 

 proper attention is given to the sanitation and ventila- 

 tion of farmers' houses, the death rate from these dis- 

 eases will certainly be less than it is among the urban 

 population. 



It is worth while to trace the causes which shorten 

 the farmer's life in greater detail. 



One of the important threats to the health of the 

 farmer is his exposure to extremes of weather. When 

 the temperature is far below zero he must go about his 

 work. The stock must be fed and watered, the fuel 

 brought in and errands must be run to the town. If he 

 be in the dairy business he must rise hours Before the 

 dawn and drive many miles through snow and wind to 

 the depot. In like manner he is exposed to rain and 

 storm. While hot from working in the field a sudden 

 shower accompanied by hail may chill him to the bone. 

 Drenched with rain, far from home, it may be hours 

 before he can change his clothes. During seeding and 

 harvest his day's work extends to fourteen hours and his 

 short sleep does not give nature a chance to restore his 

 wasted tissue and remove fatigue. His bathing facili- 

 ties are either nil or restricted to a wash bowl or tub. 

 The old-fashioned farmer's life, and the new fashion 

 in too many instances is no better, affords abundant 

 opportunities to weaken vitality and strike at the citadel 

 of health. Those diseases which overexertion and un- 

 due exposure help along, such as rheumatism and 

 pneumonia, are very common among the hard-working 

 farmers and their wives. Overstrain, long hours of 



