(a.) EXTERNAL CLEANLINESS. 



This includes care of the skin, nails, hair, and teeth. The story is told of an 

 old Sussex gardener, innocent of bathing, who remarked : " I be quite clean ; my 

 sweat cleans me." In one sense he was right. The passage of perspiration through 

 the skin (and at least a pint and a half of water leaves the body through the 

 sweat-glands in twenty- four hours) is a 'touch more cleansing process than the mere 

 throwing of water over the body in a bath. Many physicians advise that every one 

 should, during some part of the day, undergo sufficient active exertion to induce free 

 perspiration. One reason why manual workers are so much more healthy than 

 clerks or servers in shops lies in this fact, that they perspire freely in consequence 

 of the nature of their work ; whereas clerks, bar-tenders, and others similarly 

 employed lead sedentary lives in overheated rooms, so that their skins become soft, 

 flabby, and inactive. But even the hardest labour cannot entirely replace a w r arm 

 bath, in which by the use of soap and friction surface dirt is removed. Preferably 

 this bath should be taken at night, as it is advisable 



NOT TO LEAVE THE DAY'S DIRT BETWEEN THE SHEETS! 



Few people nowadays seem able to take a cold bath, bracing as it is to those whom 

 it suits ; the reasons for this cannot be discussed here owing to the limits of space ; 

 neither do they concern our subject, for cold water exercises no cleansing effects. 



Perhaps the two points in this connection which most call for emphasis are 

 these : To cleanse the person thoroughly does not demand gallons of water, pleasant 

 though it may be to enjoy the luxury of a deep bath. If water is scarce, stand in 

 a bowl of hot water, and rapidly rub the body all over with a well-soaped loofah, 

 sponge off the soap and dry with a rough towel. The friction cleanses and stimulates 

 the skin, more than the amount of water used ; and soap is necessary as well as 

 the hot water, in order to dissolve and remove the greasy deposit on the skin. 



Do not be afraid to wash the hair! It is a mistaken prejudice which leads 

 people, otherwise clean, to leave the scalp dirty. Is it not a sore disgrace to mothers 

 all over the world, even in the most highly civilized countries, that from 50 to 80 

 per cent, of the girls medically examined in the public schools should have unclean 

 heads? Heads should be washed every fortnight or three weeks; though the use of 

 strong alkalies to soften the water, such as soda or crude ammonia, or of cheap soap, 

 is inadvisable; rain-water should be used when possible, and a good quality of soap. 



Nails are strangely neglected in many cases ; yet the rim of dirt beneath a finger- 

 nail may carry infection to the food with which the finger comes in contact; while 

 ill-kept nails are not only a disfigurement to their owner, but prevent the same 

 delicacy of touch in the finger-tips, which, next to the lips, are the most sensitive 

 part of the person and indispensable to the execution of skilled work. 



CLEANLINESS AND CARE OF THE TEETH 



are even more neglected than are the hair and nails; yet it is no exaggeration to 

 say that the owner of one decayed tooth is the subject of slow poisoning; while a 

 whole host of unsuspected ailments more or less serious are the direct result of a 

 mouth full of unhealthy teeth. It is hoped that Fig. 3 will illustrate the truth of 

 these statements. It shows two teeth in the upper jaw, split down lengthways, so 

 that their structure can be seen. 



Observe, in the first place, that each tooth consists of three parts: 

 (1.) A crown; that is the portion of the tooth which shows above the gum: 

 (2.) A root or roots; that is the portion of the tooth buried in the jaw-bone: 

 (3.) The pulp; for the supply of feeling and nourishment. 



The crown is covered with enamel, the hardest structure in the human body, 

 composed of lime and gelatine; but the rest of the tooth is covered with a softer 

 substance, called " dentine " or ivory. The pulp consists of nerves and blood-vessels, 

 which enter the tooth from the jaw-bone. Fig. 3 shows in (1) a perfect "bicuspid" 

 tooth ; alongside it are two " molar " teeth, both of them in different stages of decay. 



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