490 THE HUMAN BODY 



Moreover, while in the American summer it is tolerably safe to 

 wear good-conducting garments, and few people take cold then, 

 this is by no means safe in the spring or autumn, when the tem- 

 perature of the air is apt to vary considerably within the course of 

 a day. A person going out, clad only for a warm morning, may 

 have to return in a very much colder evening; and if his clothes be 

 not such as to prevent a sudden surface chill, will get off lightly if 

 he only " take " one of the colds so prevalent at those seasons. In 

 the great majority of cases, no doubt, he suffers nothing worse, but 

 persons, especially of the female sex, often thus acquire far more 

 serious diseases. When sudden changes of temperature are at all 

 probable, even if the prevailing weather be warm, the trunk of the 

 Body should be always protected by some tolerably close-fitting 

 garment of non-conducting material. Those whose skins are 

 irritated by anything but linen should wear immediately outside 

 the under-garments a jacket of silken or woolen material. In mid- 

 winter comparatively few people take cold, because all then wear 

 thick and non-conducting clothing of some kind. 



