180 



NF/;V ENGLAND FARME!t, 



7. ThtnseuJ inloxicaiiiif; drink in any qiianti- 



-1 ~T 1- c't;' 'V- — '^'"^ °'''y wlioUsome flriiik, ilio only one 



CAUSES OF BIS wVi-iE. { aii(,|„p,| ;„ the wnnis of tliK sj^^tem is pure wiuer. 



The causes of most ol our iliseaMf, or at least 



of iIjhI numerous class «liicli it is in our power 



entirely to prevent, may be enunieraieil tl.us : 



1. Insufficient Exercise. — lie wiio (ioes not 

 Bpenil several hours every ilay iusouie active exer- 

 cise — as walkinf.', riding on horsc-hacl;, or iti soNie 

 amusement uhi.li calls nearly all the muscles into^ 

 play, must iuevilalily suffer frem a iliuiinutioii of 

 bodily streuiilh. defect of appetite, ami imperfect 

 digestion, and become sooiiel or later llie euhject 

 of disease. 



2. Lnle rising nnd lute niiring. — There are 

 few things which contribute more to shoiteii life, 

 than the habit of Keeping late hours, ami cmise- 

 qilentlv of rising from bed late in the morning'. 

 The advances of weakness and disea^e from this 

 cause are, it is true, by very gradual steps, but not 

 the less certain to.be ultimately felt. 



3. Breathing impure air. — A constant supply 

 of fresh air is even more important than of food 

 or drink. An individual may, for a long time, 

 control the sensation of hunger, or even the move 

 imperious one of thirst •, but life will most cer- 

 tainly be destroyed, if pure air be witliheld from 

 the lungs for a very short period. The air is 

 rendered impure by being loaded with animal nnd 

 vegetable exhalations, by its free circulation being 

 preventeil by a niimber of persons breathing it 

 when confined in a close chamber, and by the 

 processes of fermeiUalion ajid cojnbusiion. 



4. Insufficient ablutions nf the bot'j/. — It is n 



i EviM-y drop of alcohol which is taken into the 

 ! stomach, whether in the form of ardent spirits or 

 I fermented lifpiors, produces injury ; and when its 

 1 use is hahitmdly indulged in, even though abso- 

 lute drunkenness be not occasioned, the powers of 

 1 life are gradually undermined, and the s\stem 

 laid open to iho inroads of serious and even fatal 

 diseases. 



8. Defective and improper clothing. — Injury 

 to health may be caused either by the clothes be- 

 ing inadcjuate to ilefend the wearer fjom the cold, 

 or from sudden changes in the weather, by their 

 impeding the free motions of the limbs, or by 

 tlu'ir compressing or binding loo firndy some part 

 of the body. 



9. The influence of cold. — In the more opulent 

 ranks of society disease is produced occasionally 

 by the unequal and imperfect diffusion of warmth 

 throughout an apartment — by exposure to the 

 night air or inclement weather, after being heated 

 in crowded apartments, or by exercise ; as dancing, 

 &c. In the poorer an<I improvident classes, cold, 

 during winter, is a cominued and fruitful source 

 of suffering and disease. 



10. Intense and protracted application of the 

 mind. — Alternate rest and activity, as well of the 

 body as of the mind, are essential to the support 

 of health. Long continued mental applii'atioii, 

 whether in study or the cares of business, wears 

 nni the svst'MM, and e.xhiuists the powers of life 



,,.-', . c 1 1 1 ,1 , 1 even more rapid y than protracted manual labor, 



nongh (or theprest-rvation of healih, that mirely ' , -^. • , ,. • r^ 



, , , ,- . 1 .u c 1 , 1, . I )■„ 11. Giving way to the pas.uons. — Experience 



le hands, the leet, and the face be waslied ire- . ,' , .i • -i . a- . 



, , . , ., ■ , f „ t- ,1 . iw 1,. fn 'v proves, that nothing contributes more effect, 



uenily, but that the whole surface ot the body -' ' ' " 



■" ,, i; 1 1 • ; I, ii (■ uallv to jrunrd the svstern from disease, nnd to 



prolong life, than a calm and contented state of 

 mind. Individuals who give way on every occa- 

 sion to the influence of passion not only injure 

 materially tlnir health but are often promptly de- 

 slrove I. Violent anger and ainbilion, jealousy 

 ami fear, have produced the speedy Jenlh of 

 thousands. In culiivnliiiir an amiable, peaceful, 

 and virtuous disposition, therefore, a man not only 

 insures his happiness lint promotes Ins health 

 also. 



12. 7%e unnecessari/ or imprudent Jise of med- 

 icine. — Domestic quackery has ruined many con- 

 stitutions. A ilose of medicine taken with the 

 view of preventing an attack of disease, not un- 

 freipieutly invilcs one which otherwise would not 

 have occurred. The absurd practice of losing 

 blood, or taking purgatives and other remedies in 

 the Spring and Autumn, und"r the erroneous 

 idea that by so doing the blood is rendered more 

 pure, should be carefully avoided. 



the 



1" 



be repeatedly purified, by ioimersioli, in a ball 



appropriate temperature. To all, the fieqnent use 



of the hath is an important means of preserving 



health, but to none more so, than lo the laborer 



and mechanic -. to such the time and means for 



bathing should be affordcul in every city, ami in 



every extensive manufactory, wherever siiuatcd. 



5. Inattention to the cleanliness of clothing nnJ 

 dwellings. — Imhipeiidenily of the injury which 

 the liealih of imlividiials suffer from a neglect of 

 strict personal and domeslic cleanliness, the con- 

 tamination of the air, from the decompo.sition of 

 filth, accumulated in and about a dwelling, has 

 not unfreqiiently communicated disease to whole 

 families and neighborhoods. Repeatedly white 

 washing the walls of a house, and scrubbing the 

 floor, is not merely, therefore, a source of tasteful 

 comfort, but a direct means of preserving healih. 



6. Food rendered perniciou.t h>j modern cookery 

 — Adulterations in foods and drinks, and abuse of 

 appetite. — While a moderate quaniity of plain, 

 wholesome food — in other words, the food in or- 

 dinary use, is essential to the maintenance of life 

 — all excess in its use — all complicated process- 

 es of cookery, and every artificial means, whether 

 by high seasoning, variety of dishes, or foreign 

 flavors, of keeping up tlie appetite beyond the 

 wants of the system, are decidedly injuiious. 

 Every species of adulteration, also, to which our 

 food or drink is subjected, from whatever motive, 

 detracts from its wliolesonieness. Let it be re- 

 collected, too, that Ihe health and strength of the j „,. dealing to the system. Flesh that has been loi 

 body are not supported by the quantity of food s.ahed, dried hain.«, beef, &c, are less nutritive than 

 consumed, but only by so much as is capable of[cpgj,|, y^g^t. 



being converted, by the powers of the stomach, j 4 Farinaceous nnd vegetable food, generally 

 into pure chyle and bloods 1 is slower of digestion than animal, but it is le«s 



Fioni Pocter'a IleaUh .Mmanac. 



DIETETIC MAXIMS. 



1. A healihy a|ipelite is to be acquired by early 

 rising — regular exercise in the open air — a checr- 

 fiil mind, and abstinence from intoxicating liquors. 



2. The food should be eaten slowly, so thai 

 it be wi II masticated and mixed with the saliva. 



3. Animal food is sooner digested in the sto- 

 mach than vegetable ; but it is more slimulating 



Doc. 21, 18.31. 



healing — iivany kinds of vegetable food are very 

 niitiitive. 



5. Solid food, or food of a cerlain fibrous or 

 pnlpy consistence, is more fined for digestion in 

 the sloniach than rich soups, jellies, and all highly 

 coiiccnlvated sauces. — The latter are rendered 

 more digestible by the addilion of bread. 



6. Fish are not so nourishing as the tlesli <;f 

 land animals, anti with muiiy stomachs entirely 

 disagreeiible. The while fish, when in season, 

 are generally lighter, and less apt lo disagree 

 with the stomach than the red. 



7. In summer the food should consist princi- 

 pally of vegetables ; in wiiiti r, a largir amount 

 nf r.nimal matter may be taken, cspei-ially by the 

 laborer. 



8. Boiling renders food more tender and di- 

 gestiblo, but it deprives it of a considerable portion 

 of its nutritive principle. 



9. Animal food slioiild not he over boiled — 

 vegetables should be boiled until perfectly tender. 



10. Roasting dissipates less of the nutritive 

 pans of the meat. Roasted meat is therefore, 

 more nourishing than broiled, but much more 

 stimulating. 



11. Bread constitutes a wholesome addition 

 to all our meals. It hhoiild be perfectly raised, 

 fully baked, and one day old. 



12. Salt, and on occasions, a very moderate 

 quaniity of pepper are safe and grateful additions 

 to our food, lleyond this, however, all seasoning 

 becomes injurious. 



13. Eatimr of a mimher of difTerent dishes at 

 one meal, oppresses the stomach and ihterfeiea 

 uilh digestion. This is not to bo understood, 

 however, as con<lemning the proper admixture of 

 animal and vegetable fooil at the same meal. 



14. All excess in eating shoii-ld be avoided, 

 but ilie quantity of food proper to be taken at one 

 time depends entirely on the consiitution, age, 

 habits, degree of health, season of the year, cli- 

 mate, &,c. The best guide is lo be found in tha 

 calls of a healthy appetite. 



15. Health, and strenglh o*" body, dcpejid upon 

 the health of the stomach, and coiisequ<'iit per- 

 fection of the digestive powers, much more than 

 upon the quantity or evi'ii quality of the food ta- 

 ken. 



16. Water is the most wholesome drink. 

 Toast and water — sweetened water, or water 

 with a slight addilion of a vegetable acid, are 

 usi fill diluents during the summer. 



17. Distilled and fermented li(piors impede 

 digestion ; and when drank to any extent, iiivaria- 

 blv destroy the tone of the stomach, and of the 

 system generally. 



18. The stomach ought not tn be over dis- 

 tended with fluids ilnring, immediately preireding, 

 nor after a meal. 



19. When the stomach is weak, very little 

 fluid shoiihl be taken during or t-.ficr eating. 

 Dry solid food requires more diliniou than that 

 which is juicy or fluid. 



20. Exercise should he used in the intervals 

 between meals, but not immediately before or 

 after them. 



CLEANLINESS. m 



The aiilhor of ' .lonriial of a Naturalist,' s|)pak^ 

 ing of insects, says — The perfect cleanliness of 

 lliese creatures is a very notable circumstance, 

 when we consider that neaily their whole lives are 

 passed in burrowing in the earth, and removing 



