ON TEE PRESERVATION OP HEALTH. 133 



The practice of tiglit lacing is another fruit- 

 ful cause of destruction of health and hroken- 

 down constitutions. Young girls should not 

 lace at all — an easy smooth jacket to make the 

 dress fit smoothly is all they should wear. Are 

 we asked why lacing is injurious? We answer, 

 first, the rihs are soft and very elastic and the 

 cartilages that join them to the hreast bone are 

 softer than the ribs. If then a jacket or corset 

 be laced around the ribs or chest, so as to pre- 

 vent a free and full play of the ribs at every in- 

 spiration, in the same proportion is the cavity 

 of the chest diminished, and consequently the 

 lungs are deprived of a certain amount of at- 

 mosj)heric air, in proportion to the contraction 

 of the ribs, produced by the laced jacket or cor- 

 set. Thus the order of nature is deranged and 

 the system is deprived of that due proportion of 

 oxygen which is necessary to health, the vital- 

 ity of blood and the vigor and proper proportions 

 of the system. One of the consequences of tight 

 lacing therefore is^ that the lungs are prevented 

 from discharging a due portion of carbonic acid 

 gas from the blood, and receiving in lieu there- 

 for of due proportion of oxygen from the atmos- 



