6o 



OUR BODIES AND HOW WE LIVE 



88. Beneficial Effects of Physical Exercises in Schools. 



Physical exercises in schools, if properly done, increase the 

 breathing power and quicken the action of the heart. They 

 fill the arteries with pure blood, and distribute it with 



increased energy to all the tis- 

 sues and organs of the body, 

 stimulating them to renewed 

 activity. They brace up the 

 whole system and at the same 

 time furnish what is very impor- 

 ant, a pleasant recreation. 



NOTE. There are several 

 excellent and inexpensive "health 

 exercisers" now on the market. 

 Handbooks or manuals which explain 

 their use and also furnish a series of 

 physical exercises accompany them. 

 FIG. 49. A Simple and Inexpen- Booksellers can usually furnish cat- 

 sive Home Apparatus for Exer- alogues of books, and price lists of 

 cise on the Horizontal Bar. the various kinds of apparatus for 



physical culture. 



The book above all others which should be read and reread by 

 every one who is interested in physical education is Blackie's How to 

 Get Strong and How to Stay So. It is full of stimulating, wholesome 

 advice and practical suggestions to those who wish to practice health 

 exercises at home or at school. 



89. The General Effect of Alcohol on the Muscles. We 

 have learned that the nerves act upon the muscles and 

 make them contract or relax. Now, if we drink a certain 

 amount of alcoholic liquor, our muscles are acted upon in 

 a peculiar way. The nerve force that controls the muscles 

 is weakened, and they soon show a lack of control. 



The delicate movements which require the long training 

 of certain muscles, as in doing fine work and gymnastic 



