NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



317 



torn, by the power of the imagination, and yet they 

 do not take the precautionary step to prevent it, by 

 bathing and -washing ? 



Prepare for every thing and dread nothing. We 

 are in constant danger of sickness and death, but we 

 should prepare for them and guard against them, but 

 never fear them. It is sufficient to endure these ills 

 when they come upon us, without becoming ill with 

 the fear of sickness, and, like the coAvard, experi- 

 encing a thousand deaths in dreading one. Many 

 persons in our country have not experienced a thor- 

 ough washing for months, and some for years ; yet 

 they fear disease. 



Every person, from the youngest infant to the 

 aged and infirm, should wash thoroughly several 

 times a week. He that does not do it is inviting 

 disease by his neglect or indolence. There is no 

 excuse, for every one has time and means to attend 

 to it. If no other season can be found, take a few 

 minutes from the time of sleep, on retiring at night. 

 If no better convenience is at hand, every family is 

 provided with water, a tub, and a towel, which are 

 all the apparatus that is absolutely necessary, though 

 shower baths and bathing tubs may be more con- 

 venient. Water of the same temperature as the air 

 may be used at all seasons, with perfect safety, ex- 

 cepting by very weak invalids, who may find warm 

 water preferable ; but some invjilids find cold water 

 better. A room without artificial heat is warm 

 enough to bathe in, even in the coldest weather. 



Let every one ponder this subject well, and instead 

 of sitting idle, and dreading the loss of health or life, 

 in himself or family, let him arouse from his stupor, 

 •hake off that indolence or apathy that weighs him 

 down like an incubus, and, as a man of common sense, 

 use the simple means of cold water as a preventive 

 of disease and death, which may invade his family 

 from his own negligence. 



It is worthy of remark that during the summer of 

 1832, when the cholera raged so terribly throughout 

 France, and also during the present visitation, out 

 of sixteen thousand two hundred and eighteen sub- 

 scribers to the public baths in Paris, Bourdeaux, and 

 Marseilles, only two deaths occurred among them. 

 When it is considered that among these sixteen thou- 

 sand two hundred and eighteen, of both sexes, there 

 must have been persons of all ages and of all condi- 

 tions, this remarkable fact speaks trumpet-tongued 

 in favor of bathing. 



Dysentery. — A very skilful physician recom- 

 mends the following as an excellent remedy : " A 

 tablespoonful, rounded, of crushed sugar, the same 

 quantity of superfine flom-, half a teaspoonful of 

 carbonate of soda, (the same as used for raising bread 

 in connection with some acid, as cream of tartar,) 

 half a wine glass of good brandy, and a teaspoonful 

 of essence of cinnamon. This is a dose for an 

 adult. Stir all up in warm water, and take." 



On checking the dysentery, warm teas, such as 

 sage, pennyroyal, &c., should be given, with some 

 warm medicine, like composition powder, and more 



clothes applied, in order to get up a perspiration, that 

 the matter which has tended to the intestines, may 

 be thrown out in perspiration, and the whole system 

 assume its usual functions. 



If inflammation or soreness of the bowels prevails, 

 a strong tea of raspberry leaves is very good. In 

 severe cases, tenesmus, as it is technically called, ia 

 very common. It is a painful straining, with sensa- 

 tion to discharge, in the lower extremity of the body, 

 frequently without discharges. This is owing to an 

 inflammation of the rectum ; and medicines adminis- 

 tered have but little effect, as their virtues are spent 

 before they reach the disease. As a remedy, use 

 injections of lukewarm water, with one or two table- 

 spoonfuls of salt, and the same quantity of crushed 

 sugar to a pint of water. Or raspberry tea would 

 be preferable to water. Use these injections daily, 

 or, in severe cases, several times a day, while the 

 tenesmus continues. 



English Children. — Mrs. Kirkland, in some notes 

 of travel in England, thus speaks of the physical 

 management of children in that country : — 



" Pretty children one sees in abundance every 

 where — and so nicely kept ! It seems to us that 

 nobody knows so well how to take care for the phy- 

 sique of children as the English. They feed them 

 with the simplest possible food, and are astonished 

 when they hear that our young folks share the rich, 

 heavy, high-seasoned dishes of their parents. Oat- 

 meal porridge is considered a suitable breakfast for 

 infant royalty itself; and a simpler dinner at one 

 o'clock, the proper thing for children whose parents 

 dine sumptuously at seven. Exercise is considered 

 one of the necessaries of life, and a daily walk or ride 

 (not drive) in the fresh air, the proper form for it. 

 It might be superfluous to notice any thing so obvi- 

 ous if it were not that so many people in good cir- 

 cumstances, with us, neglect this, and keep their 

 children immured in nurseries, or cooped up in 

 school-rooms, with no thought of exercise in the 

 open air as amply requisite. We wish nothing so 

 much for these benighted parents, as that they should 

 once become acquainted with the habits and princi- 

 ples of a well-ordered English nursery. A reform 

 in that quarter is very much needed among us, and 

 we know of no people so well able to be our instruc- 

 tors as the English, who have certainly brought the 

 nursery system to great perfection, both as respects 

 the comfort and advantage of the parents and chil- 

 dren. — Selected. 



illcrljanics' IDepartirtcnt, ^rts, Uc, 



Zinc. — This metal was first mentioned by Para- 

 celsus ; but its ores were known at a much earlier 

 period. In commerce, it is often called spelter ; and 

 is obtained either from the native carbonate of zinc, 

 called calamine, or from the native sulphurct or 

 blende of mineralogists. These ores are roasted and 

 mixed with charcoal or carbonaceous flux ; the mix- 

 ture is put into a kind of crucible closed at the top, 

 and perforated at bottom by an kon tube, Avhich 

 passes through the grate of the furnace into water ; 

 the vapor of the zinc distils downwards through this 

 tube, and is condensed in the water. The first por- 

 tions are impure, containing arsenic, and often cad- 

 mium, in which case the vapor burns, with what the 

 workmen call a brow7i blaze ; when the blue blaze ap- 

 pears, the zinc is collected. The zinc of commerce 



