SEC. IV HYGIENE OF COLLECTORSHIP 31 



offers a somewhat parallel case ; even on stooping to drink at the 

 brook, when flushed with heat, it is well to bathe the face and 

 hands first, and to taste the water before a full draught. It is a 

 well-known excellent rule, not to bathe immediately after a full 

 meal ; because during digestion the organs concerned are compara- 

 tively engorged, and any sudden disturbance of the circulation may 

 be disastrous. The imperative necessity of resisting drowsiness 

 under extreme cold requires no comment. In walking under a hot 

 sun, the head may be sensibly protected by green leaves or grass in 

 the hat ; they may be advantageously moistened, but not enough 

 to drip about the ears. Under such circumstances the slightest 

 giddiness, dimness of sight, or confusion of ideas, should be taken 

 as a warning of possible sunstroke, instantly demanding rest and 

 shelter. 



Hunger and Fatigue are more closely related than they 

 might seem to be ; one is a sign that the fuel is out, and the other 

 asks for it. Extreme fatigue, indeed, destroys appetite ; this simply 

 means, temporary incapacity for digestion. But even far short of 

 this, food is more easily digested and better relished after a little 

 preparation of the furnace. On coming home tired, it is much 

 better to make a leisurely and reasonably nice toilet than to eat at 

 once, or to sit still thinking how tired you are ; after a change and 

 a wash you will feel like a "new man," and go to table in capital 

 state. Whatever dietetic irregularities a high state of civihsation 

 may demand or render practicable, a normally healthy person is 

 inconvenienced almost as soon as his regular meal-time passes with- 

 out food ; a few can work comfortably or profitably fasting over six 

 or eight hours. Eat before starting ; if for a day's tramp, take a 

 lunch ; the most frugal meal will appease if it do not satisfy hunger, 

 and so postpone its urgency. As a small scrap of practical wisdom, 

 I would add, keep the remnants of the lunch, if there are any ; for 

 you cannot always be sure of getting in to supper. 



Stimulation. — When cold, fatigued, depressed in mind, and on 

 other occasions, you may feel inclined to resort to artificial stimulus. 

 Eespecting this many-sided theme I have a few words to offer of 

 direct bearing on the collector's case. It should be clearly under- 

 stood in the first place that a stimulant confers no strength what- 

 ever ; it simply calls the powers that be into increased action at 

 their own expense. Seeking real strength in stimulus is as wise as 

 an attempt to lift yourself up by the boot-straps. You may gather 

 yourself to leap the ditch and you clear it ; but no such muscular 

 energy can be sustained ; exhaustion speedily renders further ex- 

 penditure impossible. But now suppose a very powerful mental 

 impression be made, say the circumstance of a succession of ditches 

 in front, and a mad dog behind ; if the stimulus of terror be suffi- 



