as the sole of the foot, and wide enough in front to permit the 

 toes to move freely. The inner edge of the shoe should be 

 straight, so that a line drawn back from the middle of the 

 great toe touches the heel. The heels should be low and 

 broad. The sole and uppers should be flexible, so that the 

 foot may be bent freely at the point where the toes join the 

 instep. A high shoe should not be so tightly laced at the 

 top as to interfere with circulation. A porous shoe, like one 

 made of russet leather, is much better than an enamel or 

 patent-leather shoe, because it allows the escape of moisture 

 and prevents overheating of the foot. 



CARE OF THE TEETH AND BOWELS 



Many obscure maladies of the joints, the heart and the 

 kidneys are traced to bacterial infections arising from de- 

 cayed teeth, and the care of these strong but delicate struc- 

 tures is a primary essential of personal hygiene. 



The enamel is the natural protection of the teeth, and it 



T , r f is very important that it should not be in- 



, t +h jured by cracking hard nuts with the teeth 



or picking the teeth with hard objects which 



might splinter them. 



On the other hand, thprough chewing of the food, and 

 particularly of fairly hard foods like crusty bread, helps to 

 polish the surfaces of the teeth and to prevent deposits on 

 them. The coarse food which savage people eat helps to 

 keep their teeth in good condition, but since civilized man 

 eats few hard foods, especial care is necessary to prevent 

 tooth decay and keep the mouth healthy. 



The most important help in keeping the teeth in good 

 Th T +h condition is, of course, the toothbrush. It 



. - - has been said that in an army the soldier's 



toothbrush should be inspected every morn- 

 ing as systematically as his gun. The teeth 

 should be brushed regularly night and morning at least. 



22 



I 



