5-TIME km HABVEST, 
27 
Bathing—Its Influence on Health. 
Bathing for health and comfort is by no 
means the mushroom offshoot of one-idea- 
ism. It is a practice long tried, sanctioned 
by many nations and condemned by none. 
The ancient Grecians and Komans, once 
the proud models of both physical and 
mental superiority, had in their little villas 
very expensive public baths connected with 
their gymnasiums and libraries. And in 
all subsequent ages able and intelligent peo¬ 
ple have continued this valuable appliance, 
until now the better class of Europeans 
deem the absence of a well equipped bath¬ 
room in any residence almost a disgrace to 
the owner. It is said the “’bath is common 
in Turkey, Egypt and Persia, among all 
classes, from the crowned head to the poor¬ 
est peasant.” And that “in all Russia, Fin¬ 
land, Lapland, Sweden, and Norway, no 
hut is so poor as to be destitute of a family 
bath.” 
To these overwhelming proofs of the 
utility of bathing, science adds volumes of 
■explanatory items of fact. 
“The skin of the human body is made up 
to a large extent of excretory and secretory 
glands, of minute bloodvessels and millions 
of branches of the principal nerves of sen¬ 
sation which terminate on its external sur¬ 
face.” In Wilson’s “Treatise on Healthy 
Skin,” we are told that there are about 
2,800 pores to the square inch of surface, 
and on the entire body about 7,000,000 
which are but the openings into twenty- 
eight miles of minute tubing, little chan¬ 
nels of intercourse between the outer world 
and inner life. Let anything unhealthy be 
retained in or pass inward through those 
channels, and disease or death results. 
Stop them entirely and death in a few 
hours is sure of its victim. Those channels 
must be kept clear of filth and free from 
obstructions or disease is imminent. To 
keep them thus free to act, there is nothing 
equal to complete immersion in water of a 
temperature varied to suit the temperament 
and condition of different seasons in life, 
whether cold, tepid, warm or comparatively 
hot, as experience and good judgment may 
suggest, the immersion being attended or 
followed by friction or rubbing. People in 
every variety of business avocation, and 
in almost every condition of life, have re¬ 
peatedly given testimony to the healthful 
and happy results of appropriate bathing. 
Gardeners, florists, horticulturists, farmers, 
nay, all tillers of the soil, need a bath. 
Crude earth may nourish vegetation, but 
not man, and when mixed with glutinous 
perspiration it forms an unhealthy, almost 
poisonous compound, which calls for the 
cleansing effects of a bath. The engineer, 
brickmaker, machinist, housebuilder, black¬ 
smith, shoemaker, saddler, harness-maker, 
every kind of mechanic needs a bath. Dust 
and grease may not injure their work, but 
especially when thoroughly mixed they 
don’t improve the appearance or health of 
any person, and they effectually clog the 
poies of the skin. All laborers come in 
contact more or less with unclean sub¬ 
stances, and all of them should have access 
to a convenient bath; and there is another 
class of men need a bath quite as much for 
its happy effects on their nerves as for sim¬ 
ple cleanliness. The studious scholar, the 
professional teacher, the attorney, the mag¬ 
istrate or judge on his bench, the scribe in 
any capacity, the clergyman, the dealer in 
nice fabrics, all indoor workers, and es¬ 
pecially mental workers, need not only 
the cleansing but the invigorating and hap- 
pifying effect of a good bath. And last 
but not least, in case of sickness, which 
often happens when least expected, as in 
choleral, cholera morbus, cramp fits, and 
numberless other ailments, a pliable, port¬ 
able bath which requires but little water 
ready at hand just at the right moment 
may save some precious life. Finally, 
every house should contain a convenient 
bathing apparatus, and every member of 
the household should use it at least once 
a week. 
As good, practical, portable baths are now 
advertised for sale at a mere nominal price, 
no one need be without so useful an article, 
which is invaluable in health and inestima- 
ble in sickness .—JEfealth and Home . 
10,000 BOOKS FREE! 
All you need is a littlepostage and know the secret 
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Address, K. F. LOYD, 
9-10 Hebron, Calhoun Co., Alabama. 
