American Agriculturist, February 10,1923 
129 
The Care of the Feet 
Our Medical Editcrr Gives Expert Advice 
A t this season of the year the feet 
take on an added importance be¬ 
cause of the role they play when not 
properly protected, in bringing about 
colds and influenzal troubles, to say 
nothing of pneumonia. 
The circulation throughout the lower 
extremities must be maintained with 
suitable, warm, dry footwear and exer¬ 
cise; this must be your first considera¬ 
tion, otherwise the lack of warm blood 
circulating freely through the parts 
directly results in cold feet. 
Footwear is an item of clothing rare¬ 
ly regarded with the respect due -it. 
When the feet and ankles are kept 
warm and dry, withal comfortable, cold 
has no terrors. Everyone can best 
judge for himself the most suitable 
kind of hose. Some of you take great 
comfort in home-made woolen hose, 
while others are irritated and annoyed 
by them.’ However, as long as stock- 
When the feet have been exposed for 
any length of time to severe cold and 
dampness, a possible chill can be avert 
ed with a hot mustard footbath. Many 
severe troubles are the direct results ol 
improperly fitting footwear. I have 
written volumes on this subject, and 
yet my readers will wear any kind of 
a shoe that happens to be handy! Chil¬ 
dren are forced to wear adults’ shoes 
in many instances, to my knowledge, 
and many women work in the fields, 
with men’s shoes‘on for hours. 
The feet are the most patient, long- 
suifering, willing members of the body 
and possibly the most abused. Have 
you ever stopped to consider how much 
more efficient you would be and how 
much better you would feel if you 
gave your feet the consideration they 
merit? 
From the feet to the brain and spirit 
is a far cry, yet the intimate connection 
ings are protective; and heavy-soled 
shoes are worn, the actual quality is 
not specially im.portant. 
Many of my readers suffer from cold 
hands and feet- in winter, and usually 
disregard the conditions. Nothing is 
more foolhardy. There would be fewer 
cases of severe illness if these little 
warnings of nature were looked into. 
Cold extremities are, as a rule, caused 
by impoverishment of the blood, plus 
feeble circulation. That sounds like 
anemia, does it not? 
And it is very true that almost every¬ 
one troubled with cold hands and feet 
is anemic. Not everyone, as the condi¬ 
tion is sometimes wholly a nervous one, 
but then it is not constant, it comes and 
goes, whereas, the condition to which I 
particularly refer is more or less per¬ 
manent. Even when of nervous origin 
the blood lacks the spark. 
Speaking of cold feet and anemia 
compels me to say a word to those of 
you who dislike cold weather and hug 
the fireside in consequence. I assure 
you it is a bad combination, because the 
carbon dioxide gas from coal fires vit¬ 
iates the atmosphere and further im¬ 
poverishes the blood. ’It also invites 
other troubles, which I shall not enter 
into here. 
You can improve and entirely over¬ 
come this condition by breathing fresh, 
pure air all the time, by exercising and 
including in your diet such foods ars in¬ 
crease the warmth of the body; namely, 
olive oil, pork, an abundance of milk, 
rare beef, butter, whole wheat flours. 
Coldness of the feet which persists 
for hours after coming indoors, requires 
local treatment. You should never re¬ 
tire when the extremities are so chilled 
that hours of wakefulness result. 
Plunge the feet alternately into cold, 
then hot water, and dry briskly with a 
Turkish towel until the skin tingles. 
Before retiring, rub them briskly 
with oil or spirits of turpentine, which 
imparts warmth and is likewise condu¬ 
cive to sleep. After the turpentine rub, 
the feet and ankles may be wrapped in 
a woolen garment to retain the heat 
and the turpentine fumes. 
Simple treatment, is it not? But 
highly effective, as you can prove by 
trying it. Those susceptible to colds 
should take every precaution against 
them, for repeated attacks of coryza 
(cold in the head) and of bronchial^ 
coughs are the forerunners of more 
serious troubles. 
Damp clothing, especially damp shoes 
and stockings, should always _ be re¬ 
moved immediately on entering the 
house, and the.!!jeet dried briskly with 
coarse ‘tOvvels^ before getting into dry 
shoes and stockii^gs- 
between them is so true that in case of 
weary, fatigued feet and those crip¬ 
pled with slight deformities, the brain 
is apt to be sluggish and the spirits d' 
pressed. It is impossible to maintain 
proper bodily pose if the feet are not 
correct anatomically; if,*in other words, 
they are not properly shod. Broken- 
down arches, weak ankles, hammer toes, 
joint deformities and such lesser evils 
as corns, bunions, etc., all result from 
faulty footwear, and all create so much 
physical pain that mental anguish is 
a foregone conclusion. 
I will have more to say on all these 
matters in future articles, but cannot 
close this one without a reference to 
frost-bite and chilblains, so common at 
this season of the year. Contrary to 
popular belief, chilblains are much 
more apt to occur when the weather is 
penetratingly damp and chilly, than 
when it is severely cold but dry. Of 
course, prolonged exposure to zero 
weather often results in frost-bite. 
A person suffering from this trouble 
should never be taken close to a fire, 
steam radiator or heating apparatus of 
any kind. For mild conditions of frost¬ 
bite plunge the affected member in 
warm water. Friction with oil of 
turpentine or camphorated vaseline is 
good. It is most important to reestab¬ 
lish the circulation with all possible 
speed to counteract the effect of cold, 
so that serious chilblains—which mean 
destruction of the affected tissues—will 
not result. 
When the condition has developed, 
the following is a good liniment: 
Soap liniment. 2 ounces 
Spirits of camphor. 2 ounces 
Tincture of cantharides. 2 ounces 
Saturate lint with this mixture, and 
hind on the parts.— (Dr. Charlotte C. 
West. 
CURING OF MEATS 
I. D. W. ALLEN 
Of all the recipes that I have used in 
curing meats, I like the following best, 
because of the ease with which it can 
be done, and the fine rich flavor that it 
gives. We treat our hams and bacon 
the same way. To a cupful of salt, add 
a teaspoonful of finely pulverized salt¬ 
peter and dampen the whole thoroughly 
with heavy, dark New Orleans molas¬ 
ses. After the meat has cooled and 
ripened for a few days, rub all the 
above mixture into the meat that is pos¬ 
sible. Let stand for a few days, or until 
. the salt is all absorbed, and then repeat 
with the same mixture. After four or 
five days, smoke with corn cobs and you 
will have sweet, rich' meat. 
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