Show PRACTICAL HYGIENE the proper care of the body the supreme need of the Tuber culos s pat ent in the journal of the american medical association dr norman bridge calls attention to the fact that the tuberculosis mortality has been re diced la the last thirty ears from 14 25 to 10 per cent of all deaths these results are not accidental but are clearly due to the increased knowl edge of the best methods of treating this disease in order to point out the best course he calls attention in the following words to some common errors still prevailing men grow fixed in their ideas they come to regard their notions as am mutable and so are slow to discover and to change it Is somehow easier tor us to think that q or cod liver oil creosote or a change of ell mate some inhalation of drugs or a so called anti toxin is good for tuber than it Is to understand that the great first purpose of all treat ment is to increase the physiologic power of the pat ent to resist the dis ease and to destroy or circumscribe its cause within his own body the sober fact confronts us that the one supreme need is for more pow er in the afflicted body to restrict or destroy the tuberculosis process for our present guidance this truth is so vital that it takes rank with a confes sion of faith in religion we have given our patients some drug and have neglected the halt doz en measures whose tendency is to in crease the power of the patient thus we have often thrown away the great resources of rest fresh air outdoor life changes in surroundings and a systematic effort ot increase tive forces the body there is no objection to the tonic medicines always provided they are understood to be minor and subsidiary things never of great value and to be used only as aids to the general meas ures referred to to give drugs while the patient Is allowed to go in an unhygienic course of life without advice or correction is an error awful in its results every one of these patients should be constantly ed with outdoor atmosphere in such abundance that every successive brings a fresh dose of air to the lungs and none from previous expiration every one should have long hours of rest if feverish the rest recumbent should be almost or quite constant for exer else increases the fever the digest ive powers should be made to do thelt best under the most careful su pervis ion toward improving the nutrition and possibly also the resisting power of the patient patients have been allowed to stay Irl without proper ventilation and breathe a po house air three quarters of the time we have subscribed to the popular untruth as pitiful as it Is groundless that pa in a gentle current of air called a draught are in danger of colds and other harm and so we have kept them breathing over and over again their contaminated air the truth is one never takes cold in any draught even a wind it his body and head are kept warm by clothing the advice of the profession ought to be to keep in a draught never out of it only it would lessen the business of the physicians while it would be of incalculable ben efat to the people A consumptive s body should al ways be well and equably clothed and should never be hampered or restrict ed by garments snug corsets and conventional gowns are an absurdity for the tuberculosis woman worn as they are by most such women they frequently up the scales in favor of death rather than recovery pork and pessimism A french medical journal recently stated that a diet consisting largely of pork will make a person pes tic the following humorous incident taken from the Farring dons may be taken as a proof of the truth of this statement the speakers are worthy wives but not altogether above feeling a certain pleasure in showing up tre ways of husbands they ve no sense men haven t said mrs hankey the matter with them you never spoke a truer word mrs hankey replied mrs bateson the very best of them don t prop ariy know the difference between their souls and their stomachs and they fancy that they are a wrestling with their doubts when really it la their dinners that are a wrestling with them now take bateson disselt con tinned mrs bateson A kinder bus band or better church man never drew breath yet so sure as he touches a bit of pork be begins to worry himself about the doctrine of election till there s no living with him huxley s of a liberal edu cation that man has a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will and does with ease and pleas ure all the work that as a mechanism it Is capable of whose intellect is a clear cold logic engine with all its parts of equal strength and in smooth working order ready like a steam en gine to be turned to any kind of work and spin the gossamers as well as forge tho anchors of the mind whose mind is stored with a knowl edge of the great and fundamental truths ot nature and of the laws of her operations one who no stunted ascetic is full of life and fire but whose passions are trained to come to a halt by a vigorous will the ant of a tender conscience wha has learned to love all beauty whether of nature or of art to hate all vl leness and to respect others as aimse f such a one and no other has had a liberal education every real and searching effort of self improvement Is of itself a lesson 0 profound humility gladstone rational exercise in japan the japanese are constantly sur their western neighbors by the enlightenment of their laws and customs the same and good sense which characterize them in the conduct of other affairs are noted as distinguishing features of their school administration for instance in that part of the annual report of the department ot education which refers to gymnastic in the public schools the minister ot state quaintly remarks should not be allowed to spend play hours in inactivity and idle conversa alon but all of them whether male or female sheild be induced to ex arcise in the open air in as free and a manner as possible it Is not fair to mark their shouting and running and engaging in merry sports generally as bad behavior and to give good marks to those who keep calm and quiet careful instructions are issued con berning the gymnastic drill for chil dren and the teaching of hygienic principles in order that teachers and pupils may not devote themselves too exclusively to the cultivation of the intellectual faculties instructors are warned not to adhere too strictly to mere routine and spend valuable time in adjusting the postures 0 pupils or in arranging them in rows thus arous ing an aversion in the minds of pu alls to drill of this nature in a list of recommendations which the minister makes to teachers and school boards Is the following 1 and ease naturally lend to am in cities and towns pupils are sometimes found to ride in jin or other conveyances in going to and returning from schools and though such practice Is beyond the reach of school discipline diorec tors and teachers should be very at in this matter and induce the pupils to walk as much as possible although modern apparatus for gymnastics is provided in all the city schools of japan the adea most fa bored Is for such exercises as can be had in natural and enjoyable sports following the healthful impulses which nature has provided results in the best and most natural develop ment pupils in elementary schools are forbidden to smoke or keep tobacco pipes any plan of examinations tend ing towards rewards and punishment Is condemned by the minister on the ground that it is not only a misapply cation of the general principles of ed but also injures the physical development of children beds and bedding there are still bedrooms wherein can be to ind reminders of a bygone age in the form of unwieldy bedstead 1 with their monster bedposts and side parts almost as large as bridge tim her and which afford convenient camping grounds for vermin such bedsteads usually have for their am mediate companions some of the old fashioned bed springs which appear ery crude when compared with the elegant and simple springs now found in all up to date homes the simple iron bedstead with its wire springs provided with some of the later contrivances to prevent sagging in the center represents the highest form of evolution in the line of beds it Is comfortable read lly moved about easily stowed away and best of all affords no lodging places tor either dust or vermin it can be readily cleansed it for any cause it has been exposed ot danger ous infective disease and for Us very and neatness Is a suitable ornament for any bedroom the passing away of the good old days has deprived us of much that waa substantial and real which has been replaced by the shallow and ar but it Is certainly a matter for congratulation that modern alon has emancipated us from the pestilential feather bed that used to be passed down from generation to gen aeration as a cherished heirloom the old fashioned quilts which were recovered again and again at quilting bees gradually became liable to the same objection as the time honored feather bed it should always be remembered that bed clothes are not warm in proportion to their weight but just to the extent that they have the ability to retain heat andi that this depends more upon the looseness of their texture than upon the amount of cotton that can be matted together and covered again and again with new quilting all bedclothes without regard tc the material from which they are con strutted ted should every week spend a few hours becoming acquainted with sunlight and thereby have the adal atonal advantage of thoroughgoing outdoor ventilation what he wanted most people would rather take a few bottles of some drug periodically in hope of thereby counteracting the bad effects of their unhygienic hab its than reform their course of life and life healthfully the mothers journal contains a suggestion which such would do well to ponder A certain dissipated youth on con suiting a noted physician in paris was given a set of hygienic rules and assured of a speedy cure but that was not at all to the young gentle man s liking any fool he said would know he d get well if he did that but not what I 1 came for I 1 want medicine he wanted to button his coat over a dirty shirt |